rewind to missions...

a trip to the interiors of sarawak (Jan - Mar 2010).

From the first day...
it is 2 weeks and 4 days now. but it felt like 2 months already. time here does pass really slowly.

what am i doing:
so far, most of the time is filled with preparation, teaching and church. they call it 'sembahyang' here.

they count me as one of the adults cause i was sitting in front, next to the church leader during the service. on my first service, the whole church came and shook hands with me. sembahyang is on tues night(youth service), weds night, sat night, sun morn and sun night. i speak during the youth service. not required to speak during the adult service yet, so its ok.

teaching english is on mon, thurs and fri night. in the day, it is teaching music theory, typing, communication (msn, google, skype) and other things. so for those who caught me online, i was teaching at the same time. i have to prepare a simple accounting system as well for the church. just finished fixing their Amp+PA system. thanks to the internet, spectacles screwdriver, penknife and feather duster.
the IT lab is solar powered and we have to be careful with our energy consumption. so when the days are cloudy, we just don't use the lab.

what is the feeling:
it was getting a bit quiet and lonely during the 2nd and 3rd day. quiet, i think cause totally not use to a sudden change of quietness compared to the city.. haha.. and lonely, maybe cause i'm here alone and not in a group, and also it takes time to get to know the people.

but that was a great learning process for me. to learn to be alone with God. ( it was like 50% of the day is silence.) fortunate the daily devotional Utmost for His highest, was talking about what it means to be alone with God. so day 4 was a good turning point of the silence being in prayer.
oh yeah.. the only trouble is sleeping. cause so many noises at night, neighbour's baby crying, rain, itchy bites, sweating, chicken crowing... oh, the sandfly bites itchy lah.

what am i eating:
vegetarian yes. its been pounded sweet potato leaves, paku pakis, occcasional kang kung and long beans, it is less meat definitely. but interestingly, they were blessed to have caught animals and also fish. others caught and my host bought. so its been babi hutan, deer, and fish. freshwater fish. the expensive ones that is served in chinese restaurants that has lots of bones.
and no stomach problems. yay!

The people
i'm staying with the pastor and his family now.
spend lots of time observing and learning. truly my eyes are open each day. they are small people maybe due to their lack in protein in the diet. but they're really strong people. muscular and strong. that's including the women. i may be a giant there but in strength, they'll easily beat me. i likened them to hobbits, cause some of them have big feet too...

they are very fervent in prayer and some of them here are gifted too in terms of prayer, listening to God, healing and prophecy. they know the problems that come their way especially in logging and all. but their testimony is that all they do is pray. they have morning prayers at 5.30 in the morning everyday. (yes, i'm 'disturbed' by their wooden bell.)

the biggest conviction i have had here so far, is the way their church is. it really is a church. there are many examples, but i'll just share one. one of their women leaders felt convicted to speak about relationships, and after the sermon, she ask permission to share. after she shared, she called those who have problems to come up. and lots came up. leaders and even an ex-pastor. after praying for them, one by one they took the mic and shared their problems openly. no condemnation by the congregation. shame? yes. but their act of confession and the acceptance and support shown by the congregation gives the troubled a chance to restart and improve.
~ compare that with the masks we have each sunday. ~

just as i am amused by them, they are amused by me too. the city boy. i join them for football. awkward at first, but now they keep calling me. i join them in their gotong royong and picking vegetables. they called me to join them for fishing. learn to throw with the net and cook the fish over the fire and eat. the only regret is i didn't bring my camera cause i'm afraid if we 'karam', thats goodbye camera.
my host was making the 'perahu'. so i learnt to make as well. really interesting.
harvesting the padi will be coming soon. some started yesterday.
they have their problems too, but that's another story.