Malaysia in Sequence

Here's a quick "Never Had I Ever...until Malaysia" list: Ridden into a jungle on the back of a tractor Eaten every meal with my hands Eaten soooooo much rice Taken a bucket shower Driven a car in a foreign country, up a grueling mountain, on the left side of the road, on the opposite side of the car, in i-can't-see-10-feet-in-front-of-me fog Built a cold room Eaten Nango Stunk soooo much Ridden in the back of a moving truck (called a "lori" here), through the city, with my feet dangling out the back Seen a spider, in the wild, as big as a grown man's hand! Slept inside a tent, inside a church Eaten Pow! (it's AMAZING! My new favorite breakfast!) Ridden an indoor rollercoaster Eaten monkey Here's a lil slideshow of pictures from the Jungle: Our ride into the Jungle Enough water for a week! They LOVED Erin's hammock This is Ate. She is ADORABLE! Andrew on the guitar Gotta get your exercise out in the jungle! These are all pictures from farming Swimming in the River after working all morning! This is Esther. She is soooo funny and outgoing!

Scorpions, Spiders, Monkies, and Bears

In the big cities of Malaysia, distractions run rampant, competing for people's time and energy, just like in America. God is squeezed into a box of church and religious activity. While there are some who see God's vision for Malaysia, and allow Him to move through them, many prefer to keep God in their box, on the side, so they can resume their lives by their own agenda.

Welcome to the Jungle: A land cleared of distractions, open and wild, with a people hungry to know their Creator. Their lives are simple, and they are open and receptive to the truth.

Here, God has made Himself known!

Our last day in the Jungle, we were invited to someone's house. Several of the women and children piled in around us. After a second lunch and lots of tea and coffee, they shared with us many stories of how God revealed Himself to them through visions and healings! The Asli people cannot read or write. Their spoken language is a dialect very different from the country's official language, Malay. A few villagers have a Bible in Malay, but are unable to read it, and only understand it to a degree. There are no Bibles printed in their dialect. Despite all this, they still know God, and were very hungry for His word. They asked us to read the Bible to them, and we did, in our best possible Malay accent J.

God's love for this village is huge! They're way out in the middle of the jungle, unnoticed by the rest of the world, yet God's eyes are on them. Before He even sent people like us into the jungle to tell the villagers about His intense love for them, He Himself was already showing them His love and truth!

It was hard leaving, knowing the women still have so many questions, but I know God is providing for them. They are seeking, and He will provide the answers the need.

(OH! By the way, some Korean missionaries are coming this month, and will be building a school, so HOPEFULLY everyone will be given the chance to learn how to read and write in Malay =D)

Everything you're taking advantage of right now:

Team Habibi is back in the city after 2 weeks in the Jungle!

Living life with the Asli (native) people has been awesome! We were living in a world where everything we're used to is completely different. It's funny, cause as Americans, we think we know how to do everything, but we really had to learn how to live in the jungle by watching and doing what the Asli did! They speak a dialect of Malay, so our main form of communication was sign-language, copying each other, and - of course -smiling, laughing, dancing, and music. Our friendships with the Asli were built around those universal four.

So as a tribute to our life in the jungle, i've compiled a nice little list of things you are currently taking advantage of =) :

A toilet

Our toilet was a squatty-potty outhouse...not the most fun to

stumble out to in the middle of the night...

A sink with running water and soap!

Our main hand washing method in the jungle was to rinse our hands with

river water, and throw on some hand sanitizer!

Variety in food

We ate rice with veggies for every lunch and dinner while in the jungle!

Up until two weeks ago, I loved rice! Now my team and I are avoiding it like the plague!

Ice

Every World Racer goes crazy at the chance to have

a beverage that is NOT lukewarm. it's a commodity we rarely enjoy...

AC and Electricity

While not having AC is a given in the jungle, the Asli people DO have

a generator. Every night we enjoyed a few short, sweet

hours of electricity. Gotta keep those iPods chraged!

Washing Machines

Clothes just don't turn out the same washing them by hand. I have a hard

time getting all the soap out, so my clothes are always stiff, and always

have a distinct I'm-a-back-packer smell to them that just will not come out!

Showers

In the Jungle there are two options:

bathing in the river

-or-

bucket showers