Hi This past month I have been in Changlun, Malaysia! I am working with a missionary family here who runs a public kindergarten. I am teaching English to four years at the kindergarten. Everyday they practice recognizing words by reading a book series called Peter and Jane. Then we practice numbers and sing english songs, but most of all, we do a lot of dancing! The kindergarten has a performance at the end of this month, so they must make it perfect, which is fine by me because I love to dance with these kids. I am quite attached to them already. My classroom is incredibly diverse. I have children from Yemen, Iraq, Iran, China, India, and native Malayan.
Malaysia is very different from the Philippines. It is predominately a muslim country. In fact it is illegal to preach the gospel to a native Malay. Everyday we hear the call to prayer. I find it so fascinating that five times a day they go and pray to remind themselves of God. It reminds me to pray for these people and it encourages me to be in constant communion with my Lord and Savior.
I’ve had a lot happen to me over the last couple of weeks, but I am feeling loved and protected by God. A week ago I went with my team to the island of Penang, which is about three hours from Changlun. There was a holiday here on the 15th and the 16th so my team did not have ministry. Penang is a tourist destination so there was lots to see. We stayed with another team that was doing ministry there. The first day we were there we went to a mosque and watched the slaughter of about 30 goats. They were celebrating the Hari Raya Haji or the Feast of Sacrifice, which is a muslim holiday commemorating Ibrahim’s willingness to obey Allah and sacrifice his son Ishmael. The story says that right before he was going to kill his son, Allah stopped him, told him it was a test and a ram was sacrificed in his place. I found it interesting how it was twisted from the Bible, but It was a good visual reminder of what Jesus did on the cross for us. It was very sad to see but a man told me not to be sad but be happy. The people there were very friendly and fed us. I was so grateful to have this cultural experience.
That same day we went to the beach. While swimming in the not so clear water I got stung by a stingray on the bottom of my foot. It was incredible painful. I thought I stepped on glass or something really pointy, so I could not figure out why it was so painful. A fisherman looked at my foot and said stingray. They said I had to go to the hospital. Great. I ended up being carried by a nurse that happened to be there and another squad mate (thank you Darryl and Ashley!!) to the hospital (aw foreign hospitals!). They gave me pain medication and x-rayed my foot to make sure the barb was out. The doctor also cut me to make sure nothing was in there. I then had to just wait until the venom worked its way out of my body. I am so grateful that God protected me in that moment because they told me it could have been a lot worse if I had been stung elsewhere. It was an experience and I am so grateful God put people around me that day to help me through such a horrible experience. Especially my teammate Jenn who held my hand and filled out my hospital paperwork! I feel closer to my team and very much supported after this experience. God is good!
I will have a picture blog to follow!
Some prayer request:
That my foot will heal from being stung and for the general health and well being for my team.
Safety and protection while traveling. We are heading to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia soon and then flying to our next country Vietnam.
That the children and teachers I am leaving behind at the kindergarten will some day know the love of Christ.
