It is funny that one day you feel that God is speaking to you through the words of an 11 year old Indian girl and a few days later the very same girl tells you that long hair isn't "suitable for you because you're fat." Apparently, there is no one on the planet more blunt than an 11 year old Indian girl. One day she may be speaking the very words of God and the next she may be telling you in her nicest fashion that you're a bit portly. I couldn't seem to find it in my heart to be upset with her because it was, in reality, a very funny situation.
That seems to be a recurring theme while I am here though. I heard my Singaporean friend Tiffany say, "before we leave I want to see Seth mad or at least frustrated because he is so mellow." My Canadian friend Hailey said last nite as a small group of us we sat on the patio of a Malaysian resaurant that she "apologizes for her sharp comments" because it was her goal to make me mad and it was getting under her skin that it "seemed impossible to." I have clarified here that the only people that make me mad are my brother and my best friends. So as it stands, I haven't made myself out to be a liar, or I haven't opened myself up enough for the people around me to get really close to me. I am still going to work on the first though.
Tomorrow in our lectures Jeff and Diane Littleton, the couple that I smuggled drugs in the country for (or vitamins and supplements if you want to call them that), will be heading up our class. Jeff will be doing an individual prayer time with each of us where he will be using his gift of prophecy to pray over us. It will be a very interesting class. I am anxious to hear what he says in regards to me.
We also have books supplied by the staff we are suppose to be reading. I love reading but it is SO hard to read a book you are told you have to read. I felt the same in high school. Honestly, I figured out that in the first book there were skeletal outlines at the end of each chapter explaining the contents of the particular chapter. I cheated. I'm not sorry either. I got the main idea of each chapter without inconveniencing myself with the superfluous examples. The second book is a bit more interesting though. It is by Loren Cunningham, the guy that started YWAM. It is called, Is That Really You, God? It is a pretty good read and I have read most of it in my free time today. I made the decision that procrastination was something I was going to work on so I'm putting that into practice because it isn't required to have this book read for another two weeks. If I finish this one early, I'll be able to continue reading the books I brought and WANT to read.
I do want to say sorry for the lack of pictures lately. I promise I will try to get with it.
I think that pretty much sums up my thoughts and feelings for the day. I'm going to continue on with this book so hopefully I can be done by tomorrow. Thanks for reading!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The mother side of the Father
I'm sorry that yesterday I couldn't post anything but I had a terribly busy day. I was on my feet pretty much from breakfast to bedtime.
We had a pretty good continuation on the father heart of God yesterday but we shifted gears today and started on a whole new playing field. Today we discussed the mother heart of God. I have to say, honestly, I never thought of God from that perspective and I learned a lot about the mother side of the Father today. A bit of a paradox I know, but it was incredible. We also discussed the four types of love today: Agape, Phileo, Eros and Storge (with the main focus on storge). It felt a little irrelevant to me because I have never felt that I lacked the love of a mother or a father. I could understand the need for today's lesson though, due to the fact that there is someone in our class who is the survivor of an abortion. A pretty powerful testimony they have.
I signed up to be a member of the worship team. I hadn't played a guitar in a while, I have to admit, but when I sat down and began to play I felt that I was in the right place. The songs are a bit old fashioned at times but it doesn't matter to me like it once did. I enjoy playing the songs now for the message behind them. It is funny that I am realizing that a lot of my prerebellion stage was mostly just me jumping through hoops. I didn't recognize it then but I do now. I am thankful for where I am, where I have been and who I am because of it.
Also, I'd like to thank the Shingletons for making fun of my darkest hour. Who knew that Habanero sauce was a weakness of mine. If you eat at Sticky Fingers remember me! Thanks for reading!
We had a pretty good continuation on the father heart of God yesterday but we shifted gears today and started on a whole new playing field. Today we discussed the mother heart of God. I have to say, honestly, I never thought of God from that perspective and I learned a lot about the mother side of the Father today. A bit of a paradox I know, but it was incredible. We also discussed the four types of love today: Agape, Phileo, Eros and Storge (with the main focus on storge). It felt a little irrelevant to me because I have never felt that I lacked the love of a mother or a father. I could understand the need for today's lesson though, due to the fact that there is someone in our class who is the survivor of an abortion. A pretty powerful testimony they have.
I signed up to be a member of the worship team. I hadn't played a guitar in a while, I have to admit, but when I sat down and began to play I felt that I was in the right place. The songs are a bit old fashioned at times but it doesn't matter to me like it once did. I enjoy playing the songs now for the message behind them. It is funny that I am realizing that a lot of my prerebellion stage was mostly just me jumping through hoops. I didn't recognize it then but I do now. I am thankful for where I am, where I have been and who I am because of it.
Also, I'd like to thank the Shingletons for making fun of my darkest hour. Who knew that Habanero sauce was a weakness of mine. If you eat at Sticky Fingers remember me! Thanks for reading!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Your Weekend Update
I sat here for a bit skimming over the previous posts realizing that I haven't made any sort of a response to the comments that I have been getting. Thanks to everyone who has left encouragement on here, it gives me an affirmation that what I am doing is for something much bigger than I am, something I especially need to be reminded of on a fairly frequent basis. You might not have realized it, but you have played a large part in keeping me in line. It makes me feel good as well to know that I have given people a reason to examine themselves and look deeper into things that can be done for the kingdom. Two years ago I would have laughed if I was told this was where I would be, maybe even had a few colorful words in regards to the matter.
