During training camp we were put in some situations that we
thought were just “part of our training,” not thinking that some of the
situations would ever really happen. We were wrong. Upon entering Malaysia, we
were immediately given dinner (about an hour after we had already eaten our
first dinner, might I add), complete with, “Are you still hungry?” “No, we’re
stuffed, thanks!” and then they fill our plates back up FOR US. Can I say culture
shock? Once we came to the northern part of Malaysia we were also faced with
this, but on a larger scale. Arriving at 4 in the morning by bus, we were told
to be ready for breakfast at 8:30. At breakfast we were informed that it’s the
culture here to eat everything that is served out of respect to the host. So we
ate. And we ate. And we ate some more. 1:30 rolls around and we have enough
food for lunch for not only our 7 teammates, but enough for probably 15 people
to eat a good portion. So we ate, and we ate, and we ate some more. We get a
little bit longer break to digest this time, but at 9:30 we are surrounded by
30 Malaysians, in a small house and told that guests eat first. This doesn’t
mean what it means in Alabama where the guests make their plates and then
everybody eats together. We were in the middle circle on the floor with all
eyes on us as we were expected to eat HUGE portions of fish (boiled with head
and eyeballs still there, looking up at me), sardines, spicy leafy veggies,
rice, wild boar, chicken, and a few more things I wasn’t sure of what they
actually were. Did I mention I’m not a big fan of meat? Well, we ate, and we
ate, and then we ate some more. Needless to say, we waddled home last night.
And I thought the watery rice with little fish heads in it at training camp was
bad 😉 But, by eating that much, we actually blessed our hosts. I’m going to
make a shirt….”Getting Fat For God.” haha
Another exercise we did at training camp was where some
groups of us were missionaries and some were the natives. We had to bring the
Good News to these people all while they were spitting water on our heads and
slapping our backs. It was interesting. J
BUT, today we got to do that! It was, thank the Lord, a much better experience
than the exercise at training camp. We rode out on a little bitty boat for an
hour into the jungle. We took rice, clothes, sardines, and boiled eggs to 2
villages that our contact works with. As we drove up, kids were scared and
nobody would come out of their huts for several minutes. Once they saw Pastor
Loh (our contact lady), they were a little less hesitant to join us. After 10
minutes or so, the women and children came out with babies hanging on their
backs and sarongs for clothes. We passed out the food and acted out David and
Goliath. They started to warm up to us and it was nice to show them that we
weren’t scary at all. The next village we went to greeted us more quickly. The
chief came out and told us welcome. He was afraid to say his name in
English…but it was Kevin. (Daddy, I’m sure you’ll like that one!). We again shared songs, food, skits, and
stickers and then asked them if they had anything to show us. Pastor Loh was surprised when they went and
cut down bamboo so they could do a traditional dance for us. She said she has been
coming there for 10 years and they have never done a dance for her. We felt
honored. We joined in the dance with the women and Tiffany danced with the man
that was singing. After that they talked a lot about how they were hungry
because the elephants came and destroyed their plants that gave them food. They
were afraid that the elephants might come and tear down their village like they
had recently done to a nearby village. It was great being able to give them
food, even if not much. They haven’t eaten much of anything for 2 weeks. And
this is a village of about 100 people. Food was a blessing. We were also able to pray over a 2 week old
baby because he was sick and wouldn’t nurse. They trusted us as a vessel to
bring God’s healing to this infant. We continue to be humbled! As we started to
go, the men wanted kisses on the cheek so all us girls kissed them, then Justin
ran around and kissed the women on the cheek. It was a lot of fun and an honor
to be welcomed so warmly by people who had never seen Americans.
Even with the food issue being pretty tough to swallow, God
is using us to show respect and honor to our hosts and His love through us to
the native people in the villages. We were able to bring Bible stories and food
to these people who don’t get much physical or spiritual nourishment. It’s been
a blessed time here in rural northern Malaysia. God is GOOD! J
Pictures to come.
