Wow it has already been another month! That’s crazy!
Thailand:
It was a month full of lessons and surrendering. But it was my last few hours in Thailand that I will not forget any time soon. It was time for another bus ride. At this point 10+ hours on a bus is normal anything shorter is a surprise. There was only four of us traveling to Penaga, Malaysia because Hunter had already left with leadership to set up our next location. We booked these tickets through a travel agency (which was a first) and the directions were everything but clear. There were so many questions and most of the people we talked to had never even heard of this travel agency…
We arrived at the bus station in Phuket and asked around. Still not sure where we were suppose to be. All of a sudden this sweet lady named Dee came up to me and asked to see the paper. And she kindly told us where we needed to be and which platform/bus to go to. Fast-forward 2 hours and we are on the same bus. Every time I looked at her she was looking out for us. It was not until Hat Yai that we realized how much she cared about us.
In Hat Yai we had to get off the bus and find a van to take us into Malaysia. Some only spoke broken English and it was 4am. So the four of us looking slightly dazed and confused move to the benches and start looking around. Meanwhile, we are being swarmed by taxi drivers. They are aggressively grabbing at our stuff and trying to rip the ticket out of my hand (there was no way I was letting go of that paper). They were grabbing at Hannah’s phone while we are trying to contact the travel agency. It was a very stressful, tension filled moment for ALL four of us. We were snapping at each other and not being very Christ-like, hey oh we are human after all… (We took a walk, cooled down, and addressed those moments later).
Back to the story: Dee came to us and asked to see the paper again to try to help point us in the right direction. We called the number on the paper but the travel agent only spoke Thai and we could only understand every few words. Dee asked to speak on the phone and she translated everything. We were where we needed to be all we had to do was wait 2 hours for the van to come and get us. We thanked Dee and she disappeared with her bags.
Now that we had a chance to catch out breath, I needed to find a bathroom. I walked to where it said toilet and it was closed no big deal I’ll just wait. I sat back down with the team and who shows up out of no where… Dee. She asked me if I needed the toilet to which I said yes please. She walked with me and made sure it didn’t cost money to use and then waited and walked back with me. She sat and talked with us for a little and it was the perfect blessing in a morning full of chaos. When her brother showed up to take her home she came and said goodbye and we were filled with so much peace.
Dee was a woman of peace. That is a cool thing that God does for us. He knows what lays ahead and he places people of peace in our path to help guide us. Some times all you have to do is look for that person of peace.
Malaysia:
Compared to Cambodia and Thailand, Malaysia is sooooo different. There is a huge Indian and Chinese influence along with the Malay culture. So there is a lot of adjusting taking place. At the same time I am sitting at a laundry mat waiting on the dryer to finish up. This is life. And it feels normal. Finding a hostel, finding a bus ticket, finding water, exploring what is around is normal.
I can remember starting this journey thinking this is crazy and there is no way I can do this. It still is crazy but it full of excitement and anticipation of what God is going to do.
When I think about this opportunity I am easily overwhelmed with God’s goodness and faithfulness.
It blows my mind that God chose me to do this race! Some days I do not understand why….
To be sitting in Malaysia doing laundry I can honestly say, I have never felt more alive than I do right now.
