In Deep Darkness, A Debtor to Mercy Alone

buoyed between open sea and ocean-floor, aimless limbs flail in empty water. the siren call of an underwater kingdom to slip off and sink further beneath. beyond where dappled sunbeams play on coral pastures in colours too friendly for life; below where the crackling of the unknown silences the crash of crude waves. in deep darkness where there will be neither salty tears nor sweet nothings, the tiresome bubbling of human breath may finally be stilled. and then will come rest: a graveyard of self, a dependence on mercy alone.

Another Tioman Trip feat. Encouragement

washed out*

At the end of a week that didn't seem like it would ever end, there was Pulau Tioman. The Paya Beach Resort bit of Tioman Island wasn't spectacularly pretty. Its kampung feel was slightly on the more rundown side of charmingly rustic.

The sand on its beach was dark yellow and rough, but the water clear enough to gaze at corals and fishes while sitting on the railings and chatting at the jetty.

Tioman time is relative, said the Chinese cze char resto owner as he brought out more complimentary Tsingtao beer for the FIFA World Cup 2010 Germany vs Serbia match, 大家都走得很慢.

And it seemed that lazy hot childhoods were spent fishing with a bit of bread, a hook and a line,

or fooling around on a surfboard and waving goodbye to divers going out to sea (sometimes, the goodbye is forever, as we found out from the boatman while idling off Pulau Labas, waiting for people who had gone on their second dive to emerge from underwater tunnels. A few days ago, a girl died after falling from the upper deck of a boat on the way back from a snorkelling trip. Last year, a Japanese woman was killed by a boat's propeller as she was surfacing from a dive - the dive master had come up first and put up the sausage but there were three divers from the group who had yet to surface (this report tells a different story). There was another fatal incident involving falling from a boat that had been rocked by a strong wave at the jetty, a lifejacket and another running propeller...)

or over an old checkers board with plastic bottle caps.

The free breakfast was decent enough. The sausages that were more starch than meat were fed to the many cats moseying around for a free bite.

Lunches of Special King Beefs (Ramli burgers with two beef patties wrapped in egg) at Sunrise Cafe barely lasted us till dinner.

For dinner, there was the choice of edible cze char to the right of the jetty

or good barbecued seafood, and buckets of duty-free beer to wash down satay and otah at the resort.

And we had plenty of time to check out the snacks while waiting for the 11.00am ferry that finally arrived at 2.00pm after being stopped by the marine police for a spot-check.

It was good to be in the midst of people reading good books - the Good Book (someone started reading from Genesis and was at the Book of Esther by the time we got to Tanjong Gemuk), Mark Ashton's Christian Youth Ministry (that got passed round a bit), a book on finishing the Christian race well, and spontaneously gossiping the gospel (no pulpit nagging repeatedly quoting The Great Commission necessary). A bit of rest after two weeks of little sleep, dealing (not successfully) with my own irritation at people not bothering to be organised enough or selfless enough to make the most of gospel opportunities and even sabotaging such times, frustration at energy and time expended on things for the tummy and not eternal things etc etc

Truly God is is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Until the end of the age, there will exist that tension between human responsibility and God's sovereignty; we must do all we can to preach salvation, yet we must never put our confidence in our work or make idols of our schemes. As David Jackman puts it,"...our business is growing...but only God gives the increase..."

On Christ the solid Rock i stand,
All other ground is sinking sand

*********************************

To get to Paya Beach Resort:

• coach from DFS Orchard, Singapore to Tanjung Gemuk, Malaysia (via various bus operators)
• purchase ferry tickets from Tanjung Gemuk to Pulau Tioman
  

And don't forget to pay your Tioman Island Marine Park fee. Keep the receipt at all times in case the ubiquitous marine police pull you over for a spot-check.


At Paya Beach Resort, snorkel gear can be rented from this bald dude, and diving equipment from the Dive Cove and say hi to Funny while you're there.


I be liking this mask.


So much more to see!

*all photos by iPhone 3GS + Tiltshift or Crossprocess or Swankolab + PSMobile. Interestingly, one of my photos will hanging around the Schlechtriem Brothers Gallery in Berlin Mitte as part of the chosen 144 (not thousand) in the EYE'EM Award 2010.

Rawa Island and Godly Contentment (Ecclesiastes 5:8 - 6:9)

Paradise island, if such taxonomy is applicable to Pulau Rawa (off Mersing in Johor, Malaysia), is replete with cliches:

palm-fringed powdery-white beaches, azure clear waters perfect for snorkelling and hovering over fish and coral, young girls with sarongs and hibiscus in their hair, deck chairs and blue-and-white striped beach towels, friendly dogs, tyre-swings hanging from coconut trees, and coconut oil-basted human flesh gently roasting in the sun...

Less than 4 hours after boarding the mini-bus from Singapore to Mersing and then a boat from Mersing, we checked-in at Rawa Safaris Island Resort, one of two resorts sharing the tiny island.

The nicest accommodation in Rawa Safaris Island Resort.

The nicest accommodation in Alang's Rawa (formerly Le Club - read more about Tunku Ibrahim Alang here).

