Faith on Fire

The mission trip to Singapore-Malaysia through the summer of 2005 was an eye-opening experience. We were all exposed to so many things, not only about missions, but other things about life as well, that I can truly say it has changed our very own lives. The eight of us went through our ups and downs, bumps and hurdles, embarrassments and anger, love and humility, that in the end it came down to one thing: learning to be better Christians.

We were given so many opportunities to do God’s work throughout our stay in South-East Asia. Everywhere we turned, it seemed that there was something to be done. We started off working with little children. Innocent, curious, and mischievous little kids who required all our attention and taught us plenty about patience and kindness. The preparations leading up to the start of Vacation Bible School proved a tiring moment in time, but we were all swept away by the end result at the same time. We had covered the church in its entirety, from floor to ceiling, with grass and leaves and trees, even clouds and suns. The building was transformed into the African Serengeti, and the kids were delighted to be around the decorations. Needless to say, we were all surprised at how well it all turned out; the Singaporeans knew their crafts! While working with the children, we not only had to set a godly example that they could look up to, but also to give them comfort when they were sick, or tired, or simply uninterested. It took the most of our concentrations, and at the end of the day, sleep was all we had thoughts for. Yet as tough as it sounds, it was a very worth-while event as it gave us the much needed training for putting patience into practice.

In Malaysia, we met people who had simple questions about religion, Christianity in particular, and who expressed great interest in knowing more about God. At the youth camp we heard lessons about having ‘faith on fire’. We talked about biblical characters who portrayed such strong faith, and discussed about its applications in our lives. We knew that to be dedicated to serving God, we had to have strong faith. Merely a week into our campaign, it was apparent that there was a sea of people, lost in their manners of life and blind to ambition, who were waiting to hear about Jesus Christ. In our simple work with the campus ministry, by God’s grace we were able to reach out to so many college students and plant seeds. We were overjoyed to hear that the English classes were a success, and that the Petaling Jaya church has recently been granted a Christian Zone to group and bring the students together to learn more about Christianity. It seemed that there were Christians with faith on fire!

With our work in Penang we were able to reach out to the neighborhood in which the church was located, and send Father’s Day gifts to show the love of God. We learned of many subtle yet effective ways of gradually exposing these residents to Christianity. The many hours we spent walking from door to door under the hot sun was a hard lesson learnt. In such humbling manner we were able to learn what mission work truly is like, and how much sacrifice is needed to do it well. I was very touched by the people most involved with the campus ministry –two locals named Admen Ng and Mak Sue Ann, with their drive and dedication and strong will to do the work that God has laid out for them. They’ve embraced it with no complaints, and with fervent prayers have harvested such success that I am truly humbled by the experience. It made a lot of us realize how often we ignore the many opportunities to do God’s work, but also how much we are capable of doing once we’ve made a commitment to do it. Not only did we learn about means of spreading the love of Christ, but also ways of approaching strangers and talk to them about God. It was a very challenging experience, though with encouragements from each other we managed to get through the initial nerve-wrecking moments and interacted with these strangers. After the awkward silence and one-word greeting, we overcame our fear and through conversing with them, uncovered their curiosities for our presence on their campus. Of course, our initial goal was to hand out invitations to free English classes, but some of us also managed to go beyond that and at the same time we made friends with these students.

However, very few groups of young adults are spared from troubles in the midst of them. Ours was no exception. As we found ourselves more immersed in missions work, there came a point when a problem within the group arose, and was slowly affecting the dynamics of our group, as well as our relationships with one another. It was a problem that could not be ignored, and it was sensed that too many people were in on the hurt. With only eight people in our group, that was a big problem to be dealing with. And so with further discussion, we resolved to meet and work out the problem. Our intention was not to weed out the cause for dispute, but to work at it from a different angle and pray for common forgiveness among those involved. We prayed together for strength and guidance, and proceeded to go from one to another, telling each person only of their good qualities, and what each has learned from the trip. It was a hard exercise, but we were to shy away from any negative feedbacks whatsoever. Everyone took turns, and in the end, the guilty party made peace with the injured party out of their own will. It was such a blessing from God that we managed to get through the night without any serious word-stabbing or negative comments to cause more hurt than there already was. It was comforting to know that our prayers were heard, amidst all the angst that was present among us. We also rejoiced that we were able to handle the conflict in a Christian-like manner, instead of resolving to plain screaming and yelling at each other. From that point, we realized how much we had learned from this campaign. We ended the meeting with hugs around and tears of relief. We had experienced the love of Christ among us.

As it came time for us to say our goodbyes, the dynamics of our group had changed, and we were closer to each other than we had ever been since the start of the summer. We could not help but express sincerity towards each other for the edification and encouragement within the group. I, myself, was impressed by the amount of work we had accomplished in only six weeks. Despite certain irregularities, it was by all means an uplifting experience nevertheless. I cannot stop short of informing others of what we went through this summer, because all in all it was one of the best summers of my life. In all fairness, it was an account easily told of without a breathless moment for so much had happened in so little time. Ultimately, I was glad that it made a meaningful impact in our lives. We simply learned to be better Christians.