Sometimes, when things don’t happen the way they should, the first response we have is that of anger & frustration. On the Labour Day weekend, the boat was to depart at six am, so we were told. The group of volunteers who came in the night before, barely had five hours of sleep when I jolted them up to catch the early ferry to Tioman. When the group of 12 of us arrived at the jetty at 5:45am, the ferry had left without us, citing the tides going out had to be challenged if they were to make it. Being told that the ferry service for all the days were fully booked, our hopes were dashed when we got stranded there. We arranged with the transport company to accommodate the twelve of us for a later trip when the tides rose again. Kaseng, my associate/advisor/godfather/mentor, lost his cool but I just kept silent & apologised for the delay & asked the volunteers to proceed for breakfast instead.
So we ate. And we talked. We got acquainted very quickly. Audrey & Kok Cheong, friends of Wai Min, a Reccie(term used for recreational diver), had established themselves as Christians at the beginning of the conversation & before you know it, it was almost 8am. Then Aaron Tee straddles in to say hello, barefooted, drenched in mud & stank. Hahaha, a forumer in all his splendour!
“Aaron, what’s wrong with you?â€Â
“Our speedboat got stuck in the sand. So are the other speedboats while trying to get to the big ferry. I walked back to get breakfast for the rest!â€Â
A blessing in disguise. We cheered so loudly, we didn’t realise we got stares. God had kept all of us from the arduous journey to the sandbanks of Mersing rivermouth. By the time the boat transported us out to the main ferry, it was 10am. We only got to our destination at almost 1:30pm. You’d think that the Mersing boat operators would be familiar with the waterways since they’ve been at it for years but no. They are mercilessly caught because the shifting sands just cover up the route that they thought was passable. What’s happening to the widening of the river or reinforcement on the banks? The digging up of the waterway??? In my humble opinion, they are digging a deeper grave for themselves. So our plans got delayed but we were spared from having to get down to push the boat as Aaron was also seen doing after we rode pass them to get to the ferry. I couldn’t imagine then, what would have happened if we were laden with problems at the start of the trip & the possibility of sending everyone back because there wasn’t space in the ferry. Well, the mission has to go on. We were to salvage corals & replant them.
There’s something about community living that brings out the best in everyone. God never intended for man to live alone. Again, the public holiday-long weekend problem of not having enough rooms caused the four of us, Sam, Dengy, Ricac & I, to bunk in one room. Audrey, Ricac & I talked about issues that surround our lives. We laughed at the propositions I’d received in my life as a female instructor. We also talked about lost love. Ricac hadn’t heard anything like it before, about the way we solve our problems through Christ. She said it’s as if we depended solely upon His existence & power to live each day. She’s not far from the truth. If we are to be the light & salt of the world, we must first learn to live the way that God had intended for us to live…..by faith.
The coral rescue mission is another topic altogether but I figured God had used this opportunity to put desires in Kok Cheong’s heart to dive again after a lapse of 7 years, to send Audrey to minister to me. In return, I took care of Kok Cheong akin to bringing a kid sight-seeing underwater! Uprooting from KL to the islands meant time away from fellowship with my Christian cellgroup & performing arts practices. I asked God if He really wanted me to go before I packed my bags & when I opened the Bible, He sent me to Psalm 107….
Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
They wandered in the wilderness, in a desert by the way; they found no city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Then they cried to Jehovah in their distress, and He delivered them out of their troubles.
And He guided them by the right way, so as to go to a city to live in.
Oh that men would praise Jehovah for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of man!
For He satisfies the thirsty soul, and fills the hungry soul with good.
Those who sit in the darkness and in the shadow of death, being chained in affliction and iron;
because they rebelled against the Words of God, and despised the advice of the Most High.
and He humbled their heart with labor; they fell down, and none was helping.
Then they cried to Jehovah in their distress, and He saved them out of their troubles.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bands in two.
Let them praise Jehovah for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of man!
For He has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two.
Fools are afflicted because of their rebellion, and because of their iniquities.
Their soul hates all kinds of food; and they draw near the gates of death.
Then they cry to Jehovah in their distress, and He saves them out of their troubles.
He sent His Word and heals them, and delivers them from their pitfalls.
Let them praise Jehovah for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of man!
And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing!
They who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters;
these see the works of Jehovah and His wonders in the deep.
For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.
They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and all their wisdom is swallowed up.
And they cry to Jehovah in their trouble, and He brings them out of their troubles.
He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still.
And they are glad because they are quiet; so He brings them to their desired haven.
Let them praise Jehovah for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of man!
And let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the gathering of the elders.
He sets rivers to a wilderness and water-springs to thirsty ground;
a fruitful land to a salty desert, because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
He turns the wilderness into water-ponds, and dry ground into water-springs.
And He makes the hungry dwell there, so that they may prepare a city to live in;
and sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
He also blesses them, so that they are multiplied greatly; and does not allow their cattle to become few.
Again, they have become few, and humbled through harshness, affliction, and sorrow.
He pours scorn on nobles, and causes them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no path.
But He raises up the poor from affliction and sets families like a flock.
The upright shall see and rejoice; and all iniquity shall stop its mouth.
Whoever is wise, and will observe these things, they shall understand the mercies of Jehovah.
What a direct order this is. I know I would be starved of spiritual food but God had placed a worship leader there ahead of me. Morie would play the piano & we would sing together. Singing alone wouldn’t suffice. We need ministry. And God sent Audrey to encourage me to stand firm in Him. At the end of the trip, when we reached the Tioman jetty for our ride back, there was an eagle looming ahead about to zoom in on its’ prey in the water. We stood in awe at the sheer size of that eagle with a wingspan of 1.5metres. The moment the eagle succeeded at its attempt to catch fish, it headed straight for the trees above the hills. Audrey asked me how long we’d met & I replied three days. She took out a ring that she had made using Swarovski crystals & presented it to me. I was moved beyond words. She said, “This is our engagement ring for you to keep your spirits high as you work unto the Lord & to serve Him in days to come. We hope this would encourage you to look ahead of any adversities you may face!†That same night, the chapter I read in Job 9:22 – 35 talked about the things I’d witnessed in the day…
If the whip kills suddenly, He will mock at the calamity of the innocent.
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges; if it is not He, then who is it?
Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no good.
They have passed away like the swift ships; like the eagle who swoops on the prey.
If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will depart from my heaviness and be of good cheer,
I am afraid of all my sorrows; I know that You will not hold me innocent.
I have been condemned; why then should I labour in vain?
If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands ever so clean,
yet You will plunge me into the ditch and my own clothes shall despise me.
For He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer Him, that we should come together in judgment;
there is no mediator between us, who might lay his hand on us both.
Let Him take His rod away from me, and let not His fear make me afraid;
then would I speak and not fear Him; for it is not so with me.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for sending Audrey & Kok Cheong my way, an encounter that rings hope & increases faith to prepare me for the plan that You have laid out for me. Amen.
