India, July 2013

Ok, so I wrote all this....but somehow I deleted everything. Because I am skilled like that. So now I am re-writing everything. Just thought you all should know.

During this summer I had the PRIVILAGE of going to India. This has been a dream of mine since I was a tiny child, so it was really exciting for me. so, on the 24th of July to the 30th I was in the wonderful, beautiful,crowded,smelly,dirty,colorful country of India. It was a cool trip, because I got to see and experience the not-so-touristy side of India (I definitely felt wierd being white, lol)  
I flew down with Joseph, my little brother, and met up wiht my dad (who was there for work/not work). We arrived on Kolkatta, then early the next morning went took the train ( got to see the country side!!) up north to Dhanbad. My Dad ws checking out a University there, so me and my brother tagged along. it was cool, because it was in a more rural area. We got to stay in a nice guest house, then spent a couple days getting tours of hte university. I actually found it really interesting seeing how it was different compared to Canada and Malaysia!
We did alot of driving, and I learnt one very important thing: Cows are the King of the Road. They are everywhere!--and they stand EXACTLY in the middle of the road just because they know they can. I swear they hold up traffic, just becasue they know they can! And eat notices off important boards, just because they can.
The weather was really nice, it was rainy season so it was cool--not too hot!  This was a nice break :) While we were in Dhanbad we also got the oppertunity to go 990ft into the earth! IT WAS CRAZY COOL!! We went into a coal mine. I felt like hte Gopher from Winnie-the-Pooh; we got cool helmets with lamps on them. So ya! We walked around and got a tour of the coal mine, and also got to see hte open-pit mining. You know you are with engineers when they look at a mine, and discribe it as a "beautiful scene".  :)
We took the train back down to Kolkatta to visit a local missionary/pastor and his family that we know. They are such a cool, inspiring, wonderful, beautiful family. I love them! They were so welcoming, even though it was my first time meeting them.  We got to see their various ministries, and participate. Everywhere we went the people we met were warm and friendly. We went to a couple house churches, a children's center (where they teach the children english, provide a meal, teach them Bible stories, and sing with them), and a church in a slum.

Even though it was a pretty short trip,over all the trip was really good. Very eye-opening and challanging. It is kinda hard to find a response to all the poverty I saw in India.  But I am going to go back. I don't know when, or how, but I want to go back!
The food in India was sooooo sooooo sooo good! So much flavour! And color! And the people are a very hospitable, lovely, generous, friendly, welcoming, warm, devoted people. (lots of adjectives there!).

On the plane home we had to make an emergency landing, so we landed in Yangon, Burma. So, even though we didn't get off the plane, I can say I was in Burma!!! (woot woot!!) It doesn't really 'count', but it kinda does  =P

So yep! India was great.

:)

Summer in Malaysia

**note: I was too lazy to edit this. So i apologise if it doesnt make sense in places **

Hi Ya'll! IT's been a while :)
So i spent this past summer in malaysia staing with some close family friends. I am soooo greatful that they let me live with them, seeing as i was going to be a homeless hobo in Asia for 3 months.   I had a wonderful time there--very restful, which was nice after an insane 6 months. And I am sure the break will be nice for the intense 9 months coming up!
During my time in Malaysia I spent most of my time helping out/doing an Internship at USCI Child Development Center. Pretty much it is a Nursrey/daycare/kindergarten. I was an assistant teacher, so helped the kids wihth their work, took them to the washroom, cleaned up after them(yes, that includes poop,pee, and vomit), kept them quiet, helped teachers prepare for classes, making display board, etc... During that time i became pretty pro at making giant cardboard trains, making pom-poms, coloring, painting chinese characters, and using a paper cutter.  I really really enjoyed hte work, and the kids--although it was really tiring. I was working full days, but then because of transportationa nd what not, I would be out 12hrs everyday....

Besides work, it was really fun catching-up with old friends and hanging out.
Highlights from Malaysia (and meorable moments):
Titi ORganic Farm - If you are ever in KL visit this place!!! It is a bit of a bus ride, however it is totally worht it. The farm (also a resort place) is int he highlands, and the view is beautiful. We got a tour of hte farm (all organic!!....obviously) and got to have a delicious lunch. It was all organic, and healthy, and fresh, and just made me so happy. I loved getting out of hte city!! They also had really cute cats and puppies  :)

My Fair Lady -- we all watched this movie together. And it was definitly a highlight!! It was just fun to be all together, enjoying hte same movie. Lots of laughs (and confusion because of the accents!!).  "I'm a gud gurrl I am!"  ;)

Lingi during Hari Raya-  Farm, family, laughter, talking, durian.

