//Malaysia//
“We ourselves can be agents of God’s holiness, for God now dwells within us. In the midst of an unclean world we can stride, as Jesus did, seeking ways to be a source of holiness. The sick and the maimed are not hot spots of contamination but potential reservoirs of God’s mercy.”
-What’s so Amazing About Grace
Month four in Malaysia shifted so much in my heart and in our routine; if you can even say we had a routine. We began the month with our second debrief. (Debrief is a time when all of us on fusion along with our leaders in the USA to come together. And this one was different because it was a combined debrief with another squad.) For me it was a time of rest and processing. During debrief we have a lot of free time and I found my self walking the same block in China Town, KL over and over again. I got so many free cups of tea and realized this was in exchange for a listening ear. As I walked past the tea shops with Malay Chinese owners my heart broke as I saw their Buddhist shrines and ancestral worship. But more than that their desperation to be known was incredibly evident. Many afternoons I spent drinking tea listening to their stories about family, work, travel and hardship. Our conversations would end with a prayer and a photo. And as I left to walk to the next shop I would say a short prayer to the Lord, “may they be found by you.”
As the quote above states, “God dwells within us. In the midst of an unclean world we can stride as Jesus did, seeking ways to be a source of holiness..” A source of holiness, healing, light. There is a beautiful woman who sits right outside the 7-Eleven by the bus station in KL with an unforgettable smile. She begs there everyday and doesn’t speak English but sitting on the side of the street with her brought that smile to light. She let me pray for her and my friend from the tea shop translated. She now knows she is loved and my friend from the tea shop knows he has purpose because of Jesus.
I was reminded over the two weeks my team was in KL that the Lord sees all people regardless of their position and loves them. He did not pass me by. To bring holiness to this world is to do the same; I choose to not pass them by.
When we entered Malaysia the Lord gave me this vision that this would be a month of healing. Little did I know the healing I saw was internal healing in my own life. I think sometimes humanity can get stuck in this idea that serving the poor and sick is the only honorable ministry. But the Lord is continuously changing my heart and giving me greater vision to see His desire for the world. He desires all people to know Him! From the older woman with the unforgettable smile to the western couple at our hostel or the girl on world race; the Lord desires to heal our hearts and bring us wholeness.
“Let the little children, come to me and I will give them rest.”
My prayer is that we, that humanity would come!
