Surprise Visitors

Some time back, I talked about how Ozzies have a habit of dropping in unannounced.

It happened again this morning.

I was listening to an audio version of David Wood's CoachStart Manual when the doorbell rang. I tried to recall if we were expecting any hand deliveries. When I opened the door, I found 2 Chinese gents standing outside, the younger one vaguely familiar and the older white-haired one, a complete stranger.

As my mind tried to connect the dots, the younger one smiled and said, “您还认得我吗？”（Do you still remember me?)

At that moment, it clicked. He was the local preacher from the Chinese Methodist Church we'd visited on Day 1 of CNY. Apparently, he'd called at 9+ when I was on my way back from kinder, and not getting a reply, had decided to drop in anyway.

The house was a mess, I wasn't dressed for visitors, and I had nothing decent to offer by way of refreshments, but I recovered sufficiently from my shock and we had a polite conversation about the weather, Chinese classes, the S'pore/M'sia connection (the elderly gent moved from Sarawak 3 yrs ago), how cold winter can get (close to zero deg!), the importance of keeping the kids warm and protecting their chests...

Then Baby J woke up crying and I brought her out to join in the fun, which made for a pleasant diversion. The pastor offered us a ride to kinder when he found out we were planning on walking there, but I declined. Not because I was afraid of being kidnapped by strangers ;-)... but because I wasn't mentally/emotionally up to it. Know what I mean?

One good thing came out of the visit: I told the pastor about Mrs Wang (her son 慧渡is Beth's classmate) and how she's been looking to join a Chinese church. He will be giving her a call.