77 days to go

Right now we are:

*Packing to leave for Brunei eeeeaaaarly in the morning.
*Hoping to catch a glimpse of the sultan in Brunei but it's not likely.
*Starting to miss home in America just a tiny bit.
*Finished teaching for the week; gearing up for teaching in Brunei.
*Feeling spicy dinners in the pits of our stomachs.
*Loving meeting with friends and pretending we never did leave here.
*Enjoying (secretly) driving aggresively and defensively.
*Thinking I'm not such a good blogger but hope you get the idea of what's up here.
*Really thankful for the grace of God in our every day lives.
*Overwhelmed (some days) with thankfulness, and also a little stress here and there (like living on the 10th floor of a building with four kids).

As always thanks for visiting and "living it with us" for a few moments.




You've already seen a few sunsets on this blog, but I can't help it- just look at those gorgeous colors.



This photo is for my soy-growing Dad in Canada. Out of your soybeans they make delicious desserts. (Toafu Fah)

How cool is that to sit with Malaysian friends and eat soybean desserts from my Dad's (ok, possibly from Dad's farm) farm.



Day 24

 It has been a busy week mostly of homeschooling, teaching at the seminary, and meeting up with friends old and new. It would be lovely to have a photographer follow us around so we could capture all the best moments. For now this will have to do.


The week in photos-







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When you don't have much space, you make do. Cameron and a little friend from Korea, and another one from Australia, have been playing football (soccer) in the hallway of the tenth floor. When I come out to check on him, his chest puffs up with pride as he points at me with his thumb - "That's my Mom". 'Love that little guy.

If you don't mind your lunch staring at you, this is the best deal- for RM 1 (around 30 US cents) ....Spicy coconut rice with a fishie on top. Actually very delicious. <><><><>

The kids have been keeping watch from the 10th floor for a monitor lizard, and yesterday they finally found one- "Quick! Get the camera!". Brandon managed a photo right before it dissapeared in the jungle.

Watching the rainstorm come in-This is quite an experience when you are right at the sea on the 10th floor.



Sunday in Sungai Ara



Today:
* was a day of service and meeting new people in new places.
* Ben preached on Revelation 2:1-7
* We worshipped with people from other nations.
* It rained a lot, and we swam in the rain.
* We were encouraged by the endurance of God's people who serve long and hard in often difficult circumstances.

Mariah with some of the girls her age.



These kids were doing the dishes and they needed Cam's plate so they helped him finish his noodles asian style. (The kids are used to helping younger siblings finish their food) Now Cam is not really used to being fed anymore, but he sort of enjoyed all the attention.




I know it's not fancy, but don't you just want to live here?



Coconut water; sweetened, iced, and "bungkus" (in a bag)



Sungai Ara and Bandar Seri Begawan

Tomorrow will find us driving around the hills to the other side of the island to attend church. Ben will be preaching at Sungai Ara Christian Centre. Two weeks from today we will leave for Brunei (Bandar Seri Begawan) to serve at a church where we have been several times before. Really looking forward to that and seeing friends again.

The Every Day of Schooling and Markets and Swimming

I find Malaysia a very social place. When we go to the market the man that sells rice cakes remembers me from 3 years ago and even remembers which rice cakes we like. The lady at the fruit stand remembers that we (Mariah and I ) like durian. The man that sells pork asks me where I've been so long, and the lady from the outdoor restaurant where we like to eat remembers all the kids and what we like to eat. (and she invited us to her wedding)! That's just the way things are here in Malaysia- If you are willing as a foreigner to adapt to the lifestyle and make friends and eat the local food, people will enjoy your company. Of course the lovely, balmy, hair-curling weather also contribute to socializing year-round.

Even though we are on the same island as we used to live, we do not live in the same neighborhood or town, so we haven't been able to see old friends on a daily basis. However, we've enjoyed meeting new people and being in the area where we are.

We haven't eaten at this place yet. What do you think? Would you try it? I hadn't seen this place before and we had to confirm with the chinese gentleman that it was actually made with real frogs, which he confirmed.

