Month 8 of 11: Kulim, Malaysia
Ministry: Vineyard Music Mission
Overview:
Vineyard Music Mission was an incredible ministry to have been connected with during my time in Malaysia. What made our ministry so extraordinary last month were our host and his family, Pastor Mark Shan. Pastor Mark loved me and my teammates like we were our daughters, and 8 months into the race it was really something wonderful to be with “family” again.
Ministry this month dealt largely with Pastor Mark and his family, spending time with the kids of a local orphanage, and prayer.
Pastor Mark was an incredible man and I am truly grateful for the ways him and his family welcomed my team and I in with open arms. We were able to spend time with his family and encourage him with the work he is doing through the Indian community in Kulim. We had a great time getting to know two of his kids, Aaron and Esther, and I have great memories of the adventures we all had. My favorite adventure in particular was an afternoon spent on a treetop walk and later enjoying fellowship by having teatime and making noodles over a fire near a waterfall.
Two days a week we would venture to a nearby orphanage, and I loved every minute of it. The kids absolutely stole my heart. We would laugh, play, teach them bible stories, practice English, learn Tamil, eat, pray, worship, and enjoy each others company. We all grew close with the kids, and it was honestly really hard to say goodbye at the end of the month. They will continue to stay in my heart and prayers for the rest of my days.
Prayer was a big focus of this month. We spent a couple of days each week debriefing the various zones of Kulim, and would then follow up with a prayer walk and prayer meeting with members of the church. I started reading the book Circle maker by Mark Batterson this month and I was excited to put into practice and encourage Pastor Mark by the things I was reading in Circle maker.
We had a lot more down time than we have had in previous months, but it was a great opportunity for us to build relations with the neighboring shop owners around us. It was also a great opportunity for me to grow individually in my faith by being even more intentional with my prayers and what I have been learning from my team, the race, and this month in particular by Circle maker.
This month was particularly interesting due to the religious nature of Malaysia. Malaysia is a Muslim country, and although there are people that do practice other religions, it is illegal to share our faith or what we were doing with with Malay people. We were freely able to share with the Chinese or Indian community, but not the Malay community. There have been other hosts in the past that have had problems with Malay's getting ahold of world racer's blogs and accusing the host of trying to convert them. When doing ministry it's necessary to go about it strategically from the point of "English teacher" and that sort.
Not only was ministry remarkable, this month in itself was absolutely freeing. I can’t tell you exactly what it was, but for the first time all year I truly felt like myself. I felt this sense of freedom. God has grown me to appreciate and accept who I am at my core, and it’s been so extraordinary.
Sights
- Palm trees and more palm trees
- Diversity among the people: Malay, Indian, and Chinese
- Friendly smiles
- Beautiful beaches
- Treetop Walk
- Monkeys
- Small towns (Kulim), destination towns (Georgetown, Penang), and big cities (Kuala Lumpur)
- Petrona Towers
- Chinatown in KL
Sounds
- Malay language
- Tamil language (native language of the Indian community)
- Chinese language
- English language (they spoke more English here than the other Asian countries we have been to)
- Laughter of the kids
- Music: drums, keys, guitar (we lived in a church/music school)
- Rain
Smells
- Indian curry
- Beach
- Coffee
Highlights of the Month
- Pastor Mark and his incredible family
- The kids of the orphanage home
- Giving flowers and pictures we made to our shop neighbors
- Movie & bowling with Pastor Mark’s kids, Aaron and Esther
- Workouts in the park across the street
- Holding a Malaysian python in the park
- Chipati lady and her husband (a food stand couple across from our home)
- BBQ with Pastor Mark and his family
- Sharing our testimonies with the church
- Prayer fast with the World Race community for the situation in Iraq and Syria
- Bring it On movie night with my team
- Free cab ride from walking in the rain
- Tea time!
- Weekend vacay to Penang
- Laying out on the beach and enjoying the Indian Ocean
- Danni (from Cambodia) joining us in Penang for the weekend before flying back to the US
- New journal
- Trying new cultural foods
- Chinese and Indian breakfasts with Pastor Mark
- Saree party with the women from the church
- “He sounds like a rascal!” – Pastor Marks response after someone gave us the finger
- Prayer walks through the town
- Reading Circlemaker
- “Fellowship” really means eating until you can’t anymore
- Roti at the restaurant up the street
- Lunches at the orphanage (I now love Indian food!)
- Praying over the kids at the orphanage
- Henna with Esther
- Watching the food network in their home
- Writing down dreams at the orphanage
- Bed bugs at fern loft (our first hostel for debrief at the end of the month)
- Scoring a real hotel after the bed bugs with beds and a real shower!
Debrief
The end of the month we also came together as a squad with our mentors and coaches who flew in from the US for our Month 8 Debrief. This was a wonderful time to debrief with our teams and coaches the past two months, and prepare for the end of the race. They also introduced ideas of reentry to help us prepare in the process of our return in just a few short months. It was so wonderful to sleep in big comfy beds, have hot showers, breakfasts, and make memories I will take with me the rest of my life. I was meeting with one of my alumni squad leaders who left us the end of month 5 but flew back in for this debrief, and she kept reassuring me how much I have grown and learned. I know I have had a transformation, but it was encouraging to hear from someone who saw me at the beginning of the race and has seen my development and growth. I am excited for the things I have been learning and ways I have been growing, and I am even more excited to walk confidently and boldly in the ways I have grown.
I have overcome the middle of the race hump, and I am now on a fast decline towards the end of the 11 months. God isn’t finished with me yet, and I still have so much more to learn. I am confidently walking in the path he has provided me with, and I look forward to sharing the ways he will show up these next 3 months.
With Love.
Matthew 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."
