Hi all!! Sorry it's been so long...i just realized that i totally forgot to blog last week!! :S These past two weeks have absolutely flown by...my team is leaving Malaysia tomorrow!! On to Bangkok, Thailand where we only have three weeks, then back to Perth for a week of report-back and then i'm headed home on the 21st!! i can't believe how fast time is going.

So last week we were up north in Perlis, Malaysia...it was funny because we were only about 10 minutes from the Thai border--our host actually took us there one day! ha! We only had 4 days of ministry in Perlis but they were packed full...mostly filled with basketball. When we started playing i realized how much i actually miss playing basketball--it was fun. :) In the mornings we went to 2 different primary (elementary) schools and ran drills with the kids. we also played a little bit of knock-out and scrimmaged. I loved working with the kids...they're so much fun and they give it their all no matter how hot it is. We were outside each morning and i don't think i've ever sweated that much in my life!! ha! But it was good. In the evenings on the first 2 days we played basketball with some older kids and adults. The evenings of the second two days was more coaching and running drills with younger kids. Friday evening--our last day--we went to the pastor's church who was hosting us and did a little presentation for them with a skit and a few testimonies. So even though our time in Perlis was short, it was lots of fun.

Saturday morning we took a bus the 5 hours back down south to Ipoh, Malaysia. We arrived at about 3:30 and at 4:00, went to talk at and lead a high school youth group. I found out about 10 minutes before we left that i was preaching...nice. :D But then it all worked out because my leader told me to put different shoes on so i went back into the house and when i came back downstairs they had left me there! haha! it was slightly amusing. The people at the house were all worked up about it but i told them not to worry b/c i was speaking so they would definitely miss me...lol!! and they did...i got there in the middle of the service and gave a nice talk on God's love, how he wants a personal relationship with us, and speaks to us in order to share His plans for our lives and for the whole world. It was fun. :)

On Sunday evening, we went to a Chinese boarding school and played volleyball and more basketball with the kids there. We shared a video of our time in Africa, did a skit, and gave a few testimonies. I think it was pretty well-received. it was funny because after we were finished, all the kids stuck around and wanted to take pictures with us and get names and emails for facebook. ha. we were pretty much like celebrities! ;D

Monday was our day off--i did laundry, went bowling, and did a little shopping at the mall. It was an amazing, relaxing day. :) Monday morning we went to another high school and played basketball and soccer with the kids. It was again nice and hot... :S :) A couple of the kids did a dance with the dragon and drums--the ones they do for the Chinese New Year. that was pretty cool to see in person...In the afternoon we did a little bit of work around the base (they just moved into the house a couple of weeks ago). We mixed and helped pour some cement...at least we had a cement mixer (Praise God)...i thought we were going to have to do it by hand for a while! ha! Tuesday and Thursday were also work days--we painted the wall surrounding the house, dug out an area so they could pour cement for a garage, and did some other cleaning things. Today is Friday--the last day...i have a little bit of free time right now...hence the blog... :) but this afternoon/evening we're going to do a program for a children's home. I'm giving a testimony about God's love and faithfulness.

...And we leave the base tomorrow morning at 4:00 to catch a bus to Kuala Lumpur and our flight leaves at 10:30a to Thailand!! I'm pretty excited about Bangkok...i know God has some amazing plans for the last 3 weeks of outreach. The real challenge will be fighting through the exhaustion--this has been an extra long outreach since we left early and i'm getting pretty ready to stop living out of a hiking backpack...so prayers for strength and endurance are much needed. :)

Thanks for all your prayer and support!! i love and miss you all!

Love, Rach