Hey Family,
UPDATE FROM MALAYSIA!!
We started the month in Penang with our second Debrief of the race. Debrief is where our squad leader and squad mentors fly out from America in invest in us and figure out how things are going with the different teams. There is teaching, worship and fun activities. This debrief was 5 nights and it was in Georgetown which is in Penang, Malaysia. Debrief is over and we have been in Penang for almost a week now. Matt and I were told that we would love Malaysia because it is a melting pot of cultures and it really is!
What has happened so far?
We our team is staying in an Airbnb. We have 3 rooms and a little kitchen, living room and a washing machine! Staying in an Airbnb verses a hostel has been so nice. People who want to cook can cook and we can do laundry where we are staying which is a huge blessing. Matt and I also have our own room, which has been a beautiful change of pace. When Matt and I were praying in Thailand we really felt the Lord telling us we needed to invest more in our marriage. We also knew that our squad leaders, Kaydan and Katherine (the only other married couple) would be leaving next month and we hadn’t been able to spend a lot of time with them. So we decided to go through a marriage series with each other twice a week and that has been so life giving. We realized how much we were missing our married friends back home and were thankful they were willing to spend time with us. We have also had the opportunity to work with a homeless shelter/soup kitchen type ministry which has been so cool!! The first day I (Kalyn) was able to sort clothes at their thrift store which was really fun and reminded me of home. The sales from the thrift store go directly to supporting the community outreach center!
While we there I (Matt) got to be a part of a really cool connection that God wanted to make that day. When we arrived I was tasked with going upstairs and cleaning up the room in which many of the men come and take a rest on the mats. Once that was done and I came downstairs many of the men and women had found their place at a table and were waiting for the meal to come later on. I sat dow at a table with an older man from India and middle aged man from China. The Chinese man had really good English while the Indian guy had very broken English but understood more than he spoke. We all began to talk and share about culture. How crazy is that I was at a table in Malaysia and no one sitting at the table was from the Malay Ethiopic group. This country is wildly diverse and I love it! We were exchanging thoughts and conversing about differences in America and then shifted the conversation to love and faith. If you know me you know I went straight for the Gospel and as I was sharing this the Indian guy was smiling so much. My Chinese friend was taking it in but you could tell this whole Jesus thing was more foreign to him than my southern accent. After I was done sharing and prayed with my Chinese friend as he was leaving, my new Indian friend looked over and smiled and shared with me that he is a new believer in Jesus for about 1 month. He was a very bad alcoholic and because of that had a stroke that had left him in not great condition but his best friend led him to the Lord. I rejoiced with my new friend but it was still very difficult to communicate, so much was left unsaid. Lunch was ready to come out so I went back to serve it and after it was served and cleaned up I saw my Indian friend sitting beside a guy who was actually a volunteer there and had great English but they were not talking. So I approached them. I spoke briefly with the volunteer who was also of Chinese decent and heard about how he heard about this place from his church and had been there for about 2 months. I quickly shared with him how my new friend the Indian guy who was sitting right beside us is a new Christian. I felt strongly to encourage the volunteer to begin some type of discipleship/Bible study with him and then I had him interpret the Scripture that I wanted to share with my Indian friend before but could not get past the language barrier to do so. Afterwards the volunteer came up to me and said, “You were meant to be here today and God used you to help me get over my fear. I have been asking the Holy Spirit to give me the courage to speak and engage with the people and He used you to push me today.” Just like the blog prior to this, God loves to connect people and grow His kingdom! God is so good and just because it seems small the Holy Spirit in him grew and fear lost its grip and he was released to experience and bring more Kingdom from that day forward. Sometimes it is not about your bringing Kingdom fruit but encouraging others to step in to it!! What a great and fun lesson to remember!
The second day we went we both helped in the kitchen and spent time talking to the people. They come for free breakfast which is coffee and pastries and we prepared all of that. Then they usually stick around till lunch and during this time they sing songs, have Bible study, color or just rest upstairs. Preparing lunch is really fun because the people who volunteer there full time are so fun and loving. They are passionate about really teaching you how to cook and letting you taste everything along the way. Matt chopped about 100 stalks of giant okra. His mom should be proud as Okra is the vegetable of the south.
Here are some pictures from this specific ministry:
Kalyn with pastries to serve before the lunch meal
“Uncle Ben” and his wife are like the head chefs here and they have given their lives to Christ after being from Buddhist background
This is the happiest lady and volunteer name Moon 🙂
The other ministry we have been able to be apart of is Penhop which is IHOP (International House of Prayer) in Penang. WOW this place is cool. We walked in and you can just feel the Holy Spirit. People are singing and worshiping through many different forms. They have several different stations where you can write down prayer requests, answered prayers, color, use flags, sing, take communion, intercede and many other things. We have met lots of Christians from all over the world here.
MORE PICTURES 🙂
Finally here are some pictures of our married friends and leaders that we have been able to do life with more this month:
Unintentional matching is the best
The sunset after one of our days together hanging out!
We are so excited to see what else Malaysia holds for us and we will keep you updated along the way.
Pray that God continues to bring us different opportunities and ways to serve and honor Him in all we do!
