Fighting lions.

I have been having a ridiculous time lately thinking of things to write and finding time to write them. I have had a pretty busy week trying to get things taken care of before our midterm outreach that is the week after next, a period of two weeks when I will not have a computer and if I can post it will be information I have given my mom over the phone and she has put on here for me. Once we are home, after the two weeks in Georgetown, we will have exactly four weeks of lectures before we leave for our outreach locations.



After a couple of Apple shop stops pertaining to my iPod, I was referred to the tech support center here in town when the other shops couldn't tell me what the problem was. After looking at the iPod for a few minutes the girl told me everything that I already knew. According to the shop, the iPod classics have been having the problem pretty frequently and she said if they couldn't fix it they would give me a new one in five to seven business days. I can't argue with that.

In my quiet time a couple of days ago, I was reading in 1 Samuel 17, and I came across the part where David is telling Saul how he can fight Goliath just as he fought the lions in the wilderness when he was shepherding his flock. God prepared David for his big fight by giving him lions to build his courage and strength. At the time, I wonder what David thought about having to deal with a lion, because I know that I would have soiled myself. David fought them like any good shepherd would have, and little did he know that every lion he fought readied him more and more for a fight against a giant to save the nation of Israel from the Philistines. After that fight, I think that David was really thankful to God for sending him the lions. I have been wondering to myself how I have handled the lions in my past and how I will handle the lions in the future, and also the giants that I will kill after being prepared by the smaller fights.. I am beginning to look forward to them instead of opposing them.

I experienced another funny thing with John. When we went to the Apple store we brought a taxi home and the driver was a Tamil fellow and John immediately began talking to this fellow in his native language. After the cab ride John and the cab driver exchanged information. Come to find out, the cab driver was a believer and listened to John and decided that it was mandatory for John to come and speak at his church. As I type this, a police car pulled up with John in the back. The police officers decided that they should check John's passport information. Everyone is in a pretty quick struggle to find John's passport, so that is all I have to say right now. Thanks for reading.

Do you understand what am I talking about?!...

...That isn't a typo either. That is the most repeated phrase that peppered our lectures today by our Singaporean speaker this week. Samuel Phun is his name, and I can already tell this is going to be the most refreshing week for myself that we have had so far. It is perfect timing coming the very first week of the second half of lectures.

Sam Phun is a large 42 year old Singaporean guy that spoke to us today in camo shorts and a baggy t-shirt. Due to his highlighted, spiked hair, that fit his fashion well, fixed (not combed at all) into mullet form, I felt connected immediately of course. His topic is evangelism, and he presents it very differently than many people I have heard speak about the topic before. He is the pastor of a church in Singapore and the biggest ministry he heads up is a prison ministry. One of the fellow leaders in his church is a convicted murderer that spent 14 years in prison! Talk about someone who accepts everybody and their love of God for what it is, not who they are!

Sam talked to the class today about evangelism and how the techniques will always change but the message will not. He was very heavy on the fact that how we share Jesus is going to be so different from generation to generation, but the fact that Jesus is the one we are sharing always makes the central message essentially the same, no matter the presentation. I felt a little awkward and exuberant at the same time as he pointed out to our class that I had a better chance to connect with people of our generation than anyone else in the class. He asked our class why he thought that, and after several guesses such as, "He's white," "He speaks English" and "He knows how to talk to people," he came out and revealed that it was my style. He said college students around here would open up to me a lot easier than they would many of the other people in our class because of my appearance. This is what I have been screaming from the start.

I am in no way advocating that anyone or their children to go and get visible tattoos or wear any certain style of clothing (thus washing my hands from the responsibility of other's choices!), but I agree that there are certain people out there that I would be able to present the gospel to in a public, non-religious setting much better than my dad would be able to. I'm not saying that he couldn't either, I'm just saying it might be easier for someone my age to open up to me than some other people out there. My biggest question now is: How will that help me in Nepal? I don't know the answer, but I do know that I will be buying several Nepali outfits so I can fit in a little better than just being a blatant white American. Pray for me and a connection! Thanks for reading!

A boring weekend

Hello everyone, and sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days. It has been a pretty eventless few days and as a matter of fact I have had more than enough time to post but unfortunately, I am that lazy. There hasn't been much to write about anyway, and that is how I am justifying my lack of blogging regularity.

Something near and dear to my heart is currently having some problems: my iPod. I bought it right before I left too. It is actually acting so weird on me that I took it to an Apple retailer to see if the good Mac doctor could make a diagnosis. The end result was a confusing conversation between some Asians and myself. In the end, I gathered that my iPod reads as a blank cd for some reason when it is plugged in and they couldn't do anything for me. I was, however, given a card for the Apple support center here on the island. I was told that if they could fix it they would and that if they couldn't I would get a new iPod because it is still under warranty, and either one of those options is okay with me.

