Second Letter from Malaysia

Dateline Kuala Lumpur
March 19,2009

(Note : An eBook titled ASEAN CHRONICLES : Dispatches of A Presidential Aspirant will be published online as part of our travels. My Tierra Pura neighbor Mr. Romy Lapus will provide the photos. The eBook will be FREE ).


Dear June, Ate Eileen, Ate Beng, Frances, Anne, Medy, John Mark, Jerusalem, Joanne, Doreen, Kent and Dianne, Tim and Nancy, Ambassador Josh V, Noldy, and everyone :

We are wrapping up our two-week travels in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia tonight.
I wish to travel to Singapore and Batam, Indonesia, but there's no more time and no more money to spend. So, its time to end this
journey.
I wish to thank our Heavenly Father for providing our financial needs and for protecting us from trouble.
And I wish to thank all those who have prayed for us, for your love and concern. The Lord is good and He answered our prayers. With God as our Protector, we are always safe from harm and from our enemies.
I have accomplished my mission with and thru God's wisdom, care and protection.
Now, with and thru God's help, we are ready to launch the
Missions for Evangelism Revival thru Cooperation in the ASEAN
Domain(MERCADO) ROAD and invite adventurous and audacious itinerant Filipino, American, European, Asia-Pacific servant-soldiers of God whose heart and passion is in the ministry of Gospel proclamation thru itinerant evangelism.
By God's leading, we are in the ministry of "Vision Building". (This includes the ministry of Public Governance and Nation-Building.)
The Word of God declares that without vision, people will perish.
The MERCADO ROAD is the route of itinerant evangelists
in the ASEAN DOMAIN, BUT IT WILL ALSO INCLUDE CHINA.
And so, the road will begin from the Philippines to Hongkong. It goes from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, Beihai, Nanning, Pinxiang (CHINA), to Hanoi,Hue, Danang, Saigon (VIETNAM), to Pnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Poipet (CAMBODIA), to Aranyaphratet,Bangkok,Phuket, and Haatyai (THAILAND), to Penang, Ipoh, Camerron Highlands, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, and Johore Bahru (MALAYSIA), to SINGAPORE, to Batam Island (INDONESIA), to Kuching(BORNEO), to BRUNEI, to Kota Kinabalu and back to the Philippines.
The MERCADO ROAD is a loop.
Three years ago, this vision for this road began to unravel. Now, the road for evangelists is done. With the exception of the road from Siem Reap to Poipet (CAMBODIA) which is still under construction but soon to be completed, the MERCADO ROAD is a very good road. And the buses which travel this road are reliable air-conditioned buses, with leaning seats for sleeping.
While travelling the MERCADO ROAD, the participating itinerant evangelists will be distributing eBibles, Christian inspirational eCards, Emovies, and Ebooks.
There will be discipleship lectures, Bible studies, singing,
and fellowship throughout the long trips.
The participants will also visit ministries on the way.
And they will be taught to become "tentmaking itinerant
evangelists" like the Apostle Paul.
Let us pray that the Lord will send hundreds if not thousands
of evangelists to this road for Gospel proclamation for MANY MANY YEARS. (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:7-8)
The harvest is ready!

Your brother in Christ,

Bishop Bert

Here In Kuala Lumpur

(Verses for June)


Here in Kuala Lumpur,
the night can hardly sleep
as tourists from Europe
and other lands
roam its busy streets...

In Kuala Lumpur,
the night is resplendent
and warm
as restless feet
roam the streets
where strangers meet...

I see but strange faces
like mirages and laces,
I see people in flight
into the labyrinth of night,
for at the end of the day
some people lose their way...

But here I sit
on a plastic chair
on the side of the street,
where vendors ply their trade
to earn a few ringgit,
so tomorrow
their children can eat...

O what a night
here in Kuala Lumpur
as I look at people in their flight
and I see the neon lights
which illuminate the night...

And somewhere
in the recess of my mind,
I behold your lovely countenance,
your face that I love
and miss,
brings me passion in the night..

For here,
in Kuala Lumpur's busy street,
it is you that I want to see,
its your hands that I want to hold,
its you whom I wish to be with
in the midst of this warm, bright night
in this city of old neon lights...


Norbert L. Mercado
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
March 18,2009
12:00 A.M.

1st Letter from Malaysia

Dateline Kuala Lumpur
March 18,2009
11:20 PM



Dear June, John Mark, Jerusalem, Joanne, Kent and Dianne, Doreen, Tim and Nancy,Ate Eileen and Kuya Ray, Frances and Tino, Anne and Manny, Ate Beng, Medy and everyone:

I thank our Heavenly Father for the continuous protection He has given us daily. Finally, we came through to Malaysia without trouble.
We left Phuket Island at 8:30 PM by bus to Haatyai, a southern municipality of Thailand, near the border with Malaysia.
The border is heavily guarded by both Thai and Malaysian police guards and soldiers. A big portion of southern Thailand where the
Muslim militants have been operating to destroy peace has been cordoned by the Thai Royal Army, so penetration of the area has become more difficult. It has not completely stopped ambushes
and bombings, but sealing off the area has lessened violence within the southern portion of Thailand.
We stopped in Haatyai for around five hours, and I had one hour to re-view the city. I remember the year we were here - June, our children, and me.. It was 1996. We came from Singapore by bus, through Malaysia (visiting Genting Highlands, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh , Penang, and Johore Bahru(, and then southern Thailand (Haatyai and Songkla). At that time, there was no war yet between
the Muslim insurgents and the Thai military-police. It was very peaceful going around Haatyai and Songkla. Today, one has to be more careful. Sign of the times.
We crossed the Thai-Malaysian border at noontime, and had three stop-overs - in Perlis, Butterworth and Ipoh.
I remember Ipoh well because of our dear friend Miss Chow Sow Leng, a Malaysian nurse who joined Campus Crusade for Christ Malaysia in the early 70s. She was trained in the Great Commission Training Center (GCTC)of Campus Crusade for Christ together with me in 1976. We graduated together from GCTC. She is from Ipoh.
The road from the border to Kuala Lumpur, and from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, is very good. It is wide, like our North Diversion road - end to end, border to border (Thailand and Singapore). Some portions of the road are as wide as the presently-being-widened Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, known to be the widest road in the Philippines. Malaysia and Thailand have very good and wide roads, and both countries can be very proud of this.
The Malaysian and Thai countrysides are verdant in summer, compared to Cambodia's fields which are brown.
Both Malaysia and Thailand have tapped their rivers for irrigation,
and their ricefields have water even during the dry season. No wonder that they are self-sufficient in rice and vegetables. They also grow rubber trees and palm trees (for palm oil).
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur at around 7 PM. Here, we met
a kind man named Adel a tourist from Lebanon in his 60s. He was in Manila recently for a visit. When I asked him where can we stay for the night, he led us to Pudu Hotel where he is staying, reasonably priced, nice and clean. Then, after we brought our things to our room, he accompanied us for dinner in an Indian restaurant. After dinner, he brought us to Chinatown's Night Market. It's a clean and nice place.
During our conversation (Romy and I) with Adel, we talked about tourism. He told us that Thailand has from 10 to 15 million
tourists a year, and most of the tourists from Europe and Asia go to the islands of Thailand like Phuket, and the Crabi islands. Thailand has only very few islands where tourists can go, but the Philippines has 7,100 islands!
So, why is it that Thailand leads ASEAN in tourism - with 10 to 15 million tourist arrivals every year. The Philippines can only get 2 million tourists a year.
Adel gave us his answers which will be a subject for an article about poor Philippine tourism.
God bless you all!

Norbert Mercado

At Phuket Bay

(Verses for June Written at Phuket Bay, Pat-Ong Beach, Andaman Sea, Phuket Island, Thailand)


Here
where I sit alone
on an idle yacht
with just bare feet in this early morn,
the spumy waves sing
a fairy tale tune
as lovers run
on light brown sand
at Phuket Bay...

What a lovely morning
here at Phuket Bay!
My Heavenly Father's sky
is clear and bright,
the cirrus clouds over the Andaman Sea,
and the half moon which still shines
in outer space,
can easily move an artist's
gentle hands...


2

The morning breeze
which sways the trees
gently touch my skin,
I hear the birds from verdant hills
welcome the day
at Phuket Bay...

I see the yachts
resting in the sea,
and Thai fishermen
in their unique boats plying
in peace,
I see lovers,
both young and old,
jogging and walking,
and taking photos for souvenir...
And soon they'll leave for home,
for they like me
are strangers,too,
at Phuket Bay...

3

I am not sure
if I can remember
any face at all
here at Phuket Bay.
The sea is eternal
like the wind and the sky,
but where I sit on idle yacht
I know for sure
we are but transients
on sea and sand
at Phuket Bay...

Few hours from now
I will leave this place,
and all I have is picturesque strand
of sea and sand,
and so I whisper to the morning breeze
that if I have a choice
I'll spend the hours with you,
here,
where lovers walk
on light brown sand...

And we will walk
hand in hand,
like those lovers
on light brown sand
as they welcome the coming day
at Phuket Bay...


With God, life is very beautiful!

Norbert L. Mercado
Phuket Bay, Phuket Island
Andaman Sea
March 17,2009
6:15 A.M.

2nd Letter from Thailand

Dateline Bangkok
March 15,2009



Hi June, Doreen, Ate Eileen, Frances, Anne, Ate Beng, Lourraine,John Mark, Jerusalem, Joanne, Kent and Dianne, Tim and Nancy,Medy, brethren, brods and sisses and everyone !

We are in Bangkok. The city seems peaceful. It's Sunday. There are no demonstrations.

We are waiting for the bus which will take us to Crabi, a coastal town opposite the internationally know Phuket - the counterpart of Boracay in tourism.

Yes, from Crabi, we will take a boat to Phuket.

King Bhumibol is revered here in Thailand. And so are monks.. Thailand is a Buddhist country. Vietnam and Cambodia
are also predominantly Buddhists.

Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei are Muslims, with small Christian populations.

