We are in Malaysia!!!! What the heck?! How in the world is it already Month 8 and our last country in Asia?! Wow. Crazy.
This month looks completely different than any other month I have done on the Race because we do not have a host or a contact or a set place to live or food provided for us everyday. This month our ministry is ATL (Ask The Lord). It is exactly what it sounds like, every morning we ask the Lord where He wants us for the day or what He wants us doing, and we do it. Had you told me a year ago this is what I would be doing, I would have probably soiled my pants because I was scared and nervous, but Month 8 in the Race I am a different person, well sometimes.
I’m going to take you back four days ago when we were on another series of long bus rides going from Phuket, Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
We had found out a couple of days ago this was our ministry for the month but honestly hadn’t really done anything to prepare for the month as far as finding a place to live. We are on the first 8 hour bus when I find out, our second bus is not getting us to Kuala Lumpur around 6 or 7 AM, but we will be there around 3 AM.
Que me freaking out and trying to find a hostel last minute at the bus station before we get on another bus. Well, the problem was no hostels were even close to our budget that we found online, we weren’t sure exactly what time we would be getting in, and we knew absolutely nothing about the city. Long story short, we did NOT find a hostel before getting on our next long bus ride that would arrive in Kuala Lumpur.
As we are riding on the bus, I come to the conclusion, there is absolutely nothing else to do but pray. So I started praying that the Lord would either slow this bus WAAAYYY down and we would get to Kuala Lumpur at a more normal time, or we would miraculously find a place to stay in budget.
After crossing the border into Malaysia around 9:30 PM, I put in my Malaysia SIM card and decide to call one of the hostels from our World Race database where previous World Racers have stayed. The very first hostel I see on the list is the Le Viva Inn where a Racer said was the only place they could find to stay in Kuala Lumpur in budget for the month.
I say a little prayer and call Mac, the manager of the Inn. Luckily, he answers the phone. I tell him my name is Haley from the World Race and we are looking for a place to stay…tonight. He asks how many of us there are that need to stay, so I tell him 7 girls.
He responds back, with even a little surprise in his voice, that 7 World Racers had just left that morning, and he had 7 beds available as of tonight. I ask if a 3 AM check in time is reasonable, and without hesitation, he confirms that is completely fine, to call him when we get here, and he will let us in.
PRAISE THE LORD.
It is only Day 5 of being in Malaysia, and I have already seen God show up in incredible ways. He provided us with a place to stay night 1 that has turned into night 5 and perhaps the entire rest of the month .We went to a lunch place, completely out of budget, and the manager ended up giving us 60% off so we could stay and eat there. The Lord has provided us with a church home where we will partner in ministry, multiple rides around the city with strangers when we were clueless on how to get from Point A to Point B, and a community in the hostel with the workers and the people staying there who we can minister to, pray with, and just love for the month.
Ok God, I see you working.
This month is already teaching me to walk every single step of my day with the Lord. A year ago, it would have sounded silly to pray and ask the Lord where He wants me to have lunch or dinner, whether I should turn left or right on any given street, or what to pray when praying for people on the street, in the hostel, or in the bars. Now, it seems normal, and I pray this normal stays with me now and forever. I have said in the past how I want to live my life completely for Jesus, but I have never allowed Him to lead my life in this way, asking Him where to step next, what to pray for, and what He has for me right now in this moment. What I am learning is if I will give the Lord the space to show up, He does every single time.
Is it easy for me to follow his every move? No.
Is it easy for me to approach a complete stranger and start up a conversation or ask if I can pray for them? No.
Do I see God in it every single time? Yes.
Our team is starting a board and pinning a post-it every time the Lord works in our lives, whether it is “bigger” ways like finding a hostel, or “smaller” ways when we pray for a taxi to stop or fried ice cream. I cannot wait to look at this board at the end of the month in Malaysia and see how much God shows up in our lives on a daily basis when we are following Him or when He is letting us choose and then showing up.
Thank You God for Malaysia, for the ways You have already given to us and shown us Your glory, and for the ways You will continue to show up here in this country, the next 3 months, and for the rest of my life. Amen.
