We all got to the airport at around 11 – Holly, Joanna, Micah and myself. We had great time of pray before hand with Pastor Peter and Anika as well as  Micahs parents Dean and Pip along with David praying over us. The it was off to catch the plane. Got slightly delayed by ½ hour then 10 ½ hours to Malaysia. Got to chat to multiple people around me. Had couple young kids sitting next to me. Must say they were extremely well behaved kids. The malay boy sitting next to me name was Adam. Trip pretty uneventful . We arrived at about 1:40am NZ time and then we were wisked of to the Amerin Apartments about 55mins away. A pretty long day but a good one. Looking forward to the rest of the week.

This morning began with an adventure to a local restaurant for some banana roti, dahl, curry, kopi (coffee), and tea. It was delicious! Our first banana roti was a real crowd pleaser, and hopefully it won’t be our last. 

Arriving back at the apartment, Torben led devotions for us, focusing on Matthew 28: “Go and make disciples of all nations…” and 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, which talked about being members of the body of Christ and functioning in unity, each bringing our giftings and strengths and using them to build one another up. Grant then shared how the greatest is the one who serves others – a poignant message for the trip together as a team working in unity. 

Last night was our first night of ministry in the church. We went to Putera Aman Assembly, where the worship was so full of joy and expectation. It was such a privilege for us to worship in Malaysia for the first time. The people are vibrant, full of joy and energy. 

Torben shared his testimony about how he came to know Jesus at university through a friend “who would not shut up about him!” I could feel the Holy Spirit as Torben shared about his university experience and how he was led to Jesus. It was amazing to hear his journey and how he changed from someone who was shy to someone who is BOLD. 

Grant then preached an Easter message from a unique perspective; a story in the Old Testament that parallels the Easter Story and connects through the land (The Threshing Floor of Araunah) to some powerful key moments in the bible – the death and resurrection of Jesus, the atonement of the punishment of David when he disobeyed God (in 2 Samuel 24), and where Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac on the altar where God provided a lamb instead. These three events all happened in the same place, showing how God has stepped in and rescued his people, and that he has a plan. Grant invited people to come forward for prayer, and we were all able to minister through prayer and prophecy. It was so cool to hear afterwards the different conversations and connections people made at that time. God was moving and touching people’s hearts. 

This morning began with breakfast at a local Chinese restaurant, where we gathered around the table, sharing food and easing into the day together. It was a relaxed start, filled with conversation and a growing sense of anticipation for what was ahead.

After breakfast, we headed to Starbucks for our morning devotion. Joanna led the discussion, centering it on Book of Proverbs 3:5 and the call to trust in God wholeheartedly. It sparked some meaningful reflections within the group, and Holly shared parts of her story, giving us a glimpse of what she would later share that night. The time was both intentional and lighthearted, with plenty of laughter mixed in as we enjoyed being together.

We then spent some time at a nearby mall, taking a bit of space to explore, rest, and enjoy the local environment. It was a simple but refreshing part of the day that helped build connection as a team.

In the afternoon, we made our way to Agape Church. The drive was long, but it became a significant time for us as a group. We prayed for one another, had deeper conversations, and created space to listen to God. There was a real sense of unity forming, and even in the quieter moments, it felt like something meaningful was happening beneath the surface.

When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by the church community. There was a special moment of connection as a gift given to Patrisha, the Pastor of Agape church, the gift was shared on behalf of David Perry symbolising the ongoing relationship and prayer that had been sown into this church over many years. 

The evening service was powerful. Holly shared her testimony, speaking honestly about how God had been working in her life and leading her into new directions. It beautifully echoed the theme from the morning devotion, trusting God even when the path isn’t clear. As a team, we also had the opportunity to sing a song together, this being Tuhia. This was a real privilege and a moment of unity with the church and to show them some of our Maori culture being brought into worship. 

Grant then preached a message about being invited to the King’s table, drawing on the story of Mephibosheth and connecting it to the hope of Easter, that through Jesus, we can sit at the King’s table, not because of what we’ve done, but because of God’s grace. It was a message that resonated deeply and created space for reflection and response.

After the service, the church generously provided dinner, and we spent time sharing food, stories and building relationships. There was so much warmth and kindness shown to us, and it was clear how much they valued connection and community. 

As we left and reflected together, there was a sense of gratitude for all that had taken place, moments of depth, moments of joy, and plenty of laughter along the way. It was a full day, and one that continued to shape us both individually and as a team.

Strength – The Lord gives us strength

We had a great morning of gathering together and sharing in devotions about the strength that comes from the Lord. We discussed about how we are doing things in our lives and as the trip goes on not by our own strength but by the power that the Lord gives us, each day the lord gives us the breath to walk and live another day so it’s important for us to live it out for God and how he has intended us to.

