Thailand Missions (2018) "Called Over Fear"
To everyone who came out to our fundraiser and heard our voices, kup koon krub (thank you)! In 10 days our team will be heading out to Chiang Mai, Thailand. We’re excited and thrilled to be given this opportunity to serve God.
Who are you and why did you choose to go on missions?
Many of you might not know me. My name is Kevin Lin. Four years ago I was blessed with the experience of Christ, and today I want to share that experience with the world.
Back on December 26, 2017, our church offered the opportunity to go to Chinese Mission Convention, CMC. During CMC, I learned two important things:
- It is our duty as Christians to go on missions. (Acts 22:15)
- The majority of the Bible is consistently about sharing the message of God's salvation. If we were to take out missions then it wouldn’t be the Bible anymore.
Religious groups, especially those who claim to be affiliated with Christ, have a bad reputation in my school, Pasadena City College, for attacking other people’s beliefs. Occasionally I would open up my school’s Facebook book sale page and see photos of people from a nearby cult trying to proselytize students on campus, and comments making fun of them for “snatching up another victim”. I did not want to be viewed the same way if I were to be publicized on social media for evangelizing to others.
At the time, I knew that God was calling me but I tried to ignore the call to evangelize. But He kept bringing it up: It just so happened that this year many of my friends were going on short-term mission trips; people from OMF came to church and talked about their journeys on the field.
Eventually I realized that God wanted to soften my heart toward evangelism and missions. God was telling me that being in my comfort zone isn’t what He wanted. He wanted me to glorify Him through everyone.
When FCBC offered short-term mission trips, I didn’t commit to a trip until I asked God for guidance because I wasn’t sure if I could overcome my fear. By the renewing of my mind, I knew that I no longer needed to be anxious about being scrutinized by non-believers (Romans 12:1-2).
Prayer requests
Safety
Please pray for the safety of our team both physically and spiritually. Thailand is known for its extreme humidity and abundance of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes could potentially carry various types of disease. Pray that the Lord would strengthen our bodies to withstand these environmental struggles. Please also pray for the safety of our spiritual strength from any potential spiritual attacks.
Growth
As Christians, I believe that "going" is something that we should all consider at some point in our lives. And as we seek to listen and respond, God will reveal how we should step up to the plate.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
-Matthew 28:19
I personally have never done any type of mission work whatsoever, and to be honest, I’m a bit nervous. How do you ultimately be ready for missions itself? I feel that preparing for missions is complicated. Without experience it’s pretty hard to prepare mentally, physically, and spiritually.
I have a fear that because I have not been a Christian “long enough” I won’t have a full understanding of the Bible to explain it. Despite my fears, the encouragement of church members around me reassures me that I am part of the team as much as we are each a part of the body of Christ -
"So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith...There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
-Galatians 3:26-28
Please pray for all the first-timers and the veterans of this trip to take this experience and help each one of us grow as disciples of Christ.
Thank you for supporting our team.
-Kevin Lin
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