Dag sê aan al my vriende en vriendinne oor die wêreld. As julle dink ek gaan julle weer vertel dat dit die einde van nog 'n maand is, is julle reg! Die ergste van alles is dat 'n kwart van die 'nuwe jaar' reeds verby is. Waar gaan die tyd met ons heen? Die maand het ek lekker gesels met die Moken kinders, 'n onverwagte besoek van 'n dokter en arme Cally.
Dit is nou maar eenmaal nie maklik om in 'n ander kultuur te lewe nie. Alles is anders en hoe hulle dinge ervaar en sien is anders. Jou verstaan van die dinge wat hulle ervaar is natuurlik ook nie soos ons dit verstaan nie. Om die waarheid te sê, dit is op die stadium nog onmoontlik vir my om te probeer verstaan hoe die Moken dink en dinge ervaar. Net tyd... en tyd... en tyd... en nogmaals tyd saam met hulle, sal 'n mens dinge meer begin sien en verstaan soos hulle dit sien en verstaan. Tog gebeur daar al hierdie klein dingetjies wat die tyd saam met hulle interessant en lekker maak.
As ek op die eiland slaap is daar gewoonlik 'n klomp seuns wat by my op die stoep kom slaap. Hulle sê dat ek darem nie alleen kan slaap nie want die geeste mag dalk kom. Nou ja, een aand gaan ek weer saam met die Moken see-komkommers vang en die aand kom ons baie laat by die huis. Die seuns waag dit dan nie meer buite nie en dit gebeur dat ek toe alleen op die stoep slaap. Vroeg die volgende oggend kom hulle toe daar aan, heeltemal te vroeg vir my wat toe nog net 3 of 4 ure slaap in het. Hulle speel dan rond tot hulle dit net nie meer kan hou nie en spring dan op my om my wakker te maak.
Toe kom daar 'n baie interessante vraag van hulle, “Is jy dan nie bang vir die geeste nie?” Sonder om eers te dink en half deur die slaap antwoord ek, “Nee wat, die geeste is bang vir my, hulle sal my nie pla nie.” Hulle hou dadelik op met speel en die drie gesiggies kom sit naby my en vra, “Hoekom is hulle bang vir jou?” Nou moet ek vinnig dink en sê toe maar, “O, want ek is nooit alleen nie. Jesus woon in my.” Onwetend dat die half-deur-die-slaap antwoord 'n baie groot indruk op die seuns gemaak het.
So word ek toe een aand deur die skipper van die boot uitgenooi om by hulle te gaan eet. Die een seun Kiew, stap toe saam in die donker na die huis toe. Laat ek eers vir julle die toneel skep. Dit is pik donker, 'n nuwe maan en kristal-sterre vul die lug en daar is vêr af musiek wat speel. Die paadjie is 'n 100m wit streep in die donker met gras aan weerskante van omtrent 'n meter hoog. Dan hoor jy gedurig 'n geritsel in die gras en die nag geluide van vreemde goed. Nou vir my is dit geen probleem nie, maar vir die 7 jarige hier langs my, wel 'n mens kan sy spanning aanvoel, want hy klou soos 'n klein katjie aan my vas.
Ek sê naderhand vir hom; “Jy hoef rêrig nie bang te wees nie, ek is hier by jou.” Ek voel dat hy so 'n bietjie ontspan. Hy vra toe, “Is die geeste rêrig bang vir jou?” Ek antwoord toe, “Ja, hulle is. Hulle is baie bang vir my omdat ek nie alleen is nie, maar omdat Jesus by my is.” “Is Jesus nou ook by jou?” hoor ek sy benoude vraag. “Ja, Kiew, Jesus is altyd by ons en Hy sal ons nooit alleen laat nie.” “O” sê hy toe en ek voel hoe hy ontspan. So stap ons twee toe in die donker en praat oor die Here wat in mens woon. Die volgende dag is hy die een wat vir al sy vriende vertel dat die geeste baie bang vir Jesus is. Soos Deon altyd sê, “Dit wys jou, ek weet nie wat nie, maar dit wys jou.”
Dan het ons 'n baie onverwagte besoek van 'n Brasiliaanse dokter van 'East Timor' gehad. Een Maandag op pad terug van die eiland sien ek dat daar 'n oproep van Jonathan was. Ek bel toe terug om net uit te vind dat Peter van STAMP hom die vorige dag laat weet het daar is 'n dokter op pad. Sy kom glo opvolg werk doen. Ek kon nie glo wat my ore hoor nie. Die omstandighede op die eiland is nou nie van so 'n aard dat ons 'n dokter daar kan onthaal nie en ek is vrot van die verkoue. Ek kom eers 16h30 in Ranong aan en so spook ons toe om alles reg te kry voor sy 21h30 dieselfde aand ook daar aankom.
Ons moes verblyf reël, kos kook en al die vertaalwerk doen. Daar is nou nie waarlik geriewe by die Moken nie. Elke dag het uit 3 sessies van 2 ure elk bestaan. Ek moet darem sê dit was baie interessant en die dokter het haar baie goed van haar taak gekwyt. Die Moken het baie praktiese dinge geleer en hulle kon met so te sê alles identifiseer waaroor sy gepraat het. As ek nie so siek was nie en meer tyd gehad het om voor te berei, sou dit 'n wonderlike ervaring gewees het. My verkoue het toe ook die kans gebruik om my behoorlik te verniel. So is ons na die week, dood moeg met ontsteekte sinusse, terug Ranong toe.
