Small wood 2022-03
When I received this topic as the mainframe of my sharing, I instantly felt a resonance but also an extreme feeling. On one hand, this topic is very positive especially in this ages of time. It is because ‘the increase of the wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…..’Matt. 24:12. This is also a big challenge to our today-society and even the Church. Therefore, if my sharing may encourage brothers and sisters, that is a good thing. As Hebrew 10:25 states “…..but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching”. Nevertheless, on the other hand, I deeply understand the weaknesses of human nature, the older we get, the more we are conscious of the ups & downs of our life, the struggles of our spiritual life, and imperfection of our Church / Mission agents, upheavals of the world and the like. It is absolutely impossible to fulfill the ‘Mission’ through our individual ability or capacity.
Hence this tension keeps me alert of what I have shared shall be ‘genuine and truthiness’ with no puffing or exaggerating but ‘a witness’. May God grant me His wisdom. So as to let brothers and sisters understand more clearly of the context, I would like to share some of my background for your reference.
I was converted in the high school time period which is more than four decades from now. After I had worked for more than 13 years, I changed my career path to serve my denomination headquarter in administration field which was a totally new scope of work but a great opportunity to learn new things even though I had to give up a ‘high pay and good benefits’ job. Honestly speaking, working/serving in Christian environment is not simple like a fairy tale because there are many complications on human relationship. However, God’s will and guidance was much higher than that of my plan. After few years, I had decided to further my study overseas (not young anyway) and it is one of the most wonderful time of my life. I attended a local church which is a multi-ethic congregation (5 major cultures) and the pastor in-charge was a missionary, so the church was very open and the members were friendly and kind. I participated in the choir where the youngest one was around 6 years old and the eldest was over 60, however God used this choir to bless the church and also outreach for evangelism. Moreover, I joined a home-group bible study to learn from each other not only on bible but also an amazing fellowship between brothers and sisters as a community. On the whole, God let me experience cross-cultural interaction and understand the diversity of different world-view. God is the Lord of transcendence over cultures and unity is also the crucial thing that Christ Jesus prayed for the disciples before He left for the cross. All these became the great help in my mission journey. Praise to the Lord! I served at the former position after the study for about 3 years in Hong Kong. On one occasion, God made use of a sister’s joke to challenge me to serve in Cambodia. I put this thought in prayers and saw how God’s leading. My denomination is also a mission-driven Church and they also established the Mission field in Cambodia accordingly. God’s plan was wonderful, I passed all the procedures and processes to become a missionary within 18 months, so I started my mission journey in December 2003 (the epoch of SARS). I need to confess that my vision was not like many other missionaries who have a special calling on some particular region or country, but my commission was due to God’s preparation and provision for the past 8 years before I started the mission (from working in denominational headquarter, overseas study, then to mission field). I cannot explain why I made it if it is not God’s work. Moreover, my family and church members were also supportive that I turned a new chapter at the age of 40 something already. My heart was filled with surprise and thanksgiving. Dear Lord, who am I ? God led me to a land of unknown. It is also so true that ‘ it is never be too late to tread on the first step’.
Probably I would like to talk more about my mission journey later and now to share with you Psalm 131 which is one of my favourite scriptures “My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.”