10 Days 9 Nights

Those 10 days only fill up 31 pages of my small little journal, but i hope it will bear more significance than mere papers flipped back and forth for reading pleasure.

Living Conditions
I was told that the place is called Ape, a part of Tanjung Gundap. The people live in wooden houses on the water shores. I can feel the tide beneath my bed at night (during the first night i mistook the sounds of the waves as someone washing clothes throughout the night), and heavy rain sounds like waterfall against the attap!

There is no aircon, no water heater, no laptop... there would be no electricity by now. it's on only from 6pm till 10pm, approximately 4 hours each day. At 6 when the generator starts to hum, those who have tv will turn them on and start to watch.. of all things... indian shows!! they love bollywood. in my house is posters of Jesus and the cross, and next to that are posters of bollywood actors and actresses.

Water is drawn from the well every morning, and dirt can still be seen in the water. so i try very hard to sift them when i bath... heh don't ask me how...

The food is good. spicy most of the time, and i loved most of it. Dishes will depend on their catch for that day. It was the first time i tried sea turtle!! i saw how it was slaughtered alive before my very eyes.... before it was served for my lunch and dinner.

I also get to travel to other islands by pompong... learnt how to row sampans, but my poor friend didnt want to sit in the same boat again after i tried rowing.

Oh and i just have to add that there's a cat in Gundap who's an exact copycat of garfield. fat... lazy... and so adorable!

The People
It is queer. Everyone was connected to everyone else. Father A is son of Mother B who is sister of Lady C who is cousin of Brother D who is stepbrother of Sister E who is daughter of Grandmother F and so on. And there's so much adoptions going on! A family can have more than 10 children, but extremely many did not survive various illnesses. So only a few are left in each family, and these are mixed with other children adopted from their sibling's or neigbour's.

Aside from this complication, the people there are really simple... and they are really kind.

The family who adopted me only had one bed at home which belongs to the son. but they gave it to me while i was there... yupz... imagine me on bed, and the rest of them sleeping on the floor.

The daughters cooked my meals, which usually means rice with a side dish. On the 3rd night, i realised one of the girls was eating rice only with sambal... i asked her why. she said there's not enough food, smiled and said its ok, and that it's normal. imagine again... her eating rice and sambal... whilst half an hour ago i just ate rice with a proper side dish. i didn't dare to eat much after that...

A New Song
In the mornings before lessons began, the children get to sing 10 songs of their choice. I love listening to them. They have such joyful voices!
We learnt alot of new songs from them... like "Aku Teko Kecil", "Aduh Aduh...", and such. i like the move-alongs!! =P

Here's my favourite:
"Kasih Yesus
indah indah o indah!
Kasih Yesus
indah indah o indah....

Lebih indah dari pelangi
Lebih indah dari bunga di taman
Lebih indah dari bintang di langit
O Yesus ku!"

His love is lovely. more lovely than the rainbows, than the flowers in the fields, and the stars in the sky, is He my Jesus! =)

A New Prayer
I love the children's prayers too. they pray like kids! so bold before God and before us. short and simple prayers uttered so well... i also want to pray like that! with sincerity and without pretense. without fear of barriers in indo language. =P

The Team
The team consists of 9 of us.

There's a girl who hates dogs, cats, and i think almost any animal. she also doesnt like to climb around the areas. yet she is willing to come.
There's another girl who loves kids. she has such an abundant lot of energy! she can just play with the kids for aaall daaay looong..............................................
There's a guy who's so skilled with photography. i fell in love with many of his pictures. he said something that reminded me that this is God's work, and not ours. to God be the glory, not us.
There's another guy who can really draw..... sing.... and do so many other things!
There are guitar players...
One guy uses magic tricks to share Christ! and oh he do indian dance too.
One guy was writing notes and rehearsing his speech so seriously...
Another guy tried to use less plates so that the lady won't need to wash so many of them, brings tissues around for us...

I am really encouraged by each one of them... i think i'm shortchanging them by describing them with one-liners. but i love their sincerity and willingness to serve. and i see facets of God in each one of them.... His love... His creativity... His beauty... providence... glory!

Thorns and Roses
Paul talked of a thorn in his flesh that doesnt go away. he cried and asked God to remove that thorn from him, but it wasnt removed. that thorn made him depend on God.

My friends had problems like sore throats, cough, diarrhea, etc... my thorn was itches. on the 1st or 2nd day, i was bitten by insects i think, i am not sure. but it hurt and swell for some time before it redden and itch like crazy. i couldn't rest at night because i kept waking up, and i was pretty worried that it'll affect my days ahead. so on the 3rd night i prayed that God'll remove them somehow... but if it's meant to be my thorn, and is meant to stay, pls help me to bear with it. He reminded me of His promise from 1 Cor 10:13, that "God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear." and I was really comforted knowing that He's going through this together with me. Jesus knows all sufferings, and so of course He knows what it's like to itch. heh. That night i slept well.

I was not bitten from that day onwards. So i only had to deal with the itches left by the previous bites. until....... day 9! i was bitten again on day 9. this time i had one swell that's right beneath my left foot. praise Him! because i only had 1 more night to go, and will be leaving in the morning in day 10. praise Him because i can't imagine how i can deal with those bites from day 3 to 8. i think i'll be irritable and impatient. and praise Him because i was made to depend on Him at this course....

Others
Before i left, i was told that i'll be so close to God during the trip, the real test comes when i am back in Singapore. Will i still depend on Him each day of my lives in every moment? On day -1, I wrote in my journal that i wasnt even sure if i'll be able to experience that closeness with God in the first place. thankfully, only by His grace, i was made to cling unto Him during the trip. i had no choice because i saw how faithful He is regardless of my weaknesses and inadequacies.

One of the aims of this trip was to witness and bless the people there, and share whatever we could share with them (because we have first been blessed so much!). i was counting down the days every morning every night like this:
"day 1. i have about a week here...
day 2. 7 more days...
day 5. only abt 4 nights and 4 days left Lord...
day 7. anymore chances in the next 2 or 3 days...
day 8. going back in 2 days...
day 9. last night here!"
heh. so when the day ends or starts i felt a sense of urgency because i knew i do not have much time there. we were focused and very clear, and thus each day was purposeful.

It's been a week since i came back. i've already lost the little tan i gained, gained the little weight i lost. the scars from the bites will take longer to heal, but i'm sure they will go off soon enough. i hope this trip will not be like that- a passing event, trifled and buried as a distant memory.

Let me learn to depend on Him every single moment here and everywhere... even admist my air con, lap top, warm clean water, food, and all my comforts. let me know and remember life's purpose each day... and live life. may all praise and glory be unto God!

"So whether you eat or frink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Cor 10:31.