When I die... (latest - July 2015)

I was reading through my older post of "when I die" series and found that mostly are... too elaborated.  I guess with age we all tend to mellow and become "simple" in our ways huh?  However, I am still leaving it there for the sheer joy of reading and reminiscent of my young and "naive" years :)

And on that day, when my strength is failing,
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
10000 years and then forevermore

I've not thought further about what it'd be when I die and how I'd like it be... so the post for that will have to wait for another day.  But for now, this is what I'd want to be done, just incase I die before I manage to write another post.

1)  NO flowers / wreath - YUCKS.  Horrid smelling things!
2)  No elaborate dinners for those coming for the wake.  Just plain water and perhaps buns (bought, don't trouble yourself with making etc)
3)  I want to be cremated - please.  There's not enough land already for the living, what more to say for the dead.

,If Noel is below 21, he should be taken care of by my parents; if I die before them.  My EPF goes 100% to Noel, if he is 21 above.  Else, the money is to be in the care of my parents.  (I will think about who his guardian is to be if my parents pass on before I do).

My brains is not working at the moment.  I can only think of the above for now.

Happy Weekend peeps!

Murud 2015 - After - Day 8

Wednesday, 22nd July

Yes, I managed to get up at 5am for the morning prayers at the church.  As usual, there were mainly the older folks.  Since young, whenever I go back to Dad's kampung, I will make it a point to wake up early to go to the prayers with my Aunties and Uncles.  My other cousins would rather sleep in the cold hours of the morning but I treasured this time of prayer so much that I would never miss a single day.  That day I spent some time after the prayers to talk to some of the older folks who then told me how we were related.

Apu' Layun - one of the older folks who originated from Long Beluyu - Dad's kampung.  According to her, we are related.

After coming back to the house, I sat down to have coffee with Apu' while Barb and Lyd bathed and got ready.  I managed to tell her about my single mother status; she didn't know before this, and as she talked and prayed with me, I feel relieved that I don't have to hide anything from her.  Giving advice and telling me of her own love stories made me glad that I told her.  I thank God for the quiet time I had with Apu' this morning.

We are going to fly out today.  We had packed last night, with our check in baggage limited to 10kgs and our carry-on bags to about 15kgs!  The blessing of rice and even pineapple!  Aunty Alui said to go to the airport at about 9am, but being kiasu we left the house at 8 so that none of our baggage will be offloaded due to weight.

Aunty Alui in her Rela uniform

When we got there at 8.15am, after lots of huffing and puffing lugging our bags, there was no one there at the check in counter!  We had to wait and at 9, Aunty Alui's brother - the agent, came.  After weighing etc we quickly went back to the kampung because we had not said our goodbyes to Apu'.  We promised her we would come back to the house.

She was not at home when we got there.  Earlier she had went to Aunty Sipai's house to send some pineapple to Aunty Sipai's son (her grandson) who will be leaving today too.  So while anxiously waiting, the 3 of us had our breakfast.  Soon enough Apu' came home.  After saying a teary goodbye to her, with promise to bring Noel for her hold in her arms soon, we parted ways.  The airport was too far of a walk for her.

Apu' Neng (middle) and her good friend Apu' Supang (a.k.a. Apu' Supit).  They are still so fashionable even at this age!

At the airport, we were all ready to go.  Ama' Paran and Ina' Martina was also there to say goodbye.  Soon the aircraft arrived and we were flying off to Miri.  Thank you Murud, thank you Ba' Kelalan.  If God calls, yes, I will be back.

In 2013, we had nick-named Ama' Paran as "Uncle Handsome".  We are so thankful to have them as our host this year.

I spent the rest of the day in Miri, whilst Lyd and Barb took the earlier flight home.  When I got home that night, I was greeted with love notes from my son.

It is good to be home.

Murud 2015 - After - Day 7

Tuesday, 21st July

No, I did not manage to wake up at 5 in the morning for morning prayers in the church.  I woke up to hear Apu' going but was too tired to get up myself.  I console myself with the thought that I had another day - tomorrow to go before flying out.

We took our time to wake up, to bath and to have our breakfast.  At about 10am, Mee Ting and Judith came to ask if we would like to go to Long Bawan (Indonesia) as Ama' Paran will be driving a family there to have a look and he said we can go if we don't mind standing at the back.  Lyd and I said yes as they say the journey would just take under an hour; we ought to be back by the time Aunty Alui came back from work.  Barb opted not to go, since it was really hot and we might be bbq-ed under the hot sun again.  After telling Apu', off we went.  Who would have thought that the family we were hitching a ride with was the family of that nice boy I met during the prayer for the nations session up on the mountain!  Super cool.

It was a long drive with many check point stops along the way.  Judith, Mee Ting, Lydia, Ina' Martina and myself sat at the back of the double-cab 4WD.  After 2 hours baking under the sun, we arrived Long Bawan.  We passed through many other kampungs along the way and mostly were Ina' Martina's family heirloom.  We asked her how she met Ama' Paran if one was from Indonesia and the other from Ba' Kelalan.  She said that both their fathers were Penghulu and they were matchmade.  She was 13 at that time.  Oh marriages of long-ago; very strong even if they were matchmakes.

We then stopped at the airport and someone generously offered us homemade ice-cream.  Oh, such relieve from the hot sun.  Then we went for lunch at one of the shops.  Real, original Indonesian bakso.  Yums.

Yummy Original Indonesian Bakso.  The chili that came with it - WOW!
Aunty Alui said it's yummy because they put worn underwear into the broth as they cook and boil the soup!  Haha!

After stamping our passes, we started the journey back.  Reached Buduk Nur at 3.30pm.  When we got to the house, Apu' Neng said that Barb and Aunty Alui had gone to Aunty Amu house just "now" and that we should hurry.  I don't even remember the road to her house though we had been there in 2013!  Apu' said to follow the car road so that's what we did.  Lydia said for sure there was a short cut, but since we didn't know where and how, we just followed Apu's instruction.  We walked and walked and walked and walked and walked.... stopped a few locals to ask and continue to walk and walk and walk.  After 45 minutes walking, we finally saw the said junction and Uncle Liau was there waiting for us.  Barb and the 2 aunties had gone up to the kebun to pick fruit and had just came back.

