As part of the recent Chinese New Year evangelistic trip to Lismore, I was asked to write a Reflection on the experience. Just thought I'd share it with you :)
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The mission trip to Lismore from the 21st to 22nd
of February was a refreshing experience for me. It was the first time I had
participated in this sort of “mission trip”, and I feel that this has become an
important experience in my life-journey.
This trip taught me more about the importance of prayer. From
the very beginning of this trip, prayer has been a foundational component. Even
when we registered for the trip we needed to note down two people who would be
praying directly for us. In preparing for the trip there were a few evident
incidences of spiritual attack, and we were prompted to respond in prayer to
such attacks.
This trip taught me more about the Body of Christ. It showed
me that our Father has shaped each of us for particular tasks in His Kingdom,
and that He is happy if we just did what we are called to do. There was a real
sense that each member of this team had specific roles to do, and that each of
us had been designed to fit well into these roles. Often we have the incorrect
assumption that ministry has to be difficult and torturous; but the fact is
that our God is a loving Father who has taught and shaped His children well,
and if we simply follow His direction and instruction we will find ourselves
doing what we have been designed to do, and enjoying it.
This trip taught me more about cross-cultural evangelism. We
live in a world of exciting new evangelistic opportunities because of the
breakdown of barriers through travel. Who would have thought you could
evangelise to Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean students in rural Lismore, Australia! And yet, despite the
breakdown of distance barriers, there is a very real and distinct cultural
barrier that needs to be crossed. And that was where our team’s strength was.
Being Chinese-Australian Christians, we could bridge the gap between East and
West, Christian and non-Christian much
more easily than the local Western student Christian group. Our role
wasn’t to hard-sell the Gospel (although of course the Gospel was shared); all
we needed to do was help establish the connections between the local student
Christian group and the East-Asian students. Friendships were born, and
hopefully through these relationships the seeds of the Gospel could be planted,
nurtured, and eventually bear fruit.
And finally, this trip taught me more about joy. There is
something almost magical about that state of knowing that you’re doing exactly
what the Father wants you to do. The scent of the Lord was near, and all I needed
to do was pursue Him with fullness of heart.
Taking a weekend off to specifically pursue the work of the
Kingdom outside of my usual routine area of ministry has been a most fruitful
and rewarding experience.
