It felt like I blinked and we were already finished in Malaysia. With debrief and two locations, 3 weeks flew by. Malaysia was our first “grown up” missions test, and it was pretty awesome. I would love to stay in Malaysia longer, but God pushes us out of our comfort zones, and moving us to the next country. But there are some things I won’t forget about my time in Malaysia.
God Just Wants Us
This month was Ask The Lord, which means that AiM gives us our budget and tells us when our flight leaves and sends us on our way. We don’t have contacts or hosts or set places to stay or serve. So the first day we were by ourselves, we made a list of things we could do for ministry. The list was long. And it felt like we had to do crazy awesome things in order to prove that we were doing ministry. But God stopped that right away. He just wanted us. He wanted us to spend time with him. We can’t be his hands and feet if we aren’t giving him time in our lives.
People are so Beautiful
We made friends in both cities we spent time in. In Kuala Lumpur (KL) we became friends with practically the entire Starbucks staff. We ran in late one night and just started talking to them. We got to spend time with them throughout the week and just be their friends. Then in Penang we ran across a church and met a lovely young woman that chooses joy and love daily and is so full of hope. In both places, complete strangers welcomed us and loved us and treated us like old friends. People are not mean. I’ve been to 4 countries and met beautiful people along the way.
Missions is As You Go
The great commission says “go into the world, making disciples…” Our leaders gave insight on this by saying that the original translation is “as you go into the world.” When we walk to do our laundry or go to get dinner at a street fair or grab Starbucks because we are watching a movie late and need to stay awake, we have the opportunity to show God’s light. There is not ministry time if you take the words “as you go” seriously. If you keep your eyes open and your heart ready, you will see that God drops those moments all throughout your day.
America, You’re Doing it Wrong
Wifi on buses. Grocery stores inside of malls. Trains that actually get you to places you want to go. Street food. Walkways that are shaded and get you across town without going through streets. Asia is pretty awesome and their things make sense. I was pleasantly surprised.
God is Proud of Us
One day I just prayed and asked God to speak to me. Instead of telling me something, He gave me a glimpse into how he feels about our team. And it was joy, adoration, and excitement. We were spending time with him, striving to put him first, and he was so pleased with us. He just wants his daughters. He wanted us and to have our focus. Even though we don’t know exactly how we are supposed to walk out the month, we knew we needed to keep him first and that made him so happy and proud.
Malaysia was our starting month of listening to God and trusting him for everything. We have two more countries where this will be how we operate. I’m sad to leave Malaysia because I felt we barely got there before we had to leave. But we are on our way to Sri Lanka and to pioneer a country that World Race has yet to be in.
