It’s been a more leisurely day today, for which I’m grateful. There was time this morning to do some ‘touristy’ things in Sandakan, before I caught an afternoon flight back to KK (Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah). I’m now staying in the Anglican Centre at All Saints’ Cathedral in the heart of the city, hosted by Archdeacon John Yu, the vicar of Christ Church, Likas. And I had hopes that I might have a reasonably quiet day tomorrow too, as I’m at least not on the move again. But somehow, I seem to have allowed myself to be talked into giving a bible reading on Joseph to some young people on a Vocations’ Camp in the afternoon, and am now anxious that I haven’t allowed time to prepare anything.

I began the day at a bit of a low ebb, but am ending it in good spirits, after an encouraging evening with members of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Sandakan. 

I suppose it’s not surprising if I’m having to dig a bit deeper at this stage, to summon up enthusiasm for the task.  It’s the mid-way point of the visit: 11 days gone, 10 days to go.  And it’s the most frenetic part of the schedule: since I left Miri on Thursday morning, I’ve slept in three different beds in three diffferent states, hosted by three different churches; and the novelty has worn off, so that the energising learning is less constant. 

When is a priest not a priest?  Presumably, when he or she is not ordained.  But I have spent the day today with ‘Pastor’ Margaret: a remarkable woman and a priest in all but name, all but ordination.  She may not thank me for saying so, but in England she’d  be ordained at the drop of a mitre. 

I’ve tried to eat adventurously in the last week or so.  Actually, there hasn’t been much choice about it most of the time.  There’s a wide range of cuisine: Indian, Chinese and Malay, as well as local (tribal) dishes.  And I’ve not found much that has been hard to stomach.  Admittedly, I’ve been spared insects and other delicacies I gather one might be offered in the interior.  I was offered some glutinous rice in Miri, which wasn’t to my liking.  But this morning at breakfast time, I found the Chinese Water Noodles too much.  I barely eat breakfast at the best of times.  Not even my English appetite really wakes up until mid-morning.  So warm, watery, savoury noodles with white, papery stuff in it was a bridge too far for me – somewhat to the amusement of my hosts.

Breakfast at a Chinese restaurant this morning was followed by a discussion with the priest in charge and two senior lay members of St Mark’s, Lembang.  Again, it was just such an eye-opening encounter.  I don’t think I shall ever read the texts, ‘The harvest is plentiful.  The labourers are few’ and ‘The fields are white for harvest’ in quite the same way again. 

There’s a saying attributed to John Wesley, that ‘any Christian worthy of the name, lay or ordained, should be prepared at short notice to pray, preach or die’.  Well, today has demanded two out of the three and of course I’m still alive to tell the tale. 

The day has taken me in and out of Brunei (via the only church in Christendom with two main road exits to its carpark but no entrance) and to a 48 door longhouse right up in the north of Sarawak outside a city called Limbang.  It has brought two new experiences: an opportunity to participate in a Eucharist in Iban (a native language) and the need to preach with an interpreter.

A second rest day, today.  I’ve made a couple of outings, but it’s felt leisurely and quiet and timely.  It’s also the first day I’ve been glad of a hat and sun lotion.  Until now I’ve been either indoors somewhere or under tree cover.  I’ve no doubt burnt my head.  It’s an inevitable hazard these days.