Over a five year period (2012-2017) members of the Spring Head, Woodside and Lobethal Lutheran Youth (SHWALLY) travelled to Malaysia to join youth from the Lutheran Church of Malaysia in ministry with and to the Orang Asli (indigenous people of Malay). Recently we were overjoyed to receive the following letter, updating us on how the […]

Over a five year period (2012-2017) members of the Spring Head, Woodside and Lobethal Lutheran Youth (SHWALLY) travelled to Malaysia to join youth from the Lutheran Church of Malaysia in ministry with and to the Orang Asli (indigenous people of Malay). Recently we were overjoyed to receive the following letter, updating us on how the last of our funds had been spent.

‘Shalom and greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Once again this year, by the grace of the Lord, and His loving kindness encourage me and my team as children of God to serve the people in the Orang Asli village. We had arranged a children program at Semul Village, Pos Betau on 10-12 August 2019. We travelled there by 4wd however could not reach the village, due to the bad road. We therefore walked and carried our goods for 40 minutes before we reached the village. After this long journey we felt tired, but none of the team complained. And when we saw the children coming to meet us with smiling face, it gave all of us encouragement.

The goal of this children camp was to reach out to the children of Christ and teach them the Bible. Our program started at 9am (although children started coming even before 8am) with 65 children (aged 5 to 15 years old) attending. Their hearts were thirsty for the Word of God. And not only the children came, but also their parents. We praise God that the Holy Spirit also touched their hearts to attend.

The camp began with songs, prayer and Bible stories. The children were then divided into 6 groups for indoor activities, before resting at 11.30am for a drink. The class then continued until 12.30 before breaking for lunch, and then again in the afternoon from 3-7pm for outdoor activities. Before they went home, we shared biscuits, snack and sweets with the children. In the evening, we invited all the adults to join us for fellowship and a prayer meeting. Pastor Chu shared a message and some of the Orang Asli led songs. This program continued for another two days.’

We are thankful that God chose us to partner with the youth in Malaysia and the Orang Asli people. We learned how ready and willing they are to express their faith with unabashed love, and how to show kindness in a way we had not previously experienced.

We thank God for enriching our lives through this partnership, for allowing us to join Him in His mission and enabling us to be vessels of His goodness toward others.

If you, your school or your congregation, would like to know how you can connect to the mission of God through a LCA International Mission partnership, you are invited to phone Erin on (08) 8267 7300 or email erin.kerber@lca.org.au. For more information, go to www.lcamission.org.au/join-gods-mission/start-a-partnership/

Read more stories about congregational partnerships at www.lcamission.org.au/category/stories/local-partners/congregations/