Hello! Is my blog dead yet? Haha :p
I recently went on a mission trip, and I’ve learnt so much from it that it’s difficult for me to succinctly tell them to you.
If you are interested to read, below is my testimony of this recent mission trip :)
I’ve made it like an interview for easy reading, and divided them into several segments. :)
1. Where did you go for your mission trip and how long was it?
We went to Myanmar and it was for 8 days and 7 nights (22.7.2011 – 29.7.2011)!
2. How were you feeling prior to the mission trip?
I was nervous, I felt incredibly unprepared, and I was worried if I could carry out what I had planned. As you could see, there was a lot of “I”s in the previous statement. This goes to show that for a long time, I’ve been so very busy in many other things that I was on the verge of burning out, on being jaded and disillusioned.
3. What were your expectations of the mission trip?
Initially, I am ashamed to confess that the mission trip was more like a retreat for me than for me to serve the people. To retreat from the world I came from, and to just take a break from the busyness back home. The mission trip was a struggle for me initially as I battled with Him, and how through it all, slowly the flesh in me grew weaker as I was forced to rely only on Him (being stripped from all my dependency towards my loved ones as well from all the distractions). I held on also to the fact that I will be entering into the unknown with God, that He is the only one who will journey with me through it all. The term mission is associated with “having a goal in mind”, and that the goal was to “bring people one step to the Kingdom of God” (according to Geisler, 2011; cited by Teo, 2011). Towards the end of the mission trip, I was also one of the many who came one step closer to the Kingdom of God.
4. What were some things that you did there?
I was mainly in charge of the children’s ministry, and my co-partner was Isaac. Our roles were to teach the children, and to encourage their faith. We taught them a dance called the “Chicken Dance”, a game called “Samson, Delilah and Lion”, as well as played games and activities centered around bible stories (i.e. David the Shepherd Boy, David and Goliath, etc.). I also shared my testimony about the transforming power of Jesus in my life, performed in a skit and a dance, as well as shared during cell group. During the Evangelistic events, I also had the privilege of praying for people and proclaiming the promises of God over their lives.
5. How were the people of Myanmar and their culture like?
They are warm, caring, hospitable and extremely humble people. Most of them smiled at us and welcomed us into their homes, and it is their culture to always serve something to the guest. They were also very obliging, and were more than happy to hear from us. The people we visited in the church and also in the outskirts were also very helpful. The children were quick to attend to us by carrying our bags, and they were all very independent. The adults were also very hungry for the Word of God, and they were shocked that we had finished our sharing after an hour, while we were shocked that we were supposed to share for two hours! Overall, they are people who have great potential for growth simply because they are willing, and that God will definitely use them mightily to extend His Kingdom.
People were much poorer, and many of them lack even the bare necessities in life (having different change of clothes, enough food for the day, etc.). People in Myanmar walk a lot, and I am glad not all of them chose to drive. If not, it’d be havoc in the street! The way people drove there were so scary, that my team members and I dared not look. The roads there were also very rough and bumpy, thus making the van ride a rather memorable one. To me, it was like a mini roller coaster.
6. Tell us one incident that spoke very much to you.
On the very first night, the seven of us had to be split up into two groups to visit two different cell groups. My group traveled in a van for about 45 minutes to one hour to visit an uncle who was crippled and therefore in need of encouragement. The pastor told us to speak life to him, as previously he was an evangelist and church planter, but now he is unable to move very much. It was a very painful sight for me as I know how devastating it must be to be unable to do anything. The uncle and his wife stayed in a flat with very little space, and there were about 10 – 12 of us there including the four of us from the mission team.
We started with praise and worship, and truly the presence of God was there. The people were so hungry for God, and it was evident to me that they were singing their hearts our, that they were truly worshipping the Lord. Then we had a short round of icebreaker led by Brian, and then Yien Rong shared her testimony. Later on, it was my turn to share the Word, and I was moved by how much the people desired the Lord. They were attentive, and they were engaging their hearts and minds to connect with what we were bringing to them, and I was extremely humbled by that. I was also in awe of their hunger and passion for the Lord, and I returned home to the hotel that night questioning about the depth of my own desire for God.
We also managed to pray for the uncle, and he even managed to move his hand a little, and also had tears in his eyes. This incident spoke a lot to me because it revealed so much about the way both our hearts responded to God. His heart was soft towards God, and God used that to draw me back to Him again, to desire Him with that same sincerity and fervency once again.
7. Tell us one thing you learnt about God through this mission trip.
That God is greater than all I ever imagined, that He is faithful, that in His time all things will be made beautiful. He knows what He’s doing, and He wants the best for all of us. That He is so powerful, and at the same time so very personal. He spoke to all of us collectively, and also in person, gently reminding us to fight for Him the same way He is fighting for all of us.
8. Last question! What is one thing you’d like to say to the people reading this?
Hmm. That a mission trip is good for one’s soul. :) It is a good reminder of how ugly we all are (the sinners we are), yet in our ugliness we realize all the more we need God so much, and how this need is a need that He placed in you so that He can fill you, beautify you, and restore you to where you were supposed to be-with Him.
:)
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