REACHING AND RAISING A NEW GENERATION OF MISSIONARIES

Sharene Wan / AOM Missionary

As part of Asian Outreach efforts to engage young people, Missions Mega wave was held recently in Kampar. Thanks to the partnership with UTAR (University Tunku Rahman) Christian Fellowship and 11 churches, we had over 240 participants.

It was also a fun learning event as the students were able to experience some cultural activities, taste the food and see the exhibits from various country booths. The booths were manned by missionaries or people with a burden for that country. The students were able to ask questions and interact with them. Through this we hope to broaden their understanding and exposure to other countries and their culture. 

The messages were delivered by speakers from different mission field/countries serving in different platforms and with expertise of their own. Through sharing their experiences and call to missions, the students were able to better understand the mission field. They learned about Unreached People Groups, Tent making and Business As Mission (BAM) and how their profession, skills and gifts can open doors for them especially into Restricted Access Nations.

The students were challenged to catch the wave of what God is doing in the nations today. They were also exposed to the possibilities in missions that could come from the China One Belt One Road policy.

As a follow-up to this Missions Mega wave, we invited the students to join us on a mission trip to the Orang Asli outreached. There were six students that responded and went for the trip in October. The outreach was in partnership with Pastor Eduan, the Orang Asli pastor that was with us during the Missions Mega wave. The Orang Asli village that we visited was in Kampung Choh, in Ulu Kinta about 50 minutes from Ipoh. It has an existing church of five families.

For the first time the students learn to survive without telephones or internet and slept in sleeping bags on hard ground. It was not very sanitary, flies were common but the surroundings were idyllic and quiet, with a river nearby, surrounded by forests and open compound. At night, it is pitch dark and there is no electricity. It was an eye-opener for the students who would otherwise not experience the kind of life the orang Asli live. 

The team led the prayer service, Sunday service, the children’s camp and visited the families. The students did all the planning and running of the children’s camp. All the students learn to pray for the families during the visitations and gave testimonies during the services. On their own initiative, the students helped by giving tuition to three kids of a widow who are preparing for their tests the following  Monday and another youth sitting for the SPM exam soon. They were willing to lead the Sunday praise and worship, all in Malay, even though they had never done this before, except for one. They practised until late Saturday night. They could feel how God anointed them as they led the worship in unity. They saw how many of the Orang Asli children were lacking in resources and how far behind they are in the schooling, and some felt burdened to come back to help them.

 

                            
                                                       
   

This is just a start in engaging young people in missions. We pray that a new generation of Malaysian missionaries will arise from these young ones - to have the passion, potential and many years ahead of them to do greater things for the Kingdom of God!