Heading for Home and a Little Reflection Along the Way

Final stretch! Wrapping things up here in South East Asia is pretty bitter sweet. These last two weeks have been so much fun and filled with a lot of different emotions. Wow I love these people and this country. I have had the opportunity to serve with several different teams here. It has been an amazing journey that is almost at an end.

You know, there is a great benefit to being apart of the body of Christ. In the body, there are many brothers and sisters that we are able to meet and serve alongside. This really hit me during a taxi ride as I was trying to share with the driver. All of the guys were in the backseat crammed in this van and he was asking how we knew each other. I told him I met most of them the week prior, but we were all brothers. He looked at me kind of funny but it is so true! Every Christ follower that I have met over here has understood what it means to be a brother or sister to one another. I can tell you that has been a blessing straight from God. My family has increased one hundred fold as a result of my time in South East Asia. Overjoyed!

These are some of the teams that I have served with recently. Awesome people!

 

I came over to South East Asia with apart of a short-term team. These guys really helped with the adjustment to life here. Really enjoyed learning and growing with all of them for the first two weeks.

Spent the first six months here with my bro, Andrew. He taught me how to drive a 5 speed. One of the most calm and collected guys that I know. Love you bro!

My cell group. These brothers and sisters have welcomed me into their group and their family. Love these guys and girls to death.

 

My brothers. Cordova, Danny, Craig, Josh and John. I am a better person because of these guys. Couldn't have asked for a better group to work with! Can't wait to get together again soon.

 

 I actually got to start the transition back home with another short-term team from our church. Really great way to cap this chapter. These guys were great and I enjoyed getting to know all of you.

 

 On the night train to Kuala Lumpur. Wow this was no fun at all. Adam and I were sleeping on the bottom bunks next to the door that would open to the outside all night long! Good memories.

 Still in transit. A typical crowded Subway in KL. I thought about my mom who is claustrophobic and knew that she would not be enjoying this ride in the least!

I have one more "M" family that I have gained while living here. Gosh these people are amazing and will continually be in my prayers. These workers in the harvest need continual prayer and support. Thankful to have a lot of faces and people that I can pray for specifically.  

^{Acts 1:8 is my prayer for all of you. Knowing that God has equipped His saints to do the work of the harvest is such a comfort.  It says this:}

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Good-Byes and Packing Up

It's time to start saying good-byes and packing up. It feels like I just got here and at the same time, I have received a lifetime's worth of experiences. I have already had to say good-bye to some amazing people and to be honest, I'm not a fan of saying it... I'll see ya later works better. Also, as I get a little older, I shed a few more tears now. I'm okay with that, but the good-byes will never be easy.

Looking in my room at all the stuff I'm taking home is a little daunting. I'm like who owns all this stuff! Well it's me... It's mainly things to bring back for people to give them something tangible from here. Being a visual learner and having an object to use while telling a story is good for me. Good for others because they get something small out of it too. Now the job of packing this stuff falls on me today... Got to pack it good because I have no clue why the airlines decide to use my piece of luggage as a shot put or a trampoline. It always happens though!

I will also be taking a lot of South East Asia back in the form of shared experiences with my teammates and friends here. I came here with a short-term team and I have the privilege of leaving with one too. That will be nice! The friendships that I have made here with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ will be with me for a long time. It's deeper than that, it's family. Can't wait to meet up with the people who are already back in the states that I served with here, help equip others to leave and welcome them back when they come home.

Tim Keller does a better job of describing this topic of Christian friendship. He says, "For believers in Christ, despite enormous differences in class, temperament, culture, race, sensibility, and personal history, there is an underlying commonality that is more powerful than them all. This is not so much a 'thread' as an indestructible steel cable. Christians have all experienced the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus."

That is so true here! There are local Chinese, Indian, and other "expats (foreigners)" that I had an immediate bond with them in Christ. Such a blessing to see and experience. The lessons they have taught me about culture and how to better serve the people here is something I will always carry.
 

With a little less than two weeks until I leave, please pray for us as the work continues. Leaving here with a great team in place! It makes going home a good bit easier and I am so very excited to see family and friends back in the states.

Please also pray for additional people to come and serve here. The harvest is ripe!

