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| Car laden with food provisions not money bags.... |
I must admit that it has been a long
time since I was involved in any mission trip. The last mission trip was immensely heart-warming, good and left a lasting impression to my
little heart. The lovely OA community there tugged at my heart and made me
realised how fortunate I had been all these years and how humble they were. It
made me humbled in so many ways and a better person, I guess. So, the
opportunity for another mission trip was certainly a welcome soul nourisher. I just
never imagine that it would be a really inspiring, humbling and a great
nourisher to the soul experience. I am thankful for the opportunity to be of
service once again and meeting up with so many wonderful people in the OA
community and also the people in the mission team.
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| The wonderful mission team |
I must admit that when I first heard
the announcement that CCC Melaka would be working hand in hand with Capt Edwin
Sim and his wife Sis.Lorna to support the OA community links for CCC Food Drive
program, I was still contemplating whether to make a trip like this or not.
Like I said, I ain’t no spring chicken and creaks plus tweaks in the bones does
sound louder and crispier each time but somehow, the feeling for this one is
different. I know, I know, “the heart is willing but the flesh is weak” quips
does get to you from time to time, right? Somehow, I felt a different stirring
inside and when that happens, it is usually for a good cause and I joined
in. I am also aware of my own volatile
vocal thoughts and speech including my own shortcomings but somehow, I do love
the Lord, I do love the outdoors, going back with the nature and loving the OA
community in my own special way. That swayed my decision.
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| Our respected guide, Capt.Edwin Sim, Sis.Lorna and son, Ethan |
So, as days goes by and with loads of
work to finish at the office, I was really contemplating whether I am ready to
shoulder the responsibility given and all that. Yes, I do questioned myself if
I could help the team in any way I could. Finally two weeks before the trip, I
signed up and I met up with Capt.Edwin Sim & Sis.Lorna, the dynamic &
wonderful duo, in helping out the OA community. I must say, it has been a
tremendous honour and privilege to be able to speak with them, shared their
passion and ideas including their friendship and easy going ways. I am really
amazed by such deep passion and commitment on their part which included their
entire family in such a cause. I am truly and deeply humbled by what they have
done, the passion to reach out and all they had gone through over the years
helping out the OA community; moving on during tough times and pressing on
despite difficulties and all alone in their quest at times. Such dedication, commitment and passion are
indeed rare these days and I have nothing but pure awe and respect for this
wonderful couple.
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| Journey.... |
We started out as early at 7.30am on
Saturday, 23/1/2016 and after a quick headcount and prayers, we were off. It was a tremendous feeling of satisfaction as I see
basic daily provisions and love from the people who had contributed to this
cause are on the 6 m/cars and a lorry. My heart cried out for joy as I know
these provisions would go to the needy and in the hands of my fellow brothers
and sisters in Christ.
As I drove my team namely Joel,
Shirley, Alex and J-Cyn ( there were 7 cars in a convoy and I was in the middle
– the cars where laden with essential foodstuff and not money or bags of cash
as claimed by some moronic leaders of our country! ) through the trunk roads
leading the intended OA community, my heart was filled with gladness and
thankfulness for the pioneering spirit of Capt.Edwin Sim & his family. They
have done these acts of selflessness, good deeds and providing essential daily
foodstuff for the OA community for the past 11 years! Such was the love of this
couple to the people. What a spirit, really! People like the Panatua and the other people I meet in the OA settlement gave glowing tribute to
this wonderful couple.
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| River fun... |
Their easy going way, friendly, ever smiling and good-heartedness had touched more lives than they will ever know. I am glad just to
be on this journey with them and with the CCC mission team lead by Bro.Fook
Meng. The CCC team comprises of a mixture of young and old but nevertheless
efficiently and effectively carrying out our duties. There were the building
team, the medical team, the children Sunday school team, food distribution
team, music team, message team and drivers pool. It was good to see everyone
working together for a good cause.
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| River fun.. |
I must add that in my 19 years of work
travelling through the highways, byways, trunk roads, plantation roads, red
earth road and sometimes difficult terrains, the journey to these places were
truly challenging but made easier and accessible through the haphazardly built
asphalt roads. I really could imagine roads those days when Capt Edwin Sim and
his family first started out. Really salute them for roughing it out there!
