a conglomeration of thoughts

Teacher's day was a success! The weather was beautiful-- it was cool and the rain stayed away for the most part. Students, staff, and families (probably around 100 people) gathered for worship, fun, and food. We definitely were all laughing through the relay games on the beach. As a part time lecturer, I received a towel as a gift (which happened to be a much needed gift!).

This weekend is the Chinese Mooncake festival, so on Friday I'm helping my church host a Lantern Carnival for the neighborhood. I'm in charge of the handpainting booth, so hopefully my artistic abilities will meet their expectations. Saturday we are going over to Doria's (one of the volunteer's placement coordinators) to celebrate with her family. Mooncakes are VERY sweet, I'm not sure if the consistency is really comparable to anything in the States. I'm excited to see the lantern festivities with the children.

In other news, there is only five more weeks of the semester! By the time I have a routine, it will be vacation. Graduation is November 7th at the seminary. November and December will hold a variety of things for me-- teaching small group English at the seminary as well as study sessions (most students will head home over this break), teaching English workshops for local elementary teachers and their children, Malay and Chinese classes, a trip to Brunei for visa purposes, and a mission trip to the interior of Sabah for Christmas. Oh, and not to mention the volunteers' "Thanksgiving festival" (I'm sure this will be an entry in itself)!

Yesterday at my church I was able to attend the youth group for the first time. I am happy to report that I have a new, fun game to play-- malaysian chicken! It's similar to whoosh if you're up on your camp games. :) I am excited for the opportunity to spend more time with these young adults-- they are insightful, knowledgeable, fun, deep, and eager to learn. I have no doubt that my own beliefs and thoughts will be challenged weekly by this group. I feel as though I will learn more from them than they will from me...

It's getting close to rainy season, and the local fruits are booming. I don't think Erika and I will ever be short of vitamans, because we eat grapefruit 24/7. The grapefruits here are delicious, and probably about the size of my head. You can easily pull them apart, no need for a grapefruit spoon. We've also received a lot of rambutan, a fruit that doesn't seem edible from the looks of it. But once you get over the spikey shell, there is a delicious inside just waiting to be eaten.

As I was walking back from work today, a old familiar song popped into my head (a varsity women's favorite!). I thought I'd leave you with these lyrics today to meditate on. Much love!

This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.