Orchestra of Faith

   Hey everyone I hope you have been doing well and trying to make the most of everything in the midst of whats going on throughout the world right now. As I’ve been doing what I can to keep myself occupied I was recently reminded that I never finished telling the story of what God did back in Indonesia. A story of faithfulness in which I needed reminder of. So let me fill ya’ll in on the rest of the story because the remainder of our time in Malang was truly extraordinary one of my most memorable moments yet while on the race.

   It’s interesting to witness first hand how God works. Specifically how He orchestrates things together for the purpose of His glory as well to those who are willing. My team was in Malang for about two weeks before we left to rendezvous with the rest of the squad in Jakarta. During that time we went from knowing no one, not even having a host or contact, to meeting and developing relationships with some wonderful people. After we met the elderly couple(during our first day of prayer walking we met them and they didn’t speak English but thru google translate we were able to communicate to some degree) we planned to meet them back at their place that following Sunday to go with them to their local church. We still had a few days left before then so we once again started prayer walking the next day. This time we split into two groups.

   One group went right toward the direction we’ve previously been walking and the other group, in which I was a part of, went left to scope out areas we haven’t been to yet. So the group I’m with walks for a while praying to meet a contact, specifically a translator, who could help us and make things a little easier with the language barrier. Eventually we walk around this one neighborhood not really seeing anyone except some kids so we decide to start walking back to our current place of stay. While we were heading to the exit this lady on a scooter (which was one of the main forms of transportation since it seemed like everyone had a scooter lol) she stopped…looked back at us…talked to her friend that was with her then after hesitating drove our direction. Little did we know that this interaction was a domino set in motion to the grander works at head that were to come. We all go thru the introductions and get to the point where she invites us to hangout with her that evening for dinner after she finished working. What!? I forgot to mention that she spoke pretty good English and once again we got invited to someones place. Boom! We finally found our main contact, translator, guide and friend for the remainder of our time in Malang. Lets go Lord! Whats interesting enough after we regrouped at the house with the rest of the team and discussed how things went we found out that the area the other half went to pray at was where the lady we met lived at. At this point my mind was beginning to blow with what God was doing in just a short amount of time being there! He was answering prayers and showing up expectantly.

   During those days, before we got ready to go to church with the elderly couple from earlier, we spent most of our time in contact with or hanging out with our new friend D. Now I’m not going to go too much into detail of what everyday looked like because we did a lot of stuff. I’m mainly going to hit the main highlights of the overall picture of what God was doing and put it all together.

  So, Sunday morning we woke up early to ride over to the couples place to go to church with them. We didn’t really know if they would be there or not since there wasn’t a solid confirmation on time and if they understood us meeting them that morning. So us leaving to meet them was strictly faith hoping that we would catch them before they left and in fact we did. So we took two vehicles and eventually reached our destination. Now so far being in Malang well Indonesia in general has been entertaining for the fact that we were treated like celebrities almost. From walking down the street waving at everyone we see to people wanting to takes pictures with us. Even kids sneaking up behind me at night wanting a photo(yes I jumped hard, they startled the mess out of me.) So I have photos with people I don’t even know that I may never see in my life but it was all sweet and fun.

   Anyway the point I was making was that during church service we got invited to the front to introduce ourselves and why we were there. Malang isn’t the most popular tourist sight so it’s not too common for people especially Americans to come thru there especially where we were at. After service we were also asked to stay for their Sunday school with the kids which was not planned but welcoming and exciting at the same time. So we did a quick on the spot show and tell of Jesus on the boat during the storm. A great moment for sure but what I want to focus on here was the introduction to another future friend and contact.

   I’ll call her V. We talked and found out that she worked with Compassion an international non-profit organization helping families and kids in need. A reason why she works with them is because she was once a compassion child in need so this was her way of giving back to the very people who help change and save her life. She has an amazing testimony as well. She also spoke like 4 different languages which is impressive. So here we are half way thru our time in Malang and God already has shown up and shown out. We now had two contacts, translators, guides and friends.

   After meeting and talking with her we talked with the pastor if there was anything we could do to help out. We eventually decided to help them fix a hole they had in the ceiling that leaked every time it rained(which was very frequent) right above the entrance. So we decided on a day the following week to meet up and help with that. Finally it feels like we actually can help out purposefully with a work project! We didn’t do too much except provide the means to fix it since the pastor had a guy who was experienced in fixing that stuff but I sure did cut that wood for him lol.

   The rest of that week was spent with sabbath, team time, and hanging out with our first contact D. She recommended a place for us to relax and spend time at at this little river/waterfall. It was like a natural lazy river you that walk all the way to the starting point then hop in the water in your tube and down you go until you get out before the blockade. It was a blast! Plus the waterfall they had there was cool too. It was small enough to climb up and into. It’s pretty surreal feeling how intense the pressure and flow of water can be like as you try to walk closer to it only for it to come crashing down and repelling you away. Defiantly a force to be reckoned with.

