My team and I are doing UH in Malaysia this month. I did not know what to expect this month knowing that I would be coming to find ministries in a country where one can be arrested for evangelizing. We weren’t even sure if we would be allowed to pray in a restaurant before our meals. I feared that we wouldn’t find any Christians because they would be afraid to reveal their true beliefs.
Well, I guess I was wrong.
We had only been in Malaysia for about two days and one of my teammates found an advertisement for an event going on in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur and the event was Christian. It was called A Day of Praise and Worship (ADOP). It was a 24 hour event that involved multiple churches contributing to the messages and worship that were being shared. We found our way on the train to the last stop on that route and made our way to a nearby university. This event was held in a community center that was housed in the university’s top floor. We arrived to live music playing, people dancing and waving flags, and even people worshiping through painting. It was such a beautiful sight.
Here I was in Malaysia. a place where I thought I would have a hard time meeting any Christians and here I was standing in a room full off people from not only one but several different congregations from the area. Instead of being afraid to share their religion they were joyfully shouting the name of Jesus. In that moment God showed me that I had it all wrong. HE is here and is getting stronger.
On our way back home from this event we met a man handing out flyers for his church that was just down the road. We started talking with him and asked how it was that he was able to “evangelize” like that. He informed us that here in Malaysia one has to be careful how they approach things. They can talk about their faith but must be careful not to proselytize Muslims. I also learned that here in KL many people are very open minded and you may even find an open minded Muslim or two that might be willing to have a chat with you about your faith. Of course as foreigners we would have to take extra caution not to draw attention to ourselves. There are religious police here that keep a close eye. Through this encounter, once again, God showed me how much I didn’t know. Not only had I found other believers but I also found a man who belongs to a church that is willing to go out there and “evangelize” because they know that that is what they are called to do.
I was so encouraged and inspired by what God has shown me that day. If there is one thing that I learned that day it is that there is an army rising up in Malaysia and its going to be awesome!
