A PEACEFUL HAVEN
By Christopher Quah
While Genting Highlands is often equated with a place of worldly entertainment due to its large theme parks as well as casinos, one might be surprised to know that it is also a place of spiritual retreat. But rest assured it is not located inside the theme park itself. In fact, tucked just a kilometer away from the famous resort is a quaint little campsite called Peacehaven.
Founded in 1993, Peacehaven Genting Highlands has been a haven for churches to gather on the Highlands whether be it for events, prayer activities, or spiritual retreats. The campsite is owned by Full Gospel Assembly, KL.
Peacehaven was brought into conception by a vision given to the late Elder Koh Eng Kiat, who was led by the Lord to start a spiritual retreat on Genting Highlands. With financial help in the form of love gifts from FGA members and various well-wishers, the church was able to buy a Genting bungalow and land that was located along the road to the peak where the Genting Highlands resort is situated for Rm 1.2 million. FGA also build another multi-storey block that is used as a hostel for guest as well as contain rooms for events.
It’s been more than 20 years since the completion of Peacehaven and the campsite is still going strong.
Despite only being a kilometre from Genting Highlands Resort, Peacehaven admin officer, Adeline Tan stated that the place is not open to public but only for Christian gatherings. The reason is because Peacehaven is much more than just a hostel or hotel to make money. It is in fact a ministry in itself as Adeline puts it. In fact, it provides jobs for the underprivileged.
“Together with my husband Jonathan, who is the head housekeeper we help maintain and run the place, always making sure it is ready for any event. We do this with the help of a team of general workers who are all Orang Asli. Without them we would not have the campsite. In a way, this in itself could be a ministry, as we offer jobs to the Orang Asli in order to help them earn a living. They stay here to take care of the place. They are very dedicated workers. Our head chef who prepares the food for the guest has been serving at Peacehaven even longer than me. He started since he was a teenager, and now is in his thirties,” Adeline explained.
She added that up to date, there are 12 Orang Asli workers. The staff come from the villages of Raub, Pahang, Tapah, Perak, and even Sarawak.
“I work here full time, and only take days off when there are no campers. My job is to schedule the staff duty roster. It’s important to make sure they have their rest days in the roster. It is vital to sure the building and its surroundings is always clean and tidy, as there is a steady stream of visitors that come daily. NECF conducts its National Prayer activities inside the main Bungalow here at Peacehaven. On top of that we also have prayer watch closets set up near the bungalow – inspired slightly by the famous prayer closets of Prayer Mountain in Korea,”
She adds that the building is five stories high minus the basement where the staff stay. Each level houses different blocks that are specific for a different gender. Level one and two, contain the male dorms and the seminar rooms. Level two also has some family rooms while the office is located on level one. The dining hall is on level four along with the girl’s dorms, and finally level five is the Rhema Hall, a multipurpose hall, capable of housing 600 participants.
With such a huge size, Adeline explains that it isn’t always easy running the place.
“We make sure the rooms are kept clean and tidy all the time. And everything including hot water is working. Maintenance work is usually done when there are no guests. Another challenge is dealing with people. Different people have different personalities and sometimes this may clash. During weekend camp, sometimes we get groups up to four different churches coming up and this is a challenge. Complaints are a plenty. Especially when each group reports on each other. Mostly the complaint is about another group being too noisy, disturbing the sleep of others,” Adeline explained
Despite all that Adeline said that it has been a rewarding experience working there for the past 13 years.
But there is never a dull moment at Peacehaven. It is always buzzing with activity. NECF also conducts their prayer watches here.
“Each slot is two hours long, and it is open following the usual office hours. Those coming for day trips must call us up to inform us beforehand. But for campers staying at the site, the prayer closet is open 24 hours,” she explained.
For churches interested in using Peacehaven for their events, reservations can be done through FGA KL.
“Our rates here are cheaper than those outside because we want to be a blessing to others in the family of Christ. It is open to any Christian related events. From churches, home fellowships and even varsity Christian fellowship. In the past we even had the Taman SEA school Christian teachers’ fellowship hosting their events here. Having that being said, we are a little strict when it comes to churches. Only NECF recognised churches are allowed to have their gatherings here. The reason is because in the past there were incidents of churches started by foreigners who did not follow through with their payment,” she explained.
Yet, through all this, Peacehaven will continue to be a place that welcomes members of the body of Christ which seeks for it to be a place of worship, gatherings and retreats.
