Introducing Esterdinah! Or Bebeng as everyone at Jireh Home calls her. I prefer to yell out “Hey Bebeng, Hey Bebeng!” like the Hurricane Chris song “Ay Bay Bay”. Much like everyone reading this, no one at Jireh Home has a clue what song I am referring to. We love it anyway, simply because it’s catchy!
Esterdinah is obviously beautiful, and has such captured the hearts of many Jireh Home boys. But beyond that, she is so caring and sincerely kind toward everyone. Bebeng is also a phenomenal singer. So if you can coax her past her shyness you’ll be greatly rewarded!
Esterdinah also has the prettiest hair of anyone I have ever met. We are currently trying to find a way to swap scalps, so I can hit the lotto and she can get short changed on the hair front. We’re both excited about the prospect!
Last week was the final visa renewal retreat with my fellow YAGMs. The eight volunteers and Peter packed up and headed out to Chiang Mai, Thailand. If seeing my YAGM friends wasn’t reason enough to be ecstatic, heading back to Thailand definitely put my excitement into overdrive!
To be completely honest, I needed the excitement going into the retreat. The month before had been tough. I felt as if the finish line of my time here was in sight, and I have been struggling with what that means to me. Now that going back to my life in America is a nearly tangible reality I am thinking of seeing friends, family, little things like having a car again, and moving forward in my life – however that may unfold. However that departure in two months is still, well…two months away. In terms of my time here that seems like nothing, but two months is still a hefty chunk of time. So I had been trying to fight off feelings of excitement about returning home and instead remain in the present to give my best to my community for my remaining time and also learn whatever lessons still needed to be learned. I felt like I was in a void between here and Home, where I didn’t have my feet firmly planted in either and I wasn’t truly living anywhere.
The night we arrived in Chiang Mai Peter asked us to discuss where our focus had been lately in regards to the end of the year approaching: were we focused on the past and our time here thus far or were we looking to the future, eager to go home. Great, I could either be the missionary-of-the-year and lie about my feelings, or I could lay it all on the table and finally have to face the guilt I had been avoiding for feeling ready to go home. Well wouldn’t you know, I wasn’t alone! (In terms of having my eyes toward home, not lying to a roomful of church volunteers) Almost everyone had at least been getting ready to leave if they weren’t there already. What a relief to finally kick that growing guilt to the curb.
We separated into small groups next to talk about those feelings and what they mean for the two months we have left, we each got a chance to talk in respect to our specific work sites. As I started jabbering about Jireh Home, I noticed that that with every frustration or inkling to leave and get home came three or four funny anecdotes or things I loved so much about being there that I couldn’t resist sharing them with the other volunteers. I was so excited to share my stories and so in love with the place I was describing. I missed my home at Jireh Home.
As the days in Thailand passed and more discussions came about my perspective on the next two months shifted. Suddenly I saw that I GET to spend two more months here in Sabah with my family at Jireh Home. It is nothing I need to “persevere through” or “tough out”. It is a gift and such a blessing that I get to share two more months with the people I have come to love so, so much. I could no longer wait to get back. I wanted to soak up every minute of the short time I have left. I came to Thailand ready and waiting to go home to America, but I left ready and eager to get back home to Malaysia.
Perhaps one of my favorite moments of the retreat, and one that I think best encases the emotional transition I am describing, happened on the last night in Chiang Mai. Peter showed us a slideshow of pictures he used as a presentation to future YAGMs detailing what the YAGM Malaysia program was all about. Somewhere in the middle of it, while on edge of my seat, I was overcome with enthusiasm. I thought to myself “I HAVE to do this program, it looks fantastic!” That is when I silently slapped myself on forehead and remembered I am IN that program right now. And how lucky does that make me, to have spent the last nine months doing something I love and am passionate about, and to get two more months to thrive in the program I am still so enthusiastic about that I would want to do it all over again.
In addition to changing outlook on my present life, we as a group also had a bunch of fun and exciting Thailand adventures!
