Have you ever intentionally paused, looked around and seen the evidence of God’s faithfulness? If your answer is no, I highly encourage you to do so at this moment. You’ll be amazed!
Seven 20-somethings and eight older than 20-somethings embarked on a journey to not only find evidence of God’s faithfulness, but be a part of it. Since August, this eclectic and energetic team has been meeting for Bible study, prayer, learning about Korean history and culture, and doing logistics planning. Our growth as a team was just the beginning of evidence that God is in our midst. Our largest impact came as we ventured to Seoul, South Korea to serve the Geon Christian Children’s Home. Leading church service and worship, playing games, making oobleck, preparing a California carne asada taco meal, pulling weeds and organizing a storage area allowed us to be the hands and feet of Jesus. But the real evidence of God’s faithfulness came in the faces of the children we were there to serve. The language of God’s love surpassed our inability to communicate beyond annyeonghaseyo (hello) and gamsahamnida (thank you). A simple game of tag, tug-of-war, soccer or rock-paper-scissors brought grins and squeals of laughter. We bowed our heads to pray together with a solid ‘amen’ at the close. More evidence was found as we enjoyed meals together attempting to use universal hand motions, smiles and pointing to share the love of Jesus. We sang worship songs together in two different languages and God’s presence was real. Our time with the children and loving adults at Korean Christian Gospel Mission gave us confirmation that God truly is omnipresent.
And then there was our encounter with Leon. Each day we walked through a large park from our hostel to the orphanage. The park was our place for daily devotionals and recapping the day together. It was also the park in which many Koreans completed their daily exercise regimens. Near the end of our trip, 71 year old Leon stopped us in our tracks just as we were wrapping up our time of prayer. “I’ve watched you this week and there is something different about you.” he said in almost perfect English. As we all smiled and looked at each other, Leon continued, “Look around, Koreans are never smiling. But you, you are always smiling!” Without hesitation, Pastor Nick looked at our group and back at Leon and replied, “It’s Jesus, we have Jesus in our hearts!” Conversation continued about knowing Jesus, attending church to fellowship with other believers and being able to serve the community, and the goosebumps just kept coming. When Leon replied that he was Buddhist, and inferred that his religion didn’t create the joy he saw on our faces, Pastor Nick was compelled to ask Leon, “Can we pray for you?” With an eager and uplifted voice, Leon replied “Yes, oh yes.” Our team gathered closer to surround Leon, lifted our hands in praise and the Holy Spirit made himself known. Tears flowed down Leon’s face, and ours too, as he thanked us. Proof that God’s faithfulness can show up in opportunities at a park across the world.
While our trip to Seoul was a large piece of the CrossCity Missions mentoring program, there are so many ways our team has experienced spiritual growth. From the voices of our team….
- “I’m more capable than I originally thought.”
- “Getting out of my comfort zone has been good for me.”
- “I’m grateful for God’s hand of comfort, taking away my anxiety about travel and expanding my compassion for others.”
- “There has been a battle between my flesh and my spirit. The Bible is becoming interwoven into my heart, God is dragging me in and I see that I’m a child of God.”
- “I want to be intentional with God, not complacent.”
- “I see my responsibility at home for ministry ready to shift into a higher gear.”
- “I’m finding my voice for Jesus and am ready to share with others.”
- “Every prayer I’ve prayed through this trip has been answered. I don’t feel worthy of that.”
- “Scripture reminds us that we are to have a child-like faith, I’ve seen that faith in the eyes of the children at Geon.”
The eldest member of our team who has been an integral part of serving the Geon Christian Children’s Home, stated his observation with gratitude in his heart. Pointing to each member of our team, he said, “You are the evidence of God’s faithfulness.”
Over the course of our time together, we have come to witness God’s goodness and continued grace in each of our lives, with a reminder that God isn’t finished with us yet. What we experienced in Seoul should be the impetus for doing things differently in our local community.
Well, have you seen God’s faithfulness today? I hope so, and encourage you to become an expert on how good God is to you.