You might be wondering why this is week two and you still
haven't seen anything on the blog. Well, firstly we had three
full days of CI and two full days of preparation, secondly we highly
valued our sleep, and thirdly we simply ran out of time. So here is a
quick summary of the week in Malaysia.
Week one: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Monday and Tuesday were spent getting to know each person on the
team through devotions, games, and teacher training lead by Eunice and
Rosalee. One point that Eunice made during the teacher training really
struck me. She said, "There are three different outcomes of a seminar.
The first one is survival, where you are struggling to get everything
done; the second is success, where you get all of the lessons taught, crafts
done, and had fun; and the third is significant, where you do more than just
teach kids and get crafts done, it is a life-changing CI, one where
they will never be the same again." Our aim for this trip is to lead
significant CIs that honor God above all.
Wednesday, we headed out early to the church. Though the seminar
didn't start till 9:00AM most of the teams had children arriving at
8:30. The whole day was filled with great teaching, hilarious skits,
and sweet singing still most of the teams fought survival. Even though the day seemed pretty successful, we felt that something was missing. Yes, we
could use the excuse of, "It is the first day of the first seminar,"
but we all realized there was something else that was missing: the
Spirit of the Lord. At the end of "cool down" Konner encouraged each of us
to go spend some time with the Lord and examine our hearts to see if
there is anything that might need to be taken care of. After that
time with the Lord we had a changed team. Wow!
Thursday went so much better and we all felt that the kids
grasped what we were trying to teach them. Friday was the last day of
CI. When I thought of about it being the last day I thought, "Wow,
this will probably be the last time I see these kids during my time on
earth. What do I want them to remember when they leave?" That thought
really motivated me throughout the day to keep my focus right. After a
wonderful dinner of McDonald's we played some games, had our last
"cool down" for Malaysia, and went to bed exhausted.
Bright and early on Saturday morning we headed out to the
elephant sanctuary where we fed and rode the elephants. We also were
able to walk through part of the jungle where tigers and black
panthers live. After spending all of the morning and some of the
afternoon there, we went to Central Market and did some shopping before then moving on to "China Town". Many of us bargained for the first time
and bought, as Konner says, "Real genuine imitations".
Having a good testimony is something that the team is striving
for; since there are seventeen Americans, seven Malaysians, and three
Singaporeans it really makes quite a big group going down the street
or coming into the hotel. The hotel in Malaysia wanted to get a
picture of the team so they could say that we had been there. It was
really good to know that we had been a team that was showing the love
of God and a good testimony.
Sunday we rode the bus the thirty minutes to the airport and
flew back to Singapore. The flight was just a little longer than the
bus ride. :D After arriving back in Singapore we had a wonderful
"pepper lunch." It was so good! For church we had thirty minutes alone
with the Lord and reading Psalms. Then everyone shared what the Lord
had showed them. It really was an AMAZING time.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers. Please continue for
the health of the team, we have several team members who are loosing
their voices and others who are not feeling the best. Goodnight!!!
Julie S.
haven't seen anything on the blog. Well, firstly we had three
full days of CI and two full days of preparation, secondly we highly
valued our sleep, and thirdly we simply ran out of time. So here is a
quick summary of the week in Malaysia.
Week one: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Monday and Tuesday were spent getting to know each person on the
team through devotions, games, and teacher training lead by Eunice and
Rosalee. One point that Eunice made during the teacher training really
struck me. She said, "There are three different outcomes of a seminar.
The first one is survival, where you are struggling to get everything
done; the second is success, where you get all of the lessons taught, crafts
done, and had fun; and the third is significant, where you do more than just
teach kids and get crafts done, it is a life-changing CI, one where
they will never be the same again." Our aim for this trip is to lead
significant CIs that honor God above all.
Wednesday, we headed out early to the church. Though the seminar
didn't start till 9:00AM most of the teams had children arriving at
8:30. The whole day was filled with great teaching, hilarious skits,
and sweet singing still most of the teams fought survival. Even though the day seemed pretty successful, we felt that something was missing. Yes, we
could use the excuse of, "It is the first day of the first seminar,"
but we all realized there was something else that was missing: the
Spirit of the Lord. At the end of "cool down" Konner encouraged each of us
to go spend some time with the Lord and examine our hearts to see if
there is anything that might need to be taken care of. After that
time with the Lord we had a changed team. Wow!
Thursday went so much better and we all felt that the kids
grasped what we were trying to teach them. Friday was the last day of
CI. When I thought of about it being the last day I thought, "Wow,
this will probably be the last time I see these kids during my time on
earth. What do I want them to remember when they leave?" That thought
really motivated me throughout the day to keep my focus right. After a
wonderful dinner of McDonald's we played some games, had our last
"cool down" for Malaysia, and went to bed exhausted.
Bright and early on Saturday morning we headed out to the
elephant sanctuary where we fed and rode the elephants. We also were
able to walk through part of the jungle where tigers and black
panthers live. After spending all of the morning and some of the
afternoon there, we went to Central Market and did some shopping before then moving on to "China Town". Many of us bargained for the first time
and bought, as Konner says, "Real genuine imitations".
Having a good testimony is something that the team is striving
for; since there are seventeen Americans, seven Malaysians, and three
Singaporeans it really makes quite a big group going down the street
or coming into the hotel. The hotel in Malaysia wanted to get a
picture of the team so they could say that we had been there. It was
really good to know that we had been a team that was showing the love
of God and a good testimony.
Sunday we rode the bus the thirty minutes to the airport and
flew back to Singapore. The flight was just a little longer than the
bus ride. :D After arriving back in Singapore we had a wonderful
"pepper lunch." It was so good! For church we had thirty minutes alone
with the Lord and reading Psalms. Then everyone shared what the Lord
had showed them. It really was an AMAZING time.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers. Please continue for
the health of the team, we have several team members who are loosing
their voices and others who are not feeling the best. Goodnight!!!
Julie S.
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