Only one month in to this 11 month journey and the Lord is teaching me so much. Here are five high lights about my first month in Malaysia.
1. My team:
The Lord has blessed me with such an amazing team. At training camp when the seven of us were placed together I knew it was the Lord who put this small expression of His church together. We had to come up with a name and the Spirit led us to Joyful Feet! I love our name because each individual has the joy of the Lord in their spirit welling up inside of him or her. Each one of us have been led to this journey we are on together, which is to take up our cross and Go share the joy and life that Christ has brought us! Even in the hardships of this year we will take joy in the Lord and press on. Every night we have feedback sessions. This is a time to pour life into each other and a time of sharpening. It is an honor to be on such an amazing team. Each team member has such a servant’s heart and a desire to draw closer to Jesus. Please continue to pray for my team as we go to Australia and serve with YWAM. May we press into one another as we cultivate true community.
2. Kumar and his family:
Kumar and Josephine are amazing people. They are the type of people you want to just be around all the time. They were just so happy, loving, and wise. It was such a blessing to be under their teaching for the first month on the race. Some of the things the Spirit spoke through them changed my paradigm for ministry. I had the arrogant through that I was going to nations to pour out and yet in this first month I have been poured into and bless so much. Even the students who we taught English to each day blessed me with their smile. Kumar and Josephine also have three darling children: Judith (12), Kenrick (11), and Joash (5). They are so cute and have completely different personalities. Judith is quiet and sweet. She answers every question with a blushed smiling face. Kenrick has the most joy of any kid I have ever meet. I never saw Kenrick frown the entire month. One of the greatest joys of the month was teaching him math and seeing the light bulbs going off in his head when he would finally understand a problem. Joash is just a beautiful child. I made a mistake with him while teaching; I let him play Angry Birds on my iPad. Big Mistake! Asian children are OBSESSED with Angry Birds!! So Joash always wanted to play Angry Birds or Cut the Rope. He was such a joyful kid as well. They have a beautiful family who love the Lord and are a light in the middle of Gua Musang, Malaysia.
3. Spelunking:
My team and I on our off day do off got to go spelunking. Gua in Malay means cave. The city we were in was Gua Musang. The cave was about a 15 minute walk form our hostel. The trail to the entrance of the cave was somewhat treacherous. Some parts having just a rope to climb up. We thought we ran into a dead end but a teammate saw a small crack in the rock. We had to climb through an eight inch crack to enter the cave. Really bad place if one is claustrophobic. We spent to entire day in the cave. We eat PB&Js, prayed, climbed things, and even wobbled in the cave. It was such a worshipful day with my team.
4. My Birthday:
I had the privilege to celebrate my birthday in Malaysia. Another team from my squad was in Gua Musang on my birthday so my team let me take them to the cave for half the day. The first half of my birthday was caving then strait to teaching English until 3. Later in the day Kumar and Josephine talked about their marriage because a few of us asked. We all respected their marriage so much and how they honored one another. For dinner Kumar brought frog and wild bore, then after dinner the team prayed while Kumar prophesied over me. I praise God for being able to share my birthday with my squad-mates and the Kumar family. I pray that I will be able to spend many more birthdays in Muslim countries.
5. The fifth high light is a tie between PB&Js everyday for lunch and giving Kenrick a Golf lesson at the driving range. I really do love PB&Js! I might not say that in a year from now. After the Golf lesson I have decided that I am going to try and golf in every country. We spent like 2 hours at the driving range laughing and worshipping. We also had the opportunity to paint a mural as an Ebenezer, which was a great experience.
Well that is a small taste of Malaysia. I truly fell in love with the culture and the people of Malaysia (I will probably say that about every country). Lord willing I shall return one day
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