I will do a little weekend update since I didn't post any new information between Friday and now. On Saturday we woke up at the awful hour of 6 so we could be at a Methodist boys school to participate in a basketball clinic. The clinic was specifically for charity and RM350,000 was raised. That's equivalent to approximately $100,000 (hard to say for sure because of the fluctuation of the US dollar). RM50,000 went to a ministry run solely by YWAM staff in downtown Georgetown called "Kawan" that exists to serve homeless drug addicts, most of them addicted to heroine due to its easy accessibility. Who knew that we would be playing teams with Yao Ming look-alikes? We got beat like a drum in every game we played. We do, however, hold the YWAM record for most points scored in one game: 4. I was so proud of our teams capability of breaking previously set records. I truly hope we set the bar high for the next contenders. We did go see the new Tim Burton flick Sweeney Todd. It was fair. Much more graphic, although noticeably fake, than I thought it was going to be, with a very ironically tragic ending.
On Sunday I went to the church that I have been going to and took a student friend on the promise of a short service and a free lunch. Yes, unfortunately I was trying to sell the church to my friends so I didn't have to go alone. I was humbled in the sight of the Lord as it was the church's 15th anniversary and the service was double in length. The lunch was good though so I could still claim delivering 50% of the deal. Then back home for napping until 6 when we went to a "western" restaurant for our friend Tiffany's birthday. The coconut, pineapple juice and fried ice cream I had were wonderful; the 9 french fries I had were mediocre. The chicken wasn't bad. Though it's a rare necessity, you can make anything here taste okay if you just add chili sauce so that the food just burns your mouth and you concentrate more on the pain than the taste. Don't let anyone tell you their are no solutions to your problems.
Today we had some more lectures on the father heart of God and how our representations of our earthly parents reflect our opinions and feelings on our Heavenly Father. It was a good lesson but the types of parents we discussed were not really good representations of my parents. I guess I have had a pretty easy time growing up, even when I thought otherwise. Then we had the lunch that I of course just drowned in chili sauce.
Now here I sit thinking of other things I can add, but as far as I can tell you are all completely updated. Once again, I appreciate the encouragement and thanks for reading!
I will do a little weekend update since I didn't post any new information between Friday and now. On Saturday we woke up at the awful hour of 6 so we could be at a Methodist boys school to participate in a basketball clinic. The clinic was specifically for charity and RM350,000 was raised. That's equivalent to approximately $100,000 (hard to say for sure because of the fluctuation of the US dollar). RM50,000 went to a ministry run solely by YWAM staff in downtown Georgetown called "Kawan" that exists to serve homeless drug addicts, most of them addicted to heroine due to its easy accessibility. Who knew that we would be playing teams with Yao Ming look-alikes? We got beat like a drum in every game we played. We do, however, hold the YWAM record for most points scored in one game: 4. I was so proud of our teams capability of breaking previously set records. I truly hope we set the bar high for the next contenders. We did go see the new Tim Burton flick Sweeney Todd. It was fair. Much more graphic, although noticeably fake, than I thought it was going to be, with a very ironically tragic ending.
On Sunday I went to the church that I have been going to and took a student friend on the promise of a short service and a free lunch. Yes, unfortunately I was trying to sell the church to my friends so I didn't have to go alone. I was humbled in the sight of the Lord as it was the church's 15th anniversary and the service was double in length. The lunch was good though so I could still claim delivering 50% of the deal. Then back home for napping until 6 when we went to a "western" restaurant for our friend Tiffany's birthday. The coconut, pineapple juice and fried ice cream I had were wonderful; the 9 french fries I had were mediocre. The chicken wasn't bad. Though it's a rare necessity, you can make anything here taste okay if you just add chili sauce so that the food just burns your mouth and you concentrate more on the pain than the taste. Don't let anyone tell you their are no solutions to your problems.
Today we had some more lectures on the father heart of God and how our representations of our earthly parents reflect our opinions and feelings on our Heavenly Father. It was a good lesson but the types of parents we discussed were not really good representations of my parents. I guess I have had a pretty easy time growing up, even when I thought otherwise. Then we had the lunch that I of course just drowned in chili sauce.
Now here I sit thinking of other things I can add, but as far as I can tell you are all completely updated. Once again, I appreciate the encouragement and thanks for reading!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Sin, Repentance and Potato Salad.
Today we had a pretty meaningful class of just confession and repentance. We wrote down lists of the things we have done in the past and I learned that apparently Asians idea of rebellion is much different than mine. That's okay though, they shared from the heart, and since we agreed on confidentiality, I will stop there. We wrote all of our wrongs on a piece of paper and told our stories than nailed them to a cross. After everyone went (which took about 8 hours for six of us guys ha), we burned the paper to be "set free." It was a well spent 8 hours I must say.
Then on to our "freedom" supper. A bit of a hokey title I know, but I have not been so happy since I have been here as I was tonite. We had excellent, authentically grilled food. Sausages, chicken and lamb. I took charge of making the potato salad, mainly because I had the leniency of screwing it up since the Asians did not know what it was until tonite. I absolutely butchered the recipe but they loved it! They were also very impressed at my vegetable slicing ability. I don't use a cutting board and that seemed to be an intriguing stipulation to my dinner preparation for my slant-eyed cohorts. I love wowing them with my smooth, southern savvy. I have my mother to thank for the nixing of the cutting board.
After dinner we watched a movie. The Kid starring Bruce Willis. *All men reading this pardon my word choice* A "cute" movie (for lack of a better word). Half-way through the movie I heard thunder. In any normal situation I would not have panicked. I am not, after all, afraid of thunderstorms, I rather enjoy them actually. I realized, however, that the clothes that I had washed this morning were still drying on the line. Needless to say, they were washed a second time because we were a good drive away from the house. We ended up throwing football in the street with the girls anyways getting soaking wet. It made for a good night though we have a frisbie down in the drain (a place no Malaysian dares step foot). Joy was a little upset at the loss of his frisbie but my rendition of "Taps" seemed to make him feel better.