Buah Biu - local persimmon.  It's so yummy I think I ate 5 at one sitting.  Photo credit to Barb from her FB :)

Aunty Amu has a fish pond and stubborn Uncle Liau tried to catch some fish.  In the end Aunty Alui went into the pond and caught lots of talapia for our dinner.  We were introduced to Buah Biu - some sort of local persimmon.  Yummy!  After Aunty Alui cleaned the fish, we started walking back in case Apu' got worried if it was already dark.  Yes, there was indeed a shortcut across to the airport.  The walk took us 30 minutes this time.

When we got home we quickly bath and Aunty Alui prepared dinner for us.  Dinner was a noisy affair as we were laughing and chatting away while walloping a whole lot of fish.  Apu' was quiet most of the time just listening to us but later she lamented how quiet tomorrow's meals would be after we left.  My heart broke again.

At Aunty Sipai's place.  Aunty Sipai is so beautiful and she dresses with class and elegance too.  Even on the mountain, she will wear such nice embroidered dresses with sequins nonetheless!  But looking at Apu' Neng one will see where that style comes from. 
Us:  Aunty Sipai, yours truly, Barbara, Judith, Apu' Neng, Apu' Supit and Lyd

After dinner, we told Aunty Alui that we wanted to go visit Aunty Sipai.  So off we went.  Lyd walked with Apu'.  It was so funny because it was so quiet in the kampung and Apu' being deaf with age had talked so loudly that I think the whole kampung could hear her!  We got to Aunty Sipai's house just as they were starting to have dinner.  Again??? Arrrggghhhh... even scared of food now.  Haha. But we joined in anyways, having biter and chicken wings and drinks.  Oh the pleasures of life.  Then we said our goodbyes and left to go home to pack.  We will be flying back tomorrow.  My turn to walk with Apu' back to the house and she said, don't leave me, it will be so quiet tomorrow.  Oh Apu' :(  

Murud 2015 - During - Day 6

Monday, 20th July

We had decided the day before to start hiking down at about 8am.  If we left earlier, there would be too many people as many are planning to leave around 5 or 6am.  We were not that kiasu to go back.  We got up, had morning devotions at 6am, had breakfast and we were ready to go.  So many people were queuing up to use the toilet and we just let them go first.  We took our time.  Our group went of in stages - Cathy and Sharon went first.  Followed by Rome and Lis - saying wanting to make a video on Batu Linanit.  Then Ps. Sabiyah, Jane, Mee Ting and Judith went next.  The four of us - Barb, Lyd, Maria and myself went last - coz we wanted to use the toilet in peace :D  The 3 fitter ones vs me the slow snail.  As the hike up Batu Linanit got tougher, I told them to move on so Barb and Lyd did go at their super fast hare pace - aiming to reach Lepo Bunga in 3 hours.  Maria apparently didn't feel good about leaving me alone; which is the basic jungle survival rule - always walk with a buddy.  As I mentioned before, I don't mind walking alone but I welcomed her companion and stories about her life along the way.

Maria, Barb and Lyd at the beginning of the climb down.  The pond was still full - more than enough water for the full 4 days conference of 2084 participants.  Uncle Paran's house is the dark brown house at the right hand.

The climb up to Batu Linanit was as hard as I thought it would be and the climb down was even worst!  I was wondering to myself why my hips were hurting badly then I remembered, I was at least 10kgs heavier than 2013 - it could have been more after 4 days of non-stop eating on the mountain!  I trudge along telling God to please don't call me back to climb the mountain.

We arrived the end of Jambatan Sukacita being welcomed by Judith, Mee Ting, Jane, Ps. Sabiyah, Rome and Lis.  Apparently Rome and Lis waited for about an hour for the 3rd group to arrive.  Soon after Maria and I arrived too.  While resting, I rewarded myself with a snickers (again).  Then I told Maria, she can walk on with the faster 2 - Rome and Lis.  So that's what she did after telling the others that she now entrust me into their care.  Haha.  

Rome, Jane and Lis waiting for us at Jambatan Sukacita to start our final lag of the journey down

We all broke into groups again.  The fast ones, the medium ones - Jane, Judith and Mee Ting and the slow one - me!  Haha.  This time it was Ps. Sabiyah who refused to let me walk alone.  The walk down was really bad to my knees.  It went kaput after the hike down in 2013 and now it was really giving me all the trouble it can.  Along the way, I met an aunty (dad's 2nd cousin) who said her friend also had knee pain and was better after taking 2 panadols.  Good thing I had my medicine pouch with me, I quickly pop 2 panadols praying that it will indeed work.  Ohhhhhh.... the looooooonnnngggggggg waaaaayyyyyy dooowwwwwnnnnnnnnnn..... I almost gave up and would just spend the night there in the jungle if I didn't feel so bad for Ps. Sabiyah.  I mustered all the strength I had left where out of no where this tiny crunched up old lady appeared from behind and say it's okay, anak... slowly.... my knees are also painful and I can't carry my own things anymore... Come let's walk slowly.  Yeah right grandma.  She was 80 years old!  O earth, please open up and swallow me.  Haha.

At long last, we could hear the engine of the cars, the shouts of victory, the laughter etc - the end was near.  I made it to the bottom, Ps. Sabiyah still faithfully behind me.  It took me 5 hours for the hike back down - the same as 2013.  The rest were already bored waiting for me so I didn't even got the chance to look around and quickly I was ushered in to the waiting 4WD - it didn't feel that bad once I got there - I was just really looking forward to going back to Buduk Nur for a good rest.

We arrived Buduk Nur at about 2pm and after discussing where to go what to do, we went back to Apu' Ineng's house.  But before that - aha! - we stopped for a cold drink - hoping so much for a cold coke, but alas, only sprite was available.  Better than none.  Then we made our way to the house.  I did tell Uncle Pudun in April that we will spend some time at Apu's house and he said sure, just come.  Given his track record of never taking me seriously, I doubt that he told anyone in the kampung.  Up on the mountain, Aunty Takung told me that Uncle Liau and Auntie Alui is now staying with Apu' for the past month or so.  So theirs was the name I called out as we reached the house.  Thank God they were all at home.  True enough, Uncle Pudun did come on Wednesday night (we were up on the mountain already) and just mention to Apu' at a passing that we might come.  Oh well.  It's my grandma's house, open 24/7, no reservations needed ;)  Oh, what a joy it was to see Apu' Neng!  She was surprised to see us, but I think, pleasantly surprised.

