My time in Asia is coming to an end. In two weeks time, I will be leaving for Africa.
What have I actually been doing during my time on this continent anyway? So before I move on, here’s my Asia ministry time in a nutshell:
India: Sweet Month 1. We stayed at school of worship in Hyderabad. Indian culture was the most difficult we have had while in Asia; it’s so very different from our own in EVERY way. But how I loved my time there. Our ministry consisted of visiting slums to bring Church, prayer, and love to the Christians that lived there, prayer walks through the city, holding Sunday school for a group of special needs children, and painting the basement where they hold church and worship classes. It was a crazy month with lots of adjustment, and I remember it so fondly.
Nepal: A country that will always hold a special place in my heart. This was all squad month. The whole squad was living together, our teams had separate ministries, and we swapped ministries each week. The worship time this month will always stand out in my memory; my one-on-one time with God reached a whole new level in Nepal. The countryside took my breath away daily. My team’s ministries were bringing fellowship/encouragement to some local pastors, visiting various churches on Sundays, praying for earthquake refugee camps, teaching English in a little slum school, and my favorite: I got to team up with a squadmate from another team and spend a couple days working with a man who’s mission is to help refugees start small businesses to get them back on their feet after the quake. It was wonderful to be doing ministry within my own niche!
Cambodia: One of the countries that I’m most anxious to return to. We lived well and made good friends here. Staying at a youth development center, our ministry time included teaching English at a nearby school, cleaning, painting…..and cleaning a new building for the ministry we were working with to move their school to before classes started for the year, and several times a week we visited a poverty area where we bathed the children, taught them English, and then gave them bread. My first time working with children was challenging, but I couldn’t help but fall in love with them. And I especially loved that the bread we bought to feed them came directly from our fundraising funds! That was just so cool for me to see that the money I had raised was buying bread for munchkins. So shout out to those of you that have been supporting me: a portion of your support bought bread for impoverished children in Kampong Cham, Cambodia. Thank you.
Thailand: Well, let’s just say Thailand lives up to its reputation. A wonderful country to visit. It’s another one that I’m anxious to return to someday. My team’s last month together before team changes, our mission this month was to find new missions! It’s called an Unsung Heroes month. (aka: UH) Phuket was our location, and a fine one too. We quickly wound up in Patong, a tourist hotspot known for it’s red light district and sex shows. While we did have wonderful times this month, (My first time ever on a tropical beach and I GOT TO PET TIGERS!!!) it was a very sobering experience. Walking down Bangala Road, one of Thailand’s most notorious red light districts, praying for the women and men there was powerful and beautiful.
Malaysia: It’s a bit early for this one; we are only half way through our time here, but I think it’s safe to say that I LOVE MALAYSIA! And words can’t even begin to describe how happy I am with my new team. I will tell you that this month has been the most difficult for me on a personal level. I’ve been facing a wide variety of personal challenges. But God remains good. So very good. I’m just getting stretched is all 😉 We are living at a children’s home on Penang Island. Our adventure days are top-notch awesome. And, while I’ve struggled deeply with the chaos of these kids, I’m really falling in love with them. Our task is simply to love them well and teach them what we can. I have become the designated origami instructor… White girl teaching origami in Asia. Go figure. But they can’t get enough of it. I also get asked at least once a day why I have a shaved head… Guess that doesn’t fly here hahaha! They’re good kids desperately in need of some one-on-one attention and love. It’s a great month.
And in such a short time we will be in Africa! How time is flying by out here. It seems like it’s already been a year since I left family and friends, and yet as we near the halfway mark, I just can’t believe it’s already so close!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who have given your support. I will never be the same and I deeply hope and pray that the same can be said for some of the people I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with. I still haven’t met my $11,000 deadline and it is becoming more urgent. So if you are able, could you perhaps click that orange ‘Support Me’ button at the top of the page? And prayer is needed as always. Thanks loved ones!
