Genting Highlands, Praise and more

Hi everyone! This is Tiana signing in. I’ve made a list of accomplishments for each team member. Enjoy!

Ben: broke a chair
Brendan: figured out girls secret code
Doug: Broke a different chair. Spit gum into Kyle’s mouth on a ride at Genting
Tim: Beat Brendan at treading water
Kyle: Caught gum in his mouth on a ride
Cynthia: Broke a different chair
Lydia: Made friends with some cats
Tiana: Broke a couch

Moral of the story? Americans are hard on furniture!!!

So here at the training program we’ve been very busy. In groups we made posters (painted cloths) about Isaiah 43:18-21, 44:1-5, and 49:6. Each group illustrated the verses in their own unique way, but all groups shared some key elements: desolation, a river bringing new life, and the sun. These represent how even though we turn away from God for our own desolation, He will renew us and give us new life. The sun represents how God is always there and He helps us grow.

Tim, filling in for Tiana: Our (Tiana's and Kyle's) team is composed mostly of non-christians: Pei Yin, Wei Shan, and Ivy. Although Ivy left a few days ago, we feel she left with a much greater understanding of the Bible and who God is. In her place, Wei Shan arrived a few days ago despite strong parental opposition. We feel she is really growing and very close to accepting Christ! Praise God! We’re also happy to report that Pei Yin called her parents yesterday and talked about being a Christian. She said her parents said ok and so “She do”. We are happy to embrace her as a new sister in Christ!!!!


Lydia: Hi everyone! This is Lydia!

On friday we went to the Genting Highlands theme park, about an hour north of KL and very close to where we are staying for the summer training program. Probably the biggest highlight was the gondola ride up to and down from the park. Kelvin told us that it is the fastes skyway in the world and the largest in southeast asia. It runs over several jungle peaks, at times only about 10 feet above the canopy and at others over 40! For the most part we stayed together, trying several rides and archery but in the end we split up into little groups. Some people did bumper boats (very fun!) and some got ice cream while sharing quiet times. When we left on the gondola there was a big white cloud surrounding the entire park and for a few minutes we couldn’t see anything but white. Then it cleared up and we were able to see the tress, the white clouds racing along the peaks, and the Genting park, perched high on the top of the mountain. Beautiful!

Tim: Prayer requests:
1.) As the summer training program finishes up, please pray for maximum impact in the lives of the students
2.) Please pray for wisdom in how to reach the campus for the next four weeks. We’re not sure if it will look like an English class, basketball camp, or just stopping people on campus and sharing Christ with them. Maybe some combination of all of these things
3.) Please pray that no one would leave this training program unchanged
4.) Please keep Ivy and Wei Shan (Way SHAWN) in your prayers that they would come to know Christ
5.) Please keep Pei Yin (PAY IN) in your prayers that the Lord would direct her and transform her in her new relationship with Him
6.) Please pray for Lance and Cindy, two Malaysian students who are struggling in their walk with Jesus and who did not attend the training program
7.) Praise God for our continued health and cool weather!!

The Training Program Begins!

Hello Everyone! This is Kyle!

To the Dads, Happy Father’s Day! We love you!

Malaysia’s still sweet! We are now in Bukit Tinggi (“High Hill”) at the Student Training Program. So far we’ve heard from several key speakers. Keng Yin (Our host here in Malaysia) has planned it to the dot (excellent job!). We are split up into 4 groups for cleaning and washing dishes and bible study. Tiana and I are with Ivy and Pei Yin and I got to see Tiana show them the Bridge and they are looking at the cross so pray for the Lord to do big things there! But so far we’ve played ultimate Frisbee, football, futbol, and got to see Brendan sing in Chinese! (Yes, we got it on video!)

For morning exercises Yling taught us some wushu (a form of martial arts) and we taught them wrestling this morning (both equally as fun to watch). Keng Yin nominated Ben to be discipline master so everyone would be on time. He has a whistle and a gong and we think he might be enjoying his role a little too much! :). Last night another college ministry came over for a malay dinner and to sing praise songs. Worshiping with them was awesome!!! The training program has been about opening the flood gates and we cannot wait to go back to campus. Be praying for strong desires to serve God and to know Him. Today I taught a workshop on the hand illustration which will help us understand why we must hear, read, study, memorize, and meditate on scripture. Also please pray for Ivy and Pei Yin that they would put their hope in God and that our relationships with each other would strengthen. Thank God that Tim and Tiana’s bags finally arrived safely on Friday and for new friends.

We are enjoying teaching the Malaysian’s American slang. So far we’ve taught them “Bummer dude!”, “Sweet!”, and “That’s tight!”. Brendan also taught them the fist pound as a greeting. “Where do the dogs go? To the pound!”

-Kyle

We're Here!

Hello from Malaysia!

