With a basket on her back and a blade in her hand, missionary Rachel Searcy continues to take opportunities to learn the culture and language of the Punan people of Indonesia.
"What is it like to harvest rice by hand in the middle of one of the last stretches of tropical rain forest in the world?" Rachel wrote. "I found out this week and 'it ain't what it might be cracked up to be.'"
Early last Wednesday, Rachel accompanied one of the families up to the rice fields. Almost everyone else from the village had been living near the rice fields in temporary shelters called lopo for a couple of weeks already.
"We arrived at the lopo and I borrowed a basket to carry on my back," wrote Rachel. "From there we crossed the river and hiked up to the rice storage house about 100 feet up the hill on the lower end of the rice field.
"After donning long-sleeved shirts and long pants (yes, even in the tropics, as protection against sharp rice stalks and sunlight) the ladies climbed the hill while the men stayed at the rice storage house.
"The ladies then picked the rice head by head using a blade on a bamboo handle and tossed each head over a shoulder into the basket on their backs. The teenage boys collected the rice and hauled it down the hill to the men threshing, winnowing and drying the rice.
"We ladies worked our way down the hill, occasionally falling over rotten logs or sliding down steep slopes. At noon we hiked down to the river's edge for a lunch of rice and salted pork … then we went back up to the top to work our way down another side of the hill.
"About mid-afternoon a rain storm came up and we continued harvesting in the rain. At 5 p.m. we quit and slid down the hillside since the trail had become a muddy mess in the rain.
"After a boat trip home in the pouring rain, I was very thankful to get back to a dry house and a warm cup of tea for supper."
Rachel doctored her blisters and went out to help a second day in a different field. And the people noticed approvingly. One impressed lady told her that she would make a good daughter-in-law, because she was willing to learn.
"Besides an understanding of the way the Punan people harvest rice, I came away with a deep respect for their resilience and ability to survive," Rachel wrote. "Please continue to pray for a greater understanding of the culture and language of these people so that Scriptures in their language will be as clear as possible."
While helping to harvest rice, Rachel never forgets the real reason why she is there.
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