Sarawak Adventure 2007 - Day 7 - Day 8!!! By: The Boss No comments

Yes friends! We're now at Day 7 and Day 8 of our tour de' Sarawak, and man...what an adventure so far! We've been to 3 longhouses, travelled for hours, gotten ourselves a sun-tan for souveneir so far, and looking forward to our last longhouse in the itenary...Nanga Ibus longhouse! Let me tell you...the journey to this final longhouse was by far the most fun and adventurous so far! And so, after re-grouping at Roban Church to re-supply and get some rest, the team then headed out in batches to a nearby jetty where we would take an hour-long boatride to Nanga Ibus longhouse. And yes, knowing our team members, fun was definitely a part of the trip...bunch of drama mamas...:)

Carry on friends and enjoy the story! And have you heard that Shaun is now into reading?? I mean..what happened to FIFA, CM, PS2, futsal...but hey, reading??? I didn't know he could read...:)

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS MANY, MANY EMO SHOTS & POSES!

The first batch of people taking a short walk to the nearby jetty. Look at Shaun...minum Milo anda jadi sihat dan kuat. Steady la dude...and hey hey, they covered Cheryl's face! How cool is that??

Here's my buddy getting the emo club started...let's say it together: CHAN CHIEW HOEEEEEEOEOEOEOE!

Everyone loading up the stuff into the longboat. Ahh...finally, some river action! Been waiting for it all year long...Can you believe this? Even from so far away, Cheryl can sense that someone is taking her pic!

Ok..everyone's tucked in and ready to go! Cheryl looking for some sympathy with that pitiful pose of her...

Crossed an overhead bridge along the way...here we can see people fishing from on top of the bridge...

Ah hah! There's something we dont get too see everyday! They told us this river had crocs in it, but we had to see one for ourselves to believe it...and we did! Thank God for Jon's quick fingers. Managed to get this shot just in time before the croc disappeared into the deep...scary stuff wei! And so you can imagine that everyone was very well behaved on the boatride and never once put their hands into the water...:)

For some, the ride was hot and sleepy...but (un)fortunately for some, it was a wet and wild party! :)

I love this shot...imagine sitting on a longboat and cruising down Klang river...very peaceful and beautiful sight!

Ladies and Gentlemen...presenting you, Nanga Ibus longhouse!!!

Immediately when the first team got there, we headed straight into our tea party! Ahh...more tiger biscuits and tea. 10th round, anyone? :)

Sheila...looking tired (after eating and drinking), yet always seems up to something...:)

Here's Letchumy Li and Sis. Ruth...

Awww...me and my man, my buddy, Chan Chiew HoeoeoeoeoeoeoEOEOEOEOE! Extra long one for you, bro! Haha...

Shaun trying to do the emo pose...but a bit difficult to keep up a straight face with everyone pressuring him not to smile!

Here's Dan, Shaun and the cute lil' boy that would soon become everyone's favourite...Titus!

Here's Titus together with his grandfather, Datuk Bob...

Titus seems to have picked up a thing or two about emo poses...wat to do. Lots of good role models around...

Now its time for Daniel to show off the creative side in him...

Shaun tried to keep up with the rest for the race to be the emo-est guy in town, but fell asleep in the process...:)

And so, after a heavy tea session, it was time for the males to have their monkey bath in the river. Here's King Kong in action, being territorial and marking his spot with a roar!

Dan and Titus...like to kacangs in a groundnut.

My favourite time of the day...meals! Here's how a typical communal dinner setting looks like in a longhouse. The people in the center are nicknamed 'The Crook' by us, cauz he ensure that our plates never go empty with food!

After dinner, it was time to take more pics with Titus. Apparently, he's the cutest kid in the block. Cheryl's turn, this time.

Oh man...look at Cheryl. Here we see Shaun preparing his testimony, while Cheryl is up to her usual antics..:)

And so, our night service started at about 8.45pm that night. Here we see Alison leading the people in a time of praise and worship.

Here's a pic of some of the people that turned up for the night service...

Shaun sharing his testimony about how God has been faithful to his family all through the years...Good stuff, bro!

Cheryl given the opportunity to share her testimony twice during this year's trip to Sarawak...

CJ showing us the $$$ during the skit entitled 'Prodigal Son'...amazing stuff, guys!

Kevin (the father) leading and welcoming Shaun (the Prodigal son) home...

Eric Jedidiah Teh preaching the word of God that night...

While the service for the adults were goin on, we had a short time of Bible lessons with the kids...

Here's Cmdr. Alison sharing about sin and how God is the only one that can cleanse us of our sins...