WE GOT TO SPEND A WHOLE MORNING WITH ELEPHANTS!!!!!
Liz and I found so super delicious spring rolls while we walked around the Sunday night street market
We got to spend an afternoon at a Buddhist Temple.
I have grown so much in my opportunities to travel, be immersed in new cultures, meet new people and share all of our differences similarities, and see the world in a new, bigger way.
A friend of mine from my time at Vanderbilt University, who is a social studies teacher with the Teach For America program in Birmingham, Alabama, is making that experience a possibility for six of his students who would otherwise not have that chance.
It is a truly remarkable, once in a lifetime opportunity for the kids he is working with, and an amazing initiative on his part. If you have the time, please check out their website (the blog title is a link) and possibly help their dream become a reality.
Introducing Fizzlee, or Kogio as he is called here! It is a fitting nickname for Jireh Home’s youngest, smallest, most rowdy boy as it means King Kong.
Fizzlee is eight, and Fandlee’s younger brother. He is in primary school and doing well, when he isn’t bouncing off the walls. He has 2 tons of energy packed into his little self, and between his kindness, activeness, and intelligence it is always a fun time to watch that energy be released.
Right now, Fizzlee and mine’s friendship is best displayed by touching each other’s noses when we see one another. I don’t know what else I could ask for in a friend!
And here we have Maxween.
Let me start by stating what is so obvious in this picture: he’s a stud. Maxween is twelve years old and in his final year of Primary School. He is wickedly smart, and wickedly mischievous. Although he tries to deny the smart part and pretend he’s not, the truth always comes out - especially in English class.
Maxween is spunky, witty, funny and has already perfected a wink that will make the ladies weak in the knees someday…soon. Everyday I ask Maxween if he is my BFF, and after 9 months of wearing him down, he now responds with a “yes” about every third day. Progress is progress, right? He’s the greatest!
The picture tells you she’s beautiful (and also obviously amazing since she throws up the double peace sing in pictures!) but Evarinna also happens to be incredibly smart, hard working, and kind.
Evarinna just started her first year of secondary school this year. She is beyond her years in terms of her grasp on the English language, but she is ever diligent with bettering her skills and learning more. She is always the first to volunteer an answer in class. And although she is rarely wrong, I admire her confidence and willingness to make a mistake for the sake of practicing speaking. This little lady is going far in her life, I don’t think anyone could stop her!
My dad came to visit in early April! For anyone who has ever met Schupe, there is no need to say it, but for those of you unlucky/lucky enough to have not met my father I will let you know that we had a blast and he brought fun times to everyone here. That’s right - the kids and staff at Jireh Home were more than glad to spend a few days with Uncle Schupe.
He and Lebiana immediately bonded over their shared love of food, and Kisa was taken by his jokes and what she called his “kindness”. I took that one with a grain of salt, naturally. In the spirit of their budding friendships, Schupe taught the two of them to bake a cake (fun-fetti!) and make a simple pizza. The process and quality time turned out to be a far bigger reward than the end result, but we can rightfully attributed that to the crazy Malaysian “oven” at my house.
In return for his cooking lessons, Lebiana, Kisa and Rommy took Schupe into to town one day to share a glimpse of their lives. We toured the finest grocery stores in town, wandered the streets in the fashion of true Tuaran-ians, and even climbed to the top of the nine story Chinese Pagoda that offers a truly remarkable view of the whole town. In full disclosure, my friends were so excited to spend the day with Schupe and it warmed my heart to see how quickly they had all become attached.
It was true joy for me to watch the exchange of hospitality, jokes, information, stories, and love between my family here at Jireh Home and my father. I have been in Malaysia eight months now, and have long since considered Jireh Home to be my home. With my father’s visit, I was able to observe and be reminded of the wonder of people from literal opposite sides of the planet, drastically different cultures, and entirely dissimilar backgrounds and upbringings coming together, and sharing the simple commonality of being people.
Getting to witness this second hand allowed me to really marvel at what a precious and amazing thing that is. That people from completely different worlds can connect, care for each other, and laugh together while celebrating that we are all indeed from THIS world. Differences, smiffrences it made me want to say.
Outside form broadening my worldview and adding to the experiences and growth I am gaining from this year abroad, Schupe also managed to take me on some seriously cool adventures. I got the chance to finally explore the amazing region in which I live and get to see what people from all of the world travels thousands of miles to experience, right here in my backyard. And of course, I would love nothing more than to share!
We saw Orang Utans (in malay that means People of the Forest) in Sandakan AND in Kuching, Sarawak.
We hiked in knee deep water and fought thru what can only be called a monsoon to get to Gomatang Caves in Sandakan.
We saw Probiscus monkeys, hornbills, and all kinds of animals on the Kinabatangan River.
We watched a Green Sea Turtle lay 98 eggs, and released over 40 baby turtles into the ocean.
We toured the city of Kuching, Sarawak and I finally got to learn about the other Malaysian state here in Borneo.
We went to the Kuching Cultural Village and learned about the ethnic groups and tribes native to the Sarawak region.
We played hundreds and hundreds of games of Gin Rummy.
And I was happy as a clam to be with my Dad. I love you, Schupe.
Eddrey is 14 and quite possibly the smartest person I have ever met. On my first day here he told me that his ambition is to become a surgeon, a very lofty goal for a boy from a small village in northern Borneo, but there is no doubt in my mind that he can achieve this. Eddrey was #1 in his class last year, and also speaks the closest thing to fluent English I have heard in Malaysia.
Aside from having huge brains, Eddrey also has a huge heart. For Christmas Eddrey and his mom handmade an intricately beaded necklace, in which they beaded my name. He is also the first to offer help to anyone who needs it, and as the picture shows-he has a servant’s heart.
A few months ago I wrote a post about a few of my favorite things here in Malaysia. But now, a few months later, my list has changed. I still love all of the things I wrote about before (especially Milo Ping, if anything my love for it has only grown!) but after spending more time really living in Malaysia and becoming part of the Jireh Home family the things on my previous list have become part of daily life, and new things now stick out as noteworthy. And so of course, I will share them with you!
-Everyone in Malaysia is addressed as “Auntie” “Uncle” “Sister” “Brother” etc. At first this custom was explained to me as a sign of respect for someone older than yourself. (You can simply address someone younger than you by their name) However, I have noticed that it is much more than that. People in Sabah treat each other with the familiarity of a family member. Initially I was taken aback by this because many encounters lack the social formality we are accustomed to in America, but as time goes on I have learned to appreciate it. When you are invited into someone’s house here and they say “Make yourself at home” they legitimately mean just that, even if it is your first time meeting. If you see a cute baby on the street, feel free to pick it up, pinch it’s cheeks, tell its’ mom how adorable it is-even if this baby is a complete stranger. The sense of family throughout the whole community is almost tangible.
-Dumplings! There is a dumpling stand at the food court in the Merdeka mall that now knows most of us YAGMs by name. Those things are so delicious, and sometimes the sole reason I make the trek into the city on the weekends.
-Going for walks with Lebiana. I wrote earlier about our journey to the beach, and adventures such as that have become one of our favorite things to do on her days off. Last month we walked almost 10 miles one day to two different beaches. We laugh, talk about our life here together, and our lives back at our respective homes. For a day we go into our own little world together. And our world always has snacks.
-Playing review games with the kids in English class. Pascal and I have been trying to incorporate more activities and games into our classes to get the kids more involved, and doing review games are my favorite. I split the kids into teams and make different tasks each worth different amounts of points. There is no prize for the winning team (except the luxury of saying “Sister Jacki we win!” accompanied usually by a stuck-out tongue) but the kids get into it and all put forth as much effort as they can to score points.
-Tea Break. After English classes, and before the kids run wild for an hour of play time, we have tea break. Kisa usually makes Milo for me, Lebiana, Pascal and herself and then we get to sit together for a short while and just enjoy each other’s company. It’s also during this time we get to watch the kids do all the funny and odd things that kids do.
