Faith

As many of you know, I spent two months this summer in the northeastern region of Thailand on an evangelical mission trip. Nineteen of us from UNA and Samford ministered on the 30,000-student campus of Khon Kaen University every day during the week. We were focused on establishing relationships. We would go to the cafeterias for lunch and meet students. We would get to know them by showing interest in their lives and hanging out with them. When God opened doors, we would share parts of our testimonies or the gospel. Our main goal was not to share the gospel; it was to establish these friendships and introduce them to the ministry that we worked with. When we left Thailand, they were plugged into a ministry. One of my Thai friends, Tape, who we met at her sports practice, prayed to receive faith in Christ two weeks after we left! Tonight, I would like to share with you how my faith grew this summer.

God stretched me in so many ways this summer, and as a result, my faith grew and strengthened. For one, I was uncomfortable in Thailand. The beds in our dorm rooms were hard (the mattresses were made of coconut shells!). The food was different. We were on the other side of the world. It was hot and rainy all of the time. I did not speak the language. And let’s face it, I didn’t want to do ministry every day. I was stripped of all the American comforts I was used to. It was definitely the Lord that gave me strength to face the day and have a heart for the lost students on campus. Through all the tough things about Thailand, I really saw my need for the Lord. I really depended on Him to provide strength when I was sick or tired from no sleep on the hard beds. I was constantly in prayer when I was talking with a student. I was always seeking his guidance in what to say next in the conversation, what part of my testimony should I share, or if it is time to share the gospel. My faith grew because I saw how dependent I really am on the Lord.

The second way God grew my faith this summer was through ministry. I prayed for God to give me His eyes for the lost and to break my heart for what breaks His. He answered that prayer! I would look around at the masses of Thai students and just see dead bodies walking around. Without the saving grace of our Lord, the students are dead, just as we were dead in our sins before the Lord interceded on our behalf. In the words of John Wesley in one of his hymns, "No one can truly say that Jesus is the Lord, unless thou take the veil away and breathe the living Word. Then, only then, we feel the saving power." This made ministry more urgent for me. I would see a few hundred Thais a day. Statistically, only a few of those people would be Christians. The Thai unbelievers are on a fast track to hell by not knowing the Savior. We have to do something! In sharing the gospel and what the Lord has done in my life with my Thai friends, my faith in Him grew. It just had to.

The last way that my faith grew this summer was in seeing my sin. In the kind of environment that I was in, constantly surrounded by the CCP team and the American and Thai missionaries that loved the Lord, my sin was suddenly visible to me. I struggled for weeks because I was so caught up in the fact that I am a wicked sinner. I couldn’t get over how sinful I was and how ugly my sin looked. I wasn’t seeing the gospel. Our leader noticed this about a lot of us so he challenged us to look for the gospel around us. Sure enough I did see it everywhere around me. God gave me the strength to turn from gazing at my sin to gazing at the cross. What a gift He has given me! Saving me from my sin! All of it! I walked away with so much gratitude in my heart for my salvation. Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ, not even my own sin. My faith grew because I saw that I did not deserve grace and so my faith is truly a gift from God.

In Acts 20, Paul talks about going to Jerusalem. He doesn't know what is ahead except that the Holy Spirit will be with him. He knows imprisonment and afflictions await him but he doesn't count his life of any worth; he is only concerned with carrying out his purpose, and that is to serve the Lord. I really saw that this summer and have thought of Paul in my current situation: finding a job! The Lord wants the best for us; we just have to have faith in that.

Thank you to all of you who supported and prayed for me this summer. It was an incredible experience for me as I got to grow in my faith and in sharing it with others. I pray that God will continue to use this summer to change lives for the rest of eternity.

In Christ,
Christine ><>