Texas school district to let teachers carry guns

What does this title brings into your mind?

The very first pictures that kicked out from my memory files are:

1. Wyatt Earp
2. Doc Holiday
3. Buffalo Bill Cody
4. Billy the Kid
5. Who was the sheriff that shot Billy the Kid? Eeerrmm... will come back to that, but what I remember, no one can beat Billy the Kid in a gun duel, so being friends as they were, Billy didnt want to kill his friend ..so you know what he did? He being lefthanded, repositioned his handgun to his right side...because he is a little slower to draw from his right compared to his left....Who was that sheriff?
6. The Young Riders
7. High Chaparal (Reminds me of Monalito Mantoya!)
8. High Noon
9. The Zorro serials ! (We had 'Zorro Fighting Legend, The Black Whip, Son of Zorro... there were so many zorroes ooo..!)
10. How the West was won..
11. Pat Garreth (yeah, I think he was the one that shot Billy the Kid! Or was he the one?)
12. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (loved this one!)

Did I miss any?

Where have all the good movies gone to?

But we are not talking about western movies and Tv serials here..!

Sad isn't it, when it comes to present day Tewas..? And it is not just Texas... Lawlessless seem to be prevailing more and more everywhere....! I believe if our big bro Paul (the apostle) is still around today he will surely say "Told you so, didn't I?" with a shrug..... He wrote it down in a very ancient text called the Bible, and you can find it in 2 Timothy 3: 1-5


But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.(NIV)

How did this lawlessness came to be? Where did it sprung out from? To answer this, let me share a quote from a book I am currently reading ...

"Scripturally, the cause of this worldwide wave of hatred is lawlessness. The root of lawlessness is a focus on self at the expense of the good of the whole. When the heart of a society turns to self, self becomes law. We then thrust aside the laws of God to allow freedom for each "self" to live according to his or her own law". [Sigh!] (Source book: Purifying The Prophetic by R. Loren Sandford, Chosen Grand Rapids pg. 102)

What say you?

Christ's love compells us..

It was our second trip to Kg. Bambangan, Pitas. I have not upgraded myself to a GPRS system but I have a fairly good idea of where it is located that I had put it on Google Earth. Just type "Kg. Bambangan, Pitas" and you will see its approximate location.

Twelve of us went this time. A medical doctor (Bobby's sister in law), and a dentist (our G.I. Jane) came along. This was the Powerhouse (the Youth of our church) mission initiative. Way to go, Bob!

We always find going into the interior as a challenge. I for one is very particular about toilets. I am not asking for a "five star" toilet but at least a descent one at that. So much so that each time I go deep in the interior, I will tell my system to "behave". No "business" until I say so. It works everytime!

But its not that bad at all. If you cant get a "five stars" toilet in the interior, there are many stars toilets available!! And there are all around you! Behind a big rock, under a tree, behind some srubs... you get the idea!

Bathroom? Mandi sungai la ! We go to the river la.. Christine and her species were downstream we were upstrem.. What will happen if one of us decided to do his business in the river right there and then? Imagine that!

Dr. Alice and Dr. Jane were superb. They did what they do best. The small church building and the house we stayed in turned health and dental clinic respectively in no time ! It was truly Christ's love in action!

All went well except during the ministry of the Word. I sensed that these people may have a religion but not a relationship with Christ. They may come to us for the goodies we brought to them and not for anything else. We truly need to penetrate into their world views as to penetrate in with the life changing power of the Gospel.

I shared on the importance of being receiving Jesus as persoal Savior and Lord by using the examples of Nicodemus and the Samaritan Woman. The first was a "very holy man" and the latter was a "very sinful person". Both needed Jesus for salvation and entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. I stresed that we didnt come all the way to bring them goodies for we cant be doing that all the time. We have come for the love of Christ's compells us to come...

