Malaysia

While in Malaysia we stayed on an island in Penang. Penang is the state we stayed in with a population of 1.76 million. We stayed above a prayer house in the middle of the city right next to the ocean. We were blessed with A/C as well! We had three ministries this month; one was called PENHOP ( Penang House of Prayer),one was with YWAM (another global mission group) it was called Kawan, and the last ministry was our main one building a School/Thrift store.

 At Penhop we had teachings through-out the week, on Tuesdays we stayed in the prayer room from 3-10pm interceding for specific things, on Friday we had a thing called Friday Night Burn where we would worship from 8pm-Midnight. This helped me grow in my faith so much. At first I heard we had to pray for 7 hours straight and I was kinda freaking out, but after doing it every week, I did not have enough time to finish praying and wanted to stay longer. I got to know the Lord in a deeper intimate way. While worshiping in this room I felt the Holy Spirit in a new way that I can’t really explain but it totally happened.

On Wednesdays we went to this place called Kawan, at Kawan there were a few people who worked for YWAM who held an evangelism night. We split into groups to go to different areas in the city, for example: Little India, Bus terminal, Tourist areas, jetties, etc. One group would stay back and intercede and at the end we met back up and told testimonies from the night. Hopefully I have enough time to write a blog about a specific night I went out doing this. 

And finally, our main ministry was to turn an old Bank into a Thrift store/ school. Every morning we left and walked about a mile or two to the Ferry Station. We would ride the ferry to the mainland and from there take a Grab ( Asia Uber) to the old bank. So why are we building a thrift store? There is a people group called the Rohingya people. The Rohingya people from Myanmar are Islamic. These people got their citizenship’s taken in Myanmar. Millions of people had nowhere to go. No longer being citizens, they lost their jobs, their property, their education,  their rights, almost everything. This is the most persecuted people group in the world. With a war in Myanmar and losing their citizenship’s, the people had nothing to do but flee. 600,000 people fled into Bangladesh, which being one of the poorest countries is not a good place for refugees to flee. Those left in Myanmar were put under severe discrimination and persecution, and the beginning of a genocide. Myanmar government has recently conducted executions, arrest, detentions, torture, and forced labor camps. Villages have been burned down and the people kicked out. With little help from global powers, many fled into surrounding countries, only to be deported out on boats with nowhere to go. Some boats overflowing with people, no food, no water ended up in Malaysia. The group started their own neighborhood in the area and tried to keep quiet. As more arrived, many people were imprisoned and held for long periods of time. These people need jobs, education, housing, and Jesus. These people have to keep quiet and be invisible to authorities. 

Now, there is one great woman in the area who was called by God to risk everything she had to open a school. In this school, her goal is to give the children a future with education opportunities, but also able to experience God. This lady is incredible, After successfully starting a primary school with an overflow of students and a waiting list in the 100s to get in! One christian local who just listened and followed what God told her to do is making a huge impact and bringing multitudes of people to Christ. Now this is where we come in, with a secondary school and a thrift store to be built we get dropped in and told to start working. Filling in concrete, tearing down ceilings, building walls, running electrical, painting, and much more. Day after day we would arrive running around to countless hardware stores trying to find the right tools and materials. It was a challenge, with no drywall and just making plywood work and a lot more complications it turned out great.  

We had the opportunity to work with two amazing young men who went to the school. We got to minister to them and become their friends. We eventually invited them to our Thanksgiving dinner and even got to go bowling with them. These were two extraordinary young men. 

The Last week, one of the girls team came to help us. We wrote scripture, prayers, and praises on the wall, and then painted over them. We prayed for the building to be invisible to all authorities or those who want to harm it. We prayed for so so much more and I can’t wait to see how much good this building and its people do. How this place could spread the truth to the surrounding businesses and neighborhoods.