After walking the girls home last night, we ran across a snake slithering across the road. Jared kept suggesting that I catch it but I wasn't interested because it was just a baby python. I told him that he was more than welcome to grab it himself and began coaching him through grabbing him. The snake didn't get picked up. We stood in the road for a little bit and looked at it and some guys on motorbikes stopped and told us that it was a python. I felt snake savvy having known previously that it was a python. This was the most riveting event that happened this weekend, save the one hour of kayaking in the ocean which led to very sunburned knees and salt-burned eyes.

Also, I have discovered that God wants me to become fat. I already told you about the roti bom that I eat on a regular basis. At first, I would have thought it a terrible thing to be on a first name basis with the Tamil fellows that run this place. It would, after all, just be a testimony of how it is easy to remember the customer that always comes and gives you money for your most fattening menu items. What I didn't think about, was the fact that all of these fellows are Muslims, and though I haven't openly sat down and asked Dahir or Ali about Jesus they have seen me with my Bible and that we have had small group Bible study there at their shop. It takes some tactics to just share with a Muslim fellow but hopefully my attitude and actions are speaking to their lives. I have two a month and a half more of eating their greasy fatty foods. I ask that you pray for my friends. Pray for my stomach too, I am getting fat in the name of Jesus anyway. Thanks for reading!

A little insight on outreach teams

That is what it looks like when an Indian and an American are soon to be "takin' care of business." It is a terrifying site to behold and I would suggest if you ever see a duo of this caliber to run for your life.

This is my buddy John. I don't even know what we are doing in this picture. The good news is, I have finally figured out how to get pictures on this blog so you may not have to rely on my poor mother's free time to see pictures of Malaysia. It is pretty sad I have been here a month and a half and just figured this out.

I am learning more and more how funny it is when God works. Everyone here at our DTS gets along, for the most part, minus a couple of minor exceptions in the past of course. One thing I learned in China is, that no matter how mature or adult everyone is, there will always be certain people that get along better with others and tend to gravitate toward one another. This is an inevitable part of life and it is the reason you have the friends you do. Certain similarities will draw you towards certain people, and it isn't always the same for others. The same thing has happened with our group here. We are not cliques, but there have been two main groups of people that do things together or hang out the most with each other. Not that we don't love the others, we just all get along so well it is hard not hang out all the time, the same with the other "group". The point is this: After a lot of prayer from the students and an even larger amount of prayer from the staff over the final decision of the outreach locations for students, God split our groups up the very same as they were naturally split by shared characteristics of personality and compatibility. Everyone is going where they feel called and it just happened to work out beautifully for everyone. That said, my travel partners are as follows: Jared, Adrian, Tiffany, Joanna, Hailey, and Leah. It is a great group and we are absolutely thrilled about travelling with each other. No word yet on exactly what we'll be doing, but if I find anything out and I can mention it on here, I will definitely keep you informed in that area.

I did say that I might be unrecognizeable because of weight loss, but the opposite might be true in reality. We have recently found a food stall closer than the previous weekly to bi-weekly food mecca site. This one has become a daily visit. The item on the menu that always gets me is the Roti Bom. Roti is a type of bread and there are tons of different kinds. Bom is a Malay word for bomb. The only exploding this little creation of Heaven does is the explosion of carmelized condensed milk when you bite into it. Possibly the best thing I have ever had and soon to have again, in about 30 minutes actually. Roti Pisang is another great one, Pisang meaning "banana." The possibility exists that I might actually be unrecognizeable due to weight gain rather than weight loss. It is going to take a diet of an incomprehensible magnitude to undo the damage done by these two dishes of solid, sugary fat. When in Rome...or Penang actually.

One of the best things to happen to me since I have been here is the iTunes purchase of the David Crowder Band's cd title "B Collision." Thanks to my parents for the valentine's day iTunes card! I have had this short album on repeat since I have had it along with a couple of other artist such as Derek Webb and the Hispanic composer Silvestre Revueltas (who's an incredible composer, if you are into that form of music). These musicians have inspired me to do everything I can here. Thanks for reading.

It is official...

On 21 April I will be leaving Malaysia on a plane bound for Kathmandu. We don't even officially know our plans yet. One of the other bases will most likely have a bunch of different things set up for us to do with local villages in the surrounding areas. Any time I am not in Kathmandu, I positively will not have internet. So I can tell you now not to expect quite as frequent blog posts. Any time we are in Kathmandu though, there are internet cafes about every three buildings from what I hear.