The next day word sharing was on the crucifixion. Jesus was crucified alongside two very notorious criminals. Both the accounts of Matthew and Mark related to us that both crooks ridiculed Jesus, but Luke wrote it quite differently. I used these texts first of all to show forth the richness and extend of God's mercy and forgiveness.. Secondly I used the comparisons to penetrate into our Dusun worlview of appeasing the gods for spiritual and physical wellbeing. Now that Christ has shed His blood and died we need not offer animal sacricifes any longer. The response from the floor was "Tiada lagi bah kami sembah berhala sekarang pastor...." and it was said by a man seated at a corner. I sensed something amiss but I couldn't identify what was it. On the way back, a brother told me that the man whom responded earlier is still practicing his animistic belief. He told me that the person went to a big tree and asked his son to be healed from the spirits of the woods.. O brother! No wonder he was the first to respond saying that they no longer practice their animistic belief and rituals... God have mercy...

Am I dissapointed? Not at all. Jesus loves them all the same. The time will come when God's Spirit will sweep through that area like while fire! Just wait and see...

Engaging the gates of the enemy

It was a spiritual struggle and warfare. Everything looked normal on the surface, but something was triggered in the spiritual realm. The Bible says...

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:13-16(NKJV)

I am referring to our recent mission trip to Banggi Island on the 29-30th March 2008. As much as we looked forward to the trip, we were fully aware that it was entering into the "unknown" (most of us had never been there before) and that we need to be extra careful physically and spiritually..

Some 17 years ago, one of us had been to the island. His team of 5 managed to enter after three months spiritual preparation of fasting and prayers. They went in trekking the island for 10 days with the help of a lady tour guide, eating tapioca and drinking coconut juice most of the time. There were earlier attempts from the SIB church but were not successful. I was told that even the former President of SIB himself was rejected at the jetty of the island and was asked to go back. In those days the islanders were known for their animistic belief and practices. You can find shamans and witchdoctors in the island quite easily. I am also told that they still have their high places and secret places of worship similar to the pagan worship in the Old Testament times to this very day. It is believed that this is one of the main reason for the slow growth and advancement of the church on the island. They said that a challenge was given to the Christian to go to these "sacred places" and if they can come back alive, the islanders will then believe in the Gospel of our Lord. That was only 17 years ago.

So this time 23 of us went in. All were rookies to the island except for that one friend. I had to really persuade this brother to come along. I told him that compare to us he is like John Rambo (Rambo I, II, III, IV), and the rest of us are mere army rookies.

God was good! God is good! He is always is! He answered our prayers for fine weather to and fro.
By the way, for another angle for this trip, please read Kristine's at http://weblog.xanga.com/chrishellz/649659093/pulau-banggi.html, thanks Christine!

I cant forget praying for an elderly lady on Sunday morning. She is the mother of a local evangelist. We were told that this lady was an intercessor. She related to the pastor that one day while walking, she suddenly fainted for no reason at all. When we were praying for her, she was quite thin and weak. It was difficult for her to move around and to do work. Suddenly I sensed the spiritual power of darkness that was oppressing her. The intend was to silence her witness. I announced it to the team and asked each member to be on their guard and pray for protection for each one as well as for their family members back home. The enemy will retaliate when disturbed. Example, Paul was attacked after he prayed healing for the sick (Acts 14: 19-20), and after he had engaged the gates of the enemy many times over, a snake tried to bite him (Acts 28:3-5), but the Lord was there beside him. In the spiritual realm, the enemy must had been very busy trying to take him down. With this knowledge, I asked the team to really pray for protection.

We had two young ladies whom accepted Jesus for salvation that Sunday morning and prayed for two other ladies that have demonic oppressions in their lives. But the most touching moment was when my friend met up with the man he baptized 17 years ago. The first ever! They hugged each other for some time. That was a very encouraging moment to be in. Praise be to God for He is still doing His works of salvation everywhere and that He is faithful to bring into completion that He had started until the day of our Lord Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6)

We went back at around 11.30 am. 45 minutes of dusty and bumpy road to the jetty. One of us said the ride remind him of "Dirty Dozens". Upon reaching the jetty, we took the tongkang (Kristine says its a jongkong).. Mana yang betul aa? (Which one is correct?).

It was drizzling when I was asked to pray for God to stop the rain. And yes, He stopped the rain from coming. What followed after was for me a pure enjoyment of 3 hours on sea under the sun! Feeling jealous already? Dont have to be at the Carribean lol! Cheap cheap only!

All of us reached Kota Kinabalu safely the evening of the same day, feeling tired and having stories to tell.... "Been there ,done this ,done that..."

