Jehovah Jireh

My time in Malaysia has been strengthening my faith because I become more closely attuned to Jehovah Jireh, God the Provider.  Seeing as I work at Jireh Home, this makes perfect sense that Jehovah Jireh become kind of my spiritual theme for the year.  At Jireh Home, everything is provided for the 30 children–food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education, and more.  And these things not only come from the sponsor churches, but from neighbors, friends, random people who heard about the home in the newspaper or from someone else.  Even though it’s a Christian institution, it is not uncommon for a Muslim family to pull into our drive way and deliver us bags of rice and biscuits for no apparent reason other than good will.

**It is also not uncommon to see water buffalo from a nearby farm wander through our street.  Or to see a crocodile in the nearby pond and river.

The whole house was invited over to a similar, but Muslim, home to celebrate “Hari Raya Aildifitri,” the end of Ramadan celebration.  They fed everyone and gave gifts, despite the religious differences.  I see small miracles like this all the time at Jireh Home as people bring donations and gifts and their presence just when we need it most.

I have also experienced this personally many times.  There have been many times when I have felt in need and desperate and something or someone comes along just in time.  I’d like to share some of those experiences.

When I was feeling the most desperate–lonely, anxious, struggling with my job and the language, and tired of travelling back and forth between two homes every week–a friend came into my life that helped me sort everything out.  His name is Daniel, and he’s actually one of the professors at the Sabah Theological Seminary, where I live on weekends.  He’s from Switzerland and teaches Biblical languages and the New Testament.  He met me through STS functions and through, Rommy, his god son and my co-worker at Jireh Home.  On my worst day, he happened to invite me over to his apartment to play some sports and chat.  We had a lot of fun and he was able to help me understand many of the issues I was experiencing.  He had a lot of insight as a fellow Westerner living in this Asian context.  He explained why I was having unintentional conflicts and how to handle them.  He talked about some of the internal politics of the area so I can better maneuver them and be more sensitive.  Since that night, we have spent a lot of time on the weekends together, having fun, joking, listening to music, playing sports, and having serious discussions, too.  He’s showed me good places to eat and, most importantly, he explained to me that Westerners cannot only eat rice everyday.  I was feeling quite sick, but once I included his recommended dairy and oats into my diet, I got much better.  I believe Jehovah Jireh brought Daniel into my life at a critical moment quite intentionally.  He believes I also came into his life at a critical moment because as I settle into my life in Malaysia, he is preparing to leave after 10 years to start a new chapter of his life in Costa Rica.  Many of his companions had already left to go back home or to continue their studies abroad.  So I was able to be a friend to him when he needed to someone to talk to about leaving a place he has come to call home.  Without his help, I may have been still floundering a bit right now.  And without me, he would have a much more difficult time leaving.  Only through God could have an American 22-year-old musician become friends with a middle-aged Swiss Biblical languages professor on top of “Signal Hill” in still untamed state of Sabah, Malaysia.

When I thought I would die if I did not have Western food, someone who was driving me insisted that we go to McDonald’s because his kids wanted to.  When I thought I would die if I didn’t get to hear any live music, a friend of a friend of a friend took me out to a hear a Filipino band.   When I thought I would go crazy if I didn’t get the chance to play music with some sort of ensemble, I was called to play with a small chamber orchestra for a Chinese choir concert (they sang the Hallelujah chorus in Chinese on Halloween–interesting experience).

I was starting to get burned out from teaching English–I am learning how, but I still find it quite challenging.  English is also not my favorite subject.  I am learning to like it, though.  The school year ends midway through November, and all the children from Jireh Home go home to their villages for that break.  My schedule was then to return to KK to teach more English to some kindergarten staff.  I was feeling anxious about more English teaching.  But through the grace of God, and after some initial misunderstandings, my supervisor, country coordinator, and I have been able to work out a different plan, which I am very excited about.  I will be going to the interior to some villages to help with the church music programs and do some manual labor, such as goat-herding!  This is truly a gift from God.  Going to the interior will not only be a richly rewarding experience (bathing in the river, avoiding crocodiles, things like that), but it will help me teach the children at JH next year because I will have a better understanding of where they come from.

**The word for sugar in Malay is “gula.” The word for crazy is “gila.” One time I accidentally order “tea without crazy.” They were confused and gave me some crazy sugary tea.

Two important gifts were given to me from Phillip Baker, the Asia Pacific Regional Representative from ELCA Global Missions.  I only met him twice when he came to Sabah, but he has been very helpful.  First, we have a break right before Christmas. I was trying to figure out what to do with that time.  I thought about going to Kuala Lumpur because they have a lot of music and art and, as a musician, I would really like to soak up some more culture.  (KK is still developing this).  But I could not really afford to go.  Phil, however, introduced me to an ELCA intern in KL that is now letting me stay at his house for the week and will help me get oriented.  So now I can afford to go, I have a place to stay, and I have a host.  Phil also introduced me a member of the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra, who has managed to connect me to the principal trumpet of the MPO.  I now will have a chance to send him an audition for the MPO sub-list, which is really exciting because they are a world-class orchestra.

I am also applying for graduate school for a MM in Trumpet Performance and need to send in video recordings to five schools back in the US.  I was really stressing over how to make such a recording since I don’t have a video camera or any high-quality audio equipment.  Phil, however, introduced me to a friend of his in KK that has a recording studio and can do video.  And only because he knows me through Phil and the church is he willing to give me a discount so I can actually afford it.  He is taking 50% off.  I could never have found him on my own, and only through these connections that God provided am I going to be able to do this job well.

There are many other small instances where God has provided something crucial for me at a crucial moment, such as showing me a Bible passage at just the right time, or sending my country-coordinator with my stipend just as I was running out of money, or finding cheap airfare back home just in time, or being given an extra hour off everyday to work on applications, or sending rain when I thought I would melt from heat.  And these may seem inconsequential to some, but they are not.  Of course, maybe these things all happened by chance.  But I would really have to wonder what the odds are that that is possible that all these crucial things always come just in the nick of time.  I thank the Lord every day for these blessings and the immense privilege I have to even be here as a volunteer.  It’s easy to loose sight of these blessings and take them for granted.  But my experience as a YAGM has really opened my eyes to this.

Please continue to keep me, all the YAGMs, and everyone we work with in your prayers.