Mission Trip to Paitan

Sep 11, 2015

By Calvin OhseyThe
Last year, the Youth and Campus Ministry of Melaka-Johor Diocese organised a mission trip to Paitan, Sabah to build a kindergarten in Kampung Tawanan, Paitan. The efforts of last year’s mission has come to fruition as the kindergarten run by Sister Dorothy is now operational. This year, we returned to Paitan to cement the ground floor of the kindergarten. Seven student missionaries and three full time staff of Melaka-Johor Diocese joined this mission.

This life changing event from July 21 to Aug 3 started when all the participants gathered in the Campus Student Fellowship house in Kota Kinabalu for formation by Jeanny Lim. There was Bible sharing, ice breaking, how to share personal testimony and intercessory prayer. There were testimonies from Joseph Chee and Sergius Ramday from the Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community (LJCCC) on the experience of early missionary work in Paitan. Sr Anita from the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (FSIC) also shared a brief history of Sabah with the participants.

On July 23, the journey to Paitan began. Upon reaching the kindergarten, we were welcomed by the teachers. We stayed in the teachers’ house for the rest of the mission. During our stay, we immersed ourselves in the daily life of the villagers. Our water supply came from rain water that was collected from a nearby pond. We had electricity from a generator at night only, for a few hours. To strengthen our spiritual life, we had personal holy hour in the morning and compline at night together with our high, low and God moments before we slept. Each participant was encouraged to do their personal journaling during their holy hour. On July 25, we attended Mass, celebrated by Fr Thomas Makajil in St Simon Chapel, Kampung Timpus. While there, we witnessed the baptism of 15 infants and the appointment of a prayer leader for the chapel. The next day, after communion service at St Petrus chapel, the youth and children of Kampung Tawanan joined us for praise and worship, followed by games and formation.

We also spent time with the kindergarten students. It was a meaningful time for the participants as it echoed the Gospel passage “Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.” We played games while exchanging our “high fives” and helped the teachers during their lessons.

On the day before we left, we visited another village called Dalamas. It took about half-an -hour using four wheel drive vehicles and another half-an-hour walking across hills to get there. At night, we had a farewell party with the teachers.

We were so blessed to have had this mission. We will always be reminded that being missionaries is all about bringing God’s kingdom to everyone. Rural poverty is not the main problem in Paitan, it is the lack of spiritual formation and guidance that demands more pastoral care. It is our hope that this mission will continue and new missionaries will come forward to work in the land that has been prepared by God.