Faith...it's everywhere

So I usually have an electronic journal on my laptop, however, since I'm traveling I haven't been able to journal any, so I'll just go ahead & unload on you:)
This year has been an incredible journey. For the past 2.5 years I've been surrounded by amazing christian people while working for a non-profit international missions organization. I grew so much during that time & I'm so thankful I was able to do it.
This year has been amazing as well, but different. I've been blessed to meet so many different kinds of people & travel to so many different places. Traveling through southeast asia has opened my eyes up to how diverse the world truly is. Just here in Malaysia where I currently am has SUCH a diverse crowd. And the most beautiful thing is, they all live in harmony together & respect eachother's similarities as well as their differences. There are muslims, hindu's, buddhists, christians...you name it. And some of these people are extremely devoted to their faith. Sometimes I wish I had their faith. And it's really got me thinking. Hear me out here. I claim to be a christian, I am a follower of Jesus, yes, but I by no means live that minute to minute of every day. Some of these people here live & breath for God. All of these religions believe in God. We all just have a different way of getting there. And of course I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth & the life....but everyone else fully believes that their way is the right way. Whose to say that my way to God is any better than their's?? I just happened to be born in the states, into a family that went to a christian church. What about all of these other people on the other side of the world? Too bad for them??? I mean, is this a bad thing?....because it seems kind of beautiful to me. That all of these people can worship God, living together, without fighting about whose way is the right way. It's very peaceful. But is it wrong that I think this? Should I be thinking, "how sad, these people are worshiping the wrong way?"....because I haven't been feeling like that. I look at them & think, wow, I wish I had a tenth of your devotiion.
I know that is why we are suppose to go out & make disciples of all nations. But these people, it seems like it's more of a cultural difference than a religious one. If that makes sense. They worship God in their way & I worship Him in mine. But does that mean that all of these billions of people all over the world will go to Hell? I have a hard time believing that. Just because they were born over here. I dunno. If you have any answers, please let me know. But it's kind of a rhetorical question.
I've been thinking about what my next step is. My plan this whole time was to go to Fuller Seminary & study Cross-Cultural Studies with a concentration in Islamic Studies. I'm excited to get some of my questions answered through this. But I've also been thinking of different options. I'm not quite ready to go back to the states yet. SO I'm considering this grad school in Israel studing Middle Eastern Studies or possibly going to teach english in a spanish speaking country (spain?) for the main purpose of learning spanish. I dunno, I'd appreciate your prayers in this decision.
Anyway, thanks for listening & I'm all ears. LOVE YOU!

p.s. Don't let this blog worry you. I'm not doubting my faith. It's still there...

Malaysia...fascinating mix of culture, religion, food, race, terrain

Oh how I love Malaysia! It's got it all! So from Singapore we took a bus to Melacca, Malaysia. It's an adorable Dutch-Portuguese port town. There wasn't a ton to do there, but we enjoyed walking all through the city (Chinatown, Little India, the river walk, temples, mosques). And the food...incredible! After 2 days we took an overnight bus to the northwest island of Penang. We spent 2 days in a sleepy beach village (nothing compared to Thailand's beaches) but it was cool because no one harrassed you. Then we spent 1 short night in Georgetown. It doesn't look like much; run down buildings, some empty, lots of traffic....but it was SWEET! There were tons of food stalls, all KINDS of food, & the people living there are SO diverse! A true melting pot! Last night we were walking around. We left Chinatown and headed to Little India & ate dinner with Bollywood music blaring. Then we walked by a mosque during it's night time prayer, walked across the street to a Chinese temple, then back to our guesthouse where there was a buddhist ceremony going on.
And the people in Malaysia...SO FRIENDLY! Now we are in the Cameron Highlands. We are surrounded by mountains, jungle and rainforrest. It's nice to be where the air is crisp and clean. So we're gonna stay here a few days & go trekking, check out some tea plantations, relax (drink my new favorite; Tea Tarik (tea with condensed milk), read...then head to the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur.
THEN....I'M MEETING MY BRO IN THE PHILIPPINES!!! I can't wait to see him! Although this trip has been so much fun, it hasn't been completely relaxing because I had so much stress with my job when I left. If you ever want to hear about it I can talk your ear off. FYI...if you ever consider teaching english in Korea...NEVER WORK FOR ISPONGE! I loathe that place. I could go on & on...but I won't. I know Megan must be SICK of me talking about it. Poor girl. I've been complaining her ear off about that whole situation. Meg's trip finishes in KL...sad days.
Okay kids, I love & miss you! Shoot me an email & let me know what's going on!
PEACE!!

