Malaysia update
Location: Ipoh, Malaysia (pronounced E-poh…Took me about a week to get it right)
Ministry Contact: Ipoh Bug
Types of Ministry: We have done such a variety this month and it has been awesome! We have been able to serve at 5 different locations. Our base is sports ministry with the local ultimate frisbee team. We practice with them a few times a week. They are so legit! We try to keep up.. Other than that, we have worked at a Dementia day program, a soup kitchen, men’s bible study, an orphanage, a retreat center (gardening and cleaning the grounds), youth services, children’s sunday school, and community fellowship.
Language: English is spoken by most people. They also speak Malay.
Weather: It has been a range of temperatures. At one of our locations we were up in the mountains, so I was in jeans and my rain coat because it was chilly. Baseline it is still hot here though! I can’t believe it is fall back in America.. Doesn’t seem real from the heat of Malaysia.
Wifi: We have it at the church, but we have also bounced around a lot so it can be sporadic.
Sleeping: We have had a mattress everywhere we have gone, which is great! We sleep on mattresses on the floor in sunday school class rooms. Due to a team being with us the first night because of the long travel day, we now have what we call “mega mattress”, and it is glorious. Basically there are 7-8 mattresses all over the floor we lounge on.
Showers: We have had hot showers when we wanted them! Although, the cool water can fee good!
Toilets: Our home has westerns! Although we find ourselves using the squatty often. Also, toilet paper is rare. There is usually just a water hose in the bathroom to use..
Typical food: We have had such a variety! Many of our meals are Chinese family style. We have also had a large amount of Indian food this month (nan and curry), including breakfast. We have a regular place we go to and get honey chicken and fried rice omelets. Pretty good stuff!
Adventure days: Our first weekend here, the church sent us to Cameron Highlands, which is hill after hill after hill of beautiful tea farms. They also are famous for their strawberry farms. It was a relaxing day of visiting tea farms, grape farms, and a moss hill that was beautiful. We also were able to go to a HUGE cave! One of my favorite adventure days. When I say cave, I mean we were in the pitch black, army crawling in a creek under rock with 2-3 feet of space with head lamps on. It was so legit!! The first part had lights, but the second half of the tour was by head lamp only.
One other thing to be noted about our time in Malaysia is the people. I am BLOWN AWAY by the generosity they have shown us during our time here. Not only are they generous in paying for meal after meal, but they are some of the kindest people we have met! They have been incredibly welcoming and gracious towards us, making our time in Malaysia wonderful!
