I use a bible app sometimes that has a “catch me up” feature. If you miss a few days of reading you can hit the catch me up button and it makes it as though you lost no time and you’re immediately up to date and current again. It has been exactly 3 months since I last posted a blog. Honestly I have been so busy living and processing that I haven’t felt like writing. I will attempt to catch you up in this blog so it will feel like you haven’t missed anything at all! So here we go!
In August we were in Malaysia:
Malaysia was a month of gifts: the gift of time, the gift of music and the gift of relationships. Malaysia’s population is mostly made up of three distinct groups: Malay, Chinese and Indian. The native Malay people are Muslim and the government is very strict about them remaining that way. It is illegal to speak to a Malay person about Christ. Therefore, most of the Christians in the country are either of Chinese or Indian descent.
We served with a family of Indian descent. Our host was Pastor Thomas Raj. Pastor Thomas and his 4 brothers lead worship, preach and serve the community in a selfless way. Their father used to be the pastor of the church but he passed away 2 years ago. Through much heartache, Pastor Thomas accepted the call to take over the the church. The Raj brothers are exceptionally gifted musically and took time to teach us how to play instruments. I learned a lot about playing with chords on the piano. This was an answer to an unspoken prayer of my heart. Pastor Thomas made learning fun, without the traditional technical training of reading music etc. He taught us to play in a worship setting.
Two or three days a week I served at a special needs home and loved on two little boys who have Angel Man’s syndrome. Their names are James and Peter and even though they are believed to be 12 and 14 years old, developmentally they are much younger and they only speak a few words. These boys are some of the most loving and caring people I have ever met. Hugs and kisses were plentiful this month. Much of our ministry this month also involved visiting homes and praying for people. Since a lot of this took place at night we tended to have “free” time during the day. I took this opportunity to dream a bit with God and began to lay the ground work for a business I would like to implement on my return to the States. More to come on this. Stay tuned ;-).
Through the Raj family we got the opportunity to be immersed in Indian culture. We ate Indian food at their Mom’s restaurant, learned to speak a little Tamil and even wore saris for one of the church services. Indian food is spicy and I love spice! The Raj brothers are a lot of fun and we loved spending time with them and learning from them. On off days we played bowling and had ping pong tournaments.
In September we were in The Philippines:
Wow! What a month. My time in The Philippines began with the Parent Vision Trip (PVT). My mom got the opportunity to join me for a week in the Philippines and serve with an organization called Wipe Every Tear www.wipeeverytear.org. This organization rescues women trapped in the sex industry and offers them a place to stay and free high school and college education so they can have other options for jobs to support themselves and their families. We went into the bars and nightclubs and talked with the girls. It was an eye opening experience for my Mom and I am so glad she was able to join me in this once in a lifetime experience!
After PVT I joined my team in the slums of Manila. We worked with Pastor Ramil Mateo in Christ Power and Grace Church. His ministry focused on feeding the children who lived in the slums. I got the opportunity to love on so many kids and poor families. We lived with them, ate with them, laughed with them, cried with them and had a blast with them.
The church we lived in is patched together with plywood. It was monsoon season and we quickly realized that when it was raining outside, it also rained inside. There were times when we woke up to rain falling on us and puddles in the room where we slept. Even though it was difficult at the time, it helped us to really empathize with the people who go through this all the time.
In the Philippines I got a chance to visit and feed the children from one of the least known and documented indigenous Filipino tribes called Aetas. They are dark skinned with curly hair and suffer quite a bit of discrimination in the Philippines. “Your hair feels like ours and your skin is like ours, but you are beautiful and your hair is beautiful”, these girls told me. “And you are absolutely beautiful too and God has great big plans for your life!” I told them. What an amazing opportunity it was to give them a positive reflection of themselves.
It’s October and now we are in South Africa:
It is hard to believe that I am now in month 10 of this 11 month journey. One of the reasons I chose this route was South Africa. I have wanted to come here for a long time. Nelson Mandela is one of my heroes and I had read so much about the history and beauty of this country. This month we have been working with a ministry called Kruise Generacion. We have been here for a week and a half and so far I have spent some time at an orphanage for abandoned children, taught and sang with some 5 and 6 year old children in an early learning center, loved on the elderly in a day center and in an elderly community, shadowed waitresses for charity, encouraged recovering drug addicts in their weekly meeting, and spent some time at a homeless shelter.
I also got a chance to pet cheetahs, lion cubs and a baby black bear. I am looking forward to seeing more of this beautiful country.
So there you have it. You are officially caught up!
