Hello all!
Wowza! Am I behind on blogging or what?! While I would love to fill you in on every single detail that has happened over the past month or so, like most people in the world, lots has happened, so I’ll do my best to summarize.
Madagascar
I absolutely loved Madagascar. It was beautiful, the people were so kind, and I really enjoyed the multiple ministry opportunities!
Week One: University ministry! In the morning we took a 1-2 hour bus ride to get to the campus. It was quite the trek since most of the roads are unpaved, bumpy, and very hilly. Peppermint oil came in clutch for the carsickness and headaches! At the University of Antananarivo, we would spend our mornings walking around the campus, meeting new people, having conversations with them to get to know them, and inviting them to the English club we held in the afternoon. After lunch, we would have our English club! Someone would share a message and then we would help the students practice English through reading the Bible and discussing the message shared or playing games. I had a lot of fun building relationships with these students and was honored to have met them. I pray for their bright futures ahead of them and that they continue to seek the Lord throughout their lives.
Week Two: The second week of ministry, we went to a church and helped teach English, cook and hand out food to kids, and paint buildings. We only worked with this church for 3 days, but the Lord blessed us immensely in this short time. One of my favorite things we did working with the church/school was when we helped the secondary school kids practice their English. They were some of the coolest, sweetest high schoolers I’ve ever met. Their desire to learn as well as get to know us really encouraged me and made serving them not only easy but a delight. The pastor of this church/school and his wife were so welcoming. I miss this church so much even though we only spent a few days there. I thank the Lord for that time and I pray he continues to provide for them and bless them immensely.
Week Three: BUSH! If you know Deep Wells, you know that we are called to the bush of any country we go to – hahaha! (I started referring to our team as the Bush Babies.) The village we went to is called Bakaro. It was nice getting out of the city to see more of Madagascar. It was absolutely beautiful. Tyler and I worked with a church going to surrounding villages sharing with them what the Lord placed on our hearts. It was a really cool time for me because I had no idea what I was doing, so I had to rely immensely on the Holy Spirit and he pulled through. Many believers we encountered felt encouraged and we were able to pray for many people. I continue to pray for the people we met and for the church we worked with.
The road we walked to get to from our home to the church
Malaysia
This was “ATL” month, which stands for “Ask the Lord.” We have no planned ministry or ministry partners during this month. We are supposed to pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit and follow where he leads. During this month, I was placed on an all-girl team since it was “Manistry” month – I don’t think I need to explain what that is haha. We were called “Cho Cha” because on our first night together as a team, we went to a restaurant called Cho Cha and on their business card it said, “where good things come together” which was really freaking cool and applicable hahaha! We had 2 weeks in Malaysia, so we spent about 1 week in Kuala Lumpur (the capital) and 1 week in a costal town called Melaka. This month was extremely restful for us, but even with that, the Lord worked through us. We were able to spur one another in growth as a team as well as make friends with and share the love of Jesus with some locals. Also, it was during this month where I finally felt the love that the Lord has for me. In the past, I have struggled with knowing things about scripture but believe them for myself. There was finally a head to heart connection during this month and for that, I am forever grateful.
This is Peter and his Thai food restaurant! He took care of us and made us feel at home in a foreign country. His wife is a brilliant cook and he always made sure to give me “no spicy” when I ordered my fried rice. He even brought the girls free “lucky” bananas.
Team Cho Cha with our beautiful friend Josephine! Prayers for her as she starts university in KL!
Sri Lanka
I’m currently in my last week in Sri Lanka (we’re here 3 weeks total) and it has definitely been an interesting month. We have been doing ATL since AIM has never sent teams to Sri Lanka before, and we have had great times and hard times. I am planning on writing a separate blog for what I have learned this month. So stay tuned for that!
Thank you for your continued support and prayers! I can’t believe it’s already May and we have already been to 5 countries! Next up is Thailand and team changes. Please be praying for the squad during this time of change and for all of those involved in the decision making process. Please pray for the people we will encounter in Thailand.
Also, in honor of my blog title, I leave you with this:
A family of tomatoes were walking downtown one day when the little baby tomato started lagging behind. The big father tomato walks back to the baby tomato and stomps on her and says, “Ketchup!”
With Love,
Baileigh
