Bako NP

Today we went to Bako National Park. The park lies on a peninsula that extends north-east of Kuching into the South China Sea. I found it very beautiful and really enjoyed hiking a swimming, and going on a boat out of the river mouth along the peninsula to reach the park headquarters.


Mangroves grow very wall in the coastal estuary and there are quite a variety of animals and plants in the area. In face we even saw a few Proboscis monkeys climbing among the trees. Along the hike there at many points it seemed pitcher plant vines overtook almost all the other vegetation.


We arrived to the peninsula through a boat dock and hiked a 5.6 km circuit to a secluded beach. Most of the hike follows a path several hundred meters above the sea, which provides excellent views along the coast, and also meaning the beach lied in between high rocky rises providing protection from wind and too strong of surf.


The beach was about 100 meters long and the slope into the ocean was moderate allowing plenty of variety of water depth to swim and walk in. A stream fed into the ocean right through the beach, probably why this little section was so much lower than the surrounding rock formations. It wound up through the sand and into the jungle. Near to the ocean sand gobies jumped around at anyone’s step into the stream. I really enjoyed seeing the small little fish move about by flicking their bodies. For fish they can make surprisingly agile and quick movements across the sand bars.


After returning to the park HQ we found the tide had receded such that the shore line was now about 50 meters from the boat dock where we had arrived. In order to get to our boat we had to wade out through the surf and climb into it from the water. I guess they had warned us that we would get our feet wet.


I really enjoyed the park hiking through the jungle, swimming in the cool water at the really beautiful beach and boat rides are just really fun.

Pictures The First

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A Government Building in Bidayuh Style

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Father's Day Gathering(Roses and Willy)

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At the entrance to the Cave

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View back on the Cave

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Working on the wall

There are more pictures up at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/towels/sets/72157620375726270/

By What Authority?

Today we are checking in Matthew 21, and looking at the passage where Jesus’ authority is questioned.

“ And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’” Matthew 21:23 ESV

There seems to be a need for the authority to do something, whether that authority comes from a person, a “natural right”, a position or God.

The question of authority and power comes again in verse 25 the issue of the origin of the baptism of John, or that is the authority of John’s baptism. Within the checking the question arose as to whether the words used talked of power in the sense of physical ability to baptize or spiritual authority and power by which baptism possesses meaning.

I observe in this discussion a contrast which easily applies to my life. Do I act out of my own ability only, or do I act with authority behind me to give value to what I do. My abilities are weak, and though I may be able to accomplish something in a certain worldly sense. Only what God empowers will last, grow and bear fruit. My own “power” cannot create such a success, rather I must rely on the authority behind me to make anything I do last.

So I pray that I may follow the right paths and act in a manner which I know God authorizes and will support. I pray that all God’s people may also consider the nature of their actions and seek to act similarly.

EYM Camp Reflections

The last week I took part in a youth camp from a church in Kuching. We left Monday, June 8th, and returned Thursday, June 11th. The camp was shorter than any I’d done before, but much more packed. Camp focused tightly with a theme on prayer. I enjoyed the camp a lot.

Some Differences

I’d like to note some of the differences between the camps I’d been to before and this one. This camp had a couple of sessions with Louie, who was the speaker, each day. The camps I’ve been to before have typically had one session each night. I think this additional session took the place of skills classes, or English lessons that I’d known at previous camps.

Instead of cabins groups were determined ahead of time of mixed guys and girls, and given names of popular cartoons- that is in this part of the world- Doremon, Transformers, Saber Rider and others. The only one I had ever heard of was Transformers. Individuals were placed in rooms of four which were determined the day camp began, and had nothing to do with groups. This was quite different for me as in my experience one’s cabin determines one’s group.
I really liked having a discussion time with the group after each session. These discussions allowed for processing and interacting more with Louie’s topics. Even as a facilitator, “Adult Advisor”, of discussion in my group, I came to understand more about prayer and what had been said from these times and I hope others also benefitted from it.

The camp awoke early and began with some light exercise in the form of a game. I think this helped to wake everyone up and begin the day with energy rather than allowing sleepiness to linger too long. This benefitted the morning activities a lot in helping people to engage in the devotion time following more than if they had just woken, and also giving them the energy to continue on good naturedly with breakfast and the morning session.

The leaders filled each day with many activities such as quiet times, sessions, tournament games, and etc. Thus the days were actually quite filled and didn’t have as much free time as often is allowed in the other camps I have done. This took some adjustment, but I think it was good at motivating me as I was unfortunately quite tired for much of the camp. I think it allows for a lot to happen in a focused manner through a few days.

All of these differences contributed to a unique camp experience, in addition to the unique and hilarious people who came alongside me. I thought the camp went very well, and I got to know a lot of the people at SIB Kuching, the church where I’ll be attending over the next few weeks. It has given me a great foundation to start my time in Malaysia and also more insight into the variety of ways camp can go.

Some Learning

What I learned about passion attached to prayer really impacts me as even now I am still reflecting on it and learning more. Throughout scripture. How God wants to hear our cries, how often people would plead with God with tears and sackcloth. Fasting and weeping as they passionately committed themselves to their petitions to the Father. I began to realize the physical and emotional state with which the great prayers sought God. Jesus wept to the point of bleeding. In Psalm 55 David describes the emotional state in which he cries at as one of “anguish” and “terror.” Trembling besets him and he “[cries] out in distress…”

In addition to this I learned more about prayer, and about Malaysian schools. The schools here are broken into forms- much like our grades. Secondary school has 5 forms and begins at age 12 and finishes at age 17, although an optional form 6 exists. They are taught in Malay and English, and it seems the language of choice is English. With this there isn’t much option for foreign languages- the only one offered is Chinese.

For those going to college on government scholarships they must wait to get a letter telling them where they will go. Much different from the US where one chooses a college and then sees what scholarships they might offer him. Also here the equivalent test to the SAT/ACT may only be taken once, in contrast to the idea that some may take the test 5 or 6 times in hopes of getting a better score.

These are just a few of the things I learned, but I won’t weary you with all the various little information that I gleaned from this time.

A Beginning

Tommorrow will truly begin my work with SIL. This week I'll stay with Willy, a translator, and accompany him to his translation work in a Bidayuh Kampung, or village. Seeing the tranlation work in progress excites me, although they are "proofing" the translation this week so it'll not be the same as a typical translating week. Nonetheless I'm very eager to begin to see how this work will transpire. I'll also hopefully be able to see the school where I will hopefully do some construction projects.
This week will see a daily commute from where Willy lives in Kuching to the kampung. It will take about 30 minutes, so it really isn't very far away. Kuching as it grows engulfs some of the surrounding kampungs and thus many traditional villages are located near the city.
In the eveningings I'll be doing some preparation work for my time in Kota Kinabalu. Willy will be introducing me to the dictionary software that Didi, the man I'll help later, uses. I hope this learning experience will also begin to give me insight into some of the linguistical aspects of translation and language development.
So to sum it all up it seems tomorrow will be a sort of beginning to what brought me to Malaysia, and I excitedly look forward to it.