A couple days ago, after a very long 40 hours of traveling by bus, plane, and train, we arrived in Kuala Lampur. We were very sad to leave our new family and friends behind in the Philippines, especially since we were really starting to make some awesome relationships with our ministry contacts and some of the locals. Our last couple days have been very exciting, though, as we have been staying in the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lampur, which seems to have a bit of western culture on the surface, but has a strong Muslim culture and government at its core.
(With the Philippine ministry team at the top or Mount El Nido)
It has really been a blessing for me to be with our new contact in Malaysia. The husband and wife team are both very strong Christians, which is evident by their passion and willingness to labor in a country with little support. They have also really taken us under their wing and have spent much of their time helping our team grow stronger.
(Travel Day in Kuala Lampur)
For ministry they operate a restaurant, which is also the location where they live and where we have been staying. They use their restaurant to feed the local poor and also as a location for church gatherings. It has been very encouraging to see how intertwined their job, ministry, and family life is, especially since running a restaurant does not seem like a very spiritual thing to do.
When I lived in Austin, I actually took a class and learned about a type of ministry, which they termed “BAM� or Business As Mission. BAM is basically running a business with the heart of the business geared toward sharing the gospel and showing the love of Christ. This can look very different for each person, but is a very practical way to use our desires and giftings for God. In other words, it is not necessary to quit our job and work directly for the church. God actually wants us to use what we are good at and enjoy doing for His Kingdom.
This means that being a missionary for God or a Christian really
just means changing the way we think! Who are we doing life for?
It has been very cool to experience “BAM” first hand in Malaysia, since I was reading it out of a textbook just 1 1/2 years ago!
( Really Missing the AirCon!!!)