What a pioneering spirit – thank you for that invaluable lesson of pioneering!
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| Sis.Lorna, Ethan, J-Cyn,Jenny,Sophia Joy & Joo Li.... |
Anyway, I was assigned to the building
team a.k.a the jamban team. We had a
good laugh about it but the job needed to be done and it was done. Johnson, Dau
Lim, Zachary, Uncle Thomas and myself made up the jamban team. What riot did we make! It was a light-hearted, full of
joy & laughter including happy working bunch of bananas! Though our working
condition is like a hole dug to accommodate our eventual lying place on the
ground, it was hilarious working spirit that helped us complete our task. We
were focused on our task to provide the very best we could though we ain’t no
engineer nor specialist but we each have a heart to serve our Father above the
best that we could. I must admit that I was really encouraged by my jamban team members who are fun filled
people and the best part, we got the job done nicely. Though the physical body
was pained, tired and exhausted by the back breaking work, it was worth every
sweat broken and every energy spent in that wonderful pit.
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| The jamban team members - Johnson, Dau Lim, Zachary, Thomas and myself. |
Stopping for breather once in a while,
it was heart-warming and joy in my heart seeing the essential food stuff being
given out to help the families who are in dire need of them. I do know a thing or two of how it felt to go
to bed on an empty stomach when times are difficult. It was a life I once felt
before but never with a grudge but hope for a better tomorrow. So, I am so glad
that we can be a part of the team to help out in every way we could by giving
out the essential provisions, spiritual togetherness in the love for Jesus and
caring for one another despite our geographical differences. No families were
missed and all that required assistance were given one. No obligations, no buts and no questions asked - If there was a need in that family, they would get the food provision bag without an aorta of hesitation or apprehension. I guess, the joy of
being able to give and to be a part of that blessing was just fantastic.
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| Baung in nice kicap sauce....Yuuuummmmmmmyyy! |
The Praise & Worship session,
testimonies, youth service, children church service and finally, the sermon
preached were beautiful, apt and tender. To stand up there and to speak a
message or to give a testimony can be quite daunting at times but to speak in
BM doubled up the daunting task but Hepzibah Ho, Gilbert, Shirley Kwon, Loreen,
Capt Edwin, Aaron Liu and Bro.Wong Fook Meng made it all sound good. All the while,
Daniel Teo and Robin together with the young people were out on their rounds
handing out the goodies of provisions with the local leaders. It is a real joy
seeing the younger people passionately moving about and doing their best for
the Lord!
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| The tasty and lovely wild boar fare....yum yum yum... |
I also managed to meet up with Pst.One (not his real name for safety reasons - for you may never know who & when the envious, devious and the fanatics including parang wielding thugs will retaliate ! It is serious people, serious! ) and his wife, Sis.Two ( not her real name either for safety reasons ) who had diligently and
passionately served amongst the OA community for the past 11 years. In fact,for
many years Capt Edwin had been working along side Pst.One and another leader, Pst. Three ( not his real name - for safety reasons ) in serving various OA communities diligently. I am even more thankful knowing
that where Pst.One & Sis.Two were from and it was good to connect with
them. The ever smiling, Sis.Two helped made the fishes ( baung, sebarau and lampan Jawa ) I caught tasted so much better through the banana leaf
wrapping which she recognised immediately as our won shared way. I felt very blessed
indeed. Felt so at home with the open
fire pit to the shelter of the night right through the river ways. What a blessing indeed! I felt right at
home…….actually…..
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| My midnight fishing crew.....Johnson, Dau Lim & myself |
Another blessing which I felt worth
mentioning was spending time at the river. Against the backdrop of a beautiful
secondary jungle setting and mountainous view, slight breeze and rustling
cooling waters, it was a welcome sight and sound when the jamban team arrived later at our intended shelter for the night.
The rest of the team members had moved on earlier to Kg.Two as
the jamban team had to finish up work
at Kg.One that day.