Prettily situated amongst greenery teeming with butterflies (and welcoming clouds of mozzies) and sweet with bird-calls, the hillside huts at Rawa Safaris were basic - a bed, two rattan chairs, a rail for hanging clothes, airconditioning, one power socket and a bathroom with whimsical water pressure and a western toilet,

the expectation being that guests would be spending most of their time by the beach. And after filling up at the buffet breakfast, there was indeed energy enough for snorkelling, kayaking, jumping off jetties, and

travelling down the water slide in creative ways immediately imitated by a breathless bevy of kids, when they weren't having these sorts of conversations:

Boy: I've lived in China and I hate China.
Girl: Why?
Boy: China's really lame.
Girl (Chinese): How dare you!
Boy: Why, they don't even worship God!
[Cue: water fight]

All meals were provided buffet-style just a few steps from the beach so when it got too hot, we went in to lunch, dropping flippers and goggles and snorkels by the table and

noshing on very decent Western and Asian food while having teary talks about the faithfulness of Christian parents, the great privilege of growing up in a biological family of believers, the great and faithful work in Australian universities,

interrupted only by little French girls called Margaux singing long French songs.

After lunch, there was the choice of beach volleyball, or paddle ball in the water or frolicking with black-tipped sharks, then popping into the restaurant and bar at Alang's Rawa for snacks and cold beers

while lazily watching beagles chew up Havianas ("Someone should stop him" said J helpfully, before nestling into his folded arms for a snooze).

We topped that up with a takeaway smoothie for lying under the shade, reading a good book, discussing the theology of work and the possibility of tchoukball clinic evangelism before more afternoon napping.

After a leisurely wash-up, we sat and watched the gorgeous sunset before heading in to a barbecue ("Saturdays only") dinner.

Stuffed to the gills, a jetty stroll preceded drinks under the amazing vast canopy of stars and talk about conversions through Christmas parties, and some planning for the corporate future.

Money cannot buy the rare jewel of contentment, nor the ability to enjoy life. It is only in the context of our relationship with God that we can rejoice in the good things in life because we know they are gifts from God, just like (though much more than) a mixtape of songs put together by someone who loves you is far more enjoyable than the same songs compiled by iTunes' Genius:

• Because we know God, we can enjoy whatever wealth and possessions God has given us (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20), We can be satisfied and enjoy his good gifts without expecting or depending on these things themselves for satisfaction. After all, no one can ensure that one's riches will be secure - one bad business venture could bring the corporate mogul so far down he would not even be able to provide for his children (Ecclesiastes 5:13-16). If one relied on this for one's security, surely one would be always under a cloud of worry and when things went wrong, sick with anger (Ecclesiastes 5:17). In the end, there would be no enjoyment from all one's toil.
• Even if one's riches were intact, there would be no satisfaction from money. More cost outlay would be necessary to maintain one's growing possessions and in any case, there would never be enough money for the one who tries to find satisfaction in his wealth (Ecclesiastes 5:10-12). Money is inherently valueless but if one is otherwise deluded, one will amass more and more of it in the hope of gaining just some sliver of satisfaction.
  
• But the fact is that the very ability to enjoy wealth, possessions and honour is given by God (Ecclesiastes 6:1-2). A man with everything anyone could ever wish for but without the ability to enjoy these things is worse off than a stillborn child. He lives a wretched discontented life without ever finding satisfaction and then goes to his death still despairing (Ecclesiastes 6:3-6).
  

So the Qoholet strongly advises learning rightful contentment in life.

Q: Do we think ourselves fairly satisfied and content in life?
Q: What is the basis of our satisfaction in life? How would our first answer change if:

• we lose the ability to work?
• there is little result from all our hard work?
• our job causes us to lose the esteem of family and friends and the general public?
• our work does not suit what we think are our personality and talents?
  
• we find out that we are much more poorly paid than our peers and have fallen behind in our chosen career path?
  

May we give up all attempts to rest our love and hopes on something other than God, for that way lies a terrible life of vexation, cares, sleeplessness, despair and then death, because any object other than our Creator is ultimately empty, a vanity, vapour.

Ecclesiastes
Easter Everyday
Quest for Immortality: EPIC FAIL (Ecclesiastes 1:1-15)
Life is Vapour, Therefore Enjoy Life (Ecclesiastes 2:1-3:15)
Life is Far Worse than an iPhone Game, Therefore Harvest the Day! (Ecclesiastes 3:16-5:7)
Rawa Island and Godly Contentment (Ecclesiastes 5:8 - 6:9)
Fallen Frangipani, Really Wise Living (Ecclesiastes 6:10-7:29)

This is My Father's (Underwater) World

Disposable waterproof cams aren't brilliant and this reef ain't the best in the world, but they'll do. The Scissortail Sergeant sequence.

Ho-hum...minding my own business...paparazzo-ing a school of Scissortail Sergeants...


Mm-hmm, colours.


Ah, fellow landlubbers in the murky depths. Sedimentation in this area from nearby reclamation works.


Uh-oh, spotted by a sharp-eyed Scissortail Sergeant! (Scissortail Sergeant (because everyone likes a bad joke): Eh, I'm striped actually)


Mmmooorgggh! Noooooo! Please, please! No kissy kissy!