Outreach has ended... The real mission starts now!

Chom Reap Sue (Greetings),

Wow, I can't believe its over. It felt like just yesterday I was asking God whether I should do this mission trip or not. And now the time has come and I thank God for all the wonderful memories He's given to me. The other day during my devotional time I was going over this verse "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but loose his soul". This question has become more of a reality as the time of my departure approaches. You know, I have experienced many things during these 6 months, and I have come to see and know how BIG my God is. How there is nothing I want more than to serve Him for the rest of my life, and that the best decision I could have ever made was to commit my life into His hands. I have two weeks left before heading home, and the closer the time comes... the more I have a deep yearning to come closer to the Lord. I cannot live Christianity the same. I cannot live my relationship with Yesu (Chinese word for Jesus) the same and I wouldn't want it any other way.

When you come to the Lord it means you are committed for life or till death, whichever comes first. Even though Taiwan and Cambodia are considered 'free countries', there are still places that have never heard the gospel and places where persecution is very real. I was in villages where Christians could be counted with your fingers. Churches where the young people have to sneak to attend services. Where if you are known to become a follower of Yesu.. you are banned from the community and made to sleep in a tent in the rice fields. Yet, no matter the circumstances and difficulties they passed through, they would speak of the Lord with such deep passion and love.

In Cambodia... We saw pastors with nothing but the clothes on their back. I struggled trying to reason why God would allow them to go through such hardship when the bible talks about the Lord providing for our every need. Many times I would go to sleep crying because to me serving the Lord meant that we never had to worry about our necessities; but the problem wasn't about Yusu's faithfulness, for He is always faithful. The problem was in my expectation of Him. I had placed God in a mold, thinking He should do this or that as if he was some kind of genie, and I was wrong. He never promised we would not suffer. And though His ways are not always easier, it is always better. The response I got from the pastors and missionaries was that it was a blessing, a privilege to go through it all for Yesu.

We spent every week in different orphanages. In Cambodia when a mom dies in giving birth.. the child is considered a curse, the result is the death of innocent children. All of the kids in the orphanages we went to either both parents died or they were rescued from being killed. Something I loved about these places was how they taught the children. They are told that even though their father is gone, that they have an even greater father in heaven. You would hear them many times describing God as Daddy. Even though many of the kids are mocked in school because they are orphans they love God with all they have.

Every morning we would wake up to not only the sounds of pigs, roosters, dogs, but also of Buddhist temple chants. They say the louder and longer they chant the more the gods will hear them and help their sick loved ones. At one village we were asked not to pray with our eyes closed, because there were incidents of rocks flying for the unsuspecting person.We would go with the local pastor to the near villages, gather the people, (often whole villages of 100 or more) and bring the good news as well as basic first aid for those in need. Most of those who responded to Yesu's call were children. It is harder for the older to come to know the Lord because to them Christianity is a "Foreigners religion".

There were many times I had to explain that the God in the western world is also the same God in Asia and everywhere in the world. I have to admit this was the first time in my life that I was challenged with the reality of Yesu's testimony. To believe that a God became a man, how it is only through Yesu that we have life, How Satan deceived man... terms that in the western world there is usually no need for explanation, here they heard it for the first time. Here they weighed every word. Many would start chanting to their gods for protection from our words. I felt like Paul when he went preaching to the cities proclaiming that there is only one true God. At times we even used the "Unknown God" as a basis of explaining that there is but one God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.... hahahha... let me tell you... I have come to believe wholeheartedly in Yesu's testimony. You know how it said in Romans 1:16 that "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for all those who believe..". Well I felt that power that Paul talked about when we proclaimed the gospel.

Yet, in spite of the victories we had. The group struggled with many things, two of them was our health and with unity. Ever since the school started I knew it was going to be a time of molding. But it reached its climax in outreach. The true nature of a stone emerges when it is put in the fire. There were times I just wanted to run away and hide from everyone. I was able to see what I was truly made of and what was hidden in my heart. Things like pride, envy, and selfishness became as bright as day. I felt like a glass jar being smashed by ten truck wheels. Loving my neighbor seemed impossible to reach. Yet, it was during those times that I saw God as visible as the sun. I learned what it meant to yearn for Yesu's love/forgiveness. The Lord was faithful as always. Not one of us had to go to the hospital, each morning we had enough strength to do all we had to do with joy and gratitude. And in the end we received true love for each other.

Yesu has done a great work in me and I know its only the beginning. I know that the closer I come to the Lord, the more I will come to know myself and the great plans He has for me.

Thank You to all for your prayer support, it was the backbone that kept us under the protection and guidance of Yesu. You were not only part of hundreds coming to Christ, but for the wonderful work God did in me. May the Lord bless you abundantly.

Love Always,
Sharies