I am thrilled about the fact that I will be hiking around in the Himalayas and hanging out with some of the most beautiful people on the planet. I am even more excited about the fact that these people will have a chance to see who Jesus truly is, and you can also add the fact that this is, at times, the poorest country in the world. Everything is cheap there and I have already heard stories about the free roaming oxen, not cows. The beauty of Nepal is that they eat the oxen. I was told to get use to the idea of losing a lot of weight and that I would probably be skipping meals, because for six weeks i will be eating mostly rice and daal. Not a very exciting thing, but losing weight isn't something I consider a bad thing. I have lost quite a bit since I have been in Malaysia, says the people around me. You might not recognize me when I get back.

I would like to ask you to pray for stability. Nepal is currently undergoing some heavy, heavy change in their system. They have had a king the entire length of the country's existence and still do. This is the king's last year as a governing body. Nepal will be having their first election in the history of their country in April, the month we are going there. I am not worried about anything at all and I trust God to protect us, rather the people there I am thinking about often and would like for you to do the same.

One more thing: I don't know how it caught my eyes, but as I looked on a map of the continent of Asia hanging on our classroom wall, one place stuck out and caught my attention. I don't know why, but the first place my eyes fell on was Mandalay, Myanmar. Part of me feels that I need to visit, and I don't know what for. I would like to ask that you pray God would reveal to me a reason for going there, if in fact it wasn't my own brain telling me to go. Thanks for reading!

Beach Pictures

Instant Noodles and Diabetes

I should, at some point, let you know about instant noodles. I feel that the time is appropriate now. These noodles, the kind that Top Ramen tries their hardest to recreate, are a way of life over here. The beauty of it is that there are about 100 different flavors, so they never get old. They are a bit more expensive here but well worth the price. Having been in the position of a pauper after moving out on my own a couple of years ago, I learned the value of a certain level of frugality when it comes to buying groceries. The instant noodle isle usually was the first visit I made followed by the condiment isle so i could disguise the "chicken" or "beef" taste. But here, there is no need to disguise the taste of these noodles. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the Asian culture's recognition of the need for a vast amount of flavors when it comes to instant food. They have done well in this arena of society and I wanted to devote half a post to applauding their efforts.

You may have noticed also that the latter half of the title was named after a disease that millions of people have world wide. A few days ago, we were sitting around at the house and Jared came out of the bathroom and said, "I'm so sorry guys, someone here has diabetes." We were a bit confused as to how a visit to the bathroom allowed Dr. Ang to diagnose "someone." Come to find out, it is common knowledge in Asia that if you go to the bathroom and ants swarm the toilet there is a unusually high level of sugar in your body's wastes, telling you that most likely you have diabetes. I, of course, looked like an idiot when the Asians said, "You didn't know that? That is common knowledge." After my brain went through the different cycles of worrying about whether or not the ant swarmed urine was mine or not. I concluded that it wasn't. Though I still worry about it a little because the disease runs in my family, so the possibility is there that I still will go get checked at the clinic. I even called my mom on her cell so she could get in on the worrying. Healthcare is as cheap as eye care. One thing after another makes me love it here even more!

Kusnan on Magellan

Today's post is going to be short and sweet. We had no lectures today. They were replaced by "faith in action" weekend. We did an inductive Bible study on Galatians then they handed each of us 10 ringgit and said, "see you guys around six!" Transportation was even left up to us.

In true apostolic fashion, we were sent out in teams of two. I was paired with Adrian. We talked to some Chinese people on the side of the street and they gave us a ride to the bus station where we hopped a bus to Komtar, a gigantic shopping center. We walked around downtown Georgetown and ended up at Kawan, the homeless ministry that YWAM runs in the city. We had a free lunch with homeless people and sat and just listened to them for a couple of hours.

I talked to a man named Kusnan. Kusnan also answered to Darius and enjoyed talking about boxing. He also enjoyed talking about Ferdinand Magellan and people getting eaten by crocodiles. I think he was talking about a friend of his that really was eaten by a crocodile and how he was hurt because he was too afraid to jump in the water and save him. Whether or not that is true, I will never know, but it makes for a pretty sad story. The point is that he really needed to be listened to and when we were leaving he thanked me for doing just that. It made me feel good to know that I didn't have to do anything but sit and look at someone and I was showing them Jesus.

Now we are back home and all exhausted. We are planning on bowling tonight but I'm not sure. I might just retire early this evening. Thanks for reading!

