The first longhouse that we visited was Sebujok. As mentioned in previous post, Sri Aman has not seen rain for more than a month or so. However, God’s perfect timing manifested as rain poured down while we were on our way to our first longhouse! Don’t believe us? Well, check out the mud in which we trudged through! What an experience!

We travelled in Pastor Johny’s jeep but half-way through, we had to abandon the jeep and rely on our feet instead! The road was too slippery and muddy for the jeep to carry on.

But along the way, a local offered to give us a ride! Thank God! Praise the Lord!

We truly believe that it was through prayer and trust in the Lord that we had the opportunity to witness such a miracle. It was also an assurance from God to us that He is with us. Upon arrival at Sebujok longhouse, we were pleasantly surprised to see a well constructed brick longhouse instead of the typical traditional wooden longhouses as seen in magazines and pictures. Pastor Apin, who lives with the people at this longhouse, welcomed us. Most of the people in this longhouse are believers. However, there is a sense of discord in the spirit as some were more inclined towards Baptists while others towards the Anglican. Disunity of this sort seemed to pervade the Iban community in most places.

The well constructed brick walled Sebujok longhouse.

Pastor Apin followed and guided us throughout the mission trip.

The backyard of Sebujok longhouse.

One of the many customs one may encounter when visiting a longhouse is what Iban people called “berandau”, which means to “sit around and chit chat”. When you arrive in any longhouse, you will be greeted usually by the “Tuai Rumah” (the headman of the longhouse) and then invited to sit at the “ruai” (the common veranda). After which, people will bring out food and drinks to serve their guests. Food is a common sign of their hospitality. It is usually rude to reject food offered to you by the locals. Therefore, as guests, it is always best that we accept the food with a smile and a gentle nod.

Kenny and Jeffrey, first time visiting Sarawak, experiencing the Iban culture.

“Berandau” means “to sit down and chit chat”.

The second longhouse that we visited was called “Semulong”. This time, we had to travel by water! The boat ride took about 1 hour 30 minutes and it was a pleasant journey. A few of us even had the chance to catch a glimpse of crocodiles along the way!

Getting into the “perau” (boat).

Relatively speaking, Semulong longhouse is considerably shorter than many other longhouses around. It has only 10 doors. Pastor Apin informed us that Semulong longhouse was only recently built and that the people there are believers. The people had an interesting request when we were there - they wanted us to do a home dedication service. And it turned out to be one of the most interesting ministries we conducted in the course of this mission trip!

Pastor Apin split us into four groups. Each group was led  by one pastor into one house. Inside the house, a member from the team had to share a Word of encouragement and then proceed to pray for the house and the family members. It was almost spontaneous that it caught some of us off guard in terms of what to share. But all of us took this opportunity to learn to speak in the authority that Christ has given us, and we did! Even as we prayed and blessed this newly built longhouse, we in return have been blessed with God’s leading and presence to speak with authority and to pray in boldness!

Semulong longhouse has only 7 doors in total.

Ashley feasting during the “randau” session at Semulong longhouse.

One of the existing issues the Iban community is still facing is the lack of electric supply. Since most longhouses are located in the interior, electric supply is usually inaccessible. As seen below, Semulong longhouse relies on solar power to generate electricity. Most longhouses use either generator or solar power. The up and coming alternative would be hydroelectric power, which requires a sum of money to see it come to pass, something we at GCC will be praying for.

Solar power is how the Semulong community get their electric supply.

The following longhouse that we visited is an interesting one. Literally speaking, it wasn’t exactly a longhouse. Formerly it was. They have now split their longhouse into individual houses across the land within their territory. So, it was more like a ‘kampong’ than a longhouse. Even our journey to Kerepok was an interesting one. We took a boat to Kerepok but because the tide was too low, the boat could not take us in any further. At which point, we needed to carry on the journey… by foot! The walk took us about 30 minutes under a torrid mid-day sun. Hot as it was, God’s gracious hand was upon each one of us as none of us fell sick. Another reason to give praise to God for!

Travelling by foot under the torrid mid-day sun! Thank God for His strength and protection!

Kerepok longhouse is a village-like community.

Penny taking a breather after arriving at Kerepok.

Most of the people at Kerepok were believers and there was a sense of openness amongst the people. Not only were they open but they were responsive towards the service and ministry conducted by us. God’s hand is definitely moving in this place and He assured us by sending us rain, again! Although the weather was scorching hot when we tracked through into Kerepok, but God changed that by showering this land with another miraculous downpour of rain!

Pendam batu longhouse was never in our itinerary. But the pastors who were with us felt that there was a need to visit this particular longhouse and we did not hesitate to make a detour.

Pendam batu longhouse is located just along the road. There are only 7 doors to this longhouse and out of those 7 doors, only a few families are still living there. Most of the families had already left the longhouse for bigger towns and cities due to conflict and disagreements within the family. Only one family is said to be Christian and it was them who welcomed us. Due to their current state, the headman and his family were very much discourage and hence, wanted us to pray and minister to them.

The family who welcomed us at Pendam Batu.

Disunity pervaded this longhouse and it was sad to see how discouraged these people were.

Spending a short hour or so with them was a good way to lift their spirit.

Although the Iban people are widely known to be congenial and communal in their living, the struggle to be united is still evident. The cause of such disunity varies from religious preference to family contention. Disunity is a hole in which the devil is digging into, seeking to bury the people of God in it and we must continue to pray fervently against this dark forces and continue to claim the victory in which He has given us through His son, Jesus Christ.

Our final stop was at a longhouse called “Bakong”. Bakong longhouse is also located along a main road. Although there were many doors to this longhouse, we were informed that this longhouse, like Sebujok, too had a bone of contention between the Baptists and the Anglicans. Long as it was, the longhouse had a cold atmosphere to it. Only a handful of people came to greet us and attended the service that we held later on in the afternoon.

Bakong longhouse.

Although it was a small group of people who came, they had a willing heart to learn more about God.

The stay at Bakong longhouse was really short. It was sad that we could not mingle a little longer. There was a worshipful presence and a sense of willingness to grow and learn more about God in this place. Although it was only a small group of people who came, God’s hand truly ministered to them!

So, these are the longhouses in which we had the opportunity to share the word of God. Yes, there are needs in this places and although surrounded by a certain sense of negativity, such as discouragements, disunity, the lack of daily necessities and so on, God is still very much in the picture. We believe that God can still make a difference. With the little that we do, He can produce much fruits. And we witnessed that through the response of the people during service time and during ministry time. God is truly working in these places!

But what exactly did we do during the service at these longhouses? What were the peoples’ reaction to the Word? Why was ministry so important? We will share more about these things in the next post.

Be blessed!