Newsletter #10

Gana Challenge Team

During the recent school break, I was offered the opportunity to lead a team of 5 others from the Logos Hope into the small kampung (village) of Gana in the mountains of Sabah, Malaysia. We combined with a Korean church group – their pastor is initiating the support of Gana and goes in each month – and also the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship (FGB), a group of men who use their skills and resources outside of work hours to assist projects and communities such as this.

It was an important journey and much work remains as there is a lot at stake in the village of Gana. The villagers are the original People of the Land, the Dusun tribe who came from the jungle. The government-made road currently ends 5km away from Gana. The state of Sabah has the highest density of Christians of all Malaysian states, so the government is focusing on this area. The M*slim government plans to build a road and once in the village, to convert them to Isl*m. As People of the Land, they currently have a voice to use for/against the government as they wish however if they convert then they fall under Isl*m law and no longer have a voice.

Dr Barnabas has a vision that by the time the government road is completed, 50% of the village would be disciples of Christ. This is not only for the sake of the current villagers, but also affects the future people of Gana, the surrounding villages and the entire state of Sabah.

So the main purpose of our visit was to continue the work that Dr Barnabas had already started in building relationships with the people and letting his life be a witness of God’s work in him. As Gana’s nearest source of water is a 1hr walk and is not pure, Logos Hope donated a water purifier that we installed during our time there. The FGB supplied a doctor and dentist who treated and provided care for 471 people over the weekend. Unless people make the arduous journey out to the village, the people of Gana are unable to receive medical treatment.

Packing the 4WD ready
for the journey!

We left in a caravan of 8 4WD vehicles early Friday morning and by midday had climbed the mountain and reached the end of the road and the beginning of the real fun. The cars were all put into 4WD mode and proceeded into the mud track. Every 20m a rough spot was reached that provided difficulties to some of the cars. Before every new patch, someone would get out and attempt to walk through it to determine the depth and to find the safest route. It was an amazing team effort as one car would get through then winch the second car through. That car would then become the anchor so the winching car would not get dragged into the bog while taking care of the other cars. It was better than any rollercoaster I’ve ever been on and after a weekend of accidental mud facials, my skin has never been clearer! :)

Eventually the cars got to such a tough spot that we decided it was better to walk, as we were already quite behind schedule. So while the cars continued to try to get through, half of us walked to the village. The 2kms left took 2hrs and as my shoes got bogged and stuck every 2 steps, I took them off and walked barefoot.

Intercessory team, praying for each 
person after they received medical 
or dental treatment.

Once we reached the village after the 9hr journey, it was such a beautiful sight and the people were so welcoming. Shy children smiled at us from every door and window and lit up with joy when we waved at them. As we were 4hrs later than planned, we decided to abandon our plans and put all our efforts into turning the dewan (village hall) into a medical clinic. People could register then there was a waiting area before they would be seen by either the dentist or the doctor and receive any needed medication. Then they would come to where the Logos Hope team were sitting waiting to ask them, “Boleka saiya boroduwa untuk kamu?” “Can I pray for you?” As they didn’t even speak Bahasa Malay, we had to learn a few words/ sentences in the Dusun dialect.

The following day, after a night spent on the wooden floors (not many houses had furniture other than one table for the food), the medical clinic continued, while the rest of us split up into 2 teams to go and visit the people in their homes. That morning, 8 people (4 adults, 4 children) gave their lives to Jesus.

Yes, the little thing on my shoulder
is a 1 week old ginger kitten!

After lunch, the medical continued, a few of us did a children’s program and the remaining few continued visiting. The first house we came to, a tiny old lady met us on the verandah. My first sense was of witchcraft, but I quickly pushed it from my mind, not wanting to judge based on first impressions or appearances. She was quite deaf and the man speaking to her had to yell quite loudly close to her ear. She was happy to talk, but uninterested in being prayed for. As soon as she saw a camera, she wanted us to take a photo with her and I saw she was constantly rubbing her eyes. I asked the translator to find out what was the matter and the lady shared that a shaman (ie: witchdoctor, one of two in the village) had put a curse on her that her hair would fall out and she felt it affecting her eyes as well, that she felt like something was scratching them out. After she shared that, she was happy for us to pray for her. The next house was a man who had believed, but when he married a non-believer and his father-in-law was against his beliefs, the man gave them up in favour of peace in the household. He shared with us that he was quite unhappy with this and chose to rededicate his life to Christ. He also committed himself to allowing his life to be a witness to his wife and children of how God would transform him and to pray continuously for them.