Chinese Moon Festival

Recently I celebrated the Chinese Moon Festival that happens during mid-autumn. There are many stories and legends behind why it is celebrated. It's almost like asking someone around here when the rainy season is... Depending on the day and who you ask, you will get a different answer.

The moon cake could have been created to pay homage honor the Chinese moon goddess and in another story the moon cakes were created to celebrate a sizable military victory. In all, it gives us a nice time to eat and play with lanterns!

There was a pretty full moon that night and it had a ring around it. Kinda cool to look at as we walked with our lanterns lit.

 My friend Victor displaying the elaborate way the moon cakes come packaged. They have so many different flavors and tastes. All sorts of crazy fruit flavors and even seaweed!

This is a traditional moon cake. I think the filling is lotus seed paste. Outside of that is an egg yolk mixture. Very interesting flavor... 

Me with my lantern. We took the time to pray for our city and it was a great time to reflect on our being light in a dark world.

My cell group! Love these guys and girls. Going to miss spending time with them.

Catching up

Wow it's been a while since my last post. So much has happened in such a little time! A little over a month ago, we took a group trip to an island near where we live called Langkawi. It was a work/play/pray weekend. We squeezed so much into a few days, but it was so much fun! Love spending time meeting new people and hanging out with my guys here. Here are some pictures from that weekend....

 If you're looking for happiness...found the spot for tickets!

 We didn't stay here, but what a name for a hotel. I think our hotel was a near cousin to this one though...

 Soldiers. Love these guys that I get to work/serve/and have fun with!

What a view. God just knows how to show His majesty off.

 Doug and I. Love this brother and his leadership.

 We are a regular motorbike gang rolling through the streets. These are the motorbikes that we rented that weekend.

 Our little bit of work that weekend. Got to play and teach ultimate frisbee to local school kiddos.

Love lighthouses

It's always fun to get away and recharge. It was our first chance to get away with our new teammates that were added at the end of August. Pray for these guys as they continue the work here. Thankful for all of them!

Birthday

So I celebrated a birthday overseas this year. That's a first for me and it was such a great weekend! Another first was being surprised with a party. Wasn't expecting that at all, and it's so nice to have brothers and sisters in Christ over here to spend it with. Thanks again to everyone that was able to come and those who sent me messages and emails. It really means a lot when you are away.

Here are a few pictures from my extended birthday weekend. 

This birthday cake was so good! It had a lot of character too. Thankful for the hands who made it!

So after the party, some of us decided to go bowling. I want to say that I am not a good bowler at all so the pictures that you are going to see in a second are completely out of the blue and it must have been some sort of birthday thing. No idea how this happened and I know that it will never happen again... 

Cordova gave the the nickname of "twin" and it must have had some power in it. Yes, I actually bowled 7 strikes in a row. Craziness!

8 strikes total with a score of 228. Feeling a little younger!

My birthday just happened to fall during a trip that we took to Thailand. We ate dinner at the Hard Rock in Phuket. 

They advertise Thai boxing by having the men fight on top of a float that is going down the street. Great marketing strategy.

The next day we got on a ferry for an hour and a half boat ride to a small island called Ko Phi Phi. They played Kung Fu Panda along the way and it made me think of my buddy Raymond. Miss you man! Glad to get off the boat though...

This is the view from the awesome tree house type hotel room that we stayed in. What an awesome view! This island was pretty deserted. I hear that they filmed the movie "The Beach" here. There were no roads to get around on. If you wanted to go to the other side, you had to ride in a wooden long boat or walk.

This will give you an idea of the type of island that we were on. Not sure if any of these are where we were though... Really pretty place and the people were very nice too. 

In all, I had many smiles on this birthday and it will be one that I will never forget. I really missed spending it with family and friends at home, but it was really great to be here too!

Ramadan

This past Sunday marked the end of the Muslim fasting month, Ramadan. Living in a Muslim country Ramadan is a huge part of life here. Muslims, who follow the teachings of Islam, fast from food and drink from around 5:30am until right around 7:38pm. The fast each day starts and ends with a call to prayer. We hear this 5 times a day and sometimes a person at the mosque will be speaking in Arabic throughout the day as well. Not being able to eat or drink in this very hot environment has got to take some adjusting!

