I don’t know what you think about when you think of Malaysia, maybe you’ve never even heard of the country, or maybe you don’t know where it’s at on the map.
Well a little over a week ago we flew into Kuala Lumpur-the capital city. Kuala Lumpur is as modern as most American cities…filled with sky scrapers, malls, massive apartment buildings, a modern mass-transit system, and almost 2 million people.
But seven hours outside of the city in the little town of Kuala Krai, Malaysia is simply another country where people live on bare necessities and what little meager income they can bring in.
Malaysia is a country of many cultural differences within its borders. There are the easy going Chinese people with their “save face” culture, the Indians who are loud, outgoing, and very upfront with everything, and then the Malay people who, if born in Malaysia, are Muslim and come in somewhere down the middle between the Chinese and Indian cultures.
We had the privilege of spending our first week here with one of our all women teams in the small town of Kuala Krai. Our ministry contact-Pastor Yesu(an Indian) had us involved in numerous projects and ministries. One of the main projects we helped out with was working on a building project for their future ministry home.
Flexibility was definitely the key as we never knew how many times a day we might go work on the building, (Since it’s so hot here they only work on it for several hours at a time!) or who we might go visit next, or how many times we might need to sing a special number in a church service!
My highlight of our time here in Kuala Krai, was the day we were invited to eat lunch at an Indian widower’s house. She pulled out all the stops for us, feeding us an amazing, full course Indian meal with banana leaves as plates! The spices and chilis in the curry had us sweating profusely, and as a result of eating with our hands, everyone was a mess! …just a little warm-up for India!
For me, it was an honor to be here with Team Arise, and serve these women of God as their brother in Christ.
As a squad leader, I don’t take my job lightly, but I do enjoy interacting with the different teams on the squad and serving them in any way I can. I am humbled that this is the season that God has called me to, and I have already learned so much from it. My deepest desire as a squad leader, is that I could lead like Jesus led when He was here on earth…with boldness, confidence, honor, and authority, yet a servant of servants, the lowliest position, ultimate humility, and true sacrifice. He is my ultimate role model, my hero, my Saviour, my Redeemer, my King, MY DADDY! -It’s not about me, It’s all about Him! –Jamie
If you feel led to give towards my race, and help in bringing the Kingdom to earth, I still need $1400 by July 1st. Thanks!