   Eventually our time there was quickly met with us having to leave. Here’s the kicker though we were graciously invited by V and her husband for breakfast at their place the day we left. What’s baffling is the fact that they literally lived right around the corner in the exact same neighborhood we were staying at. We didn’t find that out until is was time for us to leave unfortunately but even one of the pastors of the church lived right across from them as well. Mind blown! So we ate breakfast, went across to the pastors house and prayed for him since he was ill and then said our farewells before heading to the train station where D would send us off.

   A marvelous time we had in Malang and honestly me trying to type the experience does it no justice since it’s challenging to vividly capture every sincere heartfelt moment from cooking as a team everyday in our kitchen, to spending time with the great people we met, to catching a lady who’s trying to sneak a selfie in.

   Like I stated earlier though this is about capturing the whole event from start to finish on exactly how faithful and true God is. So the overall picture looks like this.

   We met the elderly couple first after prayer walking that led to us finding out they were Christians and being invited to their church. Half of the group met D while at the same time the other half was praying over her neighborhood on the other side of town. This led to us spending intentional time with her the rest of the time we were there and it was obvious God brought us together because He was already tugging at her heart even though she was a Muslim woman she was uncertain about certain things and searching for truth. So we had a great time just being her friend and sharing the love of Christ with her while being genuine caring human beings. We met up with the original elderly couple and hitched a ride to church with them where we met V, her husband and their adorable spunky little girl. Which led to yet another great relationship and bond with them by eventually finding out that they, along with the pastor, lived in the exact same neighborhood we were at the whole time we were staying there and had no idea. Plus the house we were staying at was slightly over budget which was accidentally overlooked and didn’t realize it at the time but even so it was obvious that we were meant to be at the exact location. So from beginning to the end of our time there it was one thing leading to another that all fell together in a beautiful purposeful portrait that God laid out before us.

    As you can see our God works things out perfectly according to His will as long as we are willing to surrender our will to His and just be still, patient and listen to Him. Having faith that when you step out into the unknown you know that He is there and will show up some way some how. 

   The reason this one of my favorite most memorable moments on the Race so far is because of God’s tangible faithfulness that physically manifested itself before our eyes. Like I said we knew no one. There weren’t any contacts or host at all in this area already set up before that AIM knew or had. Everything we did, witnessed and all the relationships met and built were all God. 100%. We simply stepped out in faith hoping that God will guide us to the people we needed to meet. My team-lead prayers from last year were answered by getting invited into someones home. That happened not once but three times by three different people. Everything that happened during our time in Malang was completely orchestrated by God so flawlessly even on days when some of us weren’t feeling well and or didn’t want to do anything He still showed up faithfully. None of us wanted to leave after meeting V and her family because we finally began to make head way in our mission there but we had to go. But what we left behind were footsteps of light filled with hope. Ground tilled and seeds planted for the next group of people to come thru and continue where we left off. There was so much more to do there but we had to move on. Even still prayers were answered and God was and still is faithful.

   Everything we’ve done so far from Australia to South East Asia, even coming back home temporally, had purpose. With that purpose it all looked, felt, and operated completely different from one another. It was easy to see overall what God was up to in Malang but not so much in S.E.A, at least for me. God is working everywhere in some form of fashion but we’re not able to fully understand or see the big picture every time. Most of the time it’s simply stepping out in faith that He’s going to do something. Even then it can be discouraging when you’re not experiencing God like we did in Malang but that doesn’t mean your not needed and He’s not doing something. I don’t have answers to a lot of things pertaining to God and why or how He does what He does but what I am for certain of is His faithfulness and love for us is undeniable and those who are willing to come along side Him and simply say yes so He’s able to move thru you will not regret it. It’s worth it. Just trust Him.

    I write this story as encouragement since thinking about it encourages and reminds me what God is capable of. I find myself sitting here pondering whats next going thru an endless list of ‘what ifs’ forgetting this moment in Malang that God is still moving and more than willing to make something happen. We need only to let go, turn from our wicked ways, be willing with a simple yes in our spirits to allow Him to do something while faithfully expecting it. Sometimes it seems like we curse God more than we give Him praise and credit.  

   Right now we all need some form of hope and increase in faith. It’s easy to be afraid and caught up in uncertainty not knowing what tomorrow holds but let this be encouragement for all of us. A reminder who our God is and what He is truly capable of. For He didn’t give us a spirit of fear. Actually throughout scripture He tells us to fear not. He is the Lord our God, our Father, Creator, our provider, strength and our refuge. Let’s focus more on who He is and what He is capable of doing while being surrendered wholly unto Him full of expectancy and faith. He loves us too much not to. Be blessed and remain hopeful there’s always light in the darkness. You may be that very light that’s needed. Remember what Jesus said “It is Finished!”

   “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”– 2nd Corinthians 5:6-8

   “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.”–James 1:5&6

   “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”–Matthew 6:33&34

Here’s a pic of my team Rak Chazak and our dear friend D taken at the colorful village in Malang!

Side note this part of the city used to be some bad slums but they painted everything a different colors to add some new life and vibe to. It worked now its a popular tourist place that has a decent flow of people come thru even with people still living in the area. A wonderful sight to see for sure.