Even months after going, I still have the desire to return to Borneo. I pray to God about the chance of me going and the answer is still, “Be still and wait, I know the plans I have for you.” And that is what I will do. But no matter if I go back physically or just visit Borneo in a sweet memory, I will always remember the God filled blessings that were rained down upon me in that land of perpetual beauty and unending mystery.

Our whole group went to an English speaking Malaysian SDA church for Sabbath. The church family is so kind, they do things very similar to the states. I miss Sarawak, it doesn’t feel the same being in Borneo but not in the part I wish to be in.

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Well, we are back in the Kota Kinabalu airport. I am pretty sick. I am congested, with a sore throat, runny nose and a headache. I hope it goes away soon, I don’t want to have it when we reach Korea.

We spent our last day in Borneo in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. We stayed in a hotel Friday night and attended an Adventist church on Sabbath. Saturday night we did a little shopping near our hotel. It was well after dark as we walked through the rain back to our hotel through the bustling city streets. A little boy about ten years old appeared out of the shadows and trotted beside me, shaking a dirty yellow cup. I looked down at him for only an instant, but he spotted the sympathy in my face and followed right at my elbow. I knew he most likely wouldn’t be able to keep the few coins I dropped into his cup,that they would probably go to some creep hiding in the shadows. That was the first time I’ve ever encountered a begging child.

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I am so excited! We are taking a group into Bintulu to go shopping! I will hopefully get lots of pictures of Bintulu while I’m there. At first I pondered whether or not to go into town today, but if I don’t I won’t be able to get souvenirs from here at all. So I’m going, I think we’ll be back around 5:30.

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Wow! That was amazing! Pastor Ham ended up taking Danielle, Soojin and me in his car instead of making us ride the hot bus. When we got into Bintulu, our first stop was a gift shop. It was pretty expensive so I only bought a little key chain. Our second stop was to Pizza Hut!!! Yes, they have those in Borneo There were some other people there from our group and we ate and had a great time. Later, we went to a little mall where I bought some gifts for my family. It was super nice in there, especially since they had air conditioning!

When Pastor Ham dropped us off to catch the bus back to Similajau (because he had to go to a funeral and was not going to go back to the park), Danielle, Soojin and I were pleasantly surprised to find Pastor Del waiting for us to pile into his car to take us back to the park! So we played musical pastors and hopped from one car to the other, thus not having to ride the bus at all!

It was such a fun drive back. Pastor Del told us that we can’t leave Borneo and that we have to stay. We told him that we would be much obliged and that we should just turn around now and head back to the long house. So he jokingly started pretending to turn around : ) I will really miss our friends when we actually do have to leave. I just know I am going to cry.

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I saw a Horn bill!!! I was walking to dinner when I noticed some of the military men looking at a tree with binoculars. I looked up and there, happily eating cicadas, sat a beautiful black and white Horn bill! This is quite an experience because the Horn bill is Sarawak’s state bird thus their title: “The Land of the Horn Bill”. It was an unforgettable moment. I took as many pictures as I wanted and even got to the foot of his tree without him caring. I guess those cicadas are to die for! : ) When I got to the veranda where we eat our meals, I let everyone know of my second hand discovery and most of them went rushing out to see for themselves. I will never forget that moment.

The hostels here are incredible. At least they are an upgrade from Bako. The bunk beds are a lot nicer and more comfortable, the windows are much better and the air circulation is quite decent. I love being near the ocean, it stirs something so deep inside of me. Just looking at it feels me with a desire to know more about it. I love it here so much, I am so glad we get to spend two and a half days here.

I slept little that first night and woke up in agony. My entire body ached, my stomach was churning and I was burning up. My bed was on the second floor of the house I was staying in. The sun hadn’t risen yet and I had to use my headlamp to see anything. I crawled out of my mosquito net and very shakily made my way downstairs and out into the main hallway (we’ll call it the inner veranda) to find Dr. Carter. He diagnosed it as the flu and gave me medicine.

I spent the day just inside the door of my house, lying on a mat and drifting in and out of restless sleep. The three ladies of my household took care of me as if I were their own child. They gave me water (which I could only sip slowly), rubbed my feet and back, and laid damp cloths on my hot face. They truly demonstrated God’s love. We go on mission trips intending to serve, and we do, but often we receive far more than we give.

