Mission Trip

This post was written quite some time ago... I delayed in posting it because my dear hubby wanted to publish it in the church magazine.  Wives, you ought to submit to your husband, right?  :p  Well, as my faithful blog followers, you are rewarded with the editor's version (i.e. the 'bonus' paragraphs are highlighted in red).

Wesley Melaka has recently adopted an Orang Asli village, Kampung Inoi as part of their missions project.  The church is partnering with Pastor Joseph from Jasin.

The first mission trip was launched December last year.  Both pastors, the mission chairman, and a few members of the church visited Kampung Inoi and stayed overnight at another village, Kampung Ridan.  This visit opened doors for us to reach out beyond the four corners of the local church.

On 14th March, a second mission trip was organised.  Tengkera 3 DG was invited to participate with a special hair-cut service for the Orang Asli.  Well, who else are more qualified than our very own hair stylists, Cornelius and Irene.

Honestly, I was not keen to join the mission trip when my DG decided to participate.  Two reasons: First, my boy is a bit too young to go for such a trip. I do not want to go all the way there just to take care of them instead of meeting others' needs; secondly, the poor sanitary system put me off.  Basically, there's NO TOILET at all!

However, when hubby and I mentioned this mission trip to our daughter, she was very enthusiatic.   We then decided to bring her along for an eye-opener experience.  Our intention is that she may get a glimpse of how the other part of the world is living.  Now, how about my boy?  Well, God's timing is always perfect!  My mom paid us a visit that week, and so Erwyn was under her care with the help of my father-in-law.

We left for Muadzam Shah as early as 8am.  There were altogether 10 adults and 4 children squeezed into two four-wheels and one Exora, with loads of food packed for the villagers.  After a 3 hours' drive, we finally reached Muadzam Shah and met up with Pastor Joseph.  We stopped by at one grocery shop to purchase more food to bring in to the villagers before proceeding to a mamak stall for lunch.  This would be our final toilet break.

The journey into the village took another 40 minutes with half of it driving on dirt road.  We parked the Exora at Kampung Ridan as it could not withstand the journey into Kampung Inoi.  Pastor Joseph drove a Kembara and an aditional two vans carried all the goods, ie rice, oil, instant noodles, biscuits, etc.

We had quite a bumpy ride but thank God for a sunny day as the road could become quite muddy when it rains.  The Orang Asli village is located deep inside a plantation.  Their livelihood depends on rubber tapping, fishing and some of them left home to pursue a better life in the city.  They live a simple life with no TV or any form of entertainment.  Many women are married and have children as young as 14.

The pastor showed us the kindergarten which was sponsored by Wesley Melaka.  It was still under construction but the main structure has been completed.  It is expected to be fully functional by the end of the month. This piece of land was donated by one of the locals there.

One of their biggest problem is the water supply.  The government has built several water tanks but it is all empty.  The reason being, due to the distance and weak pressure, water is unable to reach the tanks in the village.  So the villages are dependent on wells.  This has been going on for years. 

We proceeded to the church for their weekly service.  The church is just planks of wood with no fans, needless to say air-cond.  The weather was humid and warm, yet their heart for the Lord is warmer.  Some of them had to walk for 30 minutes to attend service.  This, however, did not hinder them from worshipping God.

It is indeed a miracle for this precious people to come to know the Lord.  The story was told of how the church started.  One of the villagers was sick and had gone for medical check-ups, one after another, yet with no improvement.  One day he asked to be prayed for and was instantly healed in Jesus' name.  His testimony was so powerful and convincing that several families accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.  Does this sound like what happened in the book of Acts?  It certainly is!  Our God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Amen.

Such conversions usually cause uneasiness amongst some "outsiders".  In another village a huge sum of money was offered to the Ketua Kampung if he would deny Christ.  It may not seem a lot to many of us, but for the Orang Asli, the amount was enough to last a lifetime.  It is tempting as they have been living in poverty for many generations.  Praise God that he remained faithful.  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.  (James 1:12)

Our hair-cutting service started right after the church service.  Cornelius, Irene and Karen were given the honor (and hard work) to trim those locks; whereas Jerry was assigned the task of treating lice.  As for the rest of us, a factory production line was formed: One got ready the plastic bag, another place a packet of oil in the bag, yet another put in two packets of biscuits... etc.  This was so much easier compared to the 'jungle saloon'.  In less than half an hour, the production line has completed its job.

A namelist was prepared with all the names of the head of the families of the entire village.  Each family was given a packet of rice with 2 plastic bags of goods.  Pastor Andrew distributed it to them one by one.  However, there were some who were absent due to various reasons.  The remaining goods were kept by a trusted church member, to hand over to the rest of the families.

Later, we found out that the government also delivered some goods to the people.  However, the goverment only gave a packet of rice to be shared among a few families.  The church instead, gave one bag of rice to each family.  The generosity of the church was a good witness to the villagers.  We pray that this would plant a seed in them and in the near future, they too, will come to the saving knowledge of Christ.

The children were also given a handful of sweets and goodies.  Most of them were very shy.  They do not interact with us much.

When the 'jungle saloon' finally completed their God-given task, Pastor Andrew took us further deep into the village to discover the simple life that these Orang Asli have been living all these while.

After the tour, we came back to the church compound  only to find a big feast has been prepared in honor of us.  A few of us ate a mouthful.  The presentation of the food may not be apetizing but their generous hearts have touched us deeply.

As the sun began to set we started our journey home. We were exhausted, but for most of us, seeing the poorer side of Malaysians helps us to appreciate the many blessings that God has given us.  No, we are no heroes.  We were just there to help, to share and to bless.


* My DG leader made a video presentation of the trip.  It included pictures and interviews with a few of us.  It was presented during the Missions Sunday.  My boy was so upset when he saw the video in church.  He asked, "Why I didn't go?  When I can go? Why Jie Jie go but I didn't?"  I have since changed my mind that I should have brought him along.  Age is never an obstacle in reaching out to others.  As a mom, I am concerned of the well-being of my children.  Stricking a balance is never easy, and I pray that God will give me the wisdom to handle.

p/s: All photos are courtesy of Karen, wife of the Missions Chairman.