So, about a week ago, my teammate Sarah got a picture from God about what our time here in Malaysia has been like, perhaps what our purpose has been, in a way. She said that she saw us like the toy Lite Brite. I never actually had a Lite Brite, but my friend Leighann did and I always thought it was super cool and super fun to play with as a kid. For those of you who haven’t come in contact with this incredible toy, a Lite Brite is an electric board that you put colorful pegs in that light up and make beautiful colored designs and pictures. They also come with templates that already have the outline of a design, so all you have to do is put in the pegs.
This template is what Sarah referred to when she said she saw our time here as a Lite Brite. That God already has a plan in place, a design for the community and the future, and we are the pegs, just starting to poke through the holes in the design and let the light show through.
I absolutely loved this imagery, 1) because Lite Brites are awesome and I still maybe want one 15 years later and 2) because it perfectly describes how God has been moving in us and in the community.
We are the first team to ever be with our current contact in Malaysia, Pastor Samuel. We spent our first two weeks in Ampang, an area just outside of Kuala Lumpur doing prayer walks and door to door “outreach” in the neighborhoods across the street from the church where we lived. It’s important to know that in Malaysia, you can go to jail for this type of thing, if what you say rubs someone the wrong way. There are three main groups in Malaysia: Indians which are primarily Hindu, Chinese which follow Buddhism or Chinese religion, and Malay which are Muslim. (The Malay people hold a stronger authority than anyone else, what they say goes and for the most part they don’t need much evidence for any accusations, such as intent to convert.) Something I find very interesting about the culture here is that the living communities are so diverse. Buddhists live next to Muslims who live next to Hindus who live next to Christians. It’s not as segregated as I feel a lot of the world can be.
Ok, I’m sort of getting away from what I had to say which is that because we were the first team in this neighborhood, it sometimes felt like we didn’t really do that much, other than start a few relationships and lay a foundation for the next team that arrives. But as I type this, I remember that that’s actually doing a lot. I feel pretty honored that God would allow our team to start laying that foundation, to let our team be the first pegs in the Lite Brite. This month has increased my trust in the effectiveness & power of prayer, my faith in God’s plans, the fact that God has divine appointments for us each and every day and that He battles so much of what we cannot see for us. I love that God makes the design, but we get to start poking the holes to let the light shine through.