We came up, took turns to shower and napped for a good 2 hours.  It was such a luxury to sleep on a matress again!  I woke up after the nap and walked into the kitchen, finding Uncle Liau with a freshly slaughtered chicken.  2 days before, he was coming down from the mountain and when he got to Lepo Bunga, he found that there were some people there who have not eaten for a long time because they did not have the facilities.  He, being "stubbornly nice" went to gather some firewood and in his kanchiongness managed to chop his knee area and got 4 stitches for it.  His leg was now swollen and he was not able to walk properly.  He is a very resourceful person as he was good in finding jungle products, fish, jungle animals etc.  But he was in no condition to do so now.  In the hospitable steps of the late grandpa, he quickly went to slaughter chicken for dinner.  Oh how good the chicken soup tasted that night.  We sat around the table and I think Apu' entertained us more than we did her.  I retired to the smaller kitchen to chat with Uncle Liau and am glad to be able to catch up with him whilst Lyd and Barb talked with Apu' Neng.

Around 9pm, the 3 of us decided to go to Ama' Paran's house to retrieve our "box of treasure" which we had send down the day before via Balang; his son.  Of we went in search of his house - and after asking a few times, were directed to his door.  It was nice catching up but we did not stay long as it seems that they were very tired and ready to sleep too.  Along the way, because it was a dark night, we had to walk really carefully as there was a lot of "landmines" a.k.a. buffalo dung all over.  Thank God we had our head lamps.

Headlamp - such a useful thing to have!  We used it for cooking, for washing dishes etc.  Hands free.  I got this at the army supply shop at 7th Mile for RM19.80 only!  Such a steal.

When we got back to the house, Aunty Alui said that Aunty Takung asked us to go to the house for bbq.  Errr... say what?  But well, minding our manners, we went anyways.  Thankfully, the house was just nearby.  Apparently, there was miscommunication between her and Aunty Alui.  She had asked us, the whole family to come for dinner but Aunty Alui thought that they were coming to our house instead.  Their house was such a cute house with a build in fireplace with a real chimney!  Uncle John had good taste :)  After eating a little (we were already too full), we said our goodnights.  It was already 11 by the time we got home and the 3 of us promptly konked out.  I hope I can wake up to go to tomorrow's morning prayer.  Aunty Alui was going to work at 6am tomorrow so she told us to take care of our own breakfast etc and that we will be going to Aunty Amu's house at Puneng Kelalan after she got back from work and after lunch.  Yeay!  So looking forward to meet Aunty Amu (a.k.a. Aunty Lina)

Murud 2015 - During - Day 5

Sunday, 19th July

We started with morning devotions and breakfast as usual.  Somehow that day I did not feel the urgency to go to the hall early because I had made up in my mind earlier that I wanted to sit outside.  My legs could not take the long hours being cramped not able to move much.  Lydia and I took our time going to the toilet after the crowd ebbed away to the service.  We arrived at the hall as Holy Communion was being served.  She then went to sit with the gang, and I sat alone on one of the wooden pathway outside the church.  I was not really alone though.  Many others too sat outside.  It was nice and cool and eventhough we were outside we participated fully in the service.  When it was a dancing song during worship time, we outside were dancing away too.  It was so great that everyone was there to worship full heartedly no matter where we were.  I especially enjoyed the last song that said  "Ya, Allahku, aku hendak bernyanyi bagiMu, selamaku hidup, Ya Tuhanku, aku hendak bermazmur bagiMu, selagi ku ada".  It is one of my favorite Welyar Kauntu song, and to be able to worship whilst looking at the beauty of His creation was a privilege.

People sat on the wooden pathway outside the church.  During the praise and worship time, we even danced along!

Spiritual feeding
The sermon was talking about how the church needs to be balanced in the aspect of missions (soul winning), spiritual experience (prayer, music, revival etc), fellowship and family-ness, systematic teaching as well as social concern - just like the first church in Acts.  Different denomination have our different strength so as the Church of the end-times, we should work together to edify and strengthen each other in the areas where we are weak.

After the main sermon, Rev. Pengiran Gugkang came forward to share some visions intercessors have received during the few days there.  In 2013, each participant were symbolically given a pack of "nuba laya" i.e. lun bawang's soft rice to take home for our spiritual strength to do the work of the kingdom.  This year, it was the vision of a golden key.  This key is for us to share the gospel and to unlock the hearts of many who have yet to believe in this end times.

We sang this song together before the service ended.  It means that the joy of the Lord, through the seed of the gospel, shared in love, by the stick given by the Lord, we can unlock the hearts by using the golden key that was given to us.

Awang luk bire nekuh (The joy that has been given to me)

Ilung luk bire nekuh (The seed given to me)

Bunga luk bire nekuh (The love given to me)

Allah awang luk bire nekuh (The joy given to me)

Rukud luk bire nekuh (The tongkat / stick given to me)

Teka luk bire nekuh (The key given to me)

After service we all went back to our houses for lunch all ready for the afternoon session to pray for the nations.  During this time, once again the Holy Spirit was mightily present and there was a session of reconciliation before we prayed for the nations.  I approached my step-aunty for reconciliation on behalf of my father for some misunderstanding they had in regards to my aunty's marriage a few years back.  

Aunty Grace Takung and I

During the prayer, we were asked to choose which ever flag we would like to pray for.  In 2013, Alie and Lyd actually went to identify each flag, yes, their knowledge is THAT good.  I didn't know many of the flags, so I went towards Switzerland flag because I have some friends there from Logos Hope and they have shared their struggle in their country before.  There I met a young man, who was so nice, humble and sweet and we prayed together.

