Every month on the race has it’s pros and cons, and the Philippines was an exceptionally good month with so much to experience, so much to pour into, and so much reciprocation that it felt like we were the ones being served. Truly, we were blessed to have such a great host, such a great opportunity, and such a great acceptance of the Gospel. The Philippines was the first place that I had people ask me to tell them about Jesus, and as a result the Gospel gained significance in my own life by sharing it so much.
However, my team arrived in Malaysia, a muslim country where converting the indigenous Malay people from Islam to Christianity is a punishable crime. Things were not so easily handed to us in Malaysia. Spiritually, the climate of the country was hostile, opportunistically, we were limited in our ministry and influence, and lastly, the direction and vision of our ministry was, to say the least, lacking. Still, God was faithful, and we found life in Malaysia to be edifying, even if it was frustrating or difficult.
As soon as we arrived in Kuala Lumpur, the capitol city, the first of my difficulties with Malaysia became real. The spiritual atmospheres that pervade the country are extremely hostile, and the only other place on the race that I felt even close to the same degree of spiritual hostility was in Lesotho, where there were people performing witchcraft, specifically against our teams. On one of my first days in Kuala Lumpur, I went to a Holi Festival, and as I was there I felt the strong presence of other spiritual forces. Malaysia is similar to the US in that it is home to many different cultures and peoples, but it’s different in that the country doesn’t mix cultures and it is not open to blends of peoples or mixtures of cultures. Christians are here, but they are here in smaller numbers than the Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim populations. There is no doubt in my mind that there are spiritual forces that back each of these belief systems, and that they have a real power over this land. Darkness was present in Lesotho in an aggressive frightening way, but in Malaysia the darkness is present in a much more systematically oppressive way. One of the best ways to describe the manner of attack is a nebulous, ambiguous confusion and frustration that clouds the mind, and along with this kind of an attack comes a sort of pounding at the walls effect. Religious institutions and culture seem to be so ingrained in this culture that it is difficult to see a hope springing up in this land, and that hopelessness is the nest of the Malaysian Spiritual warfare.
Our ministry in Malaysia centered around partnering with a church called Bethel Assembly. The pastor of this church, Thomas, told us to prepare to speak and lead small groups all-throughout the week. Monday through Wednesday we led small groups at night in multiple different homes, and then on Thursday we performed as a worship band and also delivered sermons, and Friday we led English classes and delivered sermons for another church service. Monday through Thursday we’d wake up and work with a school for mentally handicapped children, a wonderful breath of fresh air into our itinerary. Most of our influence was within the church, but it’s not always a wonderful thing to be locked into just one group of people. The church was hard to gauge, probably because most of them couldn’t speak English, but we would show up every week without fail and see the same people. Hopefully, we were ministering to their needs adequately, but it’s hard to fathom the effectiveness of our ministry when we weren’t able to communicate with them very well. However, we sewed the seed, and we are assured by God that His word does not come back to Him empty. Our team prayed, sought the Lord, and asked our ministry’s leadership how we could best help them, and I am confident that we did well with what we had.
One of the best parts of this month was working with Handicapped children in the mornings. We partnered with a school that was run without religious or political affiliation, and sadly, that was run almost completely without government funding. Before we left Malaysia, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Joe, the founder of the school, and I was privileged enough to ask him a few questions, probably the best of which was,
“Why did you start this school?”
To which he answered, “One day I saw parents putting their mentally handicapped child in a cage, and I needed to create a better place for children like that”
His school has always strived to educate the children into self-sufficiency, and sometimes that is easier said than done. Most all the children have short term memories, and even constant repetition doesn’t make an indent in their minds. Children in this school are grouped not according to intelligence, and teachers take time to understand and help the students grow in their ability to do even the most mundane tasks. Each teacher is a volunteer, and they receive little to no compensation for their work. In the States we may be able to offer these children more individualistic care, as some students have suffered brain trauma due to accidents, others have autism, and still others have down syndrome, but the school is at least a first step towards taking care of the forgotten or less fortunate people in this world. Every morning, I always came away from the school feeling better than when I had arrived, and I can’t fully explain the happiness that proves once and for all that giving is more blessed than receiving.
That being said, the school actually needs funding. Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Khas is the the name of the school, and this is a link to some of their contact info:
http://www.hati.my/children/persatuan-kanak-kanak-khas-sungai-petani-kedah/
The school is based in Sungai Petani, Malaysia.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to update again soon.
