Hey everyone, greetings from Malaysia! God is doing big things here! I detailed our ministry assignment in my last blog, but if you didn’t get a chance to read it I’ll give you a quick recap. My team and I are here without any specific assignments or ministry partners, and we are constantly seeking guidance from the Lord as to what cities we should be in and who we should interact with. There is a lot of freedom to listen to the voice of God and be obedient, but there are also some serious challenges and obstacles we face while ministering in the country of Malaysia.
Our biggest challenge is that it’s illegal to evangelize to the native people of Malaysia. The Malay people are born into Islam and the consequences for sharing the gospel with them vary, but could include deportation or jail time. Yeah, we can be put in jail or kicked out of the country for evangelizing here, it’s pretty wild! As followers of Jesus, what do we do when our passion to share the freedom and love we have received conflicts with the laws of the country we’re living in? We rely entirely on the direction and guidance from the Holy Spirit. The Lord brought us here to be vessels of freedom, hope, and joy, and He is making that possible for us every single day.
I know the idea of jail time and deportation sounds pretty heavy, but I also want to make it clear that we are not blatantly disregarding laws or disrespecting anybody that we come in contact with. We are constantly in tune with the Holy Spirit, and we use our discernment to carefully navigate the conversations that the Lord brings us into. There is also a large number of non-Muslims in Malaysia who we can freely share the gospel with. However, in this blog I want to highlight some of the ways that the Lord has shown up while speaking with our new Muslim friends.
We have been led into so many divinely appointed conversations and interactions – it is truly unbelievable. One night, my teammate and I had the privilege of speaking with a man and learning about his story, his children, his dreams, and his faith as a Muslim. Holy Spirit created the opportunity to share the gospel with him, and that opened the door to an amazingly fruitful conversation about finding peace, freedom, and fulfillment in Jesus Christ. We had the chance to encourage him and openly pray with him, and it was so clear that the love and joy of the Lord was overflowing in all of us that night. I have so much love for that man, and I find peace and excitement knowing that Jesus loves him so much more than I ever could, and that He will never stop pursuing a relationship with him.
Another beautiful encounter was with a woman who is already changing people’s lives and will undoubtedly continue to do so. We got to learn about her story as a Muslim woman and about her hopes and dreams, which led to wonderful conversation about how we can use our passion to positively impact the people around us. She shared her passion for psychology and how that led her to write a book about overcoming hardships and unlocking the potential that is within us all. I was able to share with her some my hardships and how Jesus was the key that unlocked the potential that was within me. Holy Spirit led that conversation in a gentle yet powerful way, and provided the opportunity for us to pray together and encourage each other. It is clear that Jesus is pursuing her, and that He wants to use her passion to continue to positively impact people’s lives and point them towards the complete freedom and fulfillment that is found in Him.
I have many more stories, but I’ll only share one more so I don’t take up your whole day! We found ourselves in a city in Northern Malaysia, trying to figure out where the Lord wanted us to go and who to interact with (this happens every day). We were led to a local university, and found ourselves in the cafeteria moving from table to table and interacting with the wonderful students. We learned so much from them, and also had the chance to share the love of Jesus with some of them. We decided to do something super random, and invited the students to a pizza party that we spontaneously planned for the following night. We sent out the invite to as many students as possible, and about thirty of them actually showed up! It was such a blessing that they wanted to hang out with us, and it was so fun to love these kids and spend time encouraging them, laughing with them, and sharing a meal together. The best way to reflect the character of Jesus is simply to love people the way He did.
The laws of this country may be different than other countries, but that doesn’t change the fact that these people are children of God and He is willing to do whatever it takes to tell them how much He loves them. That’s where we come in, vessels of the Good News, being obedient to the calling of the Lord and sharing His love with His sons and daughters. You are also a part of this mission through your prayers, financial support, and encouragement. Please be praying for the people of Malaysia, that they would experience the freedom, hope, and love that comes with a relationship with Jesus.
Names to pray for: Aurora, Paul, KC, Jean, Charles, Noel, Leelee, Jimmy, Jan, Justin, Jane, Mohamed, Alicia, Winifred, Alexander, Weylon, Aquila, Mira, Daniel, Amirul, Zikry, Mohamed, Kuilan, Winnie, Jennifer, Rufus, Kuang, Sean, Caleb, James, Thomas, Justin, Aina, Miela, Haney, Imelda, Senthil, Victoria
Pizza party!
Students and a professor at the university
Praying with the powerful woman mentioned in the story above
Hanging out in the school cafeteria
Trip to the mall with our new friends
