2010 Jamaica Mission Trip

On the left side photo, you see our Deaf Teen Quest group with the Jamaican staff and students at Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf. It was funny watching our students getting on the plane for the first time in their life. There were a mixed set of emotions as well as pure excitement. Mostly because we did not really know what to expect. The plane ride was new for some of us. Being out of the country is a first for some of us. Experiencing a brand new culture is definitely new for most of us! I've been on two missions trip before, however, this was my first time leading. It was a completely different experience for me. I mean, who am I that God would choose me to lead this trip? I am far from being perfect, though I am a work in progress! Don't you ever wonder why in the world God would choose us to do a specific task? I know that I often wonder about that. I sit here utterly amazed that God loves me so much and trust me that I would carry out His work. This happens as a result of faith, trust, and obedience.

I can think of a person in the bible, a man named Moses. Exodus 3:10-12, "So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, 'Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?' And God said, 'I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.'" Here we see a glimpse of God calling Moses to take the people of Israel out of Egypt and later to the promise land. Moses was far from perfect. He made many mistakes. Actually, earlier in his life he murdered an Egyptian for abusing one of his Hebrew people. To make matters worse, he actually hid the Egyptian in burial thinking no one saw him. He also had many weaknesses. For example, later on he complained that he was slow in speech and felt he couldn't talk fluently. Moses asked God to find someone else to speak for him. By now, don't you think God was burning in anger? Yet, God worked with him and provided what he needed.

When I was asked to lead the Jamaica mission trip, I felt a little bit overwhelmed. Lots of doubts came running through my mind. For those of you that know me well, I'm a very shy person and the thought of stepping up into a leadership role and making decisions terrified me. Despite of what or how I felt, I knew God has called me for a purpose. Luke 9:23 says, "Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" Sometimes in life the Lord challenges us to do certain things and he wants us to respond. The Lord wants a YES or a NO. The Lord will still carry out His work regardless of our decisions because he knows who will respond to His calling. I chose to respond to the Lord's calling because I want to see the glory of His kingdom even if it means getting out of my comfort zone. As a result of this mission trip, I have grown and I have learned from my weaknesses. What are some areas in your life that you know the Lord is calling you to do, but you feel like you're struggling?

Now, about the mission trip. It was very humbling, powerful, and inspiring. It was an awesome experience for our Deaf teenagers because many of them never really knew what it was like in the rest of the world. Some of our teenagers come from broken families and very little income. To my inspiration, one of the teens that came from that background actually promised not to say that she is poor. Despite of living on less, there seems to be more happiness flowing in the air. The first two days we arrived, we were all hot, dirty, and sweaty. Our rooms did not have air conditioning, the temperatures were scorching hot, and shower pressures were very weak! We detached ourselves from any technology for a week. Though we were living on a lot less, the love of God was very evident! Our time and investment in building relationships with the Jamaican students by showing the love of Christ made a huge difference. Relationships were formed and lives were transformed. It was truly inspiring to be a part of God's chosen vessel to witness this work. It was hard to say goodbye to each other. There was a lot of hugging and flowing of tears.

Here are my final words. How have you responded in God's calling in your life? What are you going to do about it? God has special plans for each of our lives and he wants our commitment. Are you willing to say YES? There's no maybe in God's plans. It's either YES or NO. My prayer is that it's a YES and in turn, you must put your faith, trust, and obedience in the Lord.

Lord God, I pray right now for those who are struggling in responding to you right now. Whether it's making a commitment to follow you as Lord and Savior or to continue to obey your calling in each of their lives. Yes, it is going to be a challenge, but I know that no matter what, the victory is yours, Lord. We are victorious in Christ. Satan has no power or control over us when we choose to have faith, trust, and obey in you, Lord. Thank you so much for your love and grace. Continue to lead me and others in your direction, even when it's hard. Give us the strength we need to fight the good fight and to follow you. Thank you, Lord. In your holy and precious name, I pray, AMEN!

The Fruit of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” ∼Galatians 5:22-26∼

As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, we find that our desire to please Him increases as we grow closer and closer to Him. We are not perfect, by nature, but we can grow towards perfection by allowing the Lord to transform our lives on a daily basis. We must always take the first step in this direction. I can think of many faults I have to work on and I wish I didn’t have them. I also know that through my imperfection, I am made more perfect according to His purposes (2 Corinthians 12:9). The Lord wants to use our weaknesses to develop our character and deepens our relationship with Him.

A group of us went on a DTQ missions trip to Kingston, Jamaica recently. The theme of the week was the fruit of the Spirit. Even though we were going to Jamaica to minister and develop relationship with the students from Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (CCCD), I knew that God was also going to work on our lives as well. And sure enough, God started early! After receiving our boarding tickets, we went to the baggage drop off line. The lines seemed cluttered and it is easy to cut people off. Our group was standing in line and about 15 minutes later someone had cut us off! I was stirred by anger and I felt like I was going to pick up a fight with the lady. We were neck-to-neck for the next 30 minutes or so competing to beat each other to the check-in counter. Deep down inside I knew my attitude and motives were wrong. “But, it’s not fair! I was there first!” I replied back to myself. I was being stubborn and rebellious. The teens going on this trip saw that and were discussing how unfair this lady was being to us. There was a warfare going on inside of me. Finally, another leader told me, “Why don’t you just let this lady go. It’s not worth it.” This leader was with me side by side in competing with the lady. “I know it,” I said. I backed off and let the lady go. The Lord was teaching me how to be patient and be in self-control. It wasn’t easy, but it was the right thing to do.

Another lesson that I learned is the power of love. It’s amazing when you are willing to invest your time and energy in developing relationships with others; you begin to see the difference being made. I’m not boasting about this topic, but we (DTQ) have been told by CCCD how the students have been affected due to our time, energy, and relationship we invested in one week of their lives. They have never experience this type of relational ministry compared to other ministries that have come to their school. There was a young mature girl whose brother was recently killed by a gang member a few weeks prior to our visit. She’s the only Christian in her family and she was devastated! We invited her to join in our devotional time one evening. I shared a short message regarding running the race for the prize that lasts (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). I used this comparison as to preparing and running in a marathon. It was a perfect comparison. And it impacted this young girl so much that she realized that she should not give up in the race that she’s running for Jesus. Since her brother’s death, she has been in the valley of depression and lost hope. That message was for her and a smile formed on her face, not only that evening, but the rest of that week. This is the power of obedience and love. Other students at the school felt so connected to our team and was literally running across school campus and climbed the fence as we rolled away in the bus to the airport. Lives have been impacted due to Christ’s genuine love!

The mission trip to Jamaica was an awesome experience. It is truly humbling to be a part of a different culture and a different environment. It doesn’t matter how rich or poor we may be, because if we strive to be more like Christ, we will be satisfied in any situation. Love is a powerful thing. If you have never experienced an international mission trip, I would deeply encourage you to do so. Our teens within the DTQ ministry has been impacted and they realized something about themselves that is truly humbling. What area in the fruit of the Spirit do you need to work on?