Gear Goldie
I’ve been asked to join my church’s mission trip to cambodia, but the thought of going on one is frightening – mosquito bites, sleeping with the pigs and chickens, eating caterpillars! My friends said it’s exciting but I have doubts.
Uncertain
Dear Uncertain,
My first mission trip to the longhouses of Sarawak was indeed frightening but I don’t regret going as I had plenty of stories to tell afterwards and since then, I have continued to go on mission trips.
On that first trip, we had to sleep on bare floorboards. I was apprehensive as I was skinny and thought surely my bones will ache. A team member approached me and said, “Goldie, God told me to give you my sleeping bag.” How merciful God is! We had just read in the local newspaper that a crocodile had eaten a man alive in the river, so imagine our horror when we were told to bathe in a murky pond where a buffalo was refreshing itself. Suddenly, someone said, “Follow me”. Lo and behold, he led us to a half-finished house with a just-completed bathroom! Primitive though it was, at least it had a door and was far better compared with bathing in public! How merciful God is!
At one night meeting with the leaders of the local church, a team-mate, D, received a word of knowledge which shocked him. “How can I say this – they are all church leaders!” he asked the mission team leader.
As the meeting progressed, everyone got into small groups for prayer. The leader then asked D to share what he believed was from God. So D said, “Someone has committed a serious, grievous sin and needs to confess and repent.” Different people then started to confess – telling a lie, stealing a chicken, etc. But the leader appealed to the Holy Spirit to convict the people about their grievous sins. And He did.
Finally, one man shakily confessed his sin of adultery. After he was ministered to, D said he knew all along who it was. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, on which he had written an exact description of the man – tall, wearing glasses. Fearful awe fell on the group – they were in the presence of the Holy God. D’s first mission trip was not his last. He went on to give up his job as a pharmacist to become a pastor.
My daughter, after working as a social worker for 10 years, joined the Discipleship Training Course with YWAM (Youth With a Mission). After finishing her course in China, she decided to stay on.
It was tough getting visas, accommodation, financial support, etc. After two years, my husband suggested that she apply to a government university to teach English. To her surprise, she was accepted.
She continued to do the same work she was doing when she was in YWAM but now with hundreds more students, salary, work permit, living quarters and travel back to her home country once a year. How good is God! She also married a committed Christian in the same city who shared her dream of serving the Chinese in China.
So you never know what your mission trip will lead to. Definitely to good things. Our God is that merciful. You will have many exciting stories to tell if you step out of your comfort zone to help fulfil the Great Commission. 
Do you have an issue you need advice on? Write to Dear Goldie at goldie@deargoldie.com for her godly counsel. Selected questions may be featured in this column. If you leave an email address, you will have your question answered, whether it’s published or not.
