Home

It's hard to believe that I left Malaysia a week ago. They say, "Home is where the heart is." As I have pondered that phrase this past week, I have concluded -- in my unrest -- that maybe my heart does not know where it is. Maybe my heart has two homes.

I know I have left you with an unfinished puzzle... pieces of the story untold. Stories of Saudi Arabians dancing and desiring, 4th of July shenanigans, encountering the karaoke sensation "My Heart Will Go On," dinners that developed into life changing conversations, friendships formed that will know no geographical distance or ethnic division. And as I begin to emerge from the haze of jetlag, my prayer again and again is that I will not forget. I pray that I may remember, ponder, and meditate on the work of God that I experienced first hand. Because the Gospel is true. And its wonder and work is real in the darkest places of the world and in the darkest places of my heart.  And as I struggle to grasp the duplicity of my homesick heart, I pray that I would not be angry or resentful that my heart might not have a "home," but to embrace that my heart has an eternal home.

Thank you for journeying with me. I appreciate your prayers and continued prayers. And if we run into each other, please feel free to ask a question.... because I might not have the words, but I am desperate to tell the story.

All of our Friends! 

The Team at our Debriefing

A loss for words...

I've been searching. Searching for the right words to describe life here, the right words to tell the stories, the right words to explain my heart. But alas, I'm at a loss. So, I leave you with the words of my brother, Jake. His ability to collect and retell thoughts is far greater than anything I can muster. So, this is what I feel, think, and believe. Enjoy.

Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.

Psalms 127

Praise God that He alone is the one doing all the work. God is moving in KL and elsewhere. Keep your eyes and ears open to see what He is doing.

My second trip to Malaysia has been just as beautiful as the first one. All I can say is the harvest in this country is plentiful. We have met so many people from so many places. Bright faces and journeyed voices telling their stories. This trip has given me a new perspective. One that I have not yet come to grips with. This has been my struggle. I find it difficult to convey the urgency and unique nature of my time here.

But this is what I do know.

The stories of this place, of these people are magnetic. They drip with ink from the fingerprints of God. They ooze joy and redemption. One couldn’t search and find a better representation of the gospel.

These stories have wrecked me. Destroyed how I understand my life. And anything else would be a travesty. You cannot hear these stories and not ache for redemption. You cannot listen to these people and miss the presence of God. When these stories find solace in your ears they cannot remain there for long. They come busting out of your heart. They destroy your membranes and tear your sinews to shreds. They alter your soul and realign your mind. You cannot help but walk away changed with a new fervor for life, a profound hunger for truth.

God knows story. His defines the world. He knows words. His redeem the world. Stories are a gift and this country keeps on giving.

But let us not forget that this story is about God. From the beginning it has always been about Him. His story will continue into eternity and it has always been the same. It is already laid out. He is building it and invites us to collaborate. But unless we surrender to His blueprints we build in vain.

God is present in the stories of His people; never grow tired of sharing yours.

I hope to share some of these stories with you soon.

“The most difficult lie I have ever contended with is this: life is a story about me.”
— Donald Miller

The Golden Girl

This weekend Suzanne turned 25 on the 25th. I was so blessed to celebrate her golden birthday with her in Malaysia.

We threw a surprise party for her at Waffle World. For you who don't know, Waffle World is one of God's greatest gift to humanity. Who would have thought a waffle with ice cream and chocolate sauce would be this great?! Thanks, Malaysia.

Suzanne has been such a dear friend on this journey... and I don't just mean Malaysia. I don't know what I would do without her constant encouragement, humor, support, and companionship. She is a true minister and friend. I'm honored our paths crossed at Beeson and I look forward to the next 25 years ministering together.

A Surprised Suzanne... this was no easy feat. 

See what I mean?! Delicious! 

The Birthday Girl with her Birthday drink--Milk Tea as big as her!

An Asian Mix-Up. Suz's dinner at Marche

What I learned from a sniper

A few nights ago, I sat across from a former sniper. He shared the Good News without even knowing the whole Truth. And for the first time in a long time I believed with all my heart.

I learned the most profound from the most unexpected. It's funny how life works out that way.

Better late than never

This past weekend (Sorry, I'm sooo behind!) was full of exciting events. As a part of our internship, Suzanne and I are running a Christian Fellowship (CF) for high school students. I can already tell this group is going to be tons of fun, super silly and full of zeal. 

