Mission Trip to Gerik Day 1: Back in Action

I feel fresh at 9:30am even though I head to bed at about 3am this morning. I am excited. The thought of meeting new people and bringing the good news about Him keeps me up. Getting my personal stuffs ready seems so routine, I guess I'm so getting the hang of it.

The Mission Team (from top left): Xuan
Zhi, Joanna, Michelle, Yuan Zhang,
Yuan Ming, JJ, Shirleyuen and Joash

We gathered a little later than we planned. Well, Malaysian timing is really something we need to change. But forgive us, some of us had classes prior to departure. Not me though, I'm free as a bird and lazy as a sloth this semester. 

Our President, Benjamin, along with Vice President Wei Huai, ex-President Jason and Sok Yeng, came and send us off with a prayer. With an Amen, thus, we embarked on an amazing journey to Gerik. The road was not exactly nice to drive on and the fully loaded car is a little too crammed, but the music, scenery and the strange small towns made this journey a rather wonderful one. The journey took us through a familiar road. It was the highway that leads us through Lenggong, Perak (a place where CF did several missions) northward.

Gerik Police Headquarters with Ps. Fendi on a Scrambler

Two hours later, the sight of Gerik Police Headquarters let us know that we had arrived. We were welcomed by Pastor Fendi on a cool mountain motorbike. I had imagined Pastor Fendi to be taller and skinnier but his cartoon outlook somehow gives me a surprising sense of confidence.

Ps. Fendi briefing us on the plans

Upon our arrival at Gerik Baptist Church (Gereja Baptis Gerik), Pastor did not waste any time to brief us of activities to come. We had to change most of our plans because of Good Friday and Easter. Today we were told to just relax and mingle around with the church members tonight.

There is a stark difference between Pastor Loh and Pastor Fendi's style. In our previous missions with Pastor Loh, we loaded our cars with supplies and food. But with Pastor Fendi, he refuses large supplies of food. His idea of ministry to the Orang Asli is to empower them to seek God. And the luxury of material abundance can become a hindrance to them. Instead, he asked for a humble amount of tea, sugar, milk and rice for the village. And he asked for tools such as cement, parang and gunny bag to help to rebuild the village after the flood.

For the next two days we will be visiting these villages, but instead of doing things for them, we will go mostly as visitors and as friends: to eat with them, to worship with them and to celebrate with them the resurrection of Jesus. As we heard, the pond that the previous team constructed was destroyed by the flood in the recent months. We don't know how bad though. We'll find out tomorrow I guess. Oh, did I mention that I'm preaching this Sunday. Yup, and it shall be in Bahasa Malaysia. I'm glad Xuan Zhi volunteered to share her testimony. It's her first mission trip despite being only 9 months old in Christ. I'm very excited to see her grew so rapidly!

Buying supplies for the mission and the visits

I was assigned to go for shopping with JJ and Michelle. Michelle was assigned to be the trip's treasurer, so any activity that involves spending money, involves her. We spent about RM600 for groceries, equipments and building material. One interesting thing about today is that today marks the 3rd day of the implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST) throughout our nation today. Though we were expecting to purchase things at a higher price, we were blessed with 10 parangs without GST. Instead of paying RM25 each, we paid RM20 each because the store keeper was still in the process of keying in the quotations. She generously spared us the RM5 because it will go back to the tax either way.

The night continued with the Good Friday service. A few young men came early for worship practice, so I approached and interested them with the Ukulele. We played and learned together. To my surprise, they picked up the Ukulele in just 30min. I took half a year to do that! Anyway, to my bigger surprise, my new 20-year-old friend Azmi, IS A PASTOR! He is currently serving in his own village under the discipleship of Pastor Ahmad. They were here for a retreat.

Joanna getting close with Kika

A stark difference between an Orang Asli church and a Chinese-majority church: half of the congregation are kids! This is rather strange for me because the church I'm used to have average about 2 kids per family, but this is like at least 5 per family! Pastor remarked another half of the kids are not here today. Yuan Zhang couldn't stand on his feet as he imagine the mess he is going to handle this coming Sunday.

The service was a great reminder for us that Christ was despised and nailed on the cross for our sins. It also reminded me the reason I do what I do: to tell people that Christ died for them too! The service ended with pot bless supper. It was a feast! I really enjoy the rather exotic range of food. Aside from the mandatory fried rice and noodles, there were some aromatic, tasty and rare dishes that I know not the name.

I finally met this guy named Fes that JJ kept yapping about. He has a great command of English and display great confidence. He had just complete his SPM and is now seeking for further studies. He is considering Chemical Engineering but engineering is something of a stranger to him and he has some concerns and fear. JJ did a great job helping him to explore alternatives and seeking a clearer direction. I see great potential in Fes. And I have also notice that JJ is particularly natural around youth and young adults. Hmm, I wonder what that means though.

I picked up a topic with Pastor Fendi and Pastor Ahmad. I see a great passion in Pastor Fendi. He displays a enthusiasm that I had been wanting to see in Orang Asli mission. His vision for discipleship and multiplication is amazing. He described his ministry of discipling believers in one village, who will then work with him in establishing a church in that village. When things are running steadily, he repeats the same process in the next village while his disciples do the same. It was inspiring and exciting for me simply as a listener. Pastor challenged me to go beyond Kampung Kendak and Lawin with him. He smirked as he remarked that these two villages are like introductory level. He asked if I want to have tougher challenge in mission. Oh whao that really pumped me up!

We ended the night with a time of devotion. GBG gave me a different picture of what I expected it to be. It's not so bad after all. For Shirleyuen and Joanna, this is a luxury compared to what they had imagined. The night is cold in Gerik. Afterall, it is situated at a much higher sea level. I'm glad we have a roof over our head, I don't want to be watching stars tonight. Haha! Hmm, should I tell the team that the water from the water dispenser was taken directly from the pipe? Nope, let's keep it a secret for now, lest they freak out.

Groupies with hats

What's gonna happen tomorrow? I am excited!

God's Character, My Encounter.