Home Thoughts From Abroad

After a two hour drive and a quick tour of the village, we started work Thursday at noon with a cleared site and  eight prefabricated concrete blocks.

By the time we broke for dinner at 5:30 the frame was constructed and we, the roofing team, had most of our pieces measured and cut.

An 8:30 start in the relative coolness of Friday morning enabled us to make some real progress before lunch.

By the end of the day, in spite of a break for a heavy downpour mid afternoon, we definitely had a house taking shape and had even begun the roofing. There is a kitchen with built-in cupboards, a living area, two bedrooms and a verandah, it is really quite spacious.

On Saturday we began again at 8:30 and worked straight through until we celebrated the placement of the  final cap on the roof at 2:00 p.m.

Sadly we had to leave early to make the drive north but we were on target to finish by the end of the day. The team had the painting well in hand, the doors were ready to hang and the interior walls were partially clad in plywood. It was really rewarding to look back at our little house in the forest as we made our way to the car, knowing that at least Juri and his family have a safe place to live.

We know that this is a long way from the type of holistic community development that we would like to see happening but it is a start and we are so grateful for the relationships that are beginning to develop.

When Juri and his sixteen year old bride married  there was no more land available in the village for them to build a home. They were forced to build a one room bamboo and woven grass structure suspended on stilts over a gully behind her parents’ one room house.  Now five years later they have three little boys aged four, three, and one and a few months ago the floor in their tiny home had rotted to the point it was no longer safe to remain. With no other options, they all moved into the house with her parents.

Juri’s Dad owned some land in the nearby forest and this is where we were able to build their new home.  Once the materials for the home arrived on site two days before the build, Juri built a small lean-to and moved there to protect his property and the building materials that had arrived. In order to get his new house, Juri is required to work with the team and then to go on and assist with the build of at least two further homes.  After participating in three builds, he will qualify as a master builder and could potentially earn some money for his family by working on other projects.

Once we began the build, his family joined him in the lean-to to watch the progress on their new house. His dad was also happy to help as much as possible.  It was really neat to watch them proudly working alongside the team.  It is rewarding to know that this little family will, at least be safe from the elements. I also know that this is still a long way from holistic community development and I long to see that happening in Orang Asli villages some day.

Epic Homes is a modular house developed by young Malaysian entrepreneurs to meet the need for housing among the indigenous people of Malaysia. These people, known as the Orang Asli, have been left behind in the rush to modernization that has occurred since this country gained its independence from Britain after WWII. The Orang Asli still live on the land of their ancestors, who predate the Malays who pushed into Borneo from the Philippines a thousand years ago, and then into the mainland about five hundred years ago. Marginalized by their lack of education and access to health care, many are among the hardcore poor of the nation.

More than simply a solution to the problem of sturdy housing, a significant need in and of itself, Epic Homes has designed their project as a team leadership building opportunity for local companies who sponsor the house and then send their management team out to the remote villages where the Orang Asli live to construct the house over a weekend. This past weekend Taylor’s University sent 45 of its leaders to a tiny village two hours north of Kuala Lumpur to build a house for a needy family.

A lot of thought has gone in to the design of this house. The intention was that anyone, not matter how little they understood construction, could assist in the build in some way. Some had quite literally never picked up a hand tool in their lives. Some, like Pam and I, had renovated several houses and knew what we were doing. No one was injured; everyone learned the value of teamwork and the importance of sequence in a project this size.

Pam and I were chosen to work on the roof; somewhat of a surprising selection, given our age. But we gamely set about to do what we were assigned in good spirits. It turns out that we still have both the skills and the endurance to take on such a physically demanding assignment. From lifting the heavy tile panels to installing them head down on the slope of the roof suspended only by a safety harness and my partners grip on my belt, we acquitted ourselves far better than we would have thought possible.

With a wedding in Penang to attend and a dinner engagement on the Saturday before the wedding, our goal was to finish the roof by noon, if possible, so that we could leave in good conscience with our task completed. Not far off our goal, we were done by 1:30 and on our way by 2 pm, threading our way through unnamed backroads to the main highway, and dashing north through a tremendous downpour to reach Batu Ferringhi in time for a shower and supper at 7:30. The thought that our colleagues had a dry place to shelter from the veritable deluge of rain was a great comfort.

