In December, U Squad will be in Malaysia for the month! Enjoy these fun facts!
Official Name: Malaysia
Population: 29,495,147
Capital: Kuala Lumpur
Official Language: Malay
Official Religion: Islam
Possible Ministry Opportunities:
Teaching kindergarten, missionary support, teaching English, visual arts ministry, homeless ministry, working with a local church
Famous Landmark: Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur Tower
Strange Foods I May Eat:
-Chicken feet
-Durian (a fruit that is extremely pungent, and you either love it or absolutely hate it)
-Cow intestines
-Lots of peanut sauce
-Various bugs
-Pig brains
FUN FACTS:
-The Sarawak Chamber in Malaysia is the world’s largest underground cave
-The greatest number of king cobras in the world are found in Malaysia
-Malaysia is home to the Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world
-It’s considered rude to use your finger to point at things. Instead, you must point with your thumb
-Malaysia has almost 41,000 miles of highways…that’s almost double the Earth’s circumference!
-Malaysia has 9 distinct reigning royal families
-There are 878 islands in Malaysia
-The longest recorded king cobra in the world was found in Malaysia. It measured in at over 18 feet long!
-It’s considered rude and offensive to do things with your left hand. Especially eating with it, pointing with it, and giving or receiving things with it.
-Malaysia’s motto translates to “Unity is Strength”
-It’s also considered rude not to try something when offered…guess this is definitely a month that I’ll be trying a lot of new things!
-The tiger is the national animal of Malaysia
Prayer Opportunities:
-Pray for our protection and discernment. Malaysia is a closed country, and its national religion is Islam. As such, Christianity is not well received in some communities. We will most likely not be able to openly worship or share the Gospel, but have to do it secretly. Pray that we would be able to have the Holy Spirit’s discernment and protection when sharing about Christ.
-Pray for the protection of the U Squad women. I’ve read a lot of stories about how inappropriate some Malay males can be towards foreign women. Pray that the women of my squad would be protected; not just our physical bodies, but our minds and eyes as well. Pray also for the men of my squad, that they would find strength and compassion in Christ as they seek to protect us.
-Pray for the hearts of those we will come in contact with. Working with and witnessing to Muslims can be difficult, especially if they are devout. Pray that their hearts would be prepared to hear the Gospel and the seed we sow will grow in fertile ground in their hearts.
-Pray for my squad and our families! We will be in Malaysia in December, which means we will be celebrating Christmas there. Not only will we be away from our families and homesick, but I’m not sure how open we can be in celebrating Christmas.
