We had an amazing month in Malaysia. We spent most of our time deep in the jungle. The pictures below should give you a good idea of what we experienced in Malaysia.
Upon arrival to Gua Masang, Malaysia (the closest town to our ministry site), we boarded onto a four wheel drive vehicle and headed into the jungle. Our ministry was located at a Palm Oil Plantation. Now let me stop for a minute…
Plantation brings to mind huge, white columns and belles in hoop skirts. Let me clarify. Our accomodations were bare bones concrete and wood. Rats and leeches were our companions. We joked that the rats were the closest thing we got to Santa this Christmas. If we left out cookies they would eat them. In return, they would leave us little black presents all over the house. That being said, we absolutely loved the simplicity and beauty of the jungle.
What is a Palm Oil Plantation you may ask? Palm Oil Plantations grow…palm trees. The palm trees grow a fruit that is used in everything from cooking oil to cosmetics.
Our contact was not a pastor, but instead has been called by God to use his position in the community to support numerous ministries around the area. Our contact and his wife also house mission and pastorial teams that come to Gua Masang to minister. Essentially, they are responsible for being the catalyst behind multiple ministries in the community.
As part of our ministry on the plantation, we fertilized the trees. This was an interesting adventure. With king cobras living on the plantation, tramping through the dense undergrowth caused a little apprehension (as in I was worried about needing new underwear a few times when rats would jump right under my feet).
As a side note…we learned a scary fact about the local wild life. We always thought that leeches were water creatures. While on land we thought we were safe and sound from those creepy little vampires. HOWEVER, we soon discovered (as verified by Wikipedia…and the massive blood loss we were experiencing) that certain species of leeches are happy to live on land. We discovered this fact early and often while at the plantation. All of us constantly pulled leeches off of ourselves.
(It is hard to see, but I had just pulled 5 leeches off my ankle)
Another large portion of our ministry at the plantation was to build a new shed over the plantation's water pump. All material was second hand and we found construction to be very interesting when you are translating with your local helpers in sign language, smiles and nods.
Half of our time was spent on the plantation, but the other half was helping out the local churches. We were responsible for planning a Christmas Eve dinner for the community. This party included us making American food and singing Christmas songs (including songs like, “Silent Night,” “Rudolph,” “Home, Home on the Range,” and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”…long story)
(Yes…that is chicken feet…for Christmas dinner)
Our first true Christmas celebration was at a tiny church up in the jungle. Christmas for these children included songs, a sermon and food. We got to hand out food to the most excited children I have ever seen at Christmas. The preacher prayed for the food and thanked the hunters. I thought I misunderstood and asked after the prayer what he meant. Literally, we were eating wild boar that had been killed by the hunters in the village. Nothing says Merry Christmas like a fresh kill!!
Instead of being home with our families, we spent Christmas morning with 150+ children. We performed the Nativity story for the kids and then spent the rest of the morning playing with them and handing out goodie bags.
Finally for our ministry, we spent a lot of our time helping out with local church services. We sang songs, led worship and I was given the opportunity to preach. It was the second time I have preached through a translator and this time it was much easier.
Overall, we had an unbelievable month filled with spreading the gospel during the Christmas season. Malaysia is a closed country and we did a lot more things that we will have to tell you about in person. For the safety of everybody involved in Gua Masang, we have left some of our month out of the blog. Sorry that we can't share everything, but will be glad to tell you anything you want to know when we get home. We love you and thank you for your continued prayers.
Now…a few random pictures from our month.
Hannah's new ride
Missionary Hands: You might not see, but there are three massive blisters and one blood blister on my hands.
Playing with the local children
Playing after church
Making decorations for the church
Fully decorated church
Merry Christmas
Season's Greetings
A game I made for the kids. You can't really tell, but Santa's mouth is a hole in a box. The kids could toss a rice bag and try to ring Santa's mouth.
The girls burning yard debris at the plantation
The stable Hannah and I built out of recycled/jungle material
We were in Malaysia during the heart of the rainy season. It was constantly damp. We fought mold and mildew all month. The only way we could dry our clothes was to hang them inside and put fans on them.
A genuine hero of the faith. We will tell his story when we get home.