Waving palm trees, ocean waves within view, and sticky hot weather aren't really good motivators for studying. We experienced some rebellion with that this week. I'm thankful for those ladies that said they would pray for my patience level as we attempt do a semester of school here.

Day 12

Wow, day 12 already! These last few days we have managed to get homeschooling "on the road", even though it has been a little challenging with all the changes and adjustments. It takes a lot more time to "hunt and gather" for our food, and do laundry and get places. On the up side, housework has been easy in 800 square feet, and we have very much enjoyed the hunting and gathering. I've been teaching the kids some bahasa malay, and they have been trying to use their vocab in the right situations. (Even Cam ordered his own meal today).

This evening a Chinese friend, Ann, invited us to come for the Chinese Moon Festival being held here in Batu Ferringhi. The kids each received lanterns in the shapes of the chinese zodiac animals which were lit with candles and held while a parade of rickshaws with VIP's, dancing dragons and drummers marched by. All of this accompanied of course by high-decibal music. Just in case you think Cam didn't enjoy this, see photos.

Ben has been hard at work teaching on a daily basis. He leaves at 7:15 in the morning and teaches from eight till ten. He meets with students and prepares for the next day, and then comes home and helps the kids with school work or we go out together to eat or meet friends. We do appreciate your prayers for all of us. Some of the kids have adjusted better than others but the time will go so fast and we pray that each of them will learn so much during our time here.

Day 6

Today was Ben's first day of  teaching about the Pastoral Epistles at the seminary, so the kids and I decided to visit the wet market (where the locals buy all their daily supplies and fruits and veggies) so we would have something to go with our lunch rice. It's not wise, however, to start shopping without having some teh tarik first (pulled hot sweet tea). The servers always get a  kick out of watching a bunch of foreign kids drinking their favorite tea drink. They were calling their friends over to take a look. (We're working on getting the supplies to make some in North Carolina). Between sips Jaden paused to say (with a serious look on his face) "I'm actually more Malaysian than American." Love that.

Everyone weighed down with mangoes, chicken, veggies, and household goods, we track back to the car which I cannot now get started. (It worked fine this morning?). Several tries but to no avail. Well, the kids had been wanting to try the bus, so here was our chance to familiarize ourselves with the bus system. We didn't have any problem finding our way home and even made a friend on the bus who lives in our building here.

It's almost dinner time now and the kids are sitting on the couch with Ben watching Spongebob in Bahasa Malay. Ben is translating here and there and the kids are laughing. (So is Ben). The tv has four stations which are all Malay, and Ben and I get to practice translating. The kids have also started homeschooling this week and are learning (or relearning) Malay words to use at the markets.

I've discovered I can get better "everyday" pictures if I give a camera to a child to use as we are walking around. So here are a few pictures compliments of Mariah. We enjoy watching people haggling over the prices. One lady who was buying a wok for like $2 got quite angry.

Thanks for visiting!

The first few days

Thanks for visiting our little site here to see how we are doing. By God's grace (and after a looong trip) we arrived in Penang on September 1. What a pleasure it has been to reunite with friends in old neighborhoods, church, community and yes- restaurants.( 'Afraid we've been eating too much which is to be expected). The seminary; Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary, has provided us with an apartment and a car, for which we are very grateful. Ben will start teaching this week already, and the kids and I will start homeschooling in a few days. Aside from some jetlag, we are all ready to get going. No culture shock, which is nice. Even Cameron seems to remember things; he hugged his preschool teacher when he saw her. This morning we worshipped with Georgetown Baptist Church; the church we used to attend, and I think Kok Aun, the pastor, quickly put Ben on the preaching schedule.

We have all enjoyed reuniting with our close friends the Worten family. Though they have all grown and changed, the kids are enjoying time together.

The biggest challenge so far has been to persuade the kids that we don't need to carry out our list of  "1000 things to do while in Malaysia" during our first few days. 

This is the apartment in Batu Ferringhi where we are staying. We love the view of the Straits of Malacca.

Below us is a Muslim village; called a "kampung". There is also a mosque in the kampung, so we are waking up nice and early. We are on the tenth floor of a highrise.

We so appreciate each of you that are reading this. Thanks for thinking of us and praying for us.