The Funeral

The wake service was held on Saturday evening at a rather posh funeral parlour in Cheras. The crowd that arrived was larger than I had expected. I never knew I had so many relatives on my mother's side. I met distant cousins, uncles, aunts, grand uncles and grand aunts whom I have never met before. My grandfather had outlived his friends so it was only kin who attended the wake and funeral services. The wake service was led by a pastor from Wesley Church KL. The congregation sang some hymns and listened to the pastor's preaching on how death is not the end. Later we were invited by the pastor to give our eulogies. My mother was the first, followed by my first aunt, myself, my grandfather's brother in-law, my grandfather's first brother, and lastly my grandfather's niece.

The funeral service was held the next day, Sunday at 3.00pm at the same venue. I was asked to read the scripture from the book of John, chapter 14, verses 1 to 6:

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The pastor then interpreted and explained the verses line by line. We also sang a couple of my grandfather's favourite hymns such as "What a Friend We Have In Jesus", "How Great Thou Art" and "Because He Lives". After we had taken our last look at my grandfather and paid our last respects to him, the coffin was sealed shut and wheeled off to a white hearse to be driven to the crematorium next door. My grandfather will be cremated and then buried together with his late wife and child at a nearby cemetery in Cheras.