Malaysia! What a country!
To start off our homeschool lesson for this month, I just want to reflect on how amazing this area of the world has been for me in the last three months. God has blessed me with meeting amazing people and enjoying beautiful landscapes of all varieties. As of this moment I have not felt a huge call to ministry in this area of the world, but would love to come back to visit. Between the kind, quiet nature of the people, the incredible food, the rich history, and the incredibly cheap prices, I would recommend anybody visit here!
Malaysia has been a very different experience from either Thailand or Cambodia. The country has a wide variety of lifestyle and landscapes, including islands with beautiful beaches, jungles, big cities, villages, green mountains, and many others. In the province of Kelantan, there are beautiful limestone mountains rising up from the lush green palm tree plantations, and I was able to live in the heart of a palm tree plantation/jungle of the country side. I also had the chance to go deep into the jungle to minister to workers in a secluded area, and it was like being on an episode of Man versus Wild! Malaysia also has the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, which is a very nice modernized city, and off the coast of Malaysia are many beach islands. Exciting animals like monkeys, tigers, huge lizards, and even the occasional elephant have been known to prowl the countryside.
As the first primarily muslim country that I have been in, I have been surrounded by women in full-coverage burkas, covering everything but the eyes, which are believed to help prevent the men around them from struggling with sinful desires. Mosques were present rather than Christian churches, and the Muslim “call to prayer” came over the radio and public PA systems twice per day. Very few people know or follow Christ in Malaysia, and Christians often are persecuted and bullied for their faith. In Gua Musang, you can actually be fined or imprisoned if you are found to be sharing the gospel outside of designated church buildings. Although it is hard and sad to see people bullied for any reason, we know that for Christians, Jesus taught us that persecution for our faith brings blessings in heaven, so these Christians can take heart when they struggle in this world.
Education and healthcare is most efficient in Malaysia of any country I have visited so far. Most children are able to receive public education for a small price, and healthcare in some form is available to all, although private healthcare is much more desirable. In the current generation of 20-30 year olds, many people strive to attend college and pursue careers outside of the family business. There are strong Muslim influences on the rights and freedom of women, so most women still fall under the traditional belief of women serving men and coming under their power and authority. For this reason, the freedom for a girl to pursue education and career is largely decided by male relatives.
Malaysia is a very diverse country, with large populations of people of various origins, including Chinese, Orang Asli (native tribes), Indonesian, Indian, and many others. Many church services were translated into two or three additional languages, even when the congregation was only 15 or 20 people. Because of these diverse cultural backgrounds, we enjoyed so many amazing types of food this month. I am incredibly spoiled for amazing Asian food, with most meals having chicken or pork with rice or noodles, and tons of delicious fresh fruits and vegetables. We also had hot tea at most meals, served in tiny little tea cups that only hold 3 or 4 ounces, and a broth-based onion soup. One thing we did not eat much of in Malaysia was sweet food, as they do not eat much dessert or even sweet breakfast foods, so I did miss sweets!
My month in Malaysia was wonderful, and I feel so blessed to have been able to experience it. Our hosts, Auntie Kim and Uncle Chua, went out of their way to make us comfortable, and showed us how wonderfully hospitable I want to be one day.
Now….it’s time for AFRICA!
