A few weeks back we had one of the
coolest experiences on the race so far. We were on our way to a village
in the Malaysian jungle to share the gospel and perform some skits for
the Orang Asli, who are the original tribal inhabitants of Malaysia. It
was actually a pretty intense experience. We had just come from another
village and had driven about 45 minutes to get to the next one. It had
rained for a few hours that morning and we were trying to drive a van
full of 11 people to the top of a very steep, very muddy hill. After
gaining a lot of momentum our driver shot up the hill with the tail of
the van swinging left and right and finally we slowed to a halt about ¾
of the way up. We knew there was no way to make it over so the plan was
to just go back the way we had come. The challenge was backing down the
muddy hill without the van falling over the edge, which we came close to
a few times. Good thing God still has lots of plans for us on this
trip.
We made it down and couldn’t get to any other villages that day so we
were going to head up to Cameron Highlands, but needed a palace to
spend the night. Our driver was a pastor to the Orang Asli so as we
drove he stopped at a few huts along the road and finally we pulled up
to a large hut and he got out and spoke with the people who lived there.
Then he told us we could get out and bring our stuff, we’d be spending
the night here. As we stepped inside the floorboards creaked and bent
and we were sure that one wrong step would put our foot through the
floor and ruin this family’s home. The pastor told us there would be a
church gathering here that night and we would be sharing our testimonies
and skit with the people who came from other villages. As people were
arriving out contact spoke with the owners of the home and learned that
the house was actually a meeting place and had originally been built as
the very first church to the Orang Asli. Missionaries had come in and
helped to build the structure using the methods the locals used for
their own homes and the place had been dedicated as a place to worship
God.
That night we worshiped in the dark with a candle burning in the
middle of the room by a bible on the floor. The Orang Asli sang in two
different languages for about an hour and the sound was beautiful. We
recognized a few of the songs and were able to join in English and then
we played a few songs in English for them. Later, we performed a skit of
the passion of Christ and shared testimonies and scripture.
It was an amazing experience in the middle of nowhere and being there
in that hut surrounded by these beautiful people accentuated a lesson
that is easily learned on the World Race. You don’t need much to thrive
in the life God gave you. It’s easier to live light. Because it’s not
our stuff that gives us value, but the fact that we are “living light”
as Christ shines through us. We don’t have much other than our
backpacks, they don’t have much beyond their hut, but fulfillment is
easily found as we encourage each other and let God draw us into
relationship with Him and His people.
