Malaysia Ministry Updates!
So it’s been a busy month in Malaysia so far! I’m on a new team and stuff has been going very well. Here’s some info about what I’ve been up to….
Our main ministry that we’ve been working with this month is the Kawan Friends Center which is located on Love Lane! This center is a drop-in center for the homeless and the poor. Kawan is open on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and offers breakfast and lunch. Also, there are places to shower, do laundry and sleep if needed. Our team has bounced back and forth between helping to prepare and serve breakfast and lunch and helping with renovations on the top floor of the building. These renovations have consisted of chipping paint and sanding walls for hours on end! Usually there are a couple of fans but it’s generally pretty toasty. By the end of most days we come down soaked in sweat and covered from head to toe in paint chips. If I didn’t eat lead paint chips as a baby, I’ve surely eaten my fair share by now! As tough as the work has been though its been great to spend time with my team but also to envision what the future rooms will be. The rooms will be used to house future teams and also for meetings and praise and worship! Praise God that we get to be the “hands and feet” to help out this wonderful ministry.
In addition to working on the renovations I’ve also gotten to meet a lot of the regulars at Kawan. They are definitely an interesting bunch to say the least. There are generally Indian, Chinese and Malaysian people that come to the center, so on any given day you may hear Tamil (Indian), Hokkien (Chinese), Manadarin, or Bahasa (Malayasian) being spoken! It’s an incredibly diverse mix of people, but they all seem to get along pretty well….and they all have a story! It’s been interesting that every place I’ve been to – Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Australia-people have unique stories/experience a strong desire to be HEARD. This month and trip have definitely taught me how to be a better listener! I’ll be sure to post some pics of some of these people in the upcoming days…
Door of Hope
Another great ministry that we’ve been able to help has been Door of Hope. Door of Hope is a small educational center that was started about a year ago. It is primarily operated by an awesome, Godly woman named Debra, and a couple of volunteers. She tirelessly helps to teach the children English and math skills. Most of the kids that come to Door of Hope are Chinese and from poor neighborhoods. The majority of them attend bad schools which teach little to no English. By offering English for free she is able to have a huge impact on these young children’s educational future! Most of the children that come to the Door of Hope come from Buddhist backgrounds. At times this has caused tension, and parents have stopped allowing their children to come to the school because it is run by Christians. However, Debra has said that often the parents have seen how much the children progress and have noticed such a change in their behavior that they have ended up sending the kids back to the school! Praise God!
We’re in Malaysia for another week and then it’s on to INDIA!! I’ll try to post some more pics and blogs for y’all! God Bless!