Untitled

It is one thing right after another here in Malaysia. Since we have been here, the other four guys in my room and I have become great friends. Adrian and Jared, both Chinese, are from Kuala Lampur. Joy, who is Indian, is from a town called Jawi in mainland Penang about 30 minutes away. John, the oldest and probably funniest out of all of us, is from Chennai, India. He is a 36 year old pastor at home and a really great evangelist. As a matter of fact, on one of our outreaches, Jared and I walked around struggling to find people to have a good conversation with. After the outreach was all said and done John said "How was it?" This was said in very heavily accented English since Tamil was John's first language. We replied, "It was good we talked to a couple of younger guys in little India, how about you?" He quickly said, "Three were introduced to Christ and received salvation tonite!" We were speechless and in awe. I'll get back to John later...

Tonight we went to a basement for our outreach. A basement of a parking garage where Nepali migrants live in a walk-in closet. The room was about 20'x8' and there were about 15 men living in this one room. They invited us in and were so happy to share their home with us. We hung out for a couple of hours and I have never felt so stupid in my life. I urge every one of you back home to have your children, if you have children of course, to learn other languages. There were Hindi, Nepali (which is similar to Hindi), Bahasa, and Tamil conversation taking place all around me. I sat there and scratched my head like a stupid American and Preta, a 20 year old Nepali migrant taught me how to count to 5. I was helpless. It was so much fun though. These guys were so accepting of us and so willing to sit down and make us a part of their family. It made me really excited about the potential of going to Nepal, which I find out for sure tomorrow. Devendra and Ramaiah, a newly married Nepali couple, sacrificed their honeymoon to come down here to Malaysia and minister to these migrants who are very much alone in their work. They have each other and that is all.

Now back to John. Since the beginning of this whole ordeal all of us in the room have taken note of John's peculiar sleeping habits. Often he wakes up in the middle of the night in a frenzy and runs out of the room or shouts at one of us. Usually, if he begins shouting, I calmly wake him up and make sure he is okay. After some reassurance and some prayer from his bunk (which is next to mine), he goes back to sleep and it is hit or miss whether it will happen again. It was seemingly comical to us a couple times but then when we realized that it was a consistent problem we were a bit concerned. One or two of the fellows were a bit bothered and had been frightened a couple of times so they took it to the leadership here. After many conversations with John they found out the story...

This 36 year old man, that I compare to a large swivel-headed teddy bear, is a pastor in his hometown in Chennai, India. His father died when he was just a year old so he grew up a child of a single parent home and his mother raised him in the Bible. His family was not wealthy and he couldn't get a "proper" education but after much service and growth in the church he was put in charge of sister church. He delivers the gospel with a passion that is easily seen by anyone around, however, some of the men from his home believe he is inferior and not deserving of the position he was given. For 15 years he has been in a constant struggle with these men. He lives his life in fear on a constant basis. On multiple occasions they have broken in and severely beaten him with rods and fists, they have made threats against his life, and have even set him up and had him arrested. He told me holding back tears today that they frequently ask him for help with their ministry, because they are fellow "christians," and he helps them despite his hurting. He told me that he loved the men that do this to him. Right now, I am holding back tears writing this. This, so far, is the most beautiful statement I have heard from another human being since I have been alive. Not many Christians in America, at least not my age, have had a chance to meet someone who is beaten, jailed, and threatened by his colleagues. How this man has kept the faith living in a dark country, alone, being persecuted by fellow "christians" is something I have asked myself over and over again. I am wondering if you or I would have what it takes to have the same attitude as my friend John does. Think about John and pray that his situation will get better. Pray for his heart because, at surface level, you would never know he was hurting. He is one of the happiest guys I have ever met. I would really appreciate it if you remembered him for me.

To Nepal or not to Nepal?...

Today we had to submit the official decision we have made in regards to where we think God is calling us for outreach. I must say, I have been extremely adamant about Nepal this whole time and then the group that showed the video for the Indonesian outreach really had a beautiful presentation. The Nepali presentation still took my heart over all. The pictures of Nepal really spoke directly into my heart. There were pictures of children and the look in their eyes spoke to my heart.

We were told if we go to Nepal, we had better try to get into some form of shape. We would be doing a lot of hiking around the foothills of the Himalayas. The "foothills" of the Himalayas are similar to the Rocky Mountains in America. They have a very different perception of what a tall mountain is and I have no idea why (sarcasm). Richard also told us that if the bus is full we might find ourselves riding on the top of the bus, a fairly common practice in many countries around the area. He gave us the heads up that we would be possibly on the top of a bus looking off a thousand foot cliff. What an experience!

The Nepali outreach costs a bit more, but God blessed me with the ability to comfortably go to Nepal and potentially help someone else out if the need is there.

