Awesome Pastorate Group Mission Trip

Salty drops of sweat dripped unheeded down their brow. Their hands were too busy shovelling, hoeing, carrying dirt, mixing and cementing to pay heed. Eventually, their bodies and shirt were drenched with sweat and covered with a layer of dirt. Specks of dust rested on their hair. Arms and feet that were unused to hard labour ached. The smell of freshly dug soil blended with the cool fresh air. The air was filled with a mix of the sound of laughter, the sound of voices as stories were shared, the sound of the hammer banging, birds chirping, monkeys chattering, music blaring from the radio and the clucks of chicken who could be seen pecking at fat juicy worms that have been disturbed from their hiding place due to the digging of the earth. There was a sense of wonder, contentment and peace as they laboured together....




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Am back from mission trip!! Above is a short description of our experience as my pastorate group worked alongside with a team from Doulos on a building project in the jungle- in the midst of nature. My arms, legs and back are totally aching (it was really funny - cos everyone in my group groaned whenever we stood up or sat down today- climbing staircases was an ordeal too) and one side of my right leg is swollen cos of an insect bite. :P Nevertheless, the past few days has been a totally awesome experience... (photos here)

My amazing pastorate group Kirubai (Grace) members.


I've learnt so much about my pastorate group members and got to see a totally different side of them- this trip seems to have brought out the best in them. Somehow, before this trip, though we met only once a week, the ice was still unbroken. Once we picked up shovels and cangkul on Monday when we arrived at the village, the ice broke in a very big way as we worked together.

My respect for one my pastorate group members - Moses- has gone up by many notches.. He could still play volleyball when we got back!!! It was just amazing especially he since he carried several bags of 50kilos bags of cement down the steep hill and he weighs less than that(I kid you not!) ... As a comparison, it took the other 4 guys(Anthony Ho, Chris Dali, Takeshi and Lim) to carry ONE bag down the hill. To hear their story, it was very hillarious. We were laughing till we cried during our group sharing last nite.

As for Takeshi and Vicky - they were real troupers. Working hard doing whatever that needs to be done. Takeshi seemed to be all over the place - accomplishing whatever he did efficiently and enthusiastically (he broke 2 shovel handles in the process-the look on his face was just priceless. Pastor joked about how the shovels were not Japanese made and therefore inferior to Takeshi's expectations. Lol).. Vicky was always so smiley - no matter how tired or tough things got. She was even smiling when we were carrying all the heavy materials down the hill. The rest of us were all busy looking serious - trying to concentrate on carrying our stuff and worrying about not falling down the steep slope at the same time. We were also a bit worried about the imminent rain wetting the cement bags.

Had a glimpse of another side of Anthony and Maryanne. They were quiet - but chipped in in whatever they could help out with. It was the same with Chris and Lim. Even Pastor Joseph was just simply amazing. He could have complained that he was old and took a step back. Instead, he was in the middle of everything we did. He was one of the first to grab hold of the shovel and started shovelling and clearing the area for the church that we were building. Yesterday, he and some of the guys worked into digging a 4 feet deep hole to build a toilet. They worked really hard at it and it took them hours to complete the task. They were really wiped out at the end of it. No one could walk a straight line due to exhaustion at the end of the day.

I was really proud of my group. They put in everything they had. Even the Doulos team that was with us were just amazed at the things everyone accomplished.

Sharing lives
I especially loved the sharing of lives and sharing of stories. From Uncle Brian (a family friend and someone partnering with dad in ministry), we heard stories of the struggles of the OAs and the challenges of the ministry.

I've learnt so much more about my pastorate group members too, about their backgrounds, their struggles and their dreams.

I loved hanging out with the Doulos team. There were six of them. SK from Korea, Daniel from Switzerland (leader of the team and a former postman), BJ from Norway (she's a carpenter and just such an encouragement to everyone), Caroline from USA (She worked alongside with my bro in the Book Ex on the ship), Nyree (from Melbourne, Australia and a teacher on the ship) and Kotie (She's from South Africa and is a teacher on the ship. She's also the youngest member in the team).. I was really blessed as I sat down with them to hear their stories and their struggles as they serve on board the ship.


Memorable moments

• Sharing from Lim about how he saw another side to Camerons - and how he was just really challenged. His sharing brought tears to our eyes.
• The spontaneous reading of the Bible to encourage one another in the open air
• How everyone worked together in unity despite differences in race, culture and gender
• Our sharing of meals together. During lunch, though everyone was covered in grime and there was dust everywhere, we were really thankful for the simple fare and we shared our meagre food with one another.
• Sharing of stories
• Today's trip to the organic farm and meeting uncle Fang. He's such a philosophical farmer. Though not a Christian, his sharing was a challenge to us in our faith. Learning about the workings of the farm was pretty wonderful too.
• Praying together for a sick elderly OA lady. There were tears in her eyes as we prayed though I remember feeling so helpless and wished we could do more for her.

It was such an exciting time that I almost forgot about Greek test (till Moses reminded me last nite). *grin* I missed my closest friends in STM though - wished that they could be there too. Maybe next time.

Thank you God for these past few days. You've taught me so many new things. Thank You for reminding me of the things you have placed in my heart that I've forgotten. Though the last 3 days it's been so packed with stuff and the time has been so short, it's been really amazing! You are just so amazing. Thank You, thank You, thank You!!!