Once a week, my heads to the streets of Penang to sprinkle a little bit of Jesus over the city. This has taken the form of sitting with locals and asking them about their lives and their stories. Other times it has looked like smiling at the homeless man across the street and giving him water. It has also just been simply prayer walking streets notorious for prost1tution. Last night, however, it took the form of a scoop of ice cream.
Me, my teammate Ashlynn, my squad mate Presley, and two 11n11 racers were a group as we set out with only a street as our direction. We initially came across a family of tourists from Singapore and quickly befriended them over our similar love of food. After we talked to them for a good little bit, we kept on walking down the main road when we entered into an area with overwhelming physical darkness. The buildings were all dark and uninhabited. Every single one of them unwelcoming and unsettling. All except one. Amidst the dark street and buildings all around, a petite little ice cream shop lit up the surrounding area. We were immediately drawn to the sweet aroma it brought and decided to make ministry out of getting to know and talk to the workers as we enjoyed a treat. As we were ordering, one of the other racers recognized the music playing as an oh-so-familiar worship song. In the rarity of hearing Christian music amidst the variety of religions in this region, she told us all to shush and listen. We asked the store owner if she believes in the lyrics or if she just likes the song – and to our rejoice – she told us that she was a Christian and she loves to play Christian music as a conversation starter and as a prayer to cover her shop.
We got to hear a little bit of her and her family’s story. She is from Malaysia and became a Christian years ago from a coworker spreading the Good News to her. Having roots in China, she has a huge heart for her ancestral people. With this passion, she and her husband spent 6 years working through the und3rground church in China before returning to Malaysia and opening the ice cream store. Now, they send half of their profits to help support both the church back in China, and an orphanage in northeastern Thailand. After talking to them for a while, we had the privilege to pray over them and encourage them in their faith.
While this encounter may seem very superficial at first glance, it was an incredibly divine appointment. You see, two of the prayers we had before going out last night was that flowers would bloom on every street in this city and that the Lord would bring a divine encounter. Surrounded by darkness on every side, this small little ice cream store stands out. It proclaims His goodness and His grace. After a difficult month of little noticeable fruit, we ourselves were so encouraged that God isn’t done with this country. In fact, He’s just getting started. He reminded us that there are people IN Malaysia to carry on what we’ve begun here. He showed us that there are locals that are actively loving the people of Malaysia with such a genuine heart of Jesus. We were able to encourage them as well and provide some hope that their small actions are truly having generational impacts. Their happiness and joy of the Lord was simply contagious.
So as our time in Malaysia comes to a close and we prepare to head to Costa Rica, please keep this family in your prayers. There is lots of implicit persecution for Christians in Malaysia, and it is very difficult for any race to go out and share the love of Jesus, especially those who have converted from Islam. Pray that the Spirit would cover their store in abundant grace and that their efforts would be so fruitful in the community around them. Pray for my squad as we leave this country, that we would be able to rest knowing that the seeds we planted are going to continue to be watered and bear much fruit. Little did we know that encouragement and reminding of our purpose would come in a waffle cone, but God showed us that He is on fire for this city in just one small scoop of ice cream.
-A