We learned more about spiritual gifts today and it was a rather fun class. Tomorrow we are supposed to be discussing dream interpretation. It should be fun letting him interpret a few of my dreams, since most of them I wake up from thinking, "wow, that was messed up." I don't remember the rest of them. I think it will be a fun class. So far I have taken the classes with a grain of salt since this is far from how I grew up. It is a little difficult but I am glad that I am around people from different backgrounds that worship differently than I do. As my dad and I were talking, he was saying that it is such a good thing, since it is forcing me to recognize what I believe and learn how to coexist and worship next to someone whose approach is completely different than my own.

With each passing day, I am beginning to realize that June is getting too close, and a couple of times I have almost made plans to do outreach trips to surrounding nations and then thought to myself, "wait, I have to come back in June." And it is becoming a "have to" much more than a "get to" faster and faster. I look forward to seeing my friends but it is going to be one of the worst feelings leaving this place. I love it here already. Thank you for reading and I appreciate the support that I have been getting.

Also, Tim, I don't think I am very good at shopping. As a matter of fact, I am terrible at blowing money, so the fact that I have stuck so closely to my budget and not spent out of line is completely a God thing. Though I don't know what "gatherer" means, I don't think it pertains to shopping. I appreciate the theory, though!

Sha lalalala what?

I haven't been able to think of a lot to write on here lately, but I do have a few things I can update you on today. Pastor Amos, an Indian man who lives in Singapore, is teaching our class this week. His area of expertise is living in the spirit.

If you speak in tongues, I am totally okay with it. In all honesty, I do have a hard time taking prayer time seriously when someone around me is speaking gibberish. I believe this is a personal gifting that is not necessarily to be used in the company of believers as it is used so frequently here (nothing against my friends and i'm unoffended if you disagree or think me ignorant because I am by no means an authority on the subject). It is not my personal style of worship, and my intentions are not to offend anyone, but I did feel a little discouraged today because I almost felt inadequate because of how heavily this spirtiual gift was being advocated and discussed. I don't hold anything against anyone here, I have just been raised under a different system. The charismatic church here, however, tends to be much more laid back than those in America. This style of worship just isn't for me personally and I don't think how well the spirit works in our lives depends on whether or not we speak in tongues. If you worship this way, more power to you. I fully support your praise habits.

Amos did pray over us today. I had someone say to me, "it is really cool that Amos prayed the same thing over you that Jeff did." As I thought over that statement, I began counting the prayers that have been voiced over me in a prophetic sense and realized that I have been prayed over like this 5 or 6 times since I have been here. One thing i realized is that every single time I have been prayed over the prayers have all seemed to parallel. This is such an affirmation to me but it is also a scary thing. These prayers put me in a large spot of responsibility employing the terms: pioneer, warrior, leader, communicator, gatherer, builder, etc. One thing that gets me the most I think is the "when." I hear these prayers and I think to myself, "This is incredible God, make it all happen right now!" I guess I am just praying for patience and direction. I know I am not ready for anything of great magnitude right now because I have a lot of growing to do, but I hope to get there someday.

I felt a bit more serious as I have been writing this post. These were the only things I could think of to even write about. I have been in a pretty solemn mood today. I hope to be back in my normal blogging routine in a day or two. Thanks for reading.

Hold fast.

I just wanted to do a short post today to encourage everyone participating in the fast. How funny it is, that today our entire lesson was on the benfits of fasting and how the holy spirit can work so easily when you are in this process. God obviously has something to say. Are you listening?

A whole lot of nothing.

Finally, pictures were put on my blog. A couple even include my face in them. It is a bit difficult to get a lot of pictures with myself in them because I like to experience these new things in a world of my own. I like to make my own conclusions and formulate my own opinions based on what is happening around me without the interpretation of others. I usually either hang out in the lead or in the back but I try not to get stuck in the middle. In any case, this makes it a bit difficult for me to snap the picture involving myself with a good angle and ensure a decent picture, so most of the time I stick with the motif of landscape or people shots because that is what my eyes usually gravitate towards; the natural beauty of the creation of our Father's own artist's hands. Maybe this is not all evident in my pictures, but I haven't really been in an incredible situation yet, mostly just classrooms and mall shopping (where I usually buy nothing anywyas). When the time for outreach comes much more quality pictures will be attained.

That is another thing I guess I should go ahead and warn all of you who read this about: During the 6 weeks outreach phase, we will not be in the "safest" of places to carry a laptop, and frankly, I don't want to carry it around anyways. I will be lacking an internet connection for that time, unless I can get into a city with an internet cafe and update quickly, which may not be that hard. I just wanted to say that for the time being I will, of course, keep everyone posted on the happenings around me and how I see God moving in my life, since I haven't really been able to see anything else yet, but during that phase of this trip I might not be able to update as frequently as I, as well as many of you, might like for me to.