After the prayer, we went back to the house for dinner and got ready for the closing night.  From experience, we knew this is going to be one fun filled night!  We were told to get ready things to "make a joyful noise".  By 6.30pm, the hall was jammed pack and filled with all kinds of sound, music and dances!  

Crazy bunch of aunties "making a joyful sound unto the Lord".
The one in the yellow beanie hat is Mary, my friend Anthony Sia's wife.

Cikgu Sang, the worship leader once again warned us not to jump, not to dance too "hard" as the hall might collapse!  But really, how can you contain that kind of excitement!  The service went on (yes, I forgot the content of the sermon again!) but one thing I remember is that we are called to live in this end times, this "time of grace" to prepare other people to face another time soon ahead of us where it is going to be really hard and tough.  There are many things that has never happened will happen.  Therefore, we (disciples of Christ) need to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit to empower us.

The service ended very late that night.  About 11.00pm.  The rest went back to pack / ready to hike back tomorrow, but I went to meet up with my aunties, uncles and cousin as we will not be able to meet anymore after that.  I got back to the house at about 12 walking under a canopy of the heavenly host... such beautiful array of stars that can never be seen back in the city where it will be dimmed by the city lights.  I stopped to thank the Lord of Host for His creation and wonderful blessing.  It has been a great 5 days.

Murud 2015 - During - Day 4

Saturday, 18th July.

Yesterday during the morning service, they had announced that there will be a service up at the peak of the mountain for those who are interested.  However, because they plan to start the service by 9am, the committee had asked only the fit, strong and able ones to go.  They did mention that even if your heart really wants to go, but your body is not able to, then better not go as they will be walking in a fast pace and the trail isn't an easy one.  One of the reason I wanted to go back to the mountain was to go to the peak; I did not go in 2013 and I don't know when I will ever climb up again.  But, even if I had really wanted to go, I knew that I would be slowing people down as I am not the ones in the "fit" category.  It takes about 3 - 4 hours (fit time) to climb up. So, even with a sad heart, I was at peace to let it go.  I decided not to do the climb.  Perhaps, another time, God willing. 

The mountain peak from afar

Lyd and Barb of course were all geared up to go.  Lis too wanted to go.  Rome was still thinking if she should go because she's got a sinus problem.  The night before, as we prayed, she received confirmation that yes, she should go.  Yeay! Praise the Lord.  Our super amazing "aunty" Mdm Maria of 55 years old too wanted to go.  I didn't have any doubt that she could, she's so fit even for her age!  So that's it, 5 from the team will go and the rest will stay on for service at the church site.

The group were scheduled to leave at 6am so Pastor Sabiyah and Ina' Martina got up really early to cook breakfast - Mihun nonetheless!!  The 5 had their breakfast, packed their lunches and left the house at about 5.30am.  We were supposed to have prayer together at 5.30am with the rest of the team, but because everyone had already started to go to the meeting point, the 5 were also kanchiong (excited?) to go.

After they left, the rest of us had our morning devotions at 6am and then had breakfast.  Once again we were at the hall by 7.30am.  Since there were not many people, Judith and the rest said they wanted to sit in the middle, but I was comfortable at the usual place so we split.  Soon after Aunty Sipai, Aunty Rangai and the rest joined me.  Never alone eh? :)

As we started the service, Cikgu Sang - the worship leader for that morning requested us to pray together to ask for 2 things - 1)  The manifested presence of the Lord and 2)  The orchestra of heavens to join us as we worship the Lord.  The first song we sang was "We bow down".  

I remember this song clearly because even as we just started to sing the song, everyone started to bow down and the manifested presence of the Lord came and filled the hall.  There were cries, wails, and total adoration of the great big God.  No one cared what others would think of them and everyone just worshiped, some even lay prostate in front of the Lord.  It was such an amazing time, I had not entered into that kind of worship for the longest time.  It was good to be back.

Spiritual feeding

The speaker for this session was Guru's Pudun Tadem.  He started of by saying that each of us need to know our "divine purpose" in our lives.  Many people don't know their divine purpose and are just wasting their life away.  Examples of people who knew their divine purpose:

Sarah - Her divine purpose was to give birth to Isaac, though she had to wait 100yrs but because she knew her divine purpose, she waited.  At one point, she even laughed at it. She laughed, but she believed.

Rahab - She was a prostitute.  But when she met the spies, she met her divine purpose.  She then became the linage of Jesus.  Men things she is purposeless but God had a bigger divine purpose for her.

Ruth - had a broken life, but met her divine purpose as she became the great grandmother of our Lord.

So, if we don't know what our divine purpose is, we need to ask God.  We need to know our divine purpose so that we can serve our generation by fulfilling the divine purpose.  We need to forget about how broken we are, how lousy we are and we need to believe that God is giving you His divine purpose.  We might need to wait for some time.  But God is more interested in our character than in our success.

Guru's Pudun then mentioned Jeremiah 47: 1 - 12.  He connected the many images of "water" or bodies of water to God.  To deep for me to jot here.  But one thing I caught is that to be in the river, means to be in God,  To release the rive means to release God.  The river that flows from the temple of heaven is flowing into the temple of our bodies (ref:  1 Cor 3:16) and will give life to anywhere that the river flows.  When the river flows into us, when we go into the world (ref: convention theme), we bring life to all who crosses our path.

He ended by saying that we need to choose our response well.  When Joseph faced all the trials, tribulations, sufferings, he choose to respond well.  He could have been bitter about his experiences but he chose to say "The Lord meant well and meant to prepare me".  Whatever we face in our lives, choose well. Choose right.  Choose the right responds.

Then, he said the River of Heavens is now ready to flow.  He called everyone who is ready to come to the altar.  He must have had visions to literally see this "river" flowing down.  As we prayed, sang and worshiped, one by one were slain in the Spirit.  No one laying their hands on anyone.  No "catchers", nothing.  One by one, Spirit filled, slain.  Once again, it's been a long time since I experienced anything like this.  Perhaps my heart has been harden, perhaps I have been too self conscious.  But that morning, I felt the Lords refreshing rivers flowing and I found peace in Him once again.

