New Friends...

Early last Thursday morning, me and Sarah started our five day excursion to Singapore and Malaysia...we popped on a taxi that took us to the train station, and caught our train just in time.  Once we were in Kaohsiung, we took the subway to the high-speed rail station.  The rail took us up to Taipei (which is on the northern tip of Taiwan).  From there we caught a bus that took us to the airport.  We finally got into Singapore around 11:00 that night.

 When traveling abroad, you never know who -or what- you might encounter...one of the run-ins I had on this trip was with this friendly boa.  I stopped to admire the snake and as I stroked his leathery skin, the Indian who was charming him asked if I had ever held a snake before...when he heard my answer was yes, the snake was around my neck almost before I realized it...gorgeous, isn't he?

During our stay, we went to Sentosa beach which is the Southernmost point of all Asia.  On Saturday of our trip, we hopped on the early flight to Malaysia and spent the day in Kuala Lumpur where we went up to the skybridge that connects the Petronas Towers which are the two tallest twin towers in the world. 

 After the towers, we made our way to a special reflexology spa where we had little fishies

 nibbling on our toes...there were several different pools where you could experience the treatments and some of the fish had teeth!!  After the spa, we jumped in taxi that took us to the National Mosque of Malaysia.  We waited for prayers to let out and then I had to cover my hair before I could walk into the Mosque.  We looked down on the washing rooms, and walked

 through the marble pillars to the prayer room.  We couldn't go into the prayer room, but we watched several men perform the traditional prayers.  Then it was back to Singapore in time for church the next morning.

We got home to Taiwan late Monday night, and we have three and a half days to get ready for our visa trip to Thailand.  We'll be there for two weeks teaching English in the schools there, and we will also have a mini-camp with a drama theme for a high school there.  We will be touring Bangkok for the last few days that we are there, and then we come home with just enough time to get ready for our own winter camps at the EV.  

With all of the traveling I have been doing lately, I am constantly reminded that no matter where I go, God is with me - protecting me, leading me, and listening.  He is my guide wherever I go, and has kept me safe through all of my adventures.  I am so grateful to Him, and curious as to where He'll take me next....

New Travels...

This Thursday I'm off to Singapore for a week and also a stop in Malaysia.  We've been planning this trip for quite a while now and I can't believe it's here already.  I spent tonight in a clinic for a check-up before the trip.  Last week was my first experience with needles in a foreign country away from my family and America and what is familiarly safe to me.  I have never enjoyed getting shots... and not having my mommy there was rather a traumatizing experience that I am not ashamed to admit :D.  Fortunately I have a dear roomate who took care of me as I was attended to by the nurse with the syringe.  We will get back in one week, and then off again for our visa trip which as of right now, the destination is unknown.  For the first weeks of February, we will be holding living camps at the English village and I will be in the kitchen for the cooking classes with all the kids... grilled peanut butter and jelly, kettle corn and pizza are all what's on the menu.  It's going to be a messy sticky job...I can't wait... it's been about five months since our summer camps, and having all those kids for an extended period of time is always a blast - I'm thanking the Lord for this opportunity to be with the same group of kids for several days at once.  

2009

I can't imagine the adventures that this new year will bring... So far for 2008, I spent half of the year in a foreign country... I'm definitely excited to see what God will have me do when I come home sometime in July... Taiwan was his plan for me this year, I can't wait to see what I'll be doing next.  I was so restless last year to do something -anything- I didn't know what, and the Lord sent me out to a place that I had never dreamed of.  My life dedicated to God has brought me so much more than I ever could have gained by myself - there is no way I would have found these experiences on my own... no way I could have been used as He saw to use me.  I love the verses that talk about being a vessel for His glory...it is my prayer that there will be yet more opportunities that I am ready for as a result of His trying me this year.