Esther 1

I had no plans at all in going to Mt. Murud July this year. Early this year, Aunty Judith asked me whether I can make it for the trip. My boyfriend, Eric also ‘strongly’ encouraged me to go as he wanted to go badly. Finally I consented to go after much consideration. We were the last few to book our air tickets. Looking back, I’m delighted that I went.

Before I departed on the trip, many people who had gone before gave us lots of handy advices. And we also had a few briefings before the trip to finalize the schedule and things to bring as well as pray for our trip. One of the things which we were asked to bring is football socks which we can pull up to our knees to cover our pants from mud. So we went and bought 5 pairs of football socks. I actually washed the socks too.

As I packed for the trip based on a ‘Things to Bring’ list, I packed all the normal socks except the ‘MUST BRING’ football socks. Eric and I realized that we didn’t bring them when we were at Kota Kinabalu International Airport while waiting for the van to pick us up to Lawas. So we basically walked around the whole KK airport looking for socks. Finally I went to the information counter to ask whether there is a shop selling socks. The lady at the information counter looked at me puzzled. She told me there is one inside the departure hall but not outside. Of course, I was disappointed.

Eric and I started praying we would find one at Lawas. On our way to Lawas, we passed by lots of shops and supermarkets which we think they sell socks. But the van was not stopping for us as we were rushing to catch up the hilux in Lawas which would take us to Ba’ kelalan. Finally we arrived at Lawas for lunch and also picked up some dried food for the trip.

As I stepped down from the van to the coffee shop for our lunch, right there beside the coffee shop is a shop that sells sport equipment. There and then Eric and I bought our football socks. Thank God for answering our prayers.

Another amazing experience which I had was my experience with the Lord at Batu Linanit. Before we went for the trip, people advised us to bring tissues as they said you will SURELY cry a lot. On the first day of the revival meeting, as we were having lunch, a Pastor by the name of Robert from Lawas joined our group. He asked whether any of us had been spending time meeting with the Lord and praying at Batu Linanit. He then shared with us his experience of meeting the Lord there at the Rock. Every time he comes, he will bring his members to the Rock and spend time praying there. Many had met with the Lord there. He encouraged us to go if we have time.

Actually we passed through the Rock when we hiked up to the church camp. So, I was reluctant to hike up to the Rock again. Also, deep down in my heart I was doubtful of the experiences. Nevertheless, some from our group including Eric and I decided to skip the special session for youth and spent time praying at ‘The Rock’. Our group decided to have individual time of prayer of about half an hour at the Rock there. As I started to pray, tears kept flowing down uncontrollable. I have no idea why I cried but tears just kept coming out. That’s when I knew the Holy Spirit was touching my heart and ministered to me.

Eric and I also spent some time to pray for our relationship. In fact, he was the one who prayed aloud and led us in prayer as I can only cried. The Holy Spirit has revealed to both of us that we need to glorify God in everything we do. We also need to continue to exercise purity. We also agreed to support each other in our ministries. It was a time of sweet hour of prayer.

I also want to thank the Lord for strengthening and sustaining me during the hike up to the summit. It was indeed tough and I almost gave up half way. We were running out of water on our way down from summit. And we had to drink the waterfall water to keep us going. Without Him, I can’t do it on my own. (I was too tired to smile at the camera anymore when I came down from the summit as you can see from one of the photos below.)

In conclusion, I would like to encourage all of you who are yet to go, Go with anticipation and expectation to meet God face to face. It is a tough and challenging journey but NOT impossible. It is a journey of faith, full of surprises because our God is far, far beyond our imagination.

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?” - Job 11:7

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