I'm sitting here bored to tears after watching "Runaway Bride" with the girls. That is the most obnoxious movie I think I have ever seen. I am sorry for anyone who thought this movie was good, but you might want to go visit a doctor. A doctor that specializes in brain disorders. Sorry if this offends you, but it is an attempt at blunt transparency again! I'm wrapping up this four day weekend. It was a welcome break, but I'm glad the hustle and bustle of lectures are starting back up. I have enjoyed the downtime but I'm glad it's over. This was a bit of a nonsense post, but I felt like writing something down. Thanks for reading.

Kuala Lampur Slideshow

Penang Slideshow

Tahun Baru Cine - Happy Chinese New Year

The first monkey sighting.

Well, I had it wrong. We didn't go to monkey beach today; it was turtle beach. There were no turtles due to the fact that the people here ate them all. With no turtles around then there is an abundant supply of jellyfish. We jumped off of the pier anyways, watching for the elusive devils before the fall. We had someone else stay up top to spot and tell us where to swim since they could see most of the jellyfish. More than half of the people with us were stung and all refused to use urine, the "miracle cure." I didn't get stung by a jellyfish but as I was standing on the pier I looked down and realized my arm, knuckle, and knee were bleeding. There were barnacles growing on the side of the pier and they are apparently razor sharp. That was the worst of my stinging today.

I did, however, see some monkeys today. Actually, yesterday after I posted about not having seen any monkeys yet, we were sitting on the beach and a man walked by with a little Rhesus monkey on a leash. He tried to steal a flip flop, back pack, and my water bottle while we were sitting right there. A gentle tug of the leash set him straight, though. He was terrified of the dogs on the beach and would frantically scramble up his owners body and sit on his shoulder. We saw some more monkeys today, but they were mostly in the tops of the trees, save for the one the my friend Ken said was quite mean when you get down to the brass tacks. That monkey also was on the ground not very far from us. Ken also told me that you could get pet monkeys here in Malaysia for very cheap. I didn't realize that. If I lived here permanently, I would own one. Ken also told me that they will gang up on you if you aren't careful. One monkey will run up and get a flip flop and have you chase after him, and then two or three more will unzip your back pack and take the things that appeal most to them so when you return victoriously with a flip flop you will realize the other theivery that has taken place.

It has been a pretty fun day. I am exhausted so I'm off to shower and take a nap.

Let's give this another go shall we?

Yesterday marked the end of the fourth week of lectures. I have been here for over a month. I'm astounded at how the time has passed. At first, I prayed for the time to pass faster and now I'm praying it moves a little slower.

Last night we watched the movie Evan Almighty. I would recommend it to anyone. It had its hilarious scenes, but ultimately it gave me a painful feeling in the pit of my stomach as to what following God looks like to this world. It painted a pretty vivid picture of how things most likely occured when Noah built the boat, in a more modern aspect of course. Obviously we don't know all of the goings on around Noah in the true story, but there is a scene where Steve Carrell's character, Evan Baxter, is standing on the ark while threats of tearing the boat down are getting more real with each passing minute. Evan stands on deck and pleads with the people to get on the boat and they laugh. It made me pretty heart-broken for the people that were around Noah. The movie had a happy ending, but that particular scene struck the core of my heart for the true story of what actually happened. The bottom line is that none of those people got on the boat in real life. I hurt more for what it felt like for God to have to do that. It hurt him pretty badly.

I'm actually sitting on the couch just counting minutes. We have a four day weekend due to Chinese New Year and quite a bit of the group went home to their families to celebrate. The rest of us non-Chinese folk are trying to pass the time with meaningless activities. I actually took an "unofficial" IQ test and scored a 135, which was pretty good according to the website. Then I took a Mensa test. I did fair on it but people were in the room so I couldn't concentrate. I attributed the missed questions to conversation attempts by my peers. I'm not upset or anything. Mensa means "table" in latin. Whoever would want to be a member of a group named "table" is someone I would like to know (no offense if you are a member and go to table conventions with the other "geniuses").

Tomorrow will be much better than today. We are leaving at 6 AM and going to the highly esteemed "monkey" beach. That's no tribute to Davy, Michael, Peter and Micky either (be careful with that statement, lest you show your true age, because in my efforts of transparency, I have to admit, I had to look that up). There are suppose to be primates there often. I have heard monkeys are everywhere here but I have seen not one. Apparently, I couldn't spot George Washington on a dollar bill. It will be a full day at monkey beach and I will have my camera with me. You don't have to worry about that. My mother reminded me to take lots of pictures in the most threatening tone anyone could use over an instant message chat.

