I thought that once I got to Malaysia I would eventually get culture shock or homesick or something like that. After being here over a week now I can say that I really feel at home and comfortable here. I adjusted physically and mentally very well to this new environment. Aside from lack of sleep I have had no real problems.
The city of Kuala Lumpur is bustling with activity on a 24 hour basis. There are more smells in this city than have ever entered my nose before, some good, and some not so good. The food is pretty awesome, much different than anything I have ever eaten before, but its great. There is a fruit here called durian that smells like vomit and bad feet, but actually has a good taste. The texture is like slimy old bananas and needless to say one bite was enough for me to try it and move on with my day, then I burped later on and my breath smelled like durian. It is pretty much the most awful fruit ever, but people absolutely love it here.
The people here are very friendly and the Christian community is more hospitable and generous than any I have ever meet. KL is a city with many cultures mixed in together. There are Malay, Chinese, Indian and many others living here. Being in a city with so many different cultures also means there are many religions here.
In America, especially in the south you run into Christians, Agnostics, or Atheists. There are other religions but they stay quiet for the most part. Here there is no argument that there is a God, but that is where the agreement ends. In Malaysia Islam is the predominant faith and is used by the Government to control the people. As Christians we try to convert people to Christianity by sharing the gospel and our testimony’s of how God has worked in our life. We make real relationships with people so that they may see on a daily basis that there is something present in our lives that they may not have ever seen before. Here the people are influenced to convert to Islam basically with bribery. They immediately get money for converting. They get a car, they get specific life events paid for, there is no lack of incentive. They use material possessions as a reward for their Islam faith. To some of these people who may not have much, that sounds like a really great deal so they take it. This is hard to fight, and it is a complex network of greed, lies, and bribery.
There is hope here though, as the Christian community is growing and is becoming a beacon of life. The Christians I have met are incredible Men and Women of God, with vast amounts of knowledge and wisdom to share. They have done an amazing job establishing, maintaining and growing the churches around here. There are organizations on the move to teach and develop a network of Christian communities around the country. They need prayer for success in this and that they can remain safe throughout this process. Stay tuned, as I will go into detail about some of the ministries here in Malaysia in the net few blogs.
I am still in need of $6,000 to be fully funded, which I need by March. Click on the link at the left to donate!