We had a great resurrection Sunday at church we prayed for our friends at home who wanted to be on this trip but couldn’t and we pray the lord will move in their life, we were able to share an item song and sing Tuhia for the church. Pastor Brian took the team for lunch and we had amazing food with great fellowship and connections getting to know some people from the church, was a beautiful time.

We really are feeling the spirit within us and twe are getting stronger together as we continue our time with one another as well. The lord will give us the strength each day and we are believing God is going to do more with us as days go on.

(We did manage to get some site seeing some too which was really awesome and just a fun experience to have together as a team as well).

Oh also we tried durian … yea soz its a no from me

Bless you all.

We started the day with a hearty breakfast as all good days start. Then Holly lead our team devotional time and spoke on Philippians 2

Bought some lunch, supplies and water bottles from the mall before heading to the orphanage for our first day as a team working there.

We met the lovely staff. Helped them clear out several full rooms of donated things that had been piling up for quite a while. Staying hydrated all the while with the wonderful humid conditions. We accomplished a mammoth job.

After that Micah and Seb joined the boys of the orphanage in their daily run and exercise.

Then the team freshened up briefly before finding some tandoori chicken locally for dinner and back to the orphanage.

The team split amongst the different age groups and boys from girls (ranging 8yo – 20yo’s) for group devotions.
The kids knew many worship songs and were quite well versed in the Bible. Our hearts were broken for the kids and their innocent wonder.

Finally back to our apartments 9:30pm ish for some well earned rest. What a day, full of sweat, discussion and much laughter.

Day 7 began with a morning devotion led by Grant, where we spent time sharing about our dreams, goals, and sense of purpose. After that, the day split into two speeds, some of us took the chance to rest and recharge, while others set off on an adventure to explore a mega mall. 

Later on, some of us headed to Petaling Street Market, where the real action began. The team fully embraced the art of bargaining, doing their absolute best to negotiate prices down while picking up gifts for friends and family back home. There were some wins… and some “learning experiences.”

We then returned for a very authentic, deeply cultural American meal at Burger King, a true highlight of Malaysian cuisine, obviously. It gave us a good laugh and a bit of comfort food before heading into the evening. 

That night, we went back to the DAJ Orphanage, where we led devotions with the kids. It was another special time spent connecting across the different age groups, worshipping together, praying and just hanging out. We’re slowly getting to know more of the kids by name, which made it all the more meaningful.

By the end of the night, there was a real mix of emotions. Everyone left feeling full of joy from the time spent together, but also aware that saying goodbye is getting closer. The ride home was filled with plenty of laughs, wrapping up a day that was both fun and quietly significant.

Yesterday was a massive day! After a traditional chinese breakfast, we made our way to Nee’s home church. The pastor gave us a tour of the impressive facilities and shared a little of his testimony with us. This church has been a huge blessing to us because they have loaned us their car for this week, so all 6 of us have been able to ride around in comfort, air conditioning and hilarity each day. The car rides are full of so much fun and laughter and have been such a joy. What a gift from God. 

After our visit to the church to thank the pastor (with an AB’s t-shirt) we went to a coffee shop where Torben shared devotions with us. We talked about always being prepared to share the reason for the hope that we have before heading to the orphanage. 

Desa Amal Jireh

I am being moved by these girls – each one loving Jesus while longing to know their future path. God knows what’s in store and we pray “Make me your vessel”. We have this treasure in jars of clay. We prayed God would break our hearts for what breaks his heart. My heart is being deeply moved for these young people and I see that they are just like me. They have desires and prayers for the future and they just want to follow God’s leading. Isn’t that the heart of all of us who follow Jesus? Break our hearts for what breaks yours. 

We had lunch with the staff at DAJ and enjoyed blue rice, chicken and spices. We enjoyed eating with our hands (well, I did,) and meaningful heart conversations. It was really special and an honour to listen to the experiences of the team. 

Donning our old clothes, we got to work clearing more rooms full of all sorts of items. It was dusty, sweaty work but we had fun rugby passing the items out of the room and downstairs ready for the dumpster. God is giving us lots of joy for this work and it’s been so amazing to serve together. 

Then we gathered with some of the children from the home and their staff to present them a cheque for the donation from last year’s vision offering. They presented us with gifts and we took some photos, prayed and sang together. 

Following the presentation, the children sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Micah and another blessing song, because he turned 19 today! He was so touched by their singing and the little gifts they gave him in his small group. It’s evident to see how much he loves the kids and how much they love him too. 