As I sit here at midnight on the couch wishing I didn't have to get up at 6 on a Saturday I'm beginning to think I should have skipped this particular post. On that note: goodnight all (or good day for those of you in America). Thank you for reading.
Then on to our "freedom" supper. A bit of a hokey title I know, but I have not been so happy since I have been here as I was tonite. We had excellent, authentically grilled food. Sausages, chicken and lamb. I took charge of making the potato salad, mainly because I had the leniency of screwing it up since the Asians did not know what it was until tonite. I absolutely butchered the recipe but they loved it! They were also very impressed at my vegetable slicing ability. I don't use a cutting board and that seemed to be an intriguing stipulation to my dinner preparation for my slant-eyed cohorts. I love wowing them with my smooth, southern savvy. I have my mother to thank for the nixing of the cutting board.
After dinner we watched a movie. The Kid starring Bruce Willis. *All men reading this pardon my word choice* A "cute" movie (for lack of a better word). Half-way through the movie I heard thunder. In any normal situation I would not have panicked. I am not, after all, afraid of thunderstorms, I rather enjoy them actually. I realized, however, that the clothes that I had washed this morning were still drying on the line. Needless to say, they were washed a second time because we were a good drive away from the house. We ended up throwing football in the street with the girls anyways getting soaking wet. It made for a good night though we have a frisbie down in the drain (a place no Malaysian dares step foot). Joy was a little upset at the loss of his frisbie but my rendition of "Taps" seemed to make him feel better.
As I sit here at midnight on the couch wishing I didn't have to get up at 6 on a Saturday I'm beginning to think I should have skipped this particular post. On that note: goodnight all (or good day for those of you in America). Thank you for reading.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Flied Lice and Thaipusam.
I am going to begin this post with a bit of a comedic anecdote, but then I will take a turn towards the more serious aspect of things that I have experienced lately.
Jared has been teaching me how to speak Chinese-English and we have been working really hard to abolish my use of the letter "R." Today we ate "flied lice" and yesterday we discussed "supplies pahties." He also told me, "When we go to Thailand watch out for ladies saying 'massage sir, good plice!'" It has been really good learning this new dialect.
Now for the more serious aspect of recent experiences: Yesterday I had a free afternoon. After lectures were through at 1 O'Clock, I was free so I decided that I was going to cycle down to the Hindu festival of Thaipusam. For those who don't know what this festival is, it is a Hindu celebration of Lord Murugan's, the youngest son of Shiva and Parvathi's, birthday. To celebrate, many Tamil Indians will shave their heads and carry large pots of milk. But, the extreme "devotees" will go through a process of mortification of the flesh to symbolize the lance that Murugan, who is the Hindu god of war, was given by his parents to vanquish the demon Soorapadman. To celebrate this, they take large metal spikes and pierce it through both cheeks and large metal hooks and pierce the flesh on their backs and tie ropes to the end of the hooks. Some "devotees" even walk on broken glass or hot coals, but often times they are ridiculed for taking this too far with acts that are too dangerous and contrary to the spirit of Hinduism. Needless to say there was none of this firewalking at the festival I was at.
As I walked around this festival, that I had to cycle about 8 Kilometers up and down hills the whole way, to get to I realized how lost these people truly were. There was a heaviness in the air that felt as though I were being pushed down at my chest. I can't begin to tell you how uncomfortable this feeling was. I think I should say, that I have lived a "sheltered" life that I am thankful to my parents for and I haven't really been in the position of seeing people kneeling in shrines worshipping dead gods. It is a truly painful feeling when you know that everyone around you is completely lost. These Hindus need I think some of the heaviest prayer. With many other religions you have to sway the beleivers from one dead god but with hinduism there are tons of gods that they worship. It really was something I'm glad I chose to go to because God really gave me a glimpse of how broken His heart is for these people. I'm also glad that I will never feel like I want to go back.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Today I realized that God breathes poetry.
First and foremost, I would like to express my anger with the super bowl match-up for this year. I picked a great year to leave the country.
Now on to the more important things. We started our second official week of class today. Instead of doing a week on "Sin, Repentence and Restitution" as I said we were, we are combining next week with this week so it is also the "Father heart of God" lectures. Richard Jones from England did our teaching today and he showed us a bit of a shocking video of a symbolic gesture they did at a school of biblical studies in Indonesia. They sacrificed a goat in the video, the grunting of the goat when his throat was cut is imprinted in my brain forever. I'm glad I lived after Jesus died for me. I am actually really excited about these next two weeks of lectures though.
Today we began discussing the Father's heart and what it was like when God stopped speaking things into existence and got his hands dirty to create humankind. Then we discussed the breath of God entering into Adam and for the first time ever blood pumped through veins, eyes surveyed surroundings, fingers twitched and joints bent as God stood there admiring his creation. That is the best definition of poetry I have ever heard. The depth is captivating. It reminded me a little of a scene from an episode of Family Guy when a man is reading too much into a symbol of art and a white robed white beard version of God says "That's nothing!...Have you seen your circulatory system?!" I think too much we try to analyze God's creation instead of admiring it. What a sad waste.
I have noticed that the weekends tend to be a little rough for myself. The downtime gives me nothing to do but sit and think about home and what I could be doing instead of being on the other side of the world. So I'm asking that on the weekends you say a short prayer that the enemy doesn't get a good grip on me. Remember I am technically living in your future by 14 hours! Thank you for reading I will try to have some more pictures up soon!
