I recently spent time in South East Asia visiting Baptist Mission Australia’s team on the ground. This was a trip of firsts for me; my first time visiting an Asian country, my first time on field, and my first time seeing how teams invest themselves in their local communities. I came home feeling blessed and humbled from my experience.
God is gracious to invite people to go to places of great need, both local and distant. He gives his people a heart to serve the community, and learn how to communicate both by word and deed so relationships develop and trust grows.
One such experience on the trip was when we were walking through a conservation park. After emerging from a beautiful green space where we had admired monkeys and watched men prepare coconuts for drinking, we noticed a statue of a former president. As we approached the statue, a group of young men requested a photograph with a male team member. He agreed and began to speak fluently in conversation with them. The faces of the young men expressed deep surprise and then excitement as they began to easily communicate with him.
In ways that my finite mind cannot begin to understand, God has allowed us to join Him in His great work, inviting people to know Him personally. Using the passions and skills that He has gifted us with He leads us to meet, speak and share with people so that we might share God’s amazing salvation opportunity.
As we draw close to Easter, reflecting on Jesus’ act of salvation for all Creation, may we remember all the ways we have been blessed and yearn with our whole being to share this with those around us both near and far joining God in His work of love.
