At the end of each semester course graduates have an opportunity to go on a month-long mission trip abroad. I was assigned to go to a country in Asia this summer (which name we cannot mention), in partnership with LIGHT. Our goal: to train lay people in health evangelism.
This country was not my first choice, but I prayed and had peace that it was where God wanted me to be. However, that peace did not last long. The weeks leading up to my team’s departure were full of uncertainty. A month before we left, fellow Health Evangelism graduates were dropping out of our trip left and right. We also had no idea where we would be staying, and the plane tickets we were trying to book kept getting canceled for some reason.
Eventually the matters were settled and by God’s grace we had everything more or less figured out. He made it clear that regardless of the circumstances, He wanted us in Asia at that time. So when we were told a week before departure that very few of the students there spoke English, and that we would not have a translator, I knew that this would be an opportunity for His power to be made perfect in our weakness.
When we arrived, we found out that one of our students was able and willing to translate. Also, the news we received that only a few students could understand English was incorrect. In fact, half of the group understood our Western language, and the rest was able to pick it up exceptionally fast. God truly blessed.
The language and cultural barriers were still very much present though. It would have been quite easy for us to retreat during our down time, especially with us having a teacher status, but we chose to apply Christ’s method instead. We mingled with the students in between classes and during meal time. We also exercised together after classes, and provided treatments for those who were sick.
Overall, the students took great interest in the health evangelism training. They were so excited to learn about natural remedies, which resulted in many of them taking steps toward lifestyle change. God used our team to do His work in the most trying circumstances. I am super excited to see how He will use all of the students in Asia who are now equipped to spread the gospel through the health message in their own beautiful country.