A Xanga Thanks

Allen Street

It’s a strikingly beautiful Saturday morning—possibly one of the most beautiful days this year.  The sun, beaming down the clear, blue sky warms all surfaces it touches while the cool, morning breeze keeps the air at a refreshing temperature.  It doesn’t get any better than this, I think to myself as I briskly walk down College Ave.  Today is the day that State College Summer Project ’07 walks around the University Park campus in prayer for those who have not received Christ in their lives.  I found it interesting that I’ve walked this route countless times yet none of those strolls were ever as convicting as today’s.

Suddenly, we stop.  We face the front of the gates by Sackett Building at the traffic light of Allen Street and College Ave.  So many people utilize this space to get a message across to the people in town.  I’ve seen the war in Iraq protesters, Coldstone and Roly Poly flier blitzers, human rights activists, preachers and other religious leaders, the Salvation Army, fundraisers, and various other groups of people who want their message to be seen or heard.  I unexpectedly recapture memories of the many Penn State students who were turned off by Christianity because some preacher screamed at them and told them they were going to go to hell unless they repented.  I remember anger, frustration, annoyance, fear, sorrow, ignorance, and even hate in the eyes of those passerbyers on days not much different from this one.  God, please move those who have been hurt by people who call themselves Christians here, at this spot.  Help us to show them that you are a loving God through our own actions and words.  Please give us the compassion to love those around us so that your love may be shown through us.

I decide to continue my walk in prayer as I cross the street onto Allen Street.  The first thing I see is an old woman sitting by herself on black bench next to the Corner Room.  She has a look of pain and sorrow on her face that makes her look older than she probably is in reality.  As a small attempt to brighten her day, I offer her a cheerful smile.  She barely curls the corner of her lips to smile back at me dryly.  What was she thinking about?  Poor old woman.  God, whatever this woman is suffering through, whatever is burdening her, please calm her heart.  Does she know you, God?  Has she ever experienced Your love?  She slowly walks away.  Should I have said anything?  What would You do, God? 

The next thing I see is the green sign of the bar, Pickles.  How many times have I passed by this bar and seen so many senseless drunks binging their nights away?  How many of them know Jesus?  I bet a lot of them don’t.  Likewise, I bet a lot of them do at the same time.  God, please help these people to realize that getting drunk every Thursday through Saturday night isn’t a fulfilling life.  Help me to find the courage to reach out to them some day.

As I keep walking, I pass by McLanahan’s, a local supermarket.  I’ve shopped here dozens of times without even thinking about the people I see each time I go in.  Suddenly, I’m reminded of the parable of the woman at the well.  People go into McLanhan’s all the time to buy things that will satisfy their daily needs, but they always have to come back to get more once their supply runs out.  Jesus offered the only way for eternal fulfillment to the woman at the well.  I want to do likewise.  I want be like Jesus and show them that there’s more than just this life alone.  God, please give me the boldness to speak of your love to people in my everyday surroundings.  Help me to be tender with my words and strong with the Spirit.  Help me to be more like you.

The next few places I see are a series fashionable clothing and jewelry stores.  I remember walking into these stores a few times, killing time on those boring days that seem to last forever.  I never buy anything, but sometimes, it’s fun to look at the products and attempt to guess their store-marked prices.  I bet these things are only worth a quarter of the price they’re actually marked.  I look inside and see the intense look on a young woman’s face as she searches for the stylish top of her liking.  Her hair is blonde, but black at the roots; her face, caked with make-up two shades darker than her actual skin tone; and her clothes are trendy and expensive like the clothes hung up in the store.  A woman with a baby in stroller walks by and struggles to open the door beside the intense shopper, but she’s too focused on the clothing to notice the hassle happening beside her.  I wonder, have I ever been so distracted by my own personal wants that I fail to notice those in need of help?  If I want to share the Word with the people around me, I have to model my life like Christ.  God, help me to remain selfless in your plan for me.  Thank you for teaching me true significance.  Please help me maintain a godly lifestyle for You. 

I look back at the traffic light of Allen Street and College Ave. and I realize that it’s time to meet wit the rest of the Summer Project members.  I quickly walk back, passing the red, green, and white striped Chili’s tarp and another memory strikes me.  A few months before, I had eaten dinner with my cousin who happened to be in town.  She did not consider herself a Christian, but she knew that I was a Christian and respected my faith.  It never really crossed my mind to share about my faith with her until now.  She’s my cousin, how could I not think of her?  Then, I think all of my friends who do not know Christ.  Why haven’t I said anything to them?  God, give me the wisdom to approach the people I care about carefully and respectfully.  All I want is the best thing for them and the best thing for them is a life with You.  Give me the heart to reach them, please.

