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Here is a blog from my team mate Matt:
We’ve been in Malaysia for two weeks and it has been an awesome experience so far. Our team is on their own this month, living in the jungle with the Asli people. We sleep in the local church and live, work, and eat with pastor Hem who is one of the leaders in the village.
 Part of the village.
Our main project while we’re here is to help in the start of an “eco-village” where people from outside can come, stay, and buy local goods the Asli people grow and produce. We have cleared some land, built a bridge, and are now working on building the first of many chalets. All the materials used for the construction are from the jungle around us…the entire structure is built from wood, bamboo, and vines. It’s really interesting to see the different building techniques and how the Asli people have been building things here for generations.
I like how work here is a family event. We usually walk over to the jobsite in the mornings and as we go, many of the children follow us and play in the river and hang out while we are working. When we get there, the village women are already weaving together palm branches for what will eventually become the roof. Eventually some of them also start to make lunch for everyone. They begin by wrapping rice in leaves and then packing them into bamboo that is filled with water and then put over a fire. When meal time comes we all sit at a long table constructed of bamboo and then unwrap the rice and eat everything with our hands. One of my favorite things is being able to partake in local traditions and live the same way the locals do.
 Usually some of the girls will head back with the kids after lunch and teach them English. The kids love learning English, but it has proved to be a challenge to teach them because most have never gone to school before. Most will never go to school because there isn’t a school nearby, so they typically grow up not knowing how to read or write.
When we first got here the kids wouldn’t even come close to us and some of the young ones would even cry when we got near them. Over time though, most of them have warmed up to us and we are able to interact and play with them. We love to hang out with the kids and go swimming in the river, play frisbee, play guitar, or just chase them around the village for awhile. Another game the older guys play is something called Sepak Takraw. This game is crazy. It’s hard to describe, but you basically play on a volleyball court…except you use a harder, smaller ball…and you can only use your feet. They are even able to spike the ball, but you have to jump in the air and almost do a flip to spike it over the net. I’m not very flexible, so I tend not to be in the spiker’s position…they usually put me as the server or the setter since I cause the least amount of damage in those spots. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what I’m talking about… 
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