“This month is going to be incredible!”
That exclamation (and several others of a similar variety) filled the room of our new home. We had maintained a professional demeanor up until that point. But as soon as the door closed behind our contact, all the excitement came out! Smiles, laughter, joy, happiness, gratitude, and just an awe of all the blessings we had received.
So what’s so great about this month??
My team is living in Kulim, Malaysia. The demographics here are way diverse. The main ethnics are Malay, Chinese, and Indian. (The food is incredible!) Along with the different people groups comes all the different religions. I have had a desire for quite some time now to learn about different religions, their beliefs, their laws, their gods. This is the perfect place to learn those things. I have first-hand access to all of the information. (I feel like I’m living inside Wikipedia!)
Our home is in a music academy. Throughout the week, the academy teaches classes for keyboard, guitar, drums, AND traditional Indian instruments (tabla, darbuka, and bongo). It also doubles as a meeting place for the church. It is a small, tight-knit church. It’s incredible to come into a new group of people and be welcomed as family. We are able to learn about each other. Our similarities and our differences. For example, service has a lot of the same elements: music, prayer, study, etc. However, the time is completely different. My Sunday morning ritual from 8-10 am is now Friday night from 8-10 pm.
But I think my favorite aspect of this month is our contacts, Pastor Mark and Tina. They are from India. They have been ministering to the Indian population here for about 20 years. What it is like to be around them is hard to explain in words. They are so open, welcoming, genuine, hospitable. They bring to our team an aspect of family that we often miss out on while traveling around the world: being with parental figures. They have taken us in as their daughters and care for us as if we really were their own. Within three hours of knowing Pastor Mark, I could see the love of God pouring out of him. He has such a big heart for people, for his people, for his community, and for us girls.
This month we will be teaching English classes, studying religions, praying for the community we are in, doing projects at a local orphanage, sharing our testimonies with the church (I shared mine last night!), and teaching “Friday school” (like Sunday, but different day). I can’t wait to spend everyday living in and soaking up all this place has to offer. I’m excited to see how the God I’ve know my whole life transcends so many cultures.
