August, Month 8 – Kuala Lipis, Malaysia
Team Valor – woman-istry month
It was a beautiful day in the little town of KL. We had just arrived at our ministry site the night before. We were going to be living in a small house that also served as a learning center where our team would be teaching English that month.
As we began the process of settling in, a group walked into town to the grocery store to have a look-see and grab the necessities. Upon the return of two of the women, they were enthusiastic to share a story from their time out in the community.
While they were walking home from the grocery store, a young woman stopped her car and approached Amy and Kim on the side of the road. She was very shy and nervous to speak with the two white foreigners. After exchanging greetings, she told them that she had seen them smiling at the grocery store and that they looked so friendly, that she felt she needed to talk to them.
Soon after asking a few more questions, (their names, and what they were doing in Kuala Lipis) this nice young woman invited our team, plus the Golden Girls, (a fellow girls team that was staying with us for a few days before traveling on to our shared ministry in a different city) over to her home for a house party.
It was such a kind invitation and such a warm welcome upon being ‘newbies’ in town, that after checking with our contact we quickly agreed to join her for the evening. Since there were thirteen women between the two teams, the young woman had to make several trips with her car and her friend’s car to transport us to her home. Upon arrival, we soon realized that we weren’t the only guests invited; there were about ten of her friends and some of her cousins in her living room as well. They were having a dinner celebrating the end of Ramadan, a Muslim holiday. She was such a wonderful host and everyone was so friendly. We had a great evening of laughter and learning about one another, making fast friends…
And as they say, the rest is history. 🙂
That first meeting blossomed into a beautiful friendship and our team spent many evenings with this lovely lady and her cousins during that month. She shared her culture and customs with us, as well as showing us around her community, and spoiling us rotten as her guests. Our team had the amazing opportunity to create a friendship to last a life time and to speak life into one of of God’s children, an amazing daughter in Malaysia… And all because she was brave enough to invite not one, but 13 strangers, over to her house for dinner.
I don’t believe in coincidences, I believe in divine appointments. God has continued to amaze me with situations similar to this one over the course of this year. This specific experience, along with many others, have made me reevaluate hospitality and generosity, redefine community, further understand the Biblical concept, “perfect love casts out all fear”, and recognize God’s greatness and supernatural results when a person’s spirit is willing to step out in faith at His command.
God places strangers in your daily walk through life for a specific purpose – to love and serve one another, furthering the Kingdom and glorifying our Father in Heaven. And when you’re willing, He does it in spectacularly unique, and strange ways.
So, are you up for the challenge? I DARE YOU… to invite a stranger over for dinner.
“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing.” – Hebrews 13:2
