Most months on the Race, you have a set ministry that you do. It could be teaching English, helping with curriculum, doing office work, even landscaping. And other times you might not really have any idea of what your ministry is.
This month, my team and I are in the beautiful city of Penang Malaysia. This city is full of culture, religion and history. I truly love walking the streets and seeing all three.
Being here, our 'ministry' was to search for new organizations for us to partner with in the future. By the end of the first week, our ministry had changed.
As we exhausted our resources in Google and people we talked to, we didn't really know what to do or where God was calling us. Enter hostel #3 that we stayed at.
During the first week we were here, we hostel hopped what seemed like every day. Though it was not the most rest filled, it allowed us to meet alot of really cool people.
When I thought of Penang Malaysia before arriving, I assumed it would be a city like any other we had been to. There would be a huge oppressive feel from the legal system here and the dominating religions. There wouldn't be a single person not from Malaysia who we could potentially share the Good News with.
Boy, was I wrong. Penang is full of travelers passing through. A wonderful opportunity for us to speak to them.
So, when the week came where we could no longer put in any more different combinations of "Christian Ministries or Organizations in Penang Malaysia" God showed me what our ministry was. This city, these people. Both here for the long run and here for week.
We began to frequent the bars with our new friends and meeting even more afterwards. We began to be tourists in this beautiful city, loving the city and the people here. We began to pray for the city as a whole. Seeing each part of it from the pier, to the mountains. We prayed for the Spirit of Jesus to come and overwhelm His people. We began getting to know the stories of tourists. We began to show love and be the light.
Next time, I'm not waiting for Google to be used up before we step out of our predefined ministry. I'm going to be asking God what my ministry is.
