that's the hallmark verse, a catchcry if you will, of our mission trip. as a team, we saw this mission trip to Sydney as an opportunity to grow deeper in our relationship with God as well as bring encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Hope Sydney. i think on the whole, each one of us were stretched, challenged and convicted, and that's also the beauty of it - we wanted to be stretched and pulled, to learn the meaning of not holding back when it comes to heeding and obeying God's call upon our lives to mission. throughout the week, i've learnt a lot, more than i can put to words and i'm still trying to sort my thoughts out. but starting here, all of us in the team are going to share snippets of our own experiences from day to day. so stay tuned :)
so, onto DAY ONE!
after a morning rush to get everything together, i felt pretty good when we made it to the airport on time. that is until i saw Sean's face and the empty guitar bag carried forlornly on his back. i put two and two together and realised i had made a major boo-boo. you can't play guitar for praise and worship in Sydney if the guitar is sitting in a living room in Toowong... unless your plan was air guitar all along. BUT, to cut the story short, we were graciously lent a guitar by Hope Sydney and Sean was able to jam happily away throughout the trip. yay! (sorry Sean!)
fast forward to our arrival in Sydney and after we settled into our accommodation, we prepared ourselves for a few hours of evangelism at UTS (University of Technology, Sydney). i don't know about the others, but the butterflies started fluttering as we walked to the uni. different scenarios began running through my mind and anxious pre-evangelism thoughts of 'what if i get rejected?' or 'what if i am at a loss for things to say?' began to arise. but through prayer and the sharing, God reminded me once again that this was not at all about me, what i can do, or how well i speak. all too often, i allow my focus to be on my own limitations when God is wanting me to respond in faith to trust that as i obey to testify of His truth and goodness, He and He alone will bring the transformation into people's lives.
He must become greater; I must become less. (John 3:30)
through the time of evangelism on the campus, Jacqulin and I met two guys with two very different takes on life and religion. one has a background of Catholic schooling and although he has heard of Jesus and has read parts of the bible, he questions the existence of God but was open to discussion. the other enjoys the party lifestyle and prefered not to talk about religion. through both experiences, we were able to share our testimonies, life experiences and convictions on why we choose to follow God and live our lives the way we do. it wasn't always easy to respond to the things being said and there were moments of hesitation where upon reflection, i wish i could've shaken it off and been bolder in proclaiming the gospel. however, as the seeds are sown, my prayer is that in His timing, He will draw these two back to Him by bringing them each to a saving faith.
back at our apartment later that night, it was super encouraging to hear from everyone's experiences and the willingness with which they've chosen to step out from their 'tents' and onto new ground. i'm so blessed to have been a part of this team and to have learnt from all of you!
when we're willing, God can do amazing things through us :)
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