Hello from Malaysia!
This blog post is going to be raw and honest. This month has been hard and reality smacked me in the face. This month we are in the country of Malaysia doing an ATL month. ATL stands for Ask the Lord, which is just as it sounds. My team and I do not have a set ministry or a host, we wake up every morning asking the Lord what He wants from us that day and where He is leading us that day. Such an amazing and simple concept, that really requires full trust in the Lord.
So let’s take a minute and talk about Malaysia. The oppression and evil in Malaysia is unlike anything I have ever encountered in my life. The oppression, evil, sorrow, and pain of this country weighed so heavy upon me it made me physically ill. For the first week in Malaysia I was sick with fevers, headaches, vomiting, rashes and such a heaviness that made me feel so weak. To give you a little idea, one morning we were traveling to a different town and as soon as I got out of the taxi I felt the heaviness on my chest. As I was standing with my team I felt so weak and an overwhelming feeling flooded me and I felt like I would either vomit or pass out. I sat down and ended up vomiting, and my teammates said my face and lips were so white. When I prayed out loud, I immediately felt better and my color returned. Reflecting on that moment, for a brief moment the weight of the evilness was on me and my body did not know what to do because it was so powerful. However, the second I cried out to God the weight was lifted because He is MORE powerful. It all made sense to me after that moment. God sent His son so we do not have to feel that weight, so we could be FREE. The weight is on His shoulders because He just loves us so much. Let me say that again, HE LOVES US SO MUCH!
This month my heart hurt a lot. This month we met a lot of people who have never felt the love of Jesus, who have never been able to experience His freedom. People who just don’t know what His love can do, and some who had never even heard His name! Never even heard the sweet name of Jesus. That weighed heavy on me, as it should.
One of the amazing people we had met was our Uber driver (for his privacy and safety I will not mention his name). He picked a few of my teammates up from the airport when we first got to Malaysia, and they told him we were there to share the love of Jesus and to love others like Jesus loves. He then began to ask a lot of questions which led them to be able to share with him more about Jesus. We traveled around Malaysia to different cities and prayed for our new Uber friend along the way. When we arrived back in this city, he asked to see us because he had more questions. So last night we found a private space (it is illegal to share the gospel) at McDonalds and I just sat back and listened to our friend speak. We shared the gospel with him and why we believe what we believe, and one statement he said wrecked me. He said he would be persecuted if he were to be a Christian. That he could lose his job, his family, and his life. Within the confines of Islam, if any Muslim were to convert to any religion it is committing a crime punishable by death, because it is a crime against Islam. He could die if he were to become a Christian. This is when I realized how much we need to WAKE UP.
I am not only so blessed to grow up in a family knowing who Jesus was and feeling His love at a very young age, but I also grew up living in a country where I can freely love the Lord. We are so privileged and blessed. We can share the love of Jesus freely with everyone we meet in America with no fear, so why aren’t we? Why do people still not know Jesus in America. Church, WE NEED TO WAKE UP! We need to share Jesus with everyone we come in contact with, it literally is life or death. We have a responsibility to live a life on a mission. The first step of living life on a mission begins right where you are.
Taking it a step further, as I mentioned it earlier there are people who have never even heard the name of Jesus. Again, it is our responsibility to bring that name, to bring His kingdom. First in America, and then to the nations. All nations need to testify in the name of Jesus.
It is time to wake up. It is time to live on a mission. It is time to share the love of Jesus with EVERYONE we come in contact with, the cashier at the grocery store, with the waitress at the restaurant. Allow people to ask, why you are different. Allow people to notice that you have the love of Jesus inside you. Walk in the boldness and authority the Lord has granted you.
What does it look like to live life on mission and walking in love? Well, I have a little secret. Showing the love of Jesus doesn’t have to be in such a big and complicated way. In our case, it was as simple as allowing people to take our picture in a Malaysian mall, or telling Muslim girls who have never been told they are beautiful just how beautiful they really are. It could be as simple as giving someone grace who cut in front of you in the line at Starbucks, or complimenting someone. People will see the love of Jesus through you. They will see the light, and they will want more! It all starts here, we just need to wake up.
I am still in need of $1,300 to be fully funded on the World Race. I fully trust that the Lord will provide, and ask that you would prayerfully consider supporting me financially as I follow His calling! Thank you for all your prayers and support throughout this journey. I could not have done it without you!
