This was where our team spent our time going to different villages evangelizing, teaching and preaching in churches.
Well, the need for Bibles there is great. Even the people we spoke with who were believers did not have a Bible in their home; they could only see a Bible at church on Sunday if that.
Our squad just got it approved to do a fundraiser-type thing for the ministry we worked with there - Harvesters International. So by donating, your money will go directly overseas to them and will provide their ministry with the chance to continue evangelizing and equip these people with Bibles.
How much we take for granted, eh? Most of us probably have Bibles in our homes that haven't been touched for years. These people are desperate for it, they are thirsty.
Here is how to help:
Here are the easy steps to follow to get the money in the
right account. PLEASE DO NOT PUT MONEY IN MY SUPPORT ACCOUNT SINCE IT WILL NOT
BE ABLE TO TRANSFERRED TO THIS ACCOUNT.
I have just finished my fourth or fifth day in a row of
copying a bunch of Word documents 34 times each, and have one more day of it
left. Open document... print 1st page... 34 copies... flip page over...
print the back... 34 copies... print page 2...
Pretty crazy, huh? Needless to say we have been busy this
month, but not in the way you might think. And the reason I haven't written
about it yet is because I haven't wanted people to see the selfishness of my
own heart.
Our team was sent to a school in Kuala Lumpur this month.
Working with children is definitely nothing new to us, but suddenly being
thrust into a 7:30am-5:30pm schedule after coming from Africa where time is
essentially non-existent was a struggle for all of us. For me, though, it was
much more than that.
So far while being here not only have I printed all of these
copies but I have helped to paint an office, clean the handrails and scrape gum
off the stairwells, "taught" in three different classrooms by being shown the
book right beforehand and told to teach it, and helped laminate, cut,
hole-punch, and ring even more school materials together. Not really my idea of
fun ministry. Especially when there is a team in the jungle who look like they
are having an amazing time and will come back with tons of crazy stories.
Anyway, so I had a horrible attitude the first week or week-and-a-half.
I knew that I should get over myself and be glad for this opportunity I had
been given, but I really didn't enjoy any of it. I would complain and drag
myself out of bed because I had to and not because I wanted to.
But at the end of the second week, I was horribly convicted
and realized the choice that I had. I could keep going on this month just
counting down the days and hope it would be over soon and that next month would
be better. Or I could choose to actually have eyes to see the people I am
around. One of the days that I was helping out in a classroom I stopped and
just looked around at these kids. I finally felt a sense of compassion for
them.
Most of the students here are refugees from Burma and Sri
Lanka, so they would have nowhere else to go if this school weren't here. Sure,
it makes things more chaotic (there's more than 700 students), but each and
every one of these children deserve this.
So the choice was clear. I could choose to be stuck within
myself and what I want, but that really isn't fun nor is it what God has for
me. I haven't been perfect by any means these past few weeks... knowing that a
computer and a printer are anxiously awaiting me when I wake up isn't quite as
enticing as it sounds... but at least I know that this month, He taught me a
lesson I didn't necessarily want to learn but needed to. Just because one
ministry sounds "cooler" than another or is more appealing for whatever reason
really doesn't mean anything in the Kingdom. And how many times in my life will
I be put in situations I don't want to be in? Probably quite a few. The
question is how I will respond, and what will I put first – my agenda or His?
A few weeks ago, our team went out with our contacts for some authentic Malaysian food. It was yummy.
But then, of course, we had to try a fruit... the fruit. Durian. If you haven't heard of it, google it. (It was even used on an episode of Fear Factor apparently.) It's pretty much just plain nasty and only a select few can tolerate it. It also comes alongside a very distinct smell.
Here is most of our team attempting to push it down our throats (I think Daniel chickened out and never tried it). You'll have to travel to SE Asia yourself someday to fully appreciate all of its lovely, distinct flavors.
*You may notice that at around 2:44 I do actually completely vomit...
This past Sunday was a triple whammy: Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, and my 25th birthday. Nope - there's definitely no denying my mid-20 year old self now...
It was a fun day, which started off with a delicious McDonald's breakfast (what could be better?).
After church we went out to Chili's. This is what the malls look like here - they are everywhere and they are absolutely huge. This one has 10 stories!
So far we have successfully found the following places: California Pizza Kitchen, Papa John's Pizza, Baskin Robbins, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Wendy's, Starbucks, Coffee Bean, and even a decent Mexican food restaurant.
Chinese New Year is almost like Christmas here. Everything owned by the Chinese shuts down at least for a day and for up to two weeks (since the rest of the year they never take a day off). At the mall that day they had some shows of contortionists, a guy doing tricks with a vase on his head, and a crazy balancing dude.
Southeast Asia is also known for having amazing massages at even more amazing prices, so Becky and Dan treated me to a Thai massage.
And after that, well, we weren't too hungry but headed over to T.G.I.Friday's anyway since it was there. :-) The video below shows some of the awkwardness that happened once my teammates told the staff that it was my birthday... good times. Here's to 25!
To update you a little more on what's going on... we are leaving Africa tomorrow. I cannot believe we've been here three months.