Fleeting Glimpse of Singapore

So we are in & out of Singapore. We stayed 3 nights. I came in with mixed expectations. Some people told me it's their favorite country! Others said they weren't too impressed. I loved the diversity, their obsession with food, the cleaness (they had workers picking up pieces of trash with tongs). I didn't like how expensive things were. Although we were able to budget by eating at the hawkers (cheap food stalls & courts). We walked a TON! We went to Chinatown, the Botantical Gardens, Little India (crazy!), walked down Orchard Rd to see all of the christmas lights & ate a lot of food! Pretty sweet. I could totally live here because of it's strategic location.
Our last night in Bali was so much fun. I randomly ran into Kamran & Layla (I used to work with Kamran in Media Plus), they were in Bali for their honeymoon. It was Layla's birthday that night & we went out. It was so fun catching up & hearing about what all the ex-MPer's are up to these days.
So, tomorrow we are headed to Malaysia. One country left with Meg. Then, off to the Philippines to see my bro for xmas! I can't wait! His company flew him to Japan & Guam to get is work visa for Korea. He's becoming quite the travler!!
More later.

xoxo

Thailand & Bali

Wow, the last few weeks have been amazing! I'm sad to say that I think I had too high expectations for Thailand. It's been my #1 country to travel to for about 5 years now. And I finally made it, only to find it extremely touristy. I mean, yes, there are gorgeous beaches, amazing food, etc, it just seemed a little too 'traveled.' Let's see, after we left Cambodia, we headed to Bangkok, stayed on Tao San Rd (crazy street), went to see the emerald buddha at the Royal Palace, then headed to Ko Phangna where it virtually rained everyday we were there. Next stop, Krabi, where we went Elephant Trekking & Kayaking (georgeous!). Next was Ko Phi Phi where we took an amazing boat ride to Maya Bay (where they filmed The Beach) & went snorkeling. Then our last stop in Thailand was Phuket where we stayed 5 days. I went diving there & did a lot of beach stuff.
Now we are in the glorious Bali. I can't believe how incredibly cool it is here! Like, I want to move here! They ALMOST didn't let me IN the country because I ran out of passport pages...but I paid him $40US & he let me in. Yikes. We are staying at a place called Nick's Homestay, it's like half temple half home. REALLY REALLY sweet! The architecture here is amazing, tons of cool, trendy shops. Not sure how long Meg & I are staying here, maybe a week. You know what I keep telling her, we are SOOO close to Australia! Why not keep going??!!
More later:)

Cambodia, check....Thailand Bound

So we've been in Cambodia a week now & we are Thailand bound today. We're about to get on a 10 hour bus ride to Bangkok. I'm gonna miss Cambodia! The food, the tragic history, the friendly smiling people, how cheap everything is, the rawness of the country, & more. I didn't really know what to expect when coming here but I assure you that whatever expectations I had, Cambodia far exceeded them. Eventhough Cambodia is a very poor country, they have come such a LONG way in just a short time. Only 3 decades ago, Cambodia was going through a genocide. We will never be able to comprehend the pain & suffering these people have gone through.
Well, the bus will be here any minute. Bangkok...here we come! Goodbye Cambodia, you will be missed, but never forgotten.

Cambodia...tragically beautiful

So....day 2 of traveling in southeast asia. Feels like a lot longer already. So I am pretty blown away by Cambodia. Makes me realize how very little I knew about Cambodia before coming here. There architecture, language written & spoken, the food, etc....all surprised me. And I love it all. Christina, Megan & I are currently in a beach town called Sihanokville (spelling?). We had a full meal for the 3 of us for $5.50. Megan's beers are $0.25! Crazy cheap! Unreal! Yesterday we were in Phnom Pehn & it was pretty incredible. We went to the Killing Fields which blew my mind away, tragically sad. And the fact that it all happened not long ago is mind boggeling! I realized how much I DIDN'T learn about the Cambodian Genocide in school. So we're gonna relax here tomorrow & then head out to Siem Reap to Angkor, super stoked about that. Then....off to Thailand! SWEET! Oh, & I may be meeting up with Travis Knight, a friend from college! So, all is good. Loving it here so far! More later! LOVE YA!!!

Korea...Over & Out...For Awhile Anyway

So this Fall has been amazing! It's been so much fun having my bro around. I was getting a bit worried for him because it took him awhile to find a job...but, end the end he found one, & a pretty sweet one at that. So that's a relief. This fall has been gorgeous in Korea! We've done a bit of hiking, went to the Busan International Film Festival, trying lots of new food & lots of hanging out with friends. And even though my bro & I have been crammed in my tiny apartment, we've managed to get in zero fights!! I know...impressive!
So my time in Korea is coming to an end. I have 2 more days of teaching! Crazy! I'm soooo glad I'm coming back to Korea for a bit after I travel, so it's not officially goodbye. I'd be so sad if I truly had to say goodbye to my friends on Friday for good. But, no worries, when I get sick of travel (doubtful to happen) then I'll come back & stay with my bro a bit & then head back to the states for some weddings!! (Kacy Bear & Stacy Bear). All of the narr's are getting married (except for me of course). So I'm not too sad, but I am very sad to say goodbye to all of my kids! I did a ton of complaining about teaching while I've been here, but now that it's almost over, I'm realizing how much they mean to me. I will miss some of them so much (a couple of kids, not so much;).
So the plan for the next couple of months: I'll be traveling with Megan & Christina to Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia. Then my bro is gonna come join me in Indonesia for Christmas. And if I want to (& have the money), I hope to head back up to Vietnam, Laos & Phillippines to finish off the trip. Sounds amazing & exhausting. And we'll see...I may be getting in over my head a bit. But I am quite the budget traveler, so it's possible. I'd appreciate your prayers while I'm traveling. I hope to do some volunteering along the way. I just found out that Rachel Chester is going to Vietnam to visit an orphanage, so that's a possibility. If you know anyone or have any contacts....hook me up!