I have always loved being at the Lutheran Mission Bungalow at Cameron Highlands.  To Elysia that is "Cameron Highlands" .. every where else isn’t even thought geographically it’s accurate :-)  In some ways, I tend to agree with our no.2.  She has insights that I don’t have.

Three days Two nights is a little too short for a retreat.  The travel itself takes a minimum of 3 hours from Kuala Lumpur. So that’s half a days worth of travel.  But for me, I think it’s more like, I just got warmed up and then I have to leave for KL.

Maybe because this is not a FULL do nothing – eat, sleep, read, solitude, etc – retreat.  We had 2 council meetings, and one Orang Asli village visit.  We didn’t plan a packed program but personal space was lacking compared to a "specialized solitude" retreat.

Of course, our purpose for this trip was not for "solitude" so I don’t have anything to complain about.  As far as fun and relaxation, we had our share.  And for the council we managed to cover our agenda.  A special for me was we had holy communion with our sister companion Orang Asli congregation in Batu 20th, and a good intro to the new lead pastor for the whole area Rev. Choo and his wife.

This trip was hard because the kids weren’t in 100% tip top shape health wise.  So, it was kind of hard on May Chin, especially when I was in the meetings. But overall, the children loved their time there.  Especially no. 1 Gareth and no.2 Elysia who could play freely with their friends.  Run all they want, go on the swings and see-saw, pick flowers, etc.

Food as usual is excellent … I mean Fantastic … Awesome … and whatever superlatives I can dish out …. but I will leave it for your imagination.  Words cannot fully describe the experience.  I’ll throw some pictures … but it’s still not the real thing. Here’s the lunch sample …

I found it interesting that both Gareth and Elysia prefers to eat at the Mission Bungalow.  I think it’s not just the food but the environment and even the "service."

I’ve always liked eating there too.  I remember a conversation yesterday, where we said that even when we are full we still continue to eat because the food is so tasty! 🙂

Just writing about this makes me hungry right now.

I didn’t manage to read much this trip.  Laughed quite a bit.  Had the usual snacks.  Slept well in general.  Thoroughly enjoyed the newly improved water pressure for the hot showers. A little sad that some part of the land area has been reclaimed by the original owners for that part.  That is no one’s fault.  But there was a sense of loss. Sigh … the realities of life even for a place of rest and refreshment!

So even with all the good stuff we experienced the last few days overall, somehow I’m always brought down to earth by one or two imperfect realities.  It doesn’t take away the joy from the Highs…. but it does keep my celebrations in moderation 🙂

There’s more to share, but I’ll leave it for another day … after a long drive, a little nap while helping the kids sleep, I’m slowly getting back into rhythm. All this while having a good instant message chat which reminds me to reduce my work!