Bishop Hwa Yung, Bishop Emeritus of the Methodist Church in Malaysia and a member of the International Board of the Lausanne Movement, shared stories of the Holy Spirit's transformation of communities and posed three crucial questions to attendees. He spoke during a morning plenary session on September 23 on “The power of the Holy Spirit” at the Fourth Lausanne Global Congress on World Evangelism in Incheon, Korea.
Having recalled the stories of miraculous revivals and the transformation of an East Malaysian tribe in Sarawak, Borneo, Rev. Yung asked, “for those of us who have been taught that the Holy Spirit no longer does miracles today, how does this story differ from what we read in the New Testament?”
His second question was about awareness of such events generally in modern times: “Are we aware that this is not an isolated story, but one that has been repeated in the past 100 years in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East?”
The last question challenged people to give precedence to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
“How much space do we give to the Holy Spirit in our ministry of evangelism, mission, outreach, church, planting, strategic planning, and the like? May God give us ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”
During his talk, Yung explored the “microcosmic” works of the Holy Spirit transforming the indigenous people of Lun Bawang in the mountainous jungle of Central Northern Borneo.
“Paul, in Romans 15, speaks of what Christ accomplished in him bringing the gentiles to faith by word and deed, by the power of the signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God. The story I’m going to tell you is not a Pentecostal story as such, but it’s about God’s work among the indigenous people.”
Yung recounted how three Australian missionaries were sent in 1928 by the Borneo Evangelical Mission, now part of OMF International [since 1975], to a certain jungle region. They wanted to reach the indigenous people and colonial authorities at the time welcomed them but also prohibited the missionaries from going further to the Lun Bawang people, living in the mountains [the Kelabit Highlands].
At the time, the Lun Bawang people numbering 3,000 to 4,000 people were plagued by high mortality rates caused by rampant alcoholism, violence and widespread diseases, according to Yung. Headhunting and intertribal wars were “a thing of the past” and so the tribe turned to drinking rice wine as a favorite pastime.
Alcoholism became rife and, as recounted by missionary Shirley Lees in her 1979 book, “Drunk Before Dawn,” the Lun Bawang were drunk 100 days out of 365 per year. “They were dying out,” said Yung, referencing Lees’ book. “It was said the men were drunk, the women were drunk, the children drunk – only the dogs were sober.”
Colonial authorities tried to minimize contact from the Lun Bawang with other tribes so that the alcoholism did not spread. Yung said the plan was to “let them die out so they would not be a bad influence on the other tribal groups.”
However, in 1933 some missionaries working across the Indonesian border brought the gospel to the Lun Bawang tribe.
“The coming of the gospel brought a major change in the lives of the Lun Bawang and led to a people movement in which the whole tribe was Christianized,” recalled Yung. “The conversion led to a mission breakthrough among other tribal groups in Sabah Interior as well.”
A first outpouring of the Holy Spirit brought a deeper transformation in the tribe during the period 1952 to 1954. This initial revival prepared for further two revivals, 1973-1974 which powerfully impacted the wider region over the next 50 years, according to Yung.
The first of these two revivals happened on Oct. 4 1973 when high school students and teachers from a neighboring group were stirred in “deep seated repentance, open confession, prayer and a hunger for God never known before.” This was accompanied by signs, wonders and prophecies by the high school students.
This revival “spilled over” to the Lun Bawang and a “watershed moment” happened for the tribal church on the night of Nov. 10 1973.
“The Holy Spirit was poured out in power upon the villages,” said Yung. “Some started weeping in repentance nonstop, confessing their sins under deep-seated conviction. Others went around seeking forgiveness from those they had wronged.
“Many fell to the ground in a swoon, overcome by the Spirit. With the ceaseless waves of prayers and repentance going on, some started to prophesy and others received visions and various spiritual gifts.”
The power of God’s presence was felt most keenly by those present feeling “pinned down by some unknown force” and sensing an overwhelming call from the Lord for repentance. They sent for friends and relatives in the villages who had been wronged in various ways, through fighting or quarreling.
“Only after apologies were made, mutual forgiveness offered, reconciliation effected, could they get up and return home that night,” Yung added.
Two of the women there remained unconscious on the floor for between 24 to 48 hours, and later became key intercessors for the Lun Bawang church.
These revivals spread further afield and Yung said Sarawak region encountered “a series of spiritual tsunamis sweeping hundreds of thousands into the kingdom of God in the following years.”
However, God’s work was not finished in the region and more revivals came in 1984 and 1986 – with strange events reported in an English speaking newspaper in the country, supported by photos: a miraculous transformation of rice and water into flour and oil, and “supernatural fireballs flying through the sky at night.”
Yung described how a church pastor and his group, directed by the Holy Spirit, brought rice and water in different containers up to the top of a nearby mountain. After waiting on God in prayer, they witnessed a miraculous transformation. The rice in the plastic bags was changed into flour and sugar, and water into cooking oil. They were able to create fried donut sticks to eat, feeding everyone on the mountain and between 200 to 300 people in the village, upon their return.
“It was a miracle on a par with the feeding of the 5,000,” Yung commented.
The next year, 1985, the church gathered on four separate occasions and saw fireballs flying in the night sky.
“The clearest was on the night of July 15th, which was witnessed by more than a thousand worshipers gathered from all the surrounding villages and captured on a time lapse photograph, which you actually can see on the screen,” said Yung. “The photo appeared to be a fireball tracing out a gigantic angelic figure in the night sky.”
These revivals altogether brought new life to many churches in the region and a gracious outpouring of spiritual gifts to indigenous Christians.
Yung said the results were manifold with revivals still happening among the poorest and marginalized, even to this day. Early morning prayer meetings are held regularly and “lives are still being transformed.”
“Over the last 50 years, more than a million believers have been added to the church in East Malaysia,” concluded Yung, “and God is still at work.”