By now, I see all of the other group members gathered in front of the gate.  I try to hurry over, only now, I feel so small.  I feel like a miniscule worker ant with a load too heavy on its back.  How can I change the world, God?  This street alone is too much for me.  What could I possibly do to change it for Your glory?  He tenderly wraps his arms around me and tells me to trust in Him.  He tells me that He has a plan for everyone and that I fit into his big plan too.  As He cradles me, he gently repeats in my ear, “I will guide you, one baby step at a time.”  I realize that with Him, anything is possible.  I maybe small compared to the rest of the world, but with one baby step at a time, I can transform Allen Street.  I can make a difference in State College through th Holy Spirit.  I can change the world.

Daphne's Story
Taiwan Touched My Heart - 2006

           Immediately after our departure from Taiwan, my mind raced with countless memories and newfound values from my experience in missions for those past three weeks.  Friends and family naturally asked my sister, Enid, and me about our trip to Taiwan:  the living conditions, the people, and the overall joy of the trip.  As anxious as I was to share about all of the funny stories, cultural differences, and life’s lessons I had learned in the villages, I managed only to muster out in response a generic “the trip was good.”  Rather disappointed with my response (or lack thereof), I became determined to conceive something much more personal that would allow others to see at least a glimpse of God’s sovereignty and grace I had experienced during our short-term missionary trip to Taiwan.

            Where do I begin?  Why did I want to go on a mission trip in the first place?  How do I bring all of my thoughts together?  As I thought about it, I instantly remembered God’s Great Commission.  “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Mathew 28:19-20).”  Initially, I wanted to go to on a mission to obey God’s command to “make disciples of all nations.”  Then, I realized that for me, obedience had been the underlying theme of our teaching material as well as my time spent at the camp.  In one of our main lessons, we taught the students “obedience is to do what you are told to do.”  We also taught them three different phrases to respond in obedience to their parents.  The students were taught to say, “I will do it right away,” “I will do it with a smile,” and “I will do it all the way.”  At first, these responses seemed silly to me because during casual speech, people don’t actually respond using those phrases.  I questioned the significance of the material and even poked fun at the senselessness of each phrase.  However, I later realized that these three responses were actually very biblical and that this was God’s way of reminding me my reason for going to Taiwan.

I will do it right away.

            In the past, I have had many opportunities to go on overseas missions, but each time an opportunity arose, something in my life would stand in the way, leaving me unable to go.  This summer, yet another opportunity came up.  I had originally planned on going to East Asia with members of my fellowship at Penn State.  I had prayed about going on an over-seas mission since last summer and hearing about this chance excited me.  I really felt God calling me to go this summer.  To my dismay, my school advisor told me that I needed to take classes this summer and get some kind of work experience to extend my resume to graduate.  The trip to East Asia lasted for six weeks beginning directly after school ended.  I knew that missions were important, but I also knew that my academics were vital to my life as well.  God saw that my heart was ready to serve this year, so He provided an opportunity for me.  He led me to Village Gospel Mission which allowed me teach English to young children in the villages of Taiwan while sharing the Gospel.

            “I will do it right away,” suggests that I will put God and others before myself instead of dwelling on my own selfish desires.  In Roman 12:10 it says,” Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourself.”  It wasn’t until after I arrived in the first village, Wan Nei, when I realized how much Wan Nei needed the Lord.  The village was very poor.  Some families didn’t even have telephones in their home yet they manage to build beautiful temples for their idols on each block.  God wanted me there because the Taiwanese people needed God there.

I will do it with a smile.

            In Romans 12:11-13 it says, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need.”  God calls us to be joyful always, though it is easy to lose sight of it.  At times, obeying God’s commands “with a smile” was very difficult.  Communicating with a language barrier between the Taiwanese people and me proved to be much more challenging than I had originally anticipated.  During the first few days preparing with the Taiwanese team members, I questioned my interpretation of God’s calling.  “God, did you really call me to go to Taiwan?” I wondered.  “Was I supposed to go overseas?  How can I do Your work when I can’t even talk to the people?”  All kinds of insecure thoughts sped through my mind.  I couldn’t stop thinking about the Tower Of Babel, and how God had originally created language as a punishment.  I felt cursed.