Here's what the rest of the Race looks like for the iSquad (probably):
february in malaysia
march in the philippines
april in thailand
back in the states april 29th or 30th... woah!
In other news, my former teammate Warren has put together some awesome videos that, if you haven't seen yet, you really should. Don't pretend like you don't have time to watch, because you're looking at my blog, and you're likely in America with an amazing thing called high speed internet, so no excuses! They are fun - particularly the "race adventures" one. But this should give you a pretty good picture of the happenings of the past few months.
Forgive me for not updating sooner. I know many of you have
been worried since my last blog about my malaria-ness, but let me assure you I
am 100% recovered. Praise God. (Hey everyone, note to yourselves: take malaria
pills.)
Anyway, because it took so long for Tiffany and I to
recover, instead of joining the rest of our squad at Mama Rita's in Mozambique
we headed down to Nelspruit, South Africa, a few days before everyone else to
continue resting. We had quite the 34 hour trip down here, that's for sure (another
note to yourselves: you should always travel with money on you even when the bus
company tells you that you won't need to pay any visa fees to cross borders),
but it was great to finally arrive to a lovely house with beds, amazing food,
hot showers, and a nearby laundry facility.
When you're on the World Race, something that everyone
craves is alone time. Even the most extroverted people on our squad get to the
point at times where, "I just need to get away." I am an introvert, so the
thought of getting somewhere nice before the whole squad got there sounded like
absolute heaven. I would get good time processing with God, I wouldn't have to
worry about anyone or anything else, and I could definitely rest. Well, it wasn't
exactly like that.
I found it difficult to connect with God for some reason. I
slept alright, but not great. And I had this moment on the bus ride down from
Malawi to South Africa where I just missed my team – a lot. (I don't think it's
very frequent that a team member will spend 2 weeks away from their team.) It
was a weird feeling, probably a little similar to what it will be like once I
am back in the States. Who am I without my team? Where are the people that I
normally see every single day?
The squad got back last Saturday and it was so good to see
everyone. So good. Immediately a group of girls sat down and started telling us
the crazy stories of Mama Rita's. And life felt normal again.
Our team had debrief yesterday and it was amazing. We just
sat and shared how our time in Africa was for us and spoke life over each other.
At the end we were challenged with the two choices we have from here on out: to
coast through the last 3 months or to continue to grow and challenge each
other.
About an hour after our meeting was over I was called back
into the room for a leader meeting, which meant that something was up. We were
presented with the idea of opening it up to the squad to choose our own teams.
Since changes were coming regardless, it would either be the normal scenario
where the squad leaders choose who would move where or we could trust the squad
hearing from God and empowering us to choose for ourselves.
Talk about shaking things up. Originally I wasn't stoked
about the idea, mostly because of the health of our team. Why break up a good
thing? But as I heard others' hearts and thought about it more myself I
realized how cool this would be for our squad and the bigger picture. It even
challenged me personally – do I trust God? What if I end up on a team I don't
like? Am I willing to give up control?
Well, we ended up doing what no squad has done before and
changed our own teams this morning. It was scary. At times people's feelings
were hurt or they didn't feel like it was a good idea. But in the end, we did
hear from God and all of us are on teams that will really challenge us for the
remainder of this trip.
I was one of the last people to be placed on a team, mostly
because I could have seen myself on any one of the four. There were so many
pros and cons to each scenario as I imagined myself on each team. But in the
end, I am now on a team with none of the people I have been on a team with thus
far on the race. My teammates are now: Daniel and Becky, Kaleb, Tiffany,
Marissa, and Scottie.
I can't believe that these changes are real, that Team S'more
is no more, that I'm no longer a team leader, that this is the group I'll
finish the Race with. But this new team has so much to offer me, and truly and
honestly the unknown excites me. I serve a God who does more than I could ever
ask or imagine.
It's crazy thinking that this trip is ending soon. Three
months is really nothing. But these past few weeks I have learned something
without a doubt: I love these people. I love this squad.
Less than 48 hours after posting the blog below about reaching "the wall" where I don't have much left in me, I find myself in a clinic with a 101degree fever, chills, and extremely weak. Malaria. Boo.
We were scheduled to leave the next day for Mozambique, but Tiff and I both came down with malaria. The past few days have been such a blur, and my thoughts are still scattered, but I'll try to update. The squad left the next morning but me, Tiff, and William (our amazing caretaker) stayed behind. We spent 3 nights in the clinic here in Lilongwe and were well taken care of - at one point we even got a sponge bath! We went through 2 I.V. treatments and will finish our last dose of drugs tomorrow morning, thank goodness.
I believe it's now been over 24 hours since I have thrown up - victory! That has been the worst part, just feeling so incredibly weak. Even getting up to go from the room to the bathroom took immense willpower, and attempting to eat was no fun knowing it was likely to come back out at any moment. (Sorry if that's too much information.)
