(With Team Habibi and Pastor Hem, wearing my Sunday best!!)
We just finished our second week in the jungles of Malaysia, which has left me feeling more and more like Tarzan, literally swinging from vines, playing in the rivers, and eating more strange foods. One particular day, sand was needed for the construction project we were working on, so Pastor Hem asked us to go down to the river to gather some. The way in which he asked Ryan (my team leader) and I made it seem like it would be a quick trip…this did not turn out to be the case. We made it to the river just in time to watch some of the locals drive the tractor into the river. Very quickly the tractor was stuck in the “quicksand” type mud and the fight to free the tractor, which is a big part of their livelihood, began as several people joined in.
(Trying to free the tractor haha!)
In the meantime, some of the local kids and our translator wanted to show us the “baby bear” that one of the families had as a pet. We walked over to a hut surrounded by about 30 half-naked jungle kids banging on and poking at a house with a bear inside. In my mind, this was not a good idea, and as I peaked inside the house, I saw a naked 6-year old girl running towards me, being followed, actually chased by a small bear. The bear proceeded to break through the wall in the hut and take off into the depths of the jungle, scaring us terribly, but probably one of the funniest moments of my life.
Thinking the day couldn’t get any stranger; we walked over to a group of men huddled around a dead monkey. Apparently their dog had spotted it and decided to attack it. For the next 45 minutes Ryan and I proceeded to partake in the skinning and gutting and cooking of this monkey, using dead trees to create a fire and bamboo leaves for plates. While biting into the monkey, the reality of the barbaric life I was surrounded by really hit me. I was half repulsed (because of the massacre that just took place), while at the same time so appreciative of the opportunity to enjoy my first jungle bbq, eating who knows what part of the monkey!
(The monkey the dogs attacked..this is the least disgusting picture I have!)
I miss you all so much and hope you are enjoying the blog. Please take a look at a video I created below, which shows some of our experiences from the Philippines and Malaysia. My video creating skills are improving slowly so please bear with me!!!
