The Lord has been so gracious in allowing me the privilege of serving Him and the people of North India this past summer. Coming from a campus without a KCM, participating in STSM had never been in the picture. Yet despite my circumstances, God opened a door for me to serve Him abroad through this program, to which I responded in obedience, for we are called to proclaim the gospel to all nations.

I was blessed to witness the desperation and urgency of the missionaries and pastors we encountered during our time in India. Their lives were marked by an unshakable dependence on the Lord to provide for every need and a steadfast confidence that He would. Every decision, every challenge, and every victory was sealed with prayer, and it was evident that their ministry was sustained not by human resources, but by God’s faithfulness. I was especially moved by the words of one pastor from Grace Ashram, an orphanage we visited in Jaigaon, who said, “The Lord built this orphanage, so He shall sustain it; faith fails when too much logic interferes.” Such words came from a man who prays with fervent expectation, anticipating great things from God. His example challenged me to examine the ways I often place limits on God through my own reasoning, reminding me that true ministry flows from complete trust in Him and that faith flourishes when it rests entirely on His power rather than my understanding.

I also came to experience the joy of simply trusting in God’s provision. I was given the opportunity to share my testimony with a church congregation in the mountainside village of Phuguri. Although I agreed, I was apprehensive, fearing that my nervousness might cause my words to falter and that my testimony might lose its meaning through translation. In that moment, I was reminded of Moses—how he too doubted his ability to speak, yet the Lord faithfully provided for him. I asked myself, Who am I to doubt that the God of Moses would not also provide for me in my time of need? That Sunday, I believe the Lord answered my prayers by sending the Holy Spirit to speak the testimony He had written into my life, through me, to the hearts of that congregation. In that experience, I was reassured of the God I worship—that He is my provider—and I was reminded that stepping out in faith, especially into uncomfortable situations, makes space for the Lord to work and intercede.

The Lord also used this trip to reveal the depths of my weakness—both in faith and in character—as well as my lack of grounding in His Word. I came to realize just how often I had been relying on my own strength to minister to others, placing confidence in my abilities rather than in His power. Again and again, He brought me back to the sobering truth of John 15:5: “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” Outwardly, I professed dependence on God, yet I found myself measuring my worth by how well I could perform or contribute. In moments of exhaustion and discomfort, my insufficiency was laid bare before me. It was only when I surrendered my self-reliance that I began to taste the humility and fruitfulness that flow from abiding wholly in Christ. This lesson was sharpened even further through the people I encountered. Meeting local Christians who were deeply rooted in Scripture—and even individuals of other faiths, such as Hinduism, who could engage with the Bible with surprising familiarity—was a wake-up call for me. I realized that to live out the Christian life faithfully, one must be anchored in the Word of God. Without that foundation, how can one truly discern His will, resist temptation, or testify of Christ with conviction? Missionary James especially emphasized the necessity of being firmly grounded in the Scriptures: not merely reading them, but studying, meditating upon, and most importantly, applying them in daily life. His words confirmed what the Lord was already impressing on my heart: that genuine ministry cannot rise out of talent, passion, or willpower alone, but only out of a heart saturated with His Word and dependent on His Spirit.

The ways I have witnessed God work in India testify to His unfailing love and to how worthy He is of our praise. As I return home, I desire to continue learning what it truly means to offer the Lord pure worship and surrender, seeking to glorify Him in all that I do. I pray for the boldness to share the love I have found in Jesus Christ at every opportunity and to stand firm in the truths I believe. I ask that God would grant me confidence in prayer, that I might continue to fight the good fight and live as a testimony to His goodness. Above all, I pray that I would cling to the nearness of God and remain desperate for His presence.