After the service ended, we went back to the house and we told Ina' Martina about it.  She then told us that it always happens that way when Guru' Pudun preaches because he preaches from his brokenness.  His son was found committing suicide (which in itself was questionable) and he took a long break to recover.  In this brokenness, he spoke that day.  Praise God for what He was, is, and will continue to do.

After lunch that day, the 5 of us (Judith, Mee Ting, Ps. Sabiyah, Jane and myself) went back to the church hall to pray.  A group of intercessors were taking a cruise down the Sarawak River in Kuching to pray for the state and the nation, so we too were going to pray to support from the mountain.  As we were going to the hall, we met those who were already coming down from the peak!  I was so excited to wait and welcome Barb and Lyd but we had to go pray first.  Hehe.  As we prayed, we could hear music (gongs, drums etc) from Rev. Pengiran's house as many gathered to welcome the ones from the peak.  Such a beautiful sound of rejoicing!

We prayed for 2.5 hours and then returned to the house.  The 5 who went were already there.  Praise the Lord for His coverage upon them.  They were all sunburnt though.  It was funny because as we had our morning devotions, only then Judith remembered that she was sunburnt when she went and yet she forgot to tell them that it was going to be hot up there.  Haha.

Them at the peak.  Good job guys!  Photo credit to Rome

We had dinner together and then proceeded to the hall for night service.  I bet those 5 were really tired as it was a really long service.  Eh, so weird, I can't remember to content of the sermon yet again! Haha.  They announce the head count that night.  It was 2084 pax!! Wow!!!! That is soooooooo amazing!! God is indeed great!

That night, I noticed this boy whom we noticed in 2013, because he had big camera on him and he was still a small boy then.  During the final night in 2013, he had brought some cans, had arranged them on the floor in the arrangement of a drum set and was drumming away!  He looked so familiar from 2013 and that night we sat next to each other. 

Lennon from 2013 - it was easy to recognize him as he had the same jacket.

Before long I was talking to his grandmother and after connecting the dots, I found out that his father is a friend from my dad's kampung!  Anthony Sia.  Such a small world.  He's about the same age as my brother and he was very good looking then. I was so excited to meet him again after almost 30 years but that night he was sick and did not come for the service.  Anyways, his 3 kids were such angels and it was a joy to be able to play with them.

Princess (I-girl) 8 y/o, Diantess (I-Honey) 7 y/o and Lennon (i-abang) 10 y/o.  Picture courtesy Rome.

Then we went back, had our hot drinks and devotions and we all settled down for the night.  Tomorrow is going to be our final convention day.  How the day seemed to fly by ever so quickly.

Murud 2015 - During - Day 3

Friday, 17th July.

Once again we woke up early to have morning devotions at 6am and then had breakfast together.  I think we had fried rice.  Lost memory of what we ate because we kept on eating!  But today, everyone will be fasting together - to pray for the whole convention as was requested by the Vice chairman of the Prayer Mountain Committee - Guru' Pudun Tadem.

It was 7.30am when we decided to go to the church hall (Gedung Haleluyah) to book a place.  2 years ago, we were just as kiasu and we had a favorite place in the hall, so Lyd and I wanted to sit at the same spot again.  Mind you, the service was to start at 9am, and yet half of the hall was already full when we got there at 7.40am!  Talk about being kiasu and punctual!

The 3 of us infront of the church hall

By 8.30am, there was basically no more space to move.  9am, literally shoulder to shoulder.  Never before has there been such a crowd.  Then they called out the folks from BKM central to give seats to the sakai (guests) as still many others were waiting outside the door.

This was 8am - yes, we were very kiasu

We were all nicely layered in thick clothes when we first arrived.  But as soon as the worship started it got really hot and stuffy in the hall.  The mats on the floor stopped the wind from blowing in and the windows of the hall were not designed to be opened.  It was like being in a oven for around 3.5hours.  In the end, I couldn't take it anymore, so I went to sit outside the hall together with the locals. Ahhh... much better :)

Spiritual feeding

As the service started, Cikgu (teacher) Sang said that as the intercessors where praying in preparation for this year's convention, God had revealed to them that these year's participants has been "hand-picked" by God to come.  As much as this is a privilege (to be hand-picked by God!), I find myself telling God, thanks, but really? All this pains and aches to come up here??!! Haha... I thank God that He is someone I can joke with even if He is the Creator of heaven and earth!

The theme for this year is "Gereja yang bergerak dalam kuasa Roh Kudus di akhir zaman" The church that moves in the power of the Holy Spirit in the end times.  The scripture text is from Genesis 41:38 - 39 and Matthew 21:2.  Every year in May, a group of intercessors from BKM central will go up to the mountain to wait upon the Lord and to ask Him of several things - The theme, the scripture text, the speaker, the worship leaders, the musicians and even the translator.  For the past few years, Aunty Sipai have been the one to receive these words as the intercessors pray together.  As I spend some time talking with her, she said that God even revealed that this year, the turn out will be like never before - even the smallest child to the oldest men and women will come to seek God.  In their limited human understanding, they didn't know how that would come to pass.  But indeed it did.  The oldest people came in their body limitation, children of all ages came with their parents as well - I bet we could have started a few sunday school classes!  It was certainly amazing.

When we got back to the house in the afternoon, while being lazy and lying down comfortably in our corner, Lyd and I discussed the sermon and the connection between the 2 passages from the bible.  So this is what I got:

Genesis 41:38-39

We are all like Joseph, chosen (hand-picked) to be in a "foreign land" (i.e. end times land).  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we then will be like Joseph:

- One in whom is the Spirit of the Lord

- God made known all "this things"

- Discerning

-Wise

Matthew 21:2

We need to humble ourselves, even as lowly as the donkey and colt, to bring Jesus into "Jerusalem" i.e. into the foreign land (end-times land).  But first, we need to be released of all the ties that binds us.  Even when we are hand-picked like Joseph, we need to humble ourselves like the colt.

That afternoon, since we were not having lunch, we spent some time to pray together as we fasted and each went to do their own meditation.  Lyd and I promptly meditated in our nap after our afore mentioned discussion!!  Haha. We didn't even bother that there were people coming in and out of the kitchen to visit and talk.  Oh I love that corner!

