...for almost two weeks now. And finally now I have time to blog about my trip! So many people have been asking about it, and now I can refer them to my blog haha....I'm joking...I find that I share different things with different people according to their needs, and really, there's no way that I can type EVERYTHING here.
The Missionary Team
I felt that this was a very abundant and exciting missionary trip. Everyday was filled with God's abundance. I really didnt know that we could actually do soooo much in one day, and actually sleep by 11pm! And what we did were meaningful things, things that satisfy the Lord's heart, things that affect this movement, and this world.
For this trip I told the Lord that I want to witness His wondrous works, and what He can do in just a short time. God was already showing me that when we arrived at Nadi airport. (Nadi was where we landed in Fiji, our destination was Suva which was a 4hr coach ride away)
In short (because I really dont have the time to type the full story in detail)...The missionary team brought over 7 bags of toys for the children there, and customs did not let us through with them. We negotiated with them, but eventually at the last minute we chose to abandon the toys to catch our coach to Suva. That night, a sister mentioned that she was going to Nadi, we told her about the situation. Our leader met up with a brethren brother that we contacted and requested him to write a letter for us to get the toys back. We got the letter from a very "high level person" and sent it to that sister. She caught a boat last minute to the Nadi airport and gave them the letter, and eventually got the toys back!
God really showed us that He is with us, and He is in control of everything, and will cause all things to work together.
The first week we arrived, it was already very exciting. Many of us were expecting to help out at Yat Sen, maybe do a few assemblies, however we soon learned that God had other plans in store for us. Our leader got in contact with a few brethren brothers and after one discussion, the brothers agreed for us to hold a fun fair for about 350 children in a Nasuinu Sangam Primary School in Narere (an Indian settlement). We quickly got ready for the fun fair, and it was then that I experienced God’s family. I experienced the joy and warmth of working together towards the same direction. I also experienced truthfully what it means to work as a team. I’m glad that we are a team for God, and He is training us to cooperate with each other for His glorious work.
Sangam School Fun Fair
Fun Fair
One door opened after another for us in Narere. On the first Sunday we were there, we went to Zone 3 to play with the children. We played very simple games, but it brought the children much joy. Our game time was cut short by a sudden rain storm. It just started pouring all of a sudden, and we ran to the sheltered area with the children, while laughing with them. The rain really made it more memorable. We were soaked from head to toe, and so satisfied in our hearts.
Games with children
The next few weeks we had “hourly plans” our plan would change from hour to hour. We really saw that the Lord’s footsteps were very quick. Because we had time to be close to Him every day, we knew His plan for Fiji and we were able to follow it. In this week, we were able to start our work in Zone 1 of the Narere Settlement. By Sunday we had our first meeting at a brethren brother’s porch.
The next Week was started to become more stable. We planned to buy a house and possibly build an orphanage. We had field games and tutoring class with the children in Nasinu Sangam school. Our reputation was building, and people enjoyed coming to us. In that Sunday, we were able to have our own meeting at our own place which we have not bought yet. However, that day, the brothers started to renovate the house and destroyed a wall which opened up to be a big hall. We truly belive that God is going to use this place to glorify His name. God was opened a wide door at Narere!
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Tutoring Class
Field Games
The team and the children
The house
That Saturday (June 6, my baptism birthday), we invited 3 brethren families to come to our church for brief sharing and as a thank you dinner for their help in our work. We shared our testimonies, and also God’s work among us. That night, a brethren brother was so impressed that he invited us to present at his church the next day.
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We're one family =)
Going to the Brethren Church was one of the most memorable of this trip for me. The whole church including local brothers and sisters went. We arrived before their service commenced, and I personally saw that their sermon, the way that they presented it was way different than what I was used to. There seemed to be something that was different from what "normal christians" should be, although I really do admire these christians, and I truly believe that they have a heart for God. We had the chance to share about our mission in Fiji and I also got to share my testimony. We also shared what we were doing around the world and I can see that the brothers and sister’s hearts were quite touched. From this I really saw that this world is in great need, not only everyday people, but also Christians. They really need truths to set them free. They need the way to go back to God freely, and to experience Him daily. I truly feel blessed that I can be in a church that’s after God’s heart, and grew up with so many truths. I felt that I had so much, and these Christians that have probably gone to church since even before I was born had less understanding of important truths or experience of God than me. I really experienced that the Lord has really commissioned us and is using us to affect many!
And as a bonus to that day, we got to eat a Fijian meal at night! What an abundant day!
Us presenting in front of brethren brothers and sisters
The next few weeks, things began to be more stabilized. This was because, we were already entering into the second stage of the work in Narere. We were able to enter deeper into the people's needs and actually help them to experience God. I'm glad that I got the chance to stay for stage one and two.
God was also working in Suva too. We divided into Suva Team and Narere Team. Tutoring in Suva would occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There was also morning team with the students at Yat Sen every school morning.
I was in the Suva team and I’m glad that on this trip the Lord gave me chances to be a leader, such as leading lunch gatherings at Yat Sen, and leading fellowships.For sure He is training me to lead.
As time progressed, I also saw the progress of the brothers and sisters I was sheparding. They were slowly improving, and I really took comfort and joy in that. I truly felt the Lord’s joy for us to be close to Him and to do what He created us to do. I also realized how much patience it took to help others, and I appreciated more of the brothers and sisters that helped me in my youth. I of course appreciate the Lord’s patience with me more. He has been waiting for so long for me to have deep experiences with Him. He is so joyful because now I can experience Him daily, and I can share what I have experienced and gain to help others to be close to Him. I know the Lord is still patiently waiting because there are still a lot I have to improve on, and there are many blessings He is waiting for me to receive.
