A week before departing for our new destination we learned we would no longer be going to Burma but would instead be going to Pakse, Laos for a month looking for Unsung Heros. This meant we would be looking for “men and women who are dedicated to serving some of the most impoverished populations in the world, yet rarely receiving recognition for their dedication and service”. We would be the first team to spend a month in Pakse, Laos searching for Unsung Heros in hopes to partner with them in their efforts to further God’s kingdom and to see if they would make good hosts for future teams to do a month of ministry with them.
Last minute route change and no ministry hosts left me unsure of what June in Laos would consist of. I knew it would be different:
We didn’t have someone waiting to pick us up at the bus station.
We didn’t have someone coordinating our place to sleep or food to eat.
We didn’t have a translator waiting to assist us.
We were on our own; free to structure and plan the month how we seemed fit.
Before we set foot in Laos we met as a team and prayed for what God wanted this month to look like. We prayed he would guide us to the accommodations he wanted us to live in so that he could use us to ministry to the staff and other travelers. We prayed he would guide us to the restaurants and cafes he wanted us to eat at so his light that follows us everywhere could shine in those places. We prayed for divine appointments and to see those around us through his eyes. We prayed for him to be with us every step of the way.
As we did our preliminary research looking for potential ministry contacts I found a local Catholic church. My interest was instantly peaked as Laos is a closed country which means religious freedom is non-existent. We had been warned never to use the M-word (missionary) as foreign missionaries were being deported and local missionaries were being emprisioned. I wondered how this church could openly exist and then I found out this was one of four registered Catholic churches in Laos. The government allowed this church because it was registered and all of the church happenings: services, village outreach programs, visitors, ect., were regulated by the government. Four Catholic churches, four in all of Laos, four for 6.7 million Laotians, four!
Arriving late on Saturday night we realized that the hostel we booked for the night would not be one we set up camp from. Even though my desire to go to mass was strong I knew the logistical issue of finding a place to stay prior to check-out at noon was priority. Once we were settled into a nice hostel down the road a group of us went to find the Catholic church. It was almost 3:00 o’clock so I knew most likely all of the services would be over but internally I prayed for a night mass. I desired to worship the Lord in Laos. I knew there was a reason he sparked a desire in me to attend this church.
As we walked up the doors were unlocked and a young man opened them wide. It was as if God was saying, “Welcome to Pakse, let me show you the way.” He told me this was the first Sunday of the month so they had a 3:30 Vietnamese mass and we were welcome to attend. As we waited for the service to start he showed us around the grounds as this was not only a church but also a seminary! He treated us with such hospitality and een found us an English gather book to follow the mass and readings on the Lord’s Ascension.
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20
No reading could have been more timely. Each month we entered a new country with new contacts but this month we entered the vast unknown. Just as the disciples now faced teh World without Jesus’s tangible presence and would soon learn to count on the guidance of the Holy Spirit we also would learn to rely more on the images, whispers, and gut feelings through which God speaks to us.
As the month progressed God continued to speak to us and guide us to the ministries and the individuals he wanted us to invest in. This month is full of moments in which God’s presence shown brightly. Moments were it was obvious that God’s hand was at work and moments were his presence was more subtle. In each and every moment of our day God is there.
Regardless of how God speaks to you he calls each and every one of you to “go”. Many will stay stagnant because they believe they don’t know how to disciple others but discipleship at it’s core is built of trust. The first step to trusting someone is to know them. The first step to knowing someone is to be friends with someone. The first step to being friends with someone is to say hi.
When was the last time you have introduced yourself to a stranger?
I challenge you to meet a stranger, invite them to have a coffee with you and see how God can work.
