To start off this blog, I apologize for not having updated in such a long time! Malaysia has been a whirlwind of a month, and limited internet access & time has made blogging even more challenging than it normally is. But enough with the excuses… 🙂
We began our month by flying into Kuala Lumpur and spent one night there for orientation before taking a train to a Port Klang where we spent one week working with a church. At the end of that week we took a train, two buses, and a van (gotta love 13 hour travel days) to Penang, Malaysia, and have spent the last two weeks here working with a youth group before we head back to Kuala Lumpur for 5 more days and then depart for Thailand! Basically this month has been like 2 back-to-back short term mission trips as we have been traveling so much and working with so many amazing churches, families, and ministries.
We started off our first week of ministry in Port Klang, where we visited a nursing home, made a few house visits, spoke at a couple of church services, and worked at an International Food Festival. At the end of our stay there our team was invited as guests to a 10 course Chinese charity dinner! It was an amazing experience, one we will likely never forget.
Eating jellyfish 🙂
One of the 10 courses…fish!
Who knew shark fin soup would be so tasty?
We left Port Klang to spend our final 2 weeks in Malaysia with an amazing woman named Janet, who runs a ministry house called “House of Timothy” in Butterworth (hence the new team name for our all-women team this month!). Janet is one of the most incredible women I have ever met…she is the true definition of a prayer warrior, and she encouraged each and every one of us in our faith during our time in her home. We will miss you, Janet!
This month marked the beginning of the holiday season. For all of us on our team, this was our first Thanksgiving away from home! But we rang it in in style at a nearby mall, celebrating over chicken and mashed potatoes and a little Baskin Robbins to top off the whole evening. I have never been more thankful!
Thanksgiving Day with my X-Stream women 🙂
While the we stayed with Janet, our ministry consisted of working with a nearby church called “City of Joy.” We worked at a coffee shop below the church that is run by the youth group, discipled some of the youth, cut out thousands (literally) of paper hearts for a fundraiser for the youth group, spoke & led worship at several church events, and painted a mural on a staircase leading up to the sanctuary. It was a busy but incredibly fulfilling two weeks! We all learned the heart of service this month as we gave to churches out of our time and energy.
The finished product!
An amazing design by Sarah Patterson and Chelsea Hoffman
All of the youth with our team at the coffee shop
To end our month of ministry, Janet took the Sheeps to Penang Island for a beach day! It was a wierd feeling getting a tan on December 1st, but it was a wonderful way to wrap up our time in Malaysia. More updates about the month are to come….!