Teaching John 1 at CF 

Friday night we hosted an open mic which is a fancy way of saying Karaoke. It was hysterical. Cooper busted out some Justin Bieber and wowed the crowding, earning the Gold Star for his performance.

Various Performances from Open Mic Night

Saturday our new Iraqi and Sudanese friends brought us an Arabian feast. Probably some of the best chicken I have ever consumed. After we were stuffed to the max we sat around and listened to our friend tell us about his life in Baghdad. Hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to blog about our conversation. It was quite amazing.

An Arabic Feast

Chatting with our Iraqi friend

And if that wasn't enough, we had the David Story concert on Sunday night. David is our talented musician friend from Indiana. He joined up with us last year and we are so glad he decided to join us again. His music is incredible and a great way to share with our friends.

Friends at the David Story Concert

Sorry this took sooo long to post. Hopefully I'll be able to update more. The stories are just too powerful to not write down... it just seems like there is not enough time!!

Fervency

Last night a few teammates and I had dinner with a Christian chinese teacher. She teaches at a large muslim school and leads a Christian Fellowship there. Of the thousand students that attend that school, over 400 actively participate in CF. This is quite unbelievable for America... even more for Malaysia.

She told us her story over a delicious dinner of venison and rice. She grew up an active buddhist believer and decided to convert as a teenager after taking several years to count the cost. Now, a fifty-five year old, she fully believes in the saving power of Jesus Christ and her whole family has converted. In the middle of our conversation, she stopped and asked us if we were first generation Christians. When we told her that some of us were fifth or sixth generation Christians, she was amazed. Then she asked, "How do your second generation Christians remain fervent when they didn't have to fight for their faith?" I cannot get this question my of my head. How do we remain fervent in a faith that we received? This woman literally fights daily for the faith she confesses. She is persecuted and struggles to freely tell those around her about the Truth she so deeply believes. Yet, she asks us for help, advice, suggestions in encouraging her children to believe with that same fervency.

So as I struggle with this question myself, I ask you.... How do you as a second, third, fourth (and so on) generation Christian remain fervent in your faith received? 

Week One: Not Ideal

Well, i think my title says it all. Jet lag is no gem. But even more, we ran into some rough situations. Suzanne and I moved rooms a few days ago because we were sleeping with lizards and cockroaches and mice (oh my!). We are now staying on the 3rd floor with the other girls... 7 strong. It's one giant slumber party every night. Also, I pulled a muscle in my head (who knew that could happen) and had a huge, painful bump on the back of my head. So, I went to the clinic Tuesday night and Dr. Singh (ironically, the name of my Birmingham doctor) gave me a muscle relaxer and some pain-killers that cleared it right up. It's been a hectic week for sure and I'm really ready to get into a steady rhythm of malaysian life.

Despite all the "bumps" this past week, we did have some great experiences. On our day off, we went downtown to the Petronas Towers and saw KungFu Panda 2 (when in Asia...). Suzanne and I also were able to meet up with some old friends, which was so wonderful. Thank you, Mark Zuckerberg for making global friendships possible. We hosted our first Friday Fun Night at the Studio which was a smashing success. I beat several Iranians in spoons and I feel good about that. We also participated in the Mosaic Community Studio's One Year Anniversary party... which included the balloon animals, a photo booth, and the musical talents of ABeatC (the new love of my life, a malaysian beat boxer).

Sorry for the long post, but we have quite busy weeks here so I won't get to update as much as I anticipated. Please email me with your life-happenings and any news.... we did catch the play-off game this morning, our Dallas girls were quite happy with the outcome. Here are some photos from this past week...

The Patronas Towers: Malaysia's Icon

The Boys! (left to right: CJ, Jack, Andrew, Matt)

The Girls (Suz, LB, Me, Elizabeth, Sarah, Stephanie, & Kathy)

No, we don't know how to make balloon animals. Yes, we can improvise.

My Asian Twins (JLow, Me, & Billie)

A special thanks to my teammates for these photos. Check out Elizabeth's page for some amazing photos... she's one talented photographer (http://elizabethgettys.tumblr.com/) Also, check out the UM blog to stay up-to-date with our activities (http://samfordum.wordpress.com/). Much love.