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.

Guess What I'm doing this summer

I am excited to write about the opportunity I have this summer to be able to assist SIL in Malaysia. I have been praying, and considering various options and I feel guided to pursue this direction. I want to ask you all for your prayers, that God would guide me in this endeavor and use it to benefit the efforts of SIL, the people of Malaysia and to grow myself.

I will be working through Louis Rose, an SIL associate I am connected to via Hope EFC in Albuquerque. My purpose in going to Malaysia is to learn about and also act on my passion for the Bible and sharing it with all people.

There are 141 different languages in Malaysia, 28 with parts of the Bible. I will be able to further the work done there by completing several tasks that have been put off including organizing the SIL research library, and helping to make facility improvements at a native language school run by SIL.

In addition to these tasks I will be involved with a youth camp from the city of Kuching, help a pastor to learn to format various materials into a publishable state, and assisting a Malaysian who is beginning a dictionary for the Labok Kinabatangan language group, a first step in a translation project.

To accomplish these tasks I will travel to Kuching, on the Island of Borneo from Albuquerque on June 3^rd. I will stay with Louis, work with the youth camp, assist the pastor and work at the school in this area. Then I will travel to Kota Kinabalu, the location of the regional SIL office, and work on the library and other tasks, while staying with a Malaysian host family, and also be working with Didi, the lexicographer. I will end my time there with a group retreat for all of SIL in Malaysia August 1^st and 2^nd and then I will return home.

I thank you all for your prayers and am excited to continue to inform you about what happens through this opportunity.