I managed to wake up way earlier than I intended to on Monday, Oct 7. I couldn’t sleep well which is weird because I’ve been sleeping on the floor for the last five weeks! Then since I had nothing better to do I started packing up my stuff. Then after everyone started waking up I walked around seeing if anyone needed help. And some people did, thankfully. Breakfast was next, yay! It was yogurt, granola and oatmeal all of which were super yummy. Then my team got the pleasure to clean the gross showers. I think the worst part was the amount of hair. Anyway, fortunately that didn’t take long and then we were in charge of sorting the drop table which had a lot on it because of K squad. But there were already some people doing it so they didn’t need anymore help so I just kind of sat around doing nothing which I didn’t enjoy too much because I like to keep busy. I volunteered to help clean out an oven which I thought wasn’t going to take as long as it did but let’s just say I was scrubbing oven racks for quite a while. Thankfully Emery came and helped me and I was so thankful because if I was just solely doing it, it would have taken quite a while. But near the end I had Christian come in and washed the last one and then thankfully I had Karis and Reagan come in and finished the dishes. Love them! My entire hand was so pruny! It was lunch time and it were premade sandwiches. They were so yummy. Since being in training camp I have put chips on my sandwich and it is actually so fire. So I put some sour cream and onion chips on my sandwich. But by then it was like 1230 and we had a small team meeting before we left. We loaded up the vans said goodbye to some people(we were the last squad to leave) and then started the very cramped two-ish hour drive to the Atlanta airport. We had someone named Camden tag along with us because he had a flight to his hometown at seven thirty so we had to fit four in the row I was in. But we had some really nice conversations. I’m always so thankful for the convos I have with my team. Then when we got to the airport I was pretty amazed, it was a pretty sizable size. Honestly, I didn’t think that the whole leaving the country thing and crying would hit me until we actually got to Malaysia but it hit me pretty soon into the airport. Anyway the check in process was kinda hectic because apparently our carry on could on be 7 kilos. That stressed me out a little. But to get the weight down I gave my iPad to someone who already got their bags checked and put my water bottle on the ground so it all worked out pretty great. After we got everyone through the check in process(which took awhile) we went through security which, for such a large air port took five minutes cus we took up most of the line! But it was after security that it all hit me. I think it was being overwhelmed with traveling with a big group/being sick/all of my emotions hit me and it dawned on me that we were actually leaving the US and not going to be back until may. But I didn’t shed any tears thankfully. We then walked to our gate which was very close to security. We used the bathroom and then wait for our amazing logistics(Jaylynn) to get us some money so we could buy some food because we were hungry. And since we needed a buddy system which I personally like, me, Alleah, Lexi and Grace went to go find a Chick-fil-a which was in concourse C and we got to take a fun train to. A lot of the others also came to Chick-fil-a but we managed to get on the train and they had to wait for the next one so we got there first. I didn’t get anything because the last couple of times I’ve had it I’ve felt sick to my stomach so I just got a frosted lemonade which I’m addicted to. Grace was nice enough to come with me to a sandwich place where I got a roast beef sandwich. But then we got a text that we had to come back to the gate because they were doing a random bag check for dangerous items which is super weird because we had already gone through security. So we rushed back on the train but it took like twice as long because we had to ride it to the end of its stops and then back again. But during the train ride we got another text message saying never-mind because they had “checked enough bags?” Anyway Lexi’s mom was really sweet and bought our team coffee which was amazing because I was really craving it. Then before heading back to the gate because we were about to board I got some treats and headed back to the gates with Aliya. I was also really nervous because I am sitting next to Caleb on this flight and I was sad because I would have no one to lay on if I wanted to sleep. But it has turned out to be a pretty amazing flight although I haven’t gotten any sleep yet because I apparently I can’t fall asleep on a plane. So I have been up this entire flight so I have been up for about twenty four hours, at least I don’t feel too tired but I’m sure it will catch up to me. But yea, sitting next to Caleb and Reagan has been a lot of fun. We watched Shrek and Madagascar 2 together making sure all of our screens were synced up which was so much fun. But then we all started doing our own thing I wrote a little of my book and finally finished the Blue Beetle movie about a year later. What I enjoyed most about this trip is my stress level has gone down. I’m actually really grateful. We landed around four pm with some really bad turbulence, I was trying to sleep but not much luck. One of my ears was clogged up and it felt like someone was stabbing the inside of my ear but I really wanted to try and get some rest the last two hours. When we arrived it was 92 degrees and hotter than hot and you could feel it even coming off the plane. Also one of the flight attendants said she liked my giraffe and that made me really happy and I think I’m going to remember that for a long time. Once everyone was off the plane we all went to the bathroom and tried to go to our gate. I say try for one of two reasons the first being we didn’t know our gate at the time and two being they wouldn’t let us check in until 6 which is kinda reasonable. But an interesting story we kinda had to go through TSA again and I didn’t mind it too much but I had to be pat down and the lady who did it was really sweet and made some funny jokes but I didn’t figure out why they patted me down until recently. Apparently I left a cord and a twenty dollar bill in my pocket. Oh well. Then me, Alleah, and Grace went to a Burger King and got some food. I didn’t get any food but the ice cream I got was yummy. Also the Qatar airport is so massive and there was like a rainforest thing with a waterfall in it. It’s like the butterfly exhibit at Fredrick Meijer but not and so much better. Also the airport was like a very expensive shopping mall but it was really cool to look around. Then we headed back and the train we rode on was so smooth. After we checked in, we didn’t have to wait around a long time and we got to board the plane. At the beginning of the ride we found out that the TV’s had games on them so me, Sophia and Caleb played a very short lived game on Monopoly. Anyway we started watching the Barbie movie but we fell asleep pretty quickly because we took some Dramamine so I’m hoping but not counting on falling asleep. But we have five hours left and then when we