MALAYSIA! I HAVE TOUCHED GROUND IN MALAYSIA!
I have been in Malaysia for just about a week now and it has been nothing short of interesting. The journey was long, over 48 hours long, but it was filled with lots of movies, sleeping, and a big SURPRISE! While in NYC I was only suppose to see Logan, but as I was walking through Kennedy airport to my surprise there was MY DAD! It was a family Christmas affair at 2am in Times Square with my Dad, Logan, and Jordan. Merry Christmas to me!
I am now settled in Malaysia with my new ministry and new home! I am working with a small church called Bethel Assembly. My contact is a big Indian man named Thomas, but I like to call him PT (Pastor Thomas). Bethel Assembly is located in a town called Sungai Petani. The town is relatively large, it has a Starbucks, but we are located on the outskirts of the town. The only things within walking distance of the church are motor supply stores, a motorshop/coffee shop that is never open, and one gas station. Needless to say we spend much of our time in the church!
My team and I are living on the top floor of the church. The church is small, with only two levels, and is in a strip-mall type setup. The bottom floor contains the sanctuary, which is about the size of a large living room, and the top floor is where we stay. We have two stalls that double as a bathroom and shower. We have a living room type setup where we eat and to our enjoyment have a big pingpong table. Then there is a little side-room and that is where we are sleeping! I call it the blue room! It has air-conditioning and is a little slice of heaven out of the Malaysia humidity. We don’t have beds, so these next three months my team and I are breaking out the sleeping pads! It is practically one huge slumber party!
My ministry thus far has come in many different facets! Everyday we do children’s ministry with church kids for a few hours! This involves teaching english, doing Bible skits, singing songs, dance parties, games, and usually ends with a movie ( we are currently watching The Lion King). These kids are crazy and I LOVE IT! Everyday we hear their voices shouting HELLO at our gate so we can let them in and then the chaos ensues. Thursday’s and Friday’s we have service where we are preaching and leading worship! With no warning we had the pastor look at us and say, “Who is bringing the word?” I am sure the looks on our faces were priceless. I have come to realize I will be flying by the seat of my pants come these next three months. Other ministry includes house visits, interpretive dances, making music videos for the church Christmas service, and over the next three nights we are going CHRISTMAS CAROLING. For those who know me and my christmas sprit you know that is right up my alley.
The culture here is something I have not experienced before. Most all of the church is of Indian decent, so there is a heavy influence of Indian culture in the church. Everyone walks through the door and the first thing they say is “Praise the Lord!” This is usually accompanied by a hug or a handshake. Soon thereafter I get bombarded with teenage girl’s from the church telling me how beautiful I am as they squeeze my cheeks. We then proceed to get into fights about how they are more beautiful. If I ever needed a confidence boost I certainly came to the right place!
Another cultural difference is no one wears shoes during church, which I LOVE! Anyone from my B-Rock family can attest to the fact that I never wear shoes during church. Another very important cultural tidbit is nothing starts before 5pm. Church starts at 8pm and goes till about 11:30-midnight. Most nights we go to bed before people have even left the church. Last night I had a midnight pingpong match with one of the church kids, Barrni, as we were waiting for his mom to come pick him up.
The food here is very interesting! We have most all of our meals brought to us by random members of the church! We usually eat around noon and then don’t eat dinner till about 10 or 11pm. All of our meals consist of rice and some type of meat, but there is the occasional surprise! Thus far I have found a beetle, caterpillar, and last night a fish eye! All apart of the fun!
Since leaving Guatemala I have also received a team change! I went from my lovely ladies of GEN7, to a new team of 6 ladies. My new team is called Rerooted, The Roots for short, and consists of 5 completely new people! I am excited for the new adventure, new relationships, and the challenge that is community living!
Continue to pray for myself and The Roots as we enter this new season. Pray for patience, understand, and grace as we all live together in a very confined space. Pray for boldness and courage as many of my teammates are going to preach for the first time! Pray for a spirit of readiness as we are going to be asked to do things on short notice! Lastly, pray for the Holy Spirit to move! This is a predominantly Muslim country so pray that this country would come to know Jesus!
Love and miss all of you!
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Dubs
p.s. This week I had the privilege of recording a track and making a music video with some boys from the church. Be watching in the coming weeks for the drop of our song, Merry Merry.