            Exhaustion and feelings of worthlessness consumed me after the first day of camp with the elementary students.  Some of the students would point and snicker at me because I couldn’t speak any Chinese.  Once the first day of camp ended, my co-counselors from the Taiwan team asked me to go with them to visit some of the students at their homes.  Although I was tired, I decided to go anyway.  Two of the boys, Cash and Sam, from my class asked, “Why is she visiting our homes too?  She can’t speak any Chinese and our parents don’t understand English.”  Emma, my co-counselor responded, “She’s going to your house because she loves you.”  The boys began to laugh and tease each other about such a response.  “Why would she love us?”  Sam asked.  “She’s so much older and she can’t even talk to us!”  Emma replied, “She loves you because Jesus loves you.”  I didn’t know if the boys understood the meaning of Jesus’ love at that point, but the next day, they were so eager to talk to me.  We ended up communicating through exaggerated hand motions and vivid facial expressions.  God was good to me.

            By the end of the entire camp, I had grown a close to the children.  Many of them wrote me notes about how much fun they had in class and that they were going to miss me.  One of my non-English speaking students, Candy, even gave me a present on the last day to express her love.  She also wrote about how she was glad that I tried to talk to her even though we both knew that we couldn’t understand each other and to come back and visit soon.  At the end of her letter, she wrote words that I will never forget.  She wrote, “Remember, Jesus loves you!”  Such a statement shocked me because none of our students was Christian.  Many of them heard the Gospel for the first time at this camp.  I could truly feel the Holy Spirit working through our team.

I will do it all the way.

            Because I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, obeying God with a smile was not difficult.  Our typical day started with morning devotion at 7:00 followed by a quick, usually rushed, breakfast.  After breakfast, we left for the camp to set up for the day.  The camp lasted from 9:00 to 3:30.  Then, from 3:30 to 5:00, we either played with the students or planned for the next day.  Once we come back to the church we stayed at, we ate dinner cooked by the pastor’s wife, then, spent time in worship and prayer.  The rest of the night consisted of long meetings and planning for the days ahead, that finished at around 11:00 to midnight each night.  Despite our packed schedule, we enjoyed our time because the Holy Spirit filled us.

            Although our schedule for the second week of camp in Tien Wei was virtually identical to the week before, our team members had grown weary and exhausted.  It was difficult to give our all when we no longer had the same motivation.  We tried to keep our minds away from comparing the two different camps and focusing in on doing God’s work, but it was not easy.  Then one day, I got sick.  For some reason, my stomach was not handling my food very well and I began to feel very ill.  Unfortunately, my physical state affected me emotionally because I no longer felt like talking to people.  I just wanted to be alone.  Then, my emotional state affected me spiritually in a chain reaction.  Since I didn’t feel like talking to people, I didn’t feel like doing God’s work either.  After I realized this, I knew that I needed to overcome this trial.  In 1 Timothy 4:15-16 it says, “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”  I needed to give my all because it would save those around me.

            After much prayer, I gave myself fully to serving the Lord and even though I didn’t feel well, God recognized my effort.  The middle school-age students genuinely cared for my well-being and made efforts to talk to me even with their broken English.  On the last day, every single one of the girls in my class cried for us because they didn’t want us to leave them.  The students loved spending time with us as we did with them.     All through the camp, we shared our Christian values and lifestyle with the students. On the last day of camp, we shared with them the Gospel.  A boy named Kelvin wrote notes to us in his workbook everyday.  He wrote on the second day, “God has created us all to be precious.  Even me.”  This was so powerful to me, but I was unsure of the validity of his statement since many of the students often tried to impress their Christian counselors.  Then, on the third day he wrote, “I need to obey my parents more.  I also need to obey God.”  I prayed for Kelvin because I felt he was very close to joining the Kingdom of God with us.  On the last day of the camp, he prayed to Jesus and asked Christ to come into his heart.  I was so happy for him.  This was the reason I came to Tien Wei.  Praise God!

            God used me in Taiwan even though I was weak.  Because I did my best to serve Him, He blessed me with so much love.  He blessed me with bright students who loved me even though they couldn’t talk to me, wonderful Taiwanese co-counselors who happened to have the best English on their team, and He blessed me with awesome U.S. team members whom I shared my time with.  I am so thankful for all God has given to me.       

            I only hope that all of you will listen to God’s calling.  God commands each off us to make disciples of all the nations.  Prior to the trip, I felt insufficient with my abilities, but God uses the young and the weak.  God says, “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity (1 Timothy 4:12).”  I couldn’t speak any Chinese and He still used me as His tool.  I felt physical weak and He comforted me.  We need to be obedient to God’s will right away, with a smile, all the way and He will bless us for our efforts.

So...guess who has a liscence..