3/6/11
I am in Penang, Malaysia in a neighborhood called George Town.
I love it here. love. love. love.
Many of the places we have gone to I have asked myself whether I would be
able to live there long term. Many times, I think I would be able to but by
the end of the month I have changed my mind. Honestly, the best place to be
is where God wants me. So if/when God calls me somewhere in the future, I
will trust that’s where He wants me.
However, there’s something different about Penang. I felt at home right
away. Similar to America, this is a mixing pot of many races and cultures.
The primary cultures are the Malay, Chinese and Indian though there are
many people from other East Asian descent here as well.
Our first hostel was in Little India. The food is amazing. With curry, nan,
roti, somosas, banana balls, and pulled tea or coffee available on every
block you can’t go wrong. We have learned that we have to limit our roti
intake which will likely be challenging this month. Roti is this fried
dough type thing that you can add various ingredients into: for breakfast
we had egg, you can choose onions for lunch, banana for snack, or chocolate
for dessert. Plus, if you’re mindful you can easily eat for less than $5
USD per day.
able to live there long term. Many times, I think I would be able to but by
the end of the month I have changed my mind. Honestly, the best place to be
is where God wants me. So if/when God calls me somewhere in the future, I
will trust that’s where He wants me.
However, there’s something different about Penang. I felt at home right
away. Similar to America, this is a mixing pot of many races and cultures.
The primary cultures are the Malay, Chinese and Indian though there are
many people from other East Asian descent here as well.
Our first hostel was in Little India. The food is amazing. With curry, nan,
roti, somosas, banana balls, and pulled tea or coffee available on every
block you can’t go wrong. We have learned that we have to limit our roti
intake which will likely be challenging this month. Roti is this fried
dough type thing that you can add various ingredients into: for breakfast
we had egg, you can choose onions for lunch, banana for snack, or chocolate
for dessert. Plus, if you’re mindful you can easily eat for less than $5
USD per day.
So let me fill you in on our ministry. We are partnering with the local
Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and our contact is this wonderful man named
Peter who loves the Lord and immediately welcomed us into his life.
We are working with another team (En Gedi) which consists of most of the
squadmates that I spent time with in Guatemala. It is a blessing to be able
to spend this month with them since I kicked off the race with them and
developed some close friendships. Though when we are doing most of our
ministry work we will be separated by our teams. We are splitting our time
between working at a homeless drop-in center called Kawan and working at a
children’s hospital.
I haven’t worked at a drop-in center before but I have worked with the
homeless and really have a heart for them. I was talking with a squadmate
who was sharing a population that really broke her heart and I realized
that I didn’t feel the same way, but by comparison this person stated they
are not heart-broken for the poor/homeless and it struck me that that’s
really where I felt called and I was filled with enthusiasm thinking about
working with the disadvantaged and the homeless.
Our role at Kawan is to help prepare the food, welcome guests, clean-up,
and tear down. But our primary role is to spend time with the individuals
and show them the love of Christ. I am not sure of percentages but it seems
like a good portion of the clients (I guess I will call them clients, not
sure what the PC term is nowadays) are current or former drug addicts or
ex-cons which makes it difficult to obtain a job.
Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and our contact is this wonderful man named
Peter who loves the Lord and immediately welcomed us into his life.
We are working with another team (En Gedi) which consists of most of the
squadmates that I spent time with in Guatemala. It is a blessing to be able
to spend this month with them since I kicked off the race with them and
developed some close friendships. Though when we are doing most of our
ministry work we will be separated by our teams. We are splitting our time
between working at a homeless drop-in center called Kawan and working at a
children’s hospital.
I haven’t worked at a drop-in center before but I have worked with the
homeless and really have a heart for them. I was talking with a squadmate
who was sharing a population that really broke her heart and I realized
that I didn’t feel the same way, but by comparison this person stated they
are not heart-broken for the poor/homeless and it struck me that that’s
really where I felt called and I was filled with enthusiasm thinking about
working with the disadvantaged and the homeless.
Our role at Kawan is to help prepare the food, welcome guests, clean-up,
and tear down. But our primary role is to spend time with the individuals
and show them the love of Christ. I am not sure of percentages but it seems
like a good portion of the clients (I guess I will call them clients, not
sure what the PC term is nowadays) are current or former drug addicts or
ex-cons which makes it difficult to obtain a job.
I spent much of my first day at Kawan chatting with a man named Beh who
happened to be a Christian. He shared with dismay that he was a former
heroin addict and his children will not let him live with them since they
don’t trust that he has changed. He also stated that he is unable to get
work because he is old (66) and no one needs him anymore. He even shared
that he believes that God no longer needs him because he is old and used
up. I am going to seek out Beh next time we go, we have a lot more to talk
about.
I haven’t worked at the hospital yet, but I will give you an idea of what
that’s all about once we’ve gone. So we’ll be trading out days: when we’re
at Kawan the other team will be at the hospital and vice versa.
This is the first time on the race that I am placed in a ministry that I
would have chosen myself had I had the option. I have worked at a hospital
before and volunteered at another and I already mentioned I have a heart
for the homeless.
happened to be a Christian. He shared with dismay that he was a former
heroin addict and his children will not let him live with them since they
don’t trust that he has changed. He also stated that he is unable to get
work because he is old (66) and no one needs him anymore. He even shared
that he believes that God no longer needs him because he is old and used
up. I am going to seek out Beh next time we go, we have a lot more to talk
about.
I haven’t worked at the hospital yet, but I will give you an idea of what
that’s all about once we’ve gone. So we’ll be trading out days: when we’re
at Kawan the other team will be at the hospital and vice versa.
This is the first time on the race that I am placed in a ministry that I
would have chosen myself had I had the option. I have worked at a hospital
before and volunteered at another and I already mentioned I have a heart
for the homeless.
This is going to be a good month. Praise God!
