Sarawak Mission Trip 2006 - Part 4
Hello friends,
How do you do? :)
Ahh...we're coming close to the end of the trip finally...I can smell the finish line...after this, just one more post to go regarding Sarawak mission trip 2006. Its been an awesome trip so far, and its just getting better and better all the time! So many stories to tell, so many memories captured in pictures...I just gotta' share it with you guys! The journey continues...
Let's pick up the trail from where we left. At this point, both groups are making their way towards Kerapa longhouse. For group 1, led by Cmdr. Gideon, the hike was a breeze...naturally! For group 2, led by Andy, the hike was needless to say physically challenging. As always, they sent us for our 'boot camp' training. :) Up the hills, down to the valleys, through the fields, down the cliffs...the thought of it makes me tired! :) But anyway, miraculously, both groups bumped into one another towards the end of the hike and it was like...WOW!! Gosh, they really missed us! Hehe...everyone was like hugging and hi-fiving and crying tears of joy (esp Shaun)! And so, sama-sama, we entered into Kerapa looking like war-time heroes! Man...we were glad to be there again! For some of us, this was our 3rd time being at this longhouse. Fantastic feeling...
As always, for the opening ceremony...TEA TIME! We certainly stuffed ourselves with all those cute lookin' kuih and biscuits...and also with the legendary Teh O'. In every house, there's always a 'crook' who sits in the center of the circle. His job is to ensure that our cups will always stay full of tea and that our mouths will always contain food. He's got the best job in town! And we always looked forward to meet these interesting characters. Certainly a fun lot of guys...
Anyway, we spent the following 3 nights in Kerapa doing ministry and running English camps for the children and the youths. Here's a summary of our itenary during our stay in Kerapa:
5th Dec
- Arrived in Kerapa
- Tea time
- Free time / swimming in the river
- Dinner (more pork & pork & pork)
- 1st night service
- Supper
- Light's out
- GT Klang Philharmonic Orchestra (3-piece orchestra) at about 1.30am
6th Dec
- Wake up & wash up
- Rush in and out of toilet
- Breakfast
- Group prayer time
- Healing and empowerment by the Holy Spirit
- Children & Youth English Camp
- Lunch
- Free time / swim in the river / karaoke session / sleep / snore
- Wash up
- Dinner
- 2nd night service
- Prayer for healing
- Supper
- Lights out
- GT Klang Philharmonic Orchestra (5-piece orchestra). More members added.
7th Dec
- Wake up & wash up
- Breakfast
- House-to-house prayer walk
- Children & Youth English Camp
- Lunch
- Free time
- Baptism service
- More free time / swim
- Wash up
- Dinner (guess what? They slaughtered one huge 57kg pig for us! Hooray!!)
- 3rd night service
- Prayer time
- House-to-house prayer walk
- supper
- Preparation for orchestra session. Musicians fine-tuning their instruments...
- Philharmonic orchestra started and lasted througout the night. Thank God for sunrise!
8th Dec
- Wake up and pack up
- Breakfast
- Blessed draw
- Farewell speeches and saying our goodbyes
- Made our way to the jetty- Left Kerapa via longboats
You see friends, words can never really describe to you what happened and what it felt like being over there. Thank God for cameras! At least the photos will better explain our journey and memories we've shared over the past 4 days in Kerapa. Our time in Kerapa was simply...awesome! In every longhouse we've visited, every one of them made us feel like a family. They cared for us and took care of us as if we were one of their own. Their hospitality really blessed us and touched our hearts. And man..if only you knew how much they loved to eat...especially rice...and pork fats....
So anyway, here's the pics and I hope the short captions will help you understand what went on over there in Kerapa. Enjoy, friends!
Kenny, Grace, Sheila, Jon, Lisa, Kyleen and Jason with some of the kids of Kerapa.
Going through Daniel's bible. We found out that Daniel hasn't done 'spring cleaning' on his Bible for almost 4 years. The boys going through all his 'treasure' collected over the years...
Our favourite two boys...Jerry and Anseyi! Cute lil' fella, aint he?
Daniel doing the 'chicken dance' with the kids. Gosh...they simply loved it!!
Lisa, Amy, Win Li and Asher sharing a Kodak moment with Nalam and friend...
My buddy, Samson explaining to Kenneth and 'Teddy-bear' Ted about the mechanism of his battery-powered oil lamp. Haha...I'm sure you knew your lamp story would end up in this post, right Sam?
Donna with sis. Ruth, just before she songlead for the 1st night service.
