Preaching in Klang, Malaysia

We were picked up at 9:45 this morning to be driven about 40 k to the city of Klang. Our driver for the morning was a gracious young man named Alex. He was a delight to talk with on the ride to Klang. We have been blessed to be served and ministered to by the most loving and kind brothers and sisiters in Christ. Thank you Alex!

Klang is a coastal port city on the western side of Malaysia. It took us about 45 minutes to make the drive. When we arrived the Tamil service was just getting out. Tamil is the Indian language service. They ushered in to a little waiting roomwith air conditioned (air-con) and bottled water while they made the trasition. After about 10 minutes they came and picked us up and brought us into the service that was already in progress. The English Service (their title), was a congregation of about 600-700.

The Malaysians have a pretty expressive worship style regardless of which denomination you happen to be with. They use Prasie and Worship music, some familiar and some new to us. Two 9 year old boys got up and one recited The Lord's Prayer and the other recited Psalm 91 (check it out - can you do this), both from memory. I was told that if I don't preach at least 45 minutes to 1 hour they feel cheated. So for those of you who know me - this was no problem.

I was well received. I felt very comfortable and had freedom and clarity of mind. (I sincerely apologize for any comments that may have been offensive to anyone in my attempt to expressive my pleasure at the way I was warmly received at the Klang Church on an early revision of this post.) I feel like I was able to connect with the audience and could tell that they were responding to the Word. I let the Pastor handle the alter call were around 50 people came down to make decisions and for prayer.

After the service Nelson and Karen Coolray, took us out for lunch. We went to a Nyonya restruant, which is a Chinese-Malaysian-Portuguese blend cuisine. This is a very Klang style due the history of Klang port and the tin industry.

I continue to be amazed at the wonderful stories of God's grace that I find as I meet believers everywhere I go.

We our blessed to be here!

TA @ AOIC

How enjoyable it has been to interact with the students here at the Alpha Omega International College. They are so delightful and friendly. The language barrier barely slows us down as we talk together.

As we get to know them, it is amazing how, even as we live in different cultures, our lives are so similar. There are housewives, pastors, counselors, business people, lawyers and human resource representatives. They are German, Japanese, Indian and Chinese, all Malaysian, like we are all Americans.

They love the same God as me and desire to serve Him as I do. They speak of struggles in their Christian lives that reflect the struggles of my own as I learn and grow. Families, relationships, the workplace and church work are ready topics.

I relate so often to their struggles as they learn the skills of counseling. Their desire to learn and willingness to apply themselves are so very encouraging to me as we work together. Some are learning new skills in counseling; others are learning skills for the first time. They seek to take these skills back to their jobs, church, friends and families. They desire to be used in whatever capacity God chooses and want to be prepared and sharpened tools in His hands.

These wonderful people have goals and dreams, desires and needs, challenges and triumphs. We live in this world so differently and so very much the same. As the Lord looks to and fro on this planet He has created, He uses us all. He uses the Malaysian Christians while I sleep and uses me as they rest from their work. Who will benefit most from my trip to this foreign place? Only He can say, but I know my blessings will be everlasting.

Food, Food & More Food!

Not that I'm complaining mind you, but it seems all we do is eat. And what a culinary adventure it is! There's food everywhere you turn here. We have learned from our friends that the Malaysians only eat one meal a day - and it last all day long. This is my kind of place!

Because Malaysia is such a melting pot of cultures, the food has amazing variety! There is Malaysian, which would remind you a little of Thai food. Noodles and rices, often hot and spicy, topped with seafood, meats or veggies. There is Chinese, and we're not talking Americanized take out. This is Chinese - Chinese. The flavors are from a slightly different taste pallet and yet rich, bold and wonderful. Then there is Indian. Wow! Burst of flavor, in your face taste. We have also had Japanese, American, British and Italian.

In the flat we have a small, what Robyn calls, a pygmy, refrigerator. So we can only keep a few things. Of course the kitchen is not stocked with staples or spices, so when I try to throw a meal together here it, too, is always an adventure. Yesterday was what can you make with Sesame oil, eggplant, left over Malaysian corn on the cob, a red pepper and some soy sauce. Believe it or not it was eatable.

Just as the culinary tastes are different, so are the people. With three major people groups, Malaysian, Indian and Chinese, life in Malaysia is vastly diverse. Here, though there is some blending of the cultures, they still have strong and unique differences. I have learned a lesson from the church here in Malaysia, there unity in Christ seems to over ride there cultural differences. They do not have an unspoken yet understood mantra that says we except cultural diversity as long as it is not different from ours.

