Rachel Hampton

Malaysia is pretty awesome September 28, 2009

So it’s time again for a massively-long post. Again. I really don’t try to be so horrible at blogging. But I won’t bore you with excuses again. I’ll bore you instead with detailed descriptions of my past month.

I am now in my second port in Malaysia. The first one, Kota Kinabalu, was one of my favorite ports thus far. It was absolutely gorgeous and I would definitely recommend it for a vacation destination! The ship was surrounded by beautiful, blue water and we could see stunning mountains in the distance. One, Mount Kinabalu is the tallest in Malaysia. I wish I had a chance to go and visit it but it was a little far. There were islands around the coast that you could go to for the day and enjoy the beaches, snorkling, and water sports. The first time we attempted this (James, Josh, Ryan, Geoff, Clarence, Anderson, and I) was not a success…weather-wise. It was sunny when we headed out but the water was rough. In fact, the boat we rode in to get there was throwing us all over the place. I was holding onto the side and each time I slammed down onto my seat, my arm also slammed into the pole i was holding on to. I had a HUGE, lovely bruise for about a week afterwards. It rained off and on all day but we still had a lot of fun. It was cold if we got out of the water so we just stayed in the water the whole time, up to our necks so none of our skin was exposed to the elements. We stayed there all day but eventually had to head back for work. Because of the rain and massive waves, we were continuously soaked by water in the boat on the way back to mainland. But it made for a really hilarious memory.

We also got to go to an island another day. Our shift from bookshop decided on our day off we were all going to go to an island. It was the perfect day and we had a great time! We had a BBQ, did some swimming, laying out, snorkling, and…best of all…I got to go parasailing! I had never been before and it was awesome. We got about 10 min but being up above the water and sailing was so peaceful. It was also one of the last things I got to do with James before he left the ship. If you’ve never done it before, you seriously need to. That night I didn’t want to eat ship food so James, Josh, and I decided to go into town and eat Italian. Then we sat in Starbucks (free internet!) for hours on our respective macs and enjoyed the fast wifi. It was the perfect end to the perfect day.

A few days later, James left to go back to Ireland. A bunch of us decided to take him out for one final dinner and it was, honestly, one of the most fun nights I’ve had on the ship. We all dressed up and ate at one of James’ favorite hotels in KK. It’s hard to explain what made it so great. We had hilarious conversations, took great photos and made lasting memories. That sounded so cheesy but it’s true. After we came back to the ship, we didn’t want to separate so we just sat outside and talked and laughed for another hour or two. The next morning he left.

Many people are coming and going on the ship and you get used to it. I’ve never been too sad about it but this time was different. I’ve never been really close to the people that have left. In the past few weeks, many people I’m very close to left. Not only that, but I felt a void in their absence. Especially during work. A new group of crew joined in the days after my friends left and so bookshop changed completely. Instead of the comfortable, easy conversations and work environment I’ve been used to, it changed so much. The first few days I had a really hard time. I missed my friends and being comfortable and having fun. I didn’t want to have the “getting to know you” conversations a million times. But as we sailed from KK to our next port, Pasir Gudang, I went on the deck and was talking to God. He asked me “Rachel, you feel such a void from some of your friends being gone but your time with me has been horrible lately and do you feel a void from ME being gone?” Ouch. I suck. It was a really good reminder. And I need them all the time. It’s amazing how even when I’m a crap daughter that God is ALWAYS willing to teach me things. I hope I never stop listening. So since then, things have been much better. Yes, I still miss my friends but things are going well on the ship. In fact, the other day was SUCH a good day. God blessed me hour after hour. But I need to be more willing to praise Him and thank Him on days that aren’t so wonderful. That’s more of a challenge.

So speaking of the new people. I am no longer the newest pre-ship on board! 64 (I think) people joined the ship in KK. It was really exciting to be on the other side and cheer and scream for them as they walked up to the ship for the first time. It’s cool to see new faces and a bit overwhelming. We can sign up to be “big sisters and brothers” for new people and my ‘little sister’ is awesome! Her name is Hannah and we get along great. We are doing the same program with Wycliffe so we’ve been able to bond over that as well. And she’s also working in book shop.

Before leaving KK, I was able to go on a ministry overnight with three other guys on the ship. Jun (South Korea), Robert (Indonesia), and Pravin (India). We traveled about two hours north to a town called Kudat. We stayed for two days with a church there and taught them dramas and other ministry skills they could use to reach out to the people in their area. It was a lot of fun getting to know them and seeing them come out of their shell. Not many people spoke English which made it difficult. When our words were being translated, one person translated into Malay and the other into Chinese since it was a multi-lingual church.  Pretty entertaining. On our last day there, the pastor took us up to the Tip of Borneo, the northern most tip of eastern Malaysia. It was beautiful there. The water was so blue and clear and warm. We wanted to go swimming so badly but didn’t have time. But man, it was gorgeous!

We also had I-Night before leaving KK. I was involved in two things during the night, a praise team and the Tinkling dance. Both went well but there’s always room for improvement While we were waiting backstage for the show to begin, Joseph, one of my friends from South Korea, asked me to break a board with my head. (There is a Tae Kwon Do team during I-Night which is why they had boards). I wanted to break one but not with my head. It had been five years! But then he started chanting and everyone else did so I pleaded with everyone not to laugh if it didn’t break and reared back. Bam! It broke! But if I”m being honest, these boards were easier to break than the ones I used in martial arts. Still, it was fun. After the night was over, I had the chance to talk to two young girls in the audience. One was a Christian but one was not. God is really working on her heart so please pray for her. Her name is Elisa.

We are now in a new port with new crew and new steppers. I’ve only met a few of the steppers but one, Paul from Brunei is really cool. He’ll be working in my shift and while talking we found out his brother goes to college at Liberty University in my town. Small world!

I’m on break right now and really enjoying myself. Just me, Carola, and Jen. Girl time. Pool time. Internet time (hallelujah). And food time. I love to eat! It’s nice to get away from the ship and relax. In fact, I’m going to go do some more of that. Love you all!

PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVAN!