My Sister, An Angel Unaware
By Carol Lau
My sister breathed her last breath on planet earth in the early hours of 6 August 2021.
On the first homecoming night on Zoom, family members shared on her tough life as a career nurse, juggling her wakeful hours with whipping up delicious meals for the family, enforcing loving discipline on the children, and later on, her involvement with humanitarian missions in disaster-torn nations through CREST (Crisis Relief and Emergency Services).
On the second night of the homecoming, tributes poured in from friends and colleagues whose lives she had impacted. E.H Lim, the first director of CREST, shared that CREST started in the living room of Lana’s house in Cheras in 1994/5 when they practised the skills that they had learnt from Dr Mark and Betsy Neuenschwander about Crisis Evangelism.
At the end of the homecoming, a live stream from PKRCS Travelodge managed by CREST showed all the volunteers thanking and waving an emotional goodbye to Lana.
Certainly, Lana’s engagement with a cause greater than herself is still touching lives in crisis.
So who is Lana? She was my second sister. I called her Yi Cheh for a very long time. Mother used to call her Ngan Hoi. I think it means Silver Opening. Officially, she was Lau Lan. For simplicity, it was Lana. Lana was a sister who sticks closer than a friend. She was ever learning in Life‘s hard school of knocks and has just graduated with flying colours at the age of 69, just a month short of three scores and ten.
SCHOOL is an apt acronym for me to eulogise my late sister.
Sacrifice
During our first lockdown in May 1969, our family had no more food to eat. My mother remembered a big bundle of newly opened meehoon left in the coffee shop where we sold noodles and porridge, and two persons could only carry it.
She got Lana to walk with her along the back lane to the coffee shop some 300 metres away to retrieve the meehoon. It was a dangerous act that could have got them shot by the soldiers patrolling the street. I don’t know if Lana knew then what a sacrifice she had made for the sake of the younger, hungry siblings.
That day, she became my hero, together with my mom.
Conviction
Lana became a Christian in secondary school, and one day, she declared to mom that she would not eat food offered to idols anymore. That meant no home-reared organic chicken, which we only enjoyed 3-4 times a year.
But God showed her favour. A teacher, Mrs Aziz, gave her some Chinese sausages and other Chinese New Year goodies, which she happily brought home for us. She must have been teachers’ pet, with her diligence and obedience.
Later, mom’s heart softened upon seeing Lana preferring not to eat rather than defile her faith. She even cut up a piece of a chicken wing to give Lana and said she may freely eat that, as it had not been offered to the idols.
What a great testimony that was for a young teenager.
I believed that paved the way for the rest of us to acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and saviour later on.
Humble and Honest
Lana was humble and honest. She lived within her means and was never showy. I will always remember what she said. “I cannot afford big prawns. Other people eat big prawns. I eat small prawns, and it tastes the same.”
Overcomer
It would mean nothing to be a champion if there were no obstacles to overcome. And Lana had many hurdles that built her up and strengthened her to endure the race before her.
Not long after she had Annamay, her firstborn, she started a nursery and child care centre in Jalan Abraham to look after her child and other people’s children while bringing in an income. However, that didn’t last long.
She also manufactured her brand of shampoo, named Pretty Neat. It was a good formulation and had a lovely grassy smell. The market, however, was not that viable.
I also helped her sell some leotards in Teluk Intan, but those didn’t bring in much side income.
However, she was not deterred by these setbacks and went on to do some other ventures that brought positive income, not just for herself but to raise funds for charity, like making jam and roasting turkeys which became an annual affair for many Christmases.
OA (Orang Asli)
I don’t know what it was about the OA that she was so passionate to help. A group of us went with her to a far-flung OA settlement deep in the jungle of Pahang. When Bob Teoh, a missionary, came inside the SUV, he sniffed his nose and asked, “What is that smell in the car?”
