A portal between the seen and the unseen world
In mid 2000, I made a trip to Myanmar to complete writing the Moken book. I expected to stay in Yangon to do our work. I was told that it was going to be very hot there so I packed light clothes meant for the hot weather.
On the day I arrived, Aunty Say Bay told me that we would be travelling up to the mountains in Kalaw to write. I was totally unprepared for the 18-hour bus ride.
We arrived at our destination at 6 am greeted by the cold mountain winds and the warm welcome of friends. Vincent, my host, and his son came on motorbikes to pick us up. I was about to whiz round the freezing trail on a motorbike garbed in clothes meant for the hot weather.
Seeing how I was chattering, his son let me use his jacket, but still I felt like a block of ice when I got to their home. Victor’s wife Mary asked if I wanted to eat or drink.
I said, “No, I’m still defrosting!” Then Mary gave me a sweater. I took off her son’s jacket and put on the one she gave me.
The family helped Aunty and I to check into a hotel where we had electricity for only eight hours a day. I was told that power supply had to be shared by the towns on a rotational basis because there was not enough supply. For the next few days, as long as there was electricity, Aunty and I did nothing but work on writing, revising, editing, rewriting. It was hard work!
Two days before leaving the mountains, while having a meal with our host, Mary suddenly asked me, “Oh! You brought a warm sweater.”
I said, “No, this is the one you gave me the morning I arrived.”
She said, “No, I didn’t give you any sweater. This is not mine.” She asked everyone in the house – her husband, son, helpers, neighbours, and Aunty. NOBODY recognised or gave me the sweater! Until today, it is still a mystery to us all where it came from.
I brought the sweater home to remember how God had sent His angel to provide for me on this very challenging journey.
Living in high tech, busy, efficient, pragmatic Singapore, how easy it is to go about our daily lives and miss what is going on in the unseen.
God, angels, and demons – they are in our midst.