But consider what happened to some of us in the following week

1. The rear tyre of one of the team member's truck pulled off and hit a Kancil. It was driven by the wife sending their youngest to Kindergarten. Thank God nobody was hurt.

2. On Saturday night an accident took place right in front of the gate of the house of the Ministry Leader of our Mission Department.

3. On Sunday morning, Sarah ( always there together praying for the sick and oppressed while in Banggi) who was to give testimony on the Banggi trip, her Kancil was rammed by another car at Jalan Tuaran in front of the Shell Petrol Station. Her car went spinning and overturned. Her son was thrown out of the car in the process. Thank God nobody was seriously hurt. Her son-despite the momentum- landed on the roadside and suffered only a broken teeth. His friend got his forehead knocked but otherwise okay. The two were running around with my youngest during and after the Sunday service.

We dont believe that these incidents were coincidental. These were the backlashes of the enemy. And they are real. We thank God because God does protect His own. We concluded that we must have touched something in the spirit realm while in Banggi that these things happened to us. This is telling us that we need to go there again. Jesus is the Messiah. He is Lord. Upon this confession, upon the rock of our confession, He will build His church, and the gates of hades will not overcome it (Matthew 16: 18)

Any takers for Banggi? Can you hear the trumpet calls?

Christ's love compels us...

It was on the 8-9th September. Just over two weeks ago. My third time in Kg Mendulong in three months. My first visit was during my holiday trip with some Korean tourists. The second was during my visit doing the Celebration of Hope Malaysia project.

I have heard of this village since the first year I became a Christian in 1984. I heard lots of good reports about the people of this particular village. One of our former SIB Presidents came from this village. Many strong leaders of SIB came from this village too. So I was really looking forward to visit the place and arranged a visit when I had the chance to do so last August.

It is a very clean and beautiful village. Beautiful and friendly people. Nice place to be. Calm and quiet. But I cant help noticing the absence of young people in the church service during my first visit. I noticed the same thing my second. I was told that, the young people would come to church if some youth group will come and pay a visit to the church. Powerhouse and BPM came to my heart. So I conveyed the invitations to both teams to team up with the Interior Ministry...The purpose? To stir and encourage the young people of that church!

So how was the trip?Lets hear what someone had to say about that trip:

Christine ( http://www.xanga.com/chrishellz) wrote:

I went to Sipitang over the weekend for a short mission trip in Kampung Mendulong. We went in 3 groups/ministries and there were 22 of us, in 6 different cars. There were the mission ministry headed by Ps. Jubilee, and he was alone, and then 10 from Powerhouse Youth ministry and 11 from Borneo Praise Ministry. Ps. Jubilee and 10 of us from Powerhouse left for Sipitang first at around 12.30pm, and BPM left at 2pm cause some of them were working. It took us like 3 hours to reach Sipitang, and 45 minutes to Kampung Mendulong.So yea, we arrived at Kampung Mendulong at around 5pm, and we were told that the first service starts at 7.30. So we hung out with the people there, ate lotsa local fruits, like rambutan, langsat and mangoesteen. nyummm!!! Also rested for a while. When it was almost 7pm, we took out shower, wanted to get ready for dinner, but instead of dinner, they served TEA! LoL~So we were having tea at 7pm. We were still waiting for the group from BPM, and it was raining quite heavy. And by the time they arrived, it was already around 8pm. They said that the river was too deep, and they were going around trying to look for different route to get into the village, and there was one way also but the bridge broke down, and well yea, not sure how, but they finally got here safe and sound and in 1 piece.

How we got through?

The brigde was giving away as we reached it. And there was this "no entry sign" put up. We had to make up our mind very quickly. If we walk from that point, that would mean some 45 minutes walking to the church carrying delicate musical instruments ... daring the rain! So, mumbling "Lord, help me!" I crossed over to the other side driving a heavy Hilux! What a rush! Roger, Rijol and Jeffrey followed my lead...We were told in the following morning that the bridge had collapsed!

God is good!

