Journey mercies

I was in Sabah for a whole week beginning of the month, 5 days for a Christian workshop on spiritual gifts and 2 days in the interior village for mission work with The Pastor. He has been involved with the indigenous tribes for the last 2 decades of his life, but this was the first time I've joined him on one of his trips.

The workshop itself was quite energy consuming. On the second day, someone said, "Its only been 2 days but it feels like a month!" And everyone agreed wholeheartedly. By the fourth day, on Thursday, I felt like a fever was about to overtake me.

It felt like the last 7% of my energy battery was running out and all I could do was wave to The Pastor's Wife who was with me on the workshop and barely spurted out, "James. Pray."

James is a pastor from Singapore with the gift of healing. He came over and they prayed for me. Half an hour later, everyone was running about the room and I was zooming past people (don't ask me why we were running) and waving.

Friday, even before the workshop ended I was whisked to the interiors to join The Pastor (The Pastor's Wife had to return to Singapore to rejoin their daughter). We had to go through two mountains to get to the village in a valley and I thought I was going to die in the first hour going through the steep windy roads through the mountains.

The indigenous folks were a crazy bunch. We would end and I at least (I'm sure the rest slept later) would be asleep about 2am or so and the indigenous folks were back up and about by 5am. They thankfully allowed their guest from Singapore to sleep in till 7am. I survived by taking 5 minute naps in between sessions on the bench. But boy, it was hard going.

Sunday morning I was having problems as my body was stretched beyond its limit. By the time I got back to Singapore in the evening it was shutting down very quickly. I was incapacitated the next 3 days with cold, cough, a dehydrated and heaty body though thankfully the fever stayed away. I still feel the lingering weariness.

But man o man, the experience of the POWER of the Holy Spirit that week. Wow. I don't think that I have ever experienced anything that could compare with it. Even while I lay on the wooden floor in the village at 5am while the worship team was practising, I felt my spirit being tugged towards them. That I wanted to sing and dance in worship of God. Well, the spirit was willing but the body was definitely weak!

Though I could hardly move when I got back to Singapore due to heavy meds as well, the spirit was soaring. When you taste the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit, when God moves and speaks deep within your soul, you know that nothing in life can compare to being in His glory. It isn't even about being at peace with yourself or your life, it transcends even beyond just mere peace of a person. Peace in your heart! Hah! I scoff at peace! No, peace is emptiness compared to the power of the Holy Spirit moving in the heart.

Peace is but an affect of God calming the turmoil of sin in our lives. But the power of the Holy Spirit, now that, is an explosion of life that comes from Life itself.

4 year old Ana, The Pastor's kid on one of her first trips to East Malaysia, perhaps had it right. They were in a time of worship and a touch of divine had come upon her.

She looked up to her father and said, "Daddy, I see music and I hear colours."

I think she caught a glimpse of heaven that is truer than anyone realises.