and so the journey begins...
June 30, 2003
it's 11 pm, monday night. i'm supposed to be at the airport at 5 am tomorrow morning, which means i'll be getting up in a few hours to depart to mexico for 10 days. so what am i feeling? a lot of things. excitement, joy, anticpiation, fear, confusion, to list a few. what am i expecting? i have no idea. i know that when all is said and done, i'll be able to testify to everyone the amazing things that God has done through us. i know that i'll have experienced God in new way, and that the truths in my mind, will have made their way to my heart (some say it's the greatest distance). i also know that we'll be encountering hardships, perhaps even sufferings during our time there.
all for what? for the sake of my God. for the sake of my loving Saviour. i believe with all my heart that whatever happens in mexico will test to my core, who i am and what i believe. why? because you don't suffer for fun. you don't put yourself in situations like this just for kicks. it's in the midst of challenge and hardship when what you believe really shines through. if you believe yourself to be a patient person, see if you're still a patient person when a million people are yelling at you. think about it! it tests the CORE of who you are whenever your faced with a 'not-so-ideal' situation.
but to be completely honest, i don't know what i'm doing. i don't feel 'spirtually' ready to be going to a different nation to spread the Gospel. i mean, me of all people, spreading the Gospel to people from a different people group that speak an entirely different language than me? i have like THE lowest score on evangelism you could ever get on a spiritual gifts test. but hey, maybe that's the beauty of it all. i can't boast in my own strength for anything that happens, because i already know i suck at it. me doing this stuff would fail miserably. but powered with the Holy Spirit, the possibilities are endless.
"i can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (philippians 4:13)
so with that thought, i'll say goodbye for 10 days. i'll see you when i get back!
by the way, some personal prayer items:
- my back - we're going to be sleeping in hammocks when we go to the village (5/6 days), and they are terribly bad for your back - if you didn't know, i have a really bad back and i am worried that it'll be in a lot of pain when i wake up
- my physical health - i'm not really in shape as you all know - and like hot weather impales me, like i get really tired and have shortness of breath - so just that God would sustain me despite the hot weather
- my hang-ups over bugs - spiders scare the crap out of me! and there's like flying cocroches there and i'm sure a whole list of other crazy bugs - i don't want this hang-up to interefere with anything!
- to set an example to all those around me, especially team members - i'm the oldest 'youth' going - eveyone else is like in high school or entering first year university, so there's an age gap - so just that i'd reflect Christ to everyone in EVERYTHING that i do (colossians 3:23)
Posted by Leo Chan at June 30, 2003 11:28 PM
