First, check out my last photo album from the Race
We finished ministry and headed to KL to spend some time with our contacts Pete and Carol. I was able to go visit the Twin Towers in KL that were the tallest building in the world until 2004. I was able to go see the new Pirates movie at midnight for Cam’s birthday. I went to the largest festival in the entire year in Malaysia. (it really needs its own blog and Tommy has already written one) I was able to ride the subway everywhere I wanted to go I walked all around town by myself, woops! It was just like being at home.
Then we headed to Pangkor to spend our last days as a squad relaxing and hanging out. It was a little tropical Island in the Indian Ocean. We snorkeled and rented scooters to drive around the Island. Jon had his smoothie stolen by a monkey and we saw endangered birds and a 6 foot monitor lizard. It was a great way to say goodbye to the family I had spent the last year working, sleeping, breathing and eating with. I already miss them and I’m sure I will until we are reunited again in heaven.
We had one more night in KL and I was fortunate enough to get to eat dinner with Pastor Navid, the man I met at Tony’s church who was a pastor in Pakistan. Talking with him and hearing the stories of all the situations he has been in, from having his car set on fire to hearing about good friends being martyred, he never showed any anger. He told me about his good friend Shahbaz Bhatti, formerly the only Christian in the Pakistani cabinet, who was assassinated in in March for defending the rights of all minorities.
Through the tears in his eyes he told be about how Shahbaz’s death had led many people to Christ and how thankful he was for God’s faithfulness. He told me about his own heart to reach out and serve Muslims and how he wanted to spend his life loving them. It was then God slapped me in the face with the realization of how much he loves Muslims. He loves them enough to die for them. Romans 5:8 says “ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God loves all people with the same intensity he loves me.
A few days earlier I read an article on CNN that talked about all the controversy that erupted over someone putting Osama Bin Laden on the church prayer list. I was honestly shocked that people objected. But people in the church were calling him a monster and pure evil. While I can’t condone the way he lived his life, if we believe Jesus when he says that the only way to the father is through him, then I shudder to think of him now and know he surely needs all of our prayers.
In Matthew 5:44 Jesus instructs us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We need desperately to pray for them. There is no better example of God using this than the stoning of Steven. When the pharisee are stoning him he echoes Jesus’ prayer on the cross for his own persecutors. He says “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”.
Saul was there and heard all of this. Steven’s prayer was answered and his love for his persecutors in some way had to help Saul, the self proclaimed greatest sinner of all time, become Paul, the greatest missionary of all time. No one can run further than God is willing to chase them. No one can escape the love of the Father, Creator and Redeemer. Thanks to Jesus, no one is separated from God. So we need to pray for all our enemies that God might encounter them and change their lives.
At this point in my life I really don’t know what God has in store for me, but I know I am called to love all his children.