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| Hep and her boyz, Aaron, Joel & Alex.... |
With one of the elder in our car,
Johnson, Uncle Thomas and myself had a riot of a time with him. We laughed,
joked and there was even time for seriousness as we spoke of the plight of the
OA community. The lines on his face, the roughness of his hands, visible scars
and the deep tanned skin does show a seasoned man in his element of
persecution, difficulties and harshness of life. I can’t imagine the
difficulties and persecutions they had to go through daily especially with the local
authorities and some of the hostile locals. My heart bled that day as we spoke
to the elder of the persecution, cruelty and of the atrocities carried out
on the OA Christian community. But I marvelled at their tenacity, patience and
endurance to put firmly their faith in the Christ Jesus. I am really humbled by
the experience and I know, God is a miracle working God and all Glory to Him!
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| Fun loving young women, J-Cyn & Loreen...... |
Upon arrival at Kg.Two, the sound
of the river awakened my soul immediately. I immediately went for a dip as that
was the most logical thing to do after sweating it out at the pit and you
wouldn’t want anyone to smell your “aroma” at that time!! The water massage
through the fast flowing water was the simple luxury at that beautiful place.
What a great rest indeed! I felt at home and I shouted out loud in my heart,”I
am at home, Lord!” I could have caught 40 winks had it not been the water
splashing by the playful mission team members. Young and old alike enjoyed the time
out there in the river. Dark clouds started to gather successfully signalling
the imminent heavy down and we had to get ourselves out of the waters. I wished
I could spent more hours there and I eventually did something which was
unthinkable for a 51 year old bloke!
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| Simple fishes for breakfast.... |
At about 12.00 midnight and as I was
still very much awake, I laid out the fishing net I brought for night fishing
together with Johnson & Dau Lim hoping that we would catch some tasty fishes for breakfast tomorrow morning. I tell you, some of the team members were
pleasantly horrified and there were genuinely concerned people about doing such a
thing. in the middle of the night. With a mischievous tint in my eyes, I told myself that I am
here on God’s mission and to enjoy myself – If I get to see my Lord earlier than I should, it would
have been a perfect gift for me. If not, I would have some pretty nice size
fishes for breakfast! Well, I guess, I could actually scare some people or make
people uncomfortable when I do spontaneous things like that. To me, how often
does a city dweller like me get an opportunity to do things like this which is
dear to my heart as a young child then? I guess, the opportunity to re-live
that day and enjoying it was just simply too much for me to resist!
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| Hardworking fella, Daniel Teo..... |
Sleep was hard to come by as the body
exhausted itself of its energy not because of the place of shelter which I would consider a very good shelter for rest, actually. I woke up early that morning
and enjoyed the morning breeze as Capt Edwin told me that the mornings are
marvelous times. The crisp, dew filled and clean fresh air filled my lungs
that lovely morning. It was such a change and such a clean feeling. The lovely
environment together with the great morning breeze helped in some many ways to
beautify the surrounding landscape and perked up that early morning. The
thought comes to my mind, “ Why should anyone in their sane mind wants to
deprive/take over/robbed or even drive the OA community off their lands and
space? “ The answer is a simple one – PURE GREED, WICKED & CORRUPTED
HEARTS! Big bullies - only in numbers that you are daring enough to do such nonsense!
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| Two young lovebirds, Robin & Jaclyn... |
Anyway, I must be honest to admit that
I was praying very hard to the Lord for the baung
fish and when I saw a baung in the
net, I was ecstatic indeed. Then when a sebarau fish appeared together with a lampan Jawa, I was more than happy. I am thankful to the Lord for
providing to the wishes of an old bloke like me. What a great feeling inside!
Now, everyone could have a small sample of what nature could provide if we
truly maintain the beauty and eco-balance of Mother Nature. My heartfelt thanks
to Johnson and Dau Lim ( OMG, he was shirtless some more! My hero,man! ) for being crazy enough to join me for the midnight,
early morning and mid-day fish netting activity.
