Greetings! We have been in Malaysia for about a week now!
We had the most epic travel day(s) ever to get to our ministry site here in Malaysia. It took exactly 79 hours from start to finish, meaning from debrief to ministry site. And yes, several of us had our watch timers going the whole time!
L Squad left from our debrief location in Hua Hin, Thailand to the Thailand-Malaysia border. One of our buses made it through on time, but our bus did not because the border closed at midnight. So we had to figure out whether we’d be sleeping on the bus or in a hostel. Eventually we ended up walking our packs down several streets to a hostel by the border. The next day, we walked to and through the border, and once we crossed, we waited for a bus. The bus took us to Penang, Malaysia, where some of the teams are serving this month. We crashed there for the night, but Team Tumbler still had lots of travel ahead! The next morning, we left for Kuala Lumpur to catch a bus or train from there to our final destination. But of course, once we got to KL, we started hauling our packs around for a good hour and a half or so before realizing at the ticket counter that the next bus to our site would be that night or the next morning. We couldn’t leave that night because our host would have to pick up at 3am or some ridiculous hour. So we were forced to stay in KL for the night, but that turned out to be a blessing! Jesus helped us get a hostel for cheap in the area, and after trekking there and dropping our things off, we set out to explore a bit of KL by foot! We visited the Petronas Twin Towers, though unfortunately they were closed for rides up to the top. We made a pit stop at a Christian bookstore, and Christopher and Cathy bought new Bibles! (Christopher gave his away last month and Cathy obtained a study Bible!). Finally, the next morning was the bus ride to our ministry location!
Unfortunately, I cannot disclose any specific information about the ministry name and location due to the strict Muslim area that we are in. But what I can say is that our contacts are a lovely couple named Kumar and Josephine. They started this community center a few years ago when they felt the Lord calling them to this less developed, closed area away from their previous home. They began holding English classes here for all age groups including adults. Since they cannot be explicitly missional and preach the gospel in any way, they aim to be the light through their actions. All the World Race teams and other people who have served here have been ‘trainers,’ or English teachers. Kumar and Josephine also have three children, all of whom are being homeschooled… by us! I’ve been teaching Spanish and music/keyboard classes, which is amazing because I never thought I’d be using or teaching Spanish in Asia on the Race! The Lord definitely graced me with this opportunity to channel my experience with those two subjects, as well as English grammar (…it seems that I’m the only person on my team who enjoys grammar! haha)
As for living situation, we’re living in a small house about 10 minutes from the learning center, so it’s super convenient! Just like Thailand, there is no shortage of 7-Elevens here. It’s fascinating how popular 7-Elevens are. Two per block seems normal… Good thing they’re actually open 24/7, not 7-11! There are lots of Indian, Malay, and Chinese restaurants around as those are the three main races in the area. I love getting to try so many different types of foods! I think our latest team favorites are roti with dahl (yummy bread that you dip in curry sauce) and ‘teh tarik’, which is tea with sweetened condensed milk, hot or iced. 🙂 Blessings in the little things!
…And blessings in the big! Kumar and Josephine have such a touching testimony about how they were led here, and they have so many cool stories of declarations made in faith. For one, they previously didn’t have a fridge, water boiler, hot plate, toaster, coffee maker, etc. for the house that we’re staying in. But they felt at peace declaring that those things would be here. So after declaring these things via e-mail and word of mouth, the Lord provided all of those things before we came!! They also declared that this town would be a place of light. They spoke God’s light over the town everyday, even while driving the streets. And out of nowhere, the town started putting up decorative structures that look like Christmas lights on trees! Whaaat? As things shifted in the spiritual realm, it was manifested in the physical, too! It’s amazing that even in this closed area where it seems taboo to even mention Jesus or Christianity, the Lord is totally moving! His work knows no bounds, and if anything, He moves more evidently and powerfully in these areas because we as humans obviously can’t defy the earthly opposition on our own. Crazy stuff! And I’m so excited, even impatient, to see more. I’m asking for more and more faith, for no more unbelief, because I desperately desire to see God move mountains here!
Speaking of moving mountains….
I have an exciting update…..
Drumroll please!!!
With my last monthly donations through this month, I will be over FULLY FUNDED FOR THE RACE!!! This is simply incredible, and I am in awe of the Lord every time I think about it. I think back to how little faith I had a year ago, when I was just starting to fundraise and tell people about the crazy thing I’d be doing. I didn’t have family support or a family network that could help, and most of my friends were college students, just as broke as I was. But wow, did God prove me wrong. Deadline after deadline, He has faithfully provided, even well before the deadline itself. And seriously, I think I would have missed out on an awesome journey of faith if I hadn’t had to raise support. All the praise and glory to HIM!! Terima kasih! [Thank you!] I’m so unspeakably grateful. Without your prayers and support, I could not be out in the nations, making disciples and being discipled, serving the least of these and being unexpectedly served, giving His love and receiving even more of it! I love the Race, I love being in the present, I love what He is doing!!
Now, although I will be fully funded for the Race, I would still love for you to continue partnering with me! Before the Race, I nearly emptied the little I had in my savings to cover pre-Race expenses like vaccines, meds, gear/supplies, insurance, etc. Each month, we also use some personal money for things like personal items, food (when we sometimes eat more than the few dollars a day we are budgeted), and adventures (hiking canyons, white-water rafting, and elephant riding, to name a few!) In this case, donating directly to my World Race account via the ‘Support Me!!’ link would NOT allow me to use those funds personally. So if you feel led to support me to offset the costs of any or all of the above, please let me know by commenting or messaging me!!
I truly appreciate all of you blog readers and supporters, even those of you I’ve never met! From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!!!
