At training camp in August, we all committed to blogging about our experiences weekly or as much as wifi allows. As I’m striving to be a person of integrity, I need to honor my word and blog each week, but to be honest, blogging every week is hard. Or like my mom would say, not hard, but challenging and “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
My squad-mates make it seem easy. They are vulnerable and can inspire the hardest of hearts to seek Jesus just by sharing their own experiences. I, on the other hand, struggle to put into words what the Lord is doing in my heart these past few months. Sometimes I’m good about writing what we are doing ministry-wise and can stick to the facts, but when we are asked to write about our feelings on what we are experiencing, it’s challenging. I freeze.
This week in Malaysia, we’ve had a lot of time just waiting and being flexible for our ministry hosts. One day, I took out my laptop and tried to write what I’ve experienced these past few months. I stared at the blank page and wrote the words: challenging, long, frustrating, refreshing, beautiful, messy.
It’s true, we have been on the World Race for over 50 days now – It’s both messy and beautiful, both frustrating and refreshing. It’s hard to explain this dichotomy to anyone who has not done the Race.
Each day, the Lord requires from me absolute obedience and trust in order to live out the more abundant life. Most days, I fail. Some days, I’m more concerned with my personal comfort versus how I can be a vessel of honor for God to use. Either way, each morning, God is faithful to provide me with new mercies, new blessings, and I have another 24 hours to strive to live out my love for Jesus.
My team and I have been in Malaysia now for over a week. It is very different than Thailand or the Philippines.
We are in the city of Sungai Petani, Malaysia. Christianity is not really present at all here except at the church where we are staying. The country is majority Muslim. It’s a melting pot of Indians, Chinese, and local Malays.
My team and I are sleeping in one room above a one room church that is not visible when standing on the road. We are staying in the upstairs area and below us are some motor bike shops and the church. We are sleeping on our sleeping pads and we are showering in cold water, I’m thankful it’s not bucket showers. There is no wifi where we are staying, but we can get wifi when we seek out a specific coffee shop or the mall.
The church reminds me of my church back home. The carpet and chairs are red just like at my home church, the members say Praise the Lord to each other in greeting like at my home church, and the children are participating in the service like at home. It’s beautiful to see, but also makes me a little home-sick this holiday season.
Our ministry this month consists of a lot of different things. This past Saturday the church had a huge Christmas party from 9am-5pm. It’s an annual thing where the children of the community are invited whether they are Christian or not. It’s a great outreach opportunity for the children to hear about Jesus each year. The pastor’s wife told us that the kids keep coming back each year because they have so much fun and little by little the church is planting seeds about Jesus. On Saturday, we were given 1 hour to fill. Krista, one of my teammates came up with a great skit and music to perform. I played the part of a Grandma who wanted to tell the kids that Christmas is about Jesus and not just a party event. Our skit turned out great! The whole day was one of my highlights so far being here in Malaysia. See Krista’s blog for some video clips from the day. (link to the left)
This past week, my teammates and I also had the opportunity to go with the Pastor to a few house visits to pray and give communion to members who can not come to church for various reasons. The first house was an elderly man on dialysis. We sang some worship songs, prayed, and the Pastor served the man and his wife communion. It was beautiful to be a part. Next, we went to a couple’s house whose father had an accident and had a total knee replacement. At that house, we were fed dinner and then we hung out with the family and the kids, and prayed over the father.
I ask that you will pray for my team and our unity. I ask that you will be praying for our ministry host, his wife and daughter, and extended family and the church. I ask that you will be praying for this community. Recent laws here make it even harder to be a Christian, so please pray for this church Bethel Assembly to endure and continue to reach out to the community.
Thank you so much for all of your support and taking the time to read this long blog post. I am praying for everyone at home and miss everyone a lot. Thank you for all of the prayers and encouragement for my team and I. Thanks for reading my ramblings!
Please also pray about donating this holiday season, so I can continue on to Africa and Central/South America in the new year!
Click the DONATE button above to donate online or for how to mail a check.
In courageous faith and for His glory alone,
Sharon