For this missionary trip there were four categories that we received training for:
1. Worship
Worship is our life. Our whole lives should be as a form of worship to Him. One of the things that I treasured most in this missionary trip was worshipping with the team every morning. It’s really precious that before we do anything for God we worship Him first. This is what He wants, more than anything that we do for Him. Because we worshiped day by day, we were able to build a strong foundation, and strengthen our good concepts and practices of worship. One of which for me which eventually came was to lay down all to worship Him. During worship, our minds may wonder a lot, and not be totally focused on God. In worship our focus or our object should be towards God. I have always had trouble voicing out, I really want to voice out, but I am nervous. This would distract me in worship and hinder me from entering deeper into the depths of God’s heart. However, when I practiced to lay down all to worship Him, even my thoughts about voicing out, I was able to enjoy more. Because I enjoyed so much, my heart was overflowing and I voiced out naturally. I give thanks that our worships in Fiji were very very strong. It was very enjoyable and the Holy Spirit led us deeper and deeper into specific truths. I’m glad that our spirits can be “more than satisfied” before we go reach out to others. It is through Him and the truths that we realize that we find strength and meaning to do our work with all our hearts.
2. Lifestyle
Our lifestyle was full of planning and discipline. Every night we would have a plan of what we were to do the next day and pray for it briefly. I found that all our days were very abundant, and boy did we do a lot! We were able to do a lot of out reaching, shepherding, and preaching. However, we also had sufficient time to draw near to God ourselves, and also have worship and group discussions every day! Plus, I was especially amazed by this….we were able to sleep my 11pm, and do exercise, plus all the chores! All goes to show how much planning can help you benefit. We also strived to eat healthy. Truly all these simple things can help. Only when you are healthy physically and full in your spirit can you have strength to give to others. I have been trying to keep this ever since I came back. However, it is really not as easy because it’s a totally different environment. However, I do feel like I know how to plan my days more, and therefore my life is more “complete” and abundant.
3. Ministry
I think in this trip, God expanded my capacity through expanding my ministry. I was able to help a student at Yat Sen personally. This also took some planning, and observing. Gradually I was able to become more skillful and I saw the result of my efforts. It was very comforting and encouraging to see someone change (even just a little bit) after you put a little effort and prayers on them. I also got to help with leading cell groups and leading fellowship. I really enjoyed that even though sometimes it ended up to be quite chaotic. But everytime, I knew that the Lord was with me, and it was blessing others. I was glad that I got chances to lead and also plan and “take control”, I am learning skills at becoming a leader and to be an effective leader. Because only effective leaders can cause blessings to multiply to influence the world. Also, I had some targets at Narere to help and I prayed for them everyday. This helped me to be diligent and to follow up with the people I was helping, and in the process to gain wisdom on how to help them.
However, ministry does not only include gospel or out reaching. It also includes the needs of the brothers and sisters around you. I tried to get to know some sisters more and to know their needs and support them. I realized that this was not as easy as it sounds. It also takes PLANNING lol, and time. I also felt a little….awkward because I was the youngest in the team, and I had this wrong concept that these older team members probably had more experience and wisdom than me and I wouldn’t be able to help them. However, when I “cut” that thought and actually took initiative to attempt it, I found that I was actually able to support others by just talking to them, or even giving them simple advice or to share my experiences.
4. God’s Family
After this missionary trip I feel more important in God’s family. I feel more a sense of belonging. Not that I didn’t have a sense of belonging before…I did, I mean, in my whole life I grew up in this family. A lot of brothers and sisters have watched me grow up, and I felt comfortable in this warm family. However, I never really felt heart to heart with brothers and sisters. I never felt that close to others, like close to a point when you can talk about almost anything. However when you are on a missionary trip you are basically with brothers and sisters 24/7. Theres no escaping haha jk. You do EVERYTHING with them, and really live out a family. However, that is not what bind us together. What bind us together was our personal relationship with God and worship. Our worship had the same direction, we all “look” at the same thing with our spiritual eyes. Just one focus that we all focus on. And therefore when we worship together, I felt that our hearts were one, I felt the unity. And because each of us were so close to God in worship, we are closer to each other. I felt more comfortable to open up to brothers and sisters. And I had a goal in this missionary trip to have personal talk to one brother or sister each day. I really benefited from that and I was able to share with these brothers and sisters deep things from my heart, and through that be closer to one another. And even when some brothers and sisters later came from different places like Australia and Hong Kong, it didn’t take long to be close to them. I really give thanks for this family, and the bond we have with each other is real.
In conclusion, I really feel blessed to go on this missionary trip. I feel blessed to go for the Lord in my young age. I am really living a meaningful life. I remember having one conversation with some sisters about people our age. What kind of lifestyle they are leading and what kind of lifestyle we were leading before. I know that people around my age probably would be partying a lot, going out to have a lot of what they call “fun”, and just waste time. I give thanks that the Lord saved me and caused me to see how meaningful my life can be. The value of my life cannot be wasted on worldly things. I truly give thanks with all my heart that I could use my life for God, and for really knowing how to spend my life before I’m…20 ah! I treasure that I could give my youth for the Lord.
You may also wish to visit http://www.lightandlovehome.org =P
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