I can’t believe I’m about to say this but……
W E’ R E L E A V I N G M A L A Y S I A T O M O R R O W N I G H T.
What? Has it really already been three months? We are literally about to say goodbye to Asia and hello to Costa Rica.
We sadly left Penang yesterday and traveled to Kuala Lumpur (the capital of Malaysia) to stay for a weekend Squad debrief before jumping on the plane and heading to the STATES for a two-day layover in NYC! I am currently writing a blog about something really, very, extremely cool that happened a couple nights before leaving the island of Penang but UNTIL THEN, I wanna briefly summarize my time spend here on the beautiful island of Penang, Malaysia for you! Keep an eye out for my upcoming blog!
Walking down the streets of Malaysia almost feels like walking the streets of Disney World (as far as diversity in people & religions goes, that is). In contrast to Thailand’s homogenous Buddhist and save-face culture, Malaysia celebrates its religious diversity and authentic personalities on every street corner. Even though we stayed in “little India”, you could place your foot in an Islamic Mosque, an Anglican Church, or a Hindu Temple within a matter of minutes. The diversity is unique to Malaysia, as it is rare to find a place in which four of the five major world religions peacefully coexist despite the vast differences within their religious sects.
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For the majority of my squad-mates, this month presented significantly more challenges than Thailand did; but I think it was the exact opposite for me (I’m different…what’s new…). To clarify, that’s not to say that this month was a cake walk by any means, but it is to say that Malaysia felt closer to my heart than Thailand. As a result, it was easier to more passionately love the Malaysian people and pour my whole heart into ministry.
Speaking of which…ministry was quite the experience for us this month. We never knew what we were doing from day to day because we didn’t have a set schedule as we did in Thailand; instead, it was constantly changing, getting canceled last minute, or completely non-existent altogether. Despite this slight annoyance, I thrived more than ever. Coming on the Race I expected the ministry host to provide all the ministry for us (and to an extent, this should be the case, as that’s part of their job), but being here in Malaysia has taught me that they—or anyone else for that matter—are not responsible for giving us ministry. Instead, “life is ministry and ministry is life”, meaning that we are literally capable of bringing kingdom wherever we go, under whatever circumstance, and with whomever the Lord places in front of us:
Loving the migrant worker in 7-Eleven = ministry. Acknowledging the homeless man as you walk past him on the way to get lunch = ministry. And having a lengthy one-sided conversation with the real Jack Sparrow = ministry (*quick tangent for kicks* I kid you not when I say that this man at our homeless shelter claims to be the original Jack Sparrow; the real pirate after whom the movies were created *hand to face*. Me of all people should be able to tell you that there is really no telling what you’re gonna get yourself into or what kinds of people the Lord will place in your path on any given day ;).
10 things I love about Malaysia:
- The unique diversity
- The culture
- The beautiful people
- The boujee, artistic, perfect-backdrop-for-pictures buildings
- The colonial buildings
- The fact that most people speak English *bless up*
- The rich history
- The weekly Church service, the house of prayer meditation, and worship
- The homeless shelter ministry, particularly the beheading & de-gutting of fish and the making of finger-puppets out of baby squid with my BARE HANDS experience (a most thrilling, exhilarating, and satisfying experience if I say so myself).
- And last, but certainly not least, the delicious, scrumptious, delicious, heart-warming, delicious, mouth-watering, delicious, flavorful, delicious, unique, and….did I say delicious?….FOOD. Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, Mediterranean, American, pretty much anything you can think of food. If you want food like none other, you know where to come. Don’t even get me started about the cheesy-cheese Naan…..*mouth waters*.
Highlights & memorable happenings during my stay in Malaysia:
- Some really cool conversations with my teammates and squad-mates
- Freely worshiping & journaling & reading my Bible from 8pm-midnight every Friday at the house of prayer
- Sharing my testimony at the homeless shelter
- Building relationships with the locals
- Learning about Islam
- Teaching music at a Muslim refugee school with the sweetest kids ever
- Falling through the bed while watching a movie with my squad mate Amanda (no injuries, but lots of laughter :P)
- Being chased down by the homeless man whacking people with sticks (again, no injuries, but lots of laughter & confused faces)
- Nearly getting run over by a madman driving a motorcycle
So that’s it, friends. I’m leaving Asia and moseying my way on over to Costa! I’ve had the song “So Long Farewell” from the Sound of Music stuck in my head for days now and so that’s what I’ll be singing as I fly away!
To my family and wedding peeps: see you in less than a month for Hannah’s big day!
Blessings,
-Sam
