My time in Malaysia was a wonderful and fruitful experience. We had 24 people make professions of faith and many others make recommitments of various kinds. Let me share just a few special highlights.
My discipleship group was a small, but intimate group that grew very close over the three months. They became my home group and, as such, they became my family away from home with each person like a sister or brother. They also really grew by leaps and bounds. Let me give you an example. John wanted to improve his preaching. He developed a message and we videoed it and he went through the painful process of watching himself. If you’ve ever done that before you know how hard it is. But he worked hard and made amazing progress in a few short weeks. He’s prayerfully considering when he should preach in church. I’m praying for him to continue to grow in his confidence and communication skills. Another member of the group was Rozzy. She’s a young (21) and intelligent (speaks 3 languages) woman with an internal as well as an external beauty (her picture is above). She took on the youth. She was the point person for putting together a youth outreach for the night before I left. We had a band, half a dozen singers, a testimony from one of the kids, a video, cool invitations and programs and, oh well, me speaking. There were probably 50 or more people there and the response was great. Rozzy showed such good leadership. Another guy named Jasson joined the leadership team and I think there may be the core for a youth ministry in place.
Another highlight was my trip to Tawau. I was with an amazing pastor called Pastor Fred who has ministered in the Tawau area for over 30 years. He is a converted Muslim and has such a heart for the people and a gift in evangelism. He translated for me and we had a great time. When I arrived we immediately went to the Bible school where I was scheduled to teach “Nehemiah.” The students were so sweet and eager to learn. These will be future leaders in churches in the jungle areas around Tawau. How exciting to be a small part of their ministry. The next day Pastor Fred and his wife took me out into the jungle for a long hike through a national park to see the tallest jungle tree in the world (pictured above). When I got home he told me to be sure and check for leeches. I found 11 leeches! They are slimmy things, but, fortunately, they aren’t painful – just disgusting. That night I spoke at a home group. James, a group member, was one of the first people I visited in Malaysia. He had gone to a hospital in Kota Kinabalu (the city where I was living) for brain surgery and was just beginning his recovery when I visited him. After just two months, he was doing amazingly well and it was so cool seeing the prayer and physical support he had received from his home group. The next day was Sunday and I performed my Peter monologue for the English congregation then for the Malaysian congregation and then after lunch we traveled several hours through the jungle to preach at another church. On the way we saw a monkey crossing the road and signs warning of elephant crossings. He also told us that they baptize in one of the rivers we passed, but they have to watch for alligators! That would test your commitment level. The convenient part is that we couldn’t be late. They start when we arrive. Not only that, but the Muslims next door starts when we start – to keep their people from coming to church. People responded well to the monologue and especially loved taking pictures with me while I was in costume. After the service we feasted on wild boar they had hunted down for us the night before. Most exciting was that people made professions of faith at each of the services. It was a wonderful and exhausting weekend.
I’m home now and trying to get my internal clock back on Texas time, but I'm a little slow at adjusting. I would appreciate prayer for the people I had the privilege of ministering to and for what God might want for me in 2009. I’m teaching at LeTourneau University part time and hoping to teach a few seminars for Walk Thru the Bible and then later this year, Lord willing, I plan to return to China and perhaps even to Malaysia or South Korea. Also, pray for us to finalize our nonprofit status from the government. By the way, while I’m here in the USA I’d love to meet with some of you and would be glad to come to your church and speak, teach the Walk Thru or share some of my ministry experiences. Thanks and I’ll keep you posted.