Daniel sharing about how his life was spared because he chose to put God first.
Laura speaking about challenges she faced before coming for this trip and how God made a way for her to be there in Sarawak!
Here's Dandy doing what he does best..."Yeaa, preach it Snow White!" the crowd cheered!
Prayer for healing - Cmdr. Jason
Lisa praying for healing upon this lady...
The kids all lined up and anxious to get the English camp started! These are one bunch of lovely, awesome kids, I must say...Such a joy to work with them!
Kyleen and Laura getting into action during the opening game - Mother chicken and the baby chics game...
Reuben sharing about the parable of the sower and the seed...
Over at the Youth English Camp, here's Asher going through her motions. They main focus for the camp was the 5 points of Evangelism Explosion. The group did a fantastic job sharing with the youths of Kerapa about God's plan for Salvation in English.
Craftwork at the kids' camp. Aww...ain't she pretty?
'Marty' Samson leading the group in praise and worship during the 2nd night rally. I see your future, buddy....
Such a beautiful sight seeing everyone worshipping and praising the name of Jesus. Even the kids sang and worshipped God with all their hearts and voices.
Win Li sharing her testimony to the people, translated by Sis Ruth.
Asher and gang perfoming the skit entitled 'The Book of Sin'...she looked pretty cool with those horns on her head. Looked natural on her...:)
Shaun playing the part of the defense lawyer aka Jesus...the crowd went wild when he entered the court scene! Woooo hooo!!
Kyleen's moment to take center-stage, even as she shared her testimony.
Kenny, our very own 'Bob The Builder', preaching the Word to the people during the 2nd night. Fittingly, he spoke about the wise man who built his house upon the rock.
Time for prayer and healing - Lih Woon praying for this lady and her child
Cmdr. Gideon praying for this girl called Nalam. Just to share with you, Nalam is a very cheerful and beautiful young girl. She's got a voice, but has difficulty forming words and speaking proper words. And the only sound that she can make is 'Naaa...'. But friend, God used her to teach us an important lesson. Throughout the 4 days, all of us noticed how she worshipped God with all her heart, despite her inability to speak words. And this reminded us that we as people who have a voice and can speak properly, shouldn't we be able to worship God with all our hearts and with all that we have? If we who have the ability to worship God, choose not to worship Him, dont you think He can cause the deaf and the speechless, the rocks and trees, to worship Him? Friends, even though she knew was different, but that never deterred or stopped her from praising Her maker, not for one moment. To God, she's always be a perfect creation...
This lady came forward to testify about how God had healed her during the time of alter ministry.
Our host, testifying about how God has reduced the irritation in His eye. About 3 months ago, he underwent eye surgery, which then caused him to have severe irritation in his eyes.
God's faithful servants - Pas. Leslie and Sis. Ruth
Lighter moments during supper...havin' a cuppa' tea!
Whenever Jon moves his hands like that, you know what's coming!!
Praying for the families in the longhouse...
Shaun turn to get into action to pray for this family...
Day 2 at the Children's Camp...craftwork time!
Reuben and Daniel teaching the kids about Joseph and Mary's journey into Bethlehem the night Jesus was born...
The kids saying the Salvation prayer...praise God for each one of them!
The 'Dog' group family photo...
The 'Piglet' group...
The Monkeys!
Lastly, the Chickens!
Our final moment at the Kid's camp. Its been an awesome time for all of us involved to be able to bless the kids!
Grace in action during the water baptism service!
I baptise you in the name of the Father....
The Son...
and the Holy Ghost...
Amen!
Jon's turn to be the baptizer...
Kenny making sure that the 'old man' goes down completely!
Its been a special day for the 8 water baptism candidates! But trust me, its been an even more wonderful experience for us to be able to baptize them in water! We thank God for the opportunity...
Swim and mandi time in the nearby river...
Alison going through her facial-cleansing class with the young girls...
Alison's turn to lead in praise and worship! Man...she was a natural!!
Our dearest Amy Tan sharing her life testimony which blessed everyone...
The kids doing a song performance during the night service...such a wonderful and happy bunch!
"Read your bible and pray everyday if you want to GROW!"
The ever-reliant support crew who was there to guide and motivate the kids on!
JN sharing her testimony during the 2nd night service...
Vivian following the footsteps of her dad...she preached a powerful sermon about prayer! Well done, girl!
This picture was taken during the house-to-house prayer done after service. The people were really glad that we took the time to pray for each family in the longhouse.
