This month my team was doing Unsung Hero work, which means we did not have a contact or host provided for us who gives us daily work like other months. This month we were spirit lead and have rounded up six contacts for future world race team to pair with! In the process we learned how to achieve gods glory through having to walk out trust more than other months. I’m proud to say we made great use of our time here in Kuala Lumpur and have met with MANY people along the way.
Malaysia has been a month of relationships.
Our friends from Harvest, Stephen and Carol paid for our team to attend the churches Women’s retreat! My team came early to help with parking, setting up tables and chairs, wrapping goody bags, arranging coffee and treats, etc.
We had nearly 70 women come to the retreat that day!
From 10am till 4pm we were able to play games, worship, listen to a message by Louie Giglio, have lunch, raffles, heard testimonies from 3 women (one from Washington, one from South Africa and another from Iran).
It was a great day, my team was so blessed to be visiting during the same month as this retreat. We had such a fun time helping plan and prepare with the amazing women of Harvest Bible Chapel!
It truly was a time of fellowship and coming together as women of God. I’m thankful for all the women I had the pleasure of getting to know. Women would come up and say “you’re apart of the world race team aren’t you?!” -word spread fast among the church about our team and it was a comfort to know we had so many women praying on our behalf.
I REALLY enjoyed sharing traveling experiences with different ladies. Most of them who sought me out had missionary stories of their own. It was so cool to gain their perspective and allow myself to be humbled.
By the end of the afternoon we had multiple people asking if they could take us to dinner, have our team over for lunch, come visit their families, etc.
-Women investing in not only us but in what the Lord is doing.
After the retreat we took a cab straight to the Taylor’s house and were treated to a wonderful Chinese restaurant for dinner.
The Taylor’s have three children who came along and really brought out the joy in everyone! The Taylor’s are an incredible family. Christi is Malaysian and her husband Brian is British, their kids have the cutest little accents and are very talented! After dinner we went back to their home and shared bowls of ice cream while getting cozy on the couches.
Faith, their daughter played the violin for us, and Ethan, their son, played cello! Both played songs for us on the piano as well…And did I mention they know Chinese? Grace, their youngest daughter, I have no doubt will grow up to be just as talented as her siblings. These kids are blessed!
My team and I joked as we watched them preform thinking..have we disappointed our parents? Because when you compare childhoods….hahah
We left late that night will our hearts filled of gratitude and love.
The next day we attended church and went home with a couple from Scotland to have a chili lunch feed! They invited an older Australian couple over who used to be in the missions field as well.
It was a much calmer afternoon compared to one with three kids. I really enjoyed the time we spent there. I didn’t feel like a dirty, tired world racer. I felt like a respected adult, a guest in someone’s home.
During lunch we sat around the table, eating a home cooked meal and talked openly about what the Race is teaching us. We sat with Rae’s husband Doug, and their 14 year old daughter Katie.
I wish you guys could have been a fly on the wall for the conversations that were had.
I am also so grateful for my teammates and how much we have grown. We really showed how well we respect one another in letting each person have a turn speaking and sharing. The afternoon was so well balanced and flowed so nicely. From church, to lunch, to coffee in the living room.
It was a reminder of what’s at home. It was nice to have the space to share Gods goodness with people who didn’t have a language barrier.
(Bonus: they had a golden doodle. 😀 ….eek! Except, for whatever reason my body decided it would be allergic to this puppy and I dealt with allergies the entire afternoon. Hahah )
Tonight we are invited to have dinner with the White family.
I’m looking forward to another chance to build relationships. I’m thankful for the energy the lord has given my team and I to continue day after day and not grow weary.
-And it doesn’t stop there. Nope!
Carol, a particular favorite of mine this month, (Actually a favorite of all of ours) has invited us over once again this Tuesday. This time to stay over and spend the last two nights at her home.
Stephen and Carol Smart are a special couple. We met them at the beginning of the month at the Harvest church. What started as spending afternoons hanging out has lead to sharing testimonies and enjoying Gods gift of community at the women’s retreat. (the retreat was held at Carols house because she has a beautiful home with the space to hold that many women)
This Tuesday when we go to the Smarts house we will be helping her prepare for a baby shower. 🙂
I wish you all could meet Mrs. Carol.
She is a bundle of joy and laughter!
-She sits with me and Malorie as we do yoga and opens up about her life and stretches with us.
-She bakes cookies and makes us feel so at home. Stephen makes homemade bread!
-She lights Yankee candles in the spare room before we come over so it smells like autumn.
-She has a heart to hear our testimonies.
-She changes her outfit multiple times in a day, which I adore because it reflects my own personality! She’s so young at heart.
-She’s not possessive of her things. “What’s mine is yours” fills the atmosphere.
Most importantly, she walks in humility with her blessings. Pushing materials to the side and lifting up glory to God.
She’s a character I will not forget and will miss dearly as we leave this month. 🙁
Saying goodbye to her will probably make me cry. I’m thankful we crossed paths and I wish the very best for the her and her husband Stephen, who has been a reflection the Father.
It’s very cool being privileged enough to travel this year. However the things I wish my friends and family could see are not the things of these countries but rather the people in these countries.