Die sports was toe nog nie verby nie. Cally het toe 'n geweldige allergiese reaksie teen die antibiotika wat sy gedrink het. Haar gesig en arms, sommer alles het opgeswel soveel so dat die sig naderhand uit die swelsel geloop het. Haar dokter in Maleisie het toe darem die regte medikasie voorgeskryf en sy het vinnig herstel.
So soos julle sien 'n woelige maand is agter die rug. Baie dankie vir al julle liefde en gebede. Julle is gedurig in ons gedagtes.
Philip อํานาจ
Alissa voor die huis op die eiland / Alissa in front of the house on the island
Kinders pak my terwyl ons swem / children tackle me while we swim
Good day all my friends across the globe. If you think I’m going to tell you that it’s the end of another month, you’re right! The worst is that a quarter of the ‘new year’ has already passed. Where is the time going with us? This last month I had time to chat to the Moken children, an unexpected visit from a doctor and poor Cally.
It is just not that easy to live within another culture. Everything is different and the way they experience and see things are different. Our understanding of the things they experience is of course also not the way we understand it. To tell you the truth, it is still not possible for me to try and understand how the Moken think and experience things. Just more time... and more time... and even more time with them, would allow a person to understand and see things the way they see and understand it. Yet, all these small things happen so that my time with them is interesting and pleasant.
Normally when I sleep on the island, there is a group of boys that comes to sleep with me on the stoep. They say that I can’t sleep alone because the spirits might come. And so it happened that I went the one night again to catch sea cucumbers with the Moken and came home very late. The boys wont’ dare to go out at that time of the night and so I landed up sleeping alone on the stoep. Very early the next morning they came to look for me, way too early for me to be awake after only about 3 or 4 hours sleep. They play around for a while until they can’t bear it anymore and then jump on top of me to wake me up.
And then they asked me a very interesting question: “Aren’t you scared of the spirits?” Without even thinking and still half asleep I answered “Not at all, the spirits are scared of me, they don’t worry me.” They stopped in their playing tracks and three little faces came very close to me and asked, “Why are they scared of you?” I then realised I had to give a quick answer and said, “O, because I am never alone. Jesus lives inside of me.” Unknowingly and still half asleep I made a big impression on the boys with my answer.
And so, one night I was invited for supper by the skipper of the boat. As it happened, one of the boys named Kiew, walked with me to the house in the dark. Allow me to set the scene: it is but pitch black night, a new moon and crystal stars fill the night sky and somewhere far off music is playing. The path is a white line of about 100m long in the dark, flanked on either side by a meter high wall of grass. You are able to hear rustles in the grass and other noises of strange things moving in the night. For me this is not a problem but for the 7 year old here next to me, well, I could feel his fear as he gripped me like a small little kitten.
After a while I said to him, “You don’t have be scared of anything, I am here with you.” I could feel how he relaxed a little. He then asked me, “Are the spirits really scared of you?” And I answered him, “Yes they are. They are very scared of me because I am not alone, Jesus is always with me.” “Is Jesus here with you now?” the small voice next to me asked. “Yes Kiew, Jesus is always with us and He never leaves us.” “O” he said, and I felt immediately how he relaxed. And so we walked, still in the dark, talking about how God lives within us. The next day he was the one telling all his friends that the spirits are scared of Jesus. Like Deon always says, “It shows you, I don’t know what, but it shows you.”
Then we had quite an unexpected visit from a Brazilian doctor from ‘East Timor’. On a Monday coming back from the island I saw a missed call from Jonathan. When I called him he told me that Peter from STAMP left a message the previous day that there is a doctor on the way. She came to make some follow ups on the island - I was very surprised, as the circumstances on the island are not really suitable to cater for a doctor. At 4:30 that afternoon as I reached Ranong, pretty tired and still suffering with sinus, I now had to scuttle to get things ready for the doctor’s arrival the same evening at 9:30.
Jonathan and I had to organise accommodation, prepare a meal and translate material before her arrival in Ranong. As I said, there are no real amenities on the island among the Moken. However, she managed 3 sessions of 2 hours each every day. I must say, it was very interesting and the doctor did an excellent job. The Moken learned many practical things and could identify with most of the thing she spoke about. If I wasn’t so sick and had more time to prepare, it could have been an amazing experience for me. The flu really got the better of me. And so after a week, dead tired and with majorly infected sinuses, we headed home to Ranong.
And that was still not the end of the story. Cally had a horrendous allergic reaction to the antibiotic she was taking at the time. Her face and arms, in fact everything, ballooned so much so that it started to ooze. Her doctor in Malaysia saved the day by prescribing the right kind of medication which helped her to recuperate quickly.
As you can see I had a very busy month. Thank you very much for all your love and prayers. You are constantly in our thoughts.
In Hom,
Philip อํานาจ