Praying for healing and God's blessing upon this family. The man on the left is suffering from cancer.
The group sharing lighter moments with the longhouse people over supper...it was like a feast all over again!
More smiles from the group...notice Asher's weird look on her face?? What's with that look, girl?
Final morning with the people...here's the gang with the youths!
Asher and Nalam...everyone's favourite! I mean Nalam...:)
Lucky draw time...these were some of the gifts that were up for grabs.
We sent our talismatic Samson to pick our gift...and he won us that mat! Nice stuff, wei...
The entire family photo! We'll definitely miss them all...
Laura and her new found fellowship of the sisters...
Our team together with the 2 most memorable kids...
Anseyi and 'daddy'...
Kevin and Shaun forced this guy to be in the photo...here seen posing with our prize mat!
More lovely shots of the ladies...Alison's grooming class students!
Lisa doing her thing...
Well friends, one of the saddest things in life are the times when we have to walk our close friend towards the check in gate in the airport. Its known as the 'walk'...its like, the distance from where we are to the check in gate is all we have left of our moment of togetherness. And if felt excatly the same over here in the longhouse. Even as we grabbed our gear and strapped on our bags, they escorted us all the way to the jetty. Behind every smile, there's a story to be told. Our hearts melt at the sight of the people in tears even as we left on our boats. They've blessed our hearts in so many ways, that it hurt so much to leave. As someone once said, its like leaving your 'kampung', and looking forward to the next year to come back again. We'll definitely be back. Our prayers are with you, Kerapa...
We'll conclude our Sarawak story in the final episode, hopefully by tomorrow. Till then, have a wonderful time this Christmas season. Be a blessing to someone, and be that difference that people are looking for! God bless...
Quote of the trip:
"Better out from the frontdoor, than the back!"
Samson Yap
Famous Anglo-French linguist and buddy
Currently pursuing his PhD in SPM at Le' Sri Lethia
I guess you all know what he's referring to...
Sarawak Mission Trip 2006 - Part 3
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...
Sarawak Mission Trip 2006 - Part 2
Hey friends!
TGIF!! Yup...fridays...the best day of the week! Hope you've enjoyed the first part of this mini series report concerning our Sarawak Mission Trip 2006. Here's the 2nd installment of that series. Hope you'll enjoy it for your reading pleasure!
We'll pick up the trail from where we left. After a good night's rest, everyone was up early to prepare ourselves for the journey to the longhouse. We were all excited the moment we saw our mode of transportation...4 wheelers!! Woo hooo!! Yea, I know what's running through your mind...city people...never sit at the back of a 4 wheeler before! Anyway, after loading our bags and ourselves at the back of 3 trucks, we were off and running!
Kenny with JC, JN and Sheila....
Understandably, most of them were still kinda' sleepy...waking at by 6.30am! Btw, that's half of my buddy on the right! Go Samson...
Snow White and friends looking all macho...
Stopped along the way for a quick Kodak moment...
Anything Snow White and friends can do, we can do it better!
The journey was needless to say loads of fun, as well as pure agony for our delicate bummies! After about an hour of bumpy, dusty estate roads, we finally reached the boat jetty.
Dan and the ladies on board Starcruise...
A total of 6 boats were used to ferry us to our destinations...bags and people all loaded up!
At this point, the 28 of us, together with Pas. Leslie, Pas. Lenyir and his son Jerry, Ted and Kenneth splitted up into 2 groups. Both groups journeyed through the forest by boats and went on our own separate ways after about half and hour. The first group led by Cmdr Gideon, headed for longhouse Luing. The journey to Luing was most by boat and the journey there was awesome! The sight and sounds of the forest was just magnificent! A pleasant change from our usual city noise and jams...in this episode, we'll be focusing on the first group's journey to Luing.
The view of the forest and river even as we travelled by boat...
Luing longhouse as seen from a distance...quite amazing!
After journeying about an hour, the first group finally reached the entrance of Luing!
As always, the group was greeted with warm smiles and friendly faces. Its good to see so many familiar faces from our last visit to this longhouse. Luing longhouse can be considered as one of the more modern longhouse. It has running water, modern toilet facilities, electricity and some of our daily household electrical items! Amazing...
Shaun instantly finding his long lost brother...
Ahhh, tea time!!! The pleasures of longhouse lifestyle!
Jon Lee preaching the Word...
A scene from the morning service...everyone looking bright and spunky!
