Travels in the 10/40 Window

The Beginning Of The Fast

2008-09-06T00:40:00.000+08:00

Ramadan, or the fasting month, started on the first of September and I happened to be in Sandakan, East Malaysia.

During this time, several clusters of food stalls sprung up all over the city. We had many local friends in Sandakan, and on Tuesday afternoon, 2nd Sept, we stopped by this little pocket of stalls to look for one.

I started to drool the moment we stepped in... ooooh, the smells! And look at all the food! The kueh-kueh! The noodles! The chicken! OOOOOOH!The fasting month affected our ministry - our literacy classes in the kampong had fewer children when we re-opened the school on Tuesday after the holiday weekend. Each teacher reported about one-third of the kids missing from their classes.Some of our trainee teachers i.e. the local ladies who had come alongside our teachers to assist in the classes also went missing. Some had to begin work outside in order to be able to prepare for the Hari Raya celebrations (eg, contribute to the household expenses, purchase new clothes) at the end of Ramadan. One of them was employed at a food stall at the above place we visited.

Ramadan is indeed a very busy time for the folk in Sabah.

Our Car In Sandakan

2008-09-05T00:40:00.000+08:00

Without this car loaned to us for free by a member of Sandakan Baptist Church (SBC), getting around Sandakan would have been very difficult!

When we officially kicked off our ministry in early July just two months ago, we rented this red Proton for a while. My goodness. It looked so beaten up!Then we met a kind SBC member, a businessman who has four cars. One was meant for his church's ministry use and he lent it to us for our work without asking for any rental payment. We made sure we gave a love offering at the appropriate time.And then, of course without this driver to get behind the wheel to ferry me... I mean all of us around Sandakan, life would have been a whole lot harder!Even though she talked and talked as she drove and once took us on the highway to Kota Kinabalu by mistake and we nearly ended up there, I am still very, very pleased with the car. I mean the driver. Thank you, Annie.

Exploring Sandakan

2008-09-04T22:40:00.000+08:00

I was in the city of Sandakan, Sabah for the last seven days and I'll soon be off on another working trip to Cambodia, but here are some updates and photos of my very first time to East Malaysia.

Sandakan is the second largest city in the state of Sabah, East Malaysia, the largest being its capital at Kota Kinabalu about 330 km away. It was founded in the late 1870s, and was once known as Little Hong Kong and was a busy port for the export of logs and timber.

I was told it was a sleepy little town, but fortunately, during my visit, it was anything but sleepy. My seven days in Sandakan coincided with a long holiday weekend i.e Malaysia's National or Independence Day was on Sunday 31st August, and the next day, Monday, was a public holiday. 1st Sept was also the first day of Ramadan, or the fasting month, and so, because of all these, there was a great deal going on!

Besides checking out our newest ministry in one of the kampongs (i.e. villages), we had time to discover the history and culture of this part of Malaysia. Now, before you start laughing and wonder why I am suddenly so culturally-minded and not shopping-mad, ahem, I do like history, and I do like to visit museums, and this being my first time in East Malaysia Borneo, I was interested in finding out about this part of the world and its people. Annie didn't know that at first, and after we hit the usual touristy spots such as the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center, we found the Heritage Trail and explored a few very interesting museums.As for the shopping in Sandakan... well, we did some of that too, but shops did not stay opened during the long holidays.
To be continued...

A reminder to old (and new) readers of my personal blog: The mission trips I make are not all work and no play. This blog focuses on the 'play' part - our sightseeing, tours, side trips, eating, fellowship and all the fun things we do in between the 'work' part, which are covered in the Missions Desk newsletter.

Sandakan On Tues And Wed

2008-09-03T23:11:00.001+08:00

We were supposed to go back to work on Tues, after the long weekend with the Malaysia National Day holiday. Er...well, as u know i am here without any hardworking pastors around so our work was sort of only for two hours per day at the kampong. The rest of the time, we were er. . . .visiting museums to immerse ourselves in local history and culture, enjoying bak kut teh dinner. . . Oh dear. I shouldnt have said so much. PP said Sandakan is a sleepy town. I told him he must have been very deprived when he was here. Because, running around for the last few days, I didnt find it sleepy at all. But well, I am to return to Singapore tomorrow, via KL. Wish me bon voyage.

Malaysia National Day Holiday Sandakan

2008-09-01T17:15:00.001+08:00

I think I m getting an overdose of too much sports and games, first the Olympics, then the sports day at the Kampong on saturday, and right now i m sitting in the stadium for the Sandakan Baptist Church kindy Sports Day! It's monday, a national holiday and Malaysians do seem to know how to have a good time. I am most privileged to have a Malaysian for a tour guide, plus the new Sabahan friends I got to know from SBC. This morning we went for breakfast at Sim Sim and this is a truly amazing community on the sea! We then went shopping at the market. Who dare say there's no shopping in Sandakan? Ha! And then we went for a very posh lunch at The English Teahouse, followed by a tour of a famous house turned into a museum. What fun thing will we do next, Annie?