thanksgiving looked very different this year, but it will be a memory I will never forget. we spent the afternoon cooking, decorating a table, and listening to music. then we all ate outside under the carport in a circle, our two teams and some of the family that we lived with. we went to church and listened to my awesome teammate Heather give a great message on thankfulness. then we came back to the house we were living at and shared a meal with all of the people in the church that have blessed us. we talked and laughed all night. i am so thankful to have been able to share this special day with my worldrace and malaysian family.
it being thanksgiving week and all, I wanted to share the things that I am thankful for from this past month of life in malaysia:
thankful for my team- these gals sure do feel like family and as a lay in bed every night surrounded by them i am always just in awe of how God placed us all together. they are warriors and they teach me so much.
thankful for every relationship made since I’ve been here- gosh. these people are just awesome. they love hard and they are so wise. i came here to bless them but I’ve been so much more blessed in return. they are genuine, they are generous, and they make me laugh all the time. (especially when I wake up to someone playing drums in the bathroom at 2am) talk about feeling like family…
thankful for leadership- adventures and missions knows what’s up when it comes to recruiting good leaders. from coaches, to squad mentor, to squad leader, to team leader I am so blessed by them. they are intentional and so wise and love deep. they believe in me and invest in me.
and let me just take a minute to talk about my gal, Emma. she’s my team leader. her job is to be with us for the first 3 months of the race and she leaves this week. this girl carries peace within her presence, she has immense wisdom, she is generous with all she is, and she has shown me how to be a good leader. so blessed to have a leader, role model, and friend like her and I am going to miss her lots as she heads back to the great state of Texas.
thankful for the Lords faithfulness- ok this is going to sound cheesy but so thankful because I am literally living my dream. tell 14 year old Kenni she will be traveling the world to serve the Lord when she graduates and she would be jumping off the walls. ever since my first mission trip to Guatemala, I knew international missions was my calling and to be sitting in a hostel in Malaysia right now as I write this. i am dumb founded by how God is letting me do this.
thankful for my family and friends back home- can’t say it wasn’t hard being away from everyone this year, but I’m so thankful that I even have people to miss and I’m thankful for their constant encouragement that keeps me focused. love you guys!!
thankful for all the Lord has taught me this month- in thailand he taught me a lot about what loving myself and being bold looks like and this month he showed me how to really live that out and it has been incredibly freeing. i’ve gotten to be bold by speaking in church several times, praying over many people, and simply by being obedient and positive even when it’s hard or scary and I’ve honestly never felt more free. you should try, just sayin’.
thankful for all the crazy adventures and ministry opportunities this month- had a little weekend getaway to a close by island, got to dance in a Malaysian music video, went to a bible school graduation, helped put together a Christmas party for the kids in the community, had a dance party with our friends in the living room, got Starbucks for the first time in three months, helped skin a chicken for dinner, shared meals and God stories in so many peoples homes, currently sleeping in a pod.
just love every bit of life here!
heading To India this week so please be in prayer over travel. also, I still have a good bit left to fundraise before the end of the year if you can help in any way.
much love:)
kenni grace