-My fellow YAGMs. I don’t often find myself feeling homesick here, I am more comfortable living here than I could have hoped to be when I signed up for this experience. However, just like I would at home, I have bad days and stressful ones and go through “funks” once in a while. It is at these times that I am fortunate enough to have my fellow volunteers to lean on, and sometimes straight fall on and wait for them to catch me. It’s almost unbelievable to think we’ve only known each other for 7 months. Most of them now know me better than a lot of people that have been in my life for years. I am so lucky to have them by my side as I go thru this year.
-Laying in bed with Lebiana and Kisa. Some afternoons when there is nothing going on, the three of us go upstairs to their room and sit in the beds all cramped together and just talk, laugh, nap and eat snacks sometimes…shh, that’s technically against the rules! I don’t know how I got so lucky as to have been hand delivered to my two best friends who were just unknowingly waiting for me to arrive one day.
-My secret handshake with Sufiana. It’s not really secret since everyone sees when we do it, but it’s ours regardless. This little girl and I have our own routine each time she comes home from school or we pass eachother or just because we want to! And it ends with me touching her nose telling her “Kamu Cantik” (“you’re beautiful”) and her doing the same in return.
-Eating double-stuffed oreos with Cindy. We blaze through them pretty quickly, so anyone feel free to send a back up stash :)
-Going jogging with the boys. I have started bringing some of the boys with me when I go for runs in the afternoon. Not only are they hysterical by nature, but I also get a kick out of their idea of “running”. They sprint for as maybe 100 yards, then walk for a while, then sprint again if they feel like it, then walk a little more. Apparently I need to define the acitivity better in English Class. Kevin, however, keeps a steady jog with me, and only breaks to periodically shake the grass out of his yellow Angry Birds crocs.
-Going for dinner with Pascal. Having another volunteer here has turned out to really be blessing. Not only to we share the responsibility of teaching, but he also provides a more familiar type of friendship for me at Jireh Home. Although European and American cultures are different (we like to point that out in the form of jokes at the others’ expense as often as possible) we are alike in many ways that I am not with say Lebiana or Kisa. It’s nice to have someone who shares similar thoughts or reflections on things here. And now on Friday nights when Chicken Feet are the main entrée, we slip out and get dinner in town together. It’s really nice to have a friend and confidant here at Jireh Home. It’s also nice to go to town!
As time goes on, the things I love so much become more and more specific and small. I have taken that as a sign that the I have really settled here and adapted to life in Malaysia. The bigger things, like transportation style, the language, the food, daily routine, or the fact that people nap what feels like all day sometimes, has been pushed to the back of my mind. It is simply what life is like these days. What sticks out now, for me, is mostly the people. The relationships that have been formed and the bonds I have with people I didn’t even know 7 months ago are what make me happy and bring joy and surprise to my life now. And with all my heart, I believe that’s what this year is all about. (On the off chance I am wrong, I still perform my actually job duties and try to force English down these kids’ throat as much as possible)
And here we have Jevrin.
The girls here use their newfound English vocabulary to tell me that Jevrin is a “babe”. And so feast your eyes on the Jireh Home Heartthrob!
In addition to being to receiving buckets of attention and admiration, Jevrin also finds time to play on the school soccer team and do well with his schoolwork. He’s one of the coolest 14 year olds I know and always finds a way to make the people around him smile. He really is a genuine guy.
Let me tell you, this girl is a little stinker and quite the trouble maker. If you turn your back for a second, you are essentially giving Lillyana the green light. And sometimes, you don’t even need to turn around for her to do that which she knows she shouldn’t. Which of course leads to her far share of scoldings and yells of “LILLYANA!” from the other kids here at Jireh Home.
However, LIllyana is also exceptionally kind and loving. These characteristics are often overlooked at the expense of her trouble making, which at times can be a shame. But there is no one at Jireh Home who greets me everyday, hugs me and ensures that I am doing well more faithfully than Lillyana. She a lot of spunk, but even more heart.