I am so grateful to God to allow me the opportunity to meet these people, to be a tiny part of their lives, that we were able to bless them a little. During this time He also revealed more of Himself to me and taught me much about leading a team. This is an experience I will never forget, and I pray that you would join me in praying for the people of Gana.

Drop-toilet on the left and bowl of water (ie: shower)
behind the blue curtain. 

This is the front of the church. The house above is behind
the church.

Mt Kinabalu - our view on the journey to Gana

Locals carrying their durian (stinky fruit).
The outer skin is incredibly prickly -
God's way of warning us:
"Don't do it!! Don't eat this fruit!!"

A meeting of the end of the true road and the
beginning of the mud track

Mmmmmm.... tasty!

Mud was so high that I could only open my
door a little before getting stuck in mud.

Walking the last 2hrs to the village

Sleeping quarters: 5 women in a small room,
on a hard wooden floor.

Pastor's house where we slept and ate.

Breakfast was rice, thin noodles and big noodles

Preparing to head out door-to-door to meet the locals.

Dr Joseph on the right and the pharmacy led by Nate (USA)

The 4 sticks indicate that somewhere in there is the
bridge - ie, a plank of wood. It made the difference between
being in water up to your shins or up to your thighs.

Children passed their time by sliding down the mud hills.

A symbol of God's promise over the kampung of Gana.

Carwash - au naturel! Just using water in a boot from a creek!

Ship Family

"God sets the lonely in families"

-Psalm 68:6

With 400 people onboard, it is easy for people to get lost and feel uncared for in the sea of people. Therefore, everyone on the ship is assigned to be part of a family. Every Tuesday is ship family night, where we gather to eat dinner together. Here birthdays are celebrated and depending on the family, some will go out for dinner, others will go on outings at other times during the week. It's an opportunity to get to know more people and have a small group of people that specifically take care of each other.

Currently we are under-staffed in the catering department,
but previously when we had enough people a weekly 'special'
dinner was created for 1 family. A 3 course meal was prepared
and would be specially served. This was my family's special
dinner.

As there are so many of us, getting our whole family together for more than a few minutes is challenging. In total, my family is made up of: Carlien, Seelan and their daughter Tessa from South Africa are our ship parents. My brothers and sisters were originally Jane (Aus), Tommy (US), Rosanna (Aus), Marika (Finland), JiYoung (Sth Korea), Shay and Kevin (Germany), Eileen (Singapore). Jane, Tommy and Rosanna have now left the ship and every 3 months we get 2-3 new people for a few months then they leave and another 2-3 join us, but our core stays the same and will gradually get smaller as people leave the ship until it is necessary to merge with another family and start again.

Part of my ship family, from L-R:
Nicky (Sri Lanka - he was a STEPper and only stayed 3 mths),
Marika (Finland), me, JiYoung (South Korea), Tessa (Sth Africa)
her mother Carlien (Sth Africa) and Jane who has now left (Aus).

Tessa is Carlien and Seelan's
daughter. She's 3 years old
and is truly a delight. We
have become fast friends
and will always sit together
at dinner. She chatters away
and sings songs, and if there's
something she doesn't want to
finish on her plate but knows she
must, I'm always asked to make
the fork and food into an airplane
or, as we live on a ship, a
dolphin flying through the ocean!

We found a cat at dinner time
and he made himself comfortable
in my lap, which made both
Tessa and I very happy!

This time, Tessa agreed that she would
take a bit every time I did. Since we
were eating carrots and broccoli, it was
probably more in aid of getting me to eat
my veggies, more so than Tessa!

Kevin from Germany. He's the photographer
of the group. This was a family outing at
Unawatuna Beach in Galle, Sri Lanka.

fun at the beach

Marika, from Finland.

Shay - my little brother from Germany. He is
from my PST and one of the family I am closest
to. I always wanted a brother, and now I really
do feel like I have one - we have fun joking
and teasing each other, but he's also good for a
hug and we look out for each other, just as family do.

Ship-dad Seelan. He is one of the leaders onboard, and was
acting director of the Doulos for it's last 6 months.
Seelan is an incredibly wise and knowledgeable man
and I really enjoy being a part of his family.

My ship-mum, Carlien. Carlien is so caring and welcoming.
She loves each of us and makes time for us whenever
possible - their cabin is always open for us to drop in and
say hello or have a talk when we need to.