I’m sitting here in Penang, Malaysia.
It’s the second year in a row I have been blessed to spend a month in this incredible city.
Last year when I was here I remember feeling and dealing with a lot of Spirtitual Warfare.
In 2016 this was the month I grew the most in my spiritual walk on the race. I saw healings, my teammates witnessed miracles, I learned what it looks like to pray for hours, I worshipped freely on the rooftops, and I regularly shared the gospel with people who wanted to hear about Jesus.
This year I was eagerly anticipating my return to Penang and was thrilled to be able to share some of these same experiences with X squad.
Well this year it was different. Penang felt different. My eyes had seen a lot since the last time my feet walked those streets.
In the past couple of months the Lord has been growing me tremendously in my heart for people that are misguided in their beliefs. Specifically, I have been learning a lot about the Islamic faith and what that looks like for practicing Muslims.
I read this INCREDIBLE book called, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. (If you haven’t read this book, I would highly recommend it. It is the story of a devout Muslim’s journey to following Jesus and it breaks down every argument that is used in the Islamic faith and shows where it falls short and where Christianity proves true.)
Malaysia is an Islamic country with 61.3% practicing Islam.
As I walk the streets of Penang my heart is GRIEVED.
I am crying out to the Lord,
“Papa, how can I make a difference here in just a month? I know you are a God of instant transformations but for a lot of these people it’s going to take a relationship, it’s going to take longevity and I don’t have that in a month! I’m told it’s illegal here to preach the gospel (this doesn’t stop me when the Holy Spirit prompts!) There are so many people here and I just want them all to know you! It is too much for just me in just one month! Papa, what am I to do with this time here?”
I prayed this prayer for a few days and just listened for the Lord’s answer.
I don’t know that many days go by here that I don’t share the Gospel or talk about Jesus with one person.
We have taken a lot of Ubers and I find that the longer rides are incredible times to share with people and to hear about their lives.
Well in a matter of a couple of days after crying out to the Lord, he brought me two Uber drivers that were Christians!
I was able to encourage them in their walk and talk to them about what it looks like to share their faith with people here in Penang.
Then the Lord brought us to a mall and there was a little stand selling honey from the Himalayas. It turns out the owners are Christians and it’s through a local church! They sell the honey to help the people of Nepal to make a fair wage for their honey!
I was BLOWN AWAY by the Lord’s faithfulness.
However, my favorite encounter he brought me this last week was a little cold.
It was Thanksgiving morning, we were spending our morning in prayer and asking the Lord to guide us in whatever he had for us. We call these ATL’s (ask the Lord). It is literally just asking God how he wants you to spend your time, what he wants you to do, who he wants you to minister to, whatever he wants! The idea here is just to set aside intentional time to be used by the Lord in whatever way he speaks.
My group ended up at an ice cream shop! We were looking for a lady-boy that Lynna had ministered to the prior night but couldn’t find him so we kept walking and felt like ice cream sounded good on that hot morning!
Well that is where we met John.
I knew as soon as we entered the ice cream shop and saw a wall full of children’s photos and a photo of John’s family that they were believers.
I asked him, “Are you a Christian?”
“Yes”, he replied.
John spent the next hour or so telling us about his life and his journey away from Buddhism.
He has been a believer for over 17 years and his entire family has walked away from Buddhism as well!
We were able to pray with him and encourage him in many areas of his life.
He had opened the shop a couple years prior after working with Campus Crusade for Christ for 14 years.
The earnings of his shop go to an orphanage in Thailand and help support many children.
His 15 year old daughter spends her summers there lovin’ on those kiddos.
The Lord’s faithfulness is evident in John’s life and I was beyond encouraged to see what an impact one family can make.
But first, it took someone being obedient to share the Gospel with this Buddhist man.
Praise Jesus for whoever that person was!
The ripple effect is evident here.
Be encouraged my friends.
The Lord hears your prayers, he hears my prayers.
Take it one day at a time and focus on the people around you.
You never know how he is going to use you and your obedience to minister to those around you.
“He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Luke 10:2
