Saturday, December 13, 2008

Malaysia: Take-Off!

I feel overwhelmed at the idea of trying to encapsulate my recent two-week trip to Malaysia in a single blog post. How could I ever express the countless ways my eyes and heart -- and truly, my life! -- were opened spiritually, culturally, emotionally, and relationally? It seems impossible! So I decided to give a day-by-day recap of my experience. Instead of one mondo post, you will get a fortnight of Malaysia stories!

Our missions trip to Malaysia was a long time in the making. We bake sale-d, garage sale-d, crafted, sold coupon books, and cooked in order to raise money to go. And not only were all of our expenses met, but we ended up with far extra than we ever expected or hoped for! I love that about God -- not only does He meet our needs, but He does so extravagantly and abundantly. In John 16:23-24, Jesus promises, "I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. . . . Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." I always knew in my head that this was true, but never experienced it or believed it for myself. Now I've seen it in action, financially and otherwise, through this trip.

The flight to Malaysia was, in a word, long. We got on a plane here in Montana, flew through Salt Lake to Los Angeles, then on to Hong Kong, where we had a long enough layover to escape the airport and take in some of the city. Before we even set foot on foreign soil, however, I was already being challenged. Our first meal on the airplane crossing the Pacific included a squid salad. Oh, boy. But, determined to have an open mind, I tried it -- and it wasn't bad! Not my favorite thing, perhaps, but not horrible either. I felt both silly and proud of myself at the time, although I would become much more daring with food later in the trip. Still, my fellow missionary who sat next to me on the plane and I congratulated ourselves on successful first [small] steps into unknown territory.

2 comments:

  1. That is so exciting, and I am proud of you for trying the squid salad! Can't wait to hear more stories :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Malaysian ExplorDecember 14, 2008 at 6:07 PM

    Do tell us more about your trip to Malaysia, please. You have an interesting style of writing and would love to read more.Cheers!The Malaysian Explorer

    ReplyDelete

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