We find it nothing short of amazing that we can still do this kind of thing at our age, and credit the Lord for His goodness in preserving our health and strength so that we can continue to serve Him in whatever way He directs. We thank Him also for keeping us safe from injury in what easily could have been a number of accidents that simply never happened. It was our joy to be of help to a needy family.

We count it a real privilege to have the opportunity to join the university leadership team to build a home for an Orang Asli family living a few hours north of the city.  This little family of five had been living in a one room house until the floor fell through and are desperately in need of a home.  In order to be part of the building team, we were required to attend a six hour workshop designed to familiar I with standard tools and yes, we learned how to use a hammer, screw driver and a drill.  For many of our Malaysian colleagues this was the first time they had ever used a hand tool, they hire workers to do those things.  We even built the windows of the house to practice using the tools.

We Steve having taught shop for 18 years and the two of us completely renovating three houses, we didn’t have much that was new to learn.  However the key purpose of the workshop introduced us to the underlying goals of the “Sojourn to Batang Kali”. We will certainly support a family and be an encouragement to a community but the vision of the university is that this will be the first step in forming a core group of leaders with a desire to change the culture by their own personal involvement as their example to the students to become compassionate members of society.

In preparation we were asked to read a book called  Barefoot Leadership,  an interesting read of ordinary Malaysian individuals who have gone barefoot into their own journey of bringing about profound change in the lives of others.  We even had the joy of meeting one of those individuals, Brother John D’Cruz and to hear his life story, which is well worthy of a separate post. We left excited, having begun to build relationships with some amazing people and looking forward to three days in the 35 degree heat of a rain forest, building a house in the rainy season. We will keep you posted!

Yesterday I hit one of those mornings when you just don’t want to do it anymore. I’m sixty-four. I can retire now. How nice it would be to stay home and work on my Master’s. I could read, I could write. I could sit down and have a nice cup of tea. I shared this with Pam on the way out the door and she smiled and gently remonstrated. She knows how tired I get some mornings, especially when I am restless and get up at three.

There was not a lot on that day. I stopped to talk to my supervisor about the weekend’s activities and how the center in Raub where we visited yesterday could be the focus of the kind of community outreach we are trying to develop. He was interested, but he has many more things on his plate than what I am trying to do.

So when he mentioned that he wanted me to be part of a meeting that was happening that morning I was more than a little surprised. I gathered my iPad, grateful that I had spent the 150 ringgit for a bluetooth keypad and the ten bucks for the Pages app that makes taking notes with this device a little easier to do, and headed out.

We met in the library with about a dozen others and I soon found out that the key speaker was the young man who had developed a modular housing unit that I had heard so much about since our return. His project group, Epic Homes, has been the focus of a lot of attention, not only here at the university, but nationally as well. These homes can be constructed in a weekend using a minimum of tools and expertise and are much in demand among the Orang Asli.

There is much I could say about the meeting; how pleasant it was to have my contribution to the development of community service acknowledged and recognized; how important it was to meet so many key players in this process in one room. But the key ingredient for me was the take away at the end. I stayed for a moment to talk to the young man who is behind Epic Homes; Johnson is his name. I offered my help to him as one who had some experience in hand and power tools, having taught the subject for 18 years in the early part of my career.

To cut a long story short, it looks as if my expertise in this area is going to be useful in the development of this project among the Orang Asli. He asked me to come on board as a technical advisor. I don’t know how all this is going to work out at this point. All I’m thinking of at the moment is how very indicative of the nature of God to have built these experiences into my life so many years ago. Perhaps the Lord doesn’t want me to retire just yet!

This is my new gig: Taylor’s University. I have to giggle at the thought that it took me 32 years to ‘graduate’ to high school and another 6 to ‘graduate’ to university. I am not teaching here (yet), though I do not rule out the possibility that I will be someday. I am working on developing ‘student service modules;’ that would be learning outcomes within the curriculum that have a community service component.

I am not teaching at all at present, although because of the requirements of my work visa I have to do a couple of hours’ tutorial assistance in the program where I used to teach. But my new job requires me to help teachers to design curricula to enable them to teach. I suppose that will have to do for now. I am not actually writing much curriculum either at the moment as I am pretty busy just getting to know the players and see what they are already doing. As with any new position there is going to be a steep learning curve in this one.

You might be inclined to wonder why we would want to put ourselves through this at our age. We ask ourselves the same thing from time to time. The Lord isn’t saying much through His word except to direct our attention to passages that speak of rejoicing in the opportunity to make His name more widely known. That will have to do for now until His makes His purpose more clear. I have never known Him to be reluctant to do so, although He has shown Himself more than passingly adept at choosing His time to coincide with our requisite understanding.