Now on to the more important things. We started our second official week of class today. Instead of doing a week on "Sin, Repentence and Restitution" as I said we were, we are combining next week with this week so it is also the "Father heart of God" lectures. Richard Jones from England did our teaching today and he showed us a bit of a shocking video of a symbolic gesture they did at a school of biblical studies in Indonesia. They sacrificed a goat in the video, the grunting of the goat when his throat was cut is imprinted in my brain forever. I'm glad I lived after Jesus died for me. I am actually really excited about these next two weeks of lectures though.
Today we began discussing the Father's heart and what it was like when God stopped speaking things into existence and got his hands dirty to create humankind. Then we discussed the breath of God entering into Adam and for the first time ever blood pumped through veins, eyes surveyed surroundings, fingers twitched and joints bent as God stood there admiring his creation. That is the best definition of poetry I have ever heard. The depth is captivating. It reminded me a little of a scene from an episode of Family Guy when a man is reading too much into a symbol of art and a white robed white beard version of God says "That's nothing!...Have you seen your circulatory system?!" I think too much we try to analyze God's creation instead of admiring it. What a sad waste.
I have noticed that the weekends tend to be a little rough for myself. The downtime gives me nothing to do but sit and think about home and what I could be doing instead of being on the other side of the world. So I'm asking that on the weekends you say a short prayer that the enemy doesn't get a good grip on me. Remember I am technically living in your future by 14 hours! Thank you for reading I will try to have some more pictures up soon!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Week 2 at Hillside Baptist.
Today was the 2nd time I have been to church since I have been here in Asia. It is nothing at all like church back home. A little bit more "old school," and that is the most technical I can get. I'm sitting here listening to Bob Dylan now closing out my day and it's been one of the best endings since I have been here.
They say that you don't get good at things overnight and apparently that's true. Apparently also Malaysian praise and worship bands don't get better over the course of a week. Bless their hearts they love what they do and so does everyone in the crowd but I guess I have come up a bit spoiled on worship bands. They sound a little like a train hitting a herd of cattle. Not so good but they are praising God and who am I to criticize?
I did offer to play in the band but you have to have your own instrument and I didn't have the heart to tell poor Dominic that I wasn't going to purchase a guitar for the time that I was here. All the Asians and Canadians alike that go to HBC want me to play in the band now that they know I'm from Nashville. I'm not too worried about it though, maybe I can just give tips and stay behind the scenes.
Then we sat around as a group and got into a spiritual discussion. I noticed that I get irritated in arguments so i "gracefully bowed out" of the conversation so as to avoid frustration. Also I hate that I was immature once driving my parents insane because immaturity drives me the the brink of insanity. It's okay though I feel much better now.
They say that you don't get good at things overnight and apparently that's true. Apparently also Malaysian praise and worship bands don't get better over the course of a week. Bless their hearts they love what they do and so does everyone in the crowd but I guess I have come up a bit spoiled on worship bands. They sound a little like a train hitting a herd of cattle. Not so good but they are praising God and who am I to criticize?
I did offer to play in the band but you have to have your own instrument and I didn't have the heart to tell poor Dominic that I wasn't going to purchase a guitar for the time that I was here. All the Asians and Canadians alike that go to HBC want me to play in the band now that they know I'm from Nashville. I'm not too worried about it though, maybe I can just give tips and stay behind the scenes.
Then we sat around as a group and got into a spiritual discussion. I noticed that I get irritated in arguments so i "gracefully bowed out" of the conversation so as to avoid frustration. Also I hate that I was immature once driving my parents insane because immaturity drives me the the brink of insanity. It's okay though I feel much better now.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Brad Pitt and Beautiful Beaches
Today was an incredibly full day. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera (I'm sorry everyone). It wasn't anything we won't do again though so fear not (maybe I can talk everyone into reenacting).
We went to 2 movies in 2 days. Jared and I picked both and we apparently are terrible at picking movies. The first day we went and saw a movie called "Gabriel," a movie about fighting angels and demons and the had guns, possibly the worst movie ever. Today we decided on the movie "In The Name Of The King." A slight bit better but our aim didn't improve much. It had everything: set in midevil times and one person spoke with an English accent (the rest didn't), there were ladies that swung from vines in trees, chinese acrobat ninjas, and the bad guys were an army of ninja turtles controlled by a magician played by Ray Liotta. You can imagine what a box office smash this movie was.
After Jared and I agreed to never pick a movie again we took a bus to Batu Feringgi. That is where the night markets are. We walked into a resort like we owned it and were hasseled by hotel staff and people trying to rent us jet ski's or kuda's (horses). tehn we walked down possibly the most beautiful beach I have ever been on. Then we shopped around and I got a pair of Ray-Bans for $5, can you believe that?! I'm not that stupid I know they are fake, but Yee Vonne, one of the Chinese girls here told me I looked like Brad Pitt with them on. Apparently I'm in the right place, and it's a good thing when all white people look alike I have found out. There wasn't a whole lot of apologetical bible study or discernment about today just a lot of walking around. It was a lot of fun though. Soon I'll be heading to bed since I have church in the morning. Thanks for reading!
We went to 2 movies in 2 days. Jared and I picked both and we apparently are terrible at picking movies. The first day we went and saw a movie called "Gabriel," a movie about fighting angels and demons and the had guns, possibly the worst movie ever. Today we decided on the movie "In The Name Of The King." A slight bit better but our aim didn't improve much. It had everything: set in midevil times and one person spoke with an English accent (the rest didn't), there were ladies that swung from vines in trees, chinese acrobat ninjas, and the bad guys were an army of ninja turtles controlled by a magician played by Ray Liotta. You can imagine what a box office smash this movie was.