Yesterday, we prayed for a state in India named Orissa. Orissa is in bad shape with the persecution of followers of the only living God. Hindu radicals fear the surge of Christianity that has been taking place and in an attempt to subdue this "problematic christianity" and "kill it at the root," churches are being burned and people are being murdered. Believers are fleeing the entire state and it has been said it is unsafe for Westerners. A man feel off of the roof of a Christian church and these oblivious Hindus are calling him a martyr. What cause did he die for? I have never heard of a martyr for stupidity. He isn't a martyr sitting in hell right now, I promise. He is probably thinking how much more convenient it would have been to fall IN the church than OFF of it. I feel terrible for that lost soul. There is a very high profile person in Orissa right now and they are able to move freely through the state and give missionaries reports of what is happening there. I apologize for my blunt honesty, but I hope this breaks your heart like it does mine. Remember Orissa all the time in your prayers.

Thanks for reading.

The awesome internet.

I'm sorry. I had a complete, typed blog and hit publish post and there was an error. It was mostly ramblings with a stint of seriousness at the end. For all intents and purposes, remember Orissa in your prayers. I'll explain tomorrow since I don't feel like typing up a few paragraphs again.

Thanks for reading!

Every preacher's kids nightmare.

Well to answer the question my aunt asked me through comments: if you like coffee, don't come to Malaysia. Unless you can get to Starbucks, which are few and far between believe it or not, then it isn't much worth it. I have been swallowing my pride and drinking the gut-wrenching Nescafe instant coffee. I haven't decided if it was really worth the pain or the cringe on my face to drink it but I continue to chug that black gold, that tastes a bit similar to Jed Clampett's source of wealth actually. The problem, I have realized, lies in the fact that America consumes 20% of the yearly amount of coffee consumed. I fall into that statistic accounting for probably 5% at least. I promise you that my appretiation for the real stuff will be doubled when I return to America.

I led a Bible study this morning, something required of each of us once. I signed up for it early so I can watch the others writhe as times passes by slowly and they all wait for the fateful plane crash that is their first structured lesson of God's word. We all have to speak on a characteristic of God, which was easy because there is an abundant supply of those characteristics. I chose His power, an obvious one to me. Of course, I called my dad and used his guidance after I told him I was using the story of Gideon. My worst fear became a reality today. I finished remained standing to endure the positive and negative constructive criticism that follows each of these studies. I agreed with all but one of the negative aspects, but it was a bold claim made on a more personal bias rather than from a group perspective. And then it happened. What is "it" you might ask? My worst fear was realized today. When we wrapped up, my Dutch friend Ed walked up and said in a heavy accent, "You did really well today. You are such a preacher man." In my head I screamed "NOOOOOOOO!" I have always told everyone I have no aspirations to become a preacher, and I still don't. So I'm just kind of shrugging it off right now.

We discussed the fear of God more today and I didn't discuss the fall of man. Essentially, yesterday's lesson was about the love relationship between God and man that was originally intended. It was a great lesson that I don't know how to put into blog terms. Today, we discussed the "good news of the gospel," though. Another good lesson, save the overly obvious questions that no one seemed to have the answer to. Everyone's mind said, "Nope. This is a trick question. It isn't that easy." It was. We just didn't answer because of that.

I think that my glasses make me more intellectual. I have noticed an improved vocabulary, boosted confidence (the reverse of what should have happened) and a better ability to formulate ides in my head. Somehow it seems possible for me to leave my fears behind these little glass lenses and project this big, bold version of myself out in front of them. I appreciate them.

Something I would like to ask for is prayer. There is still a small lack of funding for some of my co-students. That is for the lecture phase. Many people are being completely faithful to God for the outreach phase, but the lecture phase is priority. Pray about it for me and my new family members. Thank you all for reading!

Another weekend in review.

I know it has been a few days but I will give you another weekend update, among other snippets of information of course. My best blogging time is in the early hours of the morning for most of you who read this blog and I just didn't have that time this weekend. We stayed pretty busy.

We went to a large shopping mall in KL and ended up at a glasses shop. As I was thinking to myself that I wished I had gotten glasses before I left. Jared told me that you pay for the frames and the eye exam and prescription are free. I looked around and thought, "Thanks for my procrastination back home, God." I bought some. I got prescription glasses for $40. I was told I looked like Elton John. Not the proudest moment of my life but Jared reminded me that all westerners look alike to him. I assured Jared that he was British and I was American and that Sir Elton and myself are VASTLY different. I also warned him that though I dont think all Asians look alike, I would soon be mistaking him for many homely people. Then we went to the Switchfoot concert. I wanted to walk up to them and say, "God brought you guys here for me, I needed something from home!" I didn't. I thought it would be a bit awkward for the fellows in the band and I really didn't want to wait in a line of over-excited Asians to talk to these people who are just like you and I. I was about to snap a beautiful picture of the twin towers in KL and my camera died. It was so convenient, really. We made it to a sidewalk cafe, our usual style of weekend dinner, and I got a plate of noodles with some peppers in it that some Asians were impressed I was eating. I love them like coffee, though.

