Poor in possession but rich in faith

Last week I went to Long Malim, a Penan Settlement. Our purpose was to do follow up and to teach the  Penan children basic language and maths. Along the way, we passed by ...

... Long Peran. The people of Long Peran worship ...

...  their ancestors. To them, there is no other god other than their own god.

The next Penan settlement is ...

...  Long Singu. Long Singu is a Christian Community. You will notice that at every of these settlements, there is a big compound which is used as a helipad. The flying doctor came in once a month! So, please don't get sick in between! Otherwise the nearest clinic is 70KM away and will require 3-4 hours of travelling through logging tracks.
After travelling for 8 hours, covering 224KM, we finally reached Long Malim Penan settlement.

Surrounded by cloud shrouded mountains, Long Malim is a beautiful place! According to my Garmin satellite navigator (GPS), it is just 520meters above sea level. At the highest point, the road is about 800+ meters above sea level.

But alas, the once crystal clear river is now a permanent yellow river! The fishes are gone and the simple livelihood of the Penan is gone forever. Now, they learned how to plant ...

... padi.
The Penan settlement seems to be temporarily as they will require to move again due to Murum Hydroelectric dam construction. Read more here.
Now, we talk about fairness by the government and the way they treated the indigenous people here. I don't know who build their "long houses" . They used recycled zinc roof which is ...

... full of holes. During the day, the sun will ...

... will shine right through and you will see bright light spots on the floor. During rain, the water will get right through those holes.
In the name of development, I am sure that they were probably worse off then before. Their kitchen is still ...

 ... as primitive as ever.

 True that they have gas tank but can they afford to operate it? I was told that they are very expensive. So, the same kitchen has both LPG fired stoves and the traditional wood fired cooking place.

Back in the sixties, Milo was a luxury and for a big cup, we could only use half a tablespoon of milo with equal amount of sugar. The drink was a faint brownish colour just like what this boy was drinking!

If you get sick in this place, my Garmin told me that the nearest clinic is more than 70KM away! So, the best way is to pray and ask Jesus the Healer to perform miracle as the next flying doctor will not come in for up to a month time. Praise God that most people are Christian and there are countless miracles there. I can only conclude that their faith is strong! Do pray for them and always remember the super poor community at Malim, a place above the cloud! Also pray for their children as most of them don't go to school!
Over there, the Penan speak Malay and Iban in addition to their own language!

Long Malim - Land above the cloud

Last weekend (14/4 - 16/4), a group of 9 from the Yi Eng and Grace Methodist visited the small Penan settlement at Long Malim. Long Malim is about 224KM from Miri and 520 metres above sea level in Ulu Belaga. The place is surrounded by high mountains and a river.
The whole journey took eight hours. The most difficult part of the trip was the last 20 KM of road which was windy and high gradient. This 20KM took 1.5 hours! Apart from this, the place is beautiful and full of trees.

As we arrive at the settlement at about 2:40PM, we found that the place was very quiet. There were not many adults except 20+ children.

As we inquire about it, we realised that the adults went to the field for harvesting.

The mission house is at the edge of a large flat ground which is used as a helideck. I was told that the flying doctor came in once a month to this place to see the sick. Therefore, if anyone is sick, he/she must wait for a month! It seems that the common problem is gastrointestinal related problem, vomiting, stomach ache, fever and one suspected malaria.

We can only pray for the sick and provide them with very simple medication. Surprisingly, the people there are full of faith and miracle healing is quite common. 

Saturday evening service was conducted and also Sunday service. The attendance could had been better but   this is planting and harvesting month and many adults were away.

Our two ladies gave basic classes, teaching them the alphabet and counting. They are bright and very attentive. They remember what they learn. Unfortunately, they have no opportunity to go to school.

These children can remember gospel songs!

 The youths there are attentive to the bible teaching....

... and irrespective of age, they are always ready to come forward to nail their sins and confessions on the cross!

Look at this, our city folk would have backed out. They are full of faith, ready to confess and forgive each other. We were called to visit a family where there were conflict. They wanted to seek reconciliation and forgiveness. At the end, they all hug each other ... all conflicts were remove.
This is my first instalment... more to come.
To see more photos, click here.

