I have been in Malaysia for about two weeks now. Oops, sorry for the late update. The transition from Greece to here has been the most difficult transition I have had to make on the Race yet. I am physically in Malaysia, but I feel like part of me is still back at camp. I don’t know if Greece is the place God is calling me to serve or if it is because I saw so much need and brokenness there that I want to go back. My team is working as teachers and a social worker this month. People of Malaysia are friendly, loving and hospitable. All the staff, teachers and students made us feel welcome very quickly. Today, we had our last class party. It was such a great experience to see the kids do different dances from different cultures and to see them take their minds off school and relax. As it is Thanksgiving today, it felt weird not to be with my family. The holiday season is definitely a hard time to be away from home. One of the teachers here, Bilal surprised us with pizza and a roasted chicken for dinner. When I said Malaysians are hospitable, I wasn’t kidding. It made our day! We sat in a circle and ate and talked about what Thanksgiving looked like in the States for us. It wasn’t home, but we had fun and are very thankful for the time spent together.
When I was told at the beginning of the month that I was going to be assisting a teacher teach Math and English, I thought it was going to be the end of me (okay, maybe I am being a little dramatic). One thing I have figured out about myself is that I don’t have a passion for teaching or math. I am so grateful for all the teachers out there. But, I don’t think teaching is for me. With that being said, teaching wasn’t really as bad as I thought it would be. All the students called me “teacher” even though I wasn’t a real teacher. One thing this month of ministry has taught me is that we don’t need to love a job to be able to do it well. We just need to have a great attitude and a yes heart for it. Throughout our lives we will be faced with situations and challenges we don’t want to be faced with. It is okay to be challenged and be stretched out of our comfort zones. What’s not okay is to sit and complain about it. I am glad I let myself be challenged this month. I met so many wonderful kids. Some of them cried when they said bye to me today. They have only known me for two weeks, but they made me feel like I have been with them forever and I didn’t want to say bye to any of them.
Another news update, instead of Namibia my team will be going to Zimbabwe. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! Happy holidays. I pray that we will all be focused on what’s most important during this season rather than presents. We all have something to be grateful for. For those of you that are struggling because of health, loss of loved ones etc.. I pray that you will be comforted by the love of God. Through the ups and downs know that God is always with you. Sometimes it is hard to feel His presence in the time of hurt and pain. But, God never leaves your side. Take comfort knowing the Creator of the world is for you and with you. Love you all.
