What am I doing in Malaysia?

This month looks different then past months on the race. This month is my 11 month of ministry, and I’m partnered with two other teams (sound a bit like Moldova minus the extreme cold weather.) I am in Georgetown, Penang. There are a total of six ministries going on right now, and we are all participating in the one that we feel the Lord gave us a passion for during this month. Not only do we have ministry this month that we are passionate for but the community here is amazing. On Tuesday and Friday nights we go to penHOP(Penang house of prayer, like IHOP) where we are able to just fill up on the Lord. What a blessed month to end on.

Here in Malaysia I am partnered with two ministries. The first ministry is Kawan drop in center. I work there Mondays and Fridays from 9-1:30ish. This is a place for the homeless, elderly, and anyone who needs a place to go for a meal to come during the week. Kawan offers breakfast and lunches to people, a place to shower, wash their clothes, and nap. On Monday’s at Kawan from 10:30-11:30 they hand out one new outfit to the homeless, a toothbrush, and a razor. There is also a bible study every day at 10am and Saturday they hold a church service in the center.

Since being at Kawan I have fallen in love with the ministry. Twice I have been able to hand out clothes on Mondays. It is such a great feeling to see a Man come up to the door and ask for a shirt and “shaver” and see their smile when they walk away with what they asked for without doing anything.  I have worked in the kitchen chopping veggies, garlic, fish, and anything else I am asked to cut several times. If you know me at all you know I hate to cook. In my house it was always talked about as a chore so it was something I did not enjoy. But when you are cooking for others and know that it is most likely the only warm meal they are going to eat that day, your attitude towards it changes. At the start of the month I did not think I would enjoy the Kawan drop in center knowing it is mostly men that come in there, but God has given me a passion for this place and a love for the people who come in and who work there.

My second place of ministry is Door of Hope, which is an English tutoring center. A woman named Deborah runs the center at night to help children with their English. Deborah does this as her ministry; she does not charge the kids to come to the center at all.  Her heart is to see the children succeed and be in an environment that is consistent and shows love and grace to them.  She doesn’t get much help from others or the community around here because she uses bible stories to teach them English. During the time when the children have breaks at school she takes them during the day on outings, when possible she takes the children to church on Sunday mornings. This woman has a huge servants heart for the kids she is given.

 On the nights I attend from 6pm-9pm there are usually four children there (two 5year olds, and two 9 year olds). First we work on their homework with them and just help them with reading and spelling. After the two youngest ones are done we play educational games on the floor to practice their English. I have been able to use many of the things I learned in college at this ministry, which I have loved. It is so much fun to be back in a classroom environment I have forgotten how much I love being surrounded by children and watching them learn new ideas.

Outside of those two ministries my teammates are doing other ministries, which means we do not see each other a ton.  Some people are working at a coffee shop that just opened up called JustCafee, or at the hospital raising money for cancer patients, and others worked at an art exhibit showing Jesus through art. This last month has been a great month to end on in ministry terms, we have been busy and doing things we love. I could not have asked for a better month 11!