Malaysia! It’s so naturally beautiful here-very green and lush, however on the flip side we are being exposed to the very dark and unlovely parts-which is why we’re here. Our ministry here is multi-faceted this month-on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays we work from 9-3 at a “drop-in” center for the homeless (called Kawan http://www.ywampenang.org/jw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=99 – )preparing and serving them breakfast and lunch and also cleaning up and talking with them. We have also been peeling paint in the upstairs of this building and let me tell you-that is a tedious job! I will post pics later of this :o). We also attend several prayer meetings randomly through out the week for many different aspects of Malaysia,and we do a night ministry where we walk the streets and visit with prostitutes-some of which are forced and also the homeless or whoever God leads us to.
I want to talk about a beautiful woman who has found a place in my heart and will always remain there. I call her “my girl”, although she is the same age as me, I cannot mention her real name on this blog. I came out of church last Sunday with a few team mates and there she stood dressed in see through red and immediately she lifted up her shirt when she saw me and laughed hysterically. I smiled at her and continued walking-now when you are in tune with the Holy Spirit you always need to have “ears and eyes that are open” to where He may lead at any time and usually it’s not comfortable to our flesh. I have never met a prostitute-that I know of and so I was a bit nervous. I was wondering if I should go back and talk with her, when all of a sudden she yells to me, “Hey lady, lady!”, so that was my cue. I turned and walked back to her, she had marker drawn all over her body in weird shapes and patterns, her hair looked as if it had not been combed for months, she had dirty socks and sandals on and I will refrain from describing her “dress”. She also had a strong odor on her that I now know is from huffing glue. I tried my best to communicate with her-she is Malay, and we ended up just attempting a chat which was me mostly trying to keep her from lifting up my shirt (or hers) and grabbing me all over. No matter what though, I knew that this was a divine connection and so I said my good-bye to her and I hugged her and she yelled, “I love you and I miss you” as I left. She lives in an alley on a filthy mattress with a blanket and an extra shirt and that is her existence. She is also less than a minutes’ walk from the drop-in center (which she refuses to go to) and about 5 minutes from our hostel. I will sum up the past two weeks and what the Lord has done. I started to make it a point to go and see her every single day without fail, change started happening in her demeanor as she started to recognize me and members of our team, I brought her dinner two nights and loved seeing her eat and not huff glue as she usually did. We saw many things that I never thought I would witness-men purchasing her right in front of my face and her yelling for us to leave as she walked into the darkness and filth of the alley with them and my heart broken on the road for her and the rage in my heart for the men-although I know they simply have a void that they need filled too, so we pray for them. I was able to go one night with a translator and learned that she has 2 children between ages 8-10 and that her family wants her to come home, but she is addicted to the glue and is not allowed glue at home, so the alley is preferred. All of our ministry contacts know of her, yet have been unable to “reach” her. We all pray so much for her! She is actually so beautiful and funny and has an incredible voice. This to me is the epitome of what Satan does to individuals. This is not what she was created for and so we pray for God to bring her to a place where she can see herself for who He created her to be! No life is without PURPOSE. It’s absolutely amazing that God gives us the ability to really SEE others HOW He sees them, to feel His heart break for their brokenness. I love street ministry-going to visit with the many “ladymen” as they call them here-male prostitutes dressed as women, they are so shocked when a small group of us come and talk with them, just to talk-how many people just pass them by or sneer and laugh at them or only talk to them because they are customers? You cannot argue with me that this is something they enjoy or that they do not hurt or hate it because I can tell you from first-hand experience that they do, I will never see any part of the world the same way, I will not be apathetic to the injustice that is covering the globe in this hideous sex industry. As for “my girl”, I love her as my sister, I love her with a supernatural compassion that can only come from Christ and I will continue to fight for her situation until she is restored to herself in Him. As of the last 2 days, we were told that she has been moved to a local hotel and so we are hoping this change is for the better. Please keep her and her family in your prayers. Pray for the addiction to glue to be dismantled.
This month is heavy, but there is also joy and rest for our team. God has placed us in one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen, white sand beaches with clear water, mountains, and lush jungle. I am unable to take pictures of our ministry at night due to the nature of it, but I trust you understand why. These people will forever be in my mind. Continue to pray for our protection and ministry here. Our contact Peter is an amazing man of God with a heart for Penang that I long for. Thank you for your support and prayers-much love in His sweet and Holy Name.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Thought they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” ~Isaiah 1:18
Thank You Jesus for saving me from myself and my disgusting sins that grieve Your heart. Thank You for rescuing me from the pit, thank You for daily creating in me a pure heart and for giving me a constant hunger and thirst for Yourself that I pray will never be “satisfied” until Your return. Amen.
