Sarawak Mission Trip : Sarikei (Day 2)

It was Sunday. Time for us to make our way to the SIB Sarikei Iban church. It was situated in town, located in the upper floor of a two storey shop house. The service started of with the worship team singing some Iban songs, some were familiar while most of them were not. I was kind of curious to hear the sounds of Incubus's "Talk Show On Mute" playing in the background. The band was comprise of youths which I would think were members of a band. There were two worship leaders in which both of them were girls. I was curious as to how they sang the songs in a rather low octaves compared to most of us who would sing it rather high.



It was time for us to do our thing. We went up and presented our dance, "Dasar Yang Teguh"...



...and a mime called "The Unfaithful Servant.



After that, John went up and gave a message to the congregration. It was the first time I had heard him preach and was really blessed by His preaching. It was simple yet profound. He uses stories and local examples to bring across his message which I felt that it was really relevant. Pastor Paul was by his side to interpret in Iban.



We tend headed back home after church. Pastor Paul bought some food back for us. Later in the day, we had planned to visit Akun again. John had wanted to visit him again as he felt there was a need to go back and minister to the family. We made our way there after lunch. There were still alot of people in the house. It was quiet just like yesterday. We decided to minister to the family in songs before John went and wash Akun's feet. After that, we went up to him and prayed for him. As we were praying with our hearts out, I could feel the spirit of the Lord descending in that house. Immediately, tears began to flow in each of our eyes. There was immediate peace in the house.

After praying, we began to mingle with the people there. I had the oppurtunity to speak with the Akun's sons. One was around my age and had already graduated while the other studies in USM in mineral engineering. It was good to get to know them and our initiative to speak to them brought about a change in the atmosphere of the place. The downcast atmosphere was soon turned into a happy atmosphere filled with joy and laughter. I was really blessed to be there in the house. Though we hardly knew them but it was great to be a blessing to the family. God was practically opening doors for us to minister.

We made our way next to the nearby sundry shops to purchase can foods that we intended to bring along to the long houses.



While we wait for the things to be paid by our dear finance minister, Szu Li...



...some of us took a break from the heat by getting our hands on the super suculent 30 cent ice cream.



We made our way thereafter to town to buy our rubber boots which we would be wearing on the journey. While there, we saw a man selling a very interesting fruit which I can't recall the name. It seems to be a bit "lemak". There was some keen interest to try some of them but decided not to as we do not know what it taste like and whether we would like it.



Pastor Paul was seen trying to help us find the best price for our boots. Normally, it would cost around RM5. Imagine RM5 for a pair of shoes with studs on it. I had a chance to see Pastor Paul negotiating skill and his skill prove to be to our advantage.



After having gone to do a little shopping, it was time to relax. Some decided to sit back and relax while strumming the guitar...



...others decided to be active and go on court....



...while some had an interest in the kitchen...



...and the more technological person decided to help pastor on his email account.



We went through some of the things we needed to do for the trip and that was all. It was quite a relaxing night but I bet it wouldn't be as such once we are on the trip. We close the night by packing the tin food before we headed to bed.