After last month
and all the problems that went with it, I had no idea what to anticipate from
Malaysia. I tried to make sure to “release my expectations� as we’re told to do
while on the World Race. I’m so glad I did! But I should probably back up a bit
and finish out Cambodia before telling you all about my latest country.
It was my hardest
month thus far in the way of keeping joy and health; I was fighting for both
the entire time. The last few days I spent there, however, were quite
enjoyable. I began feeling better and the final three days at the compound
passed with reading and playing with the kids and walking and joining in some
friendly neighborhood soccer. So much fun! In just a short time, my heart grew
attached to Ti-An and Soupan, my midfielder and goalie/striker. My heart aches
especially for Ti-An, who is fifteen and so malnourished that his head barely reaches
my chin but who’s joy and energy and passion for life is limitless. His
vigorous calls of, “Up! Up! We play now!� after a thirty second respite match
his glowing smile and wild gesticulations. He speaks English the best of the
boys and I’m able to communicate pretty well with him. Someway, somehow, I want
to make sure Ti-An has a good education so that he can better fulfill the grand
plans that God has for him.
Upon leaving the
village, my team spent a day and a half in the heart of Phnom Penh, recuperating
and rewinding. I reveled in a clean bed, no mosquitoes, and hot water, managing
to take four showers in under 36 hours (gotta make up for lost time!). And
then… it was off to Malaysia!
This month, my team
is paired with another team from the squad that has five girls and two guys.
That completely changes the dynamic for this month! Well, more like this three
weeks. Unfortunately, time here is short. But I’m going to make the most of it!
We flew into Kuala Lumpur and our two teams managed to find a bus from the
airport to the main bus station. After a bit of confusion, the leaders
determined that it would be way to late for us to make it to our destination
that day (we wouldn’t have arrived until after midnight and the ferry would
have been closed). New plan? Stay overnight in KL. The cheap hotel they found
had – o glorious wonder of wonders! – free wifi and ESPN on the widescreen TV in the
lobby. Which meant I could watch the Super Bowl. YAY! The following morning, I
was up early and packed and down in the lobby ready to go where I planted
myself and my laptop in front of the TV and proceeded to watch two and a half
of the four quarters where the Giants ended up beating the Patriots.
Hallelujah! God is so good to me 🙂
The bus ride was
comfortable and I passed it pleasantly in the air conditioning, watching the
lush palm forests and jungle-ensconced hills slide swiftly by my window. Six
hours later, we arrived at the bus stop and hiked ten minutes to the ferry
terminal for the thirty minute ride. A slightly chaotic fifteen minute walk
found us at the entrance to where we were staying – YWAM Penang. Welcome to
paradise! Here, I have hot showers, drinkable tap water, my own bed on a top
bunk (my favorite place to sleep), fans during the day and air conditioning at
night, free and unlimited wifi, delicious street food right outside the front
door, a refrigerator, inexpensive fresh fruit and yogurt, a beach nearby, a
washing machine, and two guitars to practice on. I will say it again, God is SO
GOOD TO ME!
The people here are
pretty incredible, too. There is a unique spirit of darkness that resides over
the island city of Georgetown. Here, many races and religions co-exist in peace
and understanding. It is refreshing to see so many races with so little racism;
it’s something that I haven’t observed in any of the other countries I’ve been
to thus far. There is such generosity in their culture! I was challenged by it
just earlier today. Our first day of ministry was at Penang Adventist Hospital
where we were outfitted with teal blue volunteer vests, armed with two boxes,
several books, and dozens of teddy bear keychains, and promptly sent off with
three interns to canvas the hospital for donations. It was a great cause – all
proceeds went to help pay for crucial heart surgeries for children whose
families could not afford them. Drawing on my experiences with western culture,
I supposed that it would garner little attention and even less in the way of
money. I was so wrong! Old and young, the feeble and maim, those who were
struggling and those who were well-to-do… nearly everyone dug into their
pockets and gave. Some could only afford one or two ringgit (the local currency
here) while others dropped in fifties. How can people who have so little still
care so much and be generous with the small amount they have? And if they can
be, then why can’t I? Heh as I sit here typing this, I’m realizing that God had
a second lesson in it for me. Not only should I be more generous when I get
back to the US (I’m pretty sure I can spare a few dollars when I walk past the
Salvation Army kettles or am asked for a small donation), but I need to be more
generous with my possessions. Just this morning, I got aggravated because one
of the girls on the other team asked for one of my bananas. I
begrudgingly told her she could have it but I was bitter and mulled over it for
much of the day. I know, I know, it shouldn’t matter. It’s just one banana and it’s not expensive! But I argued with myself that I now would be short a snack or half a breakfast and what if she asked for another one tomorrow and the next day and the next, too? Yeah, I still have a lot of things to work on 😛 Sooo maybe God just slapped me in the face with it. Ouch. K,
God, I get it! I’ll try to be more generous with everything You’ve blessed me
with.
By the way… The average for
most days is apparently 1000 ringgit. Today, we collected over 2200 ringgit.
