I have always been one of those people that said I will try anything at least once (well almost anything). Traveling and eating are two of my favorite things in the world. Experiencing new cultures whether that be a city or country always gives me new insight on how to love people just a little bit better. However, there are a few cultures in my upcoming trip that will be completely new. Most of my mission work in the past has been within Latin America so South America was a no brainer when picking my route. I have family and friend either in Africa or have been there and loved it so I was so excited to get to go as well. The Ivory Coast is also known for their coffee and chocolate which was just an added bonus! But then, there was Asia…
The saying, “I haven’t been there yet, but its on my bucket list” couldn’t be more true for me, except when it came to Asia. That part of the world was never a place that fascinated me. I never even liked Chinese food; my family would eat it and I had Subway. However, the Lord has done a lot to soften my heart to that region lately. I have a few very dear friends that have a huge heart for China and one even grew up there for most of her childhood. Hearing their passion made me realize that maybe I needed to rethink some of my thoughts on the region. Then to good friends of mine committed to spending two yeas in South East Asia to spread the gospel in a primarily unreached region. That and a Perspectives class I had the opportunity to take made me realize that it wasn’t just the remote areas that were in desperate need of the gospel. Third World does not translate to unreached. A lot of Asia remains unreached because of the Hinduism and Buddhist beliefs that are practiced there. They are in such dire need of the love of Christ.
Earlier in the year I attended the satellite broadcast for the Secret Church given by David Platt which is a time to come together and pray for the persecuted church. The area of focus this year was Malaysia. We spent six hours together in community focused on praying for this unreached and persecuted people group. That was when the Lord really started to break my heart for the continent of Asia. When I was the route that I will be going on an it included Malaysia, I knew that was the one for me.
When I told my fourth graders I was leaving for this trip, we turned it into a research project where they could pick countries from my route they wanted to learn more about. The students that picked Asia quickly realized their menu choices were much different then the comforts they were used too. After several videos of octopuses walking around the dinner table, one student made the declaration, “Ms. Frayser, you are going to starve in Asia!” I was given strict instructions to stick to rice for those four months. I realized later that that was still a lot of my heart for the region. That those four months was something I was going to have to push through, but my prayer before I leave now is to have an open mind and a soft heart. I have been experimenting with different spices when cooking to have a better taste for the food and I have been reading a book about a missionary from Asia.
I know that the fields are ripe for harvest and the Lord is already at work in the hearts of the Asian people. I pray that we will be vessels to water the seeds planted previously or reap the harvest of those we encounter. Please join me in praying for Asia!
