This month, my team and I are located in Penang, Malaysia. Instead of being partnered with a ministry contact or host, we are doing what AIM calls Ask the Lord ministry (ATL). This means we are in charge of finding our own ministry opportunities, lodging, food, transportation, etc.
Prayer is a big part of our lives these next couple weeks. We are asking and relying on God to provide everything we need in the budget that AIM has given us – which is about $5 for lodging and $5 for food every day. So, here is a quick update about how God has been providing for us this last week!
- Food
Only having $5 a day for food doesn’t sound like very much, and in some places it’s not. But, God placed us in a city (George Town) that is famous for their cheap street food. Not only is it super easy to find something delicious to eat, but you can also eat an entire meal for a little over $1. God really pulled through for the whole food thing.
- Ministry
Before arriving in George Town we began sending e-mails to local churches and ministries we found online. I believe we got 1 response back. Not wanting to get discouraged, we decided to go see some of the churches and ministries when we got to our new city. The first people we talked to told us about how there were already two other Gap Year teams in the area, so there weren’t any ministries available for us to work with.
However, we heard there was a ministry doing some street evangelism with the homeless and prostitutes in the area that night, so we decided to check it out. By the end of the night, not only had a large number of people heard the Gospel, but we received a 37 page document of all the local churches and ministries in the area. AND our team felt a wonderful calling to continue doing ministry with the homeless community.
- Lodging
Our biggest problem since getting to George Town has been trying to find somewhere to stay within our budget. Since we are in a touristy area, the hostels tend to be a little more expensive than what we are used to. We decided to stay in the cheapest hostel we could find until we were able to find something in budget. During our stay, we met several different people who began looking for places for us, having never asked them to. After not being able to find anything, three different locations became available in our budget thanks to people we met while being here…and one of them has been offered to us for free!
God provided everything we could need and more. He reminded us of His faithfulness to us and just how much He likes to take care of His children.
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
– Matthew 6:26
God does amazing things when you begin your days asking Him to guide your feet, your eyes, your, heart, and your mind. I cannot wait to see what happens the next couple weeks.
Also, keep an eye out for my next blog that will be talking about the wonderful things God has been doing in ministry. He is working in this place like crazy and I cannot wait to share it with you all!
Financial Update: I have yet to reach my fundraising goal of $16,277. I have seen God provide in crazy awesome ways for my team this last week, so I truly believe that He is going to provide the last couple thousand dollars I need to reach this goal. Please be in prayer asking God to bring people willing to partner with me in this.
