Penang, Malaysia was an absolute blast and I am so thankful that The Lord has allowed me this opportunity to partner with him over these 11 months on the world race.
We lived on a street that is very famous for street food and yes, I did get iced tea in a bag pretty frequently. This month was marked with joy, perseverance and a love for all the people of Malaysia.
My team and I partnered with different ministries throughout the month. The second week we were there we worked at a school teaching Burmese children. What is amazing is that these children are learning all subjects in their third and fourth language (English) a good amount of them are still learning English. I spent each day doing one on one work with kids ages 7-9 that were learning the alphabet/phonics. Some were reading and we would just read books together for 45 minutes a day.
In Malaysia there is a huge population of Burmese refugees but they are not given the title refugee. The government sees them as illegals. Everyday on the way to ministry we would see truck loads of people being taken by the police to be deported. The burmese people have been persecuted for many years and have been facing hardships everywhere they go. Most of the children we taught were actually born in Malaysia but they are still not afforded the rights of a malaysian.
Another ministry we partnered with worked to feed and help the well being of those who are homeless and or addicted to drugs. They are fed 2 meals a day and able to shower and sleep from 10am-3pm. They are able to pick up new clothes and change after their shower. I loved seeing how much they really respected and loved the people in charge of this organization. They felt so loved and seen. (Due to persecution I am leaving names out of people and organizations) Then the other half of our time we spent at their second hand shop. This shop is what helps fund the center for people to be able to have meals.
(Cooking lunch)
(serving coffee)
We actually painted and set up an entire room for organization and made it functional for all the clothes that they are bringing in. You can be praying that this shop continues to be prosperous thus able to support all the financial needs of this organization.
This month was much more relaxed compared to others. We were able to pick where we wanted to go and essentially do the work we wanted to do each day. After the past few months being in Nepal and India it was nice to finally be able to go outside and walk around/ see EVERYTHING! I will never take for granted being able to worship and praise God in my own language. Over the past 10 months I haven’t been able to attend a church in English. This month though they have a Pen HOP (IHOP- International house of prayer) here and we were able to attend the entire month and just be in the presence of the father in English and just to sit and soak in his presence. It certainly was something all of us needed. I felt like after the last two months of just being stretched to the end of our ropes this month filled us up and reminded me that I can finish this race well.
Well this blog wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t tell you guys how awesome my birthday weekend was! My FABULOUS team woke me up to balloons, cards, singing and a day full of rest at a resort. I am sure a lot of your saw the picture of me holding a snake around my neck on this day! Bless. I almost had a stroke but I was obviously in it for the gram. Seriously though, I couldn’t say more great things about my team. They are a people who love well and walk in joy. I love them so much and I am so thankful that the Lord has allowed us to be on a team for the rest of the race. (a total of 7 months) I am also thankful that each one of them have such servant hearts. Truly forever grateful for this group of Jesus loving people.
Fun fact: Mike Fiene taught us all how to throw knifes, tie life saving knots, tell directions from the sun and time. He is an eagle scout so of course he knows everything, so he thinks! 😉
My overall thoughts for this month are:
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Love your teammates well
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LAUGH A LOT
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Be excited for the victories in others lives and celebrate with them.
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Always get tea in a bag when available
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Try new things
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Hold a snake around your neck
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Try to hold on to the railing on busses because if you don’t, you might slam into people. Opps!
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If you’re a foreigner they will most likely try to rip you off. Always bargain.
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Go to a park with tons of statues of bears that are all painted different
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Watch a Thai festival
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Workout on rooftops
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Wake your friends up to catch the last of the fireworks.
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Spend every off day at the beach!
Well that about sums up my month in Malaysia. Sorry it was a little late. We are now in Mae Sot, Thailand and have been here about a week. There will be a blog coming soon.
