Hello everyone!

I began my last blog saying that I desired to blog more and update you all more and ended Malaysia with only that blog. I want to first apologize for not doing my part in partnering alongside yall by updating you all on what the Lord is doing through me physically, as yall have partnered alongside me prayerfully. Thank you all for continuously laboring in prayer and interceding for me and for the country of Malaysia over the past few months. Thank you for being faithful and steadfast!

Something the Lord revealed to me very early on in Malaysia is that He wanted every second of my time. He didn’t just desire for me to be in His presence only when I first woke up or only during the church services or only during the ministry hours but during every single second of the day. From the moment I opened my eyes in the morning until the moment I fell asleep at the end of the day.

The reason He asked this of me was because there was so much work to be done in Malaysia and He was always asking me to move with Him. Malaysia is a country that is constantly moving, I feel like there was never a second that I sat still and rested physically- which is why the Lord always asked that I dwell and REST in His presence. He knew that resting my body was not an option during this season so He offered His rest to me constantly. How kind is the Father that He is able to fill our every need by us just sitting in His presence, at His feet. By laying our lives at His feet, at the alter, and simply just stepping back and allowing Him to complete the work within us. He is such a loving and caring God. A God who sees and a God who hears and responds to us. He is a living and active God. A God that is jealous for His people.

One of the main truths that the Lord allowed to rest upon me is that He is the one true and living God, the God that reigns above all the heavens and the earth. This is a truth that I have been blessed to know almost all of my life, but this truth rooted itself so much deeper within me while living in a muslim country. A country that was surrounded by darkness and heaviness because almost no one believed this truth. Almost everyone living in Malaysia did not believe that Christ was the one true living God, but believed the lie that He was simply just a prophet, a man. The country was full of worship of false gods and false truth which lays a heaviness over your own heart. A heaviness of sin and lies and a heaviness of Gods wrath and love for His people. The Lord is jealous for the hearts of malaysia. He desires for His name to be made known. And just as the Fathers heart burns in wrath it burns equally in love for His people. His heart breaks as He sees His people chasing after lies that they will never be enough for the Lord and that they must slave away to lies of the enemy all of their lives and work for what the Lord has freely given them.

Malaysia was heavy. Malaysia was hard. It was exhausting and draining and at times all I wanted to do was leave. But the Lord sent me there for a purpose, He desired me there and He promised to sustain me if I would only be present in His presence. The Lord was faithful to fill my cup day after day, hour after hour. And each day He blessed me with seeing the slow beginning fruit of His work that was at hand. In His loving hands.

My favorite place to be, in all of Malaysia was within the school we volunteered at. Working with kids is nothing new for me and it’s such a sweet passion and love that the Lord has given be- but what was new for me were the lies these kids were being born into. It wasn’t just that the kids didn’t believe that Jesus was the way, the truth and the life, but they believed the opposite. They believed that Christs life was a lie and that His death was the end. They were being raised to not just not know the gospel but to believe the opposite of the gospel. They were being raised to believe not that through believing in Christ there is freedom but that to get to God they must give every second of their life to work their way into being enough for Him. There was no rest in their lives because they didn’t understand the rest that the Father offers them through Christ.

While in the school we weren’t allowed to share the gospel through our words but we were able to through our actions. So many underestimate the sharing of the gospel through actions and think that through words is the only way, but so often in the New Testament, Jesus shares the gospel through His actions- through His perfect love.

The Rohingya children attended the school we taught at. The Rohingya people are a people group originally from Burma but were forced to flee to Malaysia due to persecution. They have been continuously denied citizenship in Malaysia placing them at the lowest of the lows within the country. While there are so many factors as to why this is so heartbreaking for these people, there is also something so beautiful within it. Because these people cannot gain citizenship that means that they are legally allowed to be Christian and turn from Islam- while every other malaysian citizen would have to illegally be Christian. While the persecution, destruction of the homes and fleeing of the Rohingya is filled with much heartbreak and tragedy I believe the Lord has a beautiful purpose for it all. I believe that the Lord wants to meet the Rohingya in their struggle and pain and use them to start a revival in Malaysia. And the Lord was using us to begin planting seeds for His revival.

In the school me and my friend Abby (she’s on a separate team than I) were paired together to tutor a student. Our students name is Iqram, he’s 9 years old and has one of the biggest, kindest hearts ever. He loved each and every kid in that school so well despite how much anyone bullied or messed with him. He always desired to see the people around him smile, and not because of anything he said but by how he treated others. Each day I got to sit with him and work with him on learning english and teaching him new math skills. He was quite the pro at math and loved learning new skills. English was a bit more challenging for him but it was so very sweet to walk alongside him and see him grow day after day. Most days we created our own worksheets and curriculum and one day the Lord gave me the sweetest idea. Iqram had been learning ‘sh’ and ‘ch’ sounds and so I decided to write him a paragraph to read. I wrote out Psalm 23 for him but simplified it and wrote ‘SHepard’ instead of Lord. It brings me so much peace knowing that sweet Iqram has read Psalm 23 over and over and I believe the Lord will use it to change his life.