Sunday church at Damansara Utama Methodist Church, DUMC for short, was pretty eventful. The pastor was pretty good. Imagine Sean Connery with an added hint of Chinese as a first language and English as a second in his voice. I was amazed. They commisioned some marriage counselors named Fan Ngiang and Sian Li. We had to leave early to catch our bus but decided that a stop at KFC was necessary. We pulled up to the drive-thru window and parked and waited for our food to be brought out to us. It took a little longer than planned and Jared's all to intimidating mother walked to the window, crossed her arms, and tapped her foot until she walked back to the van with our food. What a woman!

When we got back to Penang, I looked at Jared and Leah and said, "It feels good to be home." I then thought to myself, "There is no way I just said that!" I couldn't escape it, I referred to Penang, Malaysia as home. Overall, it was a good weekend and I should have some pictures up on here soon, or my mom should have some pictures up on here soon, rather. And it has ever so slowly begun to feel like home here.

We began discussing the fear of God today. We discussed the fall of man so in depth I don't think I can put anything down about it until we go over the same things again tomorrow to make sure I picked up the intended message. It was a pretty incredible lesson taught by the woman who had a child, natural birth I might add, a few weeks ago that I smuggled the drugs in for. She went to college for teaching so she is a pretty gifted communicator. We have two more days followed by a four day break for Tahun Baru Cine (Chinese New Year - pronounced "Tah-hoon Bah-roo Chee-nuh" and roll your "R" ). Apparently, everyone staying here in Penang is going to have a blast. We don't even know yet how we are going to do that but sunrises on the beach and cliff jumping has been discussed. These people know the way to my heart!

I think that's plenty for now. To be continued...

My home away from home away from home

Well, after a 4 1/2 hour bus ride in possibly the most comfortable bus I've ever been in, I'm at my friend Jared's house in Kuala Lampur.  This bus was almost like first class on major airlines. Tomorrow night we'll enjoy a Switchfoot concert, an event that I'm particularly excited about.  That's not the main issue though, I have a few things much more important to write about that I'm sure everyone is dying to know.

First, I'll start with the things that I've eaten tonight.  I started out in a well known night market in KL with a soup of assorted edible beef parts, including cow stomach.  The stomach looked a little hairy on one side & really had no taste.  I can say that, similar to the chicken backside, I won't have any reason to eat this culinary non-delight again.  Jared's mom, however, did tell me I fit right into Asia because of my love for chili sauce.  Then as we (Leah from Canada & myself) walked out of the night market with Jared & his family his mother spotted some seasonal fruits that we were required to try.  One was called Pamelo and was very similar to a grapefruit but a little bigger & bright green on the outside.  It wasn't quite as tart as many citrus fruits back home. The second and final fruit we tried was an Asian delight.  Durian, as they call it here, was described to me by Jared as, "an awful smelling fruit that Asians love & Westerners hate."  I tried the fruit after discovering that it smelled a bit like a high school locker room.  To my surprise, the fruit was very tolerable & I'd buy it again, despite the horrid things it's done to my breath & hands.  It feels a bit like being sprayed by a skunk & enjoying it.  I do take heed to the fact Jared's mom complimented my adventurousness with the food.

Now on to the more serious aspects of the day, that I've noticed usually follow some gross, shocking or funny information.  A man named Jeff prayed over us today.  We were told it was going to be more of an affirmation thing.  I have to admit I was a little nervous about what he was going to affirm.  A few times I thought he might just CONFIRM that I'm an overweight American, like my 11 year old friend, Getzie, did.  He didn't. (Good so far)   What Jeff said really shocked me.   It shocked me from the standpoint that this man doesn't know anything about me & yet God affirmed through him everything I spoke to my dad about the direction of my life before I left to come here.  He told me that I was going to lead people into places that they didn't want to go.  He also told me that God created nations & people groups specifically designed for me to reach.  He told me how caring & gentle I was and that I can put my arms around people experiencing brokenness & injustice in the world and lead the way in breaking the chains of injustice (something I told my dad that I felt specifically purposed for).  This time was so meaningful to me because no matter how many times I try to tell myself that I'm not good enough or can't do it, I'm affirmed yet again by God through someone who recognizes the will & determination in me.  I am so thankful for where I'm at and the people I'm around.  I miss everyone at home, but Malaysia feels more & more like home everyday.

I love you all and thank so much for reading!