Overview and Updates from Malaysia

Hello Hello!

I’m finally getting to write to you about our time in Malaysia. I can’t believe our time here is almost over. (you tired of hearing me say that yet?)

Anyways I wanted to give you a little overview of what we’ve been doing here and what’s to come.

At the beginning of the month we had some debrief time where we came together as a whole squad to recenter on the Lord and process where we’ve been so far. Our lovely squad mentor flew in, we had some worship dance parties, had to relocate hostels due to a bed bug situation, did some all-squad morning devotionals, processed our time on the race so far, it was great.

Through this month of ATL (link if you aren’t familiar with this concept), my team ended up doing some work with a few different organizations in Penang. For the first couple of weeks we partnered with an organization that works to feed and care for the homeless and those in need. They also run a cafe and a small thrift store that both help to fund their kitchen. One of the really great things about this organization was that even in the day to day of working there I still had the opportunity to lean even deeper into ATL, asking God where exactly he wanted me for the day. I ended up doing a little of everything- sweeping rooms upstairs, helping sort and iron clothes at the thrift store, cooking in the kitchen, handing out bread and coffee and greeting people as they came in in the morning, even singing and sharing during the worship and bible study time that they hold in between breakfast and lunch. It was also really lovely to get to know the staff and come back and serve the same people consistently.

This month we also got to spend a lot of time at PenHop- the international house of prayer in Penang. They have different sessions including a quiet devotional time, worship that walks you through a certain passage of scripture, and sessions of intercessory prayer. On Friday nights they do a prayer burn that lasts until midnight. We went to as many of these as we could, interceding on behalf of the people and the nation of Malaysia. It was also very restful and filling to be able to worship the Lord in our own language somewhere other than in our own hostile or airbnb. We found a contemporary church with services in English as well and it felt like such a gift, at what is nearly the halfway point of this journey, to be able to worship and listen to sermons and actually know what people are saying. It felt like home. Not specifically like Virginia, but a kind of home. In fact it felt like the truest kind of home. Being away from what I call “home” for so long continually serves to remind me of where my real home actually is.

It’s been quite a month. We are now in Kuala Lumpur and about to start a mini debrief. The most significant thing about this debrief is that with it comes,

-wait for it-

team changes.

As you can expect this comes with it lots of emotion on every point of the spectrum. This is a time of excitement, anticipation, even a little anxiety. Please be in prayer for my squad as we get introduced to our new teams- that we would be well matched and start off strong. Also pray that as we say goodbye to our current teams that it would be a time of celebration over the months we’ve shared.

My mind is excited and my body is full of some kind of nervous energy. As always, I look forward to seeing what’s next. Thank you all so much as always for your prayers and support. I feel incredibly blessed to have each and every one of you.

Much love and God Bless,

-Hattie