Our first country in Asia!
I was incredibly nervous about coming to Asia. I had never been and had been formulating extreme cases of instant culture shock in my head. I didn’t feel like I was ready to move from Central America, which had now become home.
Malaysia is rich in culture as it’s made up of mostly three people groups: Malays, Chinese, and Indians. We had travelled over 70 hours to get from Honduras to the Kedah province of Malaysia where we were placed for ministry that month.
The very first night we got to our ministry, our host took us to an Indian restaurant just down the road from where we were staying and began to share Malaysian culture with us. One of my comfort foods is dahl (a little odd ya, but it’s a staple in our house!) and having that as our introduction to this new continent and culture was such a strong reminder that God is there and provides. I’m going to be ok. In fact this is going to be awesome!
As part of our schedule, we had daily devotionals. This was a huge blessing this month because it gave us an opportunity to go deep as a team and to really grow spiritually.
We were able to visit a nearby orphanage a few times, and were overwhelmed by the love that they showed us. We spent time playing with them and teaching them some songs, games, and Bible stories, but they welcomed us into their home. They were conscious of our needs and wants. In traditional Indian culture you eat with your hands. I’m sure we would have been willing to try this out, but before we even had to the kids made sure that we have utensils that we could eat with.
Our host runs a music school that teaches both Western music and Indian classical music. A lot of our ministry was helping him with promoting his school by flyering or brain storming ideas for how he could expand his reach.
He was one of the most enthusiastic individuals that I have met. We didn’t always know what was happening when, but his enthusiasm for what was going to happen was infectious. One of my teammates described our sentiments pretty well “I have no idea what I’m going to be doing but I’m so excited to do it!”
Our host and his wife were incredibly welcoming and would often invite us over to their home to have “tea time” (for those of you who know me you know this is so right down my alley!). They would always have some new Malaysian or Indian treat to share with us. Their readiness to share their culture with us, really invited us into feeling such a part of the community.
A lot of this month was relational ministry. Basically that means that we focused on building relationships everywhere we went. It was a really good way to practice making ministry a way of life. I found out that I love to do this! It means that you make friends (or connections) wherever you go.
We were in a smaller town that doesn’t really get tourists, which means that we were basically the only white people there and people took note. There were so many times where we would meet someone new, and they would say “Ya I’ve seen you walking around!”
One of the things about Malaysia that is going to stick with me is the smiles of the locals. When you smile at someone on the street or wave to someone in a store, they return the most genuine smile. It’s not just an obligation to acknowledge you but it’s real.
We noticed that we would make eye contact with someone on the street and smile, and they would return the smile, but something happened when they realized you were actually going to say “hi” to them. Their smiles would spread. I truly believe that smiles are infectious.
God revealed to me that we are supposed to be inviting others into their true identities in Christ. How is someone to know that they are a son or daughter of the King if I don’t treat them as if they are? Each person is a beloved child of God’s and he wants us to acknowledge their value to them.
This can be something as simple as getting to know your waiter- asking their name, a few questions about their day or their life. It can be small, but the Kingdom of God is ushered in by small acts done in faith.
