Timor 2017

Back from Timor, and it's crazy how time flies - it's been 2 weeks since I came back.

God has been so so good this trip and looking back at my journal entries, I finally understand why God wanted me to go. 

Before I left, I remember journaling my prayer requests and it went something like:

1) not to fall sick
2) not to be anxious
3) to feel God's heart for the nation so much so that it surpassed my fears, and to leave feeling God's burden for the nation.

Everything was answered.

In my previous post, I mentioned about feeling peace and it really felt like that the entire trip! I was super nervous about co-leading because it meant that I had to be ready enough to take care of the youths. But when God says go, He also equips. It was truly not by my own strength.


Before I go on, here is some brief information about the Timor as a country. It is between Indonesia and Australia, as such, before the war ended, Australian troops can be seen in the country. In fact, the school we stayed in was actually left behind by the Australians. This village is indeed blessed!

We were all the way to the far right, Lautem. It was about an 8-10 hours bus ride from Dili the capital, because the roads are bad. If they managed to build proper roads, the journey would probably be about 3 hours.

Some key highlights from the trip were:

• Ps Matt had a leaders skype call about 2 days before we left, and he mentioned that God placed a burden in his heart to buy 2 shovels and bring it to the village. And so we did. Who would have known, they were beginning on some planting work in that village! A pity we couldn't be a part of that though, maybe the next round.
• The events on the first day of the village that showed us how real spiritual warfare is, but also how great a God we serve
• We left our passports back in the city as we thought it would be safer. Turned out, the police in that village said that there were cases of sexual violence in the town and he insisted we had to have our passports or he would need to send us back to the city. God provided through a pastor we met at our accoms back in the city. This pastor was going down to the village near us and could help us take our passports. Definitely a divine appointment!
• The NCC team did not buy water. We thus did not have enough water to last through the village. God provided through a villager who was the mum of one of the Timor team members. She left to catch the midnight bus to the market and carried back 6 cartons of water, along with our veggies for our stay. Really thank God for her heart of service. Made me question what did we even do right to deserve this blessing.
• Someone from the Timor team experienced spiritual warfare through the form of spiritual gagging. This particularly was the highlight for me because for those who know my past, I grew up being damn scared of the supernatural. I've seen it so many times when I was a kid, that I always had this fear until someone walked through this journey with me when I was much older. This time, I felt like God pushed me a step further -- to not be afraid. The girls who saw it for the first/second time ran out crying and I saw my childhood self in them. God gave me the right words to say, and I managed to even share my past. It was a pity we missed the explanation from our Timorese friend, but God delivered victory and it was a spiritual highlight for me.

The first day was filled with an onslaught of activities that reminded me of how real the spiritual realm is, and how powerful the name of Jesus is too. There is truly nothing to be afraid when you have Jesus with you.

There were also many things my team struggled with, such as bathing in the pond. However, it turned out even better than expected. Of course there were squirming, I mean, bathing with tadpoles and fishes and God knows what else; BUT it was a time of bonding as well.

and God probably had a sense of humour -- we had to clean the pond the next day. HA HA HA. BUT. Because of the pond clean up, we bonded so well with the NCC team! Played so much in the pond, with Ps Matt farting and peeing blah blah and Jon digging up earthworms and fishes, Oscar picking prawns to cook, the girls squealing at things they thought was shit, throwing grass at each other etc. Then, the villagers came in to help us. It was really so divine because the barrier seemed to have been broken and we all felt like A TEAM. Then... we had to bathe in there after HAHA. When you see all the stuff in the pond... sometimes it's better to just close your eyes and bathe.

This was the pond. Looks damn nice right HAHA. But yes that is where everyone bathes together. With fishes and tadpoles swimming around you :')

This was us in the pond with lots of grass and rubbish that we had to clear. It was epic because everyone ended up playing and having a good time. We spent almost 3 hours cleaning the pond.

God was always with us throughout and I know this because I journaled "I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way before you." Matthew 11

I remember someone texted me this too. And this verse just kept recurring to remind me that God has already gone ahead before us.
On the night of the spiritual warfare, amidst all the fears, this verse, "it is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deut 31:8 came as I was doing my quiet time.

Another verse was on the first day of the trip where I wrote: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." Matthew 10:28

Really reminded me of how God is so ever present and real. The next few photos will show how life was throughout the trip. :)

This was our typical food in the village. In fact this was considered a lot. Normally, our meals would just be veg like brinjal or kangkong with plain rice and bananas which I grew to eat. The bananas are really different, they tasted like potatoes and a knife was needed to peel the skin off.

On the last night, we had a pig to eat! It fed the whole village. That really amazed me actually - how there was enough food to feed everyone. That's me burning off the hair of the pig using dried and dead leaves.

This is the kitchen, all cooked using charcoal. It's super cool how they manage to start a fire so fast. 

Us helping with washing the dishes. haha

A photo with the cows! (Which ran away sobbles)

Children in the village. There were tons of them!

Team photos: Before we left for Timor, before we left for Lautem, when we came back and had no car, the NCC person picked us in a microlet! Cool experience, apart from bumping our heads. Lastly, the team back in SG. :)

A really nice family portrait of someone who cooked and treated us like royalty. All these in the midst of their suffering like sicknesses and deaths in the family. Incredible service and really a role model for us all.

Went to a really nice place called Com to take photos. The view is AMAZING. We saw fishes like Dory in Finding Nemo and even a reef shark! Amidst all the corals. Timor has amazing scenery, really. I really loved how Lautem was so near the ocean.

And yup, meet my fellow leader. LOL. Who does stuff like... take photos of us all sleeping so unglamly. 

Like such.

Reaching Ihara village in just a few mins. Think this was taken at the police station. 

 "You wanna stand here? Be careful ya." 17 year old and so mature already. And that's how the NCC team was - always serving and thinking of others before themselves. It's incredibly humbling.

How we commuted. Standing out at the door of the bus was super fun! Me and Jon (other leader) also took turns to sit at the door. It was really thought provoking actually. Made me think a lot about the Timorese, and Timor as a country. There's an unexplainable sadness, seeing how little they have, and how they might never come to know Jesus or have the things we all have.

Also managed to meet Mary and her family, whom I met and went to Bahareduk last year with. Thank you for always remembering me. 

Funny highlights:

• Choking the toilet hole *coughs* Joanne and having the Timorese help us to unchoke it HAHAHA
• Ps Matt's tadpole in his ear which he only realised like 2 days later eeks
• Calling everyone Bibi (goat), fahi (pig), karau (cow) 
• Peeing on top of a mountain/hill overlooking the ocean (photo for reference below)
  
  
  
  

Timor has taught me so much. God really answered all of my prayers, and I found it incredible how none of us fell sick! Even though we drank the pond water for the drinks and food that the villagers prepared, we did not get any stomach upset, thank God for that!

I prayed to have God's heart for the nation that would outweigh any fears. I never thought I could ever feel so much for the Timorese, but when we were leaving for SG, Ps Matt took us to see a map of Timor. We stood in front of it praying for the nation, remembering everything we saw. I remember praying and just weeping like mad. It was so embarrassing, I ran into the toilet right after prayer ended. I thought about the scenes that I saw sitting at the door of the bus, the children's faces, the villagers that we prayed for who were in pain... It was just so heart wrenching to know that there's only so much we could do.

My final takeaways from now till the next trip (maybe, hopefully),
To never forget this trip. To never forget the people I saw, the people who are hurting and need a glimmer of hope. Let me always feel God's heart for the nation and for the lost. To know what it really means to sing "break my heart for what breaks yours". As 2017 comes to a close... Thank you Jesus that it was a year of closures for me. Amidst the disappointments, I'm thankful that 2017 ended with this trip to remind me of the bigger and more important things in life. 

Lastly, as I transition into the working world, I hope to never be caught up in the rat race. As I prayed about my job and what the next season is going to bring, Isaiah 28 came up and it was about continued growth. To never be stagnant. "Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever."
It feels scary because it feels like this also means stepping out of my comfort zone. 
One key thing I've learnt is really obedience and to not be drowned out by the noise of this world so much so that I cannot hear God and doubt His realness. I never wanted to go back to Timor after last year, not within a year that is. But looking back, all those fears of mine were so so small with such a great God equipping me. This was probably one of the best trips I've been on. 

Let me never forget.