The Good and the sad

This week has been a crazy mix of emotions full of both exciting times and hard news. First I share the exciting times. The biggest excitement of the week was the visit from Heidi! She works for the ELCA and is the overseer of the Young Adults program. It was fun having her come and see the program here in Malaysia. The adventure began last Sunday with church, brunch, and then adventures in downtown KK. We, the five volunteers, took Heidi on an trip to Gaya street (the Sunday street market that you can buy just about anything), the Philippine market (great fresh fruit and vegetables), and then the long steep hike up to our residence at STS. It was great having her here and sharing what we have been doing for the past five months. Talking with her and hearing her insights/observations on the program and culture were interesting and helped me take a step back and look once again at where I am living and the people I'm surrounded by. I hope Heidi enjoyed her time here. I know my friends here in Malaysia enjoyed her company and sharing their lives with her. I pray for her safe return to the states and wish her luck as she begins the process of organizing next years YAGMS.

This week has also been full of fun times at Cheshire Home and getting to know the residents and the staff. My Malay is slowly improving through conversations with them and so is my understanding of another culture/social group in Malaysia. I will expand on that in a future post. Right now at Cheshire home I am working with one resident on his English and computer skills. In less than a month he will be traveling to South Africa as a representative for the Young Voices of Sabah. This is a group of young men and women to bring awareness of equal rights for those with disabilities. It has been fun working with him so far and I think I'm learning as much as I am teaching about the English language. In all seriousness, English is so confusing! Why, oh why, do we have so many rules and so many exceptions to those rules?

Along with all the happy times this week there has also been some sad news. There have been two deaths this week of loved ones. The first being Ben Larson who died in the earthquake in Haiti. He was serving over there through the ELCA and was trapped in the home he was staying in. Ben's wife and cousin made it out and have since made it back home. My prayers go to all my friends back home as they celebrate the life that Ben had lived and the many memories he has left us all with. The second death was my Grandpa who died yesterday morning (this time may vary with the time change). It is hard to hear this news and not be with my family. Please keep them all in your prayers as we plan for the celebration of his life. Grandma, I know you will probably read this post, love you and thinking about you. I will raise my bowl of vanilla ice cream with strawberries on top to Grandpas memory!