Malaysia Fun Facts:
- Life expectancy is 74 years old.
- A former British colony, Malaysia became an independent country in 1957.
- The capital is Kuala Lumpur (KL), which means ”Muddy Estuary” in the Malay language. The world’s tallest twin towers, the 88 stories “Petronas Twin Towers”, are located here. (Justin and Amy Chesnut also live in KL- let’s hear it for Iowa State friends! Go State!)
- Malaysia is also known as the “Food paradise of South East Asia”.
Ministry:
This month I am with Team Restored. Team Restored is Bethany and Haley from my previous team (yea!), Kaysea Cambell, Sarah Dooley, Rachel Krause, and Christina Reid. I love being with this team!
We are in Klang, Malaysia just outside of Kuala Lumpur. We are living at the Rumah Kids and working with Grace Assembly church. Rumah kids is a girls home for orphaned, abandoned, and abused girls. There are 13 Indian girls here from 5-17 years old. There is another house called Subang that also houses kids that need a home. We went to Subang the other day and made Christmas tree ornaments, sang songs, and played with the kids. Yesterday we helped out at a community event sponsored by Grace Assembly. They were expecting 5,000 people and it definitely felt like that many came through the food and game lines. There are 18 languages represented in this church with English, Chinese, and Indian departments within the church. The common language is English
I find the Malaysian culture so fascinating because it is such a mixture of cultures. We eat all Indian food here at the house. Our house mom is from the Phillippeans and we have met many Chinese church members. Today my team learned that Malaysia is not a closed country, but evangelizing to Muslims is illegal. The daily life for a Christian is not bad, but government policies are changing which could make it harder for Christians here. The police came to our event yesterday to make sure that there was no preaching. The Bibles were taken from the church two years ago and were just returned with a stamp that said, “Do Not Distribute.”
Living:
We live in the upstairs of the house. We are in two bedrooms with bunk beds and we each get our own closet. I have loved having a closet to put my stuff. I also for the first time get the bottom bunk-yea! We have two bathrooms. The toilets are like South America, you can’t flush the toilet paper and you flush it with a bucket of water. I am thankful for these toilets though, because I am not a huge fan of the squatty potties that are in the public bathrooms.
We have a common area upstairs and it also has a computer lab and library for the girls. There is also a kitchen area. It is a really comfortable place to live. Mr. Anbu drives us anywhere we need to go and drives us for all ministry responsibilities.
Precious Prya:
The girls that live here all have stories. Prya is ten years old but looks like she is five years old. She has a huge scar on her neck that she has to keep a washcloth over because liquid comes out of it while she is eating or drinking. Her dad made her drink motor oil to try to kill her. She has a surgery coming up on the 18th to help with her food digestion. She has been living this way for over a year and it causes her a lot of pain. She is looking forward to her surgery. I am hoping she will get the health care she needs.
She is so sweet and kind. I can’t imagine someone wanting to kill her. When we pray out loud she always says, “Yes- Jesus.” She likes to say “Amen” to statements, she write us notes that says she loves us, she wants to be a doctor someday, and she is spiritually mature beyond her years. I know she feels God’s presence. I know she knows God’s love. I know she is good-friends with Jesus. You can see it in her smile, hear it in her voice and words, and feel it in her prayers. She prays for us just as much as we pray for her. She is so appreciative of anything you do for her and is constantly giving us little gifts. She is precious and I see Jesus in her.
I am so thankful to spend Christmas with children. I am so thankful for the opportunity to meet people like Prya. She makes me want to be a better person. Please join me in prayer on the 18th for her surgery and join me in prayer for all abandoned, abused, and orphaned children around the world this Christmas season.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
