Kaki Bukit Mission Trip Day 4: Hello Dannok
1. Break-first
Chea Yeong had left already by the time I woke up. After the devotion led by Yvonne, we headed out for breakfast at the stalls nearby. It was a good break from our routine and we can now take our time with breakfast. The food was cheap and tasty.
2. Sweat and Poo
Today, as planned and scheduled, we will be helping Pastor Lim to move things from the old sanctuary, where we had been sleeping for the past three nights, to the new sanctuary. There were a lot to move: tables, chairs, books, magazines, COMICS, washing machine, refrigerator and etc. We could not proceed with the moving because the lorry delayed, so we moved whatever we could outside the sanctuary.
Pastor Lim also asked the local recycling and garbage management to pick up the recyclable. All of us helped, even though none of us enjoyed the work. Although the throwing and letting the book fall back onto us was fun, but some of the books were covered with cat poo. Erm, you know cat-poo right? That stench was unbearable, and it fell on us. T.T
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| A little lunch before we leave |
After shower, we had something to eat and we were ready to move. Just as we were leaving the intersection, the delayed lorry finally came. My heart went like: Walao eh! Why you come now?! LOL, you see, I thought we could run away from the destiny of even more hard work, because this time, we moved the heavier items like the washing machine, refrigerator and cabinets. Sigh, well, I signed up to serve, then we shall serve! Eventually, I took a shower just to get dirty again.
An hour later, we were finally on our way to our next destination: Dannok, Thailand.
4. Crossing the Border
It's the Hari Raya season and we were expecting to meet a large crowd at the Padang Besar border gate. We prayed really hard because it is the church van's first voyage across the border and we hope that the immigration would allow us to go through. By the grace of God, not only did we manage to go through without trouble, there weren't much crowd that caused long waits.
We make our first stop at the Padang Besar Tesco Lotus for a short tea break. I wonder why but Swenson's Ice-cream is always Pastor Matthew's favourite dessert in Thailand. Well, I was there to hunt for some really cheap Lays potato chip. Alcohol is extremely cheap in Thailand as compared to Malaysia because of the heavy duty imposed in Malaysia. I was so tempted to buy and stash some Heineken, then Auntie Judy stopped me, saying: "Don't buy alcohol. Christians cannot drink alcohol." LOL, okay lo. (Actually, it is fine for Christians to drink alcohol but not abuse it [1 Cor 6:12, Eph 5:18], but I decided against it because I don't want to cause any brother or sister to stumble [Rom 14:20-21, 1 Cor 8:9-13].) Ai Hua was extremely delighted at the fact that Auntie Judy is my Kryptonite.
5. Meeting Pastor Aek
If I tell you to imagine how any pastor look like, then picture the exact opposite and you will get Pastor Aek. Contrary to my imagination, Pastor Aek is a very young man. He is short and petite, but his strong arms tell a different story. He looks like a man that has gone through tough laboring life but yet a shining ray of hope still rises over him.
Pastor Aek led us to a hotel. For about RM40 per night, it was a really cheap stay at the hotel. The hotel provided satisfactory facilities, where I can finally have a decent and nice shower.
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| Sunset view from the hotel |
As it was our first mission to Dannok, a foreign and strange land, it was important for us to experience the culture and demography of the local. Dannok is an uprising tourist spot in Thailand. Cheap alcohol, active foreign investment and development, strategic location near the Malaysian border contributed to the economy of Dannok. However, prostitution and vices are also the main source of income for the locals. That is why the church struggles to grow in Dannok as believers opt for jobs that pays far lower than these vices in order to live in purity.
We took our time exploring Dannok's latest Asian Cultural Village and had enormous fun.
7. Judged Too Soon
I felt a little ashamed because I was whining and complaining about Pastor Aek making us wait in the van for about two hours for dinner. Poor Pastor Aek was late because he was taking care of some business in the church and then walked all the way from church to the hotel because he didn't have his car with him. So sorry Pastor Aek!
Coincidentally, Pastor Aek brought us to VJ Villa Restaurant, which is located in the Asian Cultural Village that we just returned from. It was a great time of getting to know Pastor Aek. Pastor Aek used to work in Langkawi during his younger days, that's when he encountered Christ and was called to be a pastor. Pastor is now a father to several children and among them are children that was abandoned by their parents. According to Pastor, as prostitution is a major industry here in Dannok, many families are broken and children abandoned. God touched his heart to serve this broken community here in Dannok.
We had great and awesome food: green curry, tomyam, prawn and everything that will make you breathe and fart fire! Everything was good until the final boss: Som tam a.k.a. Thai green papaya salad. WALAO EH, I had like one small slide of that papaya and I ate half a bucket of ice. My tongue was on fire that nothing can quench! Now I'm worried about the hard times I will have when it comes out on the other end. T.T
VJ Villa Restaurant is a wonderfully design and built lake-side restaurant. So we took lots of photos.
LOL, although I was like dead tired, but I really wanted to experience the nightlife in Dannok. My dad often cross the border to Thailand, but he had never brought me along. Yik and Angela offered to bring both Yvonne and I for an experience of a lifetime: Thai Foot Massage. So fishy! Don't worry, Yik made it a point to bring us to those done by professional a.k.a. AUNTIE style massage! I was greatly disappointed, HAHAHAHA!
Nonetheless, I experienced the most exhilarating yet most painful moment of my life. As a defensive guy, no one gets to touch me the way the auntie did. It was a big compromise of my personal space. And (WALAO!) when she goes up to my thigh nearing the crotch area, I thought I would be tickled, but little did I expect an excruciating sore and a great relief after. An hour of auntie-touching-you for RM30, not bad la.
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| Thai Foot Massage |
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| Statue of Ganesha in Dannok |
On the way back to hotel, we stopped by 7-eleven to get some giant sausages as snack. Serious la, literally giant sausages. Don't think too much okay?
9. Mission = Vacation?
Over the years, I have heard objections from churches that overseas mission trip is a waste of money to send people off to vacations with church fund. Perhaps this rises from the misconception that God's Work can only be done through tough and hard work, that missionaries have to be doing Bible Studies, building orphanages, sending out aids and etc to be counted as doing God's Work. I don't blame the church for seeing so. It is often embedded in our Chinese/Asian culture that suffering is an equivalent to a good, hard work done.
But I think this is a misconception that ought to be corrected because the Kingdom of God is vastly different from what we perceive to be true. While many missionaries suffered for the Gospel, we should not limit nor equate God's Work to be sufferings. There is joy in doing God's Work, and some times, God makes His work enjoyable.
Our first evening spent in Dannok was indeed an enjoyable one, but it does not necessarily means all time and money was spent in vain. Dannok is rather a new frontier for Li Xin Baptist Church. Getting to know the people and culture there helps us to bring back the news and needs of the church in Dannok, so that the church can know what kind of partnership and support that we can give to the church in Dannok. (Just to clarify, any money spent in Asian Cultural Village and outings were from the team's own pockets.)
In this evening alone, I realised that there is a great need for powerful prayer for this land. A walk around town caused a great stir in my spirit, sensing a great spiritual warfare ongoing in Dannok. I also realised the great plans and works that God has for this place. He is preparing for his winning move and He is asking Li Xin Baptist Church to partner with Him and witness His glory in the victory.
If you are reading this, please take a moment to pray for Dannok: to thank God for a place like Dannok, to praise Him for the work He has done for Dannok and to ask Him to claim the place for His glory.
As we approach the final day of our mission, I realised a short 5-day mission has given me much in experience, joy and answers. Let's end this well!
God's Character, My Encounter.
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