Alright, here is the last installment of short jungle stories.
Please also enjoy the fun pictures of the children that all have the mowgli spirit.
A Chief and Children (day 101)
During our last week in the jungle, we made a special effort to go down to the village every night to hang with the children while the men played sepak takrow. We also went down to visit some of the families, even though we didn’t have a translator. There was quite a bit of sickness among the young boys and older men so we spent time praying for them. As soon as we made the universal sign for prayer, people would start bringing others to come get prayed over. One night, the girls on my team visited the chief of this village. He had been sick and his wife had as well, so we sat in their home and attempted to talk with them, read scripture that we had written out for them and pray for both of them. The thing I love about the Malaysian jungle is that you never know where people live because everyone is always outside or in and out of everyone else’s home. As we sat in the chief’s house, 20 kids joined us. They gave us hot milk tea (which is amazing even though it was 105 degrees!) and held our hands. It was cool to be so easily accepted into a chief’s home and be able to sit with him. We learned a valuable lesson about appreciating someone’s presence because we couldn’t communicate.
The Jungle Manicure (day 102)
Our last full day in the jungle and we wanted to do something special for the two women that had served us the most during our time there. Pastor Hem’s wife and daughter were constantly cooking for us or providing hot coffee and tea (seriously loved this part…). And they served with smiles on their faces constantly. Once again, communication being a barrier, the amazing girls on my team decided to spend the afternoon showing them how much we appreciated what they had done. And really, what better way than to provide a manicure for both. Christine gave them both incredible back massages. Emily used her skills to massage their hands and Brook faithfully painted their fingernails. I painted the little girls’ fingernails and held the newborn baby while all this was going on. It was a great opportunity to do something just for them and we had a great time being with them and spending the afternoon with them as well.
Christine is not a Killer (day 102)
In preparation for our “leaving the jungle going away lunch” the next day, some of the men from a neighboring village came to Pastor Hem’s to kill 5 chickens. Ever since we arrived in the jungle, my teammate Christine has not stopped talking about how cute the chickens are. This doesn’t stop her from eating just as much as our two boys during meals though. We were outside the church while they were killing the chickens and Pastor Hem pointed at Christine to kill the next one with a machete. She jumped at the chance, but was still a little nervous, so I told her I’d cut the neck with her, both of us holding the machete. Pastor Hem’s son Riffin held the chicken while we started to cut the head but as soon as the chicken moved, Christine started pulling the knife away, closed her eyes and yelled out as loud as she could, “I’M SORRY CHICKEN!” Riffin had to finish the chicken off for us because as it turns out, Christine is not a killer, especially of her beloved chickens in the jungle she had chased out of the church so many times. It still didn’t stop her from fully enjoying the next day’s grand lunch feast. Oh Christine.
PS – What’s a Shower?
I think I knew before entering the jungle that showers weren’t really going to be an option. So my new record is three weeks without a real shower and three weeks without washing my hair. I did dip in the river several times and take a quick bucket shower, but my team was really thrilled when we finally arrived in Kuala Lumpur and I finally took a shower. This is the World Race.