In the evening we had devotions – the guys had a great time in their groups and us girls did too. God was so present as we worshipped and ministered to each other. At one point the music speaker lost battery and Holly felt to pray for the girls and for the girls to pray for each other in small groups, so we did. That was really powerful and a great opportunity for us to pray and prophesy. More than that it was an opportunity to connect and I learned that one of the girls lost her dad two weeks ago. Life is so tough. We were able to hug and pray together and the girls surrounded each other too. 

So the boys started off with the traditional Roti and drinks from across the road.

Then it was onto a very free flowing Devotion run by Joanna in which a number of songs were sung with some prophetic words spoken over a number of team members by Joanna and Seb and also Micah describing a picture he had for Joanna that really spoke to them, with Torben finishing off singing a prophetic song in the Spirit.

After this the team split with Grant and Micah wandering off to the Batu Caves to see the Shrines and Monkeys which Micah keenly videoed and photographed.

While this was happening Sabastian and Torben wandered off to a fire station to look around and to fulfill Sebastian dream of visiting fire stations in different countries and Torben got to fulfill his dream of sliding down the pole at the station.

The girls had a restful morning back at the apartments.

After this we went and had lunch at one of the malls and fueled ourselves up to do some more cleaning up at the orphanage. Which we did for a short time in the afternoon. Unfortunately a thunder storm brought this to a halt.

Then it was off to Macdonalds with Shanti before the mentoring sessions  began.

The mentoring sessions were kick off with a short intro by Pastor Grant and then Torben took over to talk about Gen 37:1-11 focusing on how Joseph was Gifted but not entitled – understanding God-given gifts while avoiding pride and entitlement.

This was followed by a very well directed play by Joanna in which a number of team members played parts relating to the story in Gen 37:12-36 & 39:1-6 much to the delight of the audience. Joanna brought her session together nicely talking about your dreams and not giving up on them.

Holly then took over to deal with the sensitive subject of Integrity when no one is watching. The key focus being on serial purity and moral courage in isolation. She presented this very well. Each session was followed by answering key questions and discussion. It was a very production evening. It was then back to the apartments at the end of the evening.

End is near 😞

The morning started with roti for breakfast (yummy) as we needed to fuel for a big day ahead of us, we prayed and worshiped and haded the day to the lord before we went out to the home/ orphanage to do our last sessions on Joseph.

Micah, Seb and Grant wrapped up the Joesph stories for our older kids so nicely, it opened up many conversations within the kids and got them thinking a lot about Joseph’s story and how that can relate to their life. A highlight would be the opportunity to pray for them and bless them.

We then took a rest and prepared for the youth service, Micah Seb and myself (Holly) ran a youth service with Seb sharing an amazing testimony and Micah and I sharing a sermon on perseverance and acceptance, the main message I wanted to teach them was no matter who the are they are accepted by God because he has made them, they aren’t accepted based on works. We all did amazing and we got to pray for them again and bless them all and watch the Holy Spirit move. It was such a good service and our prayer is that they will have left with knowing that God accepts who they are.

We had time for fellowship, so it was wonderful to talk to them about life. The team did a fantastic job with the youth service, and it was a pleasure to run and participate.

We had dinner together as the day/night came to an end, and we felt that we had succeeded in the Lord since he had helped us today. Without God’s strength, we could not have accomplished today.

Stay safe everyone, bless you all.

Today was Micah and Joanna’s final full day in Malaysia and our collective last church services for the trip. And what a day it was. The team divide and conquered for most of the day.

Torben, Seb and Jo went for breakfast with Shanti and her Mum right by their church. Where as Grant, Holly and Micah had breakfast near the apartments before going to Turning Point church.  Jo and Torben tag matched sermons while Seb was upstairs looking after the kids service. The worship there at Agape was next level free in the spirit. “Praise the Lord!”

Then they went for an authentic lunch and coffee with Shanti and her brother’s family; bonding, sharing testimonies and stories. It was wonderful.

While at Turing points church, Grant spoke at the morning service and gave a great message! Was powerful and set them a challenge.

They then had lunch with fellowship at the church (yummy chicken korma) it was good to connect with the people of the church during that time.

Micah and Holly then ran the youth service and spoke our messages to the church, we played games they did worship and we had so many people respond to our message which meant we could pray for people. The Holy spirit was moving was truly amazing to see.

We then met up with the rest of the team and had a good catch up of the day.

After that the team caught back up at a mall to chill and shop. Then enjoyed the final night all together at the apartments.

We have all experienced and grown so much over this trip. God has well and truly blessed us to be a blessing to others, but we have also been very blessed by others here. And God has broken our hearts for what breaks His. We have been very useful in practical ways as a multi gifted group.

All the praise and glory to our beloved, almighty God!