We had our first Malaysian excursion this weekend! On Saturday we had the day off so, after asking all the locals about the fun free things to do in Malaysia, they all suggested that we should climb Penang Hill. So, first thing Saturday morning, we sluggishly boarded a bus headed for the Botanical Gardens.
We got there and spent the first half hour or so walking around in the gardens. I can’t say I was super impressed by the gardens themselves, it was really just a park full of trees and overly aggressive monkeys.
But as we were walking, we stumbled across a somewhat hidden path into the jungle. Being the strong-willed open adventurers that pretty much every World Racer is, half of us decided to go one way while the other half headed off down another path.
It wasn’t the most remote path I’d ever seen, it was clearly man-made, but it stopped abruptly about 50 feet in when we ran into an overgrown prickle bush that threatened to end our short expedition. However, we soon learned that no prickle bush is fiesty enough for us!
We barrelled through that bush like you would barrell through the wall of a waterfall, close your eyes, hold your breath, and hope you come out on the otherside! It was like walking through the wardrobe to Narnia, suddenly that threatening prickle bush became our protective barrier to the outside world and we were now off the beaten path and in a jungle.
The next few hours found us winding our way through the jungle following this small but determined stream of water. Climbing up and down boulders and across logs, coming face to face with a jungle snake, and seeing the weirdest and grossest bugs you would only ever find in a zoo.
This month has been really hard for me because our ministry site has not been physically demanding in any capacity; we spend an awful lot of time sitting around and waiting; waiting to serve the next meal, or waiting until everyone is done napping so we can clean up, or waiting for 8pm to roll around so we can go to street church. Because we have been sitting around with little more to do than talk, sleep, or think,
I’ve spent a lot of time getting lost in my own head, overthinking things, dwelling on things, reasoning things, learning things, you name it. Through all of this time I’ve come to learn (more than I want to) about myself and my character. I came into this race hearing how much I was going to be broken and change and I arrogantly thought that there was nothing I needed to be broken of or changed, but whoa was I wrong. And forunately but painfully God has been opening my eyes up to this a little bit at a time this month. So it was really good to be able to escape to our tropical Narnia for a day because there is just something about being in such a remote and beautiful landscape that reminds me that God wants us to have fun.
I mean who wouldn’t have fun in this natural jungle gym?!
I’ve spent a lot of time getting lost in my own head, overthinking things, dwelling on things, reasoning things, learning things, you name it. Through all of this time I’ve come to learn (more than I want to) about myself and my character. I came into this race hearing how much I was going to be broken and change and I arrogantly thought that there was nothing I needed to be broken of or changed, but whoa was I wrong. And forunately but painfully God has been opening my eyes up to this a little bit at a time this month. So it was really good to be able to escape to our tropical Narnia for a day because there is just something about being in such a remote and beautiful landscape that reminds me that God wants us to have fun.I mean who wouldn’t have fun in this natural jungle gym?!
Also, Sarah B. got attacked by some monkeys.
Don’t worry, she’s fine.
