by David Chan
Last month (September 2023) I went for a free-and-easy holiday to Greece, together with 5 friends. It was an overdue trip as the trip was initially planned for 2020. However, due to the pandemic, we had to delay the plan for 3 years. Due to various reasons, we fixed our traveling dates to between 10 September and 27 September – it was an 18-day/16-night self-planned holiday.
On the evening of Day 6 (15 September 2023), we went sightseeing to one of the vista points in Meteora, located in a small town called Kalambaka. Meteora is a place with a series of rocky mountains on which ancient monasteries were built. At the vista point, the view of the valley was fantastic. And so we stayed there for about 15-30 minutes for sightseeing and photo-taking.
At around 6.30pm, we decided to return to our rental car to go to another vista point, with the intention of catching a better sunset view. It was at that time that we realized that our car’s passenger window was smashed. At that moment, I felt terrified, and horror took over me, because I realized that I left my small bag in between two front car seats before we got out of the car earlier. And, true enough, as I looked past the broken window, my bag was missing! Not only my bag, but also all my valuable possessions in my bag – my Passport, my NRIC, my Driving Licenses (Malaysian & International), my cards and my cash, along with other minor stuff! At that point of time, I was devastated. All that was left in my possession was EUR 30 in my pocket and my handphone (and, of course, my luggage back in the hotel).
We wasted no time, foregoing our opportunity to catch a sunset, and rushed to the local police station to lodge a police report. The lodging process itself was a chore, because the cop and I had to rely on Google Translate to communicate – I spoke English, and he spoke Greek (with a little English which proved not entirely sufficient for communication.
That evening, I was entirely shaken. I took no photos, I spoke little, and I only had a burger for my late dinner. In my mind, I was going through all possible outcomes of what was going to happen to me. My main thoughts were either to deviate my trip to Athens to get my application for a temporary passport processed, or to extend my stay in Greece until I could get my temporary passport – both of which required me to spend way more than the EUR 30 that I was having. On top of that, I had to survive in Greece for the next 12 days with only EUR 30 (but thank God, my travel mates lent me EUR 250 altogether).
On the next day (Day 7; 16 September 2023), we spent the day traveling from Kalambaka to Mati, which was near to Port Rafina for our subsequent ferry trip to Mykonos Island on Day 8 (17 September 2023). The journey took 4-5 hours, depending on whether we moved slowly due to a broken window, or we ignored the wind and drove at speed limit. My co-driver took the initiative to allow me to rest for the first part of the drive, and I took the opportunity to rest my mind. And during this time, I had a wonderful revelation, which I am going to describe here.
First Testimony – Identity, Lost and Found
During this time, I was asking God – All of us* prayed and pleaded for the Blood of Jesus to cover ourselves and our belongings. How can God allow this to happen to me? At that time, God revealed something through my feelings. For the first 6 days, I was so overwhelmed by the fact that this trip was my first European trip. I was too overjoyed to miss home. However, after I lost all my important documents, I started to realize that I have lost all documents that proved my identity as a Malaysian. At that very moment I felt naked and bare, and from my point of view, I lost my identity. And suddenly I missed Malaysia and I wanted to go back to Malaysia very badly. And I wanted to get back to Malaysia just to get all my important documents reissued. What an ironic feeling of me missing my country on my country’s birthday.
However, this is the moment when God spoke. He reminded me that the reason I missed Malaysia was because I knew Malaysia has my citizenship record, and that by coming back to Malaysia, I could easily regain my identity as a citizen of Malaysia. And He allowed my mind to wander as far as my ordeal being similar to one living in sin, sin that made a person think he/she loses his/her identity in God. As I thought I lost my identity as a Malaysian, I would also have thought that I lost my identity the moment I sinned. However, from the Malaysian Government’s point of view, I am still a Malaysian citizen, regardless whether I have my documents of identification. Similarly, from God’s point of view, I am still God’s beloved child, regardless of whether I sinned or not. Thus, if I miss my homeland in Malaysia because I know I could regain my identity as a Malaysian, I would also have missed my eternal Home in Heaven if I sinned, as I should have known that I could regain my identity as a child of God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. God spoke very loudly through my feelings of desire to go home!
Midway, we decided to stop by a small town of Kamena Vouria for lunch. It was about 12.30pm local time, which was 5.30pm Malaysia time. So, I tuned in to CHS YouTube channel to view the Praise and Worship before Sunset Mass. The Praise and Worship was in English and BM, and when “Doa Kami” was sung, it further led me to wanting to go home even more!
* There were 6 of us, 4 Christians including myself and 2 non-Christians, the 2 non-Christians studied in the Convent so they also helped pray together and responded ‘Amen’ during prayers, grace before meal etc.
