Hello from Malaysia!
My team and I made it safely to our new home for the month. Due to the strong hold that the government has on religion here in Malaysia, and for the safety of my team, I'm not able to publicly announce where we are this month. Over 90% of Malaysia's population is Muslim, and speaking the gospel is strictly forbidden. Sharing the gospel or even why we are truly here with the locals could result in being arrested or in trouble with the police. However, we are SAFE, happy, and healthy!
This month is all about our actions and our smiles! The locals notice and wonder why "those white people" that come every month are so happy all the time. It's because we have Jesus! Questions like that ultimately bring them to Christ and from what we've been told, mountains have been moved just in the last 5 years that World Racers have been coming. So…. even though it may seem that Jesus is not in this place, he IS and we are blessed to be apart of it.
We spent our first week in Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur with our entire squad for a time called 'debrief.' Every few months our squad meets up in a large city for about a week to rest, relax, and spend time reflecting the last couple months together. This time was so cherished for me as I got to spend some quality time with my best friends on the squad and lay in bed as long as I wanted!:) I had all the time in the world to blog, upload pictures, catch up on emails, and organize my luggage, but I didn't do a darn thing and man it felt good! 🙂
During debrief I was telling my friends how I was getting so burnt out. Doing ministry day in and day out across the world in uncomfortable conditions is not easy, and can get pretty exhausting. Knowing that I was about to start another month in a new place was daunting, and I really didn't know if I was ready for it. Although I was resting a lot during debrief, I prayed so much that week that God would give me a season of rest. I told the Lord that I want nothing more than to do his will…..but I was tired. I was burnt out and tired.
After a day train ride we got to our city for the month. Our contact picked us up at the train station and took us to our ministry location that we would be working at. We sat down with Mr. Kumar later that day after we all got our naps in. Since we are teaching english and the creative arts this month, we were all telling Mr. Kumar what talents we could bring to the table. I made a joke that I'm REALLY good at taking naps and sleeping…… haha…… but seriously. He laughed a little bit and then said, "well, you will have plenty of time this month for that. Because it's the holiday season, most of my students are on break and away with their families. This month is going to look different. You will only be teaching 3 days a week and the rest of the time I want more than anything for you to rest. I want you to rest and seek the Lord more than you ever have before."
SAY WHAT??!!!
Ya'll, it gets better. MAN, God is good!
Mr. Kumar walks us upstairs to where we would be staying for the month. When he opened the door it was as if the heavens parted and the Hallelujah chorus started playing on cue. We have a living room WITH couches, a kitchen WITH an oven and a fridge, bedrooms to lay our sleeping matts WITH air-conditioning, a place to shower that has clean water that doesn't come from a dirty pond, AND a washing machine to wash our clothes. THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!
Yes, we do live in the pent house sweet, but don't be fooled. Our house is made out of concrete and lizards and ants still live in our presence, but I'm grateful that when I walk in the door at the end of the day I truly feel like i'm home. Our showers are freezing cold, but i'm not bathing in a pond. The water is clean and for that can I get an Amen?!
And it gets even better! There is another team only a two hour train ride away on our squad (Team Relentless) They have the same ministry as us this month because our contact has an english and creative arts center in two locations. Team Relentless is coming to our crib for almost a week at the end of the month to spend Christmas all together. You know, God is so good. He knows our needs and he answers our prayers according to his will. Knowing that I can rest under a God who knows every single one of my needs and takes care of each of them…. is pretty freakin' cool.
So everyone, I'm home for Christmas this year. I have a place to lay my head each night, and more amenities than I know what to do with! I get to spend Christmas with my U Squad family and that…… well that just makes me giddy!
Although I'm spending this Christmas in a country so closed off to 'the reason for the season,' I can't wait to sit with Jesus each and every day and bask in his goodness. I couldn't be more grateful for a place to call home and a family to fill up this space. I've got ALLLLL the gifts and MORE I could ever need this Christmas and that's a reason to DANCE, SING, AND PRAISE my Jesus.
Merry Christmas everyone. Stay focused this holiday season. Rejoice in the little things. Allow the Lord to lead you through this season. He'll bless you more than you ever thought possible.
