A trip to Long Lamai (2013 and 2014)

It all started last year, I was this ordinary kid who sometimes question God's existence in my life, in pursuit of unanswered questions and doubts I had of God. Is He really Him? Is He the God described to me all throughout my life?I often wondered. After years of education and knowledge, I know there is a God up there, but what kind of God is he? There is this emptiness in me, and a fire that burns, urging me to look for answers. I prayed.

July 2013
Missions, the church is talking about missions. It was their theme. One Sunday, I sat on 1 of the chairs thinking of the word 'missions'. I feel it calling out to me, I know God wants a connection with me, I prayed for God's wisdom and finally I made a decision to go for a mission trip, to serve God and His people, to spread the Good news to people and my personal experiences and encounters with God.
I worked right away and after much enquiries I found out about the mission trip to long lamai led by Dr Herbert Tan.

October 2013
Trip is finalised, everything is ready to go.

November 2013
21st November - Offer from University of Adelaide to study medicine arrived
22nd November - heading off to Rawang for mission trip briefing and training
24th November - Heading into Miri and from there, an 8 hour 4wd into Lg Banga then 40 minutes boat ride into Long Lamai.
I do not know what to expect, for months I have been waiting for a response, and praise the Lord I got my offer 1 day before my mission trip. I know I made the right choice, I know God is watching over me.

In Long Lamai last year, God showed me a lot. I learned to love His people more, I saw what God wants me to see. I experienced simple faith. I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Being someone who has always been a 'see to believe' person, I finally concluded that God is indeed there,the same God described to me over the past 20 years of my life.
I see my past , my present and my future. Him giving me a chance, opening doors for me to study medicine conveys a message , telling me that I will become an inspiration to the future. "Being a doctor, its not a job, it's a calling."
I see miracles in the village, some which I am still in awe with. I see clouds of glory, shining above the village, with photo evidence.

God showed his love towards the village. I got what I was asking for, I found the answer.

2014
I made it to Adelaide for further studies. At times certain events in my life displeases God. Hence, I have made a decision to reenter Long Lamai as a reminder to myself of God's existence.

November 2014
This time I went in as a first year medical student, I have a tad more knowledge about medications and certain illnesses. Being the doctor's assistant, I even gave a talk on diabetes mellitus in Bahasa Melayu to the people there, much to my amazement, even with my limited proficiency I managed to cover most of the important points , thanks to the help of the doctor, Dr Khoo Khong Beng.
God showed me something totally different this year. I have never believed in demon possessions all these while. God showed me one in the village. I was among one the people who stood forward to pray for the demon possessed person and I could feel the spiritual attacks. I never prayed that hard before in my life, and it was one of the most eeriest experience I ever encountered.
I have to say it was the hardest prayer I ever did in my life.While I was praying I could see what the person sees, a woman in white, with long hair and nails, eyes of an owl and the face of a monkey. I shivered in coldness and all my hair stood, i can feel the attacks on my sinful past. I did not fear, I prayed on . If not because of my strong faith, the demon could have leaped on me.
As I have said , I am one of the stubbornest person ever in this world, it is not until I see something to believe in it.  I could now say that demons too do exist. Within minutes , the prayers got the demon out of her, and everything went back to normal. It was one of the weirdest feelings I ever had.
Then I learnt that Borneo housed the most ferocious demons and spirits, and that many people has been possessed.
Last year god showed me the power of the Holy Spirit, this year He showed me the power of the evil spirits. and the take home message is , when we are face to face with a demon, there shouldn't be fear, as God is always stronger than all these demons, Faith that is strong is also required.

I learnt more in this trip than I did last year. I learnt the hardships of certain individuals and how God worked in their lives. I learnt to love more than I ever could, and I gained confirmation of my faith. As I go through my medicine course, learning about the wonders of the human body, I am more convinced that there is a God. How can there be no God? The One that puts everything in place. nothing happens by accident. Why is everything so perfectly weaved in the human body, the DNA, the cells, the interconnections?

Deep down I know the answer lies with God.

And as I am writing this, I kinda miss Long Lamai already.