40 days and 40 nights in Malaysia
The only word I can use to describe Malaysia is, wow. Living, sleeping, eating, and showering with 33 other people, all in one church together. Talk about unity!
I left Gainesville, Georgia on October 7th to head off to my first country. After 2 plane flights, a layover in Qatar, and a 5 hour bus ride our 44 hour travel day had come to an end. We had made it to our first ministry home, which happened to be the floor of a church sanctuary. We set up our sleeping pads on the floor and prepared for our 40-day sleepover. I was so grateful to be sleeping indoors and to be sleeping with A/C. Our days consisted of children’s ministry, house church, naps, evangelizing, and sometimes even late night soccer games.
We were given the opportunity to teach English to children of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. (If you’d like to know more about who they are i’ve linked a great source at the end of my blog). They were all muslim. We met them a week after arriving in Malaysia. We each got a child to teach and look after. The coolest part was they got to choose us. When I first saw her beautiful little smile and she ran up to me to choose me as her teacher, I had no idea what was in store for me. I taught her Monday through Wednesday in the mornings. As a got to know her I grew to realize more and more that she was a lot like I was. She was so full of life and always wanting to play, but also so full of emotion. Her heart was so big and she felt so deeply. I could not have gotten a better match up. Though teaching her was sometimes difficult, I truly loved her so much. I couldn’t imagine myself with any other student. Leaving her was so hard. Our last day with the children was spent in their village, playing games, meeting parents, and running around with chickens. lol. As we said our goodbye’s, many tears were shed, and I couldn’t help but wonder if i’d ever be reunited with her in heaven.
House church was one of my favorite parts of ministry in Malaysia. Every Wednesday night we would head out at 8 or 9 pm with 4-5 other racers, jump in a car together and head to someone’s house. We were in charge of putting together a church service for them. We did worship, prayer, and a message. I was so blessed to get to experience a different role each week. On my first house church night we got to experience God move in an amazing and miraculous way. A woman and her son lived together in the house. Carter led the sermon, Alleah led prayer, and I led worship. After the service the woman living there asked us to pray for her in her sickness. She had a hurt shoulder that was causing her grief, and she was very sick. We waterfall prayed for her and then I closed the prayer. I could feel the presence of God in the room, and I could feel him working. After the prayer she told us she had no more pain, and she could feel herself recovering by the minute. All I could think about was how amazing God was. He is so much bigger than pain and sickness. Before all of this she didn’t want to go to church, and she had to motivation to do so. However, now she told us she would fully dedicate her life to God and only live for him. I saw her and her son at church just a few weeks later. I am so thankful for the way The Lord is working in her life. In Matthew 10, God gives His twelve disiples a command to freely give as they have freely received. Matthew 10:8-9 “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” God calls us to lay hands on the sick, and due to his power and authority they will be healed. If we are given the light and we know the love and joy he has given us, then why are we not sharing it??
The funny side of Malaysia was, late night “Texas chicken runs”, Indian weddings, light festivals, soccer games, naps, fishing, cuddle seshes, and our fall festival celebration. We would stay out to 3am some nights!! After late ministry nights, our ministry host would drive us to get food. So, our midday naps were definitely needed. We had designated nap time from 2-4pm. Overall, Malaysia was definitely an adventure, but I truly learned so much about God and his character. Building my relationship with Jesus in Malaysia was truly such an amazing experience.
IM ALSO 88% FUNDED!! only 12% to go! I am so so grateful for y’all’s support, it truly has been such a blessing. However, I do still need to get to 100%! So, if you are in a position to donate or just want to support me financially here is the link to my page! all funds go directly to adventures in missions! Thank you and stay blessed!! 🙂
LINK TO FUNDRASING: https://adventuresinmissions.servicereef.com/events/adventures-in-missions-3/2024-world-race-gap-year-24g0903/participants/grace-gowens
LINK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE REFUGEES:
https://www.unrefugees.org/news/rohingya-refugee-crisis-explained/
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