Hello everyone!
Sorry for the very late blog post about Malaysia.
In my previous blog, I talked about different struggles and what the Lord taught me by going through them. In this blog, I will be more detailed at how last month looked like for the team and me.
Malaysia was a very interesting, growth filled month. It was my first month team leading, my first month with a new team and my last month in Asia.
For ministry, we stayed at a children’s home called Desa Amal Jireh. We did a variety of things, such as help watch and play with the little kids, help the kids get ready for a talent show, miscellaneous office work, preparation for a food fun fair, help with a bazaar, and help with preparing meals for the day. Our days usually started at 8:30 am and with a few breaks in between, ended at 8:30 pm.
The first week was hard for me because I felt like a space ranger since I had a sinus infection, and a lot of things reminded me of India. (India was my least favorite month on the race.) However, God helped me push through, and the India stigma soon vanished for the most part. Also, my sinus infection cleared up! (Praise the Lord!)
Through out the month, people had stomach issues, sore throats and sore feet. There was a lot of opposition health wise, but everyone kept in good spirits and still pushed through for ministry.
My favorite part about last month, was seeing transformation in kids’ lives that had just got to the home around the same time we did. In particular, there is one story that strongly sticks out in my mind.
There was a three year old boy, Philip, who was dropped off at the home. He was scared, he only knew Chinese, and he had never eaten solid food in his young three years of life. He never smiled and always looked fearful of people. As the month progressed, he began smiling, laughing and eating solid food. Child-like joy began replacing fear. It was such a VISIBLE, AMAZING transformation that my eyes were truly blessed to see. I believe my team mates would totally agree with that statement.
For ministry days, one that was quite enjoyable was the opportunity to rip up vulgar books that were donated to the children’s home with my friend Lacey. Such books included the Fifty Shades of Grey series, and other pornographic material.
Also, more importantly, spending time with the kids when we did devotionals with the evenings. That was such a joy. We taught and learned many different songs. I particularly enjoyed getting to know the older girls. They are so sweet, and gave sweet gifts as we were departing. I also enjoyed seeing my team mates press in, way more than me honestly, into knowing the girls there.
Another amazing thing that happened, was that my team mate, Michelle, has family that lives in Malaysia, and they all were very close. Almost every weekend we were blessed with an opportunity to spend time with them. We ate out, had a BBQ, watched a movie with them and more importantly, enjoyed spending time with them. One of her Aunt’s owned a book store in Kuala Lumpur, and it was as nice as a Barnes and Noble. It was so cool!
One of our first weekends, we had the privilege of celebrating Mary Catherine’s, my team mate and friend, birthday at Michelle’s cousin’s house. It was a night filled with Red Velvet Cake, ice cream, and tons of chocolate. It was a night we all will remember, and not just because of the treats! 😉
On one of our weekends, we ventured to Singapore. Michelle also had an Aunt that lived there so we were blessed to spend time with her our first day there. The love she has for Michelle was very evident. It was a blessing to experience that.
The highlight of my whole month, definitely, was leadership development weekend. It was very filling. And, on Thanksgiving…I got to FaceTime my family…it was awesome! 🙂
Last month had wonderful highlights and a lot of stretching moments.
That’s all about Malaysia! I am sorry it took about a month for me to post about it!!
Sincerely,
Meraia
