This month my team and I were chosen to do ATL, which stands for Ask The Lord. This means that instead of having a host for the month and a normal schedule like usual, we are on our own to find our ministry. God is our host!! So far, this has led to some very interesting and fruitful times. Here are a few stories of things that have already happened within the first three days…and this doesn’t even touch the amount of crazy memories we’ve made already. Thank you for reading!!
Ministry Day 1: Morning-
My team and I felt led to go to a hospital down the road. I’m in the back of the group, and as I observe my team walking in the blazing humid heat along the busy highway, I see a vision of us marching into battle. That’s what it is out here…a daily battle. And we are the warriors. We have to remember to put on the full armor of God daily, the armor described in Ephesians 6.
Once we get in the hospital, the receptionist greets us. After figuring out that we don’t have a specific person to visit, that we just want to meet people and visit everyone, he says we can’t be there, which is of course understandable. I ask if it’s ok if we just sit in the waiting room. The receptionist stared at me and said “For what purpose?”
I froze. Ummmm. For what purpose? Well, to love people. To meet them and encourage them. To hug them. To hold their hand while their loved one is in surgery. To bring them cards and flowers. To eventually lead them to Christ because they see a light in us that they want.
But I couldn’t say that. And even if I did, it would sound ridiculous. So I said “umm ya know, just to meet people and stuff.”
My teammates chuckle at her question and my response. And she said no, we weren’t allowed. But she gave us a volunteer application, and said we could “mail it in” and see if we get approved.
*Lessons learned:
1) Ask the awkward questions, you never know when the response will be “yes.”
2) When you try to describe your faith and your mission, people may think you’re crazy…but that doesn’t matter. You do your part by telling them. And it’s not your job to convince anyone of anything.
Ministry Day 1: Evening-
My teammate Age and I head to the local skate park to meet kids and skate. I should clarify…Age skates…I sit and observe haha. Some guys from X-squad join us there and we have really good conversation about what God’s already doing in Malaysia. As the sun goes down, the boys go back to their hostel, while Age and I head out to the bus station. Age and I sit for about 30 minutes waiting on the bus, and I finally ask someone what time the bus comes. He said in about 15 minutes, so we continue to wait.
Once the bus finally comes, we settle into our seats…Age reads a book and I begin journaling. 10 minutes later, we look outside into the darkness, and realize we don’t recognize where we are.
“I think we missed our stop” Age says worriedly.
There’s a nice little tv screen in the front of the bus that lets you know where you’re going, but unfortunately it is in the Malay language. We look at each other and laugh nervously.
After whispering multiple prayers for God to show us our next move, I look outside and recognize where we are. Something clicks in my brain, and although we are far from our homestay, I know where we are since we had went that way earlier in the week.
Once the bus stops, I glance out the window to my right and see another bus headed in the direction we want to go. It is slowly driving away, so we literally jump off our bus and SPRINT to the bus going in the opposite direction, which is already in motion. The bus driver saw us running towards him and stopped the bus for us, and we hopped on. PRAISE. If he hadn’t stopped, it’s hard to tell how long we would have had to wait for another bus, and the place we were at was not a place you want to be at night. We were the only ones on this bus, so we proceeded to do a celebratory dance and praise God for His protection.
It was crazy!! But so amazing to see the evidence of God watching over us when we didn’t have a clue what to do.
*Lessons learned:
1) When I’m lost or in danger is when I can feel the presence of God the most. This doesn’t mean we should run around chasing danger, but it does give us assurance that He will be with us in the danger. He is with us wherever we go…even the sketchy bus stops.
Joshua 1:9- This is my command- be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
2) When you have the chance for adventure, to stay indoors in comfort or venture outdoors into the unknown, always choose the adventure. That’s where you’ll make stories happen.
Ministry Day 3: Morning-
So we have been going to a nursing home called “Home of the Aged.” The little ladies here are SO adorable. Some of them only speak Malay, but some speak English as well. I found a friend there already…Hwang Kwee Cheng. We sit on the couch together. She insists that I eat half of her midday snack that she’s served at 11:00…and she won’t take no for an answer. She tells me that I will have 2 kids, and maybe even 5, and my husband will be coming soon (ha!!! She’s funny…). She loves to sing. I love to ask her questions and talk with her. We worked a puzzle together today. I would find where a piece went, and then I would let her put it into place. Just thinking of how she used to be a math teacher, how she has 5 kids and a husband, and how she wears a smile everywhere she goes, it broke my heart a little bit to see her hands shaking as she tried to grasp each piece of the puzzle. I said “good job” and helped her snap each piece into place. She had no idea what the final product was supposed to look like, but when we were finished, she gazed at the completed puzzle, smiled real big, and clapped her hands together. “Very good!!!” she says.
*Lessons learned:
1) We all depend on each other. Don’t be too proud to admit you need help, especially from God. I want to live my life with total dependence on God. And I want to depend on my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to lead me closer to Him.
2) Like Hwang who didn’t know what the completed picture was supposed to look like, I don’t know what the completed picture of my life looks like. 1 Corinthians 13 says that I will see the full picture someday, and until then, I just have to keep trusting in Him. It’s super comforting to know that He sees the BIG completed picture.
Thank you for reading…more stories to come!!! I’d love to hear what God is doing in your life too!! Let me know, shoot me an email [email protected] or comment below with your stories!!
