Reflections of YM Mission Trip (11-21 June)

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Some of the things we did on the trip were Campus E, visit to two orphanages (one for the special needs) and a gathering for some of the people we met.

The first objective for me was to be bolder in sharing the Gospel, especially to strangers. After a bit of nervousness at the start of our campus ministry, it became more natural for me as we mostly engaged the students in conversations about life with the intention to build the bridge for sharing about Jesus, the only One who can give them all that they desire for their lives. The students were generally open to talking despite it being the week before the exam. However, in general, the conversations did not go very deep although quite a number did pray to receive Christ or rededicate their lives. It almost became a routine and I wasn’t expecting much on the third and last day. Yet, the night before, one of the youths shared about her desire to meet someone who is hungry for more of God and I kept her words in my heart, praying for her that night and also on the day itself after knowing that we were paired together. After the usual routine of sharing with two persons, we took a break and were contemplating if we should continue. With only about 20 min before lunch, we felt the prompting to speak to a lady who was alone initially. She said she only had 10 min. We ended up talking for close to an hour as two of her friends joined in later too. One of these two, a guy, was asking a lot of questions such as why did God create man with the ability to sin… and as we tried to respond to him, we realised that though he is a Catholic, he has been reading the Bible on his own in search of answers to his questions. Towards the end, I sensed also that his questions stem from a heart that cannot reconcile a God of love with what he sees in a suffering world. Yet, we could see that he was beginning to see Jesus in a different way as we talked about the Cross and also how Jesus cried when Lazarus died. We invited him for our gathering which he came and agreed to be followed up by the local staff. I pray that he will find Jesus when he seeks Him with all his heart. What was more amazing for me, however, was how God answered my prayer for the youth. As we were walking to join the rest for lunch, she said, “I’m not hungry. My heart is full.” I pray for her, and the rest of the youths too, that they will continue (or begin) to experience the joy of knowing Jesus and making Him known.

My second objective was to build deeper bonds with the youths. Apart from the incident mentioned, I am also thankful for other opportunities for conversations and getting to know them. Ever since I joined YM in 2017, there is this excitement and sensing that God will bring His revival amongst us. One other conversation that is etched in my heart was the one four of us had on the ride to the hotel from the airport. After talking about our experiences in other churches (and how awesome they were), we started to talk about Fairfield. The conversation ended with one of them saying, “Instead of changing church, we should change the church.” At the end of the trip, while we were doing our team reflection, one of the questions was about which area of ministry they sense God prompting them to serve in. That opened the floodgate as we shared again our desires for the ministry and how we want to do something to build this ministry. My prayer is that we will remember every word we have said and put them into action. Do pray with us that even as the desire for more is evident in us, we will also be willing to bear the cost of following Jesus (whatever that means for each of us) even as we return to the many activities and commitments in Singapore.

My last objective was for myself to feel God’s heartbeat for the lost more deeply. I feel that God was showing me more than what I am comprehending now and I am still trying to process all that He is trying to say but I guess I could share two moments that were special. 1. While the rest were enjoying themselves in the worship at church, I was just struggling throughout the time I was there with this thought – “I cannot understand what they are saying/singing.” I think God is impressing upon me again the importance of heart language – being able to worship Him in a language that speaks to our heart. 2. Another special moment for the whole team was when we broke out into spontaneous worship with the youths/YAs in the first orphanage that we went. This happened after the official programme ended. Against this backdrop of joy and fellowship, I noticed Aunty WL, our translator and the lady in charge of the orphanage crying and praying. Although I did not know what was happening then, that scene touched me deeply. We found out later on that they have to move out soon but they do not yet have a place to stay in. Because of this, they have been waking up at 12am every day to pray together. When we were doing our reflection at night, it struck me that while they may not seem to have much (physically), they have so much more than we do (spiritually). 

Team Asteri