Aww..aint that a cute sight? Titus closing his eyes and praying earnestly...

Here's Tzi Li and Wei San praying for an old lady that came up for prayer during the altar call time...

Here's Agnes praying for healing over this lady...

CCH too was busy in action praying for the needs of the people...

We thank God for the opportunity He's given to us to bless the people here in Nanga Ibus, to be able to pray for them as well as minister to them. Our service ended at about 11.15pm, and after a time of supper and fellowshipping with the people, everyone headed straight to bed. Its been another fantastic day. God has been good and faithful, once again (as always...). Time for some zzz...Our last day in the longhouse is about to begin soon...

~* Day 8 *~

Arise! Shine! The morning couldn't come sooner for some of us. Ahh...everyone was up and running by 7.30am. Normally during work days, my morning doesn't start till 8am! But hey, everyone had a good night's rest and was ready for the day...plan for the day: to travel back to Kuching! YEAY!! But before we did just that, there were some unsettled business to be taken care of...

Balloon time! Here's the ladies posing with their flower...looking all bright and lovely early in the morning! Morning glory...what's the story?

Titus looks all ready for war...Man, these balloons are violent stuff!

Here's practically all the kids that are in the longhouse. Surprisingly, not many kids around here...as compared to the other longhouses I've visited so far. But nevertheless, we still had so much fun with them and blessing them..

Here's CJ, Agnes, Triph, Natasha and Sis Ruth sharing a fun moment together...

And so, finally it was time for us to say our goodbyes and farewell to the people of Nanga Ibus. We've been blessed by their kind hospitality and generosity, and we pray that God will bless them back so much more in return.

Time for emo shots...

Our photographer...Jon Lee!

Seems like Sis. Ruth picked up the trade pretty fast! This is one of my favourite emo shots!

Another one of my favourite...looks so natural eh?

And hey...the best of them all goes to our very own resident photographer! CCH, Cheryl and Tzi Li...seems like you all gotta practice more!

The group taking the walk down to the river, towards the boats...

Waiting for the bus to arrive can be tiring...

With that pitiful look on her face, and that sappy eyes of hers...she reached out her hands into the water and said.........

"Errr....why is water so wet???"

Sis Ruth spending her time well in front of the camera...

Here's some of our ladies looking all Iban-like, posing for the cam...

Dan and Cheryl...notice how brown Cheryl's hair is?? Nice...

Ali and Sis Ruth...everyone's excited to be going back to Kuching. Its been a long week for everyone.

For a change, now its time for the VP boys to get their faces in the cam...(VP = vain pot)

Here's Kevin, together with Shaun and his new-found friend...

Shaun is truly every man's man...and also our very own Mother Nature...Here seen with McFly!

Ok, quiz time...Guess who's that dude, showing us his big behind? :)

All set, and ready to go! Ready or not...Roban, here we comeeeeee!!!

And so...finally we're on our way back. For some, the end couldn't come sooner, and for others...the adventure seemed a lil' too short! :) But hey, there's always next year, pals...

Another one of my favourite shots...that's my buddy in front! Noticed his 'Black or White' hands...

Woohooo! Daniel, Shaun and Reuben on our very own boat...apparently, the 3 of us had to hitch a ride from another boat due to the fact that our previous 2 boats were overloaded. Trust me...you dont wanna fall into this river, I'm telling you! :)

And so, we finally reached the jetty from where we started the day before. Uneventful ride back this time...no crocs in the river. Only on the boats...:)

After washing up and getting all our stuff packed, it was finally time to head back to Kuching, another 6 hour-van ride from Roban. Great time for us to reflect on God's blessings and how good He's been to us. We really missed our time at the longhouses...truly, they made us feel so welcomed and blessed in every way possible. As for me, I'm definitely heading back to this place next year!

Wah...Apu look's happy...must be the thought of banana rice and curry overflowing and flooding his plate...

And so, another day comes to a close...what happened next when we reached Kuching? I'll save that for the next post. Honestly...this post has been one tough one for me. I had to take 2 breaks in between to finally get to the end. It's been a long, tiring day for me. In fact, its been crazy ever since Christmas 2007. And hey, guess what? Another crazy year is in store for us! Wooo hoo!! I'll see ya all in RR tomorrow. Finally, WE'RE BACK IN ACTION! Its been such a while I kinda' like forgot how good you all look in your uniforms...

Rest well...go slow on the hantu malam action tonight, and most of all...sleep early! Goodnight, friends...goodnight Malaysia...goodnight earth!

Zzzzz...