LoL~ We had our opening prayer, thanked God for everything and had out dinner!!! Dinner was good!!! =) But there was no eletricity. lol! So we had candlelight dinner instead. lol! How cool is that. We started our night service at 8.45. BPM took over the worship and Ps. Jubilee preached. It was a good time in the Lord's presence, and the messaged was good, he basically preached about being the light, stay strong and also live a life as a true christian. He closes us in family prayer!! We held each other's hand across the church and prayer!!! =)

I had to play by ear while preparing myself for preaching. I find myself of late that I dont read the Bible to "prepare" sermons as such but I read the Bible to live! So when we have the "Life" in us, preaching will not be a struggle but a life-giving experience..

So after the night session, we had duriansssssss! Nyum~ And we slept around 1am.

The next day, we woke up at 5am, to do bible study and pray. I was like 10 minutes late. LoL~ Ps. Jubilee shared about Jeremiah and Hananaiah, it was a good message and also learnt a lot, about being true christian, like being sensitive and knowing that you're really called by the Lord. We finished at 6am, and then we had like an exercise thingie. LoL~ It was so funny, but fun at the same time!! At 7am, Ps Jubilee, told me that I need to get the team to do a children service. and this is a last minute thingie. LoL~ So there we go again, like Pitas trip, David did the games, with the help of Jia Jun, and I did the singing.. hahaha! It was fun. The children here are fun, and more attentive, and also all smiley! =)

Actually, when I was told that I will be sharing in the morning devotion, I planned to share on "Friendship With God" but when the morning prayer bell woke me up, Jeremiah 28 came to my heart... And about the children thingie, I was also taken aback that the ministry was given to the team! One more for the check list!

Our morning service starts at around 9am. They said the time over there is RUBBER! Rubber time! Means it can start anytime and end anytime. lol~ So yea, BPM took over worship and worship was AWESOME. The members of SIB Mendulong also had some performances for us to testify about God. They had like dances and singing. It was beautiful. Then Ps Jubilee preached about staying strong, and he focused a lot on the young people. He was very straight forward and frank, spoke about hell and also lukewarm christian. I learnt a lot from the message. Ministry time was beautiful, first he prayed for people who wants to have a new heart, and then he also prayed for parents and people who wants their kids and families to be saved. Responds was awesome, and it was a good time with the Lord..

So enjoy our slide below!

Our heart our desire...

"Our heart our desire
Is to see the nations worship
Our cry our prayer
Is to sing Your praise to the ends of the earth
That with one mighty voice
Every tribe and tongue rejoices
Our heart our desire
Is to see the nations worship You"

That was one of the worship lyric on Sunday morning at our church..

I have sung the same song many times over, but this time around it had a deeper impact and meaning to me personally...

As I raise both hands in worship with Vivien at my right and son Ezra at my left...I could clearly see the faces of the the people and places in the interior that I had visited and ministered to...

Yes, the desire of my heart is for them to worship Him , our Savior Lord and King of Kings...Yes, the purpose I go to the interior is this: to make the people believe in Him and in turn become worshipers themselves... The Father is seeking for a people that will worship Him in Spirit and Truth.. As I see them while worshiping the Lord, my heart reached out to the Lord praying that these people will grow in stature and maturity for His glory.... Will you pray for them too?

In praying for them, listen..... Is God saying anything about it to you? What is He saying?

One more thing, are we all not called to be a blessing to the nations when Abraham was called? Remember one thing: Without God man cannot, without man God will not!

What say you?

(Kita minum dulu!Where is the Tenom coffee?)

Interior Trip to Pitas

A write-up by Christine Majimbun

On June 16^th-17^th 2007, 10 of us including a team from Powerhouse and 2 other from SIB Immanuel(C) went for a short mission trip to one kampung in Pitas. None of us had any idea how that place would look like since none of us has been there before. According to Beautiful Feet, the trip will be a little tougher than any other interior mission trip we have been to because we need to walk by foot into the kampung.

So on June 16^th, we met in Shalom at 9am and we had 3 four wheel drives to bring us to Pitas. We went for breakfast and started our journey to Kota Marudu as we have to meet Pastor Kilon Lagadan the Ketua SIB Kawasan Tandek, to lead us the way to our destination. We arrived at Kota Marudu at about 12, had our lunch and head on to the kampung. It took about 30 minutes from Kota Marudu to the junction that will take us to that kampung. And right as we enter the junction, the road was rugged/rough all the way, and we drove on for about 90 minutes on rugged road, crossed 4 rivers, 2 big ones and 2 small ones. Bobby’s truck stucked at one muddy hill after crossing one of the rivers. He tried like 10 minutes going up and down, but finally was able to reverse all the way back. Everyone worked together to pick up rocks from the river to that muddy area, and the team from Bob’s car had to get down as he will try to speed up through that mud. And yes! He did it.