arrive it will be around 730 am ish. We had about twenty five minutes left until we arrived in our first country! I think right now my tiredness is overwhelming my excitement. Nothing really too exciting happened on the flight I managed to rest for the last four hours which was kinda nice. But the next challenge is staying awake until tonight and not falling asleep in the six hour bus ride that we have. Everyone got their luggage plus a little mishap that was fixed and the bus we are on is super cool it is pink on the outside and red on the inside it is just super cool. But through all of this from to getting off the plane to being able to skip customs to getting on the bus to going to McDonald’s for breakfast because we are American(lol) was overall less stressful then I thought it would be. As I mentioned earlier I was very scared for some reason but I slept like the entire second plane ride because Grace was nice enough to give me some Dramamine and I was very grateful since I hadn’t slept in awhile and I think I was going a little insane. I kinda wanted to sleep on the bus but I stayed up until so I’m wasn’t super jet lagged because my body was like already what the heck is happening right now. Anyway I think it’s not even real yet but I’m going to be GONE for 8 MONTHS!!! We did it the first travel day of many, the total hours of travel was 41 hours and a few minutes. But the bus ride was amazing we stopped three more times once for lunch and two bathroom stops. I’ve had to fallen asleep for awhile because when we got to the lunch stop we only had like two hours left and I was confused because I was like no way it was that much time left but I fell asleep again and it was fine. We arrived and had to wait for the pastor so we got to sleep for a couple of hours and my body was really confused because it thinks its the morning when it’s not. Anyway the pastor got there at like 10 and he only talked to the leaders then the leaders relayed the information to us and now it’s time to go to sleep. So that wraps up the first travel day!
The first week has been like a blur with everything happening so quickly and none of it feeling real so far. But it also has been just so amazing. We arrived on Wednesday, October 9th and got to rest for the week and I was just so beyond grateful for that. We got to go out to Central Square which is a mall, and explore. Then starting on Monday we got our very rough planned out schedule Mondays through Wednesdays we would help teach school and then have free time until after dinner where a different team would go to the slums to help teach English. Thursdays and Fridays are up in the air to do whatever we need. Friday we are also going to the food court at lunch. Which the food there is amazing! Then at eight we have church for the rest of the night. Saturday is adventure day and then Sunday is Sabbath! We woke up nice and early around 6:30 on Monday and got to have quiet time and get ready for the day. Then after having toast and peanut butter or chocolate spread for breakfast we got ready for school. Then our students came in at nine and we played different games and got to know them better. After that each one of them got to pick a racer to pair up with and be with them for the rest of the time we are there. I got this cute twelve year old girl who is very smart. Sessions last from 9-12 so they left soon after that because Monday was just getting to know them. Then the next day school actually started. It was a little difficult at first because I had to feel out what it would look like to best teach her. I get to teach English and Math and doing this has just really given me a new appreciation for my mom who homeschooled all of her kids. But so far it has been so amazing and I have loved doing it even if it’s a slow process right now. Then after school on Monday we got to go the slums and teach some Hindu kids some English and that was more than fun. Throughout all of this week we realized that the Malay people wake up early take a nap in the middle of the day and then stay up late so we have tried to adopted even though it has been a little challenging. I have also been trying to hold on to scheduled things loosely because it changes so much. But so far we’ve had a lot of free time and it has been nice but at the same time I’m not really sure what to do with myself. We also got to go to house church on Wednesday and it was just so amazing we had a last minute switch to have Mollie doing the message and seeing God move it that was so cool. She talked about suffering and loss and the family we went to was going through a lot of loss and pain so that message really resonated with them. And I saw God move so much through that. After that we had so really spicy noodles that burned my mouth to a crisp and some Fanta. The noodles were amazing though, all of the food has been really good. I hope to learn and grow as things move on! Thursday we rested again until six where we got to go to a Hindi festival and preform a play about Jesus’s birth which was a lot of fun. Friday we went to the food court for the first time and had some really good noodles. Unfortunately, me and three other people got food poisoning that day and were out for the rest of the day and the next. But thankfully no one got too sick. Saturday I was still sick but I decided to go out because I don’t like not being able to do things. I went to Central Square and they had a festival going on and it was really cool to see that. Then on Sabbath I rested even though it was really hard not to go anywhere.
Something that has stuck out to me while studying and spending alone time with God is, Psalm 40:1-3 “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” I think that this is such a great verse for me at this point in my journey because I feel like I’m rebuilding my faith that was built on a very sandy place and was so easy destroyed. Training camp and then being on the mission field is going and has helped me build up my foundation on faith that I need. So this verse really resonates with me but I think it can also resonate with people in my position, people of new faith, and the people in the depths of darkness. It shows how he is willing in any situation to pick us up out of our muck and mire and he shows us his way and how it is so much better then our own way. And he gives us a new life full of joy because we are his children. And though we may not be without suffering we will always have him and he is full of life and joy. And when we see where we were and where we are now we are going to be so grateful and see him in a whole new light than before. Because sometimes it takes someone or something to shake our world to be able to see him clearly. This journey has built my faith in ways I would have never imagined but I’m so thankful for.
I as I continue this journey I would love prayer for healing. I’ve been sick this entire first week and it has been really hard to focus on things that I don’t have energy for. Also prayer that I would continue to not be homesick. I would also love prayer as I teach so I’m able to teach what she needs to hear and how I can help her see the love of God because I’m not allowed to tell her directly.
(A picture of Malaysia)
(A picture of the Qatar airport)
