Meet some of our newest Bible Workers! Jesus for Asia has recently started to support Bible Workers in Malaysia. This Muslim-majority country has a population of 34 million, and although nearly 10% are Christian, most of those live on the island of Borneo, not on the mainland.
Fifty percent of Malaysians, however, are still considered unreached, including the ethnic-majority Malay people. Nearly all these unreached people are considered frontier people groups. According to Joshua Project, a leading researcher on the status of the unreached, frontier people groups are those with 0.1% or fewer Christians and no known movements toward Jesus.
The need for the Gospel in Malaysia is significant, and we are thrilled to participate in God’s work there. The Bible Workers Jesus for Asia is supporting are graduates of the AOY SALT program that our Cambodian future teachers attended. Many of them have already been serving as Bible Workers for some time.
There are three teams of Bible Workers, and to help you get acquainted with these Bible Workers, we would like to share what one of the teams is doing. This update was written by the Malaysian team leader.*
This Bible Worker team, led by Alex, has been focusing its efforts on a low-income community.
Their outreach to the poor and neglected in the low-cost housing community started off during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 with door-to-door free health screening to numerous families. God is so good. Almost every door they knocked on welcomed them into their homes with open arms.
Diabetes, cancer, leprosy, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, chronic infection, kidney disease, and other diseases affect 90% of the residents, owing primarily to a lack of health knowledge. Their physical diseases have influenced their mental, emotional, and spiritual health to the point where most of them accept their health conditions as normal.
This Bible Worker team takes Jesus as their example, where He went from individual to individual, healing before preaching. They apply natural remedies and health treatments that they learn from their training. They also provide groceries to the very needy who aren’t able to sustain their growing family’s needs.
Giving health treatments and free groceries is not all they do. The team makes it a point to pray for those that they minister to, regardless of their background. They pray for God’s healing to be upon them.
Because they pray with every family they visit, the health contacts can to see it is God who is able to heal any disease. This leads to some even having the openness to share their personal and family problems. This Bible Worker team has truly been welcomed into the lives of the area’s residents with open arms!
As a result, they have had people walking into church, joining the Care Group, and participating in other social activities. The Care Group grew so big that they were unable to fit in a house – they had to move them to Friday nights at the church!
The parents have also asked the Bible Workers to help their children who are struggling in school. The team gives free tuition (tutoring) and Bible study to 15 children almost every other day. They teach them:
English and Malay language
Math and Science
Arts and Crafts
Gardening
Studies on the life of Jesus
The parents have been extremely happy about the improvement in their children’s lives - both behavior-wise and academically!
Despite the Bible Worker team being so small, they work very hard! There are eight families, four adults, four youths, and 15 children in Bible study. Ten Youth and children join the Bible Workers at Care Group every week. Ten youth and children join in every time a social activity is organized. The Bible Workers and their contacts have become like family to each other.
Here are a couple of testimonies from these Bible Workers in Malaysia:
From Death Declarations to Newfound Hope!
Mr. L. was severely depressed when a severe diabetic foot injury, complicated by burning hot water and further infection, left him without some toes. He refused further medical treatment because he believed he would die in two months. The Bible Workers persistently visited him, prayed for him, and applied natural remedies. With just a simple potato poultice (accompanied by prayer), Mr. L.’s wound gradually healed over two weeks. Recognizing his past love for travel, the Bible Workers promised to bring him on new adventures once fully healed. Mr. L. had a change in heart from death declarations to newfound hope!
A Mother’s Answered Prayer
Mrs. E, a devoted mother and convert from Hinduism to Pentecostal Christianity, faced challenges as a single mother caring for her children, particularly her son, who was spiteful and rebellious. Hearing her plea for change during a Bible study, the Bible Workers encouraged Mrs. E. To pray for her son’s transformation while advising her to be patient. Through fervent prayer, her son started to become gentler and more open to Bible studies. Their relationship improved, and her son even organized a Mother’s Day celebration for her. His commitment to church and Bible studies has flourished, and he is on the verge of baptism.
We hope you have been encouraged as we have by these testimonies. Please remember to keep these Bible Workers in your prayers! If God is leading you to invest in their work so they can continue this vital ministry in Malaysia, please click the button below.
-Contributed by Jesus for Asia