I had the chance to break the fast with friends on a couple of different occasions. Locally this time is called "berbuka puasa" which literally means "to open the fast." While some opt to break the fast with their families at home, others choose to go to a local restaurant. In order to get a seat at a restaurant, you need to get there around 6:30 to 6:45 and sit at the table waiting on the call to prayer. The food is brought to the table usually pretty early and everyone sits and talks until it is time to eat. It was pretty interesting to take part in and I am grateful for friends who let us tag along with them. After the fast is broken, everyone usually goes back to the mosque to have another time for prayer. This may be different in other parts of the world, but that is the general practice here. Restaurants will stay open all night long serving food to those who choose to eat either really late or early in the morning before fasting begins again.

There were a couple of things that I loved about Ramadan. One is the discounted food everywhere and the night markets called "Bazaar Ramadhan," that were held each afternoon. I love mingling with the people and trying new things. Also, different restaurants would offer different Ramadan specials. I got kind of used to them and now I miss it! For example, at Subway you could get one of three 6 inch sandwiches, a cookie and a coke for 10 Rm. That's about the equivalent to  $3.30 in US dollars. I think I am adapting more to the culture here because everyone loves to talk about food.

At the end of the month of fasting, there is a huge celebration called "Hari Raya," which means "day of celebration." The official celebration lasts for two days, but people usually celebrate all week. We were invited to one of our friend's house to celebrate with them. It's kind of like one big block party in the village or neighborhood. Here are some pictures from that day. 

 

This is some traditional food eaten at Hari Raya. The food on the right is a spicy rice noodle dish called Laksa. The sauce on top had a fish in it as well. There was also other types of cookies and crackers to eat as well. The food on the left is a type of cubed rice and you dip it in the peanut sauce that is in the bowl beside it. That was really good! 

We celebrated at the home of our first language teacher. My friend Aaron and I decided to dress in some traditional Batik which went over well with our friends!

During Hari Raya children will visit their neighbor's homes where they are given a small amount of money as a way to celebrate with them. This is called duit raya. I wanted to get in on this action!

Another tradition during this week of celebration is fireworks. They are shot off pretty much all night long. These are not your typical fireworks either. We are talking about the M1000 type that sound like a shotgun going off. No idea where they purchase them either because I have never seen them for sale. Apparently the people in our apartment complex have a stock pile of them because they do not seem to be running out any time soon!

This month also served as a great time to pray for the people here. I love these people a great deal, and hearing the call to prayer reminds me of my need to pray for God to pour Himself out on this country and the World.

Mt. Kinabalu

Had the opportunity to visit the island of Borneo this last week. Borneo is known for it's world class scuba diving and snorkeling. It's also home to the very first season of Survivor. We have a number of friends who live there and it was just time to pay them a visit. I forgot to mention one small detail of this visit so far... It's known as Mt. Kinabalu. At 14,000ft, it is the tallest mountain in SE Asia. It took two days to reach the summit and all in all we hiked a total of a little over 18 kilometers there and back. It has to be one of the hardest things that I have ever done. We arrived at a lodge around 1pm where we ate and then went to bed around 6pm. Afterwards, we got up around 2am and started the final assent to the summit before the sunrise. We then hiked all the way down after reaching the summit.

Here are some photos of our trip

On the way up the mountain walking through the clouds. It doesn't look real!

This was the sunset above the clouds as day one drew to an end. Went to bed right after this!

We had the treat of a full moon to light our path as we climbed to the summit in the early hours of day two. 

Finally at the top!

Sunrise at 14,000ft. It was so worth the climb. This picture doesn't do it justice!

Me and my friend Danny perched at the top. Not a lot of movin' around room up there.

On our way down. It's hard to imagine how massive this mountain is without seeing it in person. The summit is granite with veins of quarts running through it. 

It was pretty steep on some parts of the mountain and this rope came in handy. We weren't fastened to it though... Just have to hold on tight. 

It was so much fun to climb this mountain. My legs are still on fire from all the hiking/climbing. It was so crazy to start in a lush jungle and end up in such a desolate place. Fyi, we did find several rats up on top of the summit. I think those things can live just about anywhere!