Hi Everyone!
I wanted to write a simple update so you could all know what is going on in my life. READ! YOU WON’T REGRET!
I am in Malaysia now on the Island of Penang and everyday looks radically different. We are working with YWAM and I have gained a new respect for this organization. If you are wanting to get involved in serving overseas, google YWAM right now.
Sometimes we volunteer with a homeless shelter which has also been eye opening.
Matthew 25:31-46 talks about the ‘least of these.’ Jesus says the homeless, the poor, the sick and needy are His brothers and sisters. “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (v. 45).
I will be the first to say when I walk past a homeless person my first instinct is to look away. It aches me to know people live without a roof, a bed, water, food and a change of clothes. ‘Nice’ people will throw money at them, without looking them in the eyes, and walk away.
Followers of Jesus are called to do something different.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (v. 36).
Jesus says treat the least of these with respect and dignity — like real human beings. Run back into Wall Mart and buy them a sandwich or water. Take off your jacket and give it away. If you can’t give anything that’s okay. Smile and ask how they are doing.
I was walking down the street yesterday all by myself and a woman sitting on the ground looked at me with weary eyes and put out her hand. She spoke no English and I had nothing to give her. I put out my hand and gently held hers, smiled and said you are so loved.
She smiled back at me, nodded, and off I went.
You don’t need to be trained to smile at someone.
Another thing we are doing is setting up a house to prepare for a Discipleship Training School that will launch in February.
The catch: we have to live in the house we are setting up.
Dirt was layered on the floor so thick I had to get down on my hands and knees to scrub it off. The toilets didn’t flush. It’s infested with roaches. Mosquitos are everywhere. Our shower doesn’t drain. The furniture is all piled in the living room and the electricity didn’t work. On top of all of this, we have to do ministry everyday as well. So we are very busy.
This is what I expected the World Race to be like.
The laughter in this house never stops. Music plays every time we clean. There may be a few screams after a cockroach crawls out of the drain but being from East Texas I usually run towards the scream and kill that guy.
Our joy doesn’t come from the conditions we live in, or the things we own, or the “glamorous” adventure days we have.
It comes from the joy of The Lord.
My joy comes from knowing that when I get to Heaven, Jesus will welcome me in saying, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matt. 25:34).
My joy comes from knowing there are people right now who don’t know the love of God, and I get to tell them about His love everyday!
We can’t find our joy in what we have “For where your treasure is, your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21). Especially during this Christmas season I am fixing my eyes on the Father and remembering that all my joy comes from Him.
I leave for Lesotho on December 30th! The rest of the time here in Malaysia I will be the lead performer in a Drama that 6 of us are putting on for a Chinese Church (you have permission to laugh). Be on the lookout for a vlog showing you my performance of Jesus’ birth.
