After 20 hours of bus travel through Thailand and Northern Malaysia, we have arrived safely in Penang, Malaysia. Penang is an island off the west coast of Malaysia. You may be thinking white sand beaches and tropical trees when I say island. However, we are actually living in a bustling city. Our amazing contact this month is a guy named Peter. He works with YWAM Penang, and is an incredible example of a man of God. We have only been with him for two days, and we already love him. Try to envision a petite 5ft tall friendly Indian man who always has the biggest smile on his face because he finds joy in everything! He loves God whole heartedly and is madly in love with his family. He loves making friends and joking around, which was evident within the first five minutes of meeting him. We have only been with him for two days, and I already know I will be missing him when we leave. Our ministry this month is going to be working at a YWAM drop in shelter for the homeless and volunteering at a local children’s hospital. The shelter provides breakfast, lunch, shower facilities, a place to do laundry, and a place to rest until 3pm Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the homeless in Penang. We had our first day of ministry there today and it was AMAZING! I absolutely loved spending time with the men and women who spend time at the shelter. It was heartbreaking and humbling to hear some of their stories and how they ended up living on the streets. I can’t wait to continue to build relationships and share Christ’s love with each one of them. Once I get to know each person a little bit better, I hope to share some of their stories with you so you can be praying for each one of them. Since we are partnered up with team Engedi this month we will be alternating weeks at the shelter and the hospital. We will be spending our first week volunteering at a children’s hospital in the process of raising funds for children to have heart surgeries. We are not sure exactly what our hospital ministry will look like until we get there. We could be visiting and praying with patients, or we could be doing more clerical things. Either way, I am beyond excited to see what a hospital is like here and how fundraising happens in a different country. Not only am I excited about our ministry and ministry location, but I am also super excited to grow as a team and as an individual. I know big things are on the horizon and I can’t wait to see how God shows up this month! One way I know He is going to show up is through support raising. I am still in need of $1,340 by the end of this month, March 31st. I have no doubt the money will come in, because I know without a doubt that I am exactly where the Lord has called me to be. If you would like to help me reach my support deadline, you can click here to give online. Words can’t even express the gratitude I have in my heart for all of the prayer and financial support that has been poured out over me already! Thank you!
Some of the beautiful buildings in Georgetown, Penang.
We are living in a budget hotel for the month and the BEST part is that each room has AC!!! Sure we have five people, all their stuff, two beds and two dressers crammed into a 10x20ft room, but for AC…it’s completely worth it. We would cram 10 more people in the room if it meant having AC!
A small glimpse of the chaos that is the result of 5 people living in the same small space.
I had no idea what to expect coming into Malaysia, and come to find out their population is a melting pot of ethnicities. The main ethnicities found throughout Malaysia are Malay, Chinese, and Indian. We live on the corner of little India and China town, and have the luxury of cheap Indian or Chinese food just a few minutes walk away. Not only are than many ethnicities and cultures, but there are many religions as well. Malaysia’s official religion is Islam, but there is freedom of religion guaranteed by the constitution. Other major religions practiced here include Buddhism, Daoism, Hinduism, and Christianity.
Islamic Mosque in the center of town.