After Jared and I agreed to never pick a movie again we took a bus to Batu Feringgi. That is where the night markets are. We walked into a resort like we owned it and were hasseled by hotel staff and people trying to rent us jet ski's or kuda's (horses). tehn we walked down possibly the most beautiful beach I have ever been on. Then we shopped around and I got a pair of Ray-Bans for $5, can you believe that?! I'm not that stupid I know they are fake, but Yee Vonne, one of the Chinese girls here told me I looked like Brad Pitt with them on. Apparently I'm in the right place, and it's a good thing when all white people look alike I have found out. There wasn't a whole lot of apologetical bible study or discernment about today just a lot of walking around. It was a lot of fun though. Soon I'll be heading to bed since I have church in the morning. Thanks for reading!
Friday, January 18, 2008
The great barrier...language.
Today has actually been great so far. We did the normal routine but I felt much better than I've been feeling and I've had more of an appetite (I actually enjoyed the noodles at lunch today). My stomach seems to have calmed down a bit and now I'm getting the swing of Asian life. When I'm home in June don't be annoyed if I say "la" after every sentence. It's just one of the idiosynchrocies here and I'm afraid it's catching on.
Last night we did the first little "evangelism" event as a group. I didn't do much of anything because I speak only enough phrases in Bahasa to greet people and ask if they've eaten yet. I don't even know the answers to those questions either. We walked about 30 minutes away up the side of one of the mountains close by into some new housing developments. All of the buildings are unfinished and there are many construction workers that work all day. The rub is that most of the construction workers are illegal immigrants from all over SE Asia who live in the unfinished buildings. I talked to Cambodians, Bengalis, Myanmarese, Indonesians, and Indians personally (actually not personally, via a translator). They all left their homes because of political or family problems. They're all also muslims. They were very accepting of us though and we sat right down and hung out with them. It was a great experience save the many men walking down to the buildings with plumbing in just towels to take showers (a couple even just bathing in stalls with no shame). They were very talkative and asked a lot of questions and apparently they never refuse prayer.
Unfortunately, we won't be going to the same place next week. We will be heading into downtown Georgetown again. That'll be fun as well though.
Well today was our last lecture on hearing God's voice and next week we will begin lectures on "Sin, Repentance, and Restitution." Can I get a hacking, pentecostal "Amen"? That'll be fun I believe. Well I think I'm about typed out so I'll continue hopefully with some pictures of the outreach today or tomorrow. Going to see a movie tonight though! Thanks for reading!
Last night we did the first little "evangelism" event as a group. I didn't do much of anything because I speak only enough phrases in Bahasa to greet people and ask if they've eaten yet. I don't even know the answers to those questions either. We walked about 30 minutes away up the side of one of the mountains close by into some new housing developments. All of the buildings are unfinished and there are many construction workers that work all day. The rub is that most of the construction workers are illegal immigrants from all over SE Asia who live in the unfinished buildings. I talked to Cambodians, Bengalis, Myanmarese, Indonesians, and Indians personally (actually not personally, via a translator). They all left their homes because of political or family problems. They're all also muslims. They were very accepting of us though and we sat right down and hung out with them. It was a great experience save the many men walking down to the buildings with plumbing in just towels to take showers (a couple even just bathing in stalls with no shame). They were very talkative and asked a lot of questions and apparently they never refuse prayer.
Unfortunately, we won't be going to the same place next week. We will be heading into downtown Georgetown again. That'll be fun as well though.
Well today was our last lecture on hearing God's voice and next week we will begin lectures on "Sin, Repentance, and Restitution." Can I get a hacking, pentecostal "Amen"? That'll be fun I believe. Well I think I'm about typed out so I'll continue hopefully with some pictures of the outreach today or tomorrow. Going to see a movie tonight though! Thanks for reading!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A Few More Pics
The Classroom
From left to right: Richard, Jared, Joanna and Tiffany
Adrian and Joy
It takes a pretty long time for Seth to upload pictures, so they seem to come just a few at a time. So, here's what I have for now.
Malaysian culture to the extreme!
Last night 10 of the other students and I went down to the mall. We waited on the bus for about an hour and then got on the bus and the driver pulled into the bus station so he could take a bathroom break. We then stopped at the gas station for the bus driver to fill up the bus. After about an hour anf a half we got to the mall.
While at the gas station I decided to go in and get a Red Bull (which are not as good here). They were out so I picked up the best other option ( an energy drink in a red can). I payed for it and then drank about half of it, due to its small stature and got on the bus. My friend Jared looked at me and said "Oh no, is that Tongkat Ali?" Sure enough it was. I knew I had made a mistake when every Asian on the bus laughed hysterically at me. I then proceeded to question Jared about tongkat ali. Come to find out this tongkat ali is much like a Malay version of viagra and mostly old people drink it. Moral of this story: When in Asia, make honest Asians help you buy things. Though they assured me it was okay to drink we agreed on the fact I would buy no more tongkat ali drinks.
Then we went to the shopping mall, where we actually only played pool. It was fun but I can play pool back home, and everyone back home knows how to play.
The next stop was the Hokker food stalls on the side of the road. Very similar to a food court in a mall back home but its outside and there are about 50 stalls where you can get different food. Needless to say, I had Jared order my food and I got a pretty decent bowl of noodles and a drink called "Lychee" (sweet water with ugly fruit in it) for about $1.25. Then came the new foods. I had had squid before but never to the extent of the squid being a whole squid from tentacles to tip. It was really good though. Then I tried the stingwray. Quite tasty but I almost broke my tooth on a stingwray bone (who knew stingwrays had bones?..because I didn't). Finally, one of the girls we were with ordered some food I had never seen, it was her favorite apparently. It was chicken "backside." It was really decent to eat but I think I can eat a drumstick and get the same effect.
