This will be a weekly (fingers crossed) series containing quick little blurbs about my daily life here in Malaysia. I may write about ministry, adventure days, or just random little occurrences. I guess we’ll find out together…
Wednesday, November 07, 2018
Dear Malaysia,
We crossed your border sometime this afternoon after making our goodbyes to half of the squad. Because of this, I think our meeting was somewhat bittersweet. As the afternoon turned into evening, however, this feeling gradually evolved into something much more exciting. Your culture and general feel is so different from anything I’ve ever experienced. There’s something about you that’s more raw and real. You have a grunge about you that feels unfamiliar, so I’m excited to explore it and get to know you a little more. A few hours after we arrived, we explored the Wednesday night market, which couldn’t be more different from the ones in Thailand. It was filled with locals and the smells and smoke from their cooking. I expect this is what you’ll be like, Malaysia. A bit dirtier, a bit louder, and maybe a little more hectic. Our ministry host is incredibly passionate about you. He was so thankful for us, and really any Christians that come here to spread God’s name. I hope and pray that we can shine a light into your darkness, Malaysia. That bonds would be broken and you become a place of freedom. We’ll see what that will look like soon.
Until then,
Connaly
Thursday, November 08, 2018
Dear Malaysia,
I’m pretty sure the only thing we can eat here is bread. This morning we went to a little restaurant under some white tents for breakfast. They served us roti (similar to flatbread) with egg and a spicy red curry sauce. After that, Pastor Thomas brought us doughnuts and these rolls made out of rice flour and coconut milk because he’s the best host ever. Then after dinner, we had more roti with bananas and dal. Suffice it to say your food, while limited in variety, is pretty great. Your people are also incredibly kind. Everyone I’ve come across has been so genuine and helpful. We learned a little bit more about your culture today from our ministry host, but haven’t had the opportunity to explore it yet, so I’m excited to experience it. Hopefully, that will happen soon.
Until then,
Connaly
Friday, November 09, 2018
Dear Malaysia,
I was expecting you to be similar to Thailand, but you really aren’t. It might just be the area that we’re in, but we stick out like sore thumbs. I’ve yet to see anyone other than Malay people, so suffice it to say there are lots of stares. However, on this flip side of that, the mall we visited today was surprisingly western. While obviously Asian, there were quite a few American stores and restaurants, which was super exciting for my teammates. Anyway, I think we’re going to some caves tomorrow so that’s pretty exciting. Here’s to hoping it won’t be a Thailand soccer team situation.
I guess we’ll find out…
Connaly
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Dear Malaysia,
You are crazy pretty. Like what the heck. We drove about an hour outside the city to the mountains and explored some caves. The drive was gorgeous. There were bright green rice fields stretching for miles, craggy mountains, rivers, and orchards. Your caves were also super cool. We learned a bit about the history from our guide and how the Chinese came here to work and mine. We had a good time climbing and crawling around. Tomorrow we find out what ministry is going to look like, which I’m looking forward to. I can’t wait to get to know your people better and show them the love of Christ. I guess I’ll see how that’s going to work tomorrow.
Until then,
Connaly
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Dear Malaysia,
We’ve started to get to know your people a little more. As of day one, we have a breakfast/roti lady. She’s the nicest and deals with all eight of us very well when we invade her tent every morning. She speaks incredible English and is one of the kindest people I’ve yet to meet on the race. I’m super excited to get to know her more. Today we got a tentative ministry schedule from our host. We’ll be praying over your city a lot. You’re incredibly heavy and filled with spiritual warfare, Malaysia. You feel darker and somewhat unpolished. It’s hard living here but really good. We will also be teaching English in a government school a few times this month. The teachers are asking us to set up and put the kids in a variety of scenarios, such as a grocery store or school, to give them practical vocabulary and experience. We’re just supposed to have fun with them. Not exactly my strong suit, but oh well. From what I’ve gathered, our month here will be a little more relaxed regarding ministry. It will be an adjustment but will give us the opportunity to rest, spend more intentional time with the Father, and recover from two months of manual labor ministry. I’m excited to see what this month will bring.
Until then,
Connaly
Monday, November 12, 2018
Dear Malaysia,
Today was our first day of ministry. We began our day with roti (obviously) and Pastor Thomas spoke to us about the spiritual warfare here. Malaysia, you’re filled with darkness. You have prostitution, gambling, drug use, a wide variety of temples/religions, and a lot of sin coming in and out. I pray that during our time here we can shed some light in this darkness and have the opportunity to share Christ’s love with your people. This afternoon we split into pairs and did prayer walks throughout the town in the areas that are most affected. It was interesting to see the different feelings you can get in different parts of the town. In some areas, the bondage was so evident, while in others you could feel the Holy Spirit moving. The contrast was crazy. I’m curious to see how that will affect ministry this month. I guess we’ll find out soon.
Until then,
Connaly
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Dear Malaysia,
This morning Pastor Thomas took my teammates, Abbie, Hannah, Kayla, and I to a widow’s home who he regularly visits. We drove for about an hour to her house where she welcomed us in and shared her testimony with us. This woman, let’s call her Auntie, lost her husband and eldest son several years ago, leaving her with two other sons, M and R, who respectively have hearing and vision problems and a mental illness. Not only does Auntie take care of her sons and household, but also endures pressure from her family to give up on her faith. After her testimony, Kayla and Abbie gave her words of encouragement and then we had the opportunity to pray for her and her family. Auntie has diabetes, problems with her blood pressure, and heart issues, so we not only prayed for her spiritual strength and endurance but physical as well. We asked God to heal M’s eyes, ears, and a lump on his wrist that would be costly to remove. Then we prayed for R. That his mind would be restored and that God would be with him always. We witnessed hard things this morning, but it was so worth it. Malaysia, these are the people I want to meet. These are the people who can truly impact their community. I’m honored to have met them and prayed for them.
Thanks for that,
Connaly