We left the clinic and are now staying at the same hostel we were at last week until we are recovered and ready to make the trek down to join the squad at Mama Rita's in Mozambique. You might wonder what we have been doing with all this time on our hands - well, not much at all. As I said, we have been so weak that it's been hard to even want to go somewhere. So we will sleep, get up and go to the bathroom, sit/lay outside for awhile, get online, watch a movie, read, sleep, eat, talk to my mom who has called everyday since then :-), etc. Today I felt a big difference, though, in my energy level. I even got in the swimming pool!
I praise God for so much even though this has all been pretty miserable at times. I'm so grateful we are in a big city and not a small middle-of-nowhere place. Thankful for the medical care we received; they were so amazing and we even had a fan in our room to keep us cool. Grateful for William who's done countless things each day for us. Thankful that we really don't have to be in a hurry to go anywhere. Glad to talk with my family as much as I have. Thankful that somehow God granted us perseverance through this process. Grateful that we are feeling better!!
There's also been a strange feeling that I have had these past few days, and I think it reflects at least a small part of what it will be like when I come back to the States. With only 3 of us here it's been so... quiet. A strange feeling, I tell you. The questions of, "what do I do with my time?" and "who am I without this crazy squad constantly around me?" have come to mind. Strange, strange questions I tell you.
Anywho, it's been quite a whirlwind the past few days, but thank you all so so much for praying and please continue to do so. We are on the upward swing - PTL!
The summer after my freshman year of college I was a camp
counselor. They warned us at our training that we would all hit a point called,
"the wall" where we find ourselves exhausted, not sure if we can do it anymore,
and that the normal things we are used to doing take much more effort. They
said that the wall would come at different times for each person, but generally
it would be sometime toward the middle.
I think Malawi would classify as my wall month for the World
Race.
These past 3 weeks have been packed. God has done a lot – so
much actually - but it hasn't all come easy.
Our team traveled every 4 or 5 days, spending time in three
different areas doing door-to-door evangelism, preaching, and teaching new
believers as well as local leaders.
We spent these past three weeks without running water and
electricity, and most of the time we were camping. The days were pretty hot,
but it is also rainy season so at any moment it would downpour. Most of the
time our dinners consisted of beans, eggs (which I really don't prefer), and
rice or spaghetti. We had to "be flexible" with everything, and always be ready
to teach or preach because we never knew when our contact would come over and
say that leaders had come and were waiting for us.
When you don't have electricity and you're camping and
traveling every few days, things just get tiring. Even when we had days off
they weren't incredibly restful because we were in these villages with people
always around and not much else to do. Because of this, I noticed our team
talking a lot more about home than we had before.
We would talk about the things we missed. Besides family and
friends, we'd frequently talk of the foods we were craving since our meals were
so... simple. Tacos. Ice cream. Ice cold soda. Hamburger and greasy French fries.
Brownies. A nice fresh salad with all the toppings. Even fruits and vegetables
sounded like heaven to us at times.
The days just seemed longer this month, and spending
Christmas and New Years without running water and electricity didn't make it
any easier. We all read a lot of books this month and had good conversations
since we were without the usual distractions. But man, I know I was really
missing the "things" of home. And I was just tired.
Then one morning I read Psalm 63 about being satisfied in
Him, and of course my heart was convicted. I struggled to determine what that
even meant and how to achieve this. The only clue seemed to be in disciplining
yourself to praise Him. And Philippians is such a powerful testimony of Paul rejoicing
even while in prison... again, hard to comprehend the depth of trust he had in God's
goodness to allow him to do so.
There's only 4 months left of this trip, and I know that I
can do it. Being stripped of what I know, of what I'm used to, of what I'm
comfortable with, is hard. So it's probably about time that I should be feeling
this way. It means even moreso that I can't rely on my own strength to do much
of anything, and I think that's a really good thing.
I'm so proud of our team for really stepping out this month.
Each of us have done something we aren't comfortable with and wouldn't normally
volunteer to do, which means that so much growth happened. I am grateful for
our time here in Malawi, for how God meets us in circumstances we wouldn't have
chosen on our own. And I'm thankful that especially in my weakness, Christ is
still with me and for me.
Our squad made it to Malawi after some intense travel days - over 30 hours in a flatbed truck, let's just put it that way. Team S'more and Tiffany are up in northern-ish Malawi preaching, evangelizing, teaching new believers as well as training pastors. We will travel to 3 different villages in the next 3 weeks and it sounds like we will be without electricity and running water for most of it. Yesterday the 8 of us were a part of 2 different church services, and it was so cool how we all were involved in a true African church with tons of singing and dancing. I got to teach for the first time which was fun. I barely had time to get nervous because we were only told of the program we had to put on the night before... haha. T.I.A., right?? Oh Africa.
Merry early Christmas, everyone!!! We are all reminiscing about our families back home a lot now, and it's strange because it's even hotter in Malawi than it was in Mozambique, but we are surviving for sure and will have a nice time celebrating Christmas together I am sure. This will be a Christmas never to forget... talk about re-defining your American version of Christmas by spending it without electricity in Africa, right??
So, yeah, we won't have much internet probably for the next few weeks at least, but thanks for your prayers. Enjoy this season with your family and friends! Much love from... wherever we are in Malawi. :-) And HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY TO MY AMAZING PARENTS!!!!!!!!