Night session was to start at 7.30pm.  So we all decided to break fast at 5pm to get ready.  Once again, we were at the hall early and it was full by 6.30pm.  If only this was the culture of our churches in the city!  Here in my church, service starts at 10.30am, people only start coming in by 10.45am!  Forgive us dear Lord!  I can't recall what was being preached that night.  Will update when I do.  That night, they did however gave a headcount - which was to a total of 1,500 people!  Hallelujah Praise the Lord!  Aunty Sipai said, in the history of the past 30 years, the most they have ever seen had only been 800pax.  This is already almost double!

Service ended at about 10pm, we head back to the house for some hot drinks and night devotions and everyone snuggled back into their sleeping bag.

Murud 2015 - During - Day 2

Thursday, 16th July

We woke up at 6am to have morning devotions together as a group.  Pastor Sabiyah was already up way earlier than us to prepare breakfast.  I am thankful to have her along with us in this trip.  The rest of us had only needed to help her in preparing the food or cleaning up or washing up after our meals.  Oh the smell of firewood!

Pastor Sabiyah at "work" :)

What did we do the whole day?  I can't recall now, but we must have lazed around a lot while nursing our aching bodies!  Barb and some other ladies went out to stroll and went to check my bag at the porter's station.  It had spent the night there as the porter didn't know where to take it to.  He then took it to the house.  Thank you Lord!

Edit 30th July - I recall now that in the afternoon, some in our group went for afternoon prayer under the leading of Guru' Pudun Tadem.  He is called Guru', which is either used for teachers or pastors - both are addressed as Guru'.  In this case, he is a retired headmaster of Ba' Kelalan school.  Lyd and I didn't bother to go for this prayer.  We had an afternoon nap :)

Later on in the evening, there was a trail of people who sang and danced throughout the wooden pathway.  This must have been a "must-have" event, I recall this was done when we were here in 2013 as well.  Our friend Maria joined them as soon as she heard them from the middle of her nap!  She just jumped out of her sleeping bag, down the steps and join the line (or was it lead the line??) Haha... such a spontaneous spirit is she!

Singing and dancing on the wooden pathway throughout the site.

One thing I remember us doing on that day though - we made Yu Cha Kueh!  Well, Pastor Sabiyah did.  We all just watch and help her by eating!  She mixed it in the evening and that night we had it for supper.  Yum!  It rained again that night :(

Yummeh Yu Cha Kueh

We all retired for the night after night devotion.  It was much better for me that night as I had my sleeping bag, my thick sweater and my magic silk sleeping bag lining.  Better sleep that night as we prepared our hearts for the next morning service.

While we were preparing for sleep, Uncle Salutan came to ask Ama's Paran permission to open up one of the unused houses as there were no more place for guests to stay.  Wow.  Were there that many I thought?  Yet, even as it continued to rain we could see lights upon lights of torches coming down the hill.  There were still many on their way.  Protect them dear Lord.

Murud 2015 - During - Day 1

This year I did not bother to take out my camera / phone to take photos as it's my second time climbing.  I knew I could get photos especially from the first timers *wink, wink*

Wednesday, 15th July 
We arrived at BKM at 10.35 as schedule.  We then proceeded to Apple Lodge to change our clothes.  Pastor Sabiyah took care of our boxes of ration from the airport to the 4WD as they had arrived earlier and were already in their hiking gear.  We finally met the rest of the team members - Rome, Liserd, Pastor Sabiyah (TMC BM), Jane (Good News), Cathy and her sister Sharon (Sibu), Mee Ting, Judith, myself (TMC English), Lydia, Maria (BEM) and Barbara (Latter Rain)

The 4WD was already waiting.  Off we went at 11am.  I didn't get to say hi to Grandma as her house was in the kampung area and we did not want to waste our time.  In 2013, it took us 2 hours drive up to Lepo Bunga, but this year, as the roads were good (it's cemented some parts) and dry (it did not rain for weeks except that morning), it only took us 1 hour.

Arrived Lepo Bunga, off to porter station to weigh our things, had a quick lunch standing by the lepo (hut) and off we went at 12.15 noon.  I personally aimed to arrive before night fall.

The first part of the hike seems easier to me this time... I guess all those last minute hours of up and down at the staircase and park really did help a lot.  Of course, I wasn't as fast as the fitter ones like Barb and Lyd, but oh well, who cares.  They can run up the hill if they wanted to, I thought to myself :D  I didn't mind hiking alone, as that would mean some time to be alone with God.  My dad of course would kill me if he knew I was alone or if I had left anyone to hike alone.  

Along the way up to Jambatan Sukacita, Sharon who was a first timer had much difficulties.  She had not taken lunch as she was not hungry and we could really see how she was struggling.  Her legs were shaking (her whole body was actually).  She also did not have isotonic drinks (note:  MUST have 100plus - it's actually the only drink you need - note to self, next time - 2 small bottles for going up, 2 small bottles for going down).  This was Cathy's 2nd hike and it was easier for her, so, she, Pastor Sabiyah and myself hiked slowly with Sharon.  At one point, she broke down and wept.  We prayed.  After 2 crazy hours, we reached Jambatan Sukacita.  Praise the Lord.

Jambatan Sukacita Metal Netting trail - thanks Barb for the pix

There, I literally forced Sharon to eat the rice we had taken along with us with lots and lots of salted fish.  The salt will help restore the electrolites (I think) and I know it will help her not to get cramps.  2 things my dad warned me about the hike is 1)  Not to get a cramp - small steps and lots of isotonic and 2)  Don't walk in the dark.

So in order not to be caught in the dark, after a quick break, we continued our journey.  In 2013, there were metal nettings along the way but because it was rainy season and there was a political disagreement between the kampung folks, they could not repair the old bridge with the new one.  This year, praise the Lord, they had done so. One of the reason I wanted to go back was to see if they had done anything to the pathway with the amount of money offered in 2013 and I am glad they had. But my joy was short lived.  It soon ended and we were back on the jungle trail.  I found out later that there weren't enough supply of the netting.  During this walk, Sharon was still struggling so we walked in a really slow pace.  We were joined by strong and pretty Edit - Pastor Sabiyah's first cousin.  We talked, sang, joked, and tried to make the journey a happy one for Sharon.  After another 2 hours, we reached the bottom of Batu Linanit.  I shared my ration of snickers with everyone as a reward :)

Up to Batu Linanit we went.  Honestly, I did not remember this part.  I don't remember how steep it was.  How small and slippery the steps were.  How FAR it was to reach up there.  It was INSANE.  But in order not to discourage Sharon, I kept my mouth shut and keep on.  Yes, here, it was beyond funny.  Up, up, up we went and we finally got to the "false" peak - Batu Linanit.  We rested for a while, Edit took out her phone, put on some music and down, down, down we went toward the church site.  2 years ago, I remembered the path being wide but this year, it seems that the bushes has overgrown the area and the path were really small (or was I getting bigger? :D)  It was a struggle to go down with my heavy body.  Most of the time I sat on the stone.  At times, I had to lift my leg because I was already so tired.  But continue I must.  At this stage, Edit and I had already took turns to carry Sharon's backpack so she can descend with ease.  At long last.... we arrived at the church site at 6.15pm!  HURRAHHHHH!!!!! Rome, Lis, Barb and Lyd - all nice, warm, clean and changed welcomed us at the pool.  Such joy!  Half and hour later the last of our group, Mee Ting, Judith and Jane arrived. Jane had some difficulties at the start up.  After Jambatan Sukacita she was all okay. Praise the Lord for He is our strength.

Up to Batu Linanit - Pix courtesy of Barb

We "bath" (more like just splashed ourselves) in the ice-cold water, changed to the clean pair we had in our carry on backpack and we had our "dinner" with what we had in our bags.  Our ration, as expected had not arrived.  Then, it rained so heavily - on one part, I was thankful for the rain, which means there will be water in the pond for everyone, but on the other part, I cried thinking of those still on the way (hiking) in the jungle, and I worry thinking about the road condition that will enable people to come up to Lepo Bunga and if the jungle trail would become muddy - a disaster especially for first timers and city dwellers.

After dinner, hot drinks, fellowship, our bags started to come in one by one.  I am thankful for the STP students who served as porters as well.  Alas, mine did not arrive that night.  I was so thankful that we were at Uncle Paran's house, did not have holes on our walls, had double mats on our floor and even had think comfy blanket in store!  True to Lun Bawang "stubbornly-nice" hospitality, they gave up their mattresses and blankets for others.  I got one blanket too :) They both just shared one sleeping bag to cover themselves up that night with their leg near the fire.  Still, it was freezing cold that night.  I doubt any of us got any sleep.  9 of us slept in the room (sardine for warming effect) and Lyd, Pastor Sabiyah and myself slept in the kitchen with Ama' Paran and Ina' Martina.
  

Us, and our host.  Pix courtesy don't know who in group whatapps :)

Murud 2015 - Expenses

Here's a summary of expenses for easy future reference

Ticket Kuching - Miri - Kuching (AirAsia):  RM177 including 15kgs baggage allowance to and fro

Ticket Miri - Ba' Kelalan - Miri (MAS):  RM211

Ba' Kelalan - Lepo Bunga 4WD ride:  RM30 / way = RM60

Porter up - RM4/kgs - we had 44 kgs between the 3 of us = RM176/3 = RM59/pax

Porter down - RM10/kgs - from top to Buduk Nur house (we sent things down earlier for fear of no porter) - 9kgs - RM90/3 = RM30/pax

Porter down - RM4/kgs - 27kgs = RM108/3 = RM36/pax

Hotel in Miri - RM125/3 = RM42

Excess baggage to BKM RM1/kg - RM20/3 = RM7

Love token for house in Murud = RM300/3 = RM100

Agent fees for BKM boarding = RM10/pax

Excess baggage = RM1/kgs = RM7/3 = RM3

Ration = RM385/3 = RM129

Total expenditure per pax is about RM865

The 3 of us bought our tickets separately and put in RM450 each into our "pool" account to cover for the expenditure of the whole trip.  Thanks Barb for being the accountant :)

Murud 2015 - before

Wow... it has been such a long time since I posted anything here. Nothing much going on in life apart from the norm, plus now I don't have the luxury of sitting infront of the computer with free fast internet access as I did when I was working in Sanmina-SCI last time, makes me so lazy to log in and post any entry.

But... this is special case ;) in addition to the excitement shown by Barbara in her blog From Notes to Diary made me excited to share my journey this year too.  I am babysitting my niece today and she is taking her afternoon nap, so I will share what I can until she wakes up.

After being on Murud in 2013 (and after facing all the "hardship" during the climb) I thought I would not have the strength to go back.  Yes, I believe that God gave and will continue to give me the strength should I decide to go, and my heart truly yearns to go back but as the bible say "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak".  One day mid 2014 I was talking to Barbara about the experience and she said she wanted to go.  I said okay, gave her the dates but in the back of my mind, I was telling myself that I was crazy to attempt the climb again.  True to her excitement, Barb got us tickets in December (MYY-BKM MAS Ticket:  RM211).  Being a coward to go up "alone", I contacted Lydia and Alie (my climb gang in 2013) to see if they too wanted to go.  Lyd said yes.  Alie said she didn't feel called to it this year.  So it became the 3 of us.  [Note:  Barbara is my junior from high school.  Never were friends / close during high school but got reunited during one of those school gatherings and clicked - perhaps because of our faith]

The 3 of us - Barb, me (what's up with my face?) and Lydia

By January 2015, I knew that I had to loose weight if I wanted to climb Murud.  In 2013, I was 75kgs then and now I was 90kgs - that's 15 kgs extra!  As usual, I spread out the kgs and said if I could loose 2kgs / month, I will be fine by July.  At that time, I met Lyd for coffee and we both made a pact to start training early and shed our extra kgs (mine more than hers).  Did it happen?  Of course NOT! :D  Come mid June, 1 more month to the climb, I met Lyd and was sooooo happy when she said that she don't think that she can climb as she have not been training and she would be happy to just stay at the kampung.  I danced in my heart and said great! I will stay in the kampung too.  I will connect Barb with those I knew was going up and leave her to be taken cared of by them.  Easy peasy - so I thought.  18th June - got my KCH - MYY tickets - AirAsia - RM 177.00 inclusive 15kgs baggage to and fro.