Praise and worship led by our dynamic twin energizer batteries! Oh btw, one comes with the other...:)
Everyone had a wonderful praising and worshipping God through the Iban songs...
JC sharing her testimony on God's power and love in her life...
Ministry time...praying for the people in Luing
A teary-eyed and emotional Shaun shares his testimony to the people...:)
Asher's turn to share the Word of God! Wooo hoooo! Doesn't she look good holding the Bible??
Daniel and the people listening carefully to God's word...
Jon weaving his 'magic'...using illusions and objects to share God's word to the kids!
The kids all busy with their Christmas craftwork, led by JN!
Fellowshipping and getting to know the elders and leaders of the longhouse better over tea!
After a wonderful 2D 1N with the people in Luing, it was finally time to bid them goodbye, with the hope of seeing them again next year.
And so, the first group finally made their way out of Luing, heading to the next destination: Kerapa longhouse!
Along the way, we stopped by Luing's rice plantation hill and prayed for the land, and also for a good harvest this year. We also prayed that God will continue to send the rain for the plantations to produce good crops.
Its amazing to see how God has used us collectively as a group to bless the people of Luing. And even as we look back at ourselves, we were blessed so much in return! For the first group, the next phase of their trip will take them to Kerapa longhouse, where they will meet up with the 2nd group.
Do catch the report and stories of the 2nd group in the next post, who travelled to longhouse Jelang. The report promises to be colourful, adventurous and exciting! Till then, God bless and have an enjoyable weekend...
Adios!
Sarawak Mission Trip 2006
Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, in-laws and outlaws...
We're back!!! Well, just in case you didn't notice the sudden drop in noise level throughout the whole of last week and also the sudden increase of the noise dB early this week. For those of you faithful readers out there, thank you for tuning in week in and week out even though its been a while since I last created an entry. Nevertheless, the stories are pilling up and its got to be told sooner or later...
Well, just to update you on what's been happening...on the 2nd - 10th of Dec 2006, a total of 28 youths and rangers from GT Klang took part in our annual Sarawak mission trip this year. And this was the largest number of participants ever for a mission trip so far! They are Cmdr Gideon, Sheila, Daniel Seliong, Kyleen, Melissa, Win Li, Samson aka Buddy, Laura, Shaun, Grace, Jason Ong, Jason Ponniah, Reuben, Alison, JN, JC, Simon, Vivian, Lisa Lee, Lih Woon, Amy Tan, Kenny, Kevin Chin, Seaw Chin, Donna, Andy, Asher, and finally Jon Lee. Well, what can I say? Where do I start??? So many things to say...so many stories to tell...I'll do my best, k?
Our trip started early...and I mean EARLY! All the eager and excited missionaries gathered in church at around 3.45am for a final checkthrough and to say our goodbyes to our parents and pets. Nothing really eventful...apart from the fact that Amy had to go home 2-3 times to collect her belongings i.e. toothbrush, children's church materials, pillow...after a final briefing and loading up our tonnes of bags into 3 vans, we made our way to the LCCT at about 4.30am. The ride was...silent...zzz....as expected.
Got to the airport, checked in our luggages at a specially dedicated counter for our enormous group and bags...then we chilled and laid around till about 7.35am. Finally it was time to say goodbye to home, and to finally start our journey! Most of us were still 'shocked' that we're actually leaving! Its like..we've been preparing for this trip for months, and its finally here. Many first-timers among the veterans in this group..and its promises to be an exciting journey! Friends, with God..it always is!
After an eventless flight, mostly 'silent night', we touched down in Kuching Airport at about 9am. We were happily greeted by our spunky 'tour guide' and translator, Sis. Ruth! Man..i'm telling you, this lady is one can of coke waiting to pop! Will tell you more about her along the way...we really thank God for her and for sending ppl like her along the way to encourage us and to make this trip all the more meaningful.
We then took a 4 - 5 hours van ride to the district of Betong, stopping for lunch at the midway point and also to buy some much needed food supplies and goodies needed for the trip. We reached Betong at about 3pm, and we spent the night at Betong Sion Baptist Church. We were glad to meet familiar faces in Pas. Leslie and his wife, sis. Ensinggan who hosted us for the night. Pas. Leslie also accompanied us throughout the entire trip. After settling in, we started to prepare for dinner, help cut and clean the food, and also cook our meals, led by our master Seaw Chin and friends! Pas. Leslie also prepared for us his favourite Bamboo Chicken dish, which was awesome! The night then continued with a time of prayer and just worshipping God in an open field. Friends, its just so awesome to worship our God, gazing at His majestic creations up in the skies...it was truly an experience for all of us! God just began to work in our hearts...