There is trouble in the south of Thailand, near the Malaysian border. Two teachers were killed by Muslim separatists in the area just recently. Maybe, it was a message to Buddhist Thailand by the Muslims not to interfere with Muslims. We will do our best to avoid trouble when we get there, but we need your prayer support.

For those who know Christ's Great Commission, however,
no barrier or difficulty seems too great. (Matthew 28:18-20)

The three countries we have gone to - Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand - are all affected by the global recession.

But for God's children, this global recession reminds us of the Lord's assurance in Matthew 24 :

"When you see these things begin to happen,
rejoice for your redemption is drawing near. "

This Babylonian System will eventually collapse. Thus,
the angel in the Book of Revelation shouted:

"Babylon is fallen!"
He meant the Babylon web of commerce, politics,religion, culture and everything from which the whole world presently depends on.
This system will fall. Babylon will fall !
And a new era will begin - the Millenial Reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who cling to this present Babylon system will wail when it falls!


Norbert L. Mercado

First Letter from Thailand

Dateline Aranyaphratet
March 14,2009

Hi Doreen, June and everyone!

Thanks for congratulating June for finishing her Master in Architecture in UP Diliman.
I'm sure the Lord has a plan for this, especially for helping the less fortunate in
the ASEAN Region - thru the construction of budget houses and likewise the use of inexpensive and indigenous materials for housing. June can be a Resource Speaker in the ASEAN DOMAIN missionary organizations and NGOs in house and hospital-clinic-daycare constructions.
June has been teaching Architecture for seven years now.
I'll send your letter of congratulations to her.
We just arrived at the Cambodian-Thai border from Angkor Wat. We saw their fields
unyielding not much due to the drought. The road from Angkor Wat to the Thai town of Aranyaphratet is still under construction. Hopefully, it will be over this year.
The Missions for Evangelism Revival thru Cooperation in the ASEAN DOmain
(MERCADO) Road will follow this route. I have contacts in Vietnam and Cambodia already. Please pray that withihn the next six days before we fly back to Manila, that the Lord will give us contacts in Thailand and Malaysia. I'm sure contacts in Singapore and Indonesia will follow. Then, the ROAD will traverse through the island of BORNEO where Brunei, parts of Indonesia and Malaysia (Sabah and Kuching) are located will also have contacts. Then from there, to the Philippines.
And so, the MERCADO ROAD will be a loop. This is the road for itinerant evangelists from the Philippines, Europe and the United States who will join our mission
in evangelism and discipleship in the ASEAN DOMAIN.
Best regards and continue praying for our safe trip.
How is Bolivia these days? Please keep me posted.


Your brother,

Norbert Mercado
Aranyaphratet, Thailand
March 14,2009, 3:35 PM
www.mercadoforpresident.tk
www.geocities.com/rareasianbooks

A Poem Written In Angkor Wat

Siem Reap,Cambodia
March 12,2009


Dearest June,

I just came from Angkor Wat again, by bicycle.

I rented a bicycle from Soria Hotel for US$2, for 24 hours, with a returnable deposit of US$20. I have been using the bike since yesterday afternoon, and I used it to go back to Angkor Wat this morning.. Just 15 minutes by bike from our guesthouse. We met two tourists(Suen and Wai) from Shatin, Kowloon,HK yesterday at Angkor Wat, talked to them for a few minutes, and learned how to travel around by using a bicycle. They are friendly. I told them that I was selling my books in Hong Kong for almost ten years,. (www.geocities.com/rareasianbooks)


To Angkor Wat by bicycle from the area where we stayed before is a nice bike ride. Maybe we can try this next time we are here. The two of us travelling in Angkor by bicycle, travelling the road in freedom, not in fear. This whole country was once a wide Killing Fields. Now, I can see hope. I can see smiles from children we met.

Yesterday, I wrote a poem for you while resting in front of the tallest tower at Angkor Wat. Do you still remember that I climbed that tower? That spot. I'm sending this poem to you, hoping you like it.

PS. You are free to do whatever you want with the treehouse.



At Angkor Wat
(Verses for June)

Beside
these pillars of ancient history,
gingerly hewn out of rocks
my lonely heart beats
for you...

As my body rests
against a wall,
and my weary eyes
behold an endless blue sky,
I think of home,
I think of you....

2.

This temple, a castle
of hewn rock
which has gone through blood
and fire,
can testify that where I sit
on wooden stairs,
against this wall of rock
which through ages
has proudly stood
through war and peace,
and still it stands,
I think of home,
I think of you....

3.

The grass is brown and fading,
but some strange wild grass
still have flowers in bloom
even against
the raging sun.
And as they bloom,
I think of home,
I think of you....

I'll pick one of them
and press it in my book.
The lowly grass is brown
and fading,
and yet some flowers remain abloom
against the summer sky,
as I think of home,
and think of you....

At Angkor Wat,
the flowers fade like the lowly grass.
Even this great temple
which has survived
almost a thousand years
will also crumble...

But here ,today,
at Angkor Wat,
where brown grass lay
through time and space,
the flowers which
are still abloom in heaven's grace,
will testify that
my lonely heart
beats just for you...

Norbert L. Mercado
The Lost Poet in Angkor Wat
March 12,2009
10:05 A.M.