2 weeks before the trip, I started to worry about getting ration (food), about how to cook, about places to stay and I started bugging Lyd to help me think as Barb didn't have the experience yet.  In addition to that, our experience in 2013 thought us that it would not be an easy thing.  After discussing about the ration we will need, the logistic etc for a few days, Lydia whatappsed me saying, "Today, I think, I can naik. Haha!".  Done deal.  We were going up.  I was so worried, that I went on a "diet" that says I can loose 10kgs in 15 days.  Just enough time I thought.  Nope, I didn't loose 15kgs but only 5kg.  Haha. So I was now 10kgs heavier than 2013.  I started going to church more often - not to pray but to climb up and down the steps in church (church has 4 levels of staircases).  I went for walks at the Amphitheater as well at Reservoir park every morning for at least 1.5 hours.  But at the end of the 2 weeks, I knew that I my success in the climb will be only because of God, for I have neglected to prepare myself well for this trip.

Do or die - Murud, here I come.

Food:

What we prepared for the trip - I wish I can just post up screenshots of our whatapps here, but that will not be fun right?

Food for mountain:

We were going to be going to the Mountain on Wednesday afternoon so counting from Wednesday dinner till Monday breakfast, we were to have 15 meals there.  So 15 cans of tin stuff, one for each meal divided between the 3 of us.  Lyd and I knew instant noodle would taste great up there in the cold - fast to cook, fast to eat too, so budgetting 2 meals/day with 2 packs noodle/meal between the 3 of us, we decided 20packs will be enough.  2 kgs rice (1 kg rice = 7 cups.  1 cup/meal 15 meals = 15 cups = 2 kgs).  Milo and cereal drinks too would taste great in the cold - so 20 of each.  Because Lyd and I had spent the night at Lepo bunga with Ibu Bulan in 2013, we wanted to also have fried chicken and fried pork in our list because it tasted sooooo nice when Ibu Bulan shared it with us at that time.

Summary (shared between the 3 of us)

Instant noodle - 20 packs

Tin stuff - 15 cans

3 in 1 Milo - 20 packets

cereal drink - 20 packets

Rice - 2 kgs

Biscuits - Osborne, Munchy, Peanut butter

Fried Chicken cubes - 1 kgs - RM10

Fried Pork cubes = 1 kgs - RM18

Salted fish - a few sticks - can't remember how much

Snickers - 3 packs - 1 to go up, 1 during the stay up there, 1 to go down

Dates - 1 box Yusoff Taiyoh Yuta dates) - can't remember how much

Lyd brought fried anchovies, fried peanut, tea bags and coffee.

I got all the stuff and packed them into 2 separate boxes, making sure we had a balance of everything in both boxes just incase the box went MIA.  Each box weight about 7kgs.  We ended up not taking any rice with us as we then had a better arrangement for accommodation where the host will prepare rice for us.

Ration part 1 - for mountain

Mixed Snickers on promo

Food for the kampung:

We were also going to stay at my grandma's house in Buduk Nur, Bakelalan for a few days.  We would be coming down from the mountain on Monday morning and our flight was to be on Wednedsay - that will be 2 nights.  It being Grandma's house, board was free and I knew there would be at least another person there with her (Uncle Pudun).  We might have to take care of our own food if there was no aunties around.  So, I packed another box of 7kgs - instant noodles, tin stuff, biscuits etc.  I forgot to buy beverages.  It might seem a lot / too much to some, but really, when you go back to kampung and stay with "family", wouldn't you buy lots?  If there is one thing I regret is that I didn't buy much more!  The weight limit did not allow us to do so.  On our last morning there, grandma had asked who bought the groceries.  I told her we did.  She then said, if it's you, then it's good, I can eat it as much as I want.  If it was your uncle / aunty-in-law, then I don't want to eat much as I am shy and afraid to eat it.  My heart broke.

Ration part 2 - for kampung

Accommodation

In 2013, we had to stay with the bible school students where it was bare, the walls had HUGE holes where wind would blow into your skull and you can hardly sleep.  We had to seek their help to cook our rice using firewood as well as we lacked the utensil and know-how :D  So this time, I was very much ready to lug up things (well, taking for granted there will be porters to help lug them up!) to make the stay easier.  I was ready to bring a portable burner + stove, pots and pans as well as plates etc.  I also knew we needed a tent to be able to sleep.  Barbara had a tent that she could borrow from her sister so that was taken care off.  I went for a search of all the other stuff, trying to find the smallest yet most reliable gadget to survive. Dad even wanted to give me tuition on how to cook army style! I think he was more worried that I was.

3 days before the trip, I met my cousin-in-law Pastor Sabiyah and lamented to her about the preparation.  Then she asked, why don't you stay with us at Pak Paran and Ibu Martina's place.  Hearing that, I was ecstatic!! I have been to their house on the mountain for a visit in 2013 so I knew that it was well equip and comfy.  That would solve every worry that I have!  Praise the Lord!  I quickly asked Lyd and when she said OK, I whatappsed Barb as well.  We had only to give a love token of RM25/night.  So it was decided.

Transport

I have asked my uncle Pudun to arrange for transport to take us to Lepo Bunga when we arrived, but had gotten no updates from him.  During the same conversation with Pastor Sabiyah, I asked if there was still room for the 3 of us to hitch a ride with them.  She said she will arrange it, to consider it done.  Wow.  Praise the Lord for this providence.

The most worrying thing for me is to be caught still hiking in the jungle at night.  I quickly did my maths, arrive BKM 10.30, change, go up Lepo Bunga at 11, reach at 1 (it used to take 2 hours) start the climb - 1pm - 7pm (6 hours from previous experience).  Guaranteed to be dark.  Oh no!  I asked Lydia if it was a wise plan.  She replied me  "Don't worry much.  God has taken care of our accommodation, transport.  We just need to get there".

Bah... iya lah... Be at rest dear heart, God will take care of everything.