I experienced many "first" in two days

Although this was the third time I went to visit longhouses, stayed and mingled with the folks there, I still had many "firsts" experience....
Fried fresh sweet corn...
Not sure of the actual name... fermented salted fish. Very strong taste!
Talking holy communion with bread dipped in the "wine"...
Although this wild orchid literally lined the main road between Miri to Sibu, this was the first time we actually plucked them in the kampong!
I never knew that rubber seed can be eaten! On the left is salted rubber seeds. They taste ok but salty.

Mission Trip to Balingian

I went to Balingian on mission trip over the weekend (12-13 Dec 2009). My main duties were to cook for everyone and also to take photos.
They have gas stoves but cooking for about 70 people was no easy task with a few small fire from the gas tank. So, I decided to change to the firewood "cooker"... wah, this was the best. All cooking was done in about 30 minutes. However, the same dish still need to cook 3-4 rounds as the wok was a little small. Anyway, every one didn't complain about the food.
Notice the sarong in front of my legs? I used it to keep the heat out or something else may also get roasted! Thanks to the longhouse folk for giving me the sarong without being asked.

We unpacked our things into 2 rooms...one for ladies and another for men. At the end, many of us still prefer to sleep in the sitting room or dining area. It was comfortable and there were hardly any mosquitoes because we brought along anti mosquito pad.
We have a hilarious time playing ice breaker...bright ideas from Winston Toh!
We met this cat again... Janice and Yvonne "examined" this cat during their last trip! So, seems like saying "hello & welcome" to us.
This time, we have a big group of 20 people.
I have uploaded 200 photos to our church's facebook for public viewing. Just click here.

Just back from Mission Trip and Prayer Request

I just came back last night from mission trip in Balingian. I shall start posting photos again.
I have a request... please pray for a miracle for my friend's sister in Singapore. In medical, there is not much one can do. With God, healing can continue. However, we don't know about His plan. Pray that God will heal her and take away her pain. Ask that her spirit is high and continue to trust God.

http://mychallengewithlove.wordpress.com/

Longhouse, tradition and environment

So far, the longhouses I visited literally have no middle age people around.
This is by far the longest longhouse we visited ... almost 40 doors.
Only older folks are around...
It seems that they pass their time by looking after grandchildren, cleaning and cooking!
Traditional pounding of tapioca leaves!
Everything is handmade ...
Our ministers are trying to convince us that the logging in Sarawak is well controlled and there is hardly any logging. In recent newspaper, the finding was that Sarawak forest management is the poorest. Sad and sad.... the fact is that oil palm plantation literally flatten everything for hundreds of miles which can be seen clearly from the airplane. And look at the river! This is very serious. The erosion will soon fill the river up with silt and the whole land will be flooded.

Communal veranda - Ruai

The communal veranda - Ruai, is a place where everyone in the longhouse meets. It is a place where gathering or meeting happens. This is also a place to promote "togetherness". It has been a place for 1Malaysia years before our PM even dreams about it. Perhaps, the next initiative is for housing estate to be built in this manner!
The Ruai is a huge veranda joining all the families who stay in their own unit, each having their own access door.
It is a place for play or dance ...
... a place for lots of fun!
Also a place to sleep for visitors when the rooms inside is full. The host also stay outside with us! So, technically, a long house like this can accommodate hundreds of "sleepers".
It is also a place for singing in small group... led by Daslin here.
A place to celebrate and share meals...
... and they automatically group themselves, ie, ladies with ladies, kids with kids ...
When it comes to food, everyone helps... age does not matter anymore!
I am sure this is a good place for romance... but in this case singing praises to God!
It is also a perfect place to play game as proven by Grace! The children were so obedient and followed instruction quickly.
Oh... a perfect place for the elderly to play with their grandchildren and to chat with other longhouse folks.

(Note: To my Iban readers, please do correct me for any inaccuracies or anything you would like to add)

Mission Trip to Selangau

Over the weekend, I went to Selangau for mission trip. I took a lot of photos but no time to upload yet. You will surely see them soon...
This is a group photos of all the people we met. May God bless them all.
I hope to slowly upload the photos over the next few days.