It was just Amy and I in a room full of bunk beds with strangers. We had tried to politely introduce ourselves to some of the hostel guests, but most of them seemed disinterested in our desire to communicate. We got the hint right away that everyone in this room didn’t want us talking. I was admittedly confused as to why God had sent us here if we believed our job was to build relationships during our time in Malaysia.
It was “ask the lord” month. We had no plans, ministry contacts, or accommodations set up. It was also “manistry” month for the guys which meant myself and the 3 other girls on my team were just a small team of 4 this month. We spent time in prayer asking God where he wanted us to go, and we felt a pull towards south of Kuala Lumpur to a town called Malacca. Amy and I spent hours looking for a place to stay in Malacca that was in budget but nothing was popping up. We were so frustrated as we needed a place to stay for the next night. We stopped and prayed and asked God to make it obvious where he wanted us to go. We decided to try looking north of Kuala Lumpur to a city called Penang. There was one hostel with room for us that was in our budget in Penang, so without hesitation we booked it. The only thing was that we weren’t able to get a private room, and we could only book 2 beds in each room which meant we would have to sleep separately and in a room with strangers. We didn’t see any other options so we decided to go anyways. All four of us felt like God was calling us to live out the phrase “life is ministry, ministry is life.” Which means that in every little thing you’re doing throughout your day, you are “doing ministry”. Isn’t that what Jesus did? We spent another day and a half in Kuala Lumpur and then made our way north with the intention of building relationships with people and finding opportunities to serve the people we’ve come across.
This was when Amy and I found ourselves in a room with some grumpy other people. We went back down to the nice guy at the reception desk named Cameron, and asked if there was any way possible that the next night we could be in a room with Jessie and Gabby. He told me that it was unlikely but after he checked, there ended up being room for us to stay in the 4-bed room with them for the rest of the week! Yay! So Amy and I did our best to live civilly with our roommates. But that night when we went to bed (slightly terrified), there was a guy in there who we hadn’t yet met, and he had a bandage around his knee. Amy asked him what had happened and he told us that he was a cyclist who left home (The Netherlands) 13 months ago on his bike. Over 13 months, he had biked all the way down to Penang, Malaysia. His last stop was just south in Singapore. But that morning when he checked out of the hostel, he took off on his bike and not long after was hit by a car. His bike was broken, and he could barely walk on his knee. His name was Tom. Amy and I gave each other side glances as he mentioned that he would have to stay at the hostel for a few days while he healed and figured out a new plan. You mean, he just happened to be knocked off his bike and stuck at the hostel that we just happened to check into for the next week?
The next day, Amy and I quickly moved all our stuff into Jessie and Gabby’s room. Our room was the size of a closet but we had air conditioning so no complaints there! We still saw Tom throughout the week in the common areas, and after a few days we decided to invite him to go out with us for a night. Amy arranged plans with him and came running up to the room giggling “Well, it looks like we’re going bar crawling with Tom tomorrow night!” One conversation led to another, and Tom knew of a few good bars around and suggested we hit them all up. I never imagined myself spending Good Friday going bar crawling.
Now hold up, ministry isn’t supposed to look anything like this, is it? Isn’t it supposed to look like showing love to orphans, feeding the hungry, street evangelizing, praying for the sick, and serving churches?
God challenged me on this greatly. We all spent time in prayer and believed that God fully intended on us going out the next night with Tom. I wondered how on earth this was supposed to be ministry. But who am I to limit God in the ways he can use me? In the Bible, Jesus was often seen spending time with people in the places that “religious people” didn’t often congregate. I like to think that if Jesus was walking the earth today he wouldn’t be sitting in special church services but he would be out talking to people. And I bet a lot of people would question him on that. He was all about building relationships and getting to know people. So this is exactly what we did with Tom.
Tom shared with us that night that he was agnostic, meaning that since you can’t prove, or disprove, that God exists, he is indifferent. It was really cool to hear about Tom’s beliefs and why he thinks the way he does. Tom was open enough to listen to our beliefs about how Jesus died on the cross and paid for our debts. We literally preached the gospel to him and he politely listened and asked many deep questions. We invited him to church with us on Easter Sunday and to my surprise he said yes immediately.
I think at first I had full hopes of Tom giving his life to God at church on Sunday. How cool of a testimony would that be? “Yeah, our friend who we went bar crawling with ended up giving his life to Jesus on Easter Sunday.” It was a story that I would gladly share with my friends and family back home. But God really wanted me to get the point that I needed to stop putting Him in a box. I needed to stop thinking that all missions work looks the same. Tom finding God isn’t about sharing a cool story back home. It’s not a box for me to check off on my list of missions work. It’s not about me bringing someone to God. It’s not about me being a good missionary.
It’s about God. It’s all about God. It’s about his relentless pursuit for Tom’s heart. It’s about God loving Tom so much that he died on the cross knowing that he might never believe what God has done for him. This story isn’t about the good work I’ve done. It’s about God teaching me that sometimes my job isn’t to harvest the fruit, but just to water the plant.
At church on Sunday, the pastor invited people who wanted to give their life to The Lord to come down to the altar. About 25 people went forward, but Tom was not one of them. He had every chance to go down, and I was so confused as to why I had done what God had asked me to but Tom still wasn’t convinced that God existed. But God taught me that it’s okay.
Because Tom, my friend, God is after your heart. There hasn’t been a moment in your life that God hasn’t been pursuing you. He will reveal himself to you in his own timing. I hope that maybe, just maybe, you saw a glimpse of what Jesus looks like through us during the week. Thank you for letting us share the gospel with you, thank you for reminding us that people are good. Thank you for sharing your optimistic attitude with us. You got knocked off your bike and your plan was changed just before you reached your goal, but you were still so happy and content, even as you limped around town. You never complained once. Thank you for all that you’ve taught us this week.
And to my friends and family back home, please know that every person you come across in your daily life you have the chance to share the gospel with them and show them what Jesus looks like by the way you love them. You won’t always see results as you expect, but it’s all apart of God’s greater plan. It’s not your words and actions that will bring someone to God, but God’s love. Stop getting in the way of his work and just submit yourself to him.
Also, check this out!!! A few days after we left Tom behind in Penang, another World Race squad (Fusion) happened to check into Tom’s hostel and ended up meeting him!! ?? Tom, I hope you see how hard God is fighting for your heart, but if not, it’s okay. You will one day. ??
