After a week in Kuala Lumpur we heard the Lord tell us to pack our bags. So we moved a few hours south to Melaka on a Friday. We were still uncertain of what the Lord had for us in that city but certain it is where we were to go.
On Saturday, I spent the morning in an inward frustrating rage battle with the internet at a coffee shop in a fruitless attempt to research and contact ministries.
These whole ‘trust’ and ‘no control’ things were working out just super for me.
I threw my arms up in surrender and could not help but yell up, “What am I even doing here? Are you even listening to me? I feel so useless here doing this kind of work. I am a doer, give me something to do!”
Then, Bethany, Cassidy, and I went to the Daily Fix café for lunch. While waiting for our food, in walks a girl around our age. She was wearing a shirt that I did not ever expect to see in this predominantly muslim country. It had a bible verse on the back of it.
My eyes probably went into full on Disney Princess Eye (trademark: Heather Roush) mode and stretched to size of tea cup saucers as I gawkily stared at this girl who had no idea what wearing that shirt would mean on this particular day.
I felt the Lord give me a nudge and heard Him say, “She is my beloved too, go talk to her.”
And even though I had literally just prayed for something to do, my immediate reaction was to instead stay glued to my seat like my life depended on it.
Then the Lord was very direct with me. He told me that if I did not at least go and talk with her I would be missing out the possibility of something He had already set in motion. He would use someone else if I refused, but He had heard me, and He chose me to play this part in His plan.
My stubborn response though, was that she had walked in with a boy and I did not want to interrupt whatever lunch conversation was going on. In the middle of that inward argument, the boy walks past us to order at the counter, leaving her alone at their table.
Arguing with Jesus is such a fruitless and petty past time of mine I clearly need to let go of.
I laughed to myself as I pictured God hand plucking out all of the obstacles I could think of while He set up Vegas style neon lights for me to get the hint. He created for me a window that I needed to act on and get out of my own head about.
With the help of Bethany’s prompting followed by a quick prayer up to the Big Guy, I conceded.
So like middle schoolers braving the gap to the other side of the gym to ask for a dance, Cassidy and I awkwardly walked up to our soon to be new favorite human, Vanessa Cheng.
If you know me, I tend to go into detail and explain more than what is necessary to try to get my point across when I am unsure of how to say it. So in an attempt to ask her about her shirt, Vanessa eventually cut me off and just outright asked us if we were Christians.
Thank you so much for that, Vanessa.
I felt the wind come back into my lungs. We then explained what Unsung Heroes were and what we were doing for the month, which is why seeing her shirt was a beautiful unexpected surprise for us. After talking for a little while, she invited us to her church the next day and so we said we would see her tomorrow.
Now, let me tell you about Straits Baptist Church.
I have never before experienced so clearly what the church body is supposed to look and function like. They love and welcome you as soon as you step in the door and invite you in to be a part of their family, no questions asked.
Well, there were definitely some questions, as we were eight American females clearly out of place in this church consisting of people with predominantly Malay or Chinese backgrounds.
But they were all out of loving curiosity, and it gave us the platform we needed in order to ask about new ministry opportunities anyways.
By the time we returned to our hostel Sunday afternoon after church, Cassidy and I had a meeting set up with the pastor for that Tuesday. Everyone else had gathered a couple of potential new contacts and an invitation to their church camp that weekend at a resort in Pangkor.
At the end of our meeting with Pastor Ronnie on Tuesday, he had offered us free housing at a guest house of a church member, numerous ideas for ministry a team could do with their church, and we had been blessed with all expenses paid invitation for seven of us to join them at their church camp on the island that weekend.
Did I mention, free housing? The most expensive part of our living situation for the month. It came with no catch, only love. Just one prominent example of what this church is about.
The Lim Family owned the house Pastor Ronnie had offered to us, and it was right behind their own home. They had the four bedroom house for the purpose of hosting missionaries and to provide incredible hospitality to them. They were an incredible, loving, and welcoming family of five boys, the parents, Auntie Sally, and their housemaid, Geraldine. We joined them for dinner most nights and they brought life into our team.
We instantly felt a part of their family, which is such a remarkable testament to the kind of people they were. Boon Aik and Elin Lim loved people on a level that brought out a deep affection in me for them that I could never put in to words.
The basis of this month was all about saying ‘yes‘.
Yes to the opportunities and conversations the Lord put in front of me regardless of the potential for failure and awkward situations.
Yes to trusting Him with everything, because I could control nothing.
Yes to being loved on by strangers who welcomed us like long lost friends.
Yes to loving those people back out of genuine affection in our hearts for them.
Yes to walking up to strangers wearing Christian t-shirts and expecting the Lord to go before me.
Yes to the uncertain and vast unknown, because there is where the Lord does some of His best work, and He’ll invite us to be a part of it.
