| (this might look familar)
September 3,
2006
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Hong Kong was definitely the way to
end my summer, not only did I get to go to Hong Kong
with my best friends, but also with the purpose to serve God. Thank you to all
who supported me through prayer and finances. It was such an eye opening
experience and I still don’t know how to describe all of it. With all that
happened, one thing is certain, *GOD IS GOOD!
Before all this began, I was debating if I should even
participate in missions. My heart was in and out of the idea. I wanted to go
but I also didn’t want to spend that much of my summer away from family and
friends, especially with it being my last summer before college. Even after I
decided, but before training, I was afraid I was going for the wrong reasons.
But now with no regrets, I’m glad to say I’ve definitely made the right
decision.
The Experience. Going
into missions, I didn’t know what to expect really, especially with it being my
first. I had many misconceptions about being a missionary. I thought it was
going to be rough and unsanitary, staying in unclean houses and working in
village-like conditions. Another stereotype I had was that missions was all
about saving lives, but little did I know, I was so wrong about everything. God
blessed me with comfortable living and working conditions and a mission to work
away from the idea of saving lives. As the weeks continued, my heart matured
but also weakened at the same time. I matured in the way that I learned to
trust God for everything does happen for a reason. At the beginning of
missions, we were not financially supported by our churches but with trust in
God, we were able to find a variety of ways to find financial support. In
another case, one of the camps we were planning to attend, the BB Camp, got
canceled due to a typhoon. Previously before the camp, we spent long days
preparing dances, worship, dramas and taking care/developing friendships with
other kids. At first I was disappointed but God helped me realized that if the
camp was still schedule to continue, my body would collapse from lack of
strength and energy. My heart also weakened, not for God, but for the people of
Hong Kong. Everyday, I saw people with
struggles, mainly family and school related. It was very common for teenagers
to have an unhealthy relationship with their parents, sometimes because of
school. On the last morning of my gospel camp, I remember fellowshipping with a
group of students for devotions. Then
after when prayer requests were being asked, they started to describe and cry
about the enormous amount of pressure they received from school and family. My
heart went out to them but I didn’t know how to comfort them. On another
occasion, the team was on the way home and split into two groups to take taxis.
In one taxi, Dan, Alex, and Steve were talking to the taxi driver about his
life and family. The driver shared that he works 7 days a week and he only
believes in himself when asked his religion. He had a wife and 3 kids but
tragically they left him 3 years ago without any notice or consent. He has not
seen them since but the most painful aspect of his story was that he said, “This
is how Hong Kong is.”
God answered my prayers.
One of the reasons why I wanted to go to Hong Kong
for missions was to get a sense of how God has been working there. After this
trip, my searching was found. I was able to serve two churches and through both
churches, I was able to witness astonishing works by God. At the first church,
Pang’s church, we worked with twenty to thirty 6th-8th
graders. It was amazing to see how passionately driven they desired to serve
God, especially at that age. One Sunday afternoon, we went street evangelism
with Pang’s church in Sha Tin. We were there to provide entertainment while the
kids of Pang’s church would walk up to bystanders and try to share the gospel
with them. With no fear, the kids spread out and evangelized to anybody who
would listen. The same group of kids also formed a mission team to Thailand.
At the other church, the Sha
Tin Baptist
Church, where we spent
the majority of our time, I was able to experience God’s wonders through just
one service. It was a Saturday night and my body felt weaker than normal. The
speaker just finished her sermon and continued with an after call. She asked
the congregation if anyone would like to accept God or renew their faith. About
two thirds of the sanctuary stood up. I was in awe that, that many people
actually stood up. Following the after call was one last song. I started
singing but halfway through the song, I stopped and began to observe my
surroundings. No longer did my body feel weak and my eyes seemed to open. I was
in awe watching how two different cultures, people from America and people from Hong
Kong were able to worship God under one song, under one roof. I
exactly remember that I was standing behind the last row next to a complete
stranger. We looked at each other and began to worship God. I could feel the
presence of God working in between us as we no longer worshiped as strangers
but as brothers.
The Mission
itself. Going on missions itself also taught me a lot. Long before
training began back in May, I was told that not only do we serve people, but
people also serve us. I couldn’t see what my friend meant at that time but now
it became clear. Sometimes they would serve us so much that it became a direct
translation. A few times, they ordered food for us and then paid for it. I also
learned about my own personality. In the beginning of missions, I was not used
to the long days of work. In response, I was very cranky and quiet, although I
kept it all to myself. As the trip continued, the days were not longer but I
adapted to it more. I had to constantly remind myself that the reason I was in Hong Kong was for God. As I realized, the days were not
shorter, but more fulfilling.
The Purpose. Earlier, I said I thought
missions was all about saving lives. I was disappointed in myself during that
time because I felt like I didn’t do anything worthy. Not until the last few
days did I realize that I was there for a different purpose. I was there not
mainly to share the gospel but to love people. Hong Kong
is a place full of unloved broken families. God placed us there to show his
love for others through our missions team. After I understood this, I was once
again in awe of God and how he planned this. *
ALL THE TIME!
Your Brother in Christ,
Christopher Chin
PS: Thank you once again for supporting me and please email
me if you have any questions!! Sorry about being so late with the update. (remember the music? dedicated to Dan L.)
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