Week One: God is inspiration

Well friends and family! Week one of my outreach is complete! We spent the week doing ALL sorts of things and I am SO excited to share with everyone how amazing the people of Malaysia are. They are the absolute kindest people I have ever met and their hearts for Jesus are absolutely stunning. There is no other way to put it. We got in exactly one week ago a spent a day getting to know the area and settling in. After that it was all prayer, work, prayer, work, prayer, work. Throughout the week we wound up visiting two different schools sharing with them messages, performances, and activities. We met over 20 people that we will be spending majority of our time with so we need to be quick learners with the names! We got to meet two elderly and VERY respectable gentlemen who have incredible hearts for the people of Kuching called Uncle Mervin and Uncle Johnny. We got to become members of different cell groups with the youth ("small groups"). We took part in a college group, a youth group and two different churches. My friend and I lead a children's church last minute, and we spent a full day in the city walking around and making new friends as our day of evangelizing. One thing that will prove to be difficult is not actually having full freedom to talk about Jesus when in the city since majority of them are muslim but God has amazing plans for those days in particular I know since those people are so incredibly kind and welcoming. As a whole it was a very busy, tiring, and growing week. It was a good week! It felt good and it got me and my team excited to see what God has in store for the next 5 weeks. Our team has a lot to learn still about being a strong foundation but the more time we spend together and talk, the stronger we all become. Together as a team and individually with God. Some fun facts about my experiences this week so far! 1. The food is AMAZING majority of the time! Haha! If you know me you know that I have always been an incredibly picky eater and I knew from the beginning that that would be my downfall on outreach. However, God has blessed me because there has actually only been 2 times this week when I have had to "make" myself eat something that was not easy to hold down, let alone pretend like it was good. 2. I stick out like a sore thumb. Even in my team! I am the tallest girl so i pretty much tower over the beautiful little Asian women as well my team AND I am the only blonde. The only blonde on my team and pretty much the only blonde in Kuching! (that is exaggerated a little ;]) and 3. I am not good at "fitting in" to such a quiet culture. So i know God has something in mind with that lesson. I will let you know once I figure it out. So overall!!! This outreach is going to be absolutely amazing. God has incredible things in store and I look forward to updating you all again! I miss you all and I love you! I ask for your continuous prayers for me and my team. I ask specifically for good team foundation, for listening ears and hearts for God, for cultural understanding, and for sufficient rest (even without sleep). Thank you ALL for your support and love. I know for a fact that i couldn't do this without the support. Many blessings to you all! <3 -Christianna

One WEEK! Pray for Team Malay!

February 10th, 2014 In 6 days at 11 o’clock in the morning my fellow team members and I will be departing from the Brisbane airport and bound for Kuching Malaysia where we will be spending 7 weeks partnering with the YWAM base there, building relationships with the youth/college age men and women of the church, making connections for the base, and traveling around small villages sharing the gospel and love of Christ. For the last 4 months we have been learning and experiencing God in ways we never have before. We have had revelations and we have grown so much and now it is time to take everything we have been given and share it with the people of Malaysia. The people in Kuching really struggle with consumerism as well as hopelessness. Our team plan to start outreach off by walking in the opposite spirit and by fighting against these spiritual strongholds. God has amazing plans for the people of Kuching and it is with and only with God’s help that these people can begin to be set free. This Australian journey has been insane. God has revealed Himself to me in SO many new ways and I have never been more in love with Him. I am experiencing a hunger for the truth and for God that I know will never be satisfied because there is ALWAYS something new to learn about our mighty Lord. I am so excited about everything that has been happening in my life in the last 4 months and I cannot wait to see how much MORE different I will be by the end of our 2 month outreach. I want to thank everyone who has supported me through this crazy journey. Whether it was through your prayers, financially, through reading my blogs, or for sharing my updates you all helped me so much and I would not still be here without you. I know this journey is not over yet and I know that once DTS is over, my life is really only just beginning but I still want you all to know how appreciative of you I am. SO THANK YOU! I plan to update my blog at least once or twice every couple weeks when in Malaysia, but unfortunately I cannot promise anything. So keep your eyes open for any updates! I hope to share many more pictures and stories with you all through the rest of this adventure!!! Many blessings to you! -Christianna M.W.