Imagine for a minute that you lived in a society where sharing your faith with someone is a federal crime—where you could get imprisoned or murdered because of it.
Imagine not being able to waltz into a Panera with your bible, journal, and sip your green tea while you listen to the latest podcast download of a Matt Chandler sermon.
Imagine getting physically, mentally and emotionally persecuted because you’re a Christian.
I have to ask, as you’re imagining…
Welcome to Changlun, Malaysia, a small border town of about 2,500. This month we’re working in a preschool/kindergarten, living in a house next door. Upon meeting with our contact, we were debriefed on life here in this town and how this month is going to look:
- No reading your bibles or worshipping outside.
- No talking about Jesus or anything related in public/to your coworkers.
- If you can, use fake names.
- Don’t wear anything with Christian or World Race symbols.
- Don’t tell anyone you’re on a mission trip.
- Don’t let anyone know you’re a Christian.
And the kicker…
- Don’t tell anyone about Jesus.
UM. ES-Q ME. WHAT.
Working with twelve 3 year olds for a half a day every day? Ok, sure. By the strength of the Lord, I got that.
Sleeping on my sleeping pad in a room with my team of 5 other girls? Easy-peasy.
Living in weather conditions of 90 degrees+? Cake walk. (Florida summers aint got nothing on this)
But…
Being requested to not talk to people about Jesus? …I Cannot. Compute.
After talking with our contact the other day I understood His intentions behind it all, and how He is definitely walking in close step with the Lord's Will. It just got me really frustrated because I began to think about all the times when I was instructed by the Lord to freely talk, read, or even sing about Jesus to people in an open country but never did; and now that I’m in a country where that’s taken away from me, that’s all I want to do! How quickly we realize the importance of what we have when it’s taken away from us.
And now, with it, now comes a revelation for me as I begin to see a tiny glimpse of just how wretched my flesh is. I have seen a little pin-prick puncture of His light into the dark depths of my soul that He has so graciously redeemed. My eyes are opening slowly, my ears are beginning to get unclogged. The Lord has led me to realize that I have self conceit so comfortably cushioned around my heart, even being on this Race–and yet, even still, His grace is suffient for me and His power is made perfect in weakness.
