Didn't really sleep well last night...news of Chelsea's win against Everton and MU's loss pretty much spoilt the night for me. And to see the way Chelsea scored those goals...it broke my heart! Will need a few days to recover from this weekend trauma...any kind hearted souls out there wanting to take me out for a teh ais and maggi kosong telur mata kerbau??? It always does the job...:)
So, the next part of the mission trip takes us to a longhouse called Jelang, situated high up in hills. Group 2, consisting of Andy, Reuben, Donna, Grace, Jason Ponniah, Laura, Alison, buddy Samson, Kyleen, Sheila, Kenny, Simon, Jason Ong and Kevin Chin, made the ardeous and tiresome hiking trip up to Jelang longhouse. Believe me friends...the journey to the longhouse took us about 15 mins + 15 mins + 10 mins + 20 mins + 5 mins + 5 mins + 15 mins + etc etc etc...Everytime we asked our guide "Are we there yet?", he would answer 15 mins or 5 mins...:) And sometimes, he would vary the answer by saying, "Its just behind that hill!" or "Its somewhere near that hilltop..." But nevertheless, we had fun all the way. The hike was tiring, but the scenery and fresh air made up for it. Its so much more beautiful being there, rather than seeing it over on Discovery Channel! Knowing that we're on our way there, about 6 people from Jelang longhouse met us halfway to assist us along the journey by being our bag porters and cheerleaders! Thank God for them...:)
Once we got to the entrance of the longhouse, we were greeted with warm smiles by the people over there. Most of the kids looked at us with apprehension. Guess they needed some time to 'warm up their engines'. And as always, being true native Malaysians...we started our stay there by feeding our bellies! TEA TIME!!! Man, it doesnt get better than this. Imagine this...you're seated in a circle...in front of you lies 6 cups of Teh 'O and loads of yummy kuih-muih and biscuits...needless to say, we all ate to our heart's content! You see friends, at times, the point of eating isn't just about eating or about the food. Its about building friendship over your first glass of Teh 'O, its about the smile we share when we go for our second glass of Teh 'O, its about the joy and satisfaction when we go for our 4th glass, the stories we share over our 5th glass, that 'feeling' that sets in once we attempt the 6th glass...you know you gotta stop by then! :) Its a way of bringing people together...and we thoroughly enjoyed it!
Evening's are also the best times of the day. Its when the boys and men come out to play...from sepak takraw, to football, to cock fighting, to wrestling, to swimming...its a good life! A man-made pond nearby excited our senses...the thought of chilling out and taking a dip in the pond was simply irresistable...but as you will soon find out, our joy was short lived...instead, we resorted to taking our shower at a nearby mini stream. The girls had a time of their lives bathing in their sarongs...a fun experience for them, I'm sure.
Dinner was awesome! Leaving Klang, the thought of not having our staple food, namely BKT, for the next week was simply too hard for some of us to bear...with tears in our eyes, we said farewell to the BKT stalls...but hey, God heard our cries and guess wat? Yup...we had BKT for dinner!! Wooo hooo!! But the best/worst part was that...we had it for the next 5 days...which by then, a few of us had slowly crossed the line into becoming vegetarians! Can you imagine this? BKT and pork for bfast, lunch and dinner??? And ONLY pork FATS??? Mann....awesome!
Service was fun! Grace led the people in an awesome time of praising God and worshipping Him. There's always something special in worshipping God in other languages...it just stirrs up our spirit! Kenny was given the chance to testify that night about God's hand in his life. Its truly encouraging to know that God works in simple people like us, and how we can bless them with our life's story. Andy was preacher man that night. He spoke about the heroes of faith and how faith in God brings forth something magnificent.
You know what? I think its better if I let the pictures do the talking...I'm tired. :)
At the jetty, just before both groups went their separate ways...we had our last dose of these two. I guess we did miss their noise, to a certain extent...
Yup, we said our goodbyes to him too. Notice the way he smiled??
Kyleen and Sheila looking good for the hike...
