How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring glad tidings of good things, who proclaim salvation…
Isaiah 52:7
After two months of living in dusty, polluted cities, my soul was ready for my first geographical love, the mountains. Gua Musang, Kelantan is a small town tucked away in the heart of Malaysia. Every morning we are gently awoken by a beautiful, bright sun that peeks over the terrain and breaks through the clouds. The mornings here are some kind of magic before the temperature increases to melt us all down. However, I’ll take the heat if I get to admire God’s glory every morning.
Last week, Kelly asked me, “I just want to know, what breaks your heart?” It was a hard question, but a really good one too, and I had to think about it. The following day, I went on a hike with Alleigh to find the local caves. We walked for about 5 miles when we found an old train station. The train tracks led us to a tiny village on the side of a mountain. The homes were made of wood and scrap metal, there were no roads, only dirt and a few plants here and there. We walked through the village and were welcomed by a group of small kids. A few of them stared at us with inquisitive looks, curious about the new strangers walking near their homes. The other kids walked up to us beaming with smiles and with a gentle “hello” making us feel so welcomed and loved. They were so excited to lead us to the caves. All of these sights and sounds that I was hearing instantly brought me back to Central America, and that’s when it hit me, I’ve missed this.
I’ve missed this so much.
Dwelling in a village, with the least of these is where I feel the most alive. I was just so happy to spend time with the people there, attempt to speak broken Malay and just love them well. Even though, we don’t speak the same language or have the same beliefs, Jesus still loves them the same. I knew that God’s presence was alive in that place. We were planting little seeds to bring the kingdom to the village by simply showing up. In the Bible, no one was offended by Jesus’ works. Instead, they were offended by His words. He gives us so much power in showing others what Jesus did over telling them about Jesus. Although, that’s important too.
After spending a day in what we found out later was the Kampong village, the Lord gave me an answer to Kelly’s question. It’s not the poor that breaks my heart, it’s the rich. Because when I’m with the poor, my heart delights with their joy and their freedom, despite their living conditions. However, with the rich, they can have all the money in the world, the biggest houses, the nicest cars, a dream job, but if they don’t have Jesus, they have nothing. My dream is to somehow bridge the gap between these two groups of people, the rich and the poor, because there is so much we can learn from both. I just pray that if there’s a burning desire in your heart to go, that you can experience a village heart. A heart full of joy, simple living and Jesus. Dwelling in a village, with the least of these will change your life in the best way. God can use you and soften your heart to see the people that live in the villages through His eyes. It’s been a long time coming, but He’s revealed what a huge part of my calling is. To empower and to love the nations.
-B
