Today we finished work on the church, in about an hour we will go back and clean up. There is still more to be done, but it is work that has to be done a little at a time, such as laying the last bit of brick, so the Iban will finish after we leave.

I found out this morning that after the wall fell yesterday, Pastor Denney stayed until dark rebuilding it--only to have it collapse a second time! They built it again today and it seems to be holding well.

God’s planted a dream in my heart: of returning to Sarawak next year and bringing my brother David with me. I am so excited about missionary work. I can’t remember ever being this happy. I am writing this by the door of the longhouse, in hopes of a cool breeze. After we finish at the church we’ll go for a swim in the river. That always feels so good to wash away the sweat and dirt.

There is a group of Iban women near me, gathered around a heaping basket of pepper. I think they are separating the green kernels from the stems and stuff so they can put it out in the sun to dry. That is how black pepper is made. To make white pepper, the green kernels are soaked in the river for about two weeks so that the green shells come off and the white centers are then dried.