Jason, Grace, Donna and Kenny getting ready for the ride. Alison and errr...not too sure who, in the background.
..."No turning back, no turning back"...
On board Snow White ship and his Titanic crew...
All set and ready to set sail...
Ahh...the joy of finally reaching the longhouse...ready for tea time!
Grace and Donna having an awesome time with their food and drinks...
Once you've had a little too much to drink, its time to call it quits! :)
Andy, Kyleen, Kenny and Simon...noticed how happy Andy is??
The WWE Raw and Smackdown met Coca-Cola...trust me, friends. Don't be fooled by those cute innocent smiles. Behind every smile, there's a body slam or some wrestling move waiting to be unleashed, as I found out!
Snow White starting his male bonding session...
Here's the pond I was talking about earlier. Noticed how tempting and refreshing it looks? Well, as I mentioned, our joy was short-lived. While we guys were doing our thing in the pond (bathing, chilling, relaxing...), some kid decided to do his thing in the pond...like peeing into the pond right in front of us!!! Can you believe that??? Naturally, we ran out and tried to save our lives...
Here's Laura with the the girls... looking so much more decent, compared to us guys...:)
More of the ladies...that's Alison in the middle, just in case you're who's not Iban in the pic!
Who says only girls like to pose for cameras?
The whole gang, together! And I wonder..what's with the V sign? Hmm...
Andy, together with Ali, Grace and this lil' cute bundle...
After dinner, time to just chill and let the food do some walking down our bellies...
'Punishment time' for the kids...we were trying to find out who's the culprit who made another child cry. Guess who? Yup...it was Andy!
Praise and worship time!
Grace and Alison leading the pack in 'Hari Ini Ku Rasa Bahagia'!
They loved every minute of it...the kids had a fun time together too!
Kenny during his testimony time...
The boys' turn to get into the act...our version of the 'Book of Sin' skit.
Here's Andy, pointing up to the sky, saying "Home...ET wants to go home!"
Brother Simon Kong getting into the groove with his testimony...
Andy delivering his first sermon of the trip...awesome stuff, bro!
The people responding to the Word of God. It was such a blessing and encouragement to us to see them respond and desire more of God...
Praying for the increase of faith in their lives...
More photos during the alter ministry time...
Jason praying for healing in this man's life...
Alison praying for healing and blessing upon this lady...
After a good day's work, it was finally time to hit the bed. Here's the ladies, all lined up and ready for battle. They snore too, you know??? Practicing for the orchestra...
We were greeted by the beauty of the morning forest air and sounds. This is the view from our 'bedroom window'...the air smells just as good as the forest scenery!
Can you imagine waking up to a scenery like this? I'm telling you...there isn't much that compares to the beauty of nature! Simply breath-taking...
Breakfast time! Breakfast time! Makan...nyirup...makan...nyirup!
A scene from the morning service...action songs time!
More pics from the morning service...
After service, we went from pintu to pintu (door to door) to pray for the families and their home for God's blessing, guidance and protection to be upon them.
Even as we left, we can't help but feel that a part of us was left behind in Jelang. The memories we've shared, the friendship we've made, the joys and tears we've shared with them...these are the simple things in life that makes it more meaningful and worth the while. For a team of city slickers, going all the way up to the jungles and hills of Sarawak to be with the people of Jelang...was it worth it? And again I say...YOU BET! For many of us, this trip was all about connections. Building a connection with the people, building a relationship with them, bridging the gap...and we're glad we did just that! It was awesome to see God move and touch the hearts of the people. To see us leave with tears in their eyes speaks a lot about the connection we've shared over the past 2 days. Truly, we've been blessed to be able to be part of their lives..even for a small part.
The next post will tell the story when the 2 groups met up together, along the way to Kerapa, where we spent the next 3 night ministering to the people over there. Stay tuned for that, in the coming days! Hope you've been blessed.
In the words of my buddy Samson...
'Love you, and believe in you always...'
Well said, buddy...well said...
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