Life in Malaysia Lately

Hey everyone!! Sorry that it’s been a little while since I posted a blog, things have been a bit busy and I’ve been trying to spend more time with my squad instead of being by myself. Anyways, we’re halfway through Malaysia and are now two months into this trip. That is so crazy to think about. I feel like things are simultaneously moving so fast and so slow. I have some really exciting news at the end, so make sure you read all the way through.

Ministry is still going great! My girl is doing so well in school, and I absolutely adore her. I feel like the Lord has really blessed me with patience in this ministry, because she is so energetic and gets distracted very easily, but I haven’t gotten annoyed or overwhelmed yet. I found out how she best learns, which is hands-on, so I’ve been able to do activities and flash cards that have really helped her learn. It’s so encouraging and brings me so much joy to see her learn and understand. She’s growing even closer to me, and I’m actually dreading having to say goodbye to her. I’m just praying in faith that God will bring her to Him so that one day I’ll see her again and obviously so that she can be saved.

House church hasn’t been super consistent, which is a bummer because it would have been really cool to get to really know the lady that we were “assigned” to. We’ve only been to that house once, and then the next week we went to a different family’s house. Last week, all but two of them got canceled, so most of us didn’t end up getting to go to one. The second week of house church I was the one who prepared something to talk about, and I used my teaching on “The God Who Sees”. It was actually kind of hard and also ironic, because we started off with four people listening, and by the end all had left but one boy. I found it ironic because I was talking about being seen by God and how it doesn’t matter if you don’t feel seen by people, and then I was put in one of those scenarios while doing so. It’s ok though, because that one little boy stayed and he was really into it, maybe that was something that he needed to hear.

One thing God showed me these past two weeks is that He provides us with joy through the Holy Spirit. Also, when I’m not necessarily feeling happy, I can look back on what God is doing and has done, and also just His goodness, and that can bring me that pure joy. Also, God is so kind. There were days when I was really feeling down, and He spoke to me so much through my friends’ words and compliments, and they were saying something that was exactly what I had been doubting in my head and needed to hear. Also, He let me experience things that He knew would bring me so much happiness when I was feeling the most down. God really is the best. I found myself saying “thanks God” a lot these past two weeks, even though for the majority of it I feel like I was feeling down. God is good all the time, even in the not so fun moments. I actually feel like I can sometimes recognize His kindness more in those moments.

There’s a celebration in the Hindu culture called Diwali (Deepavali). This is a celebration of the light defeating the darkness, but they don’t celebrate God as the light who defeated the darkness, they worship other gods and idols, which then makes it demonic. It’s really sad, because there is such joy and truth behind the heart of this celebration, but they have no idea how much better of a light they could be celebrating. They don’t know the true Light. Imagine how much more they might be celebrating if they really knew. Also, if these people celebrate and worship these false gods with fireworks and festivals, how much more should we be celebrating the one true God? Seeing their celebrations makes me want to worship and lift up God even more. He deserves it so much.

Ok, I think that’s all I have.

Now, are you ready for the super exciting news….?

Drumroll please…
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I FOUND OUT MY THAILAND MINISTRY!!!

So, all of the teams are being split up across Thailand, and my team is going to be in Bangkok. Our ministry will be, once again, teaching English!! I’m so excited!! There are some people in the squad that are pretty upset that we won’t be together (and we’re all many hours away from each other), but I’m actually really looking forward to it. I’ll get to grow so much closer to my little family, and it’s going to be great.

I have one more piece of exciting news that is way overdue…

MY THIRD COUNTRY WILL BE ALBANIA!!!! AHH!
I can’t believe I get to go there! We don’t know what our ministry will be yet, and we probably won’t until about two weeks before we leave. Anyways, three of our teams are in Albania, and the fourth one will be in Greece (which is insane, and I will definitely be visiting).

Ok, now that’s actually all I have.

Thank you for reading. Please continue to pray for my squad, my team, and for me as well. I’m still at 86% for funds, so if you would please consider donating or sharing this with someone you know would be interested, that would be greatly appreciated. Love you guys!!!

~Gabi

Dancing with Aisyah

Random Indian wedding we were invited to