Malaysia Land Team: Week 1 (Show the Love)

Show the Love (Week 1)

I had the priviledge to spending 2 weeks in Malaysia during dry dock. At first I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to stay behind on the ship during dry dock to fellowship with the brothers on board, but God had different plans.

I can’t be too specific with the details in regards to people and locations. I’ll get to that later.

The first week we stayed in a recovery house for individuals with HIV who are coming off of drugs. There were only two guys staying there at the time, but we had time to get to know and and hang out with these brothers.

David (not his real name), who ran the house, talked with us a great deal about his life and how to best minister to these guys. David himself used to be homeless and addicted to drugs for about 7 years. A group of young people reached out to him over time and showed him the love. He eventually overcame and spent 3 years in a recovery house himself.

That is what David stressed the most. “Show the love” he would often say as a reminder; don’t push the truth. David used to groom dogs for a living and he learned that you can’t push dogs to get them to do what you want. You can sometimes see dog owners dragging their dogs in frustration by the leash. He said you have to get to know the dog, build a relationship, establish trust, and understand them. He uses these principles in dealing with people who are broken and very fragile. I believe this is God’s way in dealing with this population, and everyone for that matter. We learned a lot from this man and were able to encourage him when we left. During the week one of the guys staying at the house was closely watching us fellowship together. He was asking questions about the truth and why we were doing what we were. We are confident that we made a long lasting difference.

Another highlight was spending a day at an orphanage playing games and doing dramas for the kids. The kids were a bit shy at first, my dutch friend Pim tried a few “dutch” games with the kids which involve a lot of interaction, because it case you didn’t know, Dutch people are very outgoing. One was called “the emotional bus” where you sit down and act out the emotion of the bus driver. The kids really liked it, but were a bit shy. We played soccer with them in the evening. These bold kids would charge at me in groups when I had the ball screaming as loud as they could.

We also had opportunities to fellowship with local pastors and do ministry at 2 local churches. Needless to say we were spoiled, Malaysians love to take you out for food. We felt truly invested in and valued by these local pastors, even though they were busy men, we never felt rushed or like a burden. I was amazed by this.

We shared some testimonies at an Assemblies of God church one evening as well as a Myanmar fellowship on Sunday. The people from Myanmar were very humble people. Most of them fled their country due to lack of jobs. They come to Malaysia and are often taken advantage of and underpaid, living in poverty in squatter areas. Sound familiar?

We were also encouraged by 2 Chinese sisters. They just seemed to want to take us out to eat all the time and spoil us. We did not complain one bit. One of my favorite dishes is called Laksa, which is a combination of curry soup with noodles and tofu. I got hooked on this during our time in Malaysia. One Sunday were were slammed with services, ministry and outings. I thought I would be wiped out by the end of the day, but I was actually energized and empowered by the awesome communication we had that day and evening.

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