Hey hi hello!
It has been a while since I have sent out updates- TIME IS FLYING.
I am sitting here with my mind spinning, there are just so many things to say! Life on the opposite side of the world is full. Full of laughter, full of hard days, full of adventure and newness, full of my friends that I have been traveling with for the past 9 months, full of life itself.
Here is a list of updates since arriving in Southeast Asia in February!
February in Malaysia:
Week 1 in Malaysia was spent with my whole squad + coaches + mentor in Kuala Lumpur as we rested and had debrief together
We moved to stay with a man named Alfred for a few days. He is a retired Chinese man living in Malaysia and he also LOVES “table tennis” (aka ping pong)- we played with him and his friends a few times and got SCHOOLED.
We got to spend a long weekend in SINGAPORE! It was so so much fun, we celebrated my teammate Mollie’s 23rd birthday at a Harry Potter Café, we took my teammate Tori to the hospital for her broken foot (I ran her into almost everything in her wheelchair, she loved it), my SWEET friend Austin Powell was there working for Facebook and we got to spend lots of time catching up with him & touring the FB headquarters in Singapore, and we learned how to pour tea like Mulan (shout out to Tea Chapter Trading PTE LTD).
We came back to Malaysia and began to work in a hostel there. (& by work I mean we volunteered- we do not have work visas & we did not get paid, but we were able to stay there and work alongside their paid staff- this was our ministry for the month). We got to know the staff and pour into them. We sat with them, lived life alongside them, and spent our free time playing board games or going to get ice cream with them. We were also able to meet and hang out with most of the guests, one of which has left a lasting impact on me. We met a man there who was searching- searching for answers and for the knowledge of who God is, or what God is, or if there was a God. We ended up having LOADS of challenging conversations, attending church together, and having a sweet friendship.
Our last stop in Malaysia was Penang. It is a sweet little beach town in Malaysia that we stopped at for a few days before entering into Thailand. We adventured the town on bikes, celebrated my sweet friend Nicole’s 9-month anniversary of being sober, and we ate
MEXICAN FOOD. Praise the Lord. (We only ate there every day of our visit.. it’s the little things).
Lastly, my $150 of giving money was given to various homeless people on the Malaysian streets where my prayer is that they see it as provision from our Father in Heaven.
March in Thailand:
We made our way by bus to Bangkok where we met up with another team. We were originally supposed to work with a ministry called Night Light, but due to our changing schedule with our parents coming and debrief, our time was too short to share with them.
We still got to visit during our few days in Bangkok and encourage the women working in the jewelry shop there and it was such a fun day!
During the other days, 2 of my teammates were sick and one was on bed rest due to her broken foot, so I got to play doctor and food deliverer a lot! (shout out to the local 7/11 for all the grilled cheeses, sushi, corn, ham cheese and spinach sandwiches, and collagen waters)
In between delivering food and sitting with my teammate Tori, I would go on prayer walks around the city with some of the other girls.
At nights, we would walk to the night market to get THE BEST PAD THAI I have ever had. Truly, it was the best.
We left Bangkok with EXCITED hearts ready to see our parents in Chiang Mai!
For 1 week, I got to hang out with my FAVORITE TWO HUMANS IN THIS UNIVERSE. It was the greatest!! We did ATL ministry together, played with elephants, zip-lined, visited the Long-neck Tribe’s village, ate a scorpion (not Teri, she wouldn’t budge in saying, “NO!” but you know Dad and I tried it), frequented the night market, laughed lots, tried Thai beer, and spent every second we could together. Saying goodbye was sad, but sweet- knowing that I only had 3 more short months until seeing them again!
(P.S.- to anyone and everyone who sent me hugs/notes/gifts through them, THANK YOU. I felt BEYOND blessed and loved!)
The end of our parents visiting brought more goodbyes than I anticipated, as my sweet friend and teammate Tori also went home. With her foot still looking like a softball (lol you know it did J) and the doctors telling her it would never heal if she continued on the race, she decided to fly home with her parents. I could try to describe how hard this was and how it saddened me to say goodbye, but my teammate Mollie did a pretty sweet job of that in her blog- Goodbyes https://molliejewett.theworldrace.org/post/goodbyes/?bookmark=true#viewcomments
After this, we had ATL ministry in Chiang Mai for a week before our Debrief.
We feed the monks in the mornings, attempted to attend a Thai as a second language class (LOL), poured into the Gap Year girls (18-20-year-olds) who were doing ministry in Chiang Mai, and hanging out with the Thai workers from Bella Goose Café.
Debrief was so sweet and a time of needed rest and worship with my whole squad.
My $150 was used to purchase an electric converter needed for a coffee maker in Bella Goose. To learn more about Bella Goose and their mission, you can check out their website! https://bellagoosecoffee.com/
Now in Cambodia:
We are currently working in a little village in the Kampot Province of Cambodia with another all-girls team!
We are working with a man named Vuthy, who came back to his home village after he came to know Christ. He returned 10 years ago as the only Christ believer in the whole village. Today there are around 50 believers!!! Praise God! But his work is surely not done!
Our days are full and so sweet. We arise early and walk to the market to get fruit and waffles for breakfast. The mornings are full of house visits, were we visit families in the village and talk with them, pray with them, and get to know them. After lunch, we have manual labor- digging trenches for pipes, cutting grass with machetes, and clearing out the yard from old palm tree branches and sticks. In the evenings, we teach English at a local school and play with kids- it’s my favorite time of the day!
We have also now visited the beach twice, once with Vuthy’s family and some church members, and yesterday with SOOOO many kids!
The simplicity of life in the village is one that I adore and will surely miss.
My $150 of blessing money was used to pay for Vuthy to have a website! My teammate Morgan is currently working to build the site, and I cannot wait to share it when it is up!
This was a long one- so if you’ve made it this far reading about what I have been up to, then thank you!
I am so thankful for this life and for the people who support me in it!
MUCH LOVE!
Abigail
