We had the chance to venture out into the jungle to visit a couple Orang Asli villages. When we arrived at the first village (which was a hour car ride, followed by a hour boat ride) the people were scared of us. They were also shy because they could not speak our language. They finally started coming out one by one after Pastor Loh called them. Most of the women and children came out but most of the men were out hunting for food. The people were still very shy. We were able to share songs with them and act out a Bible story. Later, we gave them food and clothes and gave the kids some stickers. When it was time to leave everyone from the village didn’t want us to leave. They just waved and waved until we were out of site.
Now, when we arrived at the other village there were two boys waiting, but when they saw that we were white they ran away. When we got to their church the chief was there to greet us. The people of this village were not as shy as the first village but still very timid to come and greet us. We did a lot of the same things from the first village. We sang songs and acted out the story of David and Goliath.
When we sat and talked to the villagers they told us that they haven’t eaten in about 2 weeks. This was because a herd of elephants came and tore up their crops and ate them. They then asked us what the best way to catch and kill an elephant was (they were obviously unaware that we don’t come from a country that has wild elephants). It’s hard to imagine that people still have to worry about things like that! After a while we asked them to do a traditional song or dance for us. At first they said they didn’t have any dances or songs but soon they relented and showed us a traditional dance and song. They eventually had all of us up and dancing to bamboo beats. Pastor Loh told us later that they’ve never done that for her in the past 10 years of ministry, so we should feel honored. It was sad to leave the village because they liked us so much and even wanted us to come back again. May God bless these people. Amen.
