And we’re back! Sorry for the radio silence readers, the whole squad’s on a readily accessible WiFi fast this month! I’m writing this from a cafe right now.
Key note: I’ve been seeking a deeper, more personal relationship with God, and have been referring to Him as Abba, which means ‘Father’ in Hebrew. As such, that’s the way I’ll be addressing Him in my blog posts from here on out. Thanks!
^^^
First things first, I finally have Instagram! My insta is @rootless_stories, and I’ll be posting more frequently there. Check me out!
Now that we’ve gotten all the formalities out of the way, HI! We’re in Malaysia!! To get here, we switched between three buses and drove for 30+ hours. Here’s some videos of where I was in the bus:
As you can see, it was kind of cramped!
We stopped every so often for lunch and dinner. The second night, we were woken up at eleven and ushered into a huge ballroom for dinner, which consisted of interesting meats and vegetables. Suffice to say, everyone in the squad explores the open air grocery market next door.
It was a relief when we finally got to our hotel in Malaysia.
^^^
It’s been extremely different here. There’s no night markets here for one thing! The food is more unique; Malaysia is one of the foodie capitals of the world! But it’s also more dangerous here than Thailand, nighttime especially. If a group of the girls want to go out at night, they have to take a guy to prevent any unwanted flirting.
BUT!! Abba’s in control of everything. I don’t have to worry because everything is already planned. I just need to obey and walk the path He’s prepared and laid out for me.
And people are still friendly! We’re attracting more looks since we’re white. Malaysia is made up of a blend of all sorts of people groups – native Malaysians who’re are called Malays, Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, and so many more! We’ve already met people who’re Muslim, Buddhist, Taoist, and Christians of course!
There’s also a TON of museums – there‘s a 3D chocolate museum near our hotel that I’m going to check out, and a 3D tricks museum, and lots of chocolate and coffee museums!
^^^
We’re doing ministry in an extremely awesome place called PenHOP, or the Penang House of Prayer. They’re an amazing organization dedicated to bringing a “culture of prayer established in the heart of Penang and in the region through partnerships, events and internships that spark and strengthen what God is doing in local churches and the Body of Christ at large.” (http://www.penhop.org)
Plus for ministry, team Sonrisa and team Ahava are reunited! We’re either doing devotionals in PenHOP’s prayer room, or doing prayer walks at a community center!! Either way, PRAYER is the big key thing!!
”And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” ~Ephesians 6:18 NIV
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” ~Romans 8:26 NIV
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” ~Matthew 21:22 NIV
Prayer is THE most formidable weapon Abba gave us against the devil. So we’ve been praying. All. Of. The. Time. This month is EX-ACT-LY what I need.
For the last month, I’ve been pursuing hearing Abba’s voice. I haven’t heard it yet, or recognized my hearing it, and spending all my time on the computer or iPhone didn’t help matters. So in our last days in Thailand, I made a pact with a fellow squadmate, Lily, that for a month, we wouldn’t be watching/reading secular media. That means only reading books about God, watching Christian movies, and listening to godly music.
To hear Abba’s voice, from what I can discern, means to not be as attached to earthly things. He calls us to be in the world, not of it, and one of the things hindering me from doing that is my attachment to my shows and fanfiction and general usage of the internet to pass the time.
Since we’re going on a WiFi fast this month, in tandem with my secular fast, I’ve been off my phone a LOT more. I still carry it around everywhere, but I’m more inclined to take a photo than read fanfiction. I do confess, I did browse Instagram for an hour today, so I haven’t kept my pact 100%, but it’s a dozen times easier without WiFi.
One thing that makes it easier to be off my phone, is to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes my way. I ask every group who leaves where they’re going and more often than not, tag along!! I’ve been to some really cool places this way and had some fantastic talks.
One of my favorite memories here so far happened the other night. I was staying up late along with some other people of the squad – Claire, Madison, Austin, Logan, Sarah, Clarissa, the likes. We played Ninja, Categories, and Signs! It was super duper fun, especially since Logan won all the games except for two. I won one and we tied in the other!! And to think, all I had to do is say ‘yes.”
Keeping off my phone for this month is a good exercise in self-discipline and control too. I keep on remembering flashes of my shows or instagram posts or fanfiction and the niggling sense that I could go to the Starbucks just around the street and watch them on the WiFi there…
But I don’t. Instead, I think of my pact, and turn to my Bible, and look for opportunities to get out of the hotel.
I can’t hear Abba’s voice yet, but He is reminding me He loves me by sending LOTS of cats my way. It’s a nice physical reminder of His presence.
So!! I’m trying to disattach myself from the internet/wifi/electronic pleasures of this world. Instead, I’m getting out of the hotel every chance I get by looking for opportunities. And last but not least, I’m increasing my prayer for it to become a habit.
Please pray for my friend and teammate Rosie. The enemy was really working against her this week. Please pray for the Team Leaders as well, Katie, Clarissa, Emma, and Kelsey – they’ll all be leaving us after this month!!
Talk to y’all later!
Leaning in to yes,
Cheyenne
