This morning I had to say goodbye to Changloon and Pastor Thomas and his family. I’ve never been good with goodbyes, usually I try to get out of them but this one was unavoidable. Over the past three months I’ve fallen in love with this family, Changloon, and our ministry. Pastor Thomas and Mrs. Sharmila took us in as their own children, they opened their home to 5 complete strangers who in a short period of time became like family. So to say this goodbye was hard would be an understatement.
Pastor Thomas and his wife gave me a gift I will be forever grateful for. They gave me a home. They gave me a place of comfort and a safe haven in this journey of abandonment. This family taught me the true meaning of home.
It’s been over 6 months since I’ve been to my home in Charleston. To be honest I don’t really miss it. I don’t miss my car, my clothes, my bed, or my familiar things. I don’t miss my favorite restaurant or my favorite store. All the things I thought I would miss, surprisingly I don’t. I thought these things are what made a place a home but through Pastor Thomas and his family I learned that I was wrong.
I’ve always heard the saying “home is where the heart is” through many love songs but I never really believed this until now. When I think about Charleston and what I miss the most, only one thing comes to mind. My family. That’s what makes Charleston my home. It’s not my home because of all my things or my favorite places, it’s my home because of the people that make up the place.
Unfortunately my family is something I’ve taken for granted for a very long time and it took Pastor Thomas and his wife to show me how important family is. Pastor Thomas and Mrs. Sharmila gave me a home here in Malaysia. They gave me a place of peace and comfort because I knew they loved me and took me as their family.
So as my time here in Malaysia comes to a close I can honestly say I now have two homes. One in Charleston, SC and the other Changloon, Malaysia.
All my love, from Malaysia
– Ashlyn
