This brings us to Malaysia. We did ministry on an island called Penang, in George Town (or Georgetown, I’ve seen it both ways and still don’t know which one is more correct). We lived in the food capital of the world as Malaysia, especially George Town, is known for the incredible food. Our lodging was in the YWAM base there. Without further delay…here some last thoughts on Malaysia:
1) Our month began in Kuala Lumpur, also known as KL, for a debrief. Our hostel opened up right into the heart of Chinatown. It was a really awesome location and the experience of walking out of the door and immediately encountering booths was so unique!
2) Two other fun experiences that got checked off the Bucket List were getting a fish pedicure and visiting the Petronas Towers at night. The pictures speak better than any words I could write.
3) We got to go hiking on one of our off days. There are several different beaches to hike to including Monkey Beach and Turtle Beach. We decided to hike through a canopy and then to Turtle Beach. It was beautiful and complete with monkey sightings that were just close enough to really get your adrenaline pumping. To add to the excitement, when we arrived at the beach we discovered that the water was infested with poisonous jelly fish that strongly discouraged swimming because several deaths had occurred. Yikes.
4) In Malaysia, we had the opportunity to work in a homeless shelter called Kawan Center. Kawan means friend which made me happy. We helped serve and cook food for them on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It was eye-opening to witness how many of the people were high on glue. Seeing the number of individuals that came in each day was heart-breaking because it is illegal to be homeless in Malaysia. What a tough life they lead. Sorry the picture is a little blurry!
5) One evening we were supposed to go out and pray for people in the streets. This is a regular occurrence on Wednesday nights, however, that night, it was pouring. Ed, one of our contacst, decided to have a prayer night because that seem like a far better use of our time than trying to find people out in the rain. It was one of my favorite nights on the Race. He put on instrumental music and we prayed for about an hour. I read the book, “The Circle Maker” by Mark Batterson in Colombia and it opened my eyes about certain aspects of prayer. I’ve never thought to pray specifically for a building, or property, or something physical like that. I got the opportunity to see this practice in action because Ed laid hands on the walls of the Kawan Center. It was an incredible night.
6) I feel like I say this most months, but the people that we had the chance to work with were truly incredible. Ed, as I mentioned in #5, works at Kawan Center. He and his wife are from the Netherlands and have several kids. We were all amazed at how much Jesus shone through him. His presence is extremely calming and he is so humble.
Along with Ed, we got to work with Francis and Andrea. Francis was the first ever Englishman to go on the World Race. He was a part of First Generation Z Squad and met his now wife, Andrea, in Guatemala during his squad’s manistry month. They were so much fun to be around and invited us to spend Christmas with them. It was wonderful to be around those who know the culture of the World Race. Keep them in your prayers as they are expecting their first child in March!
7) Given that we were in Malaysia during December, we got to be a part of several Christmas celebrations. One of my favorites was at the Kawan Center. Part of our ministry included assembling roughly 200 care packages for the homeless. Our team sang a few carols and passed the packages out during the Christmas party. It was a blast!
8) While in KL and then later in George Town, Malaysia proved to be the first place where I’ve felt the weight of the physical suffering in a city. I’m not sure how I missed it in South America. Japan was so well-kept that I think I only saw one homeless individual our entire month there and even that was a shock. Malaysia could not hide the struggle. There were individuals that roamed the markets who had severe damage to their limbs. There were men sleeping on the side of closed shops at night and those that were high. The bright and shiny protected world that I had seen was apparently rusting on the underside and Malaysia gave me a true taste of just how rusted things can become.
9) The culture in this country was incredible. George Town/Penang is known as the food capital of the world. Our location gave us opportunity to try Chinese food, Indian food, and Thai food. There was a Chinatown and a Little India. Melting pot, that would be an excellent phrase to use to describe the place and its people. We met individuals from Malaysia, South Korea, England, Guatemala, Norweigh, Germany, Australia, and the United States to name a few. Along with the people and incredible food, the city is known for its rich history. Art is a big part of the culture in George Town and it is not difficult to find. Dispersed throughout the city are 52 iron welded iron wall charicatures that depict scenes from the history of the city. It was so fun to walk around and spot a new one each day.
10) I celebrated my first Christmas away from home in Malaysia. While it was harder than I care to admit to be away from home, family, and all of the wonderful traditions, Team Boxcar made the best of it. We were taken in by a Crossroads team who works with YWAM. They arrived about half-way through the month and included 2 families with children as well as a handful of single individuals. One family was from Norway and invited us to join in some of their traditions such as walking hand-in-hand in circles around the Christmas tree while singing carols and figuring out who got the almond from a delicious dessert. It was wonderful of them to let us into their celebration and we managed to do a gift exchange ourselves. While I wouldn’t choose to be away from my family, this turned out to be a fun Christmas. We even attended a service on Christmas Eve that was conducted in English. Nailed it!
11) Last but not least, the roof. We lived in the YWAM base right in the middle of downtown. I’ve quickly discovered that I’m not a city girl and my escape from the busy street was to retreat to the roof of our building. Water was visible in three different directions from the roof and that was what my soul needed. That roof and I did some good thinking during the month.
