6 days in Aceh was indeed short, yet it was a fantastic experience for me. Such experience provoked me to reflect on my own life and see a bigger picture of who God is.
During this trip I saw destructions, rubbles, broken houses, debris and water, particularly in the Lambada and Meuraxa districts. Meuraxa was used to be a wealthy area but now had become one of the Tsunami most affected place. It was a scene beyond description. And don’t forget that this was after 6 months. Imagine what it was like when the tsunami first hit and there were dead bodies everywhere. I believe I could never feel the same way as the local people did. These people had seen and experienced the Aceh before the tsunami: the crowd, the busy streets, the beautiful houses, the noise, the laughter, the familiar faces……and suddenly all these disappeared in one unexpected day. Kind of reminded me of the exiles who came back from Babylon to rebuild the broken temple in Jerusalem. Some of them shed tears because they had seen the ‘glory’ of the temple built by Solomon before it was destroyed. It must be extremely hard for them to see what had been left.
Being part of the YBI (Yayasan Berkati Indonesia) mobile clinic had given me the opportunity to interact with the local people. There I heard lots of stories. It seemed that most of the patients who visited the mobile clinic were still being affected by the disaster, not so much physically, but emotionally and mentally. Besides the common complaints of cough, cold, itchiness etc, many complained of sleeplessness, nervousness, lack of motivation, low energy, sadness, etc. What they were actually seeking for was somebody to talk to, and what we did most of the time in the mobile clinic was to LISTEN….something which I’ve tried to learn.
I heard story from
- a man who lost all his family members,
- an old lady who lost one of her younger daughter (she showed me her picture),
- a man who felt uneasy and depressed every time he looked at the neighborhood,
- a woman whose son nearly lost his life and had a head surgery done with a huge scar,
- a young man who rode his motorcycle with his friend and fled to the nearest mountain to escape the wave,
- a lady who lost all her children and wanted to conceive again,
- some children who lost their parents and now being called ‘anak-anak tsunami’,
- a middle age man who failed to save his mother
- etc etc etc
By the way, throughout the mobile clinic, I saw very few children. Apparently most of the children had perished during the incident. Survival of the fittest I supposed……
In the midst of all these destructions and loses, somehow I could see HOPE. They might have lost their love ones, some were even left alone, yet they know one thing: Life must go on. When they shared their stories, I could hardly see any signs of giving up. Their spirits were strong. They still looked forward to the future. When we traveled along the district, I frequently saw people diligently rebuilding houses and ships. Our team had the privilege to witness the opening of a new children and maternity Hospital called Permata Hati. The new hospital was the result of a collaboration and hard work between the government and various NGOs, including YBI. The head of the hospital, Dr. Mazuki himself had lost five children. We believe that the hospital would be a memorable blessing to the community as many Acehnese women would be pregnant and giving birth soon to a new generation.
Aceh was used to be conservative province. Majority of the Acehnese were Muslims. One local told me that tourists were not welcome in Aceh. They used to live by their own. Unfortunately they were also plagued by persistent conflict between GAM (Free Aceh Movement) and the 
Indonesian government. Therefore, many people, including myself would have negative perceptions on Aceh, the Acehnese and even Islam in Aceh. But after spending 6 days in Aceh, I realize that I have made some bad judgements. The Acehnese were indeed friendly, humble and hospitable people. They treated us like friends all the time. If you were to smile at them, they would definitely smile back at you. I felt very comfortable in engaging conversation with them. And the children were adorable as well.
When the tsunami struck, many NGOs and volunteers, be it foreign or local, responded the call to relieve the situation in Aceh. Because of their compassion and sacrifice, survivors were safely placed, dead bodies were quickly managed and epidemics were prevented. Now all eyes were on the rebuilding effort, which was the essential part. As all the media and publicity had slowly turned their attention to somewhere else (the Michael Jackson scandal maybe?), one might question whether the world were still as determined as before to help the Acehnese in terms of technical supports, volunteers and finance.
The Tsunami wave might have taken more than 150,000 lives, but little did we realize that another wave had begun to sweep through Aceh right after that. That was the wave of the Gospel, carried by thousands of Christian volunteers from Indonesia and all over the world. These volunteers were ordinary people, some were doctors, pharmacists, nurses, interpreters, students, teachers, architects…etc etc with one common goal: to respond to the Great Commandments and the Great Commission in bringing the love of Jesus Christ to the Acehnese. Dr. Tanti, the coordinator of the mobile clinic, was only 26 and she had just graduated from a medical school. She might not have the experience yet she RESPONDED to the call. Amazingly many of the YBI staffs were at their 20s. They were preparing the harvest by providing practical needs as Jesus did and building good relationships with the local people. Even though they didn’t publicly call themselves Christians, the locals knew that YBI was a Christian organization.
In fact, when I looked at some of the YBI staffs and volunteers, I didn’t see ‘Christians’, yet I saw Followers of Jesus Christ. Their love for the people, their endurance, their patience, their sacrifice, their humility and their servant hood truly reflected the life of Jesus. I felt I have taken many things for granted.
I think there should be another wave sweeping through the Malaysian church, including myself, whether we realized it or not. It’s a wave that would wake us up from 'complacency' and heal our disease called ‘pride’. Terms like ‘charismatic’, ‘baptist’, ‘methodist’, ‘anglican’, ‘pentecostal’, ‘catholic’, ‘breathren’, ‘evangelical’….in which we took so much pride, somehow carried no meaning in Aceh anymore. There, Christians only concerned about loving others and glorifying the name of Jesus Christ in that land.
I was amazed by my team, which consist of a doctor, air steward, dentist, economic student, nurse, manager, FES staffs, college student, housewives, medical student….and range from 18 to 72 years old!!! Not to mention the diverse personality in each of us. But God used all of us in His own unique ways, in mobile clinic, construction, sewing, cleaning, washing hairs!!??? We really functioned like a BODY of Christ. And God used us to entertain each other as well....heehee
I thank God for this trip. I really appreciate all the prayers as well. I hope I have the opportunity to share more in person. 
