At the beginning of the race I wrote a blog called “1 down, 10 to go!” I had only been on the field for one month, and the race loomed in front of me. I had no idea what it would feel to be at this inverse location in time- “one month down” has become “one month to go.” We are officially in Month 11 of the race, and our remaining time in the nations has become a countdown clock that constantly ticks in the back of my mind. Sometimes it reminds me that I better take full advantage of where I am because it’s almost over, sometimes it tells me that I really don’t need to eat pizza instead of Asian food because I can get American pizza soon anyway, and almost daily it reminds me that these people I have been surrounded by for 10 months will soon be gone from my side; back to their homes all over the US, Canada, and Scotland.
It’s a strange feeling, and I knew it would be.
It’s strange to think that this journey, this quest that has dominated my thoughts and actions for 14 months (including prep time) is almost over. With that, these are some of my goals and tentative ideas for this last month.
Our month in Malaysia looks a little different from other months because we won’t be in the same location the entire time. We were originally told we would be in Kuala Lumpur: the sprawling, urban capitol of Malaysia that Wikipedia tells me is the sixth most visited city in the world. After a mini debrief on Pangkor Island with our squad, we thought we would be heading straight back to KL for the month. After talking to our contact, we learned that after one night in KL we would be taking a bus to Kuala Krai, a remote town seven hours away. Our first night in Kuala Krai we were given the option to stay there for the entire month. We decided to take a day to pray about it, and together as a team we concluded we would split the month equally between each location.
Our ministry here in Kuala Krai is extremely varied. In the middle of the race, the constant randomness of ministry probably would have gotten under my skin and worn me out very quickly. When we are already moving around every month, it’s nice to have a little bit of routine at each location so we don’t go crazy wondering what is going to happen to us every day. Here, I’m choosing to look at it as a blessing and a joy. We are working with an Indian church, a Chinese church, children, doing home visits, and even working on land where a new church and center will be built. We eat at different places every day, and it looks like tomorrow we are going to have an American breakfast, a Chinese lunch, and an Indian dinner. That’s just how these two weeks in KK will be, and I am going to embrace them for everything they are. I’m choosing to look at it with the wonder and joy that I had in the first month, when I couldn’t wait to leave home, start the race, and experience as many new things as possible.
This month I choose to pray and invest in people deeply. The church here is small, and it is strained. There are about eight people that come regularly to the Indian church, and about three people that regularly do home visits and other community outreach. These people are pouring out their lives into the overwhelming population of non-believers here. They mainly seek out Hindu families, who often accept Jesus but refuse to acknowledge him as the only God, keeping all of their other gods. They regularly witness individuals who are too afraid to openly accept the gospel because of what their families and communities might think or do. They tire endlessly at a task in which they see very little fruit, but continue anyway. They know that if they don’t do it, no one else will. I know that these two weeks will be a time for us to encourage and strengthen this small body of believers here in Kuala Krai, to lift their spirits and remind them that they are not alone.
This month I choose to love my team no matter what. These five women have been by my side for the last two months, and together we have been through a lot. They have encouraged me, validated me, fought for me, guided me, and allowed me to be me. I could go on, really I could, but I don’t think words will accurately describe how I feel about them. So I will just say this- this is my favorite team of the race. We have one more month together, and I plan to take full advantage of being with them. I intend to put aside any petty thing that may hinder us from getting along, as well as actively strive to be whatever God wants me to be in their life. This could mean to speak hard words they need to hear, to spend quality time together, ask deep questions, or just turn a blind eye when I see them put a licked spoon back in the peanut butter jar.
Once we get back to KL, I know that my mission there is not to explore and have fun in the city. I love big cities, and I love big Asian cities, but I know that this month is not about me and what I want. This month is about Jesus, about spreading the gospel in a country saturated with non-believers, and continuing on my own spiritual journey with the same vigor of ten months ago.
Month eleven. Bring it on.
