Earthquakes and Care Haven

This morning I woke up to my phone beeping because I had a message. It went like this: "Did u have an earthquake?" My first response was: "What!? We had an earthquake and I slept through it??? Oh dang, I really wanted to at least be semi conscious during my first earthquake ever!." Then reality sunk in as the grogginess of sleep slipped away and I realized if there was an earthquake I would have woken up on my own or by my roommates. So, in answer to that question we didn't have an earthquake in Kota Kinabalu last night. There was one very close to us but we didn't feel the shocks at all in my house. If I do experience an earthquake I will be sure to write about it! (Don't worry Sugar Creek Family - I have my life jacket/rice bags ready if there is a Tsunami!)

Katherine, Lauren, and I have begun a new adventure here is KK. We are now all currently working at Care Haven, each a couple days a week in the afternoons. Care Haven is a orphanage branched from West Malaysia and was established in KK in 2008. The information I have been able to gather so far is very limited but I hope to find out more as time goes on. I will be working there on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons with three boys and a girl on their English skills. These four kids are amazing and very eager to learn. Today we had a great time running around the house putting English labels on items and naming colors. They had a great time doing this and would tell me the Bahasa Malay word for each item as we went. Care Haven is a blessing to these four and as time goes on and this home becomes more established I'm sure it will be a blessing to even more children. It is also a home to a few other residents that have mental disabilities. They are always a joy to see when I go and love to smile and say 'hello' and 'goodbye' in English. One of the main focuses Care Haven has for the kids is to help them learn skills to make them more independent. They are responsible for cooking, laundry, washing clothing, and cleaning the house. Along with those chores they are learning Chinese, math, and now English! I'm very excited to be volunteering here and Wednesday and Thursday evenings are something I will look forward to each week!

Thank you all for your support in this mission adventure. I think about all of you often and just thank you for allowing this opportunity to serve. It really wouldn't have been possible without you. You are all in my prayers. Please let me know how you are and what you are doing. (k2mackereth@gmail.com)

Peace,
Kelsey