This morning my stomach hates me.
Well I'm off to worship and then to lectures. Thanks for reading!
While at the gas station I decided to go in and get a Red Bull (which are not as good here). They were out so I picked up the best other option ( an energy drink in a red can). I payed for it and then drank about half of it, due to its small stature and got on the bus. My friend Jared looked at me and said "Oh no, is that Tongkat Ali?" Sure enough it was. I knew I had made a mistake when every Asian on the bus laughed hysterically at me. I then proceeded to question Jared about tongkat ali. Come to find out this tongkat ali is much like a Malay version of viagra and mostly old people drink it. Moral of this story: When in Asia, make honest Asians help you buy things. Though they assured me it was okay to drink we agreed on the fact I would buy no more tongkat ali drinks.
Then we went to the shopping mall, where we actually only played pool. It was fun but I can play pool back home, and everyone back home knows how to play.
The next stop was the Hokker food stalls on the side of the road. Very similar to a food court in a mall back home but its outside and there are about 50 stalls where you can get different food. Needless to say, I had Jared order my food and I got a pretty decent bowl of noodles and a drink called "Lychee" (sweet water with ugly fruit in it) for about $1.25. Then came the new foods. I had had squid before but never to the extent of the squid being a whole squid from tentacles to tip. It was really good though. Then I tried the stingwray. Quite tasty but I almost broke my tooth on a stingwray bone (who knew stingwrays had bones?..because I didn't). Finally, one of the girls we were with ordered some food I had never seen, it was her favorite apparently. It was chicken "backside." It was really decent to eat but I think I can eat a drumstick and get the same effect.
This morning my stomach hates me.
Well I'm off to worship and then to lectures. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
I can't think of a decent title.
Today after our class we had a session where we broke into groups to encourage each other. I was told that I looked like a bouncer outside of a nightclub that people know not to mess with HA! I was also told that God was going to work with me just as I was and that i didn't have to look for him or try to perform to get his love. That's pretty encouraging if I say so myself.
The days are beginning to move a little faster which I think I am thankful for. I would like to get back home but it is starting to become a family thing than just a bunch of people from all over the world. So far I have a great friend Jared who is Chinese and we have gotten along from the start. His friendship has encouraged me in a brotherly way and it is getting easier to enjoy it.
I have been taking many, many pictures and soon will have them posted (hopefully in the next 24 hours). I also have a "unspoken" prayer request that I would like to ask everyone back home to pray for. It pertains to back home it is just a little personal for a friend and I don't want to expose any information I shouldn't. Thanks everyone! I am off to small groups.
The days are beginning to move a little faster which I think I am thankful for. I would like to get back home but it is starting to become a family thing than just a bunch of people from all over the world. So far I have a great friend Jared who is Chinese and we have gotten along from the start. His friendship has encouraged me in a brotherly way and it is getting easier to enjoy it.
I have been taking many, many pictures and soon will have them posted (hopefully in the next 24 hours). I also have a "unspoken" prayer request that I would like to ask everyone back home to pray for. It pertains to back home it is just a little personal for a friend and I don't want to expose any information I shouldn't. Thanks everyone! I am off to small groups.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Maximum Malaysia...a little hard to swallow.
I don't know if the time is just catching up to me or what, but today I felt absolutely drained. Apparently I was giving off that vibe since a few staff members asked if I was okay. After much restlesness and almost falling asleep in class I got a couple hours of rest but one of my roommates turned the fan off on me so I woke up feeling fresh out of the shower. I don't know if it is the time difference catching up to me or just exhaustion from trying to automatically be adjusted since day 1.
We're in pretty heavy on the hearing God's voice topic and it is cool. All of the teachers keep saying, "This YWAM thing is gonna go by so fast, don't blink." I think that's only true if you're close to home like many of my classmates, because my days are creeping by at the pace of a sloth (slowest animal on the entire Earth in case you didn't know). I am enjoying it though so far. I am just keeping myself pumped for outreach. It seems that everybody here wants to go to Nepal though, which may not be a great situation since if everyone goes to Nepal there will be no one else going to the other places. We'll see what happens though.
I love Asian food but imagine eating rice and noodles every meal. That's the position that I am in right now. I am trying real hard to get adjusted to it but it seems that with every meal I lose a little more of my once ferocious appetite. That isn't all that bad though I don't think.
I love reading the comments they make me feel really good about where I am at and what I am doing, but I still want to see my baby sister more than anything in the world right now. The pictures just don't do it like the real thing does. Soon enough though, soon enough. I love you all, and thanks for reading and commenting in such a devout fashion!
P.S. - Fun Fact, my brithday is actually on Malaysian Independence Day
P.P.S. - Ryan and James, I should be back for the reunion trip just to let you know.
We're in pretty heavy on the hearing God's voice topic and it is cool. All of the teachers keep saying, "This YWAM thing is gonna go by so fast, don't blink." I think that's only true if you're close to home like many of my classmates, because my days are creeping by at the pace of a sloth (slowest animal on the entire Earth in case you didn't know). I am enjoying it though so far. I am just keeping myself pumped for outreach. It seems that everybody here wants to go to Nepal though, which may not be a great situation since if everyone goes to Nepal there will be no one else going to the other places. We'll see what happens though.
I love Asian food but imagine eating rice and noodles every meal. That's the position that I am in right now. I am trying real hard to get adjusted to it but it seems that with every meal I lose a little more of my once ferocious appetite. That isn't all that bad though I don't think.