He didn’t realise there were about 300 baby chicks in the boot that needed to be fed and given water two or three times during the journey. It was the third batch of baby chicks that she was delivering there. In the earlier batch, the OA dogs had bitten some chicks, which then died. The OA didn’t have clocks or watches and could not be punctual to lead us to their dwelling far inside the jungle. They cannot remember giving water regularly to the chickens, so it was a sharp learning curve to help the OA improve their livelihood.
I can only say that it must be Love for the Lord and obedience to his calling. Jesus didn’t call Lana to an easy life, but he helped her all along the way. He gave her the endurance and the wisdom to mobilise workers for the mammoth tasks. It was the same too for CREST, which she headed for 15 years.
Before she joined CREST, she was a midwife in Tawakkal Hospital. In the 1990s, she caught a Vision of her Mission. She excitedly told me that as she helped deliver babies physically, she would help deliver spiritually, an organisation in labour!
I had the privilege to join her on a mission trip to the Philippines in 2009 to help the victims of the Ketsana Typhoon, and I saw firsthand her leadership by example in dangerous and desolate places.
L – the Lausters Reunion.
The Lausters (the original six siblings and their children) have been enjoying the annual 3D2N gatherings in hotels in Melaka, Penang, Cameron Highlands, Frasers Hill, Avana Genting, Lumut, Gopeng, Ipoh, Pulau Springs, Singapore, etc., for many years, usually in the last weekend of December.
We not only gorged on great dim sum, swam, climbed hills, manoeuvred treacherous white waters, watched fireworks, played games, but also had family time. Working Lausters would take annual leave and drive or fly to these essential destinations to catch up and mingle with the cousins and blood relations. We sang carols, performed skits, joked and laughed our bellies out, and almost everyone would update the clan on what had been happening in his/ her life. Then each family would be prayed for in turns.
The idea originated from Lana, who told me it would be good to gather the families together, using the rental from our late mom’s flat. Indeed it was. Both of us worked hand in glove to use Loh Lin’s money beneficially, not only for annual Lausters vacation but also the Chinese New Year luncheons, and to give angpaus for weddings, births and pakum for funerals of relatives. Building relationships was paramount for Lana, not accumulating wealth. She told me not too recently, concerning some gold that was lost, that it was okay, for Jesus had reassured her from Job 22:25 that He was her gold and her finest silver. She is indeed rich in the Lord. Her name is Ngan Hoi, Silver Opening! She lived up to her name and enriched others, and she left the world a much better place.
Ten days before Lana passed on into glory, Stella, my youngest sister in Penang, had a dream of her. She didn’t see Lana, but she heard her speaking clearly.
Meanwhile, I was in Sydney and had a vivid dream of her the very same night. She appeared suddenly as if delighted to reveal herself after a game of hide and seek. Her short hair was thick and immaculately coiffured as if she had just come out of the hair salon. She was wearing a creamy white dress that had the texture of soft fur. Her right hand was on her hip, in a model’s pose, while her left hand was positioned upward. Her eyes were twinkling, and she smiled, flashing her pearly white teeth. She asked me,” Can you recognise me? “In Cantonese. I had a second look. She had on high heels, about 4 inches tall. Not shoes but probably knee-high boots. Her face looked slightly tinged with a light foundation.
Do I recognise her? She looked 40 years younger! I have never seen that Milky white garment before. She was excited and could talk. Her high heels tell me she could walk tall with confidence because the Lord orders her steps. Her face was moisturised with a fresh complexion. She was different, more beautiful than before. And she was happier to be who she now is. Happy to be in a state of newness and pride. Restored in every way from her head down to her feet. Restored to have fun, to play games like hide and seek, and to have the childhood that she had lost when she shouldered adult responsibilities.
Yes, I do recognise you. You are my sister Lana! I awoke from my dream. I shall miss sharing with you my dreams and listening to your interpretations. I shall miss sharing photos of the skies with you. But we certainly will have a great reunion with our Lord and Saviour when the trumpet sounds!