Next morning was Sunday! Many were deceived by the early sunrise over here in East Malaysia. Some even woke up at 6.30am to shower, thinking it was already 8am. Hehe! After hurrying to the bathrooms and toilets which kinda reminded us of the traffic jams back home, we had a quick breakfast even as the people started to fill the church hall. Church service started at 9.30am. We had a wonderful praising God in Iban. We were slowly getting a hang of the Iban language. Its not too complicated to understand. All you gotta do is to listen carefully and you'll learn. We acted out a short Iban skit for the church congregation, speaking about Jesus being our defense attourney and how He paid the price for all our sins on the cross. It was an interesting experience for all of us...speaking and acting in Iban. Lisa and Sheila shared their testimonies that morning, and Cmdr. Gideon preached the Word to the people.
It was awesome seeing how God worked among and how He's continuing to work among them. Laura and friend conducted a mini Children's Church that morning. We had a powerful time praying for them and blessing His people. After service, we had a small gathering for the youths in the church. Spent some time to get to know them better before Reuben shared to them about the importance of having faith in God and living by faith.
At night, we had a night service in one of the nearby longhouse (Aur, I think)at about 8pm. Many people from the church and different longhouses nearby attended the meeting and were blessed by God's word shared by Seaw Chin, who spoke on the reason Christ died for us all and what's next after this life. Its amazing to see how God uses them at times to bless us...Lisa had one of those defining moments too that night. Wanna know more? You gotta ask her... :) Also, Alison and my buddy Samson shared their life testimony that night. Once service was over, it was time to finally rest after a long day for all of us.
Enjoy the photos for Part 1 of our Sarawak adventure...hopefully the pictures will be able to give you a feel of what's it like to be there. God bless!
The group frantically doing some last minute packing at 3.45am!
"Does this go here or there?" Notice the boys in the background...btw, that's Jon and Sheila in the foreground.
Time is tickin' away...cmdr keeping a close watch on the arrival of Amy!
The scene at the airport...by 5am, its already jam packed! JC giving us a good mornin' smile!
Ahh...its gonna be a good day! Shaun and Asher posing for us...
This was how long our luggage check-in line was...good trick to make everyone else queue up elsewhere!
Seaw Chin and the girls...and Samson doin some marketing for our food supplies! Where's the boys? Well, we were chillin' out at a local shopping complex nearby...enjoying the aircon and scenery!
After nearly 5 hours on the road, we finally reached Sion Baptist Church in Betong!
Kingsmen gathering...gotta' start 'em young, my friends!
Tea time...our favourite time of the day! Sugared-cream crackers with tea/milo! Yummyy...
Laura and her 'booty' Alison cleaning out the spare parts inside a chicken...
Aww...what a lovely sight! The ladies cleaning and cutting up the longbeans for dinner...
While everyone was busy doin something, here's Andy doing what he does best!
Prayer meeting under the moonlight and stars...breathtaking!
The people gathered in the church for Sunday morning service...
Sheila presenting her testimony to the Sunday congregation...
Lisa's turn to share her story of God's love and faitfulness in her life!
When Cmdr Gid has that look on his face, man...you gotta listen! Full of intensity...
Laura teaching the Children's Church during Sunday service...lovely kids!
Noticed Asher's distorted smile? Wasn't too sure if Daniel was paying attention during the sermon...:)
Principle of smiling: You smile at me, I'll smile at you! :)
The people rushed out for prayer...there was an awesome hunger for God among them.
The church members standing alongside and praying for Pas. Leslie and sis. Ensinggan...
Laura posing with some cute kid...:)
Amy's turn to pose with that same cute kid...
The youths seated during the short youth gathering after morning service...
A scene from the skit we acted out at Aur longhouse..here we see Jason pleading his innocence to the judge aka Dandy...his crime? Stealing chickens!
Alison...looking all 'red riding hood', sharing her testimony of God's healing!
Ahhh..presenting you...MY BUDDY! A big applause for my frenchman Samson! :)
Here's Seaw Chin sharing the Word of God. Standing alongside her is our translator, Sis. Ruth...
All in all, its was a good day's work. Time to call it a night and rest well for the coming days... God bless!
Stay tuned for the coming episodes of our Sarawak Mission trip, even as we relive the moments to share with you the experience. More awesome and juicy stuff to come in the coming days...
God bless, my friends....Selamat lemai!