I love reading the comments they make me feel really good about where I am at and what I am doing, but I still want to see my baby sister more than anything in the world right now. The pictures just don't do it like the real thing does. Soon enough though, soon enough. I love you all, and thanks for reading and commenting in such a devout fashion!
P.S. - Fun Fact, my brithday is actually on Malaysian Independence Day
P.P.S. - Ryan and James, I should be back for the reunion trip just to let you know.
A Few Pics
My House-Welcome to the jungle!
Spy Van Transport
Hotel - Georgetown, not too sure about the rates or the or the star rating?!?!?!?!
A Very Important Sign!
Buddhist Temple
Now thats what I call incense!
My Indian friend - John, in Little India
Monday, January 14, 2008
Just another day on the opposite side of the world.
There are geckos everywhere just running around inside, but that's beside the point. This is the jungle after all, and I don't even have the Guns 'n' Roses tune on my iPod.
Before I left I was talking to dad about how I felt that I was suppose to be a part of something big. Also, I talked to several different friends about a Donald Miller lecture I heard where he said the God doesn't close doors on anything and that if a door is closed it is our responsibility as christians to kick down the door. During our morning worship meeting today, a couple different staff members prayed over everyone individually. One of the fellows that prayed over me was a man named Richard and he has been in Malaysia for a good amount of years (originally from England though). He went on to pray many thing about my character and how I am the kind of person that will be a pioneer for the faith and I will lead people into places that others cannot go and I will have to go there first to open the doors because as doors are closed I am the type that will "kick them down." He also said something about a vast amount of leadership he sees and that no matter how I've used the skills in the past, God is refining me to use them solely for him. I was shocked as he prayed and then said he could see all this in me. Now I think I'm just beside myself. He also told me after we prayed "I know that God's got really big plans for you and they're bigger than you or I can imagine." Needless to say I have been super encouraged all throughout the day.
We started our first classes today and they are being led by an African-American man who is a missionary in China. He is a pretty radical guy. It seems no matter how homesick I get or how much I miss my family and friends, I am always encouraged in the strangest ways. I love being here but I still cant wait until June. It will be so good to see everyone's faces... and I've only been gone a week.
Before I left I was talking to dad about how I felt that I was suppose to be a part of something big. Also, I talked to several different friends about a Donald Miller lecture I heard where he said the God doesn't close doors on anything and that if a door is closed it is our responsibility as christians to kick down the door. During our morning worship meeting today, a couple different staff members prayed over everyone individually. One of the fellows that prayed over me was a man named Richard and he has been in Malaysia for a good amount of years (originally from England though). He went on to pray many thing about my character and how I am the kind of person that will be a pioneer for the faith and I will lead people into places that others cannot go and I will have to go there first to open the doors because as doors are closed I am the type that will "kick them down." He also said something about a vast amount of leadership he sees and that no matter how I've used the skills in the past, God is refining me to use them solely for him. I was shocked as he prayed and then said he could see all this in me. Now I think I'm just beside myself. He also told me after we prayed "I know that God's got really big plans for you and they're bigger than you or I can imagine." Needless to say I have been super encouraged all throughout the day.
We started our first classes today and they are being led by an African-American man who is a missionary in China. He is a pretty radical guy. It seems no matter how homesick I get or how much I miss my family and friends, I am always encouraged in the strangest ways. I love being here but I still cant wait until June. It will be so good to see everyone's faces... and I've only been gone a week.
Friday, January 11, 2008
3 Malaysians, 1 Indian, and a White Dude.
I have officially moved rooms. I have gone from having one roomate to having four, 3 Malaysians and 1 Indian. It's okay though, I enjoy my new roommates. We stayed up watching Kingdom of Heaven, but mostly Jared, from KL (Kuala Lampur), was teaching me Bahasa Malay (the official language) and I was teaching him as much Brazilian Portuguese as I could (because he already knows English). Jared is wanting him and I to travel to K L on the first Saturday in February to go see Switchfoot in concert. Who knew they would be in Malaysia when I was! Maybe it will work out. It would be a nice taste of home.
I ate one of the best meals I have ever had in my entire life yesterday and had a drink for a grand total of $1.50 in USD. That already makes Malaysia awesome. Almost every restaurant that you go to is outside under something very similar to a carport, only much much larger. They cook your food in stalls that line the edge of the carport.
It is absolutely beautiful here but it's so incredibly hot and humid that even when you are asleep you just feel damp. I am already kind of learning to live with it. Hopefully it will just sweat the pounds right off of me. Yesterday as Ed and Aafke (a married couple from Holland who are on staff here) and I were picking up two more students from the airport, there was a flight coming in from Jeddah. The airport became overwhelmingly crowded with Muslims. Ed informed me that the flight from Jeddah was a flight full of devoted Muslims returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca. It was really obvious and I should have noticed before he told me, but there were many, many proud Muslims in the airport. I felt like a spy. It made me feel really good about being a dude in a foreign country full of people who were not like me. If they only could find out more about what I believed!
I LOVE it here. I will continue to post more as it goes along. I'm off to orientation.
Terima Kasih (Thank You in Bahasa Malay),
Seth
I ate one of the best meals I have ever had in my entire life yesterday and had a drink for a grand total of $1.50 in USD. That already makes Malaysia awesome. Almost every restaurant that you go to is outside under something very similar to a carport, only much much larger. They cook your food in stalls that line the edge of the carport.
