Day 1, July 27 So we arrived in Singapore about noon and we got moving straight away, no time for resting! We got our baggage and loaded it into the vans that took it to the hotel we would be staying at. Then we all took the subway to Little India where we ate a meal that was way too big for me. The pictures posted show you that it was eaten with hands and it was amazing! Absolutely delicious, and I guess I will be eating this kind of stuff a lot! After that they took us out and had us start contacting people! I was surprised, plus they filmed us doing it! So in the near future that should be a video sent to my parents that show how hard it is to talk to random people on the street. Basically the rest of the night was house keeping things. I was so tired by the end of that day but so excited because it was then that I met my Companion and I found out where I was going to be going for my first assignment. And the place I will be is... Sandakan! It is in East Malaysia on the northern most tip of the Borneo island! Because I would be going to the Borneo island I had to ditch half of all my stuff and begin the life of a minimalist!
The next day was crazy. It started out normal and then it just got crazy. We had an orientation until about 4 in the afternoon. It was good, stuff about how to be a better missionary and stuff like that. Anyway, it’s about 5 and the travel people tell my companion and I that we are flying out of Singapore in two hours to get to KL! So we rush to the airport, make it there just in time for our flight. They didn't even give us a place to stay, so we called up some of the missionaries in KL and stayed there for a night. The place was so trashy, someone needed to do some cleaning. The upside of that was the amazing view from their place! The Patronous Towers were right there, absolutely beautiful! Anyway we get like 5 hours of sleep and then wake up really early to catch a flight to Sandakan. The flight was about 2.5 hours and the food served on the flight was absolutely disgusting! Anyway we get to Sandakan and the airport is pitiful. For a town of 400K people there were only like three places for airplanes to dock. I was shocked but then I remembered, the people here are really poor.
So we get our luggage and then walk a little bit to the side of the road where we get on the bus which is quite a piece. They keep the door open all the time, all the windows are open, no AC and all the buses in town are about 30 years outdated. They are however very reliable and very fast... scary how people drive here.
We are driving and driving and finally get to the house. I have to say my first impression was this is it? Later, after visiting with some of the people that live in Sandakan I have realized that where we live is like a royal palace. (more on that later) The house is 2 stories and has air conditioning in just 2 of the rooms. Which makes the rest of the house practically uninhabitable! We spend most of our time in the two rooms, bedroom and study room.
Well, I thought that I would get a chance to get settled and comfortable but as soon as I finished unpacking we went out and visited with people. The first place we visited was a shack in the middle of the jungle. They are the Ning family, they are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my entire life! They live so humbly. The floors are dirt and there was even a birds nest in their house. They served us juice and cookies. I think the people in Malaysia are going to make this two years amazing. The next place we went to was a Compong. This is quite possibly the most trashy place in all of Sandakan. The people live in these wooden huts that are on stilts so that when high tide comes their houses won’t be swept away. They throw their garbage on the ground and as a result the place smells like a dump and looks worse than it has to be. They have no plumbing and you can tell, both smell and sight! The stilted houses are connected by bridges that are less than comforting... I almost fell into the swampy sewage water! Now, not all of the places are like this but I will say, I have yet to visit a house with air conditioning and I have yet to visit a house that owns a car.
Oh yea.. an before I forget, it is HOTTTTTT!! I can’t say this will enough energy and hatred. It is like 100 percent humidity and about 90 degrees and that doesn't change...EVER that only change in the weather will be the flood season which comes in November and February! I leave the house and almost immediately I am sweating and am gross. I am never dry until later in the night where I finally get to shower. Showering has never felt so good in my life!
And, I have had my first casualties. My arms have about 4 mosquito bites each, no matter what i do to keep them safe. My blood is too sweet and too delicious. I cant help it.
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