Malaysia is a beautiful country! A bit hot for my liking, but not so bad! We landed in the capital Kuala Lumpur [KL]. My team and some of the others had sometime to see the city and have our first taste of Malaysian food. We left Chicago Saturday, 8 Sept, and got to Kuala Lipis, where my ministry was this month, Wednesday, 12 Sept; travel 'day' haha. Our contact lives in Gua Musang, where he and his wife were called by the Lord a few years ago.
We stayed with a Hindu family who showed us amazing hospitality. They had just had an extension built onto their house, but it hadn't been prayed over yet, so we shouldn't have been able to stay there but they had us anyway. The family was the father and mother, and their sons and their sons family's. They were such a beautiful family, from the children to the grandparents. They feed us, taught us Tamil, and just welcomed us into their home. I loved getting to know them and it was hard to leave them. And I just pray that a seed was planted by us being there and that God will grow that seed. They also blessed each of us with gifts our last day there. One of the women blessed me with a sari, and I got a monkey from the kids.
You can't openly tell people about God so they have an English school where one of the other teams worked. My team was a 2hr train ride from there in Kuala Lipis. When we got to Lipis I knew it was where we were supposed to be. Our contact had been approached about starting an English school in Lipis, and my team was the first to be in Lipis. We got to teach the first program at the centre there! We taught 2 weekend programs, so we spent the weekdays preparing for those and helping with a local church doing a variety of things. I made a directory for them, one of the girls with graphic skills made signs and banners, and the boys laid carpet and moved an fixed things, whatever they needed. The couple that was our main contact with that church took us to breakfast a couple of times [still my favourite meal!], one mornin we even had eggs and toast and coffee! The eggs were super runny, but was good with the toast, which had coconut jam on it which is soooo good! The family that we stayed with owned the centre we taught at, and an Indian restaurant next door, where we had some of my favourite food! I loved having breakfast there and reading! This may not look much like breakfast, but it was amazing, and only cost 3 ringgit [1$!!] for it and the tea!
Malaysia is quite a bit different from east coast Canada in many ways. I didn't mind squatty pottys, but the problem is they often don't have toilet paper, so you have to take it with you everywhere. Findin a bathroom with toilet paper and soap was amazing, haha! The food is good, and its fun trying different things, but you can forget potatoes. We're sleeping on our sleeping pads on the floor this month.
This is a photo of my team, Divinely Appointed, playing cards in our [the girls] room.
My team is amazing, we have such trust in each other, and thru that we have unity, I'm so blessed to be with them! It's kinda daunting knowing i'm gone for a year and changing countries and cultures each month, but I know beyond a doubt that I am supposed to be on the race this year, and it's wonderful being here, I wouldn't have it any other way.
love an cheers (:
