Ok, I tried posting a thread earlier, but the pics weren't showing up, and there were too many problems, so I'm going to start all over. :D

I've been meaning to post a few threads, on my 6 month missions trip... which started in Kona, Hawaii, for a 3 month class, followed by 2 1/2 months in Malaysia, and Indonesia. Unfortunately, I still don't have my Kona pics, a friend of mine has them on her laptop and she hasn't sent me the cd yet. So for now, I'll skip ahead and post some photos of Malaysia. Later I'll post the Indonesia pics, probably on another thread.

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur (I don't have any pics of that city!) then after a couple days of orientation, we set off for Penang, which was to be our home for the next 2 months. :) We stayed at the ywam location there, which actually was not bad at all... Our team stayed in 3 different houses, and besides there being no hot water, it was a pretty cool place.

One of the first outings we had was a few days before Christmas, we went on a prayer walk. Here are some sights from that walk.



Penang, Malaysia

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Before I go on, here's a photo of our team... It's not the whole team, just a few who happened to be there when this pic was taken. :D We had about 16 people total. A family from Norway, a family from San Jose, CA (not in this picture) 5 single American girls, including myself, and 1 Korean girl.

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From left to right: Amber, Helene, Carol, Eivind, Rebekka, me, Asle and MiYoung


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Helen, MiYoung and Monica

Our prayer walk included a short ferry ride...



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LingLing, Alex and MiYoung

We stopped by a few temples. Malaysia is, I believe, 80% Muslim, and the remaining amount is Budhhist, Christian, and other.


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The woman in this picture is Audrey, she was one of ywam staff.



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One of the many mosques in Penang



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Here are some pics of our Christmas in Malaysia. This was the day before the tsunami hit...



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(as you can see, this was when we first got there, so we weren't
as close to eachother as we were after the 2 1/2 months!) :p



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When the earthquake hit... only a few on our team actually felt it. So, we had no idea at that time the magnitude of what had just happened. Then later, we heard about the tsunami... After the first wave hit, a few people on our team went down to the coast, to see what was happening. They didn't know that another big wave would hit, right when they were there... Eivind happened to catch some of what happened on his video camera.




http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y204/grace789/penang2.jpg



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We still didn't realize at that time how disastorous it was... It seemed that my family and friends back home knew more about what was going on than we did, cause they had CNN, so my mom called the ywam office, in a panic, wondering if I was even alive, because we were actually supposed to be in Indonesia when it hit, but the Indonesia trip had been postponed.

But there was tons to do in Malaysia... After it happened, we knew that we were there for a reason. We began to work, on the coast, for the next couple weeks... there were a bunch of little houses that were completely demolished, and we helped go through the wreckage, picking up the debris, and mud-soaked personal belongings, and what was left of people's houses. One lady we helped lost pretty much everything, and her only concern was to find a bag of cash, that had something like 2000 dollars in it. We never did find the bag, but she was thankful for the help she got...

There was a man who lived on that street, who had lost his house, and we found out later that this man was very anti-Christian. I think he came from a Budhhist backround, but wasn't a believer. He and his first wife had divorced because she became a Christian... then his second wife became a Christian, and his daughter started going to church. He was still against Christianity, and then after the tsunami, he saw all the people helping out on the beach, and he saw us working there, and he realized that pretty much the only people who were helping were local Christian churches. As I was shoveling dirt and mud, a man came up and asked me where I was from, and who I was with. I told him I was from California, and there with a Christian organization, Youth With A Mission. I later found out that this man, whose home was destroyed, was so touched by the help that he got, that he changed his heart about Christianity. So, that was wonderful news to hear, and we knew that even the dirtiest work, that no one was getting paid for, makes a difference, and that's what we were there for, to reach people for Christ, and show God's love in different ways. :)

Before I go on, here's a photo of our team... It's not the whole team, just a few who happened to be there when this pic was taken. :D We had about 16 people total. A family from Norway, a family from San Jose, CA (not in this picture) 5 single American girls, including myself, and 1 Korean girl.

From left to right: Amber, Helene, Carol, Eivind, Rebekka, me, Asle and MiYoung


Thanks for sharing these photos, Cindy. Great-looking team. Of course somebody just HAD to do the bunny-ears. :)

heheh, yeah.. we had a lot of great people on our team. We had a great time together... I miss it! :( :)

I'll post more pics a little later, I gotta go upload more!

These next few pics are of when we all went out to the 'night market'. :) The first few pics were taken at a beach, near a hotel.





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Amber, MiYoung, Monica





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MiYoung, Helene






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This is where you buy stuff for incredibly cheap... and of course, you bargain.







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Monica






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cool pics.

The architecture is real neat. And those kids are adorable. :)

Thanks! :D

Yeah, Penang is an interesting city... There's a lot of variety there, and different cultures, there are Chinese Malays, Indian Malays and.... just Malays. :p

And yeah, the little kids on our team were super cute. It was tough for their mom though! She wasn't able to do as much as the others... the family with the small kids didn't go with us to Indonesia (except the dad for a couple days), cause they thought it might not be safe.

thanks for posting! :)

These pictures look wonderful!

I am glad you got to speak to the man who hated believers, the seed you planted may do wonders for the Lord! :)

Buddhist pics = yes! Mosques are very beautiful as well. Look at that pool....

These pictures look wonderful!

I am glad you got to speak to the man who hated believers, the seed you planted may do wonders for the Lord! :)

Thanks! :) I'm glad you liked them! I'm going to post more later... I just gotta upload them and stuff. And yeah, I'm glad I got to be there, and speak to that man, it was so great to feel like we actually made a difference, and to be a part of that man having a change of heart. :)

Buddhist pics = yes! Mosques are very beautiful as well. Look at that pool....

I should've known you'd like the Budhist pics! :p You may not like that we did intercessory prayer as we walked through or around those temples/mosques. That was why we went there, not just to take pics. We thought it was interesting that there was so much plastic, and bright, fake gold.... to me it is like building a castle on sand, it may look nice, but...if it's not based on something solid, then what?

I should've known you'd like the Budhist pics! :p You may not like that we did intercessory prayer as we walked through or around those temples/mosques. That was why we went there, not just to take pics. We thought it was interesting that there was so much plastic, and bright, fake gold.... to me it is like building a castle on sand, it may look nice, but...if it's not based on something solid, then what?

yeah, i mean such beauty can't be inspired by an inner feeling of the divine :|

Think what you want, but there are parallel teachings between the Buddha and the Christ. The peace and serenity of the monk is a foundation I don't see very often from other people of any faiths...

Ps, I do "intercessory prayer" when I walked through wall st. and the NYSE ;)

Those pics are wonderful Cindy....I'll share them with my daughter when she gets home from school.

Something that I think is so amazing about you is even though you are a very strong spirit filled Christian....you still respect and admire the beauty of other religious icons. I think this is why people are probably very receptive to you. It comes from really loving the people you are ministering to. It takes a special heart to love without judgement.

Think what you want, but there are parallel teachings between the Buddha and the Christ.

Yes, there probably are some. :)

Ps, I do "intercessory prayer" when I walked through wall st. and the NYSE ;)

LOL! Hey, that actually might not be a bad idea. You know, money.... root of all evil, etc. :shrug:


Those pics are wonderful Cindy....I'll share them with my daughter when she gets home from school.

Something that I think is so amazing about you is even though you are a very strong spirit filled Christian....you still respect and admire the beauty of other religious icons. I think this is why people are probably very receptive to you. It comes from really loving the people you are ministering to. It takes a special heart to love without judgement.


Aww, thank you so much Zoot. But I really think you've given me too much credit. I will openly admit that in terms of spirituality, I am still a toddler... I know that I've got a lot to work on (or I should say, lots of places where God is working on me)... This is why sometimes I want to quit posting on debate threads, because I get frustrated and my human nature takes over, and that's not usually a good thing. But I appreciate your kind words. :)

I'll try to post more pics tonight. I have to leave for work pretty soon.

awesome pics Cindy!

wonderful pictures. I actually practice a cross between Kadampa Buddhism and Christianity (Episcapalian) so like Gabe I would loved to see many of these places for different reasons. I'm sure God heard your prayers and loved your intent.

awesome pics Cindy!

Dawn! It's so good to see you here! :) I haven't seen you around DA much lately. I haven't seen Kat much either. :( Anyway, thanks! :D ((hug)) <3

wonderful pictures. I actually practice a cross between Kadampa Buddhism and Christianity (Episcapalian) so like Gabe I would loved to see many of these places for different reasons. I'm sure God heard your prayers and loved your intent.

Thanks Fayebelle! I really appreciate that... You would like Malaysia, it's such an interesting mix of cultures and people. And if you like Asian food, you'd really love it there, of course! Thanks again for the encouraging words. :)

OK, here are a few pics of some stuff we did. These next few are from a night where we were invited to a Vietnamese Christian church (yes, in Malaysia), to a group of mostly new believers. The things we did that night were to sing, dance, spoken word, and some speaking. I mentioned on another thread a few months ago that I (along with Miyoung) actually sang in front of about 100 Vietnamese & Malaysian christians, which if you knew me you'd understand was a scary thing for me, but amazingly it worked out well! We sang 3 songs, and the third song I taught the audience some hand movements to the song, and even though they barely spoke English (there was a translator) they picked up the moves quick, and it was super fun. :D

Sorry about the blurriness of this pic. It really is a bad pic, but I didn't have many to choose from and the other ones I didn't want to post. :o



http://www.geocities.com/incindiaryonline/IMG_1001m4.txt


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These next two are Amber and Monica doing a dance to the song 'Above All'...


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The next couple ones are the Vietnamese christians from that church doing a skit...


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more from their skit...


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Amber doing spoken word (the girl on the left is translating)

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Eivind on the drum

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Ok, I tried posting a thread earlier, but the pics weren't showing up, and there were too many problems, so I'm going to start all over. :D

I've been meaning to post a few threads, on my 6 month missions trip... which started in Kona, Hawaii, for a 3 month class, followed by 2 1/2 months in Malaysia, and Indonesia. Unfortunately, I still don't have my Kona pics, a friend of mine has them on her laptop and she hasn't sent me the cd yet. So for now, I'll skip ahead and post some photos of Malaysia. Later I'll post the Indonesia pics, probably on another thread.

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur (I don't have any pics of that city!) then after a couple days of orientation, we set off for Penang, which was to be our home for the next 2 months. :) We stayed at the ywam location there, which actually was not bad at all... Our team stayed in 3 different houses, and besides there being no hot water, it was a pretty cool place.So, what did you go all the way over there to do? Convert the infidel? :D I'd say that most Muslims need a re-education of sorts, but this doesn't necessarily entail a new religion that for the most part isn't terribly different from their own.



One of the first outings we had was a few days before Christmas, we went on a prayer walk. Here are some sights from that walk.Oof, sounds pretty stifling. I once went on a "mission trip" myself, so I know what it's like to be feeding the homeless when I could be experiencing the nightlife. I hated being forced to follow the herd on a non-stop itenerary by "youth leaders" that were downright "fascist". On top of that, there was no privacy.

So, what did you go all the way over there to do?

She went over to reach people with the Gospel of Christ, to minister healing and love to a broken and lost world.

Convert the infidel? :D I'd say that most Muslims need a re-education of sorts, but this doesn't necessarily entail a new religion that for the most part isn't terribly different from their own.

Reach anybody of another religion, or those who are agnostic or atheistic, to reach anybody seeking a better way, God's way. It's not bringing a new religion per se, it's bringing the love of God in their lives.

Oof, sounds pretty stifling. I once went on a "mission trip" myself, so I know what it's like to be feeding the homeless when I could be experiencing the nightlife. I hated being forced to follow the herd on a non-stop itenerary by "youth leaders" that were downright "fascist". On top of that, there was no privacy.

Fascist is a pretty strong word. Perhaps you had a bad crowd. I met and saw a lot of the people Buttercup trained with in Hawaii and she was with a good crowd. And there were days she was free to go to town and enjoy herself.

I can't speak for her entire experience in Asia since I'm not her, but while there was much challenge in her mission, there was also much reward, and she was a blessing for those she touched and vice versa.

So, what did you go all the way over there to do? Convert the infidel? :D I'd say that most Muslims need a re-education of sorts, but this doesn't necessarily entail a new religion that for the most part isn't terribly different from their own.

Hi! :D Well, there are two main reasons why I went on the outreach (and will do more). First, because Jesus said to... in fact, those were among His last words while still here (the Great Commission) And second, because it's something I want to do, I want to tell people about what has given me a completely new life, and changed me from the inside out, with whoever is willing to listen... Because I believe it is essential, and also because it's too awesome of a thing to not want to share with people. So that's why. :) And btw, I disagree with what you said about Islam. But that's probably a good topic for another thread.


Oof, sounds pretty stifling. I once went on a "mission trip" myself, so I know what it's like to be feeding the homeless when I could be experiencing the nightlife. I hated being forced to follow the herd on a non-stop itenerary by "youth leaders" that were downright "fascist". On top of that, there was no privacy.

Actually, the people on my team were great, some really, really cool wonderful people, and they were nothing like what some non-christians probably would expect. That prayer walk was only one day, we did so many different things, and trust me, there was never a dull moment! :D The whole trip was a really fantastic experience, although I admit there were many things (for me, at least) that were hard. A few of the conditions, and some other things too... but it doesn't matter. It wasn't about me, or my comfort or preferences. I think there's a reason why I was on the Penang team, because even though I was there to reach others, God also did some work on me, it was a growing/stretching experience.... our team did a lot of practical work, more so than the other 2 Malaysia teams, and if I were to stay inside my comfort zone, I would not have been on that team, because the Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh teams did different things than we did. But it was good... in fact, there was one point when we were considering going to Ache (sp?) the place where the earthquake hit the hardest.... and at that point I was like, "bring it on. If i'm going to experience tough conditions, they might as well be the toughest conditions possible!" (It turns out, we didn't go there, but that's another story)

Ok, I'm stop rambling now! :D

Thanks for posting on this thread, and btw, even though we have very different beliefs, I like reading your posts, you are an interesting person!

Thanks Alan!

btw, I still have a few more Malaysia pictures... but maybe I'll just skip those and post a new thread on the Indonesia trip. I've got lots of great pics from our stay in Medan. I'll probably post em tomorrow or something though, it's too late tonight! :)