Sophomore Kellyn Hale had a unique transition to college life, coming to America from Malaysia after spending her childhood overseas on mission with her family.
Hale was born in South Korea and lived there for seven years before her family moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where they founded a K-12 international school.
The international school does not advertise itself as Christian, due to restrictions on evangelism in the country. However, the Hale family still finds ways to reach others with the love of Christ.
“As missionaries, we want to create an environment where the Lord can be present,” Hale said. “In the international education approach, we are able to instill those values through conversations that open up.”
In Malaysia, it is illegal to evangelize to Malay Muslims. Because Malaysia has a long history of immigration, the government categorizes people groups as either “bumiputera” or “non-bumiputera.” This term translates to “son of the land.”
“All Malaysians have an ID card. It also has a section that has religion on it, and all Malay-born Malaysians have ‘Islam’ on their ID card,” Hale said.
It is illegal for Malays to change this identification. Hale shared that if they try to, there are religious police that will attempt to put them into a religious reeducation center. Because of this, the indigenous Malay people have tobe very careful if they convert to Christianity.
Hale witnessed the fruit of her family’s work in Malaysia firsthand when a classmate of hers came to Christ.
“He was an avid atheist and decided to accept Christ into his life, which was a miracle,” Hale said.
Hale also shared that a Christian parent group started because of the school community. It grew naturally from the work that the Hale family was doing.
“We’ve seen mothers be converted to Christianity from all different countries,” Hale said. “It’s amazing the amount of facets that the Lord can use to be able to spread his word through us.”
Hale believes that growing up in a missionary family strengthened her faith. She learned how to see the Lord’s hand in everything.
“Even if it’s not that ‘wow’ moment, it’s these little conversations, little moments that happen that really show the Lord’s steadiness and faithfulness in people’s lives,” Hale said. “That has really given me perspective on the variety the Lord has in using us to bring people back to him.”
Hale is majoring in social sciences and hopes to teach high school history.
She would love to go back overseas and teach, but she is unsure if traditional missions is the path for her.
Hale believes we are all on mission in different ways.
“You can do it right here; you can do it in Lynchburg; you can do it in your household; you can do it in your family: everybody needs Jesus,” Hale said.
Hale says we can join in prayer for Malaysia by praying that religious freedoms will be expanded, that the hearts of the Malaysians will be softened to the gospel and that God will move in the hearts of Malaysians despite evangelism restrictions.
Farwell is a feature reporter for The Liberty Champion.