I would say that the majority of my time feels very American.
I wake up to the daily news via NPR. I go to work. I think about things I need to purchase for this reason or that. My time not at work is spent in college ministry-related meetings or with friends and family. There’s always an unending list of to-do’s that gets chipped away week to week. It’s fairly rinse and repeat.
I really like being American and living in America. There’s still a stray thought of gratitude whenever I turn on the shower and the water is instantly hot, or when I can wear jeans with freedom, knowing that my washing machine will clean it and not my hands.
I have spent my time in the States still with missions in my heart, sometimes it’s just at the surface, other times it’s been buried and patiently waiting for God’s excavation. Lately, it’s been the former as I emerge from the latter.
I’m going on the mission field again, after being Stateside for 2.5 years. This time, it is a two-week trip to Kolkata with my church Ark Ministries of Berkeley.
We have recently launched our missions department in the past few years and this trip is another one in a series of start-ups as our church turns their heart outwards to the nations. Last year, the Ark went with YWAM during their MegaCities outreach to Kolkata and met the Shepherd of Souls ministry. This year, we will be returning sans MegaCities to meet up again with Shepherd of Souls and share with each other what God has been doing in our respective countries.
Kolkata Missions Team 2016
I’m pretty excited for this trip. I’ve gone through a roller coaster of emotions since coming home from the Race, and just this past year I’ve begun to learn what it’s like to walk a little steadier with God, to feel like my feet are getting planted by Him, one in front of the other.
I’ve been shifting from crisis-based faith to learning to live in the Promised Land and still hunger after God. I was starting up the childcare program for my church when, a year into it, I was asked to co-lead the college ministry. God has shown me what treasures of opportunity are hidden in serving the Church, how service can be joy-filled, life-giving, and a place to become more like Jesus. More and more, I’ve come to see how little is dependent on me and what I can do, but rather what God can do and what He has given me the privilege to witness.
While in Kolkata, I look forward to bringing all I’ve learned here in the States to our ministry contacts and their congregation, whether it’s through children’s ministry, speaking engagements, house visits, or just every day conversation. One of the best parts of short-term mission trips is the amount of energy and encouragement we can bring to local contacts and long-term missionaries who are there for the long haul (and a natural side effect is that we get to bring their revelation back to our home communities). By partnering with them, we can be a part of God’s work to refresh and strengthen the local church both in India and the USA, and foster relationships to unify the global Church.
If you’d like to partake in supporting me in this upcoming trip, you can:
1) Pray for me while I prepare my heart at InterVarsity’s Urbana Missions Conference in St. Louis (12/27-1/1), and then while I’m on the field in Kolkata (1/3-1/17).
2) Financially support me (tax-deductible) by donating via paypal to [email protected], including “CY – missions” under “Write a note (Optional).” Also, please choose the option to send to “Family & friends” to avoid fees.
Thanks for reading, and happy holidays!
