Hey y’all! 
In case you didn’t know, I’m in India now! However, to get here meant that I had to leave Malaysia. Since it’s been 3 months, that also means that all the alumni TLs (team leaders) had to leave too. 
There are a few things that I miss about Malaysia. I miss Prema’s cooking. I miss it being just 2 teams staying in one place, my team: Selah, and team Arise. I miss the house we were staying in. I miss the friends I made there. I miss Malaysia, but on top of that, I miss Emma and Kelsey!!! (Emma was my alumni TL, in case you didn’t know, and Kelsey was team Arise’s alumni TL.) I miss them so, so, so much!!! I promise I won’t make this entire blog all sad and sappy! However, I do miss them tons and they know that, hopefully… (To them: If for some reason you guys don’t know this, YOU ARE MISSED TONS AND IT’S WEIRD NOT BEING ABLE TO JUST TALK TO YOU GUYS!) Even though they were only here for 3 months, they left a mark. God knew they were going to stay with us for a short time, but He still used them powerfully! They taught me a lot! So, I thought I would write about something that they each taught me. In a way, it helps me finish processing them leaving and I can show you guys how amazing these women are and how God has worked through them.
Me & Emma
Emma. I don’t even know where to start! Emma taught me a lot as my alumni TL. She helped me grow as a person and she helped push me into that growth too. An example of when she pushed me into growing would be when I taught at house church in Malaysia. Unfortunately, she was not able to be there, since she had made previous arrangements to visit Cambodia. However, before she left, she straight up told me that I was going to teach at house church that evening so that I had time to prepare. As you remember I wrote a blog about that teaching. It was amazing and it went very well. If Emma hadn’t pushed me and told me that I was going to do the teaching that evening, it would not have happened, and I would still be (very) worried about sharing/teaching in front of people. I doubt I would even volunteer to do it just because the thought of it is scary. (My Grace teaching definitely would’ve not have happened since it was later!) But Emma knew that I had it in me to do a good job and so she pushed me to do better! Emma helped to teach me about being more flexible and not being so hard on myself. She kept reminding me to be more confident in myself and that helped to teach me to be more confident. Those are just a few things that she taught me during her short time being here.
Kelsey Being Fought Over by the Guys Team & Her Team
Kelsey. Again, where to start! Kelsey was not my alumni TL, but she still taught me a lot too. When I think about what Kelsey taught me, the first thing I think about is the phrase she said, “Perfectionism is the enemy of grace.” She helped me to finally see what God was trying to teach me the past few months about grace. To teach me that “You are never going to be perfect, hence Jesus dying on the cross for you. So don’t be afraid to do things and mess up. ITS GOING TO BE OKAY.” She’s right though. Like I said in my last blog, I struggle a lot with being a perfectionist and wanting everything just right. I will never be perfect, so I shouldn’t be afraid to do things and mess up. Kelsey helped me by giving me the last puzzle piece that I needed for my “grace puzzle”!
They both helped me when it came to processing stuff and when I just needed a hug. I miss them a lot, but they’re both back home for a reason. God has been using them on the field this past year or so and now it’s time for Him to use them at home. They are both following God with strong faith and they are both listening to Him on where He is leading them in their lives! There is so much more I could say about these 2, but then you guys would be here for a long time. I thank God that He put Emma and Kelsey in my life and for putting them here on my race, on my route for the time they were here for.
Until the next time……
