malaysia update!
Ministry
Three weeks into ministry and I can safely say I really love this country. Every Monday-Wednesday I have been meeting one on one with my student, whose name I won’t share publicly, as she is a refugee student, but she is just perfect. We had a rocky start as she was not as excited about 34 white people showing up to her school as some of her classmates were, but over time she has warmed up to me. She loves to draw and color, as do I, so we implement that into a lot of our learning together. We’ve been working on place value, addition, and subtraction in math. As well as pronunciation and reading comprehension in English, and she is just so smart. Though not, very social. Please pray for her, that the Lord’s hand will just be over her. Additionally, our teams have been alternating attending the Free Tuition Center, where we also teach English in the slum areas. My team has only been once so far and we had such a blast. We worked in their workbooks for a while, then did a skit and played a game. On wednesday nights, I attend a house church and our family is literally just the kindest. They don’t speak a lot of english so we rely on a translator. Yet me and Angela, the grandmother, often communicate about teenagers and their dang phones without even saying a word. It’s perfect actually. Most evenings we are having dance practice because we have been asked to be a part of a music video. Yeah, I’m confused about that one too… Also, the other day, we performed the church clap at a wedding for a couple we had never met before. Just because we were asked to. And that’s a lot of what ministry in Malaysia looks like. We are asked, and so we do. Tomorrow, I am spending my afternoon painting a mural at one of the church member’s bakery, just because she asked me to. And it’s perfect.
Weather, Food, and Fun
The weather is hot and humid here, though it almost reminds me of springtime at home, so not terrible at all. I am longing for the cool weather of fall back home. The hospitality team, which I am a part of, is planning a little fall movie night for our squad for Halloween, so if you have any suggestions, send them my way. The food is very good, pretty much always rice and chicken of some variety. Every morning for breakfast, we have toast. So lots of bread. There are a few very cute coffee shops and cafes around here. A Pandan or Spanish latte is always a must on adventure day. Sungai Petani isn’t a touristy area so I mainly spend my adventure days and sabbath doing laundry or using a coffee shops wifi for a few hours. Though I did have an impromptu trip to the side of the road to feed monkeys, and yes, it was awesome. I have established a nightly routine for myself. After my ten minute prayer walk, I wash my face and then lay on the floor and play sudoku while listening to the psalms and hymns, of course. It really soothes my old lady heart. This weekend we are taking a trip to Penang, which is on the coast and has some very fun things to do. Like an upside down museum and sky train over looking the city. It will be amazing.
How the Lord is working!!!
The Lord is moving in mighty ways in Malaysia. Though we can’t directly share the gospel with our students, we aim to ensure that every time they come to school, they feel so loved and cared for. We have had so many opportunities to evangelize and share the gospel in public, to our Grab (like uber) drivers, to cashiers, etc. At church and in our small groups we have the opportunity to share testimony and scripture and the church here is hungry. They are hungry for the Lord. They truly pray without ceasing, and they are so excited to serve and to teach and to glorify the Father. God is teaching me so much about prayer and peace in hearing his voice. During our church services, they are, minimum, four hours long, and I have begun to just pray and intercede. Sometimes my mind wanders, but truly God is teaching me how to walk with him in the small things and the big. How to truly pray without ceasing. I’ve leaned so much into art during my quiet time with the Lord. I bought watercolor last week, and the Lord just shows me things and inspires my imagination and creativity in a way I’ve never experienced before. And now I get to use this gift and talent to go serve someone else by painting a mural. Yeah, God is just so good. Even in the way he is knitting unity amongst my squad and team. The fact that we all ended up in one living space is such a silly God moment, like yes Lord, we will grow to love and have patience with one another. We do squad worship and I can see how the Holy Spirit is not only working on each of us individually, but using us to lift each other higher.
What’s next?
We still have 19 days, as I’m writing this (10/29/24), left in Malaysia. And only seven days left with our students!! Which is really not a lot. We will leave for Thailand on November 17th. Today we learned that we will be in TEAMS in Thailand. So we will not be staying or doing ministry with the full 34 squad members. Just team Radiant, my 10 girls, in Thailand. Which will be such a shift from all 34 of us living in one room. We don’t have many more details than that, but wow, what an update.
Closing Remarks
There are still some people on my squad that are not fully funded. If you feel called to give, please reach out so I can provide their links. Also, it is recommended to have around $100 each month for spending money, if you would like to support me in that way.
Venmo: @reannon0412
Cashapp: $ellareannon
Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and reading my updates!! I am praying for everyone as we enter holiday season! Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try my best to respond timely! Any comments are so encouraging for me to receive! Love you guys!
