Ipoh

To start off our time in Ipoh we had a relaxing first week with just meeting the staff of the base and the teachers for the school. We got to travel around the area where we are living and get a nice feel for the culture we are surrounded by. There are many muslims here and if you are born Malay it is required for you to be muslim if you want rights to the land. There are a whole heap of different cultures here though, most prevalent are chinese, malay, indian, burmese and vietnamese.
Within the first few days we went and had lunch at a chinese restaurant, Sam and Chris were introduced to a group of guys sitting next to us. They call themselves Hash house harriers and they are all over the world. They are a group of people who are all interested in hardcore hiking and go every friday. So our guys are now hiking every friday and talking to these chinese buddhist more and more about God.
Last week four out of our team of nine got food poisoning! Me included! We were sick for a good two days each. Thankfully Lydia, Jalena and Sam all got better in time to be apart of the Vietnamese ministry our base helps with over the weekend. They come to the house on saturdays, have fellowship and dinner, stay the night, hang out on sundays and go to church that night. Chris got to share a sermon last sunday and four people were saved after he did an alter call. What a God way to enter into this ministry!!
This last week was also our first week of school the base is putting on. The kids range from ages 6-16. They are taught english, grammer, geography, math, art and cultural studies. The school wants to make sure these kids learn to speak and use english on a regular basis, so that is where we come in. To help with coversations and building trusting relationships so they feel comfortable enough to talk with us and really develop a better understanding of english. Sally, Lydia, Jalena and I are all teachers for the school so we focus on math and cultural studies. The kids don't have much grasp on the big world we live in or any idea what other culturals are like so we have all this time to try and introduce them into our world while we are submersed in their's.
We have had some spiritual attacks after being sick and just feeling crappy and bad attitudes but we rebuke the enemy anytime those come along and we are praying everyday for the strength and unity we know God has instilled in this team!
Thank you all so much for keeping us in your prayers!