Today was our first official day of ministry in Malaysia. The only thing I really knew about Malaysia was that it was our middle month. It was always kind of an after thought, a country stuck between the crazy cultures of India and Nepal and the sweltering hot southeast Asian countries. I try to go into most months without expectations, but especially Malaysia, I didn’t even know what expectations I could have had. I don’t know anything about this country and it was never on any of my top travel lists. I didn’t really know any cities or famous places in the country. But so far Malaysia has been incredible. It is like America 2.0. There is such incredible racial diversity here and the architecture and infrastructure of Kuala Lumpur is far ahead of most American cities. The primary language here is English and every other building in the city is a fancy shopping mall with a couple of Starbucks. Again, didn’t know what to expect, but didnt expect to be in such a familiar place while on the Race.
So our ministry is just an hour outside of Kuala Lumpur. And one thing you do expect on the World Race is that at some point you will be working with orphans. So this month and in this place that I had no expectations, I am doing the one ministry I expected to do at some point on the race. We are working at Desa Amal Jireh. This organization was founded to help educate and take care of orphaned children or children whose parents can’t support them as well as taking care of elderly people. The mission of the founders is to give a stable family to those who don’t have one. And the Lord has incredibly blessed this ministry. The organization now takes car of 97 children aged 2 – 22 and 11 elderly folks and has been functioning for 30 years now. The orphanage owns a huge complex with a couple of dorms, a dining hall, chapel, a library and school facilities. Many of the kids are homeschooled here on the premises while others attend the local Malay schools. The home however offers these children incredible support and love from the founders and the many volunteers that run the place as week as disciplining the kids and teaching them valuable life lessons.
I have loved our first day here. It really feels like one big family of brothers and sisters that love each other and live life together. They have fun together and go through challenges together. They fight and they lift each other up. But through it all they continue to grow in Christ together. The first night we led a devotional time for the boys and it was incredible to hear this wall of young boys voices hitting us with worship uplifting our King. Then after the session a few came up to me and told me their favorite verses. One kid showed me Luke 8:21. It says – Jesus replied “my mother and brothers are those who hear Gods word and obey it.” This was so powerful to me coming from a kid who may legitimately not have a earthly mother or father or brother anymore. But here he has been taught the bond we have in Christ is stronger than our family. All the boys here are constantly calling me brother and I have been accepted as a family member here in their tight knit community. I love hanging out with these boys. We are already making jokes together, showing each other little tricks, playing soccer, praying together, eating together, and tonight we even watched Malaysia get crushed by Vietnam in a soccer match. It reminds me so much of dorm life both in RVA in Africa and even college life and I am so thankful that the month is still so fresh and there is so much time to live and hang out with these boys and be a good role model for them as we encourage them in their faith and their life’s ambitions.