Walks --I was living in a pretty safe neighbourhood, so I got to go on lots of walks and runs! It felt amazing to be running again!  I loved waking up early, grabbing some tea and my Bible, going for a walk, then stopping at a playground to have a quiet time. Because it was early, it would be nice and cool and the birds would be singing, and only nice old people would be out walking too. :)  It was a nice time to be alone with tea, my Bible, and God.

Morning Devotions -- twice a week a bunch of people from UCSI University get together int he morning for devotions. I enjoyed these :) Lunches-- me and a co-worker would go out exploring during our lunches. We found cheap fruit (!!!), a place that sold cheap clothes (got me some pants!), and i also tried some delicious malaysian cuisine (malaysia has the best food!.....EVER!!). Favourite dieshes : Chicken Rice, Nasi Lemak, Pan Mee, Fish Head Noodles, and some yummy wine soup that i don't know the name of.

Adventures: When i first arrived, i decided to go on an adventure! So i got a ride to USCI, took the bus to Taman Tasik Slatan station, then took trains to KLCC (the Twin Towers). I then just walked around, walked in the massiv park, read, etc...  it was fun! Me and Natasha also went on an adventure to Central Market together. That was lots of fun!! Althigh, i don't think i actually boust anything besides food. Lol

Dancing: my room was big enough to dance in. Score!

My brother-- i got to spend lots of time with my brother, becuse he was also there for the summer (1.5months). He is wonderful, and i enjoyed hangout with them. When we would have meals, it was hilarious because he eats like an old man (super slow), and i eat really fast. So it was alwys kinda awkward, but funny, because i would just sit there and watch him--teasing him the whole time.  haha. Sorry Jo.  =P

INDIA:  Oh my goodness! I finally went to India!!!! Success! I will write a seperate blog for that later. :)

FAmily Dinners: Anytime everyone was together was a highlight. Dinners were definitly entertaining!
--> I got bitten by a Stiped-Evil-little-furry-creatute-of-a-dog. It happened so fast, but pretty much i was running and a little thing ran out of the bushes, circled around me, and bit me.
--> I also tried to watch a scary movie (i don't know why....sometimes i don't understand myself..) but it failed. I spent the whole time with my head in the pillow...so i had no clue what was happening. So we turned it off. Lol. The music was scary enough for me!

Crafts: I did lots of craft-type things, and got to press lots of flowers and leaves. It made me happy :)

So ya!
I think that pretty much sums up Malaysia. We ate lots of food, visited lots of people, got stuck in lots of traffic jams, and walked alot!

PATTAYA

So we took a van from Bangkok to Pattaya. IT was a lovely drive. I slept.

 Pattaya is along the coast. It is known as the 'Red light city' of Thailand--and being a place where old guys go to get young Thai girls. It is pretty ..... crazy .... different .... uncomfortable at times walking around there, and it isn't like any other place or city i've ever been too.
We didn't work along side a particular ministry while there--we just stayed at a hotel, and did street ministry and prayer walks. During the mornings we went on prayer walks, we had the afternoons free(to hang out at the beach!--or whatever we wanted to do...), and at night the guys in our team stayed at the hotel to pray, while us females went out. Along the beach area is a main place for prostitution--so we would go there and hand out bracelets and stop and talk to some of the girls and get to know people. We also got to know some girls from a bar--so we went to visit them. Since our little group stood out like a sore thumb there, people would remember and recognize us--so it was really easy to start conversation!
 During our last night out we got talking to an elderly, homeless lady who had broken her foot, and because she couldn't read, had overdosed on the painkillers she had been given. we got the opportunity to pray for her leg, and God healed it! Woohoo! while we were praying, lots of people stopped and asked what was going on--so we got the opportunity to talk to lots of people who were just passing by. :) This lady also gave her life to Christ, and wanted to be baptized! So the next morning we baptized her.  it was super, super exciting--and so cool to see how God was working there!

Yeppers! So, that was our time in Pattaya :)

Our team

beach

walking street (famous in Pattaya)

Some wonderful people

                                                  lady whose leg was healed!

