Hey!
Last week was a beautiful one. God shook the ground, it broke, and a lot of flowers bloomed.
I got to be a camp counselor at a Christian camp here in Malaysia called ‘Firez’. There were over 450 students there. Some being Buddhist and Hindu. The church in charge of this camp didn’t market it as as a Christian camp so you saw kids from all different areas of life here. It was wild! Each day was packed with different activities and breakouts. I had noodles for breakfast, noodles for lunch, and noodles for dinner.
This camp was only three days long, but that didn’t stop God from transforming these kids hearts and even my own. I had the privilege to help lead 4 young girls. Three of them knew who Jesus was and were walking out their faith, but one of the girls named Mia, had no idea who Jesus was at all. When I asked her if she knew who the man was we kept on mentioning in the breakouts, she simply said “no, is it bad if I don’t know?”
The crazy thing is that I wasn’t even thrown off. This wasn’t the first time that I heard someone genuinely having no idea who Jesus was. Mia had never heard the story of Jesus dying on the cross or of Jesus walking on water. All of the small and generic things you might think someone would hear just by living life, but they simply don’t know.
I asked if she wanted to know the story of Jesus. She was so excited that someone wanted to take the time and share it. She felt dumb for not knowing, but I quickly cut that feeling out.
After I shared, I asked if she wanted to accept Him as her Lord and savior. I’m a huge believer that even though that might be a super forward and usually uncomfortable question, you never know how the Holy Spirit is moving. It also never hurts to ask. She looked skeptical so I sat with her for a second. I then explained that I didn’t want her to make that decision if she didn’t fully understand what it meant. I told her that I wanted her to say yes to God when she knew the beauty of that yes. The life changing power of that yes.
The next night at worship, the pastor asked for people to raise their hands if they wanted to accept Jesus as their Lord and savior. I was peeking down at her hands the entire time. Her hand would raise a little and then go back down. That happened about three times. THEN. Finally, Mia raised her hand. I loved witnessing how hard she was thinking about it. She wasn’t proclaiming Jesus as her savior for anyone else, but herself. It was a moment between her and God. I silently freaked out.
After that service I obviously prayed over her and celebrated with her. I could already see a difference in her. I got her a Bible earlier that day because I had full faith that God had transformed her heart. I knew she was ready to step out in faith and proclaim His name. I joyfully handed her that Bible and she was thrilled. I got to highlight some of my favorite verses with her and explain how to even read it. It was magic.
Mia will play a huge part in the kingdom work happening here in Malaysia. She is so smart and has a huge heart. There won’t be anyone who brings this girl down. I can’t wait to watch what God does with her life and how He works through her.
This is what ministry is all about! The moment people hear the gospel it’s hard not to believe. It takes more work and energy to push away the gospel then to accept it and jump in head first.
I hope every one of you who read this blog has jumped in head first. I pray you make the decision to jump in head first every day.
Mia, you will do HUGE things. I can’t wait to see. Go change the world.