Praying scripture over Iqram, over the children and over the country has brought me so much peace since leaving. It’s such a beautiful thing that the Lord is so kind to give us his own words to pray over his own people. I’m able to pray that the Lord would be Iqrams shepard, that the Lord would provide all that He needs and that Iqram would know that the Lord is a faithful father that provides. I’m able to pray that the Lord would lead him to waters that are restful and refreshing. I’m able to pray that the Lord would restore his soul and bring life to him spiritually, that the Lord would lead him down paths for HIS namesake. I truly believe that a revival will stir in Malaysia and that it will begin through the Rohingya, and maybe even Iqram.

After about a month of being there we were able to do a home visit in a neighborhood that most of the children live in. We went to a house that belonged to the family of a student named Rhema. We were able to spend time with her, her brother and sister, and her mother. After being there for about 20 minutes Iqram came running in with his little brother Imran! It was the sweetest thing in the whole world and i’ll never forget him running in and giving me the biggest hug i’ve ever been given. It turns out they’re neighbors and one of the sisters had told them that we were there to visit. He introduced me to his little brother and I also gave him a huge hug.

In Malaysia their new school year doesn’t begin after summer, it begins after Christmas! Once the little winter break was over we began a new year of school and not only did i continue teaching Iqram, but his brother began attending school so I started teaching him as well!! Me and Abby would tag team teaching them both english and math and having the best times with the two of them! Some days we would let them use our phones/headphones to listen to music and we’d play christian music for them. Though they don’t know much english, it was beautiful to see how their anxiety from doing school would fade away and they would truly sit in the peace of the Lord. I remember praying over these two day after day as we did school, praying that these songs would be written on their hearts. That the Lord would be faithful to reveal Himself and His character to them.

When we weren’t at the school we were doing soo many other things. Over the Christmas season we would go caroling at houses- yes, caroling is very big in Malaysia for some odd reason. We would begin caroling around 7 and go until at least midnight most nights!! It was definitely very crazy and very exhausting but also so much fun. Some nights we were even able to enter Hindu households and carol Christ centered songs and pray over the families.

We also all were apart of church services on friday nights. Rotating teaching, leading worship and serving in their kids ministry. It was such a sweet time and sweet church. The people were so in awe of the Lord and had such a beautiful fear of Him. The Lord is using these people in incredible ways and I was able to take in and learn so much from them.

One day the pastor shared his testimony to the squad. He shared much of his life and how he became to be pastor of the church. He shared that early on in being pastor he had trouble balancing so many things- family, serving, being head of the church, and running the Rohingya school. Around this time his wife began developing serious health issues, especially in her legs. While in the hospital it was decided that one of her legs would need to be amputated. PT was so very distraught and began wrestling with the Lord asking why. Amid his wresting, asking the Lord why he would disable his wife, he heard the Lord so clearly respond and say ‘why do you disable MY wife- the church.’

It is our role as a body, as the church, to not only BE the bride of the bridegroom but to PREPARE ourselves for His return. To make known that He is returning and to understand so deeply that He is coming back. We are to desire His coming, we are to prepare for His coming. The Lord was making known to His people and to PT that they were to prepare for His coming. To make His name known and to spread His glory to all people.

From this came life from the church, came a fire and a burning for the Lord and His coming.

While in Malaysia me and some friends were blessed with the opportunity to become close friends with a girl (Nura) that worked at one of our favorite coffee shops. She is a muslim woman and was very loyal to her religion and followed the practices very closely. Overtime she became very curious of the bible, of the gospel and began asking us many questions. We were able to pour so much truth into her, so much of our love and so much of Lords love into her. We were able to speak light and truth into so many broken pieces of her life and were able to share so many pieces of our testimony to her. One day she asked to study the bible with us on one of her off days, we were able to go and shared the story of the woman at the well with her.

Though she opened her mind to hearing the Word she never truly opened her heart to it. It was such a heavy day when we realized this and though gospel conversations didn’t continue from that point on, she still loves us lots and we are still in contact with her. We are still able to pray on her behalf and able to continue pouring into her even from afar.

This was Malaysia summed up as shortly as possible. I have so many more words for this country and a heart so full of love for them. Though our 8 weeks there were probably some of the hardest and heaviest of my life, the Lord was so kind. Kind to break my heart for a whole nation. Kind to not only break my heart but show me His heart for the people. Kind to show me His desire to return, His desire for us to prepare for Him and to make His glorious name known to ALL. Kind to be my rest in Malaysia, kind to carry me through. And He is such a kind God to allow me to intercede on behalf of His people, on behalf of the Rohingya people, and on behalf of Iqram and Imran. To pray life for them on their behalf, and to pray repentance for them on their behalf.

Thank you all for being kind in praying for me on my behalf. For being faithful to me and for loving me so greatly. Truly your prayers are always so felt, and so seen. I am so appreciative of you all and love you all so deeply! I can’t wait to return to you all so soon!! ONLY 3 MORE MONTHS!!