Well, as you can tell from the blog title, I am no longer in Central America and have now transitioned into South East Asia spending these last few weeks in the beautiful country of Malaysia. And let me tell you, it is unlike any other place and culture I have ever been to and I love it. You name it, Malaysia has it. You have your Muslim, your Buddhist, your Hindu, your Christian, and many other religions and people groups. Cultural festivals all over. You have dirt cheap amazing street food all over the place from so many different countries. Brand new clothes for a couple dollars. Some of the nicest shopping malls i’ve ever been in. Music everywhere. And Uber that costs basically pocket change compared to America. Oh, and most people speak English. Yup, I love Malaysia.
This month my new team, Rogue 7, spent our month of ministry in Penang, Malaysia, which is a large island right of the mainland(So large it doesn’t even feel like an island). Our ministry looked different on a daily basis as we got to partner with a handful of different ministries for the month. One of the main ministries we helped with this month is Kawan, which is part of YWAM(Youth With A Mission) and ministers to the homeless. http://www.ywampenang.org/ministries/kawan/ So three times a week we got to hang out and build relationships with the homeless people while we provided them breakfast and lunch and a Bible study in between. Our team made some really great friends with some of the people there that we will definitely miss. Also a part of Kawan, they do a church service on Saturday mornings that my team got to be a part of and share part of our testimonies during that time, which was a honor and blessing to do.
Also part of YWAM/Kawan, every Wednesday evening we got to do street outreach for a few hours. That consisted in us splitting into smaller groups and going out to different parts of the community and praying and asking the Lord to lead us to anyone He would have us talk to that night. For some groups, that meant spending their time in a local park by the water, some just walking down streets praying, some sitting with our new indian friends and talking with them, and some going to the redlight district ministering to the people there. Another blog post will be coming soon about my time during street outreach that completely wrecked me.
However, my favorite ministry that I have been a part of on the race thus far was spent a a refugee school on the mainland where we got to play games with them and help them put together a skit. Now I could write blog after blog about my amazing time there and people, but I won’t, so if you are interested, just ask. Unfortunately, for safety reasons I can’t post any pictures or names to protect the children and school. But in short, these Myanmar refugee children and their teacher/principle absolutely changed my world. If you knew some of these people’s stories, your heart world break for them, but it would also rejoice for them. These people have been through crap, but their laughter and joy and desire to learn and be better and be a difference despite everything is amazing. Thanks to their teacher/principle, these refugee children have a chance a life, an opportunity to be positive world changers. I wish y’all could meet their teacher/principal, as she is one of the most inspiring women I have ever met with a faith like none other. Everyone needs someone like her in their life.
While my team got to experience many different ministries this month, we also got to experience many different festivals as well. Being that their is a very large Chinese presence here in Penang, they go big for Chinese New Year for 15 days straight. There was literally something going on every night with some nights miles of streets being blocked off and filled with thousands of people and music and stands and art. I felt like I was in China; it was amazing! Another was a hot air balloon festival/rave all in one. It was a park filled with a bunch of hot air balloons from around the world and food stands and then once it got dark it turned into a rave. It was so much fun. The most unique thing we got to experience was Thaipusam which is the largest Hindu ritual/festival of the year and Penang host the largest Thaipusam outside of India. This festival was honestly really dark, but i’m glad I went as I was able to understand the Hindu religion a little more and how they view life.
Needless to say, it’s truly been an unforgettable experience here in Malaysia and I will definitely miss this place. Month 5 is coming to a close and in just a few short days, my squad and I will be on a train to Thailand to start month 6. My team and I will be in a small town in the northern part of Thailand near the Myanmar border where we will be working with Myanmar refugees. There we will be teaching them english and a bunch of different life skills amongst other things, in which we are very excited about. Please be praying for us as we travel and also that we will be able to love and care really well for these people that are fleeing for their lives. That they will not just see someone of good faith, but they will see someone of Jesus.
Blessings,
Andrew
