Freshman | UCR

At WinterCon, they asked, “Anyone who is planning to go on STSM, please come up to the front to receive prayer.” I did not hear the STSM part and went up to the front assuming I was just receiving prayer. Afterwards, many people came up to me and asked me,” You’re going on STSM!?” I then nodded not knowing what I just got myself into, but my life quote is that ignorance is surely a bliss and God utilized that to send me to the country of India. 

The two most important things I learned from my mission trip to India: the importance of seeking God for guidance and rejoicing in the Lord.

Starting with the importance of seeking God for guidance:

A verse that I got constantly reminded of was Isaiah 5:11 which says,” And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden , like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Every morning, except for Sundays, at 5 am we would have morning prayer altogether. When I would walk into the prayer room, the staff and missionaries would always be there filling the room with their cries out to the Lord. The hearts that they had for the people of India were immeasurable and the passion they held when praying showed that they surely could not do anything without God’s guidance. After about a week it started getting really hard to get up every morning for prayer as the nights would average around high 80s, the humidity was 95%, there were bugs everywhere, and there was no AC. Yet through discouragement and tiredness, I was reminded that the missionaries and staff had to go through this every single day and these missionaries had been here for more than 20 years. However, they reminded me that they’re able to wake up every morning, minister to the people of India, and have the energy to get through everyday not through their own strength but through the strength of the Lord. 

Lastly, I learned about the importance of rejoicing in the Lord:

Coming into the trip, I expected that I was going to convert some Hindus and encourage Indians new to the Christian faith. However, I think from the trip overall I’ve received more blessings than I gave. In addition, going on missions helped me get a good gaze of what living a life as a Christian hedonist should be. Our ultimate goal as Christians and followers of Christ is to find our uttermost joy in the Lord as stated by John Piper, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him, as the fullness of joy can only be found in Him.” Around the second week of ministry, we visited a city near Nepal called Mirik in which we stayed there for 3 days. We had fellowship with the women in the ministry in which I had the opportunity to lead praise. My patience was surely being tested because I chose a key too low, my fingers were dying because I haven’t played guitar in a while, and the woman sitting next to me was clapping off beat. Despite this, it was such a joy seeing everyone clapping along to the songs and the smiles on their faces as we were worshiping. Some people in America complain about their 30 minute drive to church but these women had to WALK at least 30 minutes through hilly trails to get to the church. Their desperation to worship the Lord opened my eyes to how lacking I am in my own faith and also put me in a new light of where my heart should be whenever I lead worship or just worship in general. In addition, after the women's fellowship, one of the women in the congregation wanted to share her testimony. Her eyes were literally sparkling in excitement as she was sitting down on the chair waiting for us to gather around her. I desire to have that much enthusiasm and eagerness to share my own testimony to others. When I got back from missions, I read Luke 10 in which Jesus sends out 72 people to share the gospel. In verse 17 it says,” The seventy two returned with joy, saying,”Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” However, Jesus says in verse 20,” Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” After coming back from missions, God reminded me that I shouldn’t be rejoicing about how many blessings I received from the people of India or of how good the trip was overall, but I should be rejoicing everyday that “God has saved me and I will never leave His love,” quoted by the song by UpperRoom.

To end my testimony, in one of the worship songs that we sang in India, one of the lyrics states, “Ramaune Karan Yeshu ko naam,” which means the reason for my joy and rejoicing is the name of Jesus Christ.” I would like to remind you all that God’s love is like no other and lets us live life rejoicing in the name of Jesus Christ, looking to Him when we are going through stress, struggles, and hardships.