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| Ever creative, Joo Li & daughter Sophia Joy |
Truly I am an outdoor person
and it was good to ignite those feelings again as it had been ages since I have
been with Nature. Love that feeling a lot…..miss it too…perhaps missed it too
much. Now, cham liao, it was difficult to answer to SLing what I was doing on a mission trip like this when I should be doing something else! Sure kena query kau-kau! Hahahahahahaaaaaaa...........
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| Johnson,Thomas,Dau Lim, Alex & Gilbert..... |
I guess, my personal most satisfied
feeling was getting everyone that was around to taste the fishes. To me, that’s
God’s creation and how good it is to sample the very simple things of life out
here. We take so much for granted each day and yet the simple things in life
such as these fishes were overlooked for other luxuries but out here in the
woods, it is the simple that is best. To see smiling, amazed and lighted up
faces made it all such a worthwhile feeling. I am thankful to the Lord for
providing the fishes that morning and together with Sis.Two's wonderful fish
steaming skills. By the way, the wild boar cooked in kicap sauce made by Sis.Two, her daughters and other womenfolk, BEST
IN THE WORLD!!! Double thumbs up!
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| Gentle giant, Zachary.... |
I am truly blessed by being a part of
this team and I am blessed that somehow, all the dots of links, contacts,
occurrences, conversations, meetings, services and good will somehow be connected
in one way or another. That is God’s link and server, I guess. The congregation
at both the kampongs were not only courteous, respectful and warm, but happy as
well. The medical team were there to administer whatever they could for the
good of the people and it was their first experience serving the OA community. I
could see that the young people were truly inspired and full of zeal serving
the cause. I guess, simplicity is their way of life and a great reminder to
urbanites like us to continuously thank our blessings, be grateful and help out
in whatever way we could.
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| Yeah, we complete it.....the jamban team... |
Lastly, all these inroads and
opportunity to contribute, serve and be of service are made possible for people
like me and the team because of one man’s passion, Capt Edwin Sim, alongside
with his equally loving & courageous wife, Sis.Lorna and his children, Charmain, Lara and Ethan who
believed firmly in what they were doing and working alongside our Father in
Heaven to fulfill the Word of the Lord , “ If you love me, feed my lambs.”. They
did not literally just fed the people - their hearts, their zeal, their
countenance of love, compassion, mercy and grace lighted up the entire
community horizon bridging man to God and changing the spiritual landscape of
the indigenous people of our nation; one person at a time, one family at a time, one village at a
time and one tribe at a time. No trickery, no promises of lucrative deals,no usage of cash incentives, no
arms twisting with rough house tactics, no intimidation with use of violence,
no robbing of lands and what not. Just the bearing of a simple heart of God,
sacrifice and trusting God for the right thing to do. Compassion equals
passion.
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| Beautiful rays from the sun ....approval from the One above....... |
We can all do something for the OA
community – you and me. We need to stand
up and offer any help we can to ensure that they do not get oppressed,
suppressed and neglected just because they seemed different from us. In fact,
they are not different from us. They are our brothers, our sisters and our
friends living in this land just like you and me. Trying to eke out a living
and trying to bring up their families to live in their own special ways. They too deserved to have a life of their
own, see their children grow up, be successful and eke out a life they can call their own. Lest not allow people to steal their lands all for name sake of developments
or trickery by the use of money or even robbed their lands for namesake of
agricultural cultivation. I pray that justice will prevail for the OA community
and God’s restoration & favour upon their lives. Let us not just throw a
fistful of ringgit and allow others to do our work. We all can contribute more
than that fistful of ringgit because God had enabled each and everyone of us.
The talents granted to us have been enormous. It is not about money or an
excuse to give when you have a surplus in your church, your bank account, your storehouses or your coffers. It is about
reaching out to lives, giving from the heart and caring like Jesus does.
I constantly reminded of this
quotation and I leave this quote to your heart :
“When you have no helpers, see your helpers
in God. When you have many helpers, see God in all your helpers. When you have
nothing but God, see all in God. When you have everything, see God in
everything. Under all conditions, stay thy heart only to the Lord.” – Charles
Spurgeon
** This article is specially dedicated to Capt Edwin Sim, Sis.Lorna & their children **
