Since I packed up from Calgary, I have packed (stuffed) everything into my two backpacks 9 times… Hooray for compression sacs and durable zippers, thanks Deuter and North Face!
Since arriving in Malaysia for Ask The Lord (ATL) month (having no contact or ministry provided to us from AIM), my team and I have:
Lived in 3 cities (for donation-based-rate/cheap/free)
Moved 5 times (and were able to see a lot of the country, which I loved)
Had 14 meetings (which appealed to my professional side)
Made 12 contacts for AIM (yeah success and productivity!)
There were so many personal and group answered prayers that ranged from someone baking us brownies when we’d just spent a week trying to figure out a way to bake without an oven, or substitute all of the “pinch ingredients” with our staples of instant oatmeal and peanut butter, and always concluding that baking chemistry can’t be changed with even the strongest of 7 girls’ hopes……..to God answering our prayers about making us of use here in Malaysia; There were so many opportunities to build relationships, to pray for, and encourage people.
Home is made up of grocery runs, internet access, transportation, a happy economy, creative workouts, fighting the urge to sleep longer, or the urge to take in excessive amounts of caffeine, and so having a similar experience here in Malaysia, while also having the purpose of this month be about practising hearing Gods voice, really allowed me to practise life, and what life will look like when I return home. It was back to the basics, and it was so refreshing. I’ve learned the importance of giving God the best of my time, my attention, my energy.
Prior to the Race, I’d observed lifestyles in Calgary, thought a lot about my own, and decided my world view had already narrowed. I’ve had a lot of curiosity about lifestyles around the world, and here in Malaysia, I’ve been exposed to many.
Malaysia is mostly comprised of three ethnicities; Malay, Chinese, and Indian, and their subsequent religions is the most peaceful co-existence of religions I’ve ever seen. But it’s not just this compilation that has taught me about new ways of living, it was also hitting the trains, the streets, the restaurants, and travelling to meet pastor after pastor and meeting tourists along the way.
You’ve probably noticed my photos on Facebook are flooded with team group shots with various people at various restaurants. Besides that, it’s hard to photograph the phone calls, the emails, the networking, the random conversations, the prayer times, the many taxi and train rides to take us from point A to B and back again. My team and I joke about Malaysian train lines feeling like a new home to us, our familiar place.
Overall, I want to target my top two highlights:
1) God answered our prayers and provided for our basic needs of safe shelter, cheap food, filtered water, and health, but He also blessed us with many meaningful encounters, relationships, experiences, and also productivity.
I know now I can come to God boldly, asking for His help, and He will always feed me, shelter me, comfort me, energize me, help me find rest, teach me, grow me. Never has He not.
2) I have a whole new definition of hospitality now.
It is very common for Malaysians to not just greet, welcome and wish you well, they go out of their way sacrificing days off, paying for meals with humble pockets, asking about our logistic details to try and help smooth our transitions. Their consistency and intentionality has blessed my teammates and I in too many ways to count.
It’s normal to inconvenience oneself over here, especially for a believer, because after all, we are family!
It amazes me how well God knows me. He knows my stresses, my worries, my desires, my thoughts, my wants, my comforts. He is so good to me, always thinking of me.
Throughout the month, my teammate Kaleigh has posted blogs on specific people we have met and things we have done. You’ll find the story I was referring to two blogs ago, there. Enjoy 🙂