Second Testimony – “WAIT”
We finally reached Mati (no, it does not mean “dead” or “death”, but “eye” in Greek) at around 3.30pm. There, we checked in to a wonderful hotel with a great sea view. As we spent some time resting and walking by the seaside, time flew by quickly, and it was 5.30pm; it was time for us to leave for the airport to return the rental car by 7pm.
At that time, I was quite conflicted. I knew there was a sunset Mass in Athens at 6.30pm, but with the tight timing and the return of our rental car, I had to rely on public transport, which was not cheap. At that time, I sensed God telling me to “wait”. At the same time, I was struggling – what if the next day when I arrived at Mykonos, I couldn’t find a Catholic Church (there are way more Greek Orthodox Churches than Catholic Churches there), or if I missed the timing for Mass in Mykonos? However, due to the circumstances (timing and money), I cannot ask much questions. So I just reluctantly “waited” while worrying what if I missed the weekend Mass.
Fast forward to Day 8 (17 September 2023), I arrived at our hotel in Mykonos at around 1.15pm. During the ferry trip, I found out that there is one Catholic Church in Little Venice in Mykonos, and it was about a 15-minute downhill walk from the hotel. So, as I unpacked in the hotel, I told my travel mates that I was not going to rest, but to find out about the Catholic Church. So off I went to Little Venice, and truly, the Catholic Church was there, in the midst of bustling and tourist-filled Little Venice. There I found out that there would be an English Mass at 7pm! So, immediately I praised the Lord!
However, God also reminded me of one lesson. That is, I should go for weekend Mass because I want to meet Jesus, not because I want to fulfil Sunday obligation. Thus, the “wait” message is an extremely important lesson for myself as well as for all of us Catholics. And, if you are reading this, this message is for you as well. 😊
Third Testimony – Perfect Timing
For this testimony, I will have to mention my planned route in Greece:
Day 1 Flight from KL to Athens
Day 1-2 Corinth
Day 2-3 Olympia
Day 3-5 Zakynthos Island
Day 5-7 Kalambaka
Day 7-8 Mati
Day 8-11 Mykonos Island
Day 11-14 Santorini Islands
Day 14-17 Athens
Day 17-18 Flight from Athens back to KL
Planned Route
Route from Day 6 to Day 17
As mentioned above, I lost my belongings on Day 6. It was a Friday night, so there would be no way for me to contact the Consulate General Office for the application of my temporary passport over the weekend. So, the only thing I could do was wait. While waiting, I made a decision to follow our planned route without deviation, because even if I deviated my trip to Athens, I could do nothing until Day 9 (Monday, 18 September 2023).
On Day 9 (Monday, 18 September 2023), I managed to contact the Administrator to the Consulate General to enquire on the process for the application of my temporary passport. Throughout the conversation, I got to know that I was allowed to submit all my documents and forms via PDF to a WhatsApp number (which was actually the handphone number of the Administrator). To cut the story short, here’s the timeline:
Day 9 (Monday, 18 September 2023) – Application of my temporary passport, with wire transfer for the payment initiated
Day 11 (Wednesday, 20 September 2023) – Wire transfer received at Consulate General’s Bank Account, and application was submitted to Malaysian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania
Day 13 (Friday, 22 September 2023) – Temporary Passport processing completed and delivered via courier service from Bucharest to Athens
Day 14 (Saturday, 23 September 2023) – I flew from Santorini to Athens
Day 16 (Monday, 25 September 2023) – I received my temporary passport
Day 17 (Tuesday, 26 September 2023) – I flew off from Athens Airport heading back to KL
Throughout this journey, I really felt God guiding me along the way, and God indeed protected what was left of me with His Precious Blood, that I never had to spend a fortune to deviate from my planned trip. God also blessed me with the right timing, and I received the temporary passport right on time. In addition, God also allowed me to spend my birthday in Santorini – truly, a dream come true.
Epilogue
Throughout this trip, God worked miraculously. Even though the temporal outcome might not be what I desired, and that I felt anxious over the ordeal, God clearly spoke through all circumstances, affirming me of my most favourite Bible verse – Genesis 50:20, which says: Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. Or, as interpreted in the song “See A Victory”: You take what the enemy meant for evil, and You turn it for good. I am definitely seeing a huge victory that God has over my life. Amen.
P.S.
- In Greece, I learnt quite a number of Greek words that were quite useful. The first one was EVCHARISTO (means “thank you”), and the second one was S’AGAPO (means “I love you”). So, as a Catholic, I am finding the words Eucharist and Agape carry so much meaning and make so much sense!
- I reapplied for my NRIC, my Malaysian Driving License and my Passport – and I got all of them back within 2 weeks after I returned to Malaysia. My identity was restored. Praise the Lord!