In America we have many different ethnicities, yet most of them have become "American". We are at easy to except a people group that is different from us, as long as they become like us. In the U.S., the people groups that bother us are the ones that are and stay different from us. We talk often of our diversity, but is it diversity when the underlying criteria for acceptance is that we all become alike? I hope I am learning some lessons from my Malaysian brothers and sisters.

Who, What, Where, When?

Sometimes we throw out acronyms, abbreviations and titles like everybody should just understand. Sorry about that - let me see if I can explain some of the connections in a simple way. We are here as team members with Global Mosaic International. http://www.globalmosaic.net/ Dr. Evelyn Biles is the founder and president of GMI, as well as out team leader. Evelyn was one of Robyn's profs at Regent when see was completing her Masters in Counseling. (Picture: Dr. Biles, Robyn, Jeff)

We are here in Malaysia working through Alpha Omega International College http://www.aoic.org.my/ which is located within the grounds of Grace Community Chruch http://www.grace-intl.com/index.html, in the greater Kuala Lumpur area in a section called Petaling Jaya. This Sunday I will have the opportunity to preach to the congregation in Klang a section of the city down near the port.

Next week we will be in in a different area of Malaysia for the week teaching an advanced Counseling Skills II to former students. Then we will be back to Petaling Jaya to teach Skills II with the students from this week session. I will also have the opportunity to preach the next weekend, July 5th, at the USJ church in the Subang Jaya section of the city. Then the final weekend, July 11th & 12th, we will have the opportunity to speak at the Petaling Jaya church both Saturday night and Sunday morning.

This an exciting and fun adventure. It is also important and eternal work. Thanks for your prayers and support.

A Day At the Mall

Meet Nicole! She is the very non-dogmatic, non-opinionated, never complaining, 20 year old Canadian that keeps life fun around a Malaysian flat. She comes from Lebanese/Egyptian parents; her mother grew up with Dr. Biles in Lebanon and they are close friends. She is the type of person that helps add a little spark to the most mundane of activities.

Today we went to the Utama Malls. There are actually two parts, the old section and the new one. It is BIG. Too big to see all of it in a day; too big to not get lost over and over again; just TOO big! At one point I counted eight stories. Oh, did I mention, that mall queen Nicole came with us?

We stopped and had Sushi for lunch. It was one of those sushi bars that had both the colored plate line or you could order of the at the table computer screen. It was all good and pretty cheap compared to the US. Needless to say we were able to finish it all.

Even though English is a main language here, you can not always account for the confusion of accent and dialect. The flat/apartment where we are staying is on a small side street that is not well know to everyone, including taxi drivers as I have discovered. Trying to explain to a taxi driver, where I want to go, then having a gaggle of of additional cabbies join the group and try to figure out where these crazy tourist types want to go. Well it's part of the adventure.

I know I'm making it sounds like all we do is goof off and play tourist. That's only partially true. The mornings and early afternoon we do have pretty free this first week while we are only teaching Counseling Skills I. In the afternoon we meet to have a devotion and prep time for the evenings classes and break out groups. Dr. Biles does most of the main lecturing and then Robyn, Nicole, and myself take smaller groups of students to practice and video tape the counseling skills they have just learned. Here are some of the students both in class and during one of our break times. Pray for both the training team and the students that neither language, ethnicity nor culture will get in the way of our accomplishment of the mission.

Talk to you tomorrow. - Jeff

Fast Facts About Malaysia

Country - The Federation of Malaysia comprises of Peninsular Malaysia, and the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

Geographic Location - Situated between 2º and 7º to the North of the Equator line, Peninsular Malaysia is separated from Sabah and Sarawak by the South China Sea. In the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia lies Thailand, and in the south, neighbouring Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak are bounded by Indonesia while Sarawak also shares borders with Brunei.

Area - 329,758 square km


Population - 27.17 million


Capital City - Kuala Lumpur

People - Malays comprise 57% of the population, while the Chinese, Indian and Bumiputeras and other races make up the rest of the country's population.

Language - (Bahasa Melayu)Malay is the national language in use, but English is widely spoken. The ethnic groups also converse in the various languages and dialects.

Religion - Islam is the official religion of the country, but other religions are widely practised.

Government - Malaysia follows the bicameral legislative system, adopting a democratic parliamentary. The head of the country is the King or the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, a position which is changed every years among the Malay Sultanates. The head of government is the Prime Minister.

Weather - The country experiences tropical weather year-round. Temperatures are from 21ºC (70ºF) to 32ºC (90ºF). Higher elevations are much colder with temperatures between 15°C (59° F) to 25°C (77°F). Annual rainfall varies from 2,000mm to 2,500mm.

Air travel bathrooms and toilet seat covers

Are you kidding? Not happening on a blog. See me in person........