So to catch y’all up from Byron Bay here is a quick overview of what it is like to travel and adjust as a W
orld Racer. We left Byron Bay in the morning on a bus to the Gold Coast. We stayed overnight in a hostel there and at 6 a.m. the next morning piled four at a time with bags and all into the hostel owner’s car to get to the airport. Our flight left at 9 a.m. from the Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpor, Malaysia where we would have a 16 hour layover before continuing our travels to the Philippines. That meant we were spending the night in the airport in Malaysia. We arrived in Malaysia around 3 p.m., caught an hour bus into the heart of the city, ate dinner, caught a bus back and tried to sleep anyway we could. For me and my teammate Margie, that meant curling up in the fetal position, putting headphones in to drown out the noise, covering my face with a bandana to block the lights, and getting about two hours of sleep on an empty desk in the corner of the Malaysian airport. Also to make things that much more comfortable, my ears never popped when descending into Malaysia, so for the entire layover I felt like I was underwater. (I later discovered that was because of an ear infection, but that’s another story for another time.)
orld Racer. We left Byron Bay in the morning on a bus to the Gold Coast. We stayed overnight in a hostel there and at 6 a.m. the next morning piled four at a time with bags and all into the hostel owner’s car to get to the airport. Our flight left at 9 a.m. from the Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpor, Malaysia where we would have a 16 hour layover before continuing our travels to the Philippines. That meant we were spending the night in the airport in Malaysia. We arrived in Malaysia around 3 p.m., caught an hour bus into the heart of the city, ate dinner, caught a bus back and tried to sleep anyway we could. For me and my teammate Margie, that meant curling up in the fetal position, putting headphones in to drown out the noise, covering my face with a bandana to block the lights, and getting about two hours of sleep on an empty desk in the corner of the Malaysian airport. Also to make things that much more comfortable, my ears never popped when descending into Malaysia, so for the entire layover I felt like I was underwater. (I later discovered that was because of an ear infection, but that’s another story for another time.) Anyways, onto the Philippines. So after bre
akfast in Australia, dinner in Malaysia, we finally arrive at our third country in 36 hours on about 2-3 hours of sleep. Our awesome contact, Jeff, picks up at the airport for an hour and a half bus ride to our home away from home: the YMC (shown left). This is homebase for Kids International Ministries or K.I.M. the organization Jeff works for. This is where Team Malachi will be staying and working out of for the month of March. However, we did not jump right into ministry. Our first five days in the Philippines was a time called Debrief. This is when all of out squad comes together
in one location with our squad leaders (Robby and Tara) and our squad coaches (this amazing Dutch couple) and relax. We spend time getting filled back up. During debrief we also had some free time to catch a jeepney into town and check out the local markets. Jeepneys are old army jeeps that have been extended and painted crazy colors that are now used as public transportation all over Manila. You can see one to the right.
akfast in Australia, dinner in Malaysia, we finally arrive at our third country in 36 hours on about 2-3 hours of sleep. Our awesome contact, Jeff, picks up at the airport for an hour and a half bus ride to our home away from home: the YMC (shown left). This is homebase for Kids International Ministries or K.I.M. the organization Jeff works for. This is where Team Malachi will be staying and working out of for the month of March. However, we did not jump right into ministry. Our first five days in the Philippines was a time called Debrief. This is when all of out squad comes together in one location with our squad leaders (Robby and Tara) and our squad coaches (this amazing Dutch couple) and relax. We spend time getting filled back up. During debrief we also had some free time to catch a jeepney into town and check out the local markets. Jeepneys are old army jeeps that have been extended and painted crazy colors that are now used as public transportation all over Manila. You can see one to the right.
Our team jumped on the opportunity to mingle with the locals and explore what will be our hometown for the next month. We picked up some crazy hats like the ones we saw all the kids wearing, and then checked out the food market. If only these pictures were scratch & sniff you would get a much better idea of what our afternoon at the market was like. I’m sure you could imagine!
Anyways, the best part of debrief was when a teammate of mine named Emily was baptized. Without telling to much of her story, I can just say that God has been doing amazing things in her life since the beginning of this trip. She has wrestled with some big issues from her past, and to see God give her freedom from those struggles and from that freedom to see life and joy bubble up inside her has been a blessing. God really covered her in his grace and love last month in Australia. So when we arrived in the Philippines she new she wanted to get baptized to celebrate the new freedom she had in Christ. So on the 26th of February, her 26th birthday, Emily was baptized. It was awesome! This is what she had read 
at her baptism:
at her baptism:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and in to an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” – 1 Peter 1:3-9
