Bye bye Malaysia!

Time has flown by!! As I am writing this blog, I am sitting in a train station in Thailand, getting ready to board a 16-hour train to Bangkok!!! Today is travel day, which consists of a 4 am wake up, packing up our things, the BEST curry puffs at 5 am, and some prayer before heading out on the bus to cross the border into Thailand! After driving on a bus for 4 hours to a Thailand train station, we are boarding a 16-hour train to Bangkok! Saying goodbye to Malaysia was hard, especially saying goodbye to the people and connections we have made here, but I am also so hyped to see what God has in store for us in Thailand!

The Last Two Weeks in Malaysia! Wow! These past two weeks have been so full, so hectic, but so amazing! They’ve included all of our normal ministry of teaching our students, house church, and attending various church services, as well as some awesome, super random opportunities, like filming a music video, playing indoor soccer at 1 AM, going to the refugee village our students live in, and planning picture day and field day for our students! Here are some photos!

Teaching my student about emotions and house vocab!

Field day!

Picture Day!

Music video shoot!

1 AM Soccer game!

One night, our squad split up for church, half of us going to our normal Indian church, while the other half went to a local Chinese church! My team – Team Salt and Light, aka SNL – and the boys team – MOGs, which stands for Men of God – went to the Chinese church and it was so amazing to see how each culture worships differently, but we are all worshipping the same God!

Saying Goodbye! One thing I was definitely not excited for about leaving Malaysia was saying goodbye to all of the people we’ve spent 40 days building relationships with! The hardest goodbyes were to my student, my house church host family, especially their young daughter, and our ministry hosts! They have blessed us so much during our time here, and I am so thankful for the time we got to spend with them, although it felt short!

Saying goodbye to my house church bestie! 🙁

Worship = Our Everyday Lives! One of the biggest lessons that God has taught me throughout my time in Malaysia is that literally EVERYTHING that we do is worship to God! A verse that has stood out to me lately is Romans 12:1, Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. In many of the small moments here, I have found the Lord gently reminding me that the small sacrifices He is asking me to make are all to praise Him and glorify His name! In all we do, from taking out the trash to giving a hug to sacrificing a few hours of sleep to have a conversation to trying new foods, we have the opportunity to bring glory to God! And He is just so worthy of ALL of the glory and ALL of our praise!

Joy and Generosity! Another big takeaway from our time here in Malaysia is having joy and living out of generosity, no matter my circumstances or how much I do or do not have! As I mentioned earlier, this last week I had the opportunity to go visit my student’s village and home two times! I was struck by the generosity of these families and children! They have so little, yet they give SO MUCH! They are so generous and offer everything they do have to us! Right after entering the village, the kids rush up to us and greet us with big hugs and smiles! They take us into their homes, tell us to “sit and be comfortable,” and then go buy us lychee soda drinks, bring us fresh fruit from their gardens, and cook us a meal consisting of their absolute best! They sleep on the floor with a single pillow, each with just a few toys, and eat mainly rice for most meals, yet they give and bless us with everything they can offer! Wow! God really convicted me of how selfish I can be when I have SO SO MUCH and He is continuing to grow and shape me into living with a more and more generous heart!

The best dinner at the village!

Praises!

• We stayed safe and had no major complications or issues during our time in Malaysia! Praise God!
• I am growing in so many friendships and deeper connections with my teammates and squadmates!
• God is continuing to blow my mind and teach me so many new things about Himself!
• Although it is so sad and hard to leave Malaysia, I am so thankful for all the good things here that make it hard to leave!

Prayers!

• Thailand! 
  • In Thailand, our squad will be splitting up into teams!! So, Team Salt and Light (my team), will be headed to Bangkok, while the other teams are headed to Chiang Mai and Chiang Dao. Be praying for our squad and friendships with those we will be separated from during our time in Thailand! 
  • Our ministry in Thailand is teaching English! Be praying for our future students, for quick connections, and an openness to receiving and learning about Jesus!!
• Continued prayer for the refugee students in Malaysia! Be praying for their continued learning and that they would come to find Jesus!
• Safe travels for all teams to Thailand!
• Continuation of fruitful ministry at the church in Malaysia and through the pastors/our hosts here! 

Thank you for reading and for supporting me on this journey! I love and miss you all!!

Much love,
Alia Hartwig

Sidenote: My US phone number no longer works on iMessage, so my main form of communication is now WhatsApp! Please reach out for my WhatsApp if you want to stay in touch or have any questions!