We also continue our outreach and mentoring of new staff and support for those who have been here for a while. Pam is preparing new ministry initiatives in East Malaysia and we are both continuing with our Master’s. It is a full dance card, no doubt about it. Right now, still tired and dealing with separation from our families, it feels more like effort and less like joy. But serving the Lord is a privilege that we don’t take for granted. Psalm 30:5 says: “weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”  Dawn is coming.

I can’t remember the last time I felt so miserable. Here I am at the start of a new year, a new job, making new friends. It should all be good, right? Nope; it is bad. Categorically bad. At the moment irremediably bad. So bad that I would happily catch the next plane home again if I could find a way to justify it. Unfortunately, being a Christian and all, I have to run it by the Boss. And I don’t mean Pam, because she is as bummed as I am and would beat me out the door, suitcase in hand, if she weren’t as constrained as I am. Not that I think He wouldn’t understand and find me the next best place to be, being the God-of-the-Second-Chance as He is. But being a Christian and having committed my way to Him a long time ago, I know that this is His path for us at the moment. It is just that I don’t want it. Or at least I can think of a number of other things I want more.

For starters I want to be back in Seattle/Calgary/London/Toronto. They are all one city in my emotional map; geography doesn’t mean a thing to the human heart. But distance does. Being able to sit on the couch with your grand-daughter beside you reading, or playing Lego on the floor with your grandson, or feeding the ducks at the park with them, or holding your daughter’s new born child for the first time and rocking him to sleep. Chatting with your children or playing video golf, grilling Alberta beef on the deck or walking to the hill to see the fireworks.  Tooling into Seattle in your son’s sleek Saab or tearing up the turnpike in the other one’s muscle car. Fixing stuff, taking courses in an actual classroom, visiting friends you haven’t seen for year. Eating breakfast with your brother and having supper with your gorgeous nieces. How do you come back to Malaysia where there is NONE (!) of this and be happy?

So I have a new job. Here’s news: I liked my old job just fine, thank you very much. Do you think I spent 38 years in a classroom because I hated it? I loved every minute of it. I loved preparing a gem of a lesson and delivering it step by measured step into the expectant ears of my students. Do you know that I would get applause for my lessons? I’m not talking about polite little patters. I mean a spontaneous outpouring of delight and appreciation for a lesson well-prepared and entertainingly delivered. When I sang with my guitar a piece we were analyzing in class they would get out their phones, record it and post it to Facebook. When I posted a picture of me holding my new grandson there were 600 hits on my student FB page. I felt appreciated and respected. Now I am nobody again.

As I was walking through the campus at Taylor’s University where I now work, I saw a former student of our program on her orientation. She squealed with delight to see me. I was just as happy to see her, even if not as profusive. My students have been my joy and my surrogate family for years. Now I have left the classroom and we have left our real family back in Canada and I have no clear idea what I am doing in this new job or even if it has the slightest chance of success. So I am just as miserable as I can be.

However (he said, gathering whatever modicum of reason and Christian maturity he may have left), there are several other sides to this story. We have a lovely family who we love and appreciate dearly, and they for their part love and appreciate us as well. We may be miles away, but they are as near to our hearts as blood. Further, I do not think I will be out of the classroom forever, but rather see what I am doing as preparation for the next phase, Lord willing. And this job, for all its present difficulty, is what the Lord has called me to do for Him. Though I do not know the way, I know that He does. And He doesn’t make mistakes.

I know too that many of our readers deal with issues for more difficult than those we face. There are some whose spouses have died; some are divorced. Some are facing severe trials of their health; some face lives of little meaning or significance. Some are estranged from their parents, or even worse, their children. What is my trial to such as those? Perhaps the Lord is just making me more sensitive to the pain of others so I can be a better witness of His sustaining love. For I know that His love will get us through, for His love is sufficient for every trial. Even for my miserable spirit at present.

Besides, even if I fail miserably, what would be worse is to not have tried. I have in front of me the opportunity to do a world of good; to take all that I have learned in a career in education that is nearing four decades and retool it for an even greater purpose. And our family? Bless them, for they understand that we are called by God to serve Him in this way and our service for Christ is meaningful to them even if they don’t fully understand what we do. I don’t fully understand it myself, but “this one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13).