On the second day I went to a clinic in Tatau with Pastor Del (the district pastor) and Pastor Henny (who was going in to get his asthma checked out). I nearly fainted about three times while we were at the clinic. I couldn’t stand for very long before collapsing. It was very hot and I hadn’t eaten hardly anything in two days. The doctor gave me some more medicine and told me to come back if I got worse (which wasn’t all that helpful but it was an interesting experience; going to a clinic in another country). A nurse helped me to the car when it was time to go and I slept most of the way back.

The heat was stifling that afternoon as I lay on my mat in the longhouse. My fever had broken and I was damp with sweat. I remember looking through a window high on the wall and watching clouds stack up in the sky. I prayed for rain, not only for myself but for my friends working on the churches. When that first breeze swept through the longhouse, it felt exactly as if someone had brushed a cool hand over my face and I jerked awake. It did rain at last and I listened to the rain drumming the metal roof above me.

That day was really tough for me so I stuck with some of the more simple jobs that were less taxing like handing bricks up to people in the scaffolding. It was really hot until the second part of the day. We were almost finished with the church and the sidewalks when the clouds released a torrential downpour upon us all. It happened so rapidly. It was dry then all of the sudden, it was drenching us to the bone. My dirty brick-stained shirt clung greedily to my body and my shorts flowed with water at my every step. I looked over at the newly poured sidewalks and was disappointed. The rain was slowly eating up our cement. But at the end of the day, the only drawback was that we could not finish one side of church with sidewalk but overall, that section was unneeded.

That night, we had the goodbye ceremony and an exchange of gifts. It took a long time because each of us had to get up and do some sort of dance. I was thoroughly embarrassed but Soojin went with me so it was ok.

When we dedicated the churches, I had such a feeling of accomplishment inside me. Now the people can come to a place of worship where God’s presence can always dwell.

Leaving, we all packed up on the bus to go. I had mixed feeling about leaving. On one hand, I was excited to go to the beach, relax and see my family soon. On the other hand, I was sad to leave the people that I had just began to know and share my heart with. I will probably not see these people again until we meet in heaven, even that thought is bittersweet. I wish we could have more time, one more week at least, to further our relationships with the people. Instead of working, we could simply delve into their culture and their lives. I will miss everyone, especially the pastors, who were so friendly and nice to me.

Everything sounds so loud to me. The clicks of the gecko above me on the ceiling fan feels like a bass guitar and the children on the other end of the long house seem to be standing right next to me screaming. Well, I am super tired now so I think I will go back to sleep and get some rest.

This year I brought, along with six other books (missionary stories and compiled Guide Magazine stories) a copy of Nyla and the White Crocodile, an old story of how God used the daughter of a chief, a mysterious white crocodile, a man-eating python, and a young Christian teacher to convert a whole longhouse. They don’t have the book in Sarawak, and though the story happened many years ago it is well known. We were only an hour away from the place where the story occurred (it happened on the Tatau river). A mission school called Bukit-Nyala (which means “hill of the shining light”) had been built near Nyla’s longhouse. The books were gifts for my friend, Pastor Sim. Several of the pastors wanted to read Nyla and the White Crocodile and it was passed around throughout the week. I talked for over an hour with a man named Morris, who attended and taught at the Bukit-Nyala school. Today the school is abandoned, I never did find out the reason why, although I do know there is a newer Adventist school in Kuching, the capitol city of Sarawak. It’s called Sunny Hill School. (Sunny Hill, Hill of the Shining Light…don’t know if there’s a connection but I plan to ask one of the pastors in an email someday soon). I also had the privilege of meeting Nyla’s nephew. I worked with him on the church but didn’t know who he was until the end of the week.

For those of you who’ve never read Nyla and the White Crocodile, I highly recommend it. I read it many times as a child but it still inspires me. I can’t describe how profound it was to be there, so near to where God worked such miracles. I had always known that the stories were true, but I didn’t know how true they really were. Morris asked me to send more copies of the book and I definitely intend to.

And even more: Pastor Sim told me there are many other stories like that one that no one has ever written down. God’s planted a dream in my heart: I want to write those stories. I can’t think of anything I would enjoy more than writing about the miracles God has worked and is working in Sarawak. In fact, by the grace of God I plan to return to Borneo with UCA next year, and after a couple years of college I intend to go to Borneo as a student missionary for a year or so. I spoke with the SDA mission president while I was there this year and he wants me to come teach English or help with missionary work in the longhouses. One of my best friends, Abby Hochhalter, has the same dream and we are going to go as SM’s together. I am so thrilled about working in Borneo that I feel a burning in my heart when I think about it.