It is absolutely beautiful here but it's so incredibly hot and humid that even when you are asleep you just feel damp. I am already kind of learning to live with it. Hopefully it will just sweat the pounds right off of me. Yesterday as Ed and Aafke (a married couple from Holland who are on staff here) and I were picking up two more students from the airport, there was a flight coming in from Jeddah. The airport became overwhelmingly crowded with Muslims. Ed informed me that the flight from Jeddah was a flight full of devoted Muslims returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca. It was really obvious and I should have noticed before he told me, but there were many, many proud Muslims in the airport. I felt like a spy. It made me feel really good about being a dude in a foreign country full of people who were not like me. If they only could find out more about what I believed!
I LOVE it here. I will continue to post more as it goes along. I'm off to orientation.
Terima Kasih (Thank You in Bahasa Malay),
Seth
Thursday, January 10, 2008
He's Still Thriving!-Day #3 Coming Soon!
Seth just called a few minutes ago and said that hopefully, in the next day or so, he will have internet access in his house. Today was a national holiday there, so no one was working. He has begun his school orientation and he said that his schedule is extremely hectic. This makes it nearly impossible to get internet access because the school office where he has been getting on line closes at 4:30pm.
He is fine and hopefully he will have unlimited access in his house very soon! He has a blog post typed and is going to try and send it to me soon, along with pictures, and I will post it when I get it. Also, you may or may not have noticed that I removed his address. This is for security reasons. If you would like it, contact me and I will gladly give it to you. I'm sure that he would love some mail from home! Thank you everyone for all your support.
Amy
He is fine and hopefully he will have unlimited access in his house very soon! He has a blog post typed and is going to try and send it to me soon, along with pictures, and I will post it when I get it. Also, you may or may not have noticed that I removed his address. This is for security reasons. If you would like it, contact me and I will gladly give it to you. I'm sure that he would love some mail from home! Thank you everyone for all your support.
Amy
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Day #2
Day 2 and I'm feeling much much better after I have been rested. I had to dry off with the t-shirt I was wearing. I think the fatigue of travel was making me an emotional wreck. I'm ok now. I just need my luggage with all my pictures of the family and everything. My roommate is a Malaysian college student who speaks very broken English and the native Malay language along with four different dialects of Chinese. We went to KFC for supper yesterday. I slept fairly well though.
A trip back to the airport is on the schedule today to pick up other students and check on my luggage. I am the only student here so far. I know that there will be another American, a Canadian, an Indian and a bunch of Malaysians. Everyone on staff I have met so far is super nice. As more people get here I expect it to get better and better. My quiet time this morning was Romans 8:18. Not verbatim but something to the effect of "Our suffering that we are experiencing is nothing compared to the glory we are to receive." I definitely consider being without family and friends "suffering" of sorts. I am trying to post some pictures I hope it works!... I love you all.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Finally in Malaysia
I arrived in Malaysia to be greeted directly off the plane by a man shorter than I am to tell me that both of my suitcases are not in Malaysia and that coming back tomorrow to check on them would be best. All I can really do is pray. I didn't have any other problems entering the country and the internet connection I am temporarily using isnt very fast so I'm going to wait to put pictures up.
Just as I expected about 30 minutes ago it really hit me that I am going to be away from everyone for 5 months. I can't decide if im nervous or excited or thrilled, but I'm leaning towards the nervous side. It is HOT here!.. A welcome change from the current state of things in the south. I am pretty exhausted and trying to take everything in but its very overwhelming. I'll try to get on later tonight.
Just as I expected about 30 minutes ago it really hit me that I am going to be away from everyone for 5 months. I can't decide if im nervous or excited or thrilled, but I'm leaning towards the nervous side. It is HOT here!.. A welcome change from the current state of things in the south. I am pretty exhausted and trying to take everything in but its very overwhelming. I'll try to get on later tonight.
Monday, January 7, 2008
29 hours of travel?!
Yep. It is as bad as it sounds. I'm not particularly looking forward to these plane rides, but I am going to press on toward the goal. I'm very thankful for everyone that spoke with me at church today.
Well, I'm off to the airport. Next time you hear from me I'll be on the other side of the world. It may take me a day or two to get adjusted enough to post a blog but I promise I will, and I'll post pictures of my arrival in Malaysia! Adios America.
Well, I'm off to the airport. Next time you hear from me I'll be on the other side of the world. It may take me a day or two to get adjusted enough to post a blog but I promise I will, and I'll post pictures of my arrival in Malaysia! Adios America.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Tomorrow...You're only a day away
Tomorrow is the day. I will be "leaving on a jet plane" but as far as I know I'm returning June 16th. Malaysia bound with a purpose. I don't think I have ever been more excited in my entire life. I'm in a win-win situation. I get to tell people about Jesus AND hang out with Asian women all at the same time. It may be tough but I figured somebody had to make the sacrifice. As much as I don't keep a blog very well, or even follow e-mail for that matter, I will being doing my best to maintain a consistent blog with new pictures and information about how God is evidently working throughout southeast Asia.
As I have already said, I am absolutely thrilled about going to Asia. I would however rather take the worst beating of my life than sit on planes for more than an entire days worth of hours. I don't know that I can really count that as suffering for Christ, but if I find out I can, I assure you that it's going on my spiritual resume in bold and underlined script. I think I've said all that needed to be said today, and I still have pretty much all of my packing to do. God Bless
As I have already said, I am absolutely thrilled about going to Asia. I would however rather take the worst beating of my life than sit on planes for more than an entire days worth of hours. I don't know that I can really count that as suffering for Christ, but if I find out I can, I assure you that it's going on my spiritual resume in bold and underlined script. I think I've said all that needed to be said today, and I still have pretty much all of my packing to do. God Bless
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