June, 2008

Hi everybody...well, this being June 16, it almost could seem like a dream now that I was in Philippines, Cambodia, and Malaysia this last two and a half months, but I have the journal to prove it, and until just recently, the jet-lag too, and a friend to verify it(unless he dreamed the same dream). Yes, it was such an amazing time, and my great friend from New Zealand, Frans Voogt, was able to travel the whole time with me, so that was such a rare treat, and heaps of an advantage, not to mention fun.

CAMBODIA
I last left you with an update from the Philippines, so let me catch you up on the trip from there. We left for Cambodia mid April, and spent 3 weeks in Pnohm Penh, which was quite the experience for me, as this was the place that broke my heart some 20-25 years ago, when I learned more about the genocide that took place there between 1975-79. It was almost surreal walking the streets where this horror and unfathomable brulatily occured. One very sobering experience was visiting Toel Sleng Prison, where visitors now, can learn of some of the torture and atrocities committed there by this most evil Pol Pot regime. Today, people in Cambodia seem to just carry on.
It was a real joy to minister life in Jesus to the people of Cambodia, especially the youth, of which there are so many. In the churches, there is quite a vibrancy and fire among many of the young people. We got to see this first hand at a few concerts/services there.
Another highlight was a Sunday service out in the village about an hour from the city, where I was singing and preaching. An elderly lady was there, who I was asked to pray for at the end. She had walked 10 kilometers that a.m., with a wooden stick for a cane, to get to the church, and she gave her heart to the Lord that morning.
We were definately moved and stirred in our hearts from our Cambodian experience, and tho the heat was intense and relentless, I look forward greatly to a soon return.

MALAYSIA
So May 6, we left for Malaysia, an Islamic country, and my first stay in such a place. In Kuala Lumpur, where we spent a week, we noticed greater restriction of church and message, but our next two and a half weeks were in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. This was also a little surreal, as I remember missionary stories from Sunday school about Borneo when I was a child. Here we sensed much greater freedom and openess (due to a much stronger christian presence here), tho still people look over their shoulders before they say anything that could be considered negative towards Islam. I was tremendously busy here, but loved it, and we loved the place, so green and more rural, right on the sea, mountains and jungle...a tropical paradise in many ways. We landed and stayed mostly in Kota Kinabalu. Here I did concerts and services (up to 3 a day), workshops, and luncheons. God moved wonderfully, and many responded to the message, meaning there were a lot of folks to pray for, which is why it was great to have Frans with me to share in this work.
We even managed a few days of R&R at a travellers' inn right on the beach, which was such a great time, to restore the soul, and get a break from the schedule, the heat and the insects.

RETURN TO PHILIPPINES
We ended our trip with a final week back in the Philippines...which turned out to be glorious cap on the whole tour, with 3 more concerts in Baguio City. We were welcomed royally back to the place where we more or less began the trip, and we both felt overwhelmed with the show of hospitality and support. And the concerts/services themselves, were so blessed and special times.

BALUT BROTHERS
After Sunday nite's concert, we heard the pastor there had 3 baluts (fertilised duck eggs), which is quite a popular treat here among locals. Frans and I had made a pact to eat one each if given a chance when we got back to the Philippines, and now here was our chance, as destiny would have it. We gathered 'round the table with a crowd of 10-15 onlookers to cheer us on, and the pastor himself showing us the proper procedure in eating balut. So, each of us armed with his own balut, we started in on the baby duck, still in it's shell...I believe it was cooked, and after cracking open the end, one is to suck out the soup, then peel the rest of the egg, divulging the wee critter in it's embryo stage...(getting hungry yet?), and then with a little salt perhaps, you dig in and enjoy. Well, for me, I sucked a little too hard at the beginning and got half the duck with my soup, and it didn't taste too bad. My balut brothers followed the proper protocol and got to the stage of the baby duck in their hands (egg-shaped obviously), which might have been the reason this proved a greater challenge for Frans, as he took a full 10-15 min.s and two glasses of water to get his down...me, I was done in about 30 seconds. With cameras flashing and film rolling, his very near barfing experience was recorded for posterity. And now, we are balut brothers indeed.
Well, on that note, I'll sign off on another up-date, except to say, we left with a good kind of sadness in our hearts that this trip had to end, but it won't be long and we hope to be back. We're already talking about next May/June as possible dates for a return visit.

Your prayers, love and support are not only deeply appreciated, but truly effective in the fight for hearts, on all these ventures. Bless you all heaps, love the sealion(rob).

P.S. UPCOMING PLANS
p.s. next trip is coming right up...4 weeks in Ontario July 2-28, and from there, I keep moving east, flying to Vienna, and into Romania July 31-Oct. 8, Austria/Czech Rep. Oct.8-25, Germany and other possible countries like Switzerland, Holland, and Sweden from Oct.25-Dec. 2.
Back to Toronto from Dec. 2-9 and then home.
My new CD will be coming out January 2009, an instrumental entitled 'Lost For Words'.