After 21 hours of plane travel and 27 hours of total travel we were definitely pleased to land in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. All of us made it safe and sound and on time. Tianna and I were unpleasantly and really not so surprised to find out that our luggage didn’t make it past LA. For now we’re coping with one change of clothes and borrowed materials from our hosts and fellow travelers. Our luggage should arrive tomorrow. We find it more than a little ironic that Tianna and I were the ones who most advocated rechecking our bags in LA. Unfortunately there wasn’t time so we weren’t able to. Oh well, these things are to be expected on such trips! :)

Malaysia is HOT!!!! The heat and humidity is really surprising and affects every aspect of life here. Yesterday was 88 but with 100% humidity it really feels like 120. Things start early and go late because that is when the temperature is most bearable. The house we are staying at does not have air conditioning. It’s a three bedroom house we share with two Malaysian Navigators and university students: Kiasin and Kelvin. It’s in a small suburb of Kuala Lumpur called Petaling Jaya. The squat toilet was a little bit of a surprise but there’s a western style one upstairs. The boys share a room and the girls share a room. All the bedrooms are on the upper level with a small balcony. The living room is our favorite place to hang out because it is cool and has a giant ceiling fan! The nights here are pleasant except the giant swarm of mosquitos that attack every dawn and dusk. Avoiding getting bitten is impossible. It’s all about mitigating the damage! Thankfully our bedroom window has a screen and a plug-in mosquito repellent.

The food here is excellent! We eat mostly at Chinese outdoor restaurants. The food is good and extremely cheap. I think for all 8 of us it cost only like $15 USD to eat lunch today.

We’ve been keeping busy today after waking up pretty much recovered from our jet-lag by preparing for the summer training program. We’ve been putting together workshops and getting things organized. Tomorrow we leave for a small town in the countryside east of KL called Bentong. Here we have rented two apartments where we will run the summer training program. Things will definitely be cramped for the next few weeks. The rooms will truly be asian style with wall to wall mattresses! On the up side, we expect Bentong to be a little bit cooler since it’s at a higher elevation.

Keng Yin, who is the navigator staff member in charge of the ministry we are assisting is amazing! She has been so nice picking us up from the airport and helping us get settled into our home for the next seven weeks. The other Nav students have also been amazing! They take us out to eat, they help us shop, go to the ATM, everything! They are excellent hosts. I have a new appreciation for the difficulties of foreign exchange students in America.

That’s it for now! Stay tuned! We have one 3G wireless card for our use so we’ll try keep regular blog updates as we have time. Unfortunately due to low speed of our internet, we won't be able to regularly upload pictures! Sorry! We'll do our best.

Prayer requests:
1.) Please pray that mine and Tianna’s bags arrive safely and timely!
2.) Please pray for our continued health and security (no problems yet!)
3.) Please pray that the Lord would work through this training program and use it to enrich the student’s walk with God in radical new ways
4.) Please pray for the students who are experiencing resistance from parents allowing them to come to the program. Please pray for the softening of their hearts and for the softening of those students who are resisting coming.
5.) Please pray for divine appointments, wisdom, and discernment in interacting with the local community.
6.) Please thank God for our safe arrival, and for his abundant support of every aspect of this trip. It is truly resting securely in his capable hands!!!!!


Tim

The Trip Begins! (On Monday....)

Hello Everyone!


Thanks for visiting the first blog entry for the CU Navs six-week trip to Malaysia! As some of you may know, we will be leaving for Malaysia on Monday June 15th at 9:47pm and will arrive in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the capital, at 1:00 pm on Wednesday June 17th. (FYI- Kuala Lumpur is 14 hours ahead of Denver time.)

For the next six weeks we will be assisting a local collegiate Navigators ministry in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is largely a blend of three different ethnic groups: the muslim Malays which make up the majority of the population, the Malaysian Chinese, and the Malaysian East Indian. Although Islam is by far the most practiced religion, Buddhists and Christians do have religious freedom if they do not belong to the Malay ethnic group. About 9% of Malaysia's population are Christian.

The local ministry we will be assisting is mostly made up of Malaysian Chinese students. Most of the students in the ministry are relatively new Christians. For the first two weeks of the trip we will help run a "Summer Training Program" for these students. This will consist of running workshops and Bible studies designed to help the students enrich their relationship with God. After the two week program is completed we hope to continue to disciple the students as their semester begins. Also during this time we will be teaching English classes to university students.

Our team is composed of 2 CU Nav Staff members (Ben and Brian), 1 college grad (09! WOOT!) (Tim), 3 CU men (Kyle: sophomore, Brendan: Junior, Doug: Sophmore), and 3 CU women (Cynthia: Junior, Lydia: Senior, Tianna: Junior). We will be staying in a rented 3 bedroom house across the street from campus that will have regular internet access. Hopefully we will have many opportunities to provide updates. Although I (Tim) created this blog, I am hoping the team and I can share the burden of providing updates. I will be regularly uploading pictures during the trip which you can access via the slideshow on the right-hand side.

Tim