Wonderful person we met and got to know

                                                    After being baptized !

BANGKOK 2)

STILL IN BANGKOK! but we traded the soft mattresses for the floor; and big catered meals for street food; and a safe,gated community for gangs and kidnapping paradise. :)
After the counselling seminar finished, we moved out to one of the largest slums in Bangkok. IT is known for being a large source for child trafficking in Bangkok;  it is prime location for kidnapping innocent children and selling them becasue it is along a port, so there is lots of people and boats and trucks and cars and it is busy.
We stayed at a church there that is run by an incredible lady. She is the only staff, and does everyting--but she has such a big heart for that community and for the children there. The church is right in the slum--and is actually sandwiched between Kareoke Bars(note: these aren't the family friendly ones you go to to hang out with your friends), so basically sleeping was a bit of a challange becasue of the 'wonderfully' loud music which at times would shake the floor. :) lol.
While we were there we helped out in a public Pre-school. The children were adorable. We got to hang out with the kids, play with them, get snacks ready, teach a fun quick lesson (since it was a Bhuddest school, we taught good morals through Bible stories), lead games and songs, etc. it was cool to see how different the school was run compared to schools in Canada. Alot of these children come from difficult homes and families--and alot of the children have single, teenaged moms. For one little boy, his mom had him when she was 13. It was difficult to see these children and know that they would be considered 'children at risk'. :(
In the afternoons we went to communities within the slum and taught BIble stories, and played games with the children. It was super super fun.

So ya, during this time we work ALOT with children ( = lots of fun and laughs). It was great! If it was at all possible, I wold love to go back and visit the school and see all the kids, and teacher again!

 Success, another blog post DONE!! =P

BANGKOK!

After travelling FOREVER!(you would think there would be a bus station right at the boarder, but i guess that would jsut make too much sense--so we had to find a bus, then we may have gotten off the bus at the wrong place, then the taxi may have gotten really really lost, and then when we finally did arrive, we may have been sent to a tetally different place becasue of communication mix-ups)....BUT we did arrive in Bangkok safely, success!! :)
We stayed at a place called ARK International--it is a YWAM ministry based out of Perth. IT was amazing!-- thick mattresses, washing machines, air con(!!!), in a really safe neighbourhood( = lots of walks!), near a mall, and (best of all) there was toilet paper--and you could flush it down the toilet!!!!!! Woot woot!
 So anyway, my frist impressions of BAngkok: huge, busy, lots of malls (consumerism galore), really delicious food, IKEA(lol).
For 2 weeks we helped out serving at a COunselling Seminar which was held by ARK INternational. So our team did things like getting the food ready, serving out food, setting up tables, making coffee, washing dishes, keeping hte bathrooms clean, etc... It was so much fun, not even joking. I love it. And guess what? I am now a professonal fruit cutter. Yep, that's right, i can cut papaya and guava and mango and pineapple like it is no body's buisness. Me and Yantsu are now also professional cutlery rollers. We are so fast it is redicilous. AND our whole team has turned into pro dish washers. No dish washers here! :) Success.
I really enjoyed helping out at the seminar---but they were loooooooong 11hr days, so it was exhausing. BUt we all really got to know each other, after havign to spend that much time together! On Saturdays we joined a Rugby Sprots ministry. They teach children from the slums Rugby (and in taht teamwork, perseverance, dicipline, etc...), as well as teaching a short English class, and a Bible(or morals) class. IT was super super fun hangin out with the kids, and teaching, and playing. Yep yep yep, it was fun fun fun :) Anywhos, i don't really know if there is much more to say about that 'leg of the journey'..... So bye

first week in poipet........ DTS outreach!

HEllo everyone!

This first week in Poipet has been really really good!
We are stay at a Pator's home/ministry --and we are helping out in his ministry as well He works alot with children from the slums and villages--so this week we have been helping by teaching English classes and visiting people in their villages.  We also do 3hrs of evangelizm everyday.......we have met such cool people!! I love talking to people and hearing their stories. I got to go back and visit some of the people I met last time we were in Poipet.  :)

It has been pretty interesting on the streets of Poipet this week because it is Khmer New Year!! Which means the city shuts down, and it is a big party here.....
there is water fights on the streets, and people throw baby powder on each other, and there is music , and dancing!  IT is a hoot and a half!

not much else to say........

I hope you all are doing wonderful :)