When we reached a place where we parked our car, we walked another 60 minutes by foot up and down the hills and across 2 rivers. All of us were sweating like mad, and it was really tough for some of us who are not used to this kind of stuff.

When we finally reached the place at about 4.30pm, all of us were soaked. We reached in front of a house which at first most of us thought it was the church but it turned out to be a house belonged to one of the church member and the church instead was just 20 meters away and it looked like a chicken coop, it was very small. Smaller than the house.

We put all our luggage down, and rested for a while in the house that was near the church. When we wanted to take our shower, we only then realize that the river is like 30 minutes downhill, and if we were to shower there, by the time we come back up to the house, we’ll all be sweating again. Some of us decided to stay, while some insisted on walking down to the river. But right after they walked out the house, rain started to fall. So everyone just sat in the room, and all of the sudden, Uncle Ronny has a smart idea; he took off his shirt and started showering under the rain. And everyone started joining him, well except for some of us. By the time they finished showering, the rain stopped! How cool is that? God is good! The kampung has no electricity power, they had to use generator in order to give us light. So we had our dinner and started our night service with about 30-40 people in the room.

We started off with songs of praise and worship and also a testimony by David. And more worship and then Uncle Ronny preached. He preached about being the light, and encouraged the community there to stand strong, and remind them the influence of Muslim nowadays. We ended with a very powerful prayer for families and youth. One lady came forward and said that she wanted to accept the Lord! Amen! And also, a family with a 12 years old girl came forward for prayer. The family said that the girl was forced to convert. So Uncle Ronny and Ps Jubilie started sharing and encouraged them about not being influenced and stand firm on what they believe. Isn’t it amazing that what Uncle Ronny preached touched and changed so many lives?

After the night service, we had a chance to learn about the culture and race over there. They brought up their gongs and kulintangan and started dancing, and some of us managed to learn their dance. We slept around 12.30am and we slept at the place where we had dinner and service, and everything. The very same spot.

On Sunday, most of us were awakened up by the sound of people chatting. We prepared ourselves for our service. We had our service in the same house, since the church was too small. We told the community there that we’re going to start at 9am, but the people start coming in at 8am. They are so excited about God and just so hungry for the word of God. Families after families started coming in and we decided to start our service at 8.30am with the room all packed with families coming from 3 different villages. What touched us also is that a family traveled 3 hours just to come and join the service with us. They had to travel by car, boat and foot. The service started with a welcoming message and then songs of praise and worship. Danielle and Connie then shared their testimonies about how they accepted the Lord Jesus as their savior. After that, we sung some more, and Bob came up and shared about how his family accepted the Lord, and also about how he has never given up sharing the word and encouraging the family to come to church.

Ps Jubilie then realized that the children were quite noisy and a distraction to the adults, so he got Christine and David to took the children for some games. Garry and Danielle also came and helped out, and Connie worked as the video woman. Christine and David started off with games with the children, and then action songs, as well as story telling. Most of the children there are very well behaved and attentive. We had a good time in the Lord’s presence.

[In the adult service, Uncle Ronny stressed the meaning of being a true Christian. Every one need to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Christianity is not about having a religion, but having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Six came forward to pray the sinners’ prayer. After that the team prayed that the church will be filled with God’s Holy Spirit and for healing. The people in the kampung really need healing as they will need to spend at least RM40 to and fro (by boat and car) for the nearest hospital at Pitas town.]^{JA insert}

After the service, we gathered back at the house and it was gift giving time. We started with giving gifts to the fathers since it was father’s day, and then to the mothers and to the kids. We also gave away 2^nd hand clothes for everyone. We brought like (10) boxes of clothes and milk. Around that time, all of us were burning hot, we were all sweating and all of us can’t wait to get home. Some even rather not have lunch there. But we had our lunch there since they cooked for us already, and then we packed, said our goodbyes and left. It was a good challenge indeed.

8 June SIB Kg Minyak