When the opportunity to go on STSM came, I felt very decisively that I was not going to go. Part of this is because I wanted to return to Cambodia, where I had previously gone on short-term missions with my home church, but my biggest reason for hesitating was because I was unsure about KCM as a whole. I wasn’t sure if KCM was the kind of ministry that I wanted to be a part of, and questioned God’s purpose for me with my time in college. After much personal prayer and encouragement from some mentors, I decided to go on STSM, still carrying much reservation. 

Throughout our month in Taiwan, God took my worries and reservations and opened my eyes to greater things. In our first week of VBS with kids from Friendship Presbyterian Church, I learned what it meant to fully lean on God. Though we were living very comfortably, I found myself struggling with sickness and fatigue that endlessly irritated me. I found myself praying at the end of every night, begging for strength to continue through the week, to be a good older brother to the kids in Taiwan. And every morning, God filled me with strength and reminded me of how simple prayers coming from a humble heart can be powerful. 

In our second week, we did youth ministry for a missionary conference, which proved to be the most challenging week. Through the small group discussions, seminars, and worship sessions that our team organized, many of the kids were starting to think about faith a lot more seriously. I prayed long and hard each night for the ones who seemed to not want to be there at all, the ones not paying attention, hoping that something would change - but nothing really did. I found myself upset, even frustrated - how could God deny my prayers for something so pure and good? But in that frustration, God reminded me of how He heals hearts on His own timing. I was reminded that I can do all I can as a faithful servant to mentor and disciple others, but nothing and no one but God Himself can change the heart of us sinners. I thought back to my own youth days and how much my leaders back then must have faithfully prayed for me, not being able to see how impactful their ministry was on me years down the line.

Our third week was spent outreaching/evangelizing to local universities. Thankfully, many of the students were fluent in English (or willing to use Google Translate) so language was not a huge barrier. Through that whole week, I constantly thought back to my own school. It was so fascinating that these were students halfway across the world from USC, yet their lives didn’t seem so different from my peers at home. As we approached strangers, hearing their stories and sharing our own testimonies, I was reminded of the many faces I see as I walk through USC. The faces of classmates and peers that I see over and over but have never talked to - and I was convicted. Here I was in Taiwan, being an ambassador for God’s Kingdom to students in Taiwan for this summer, knowing that I would eventually go back home to USC and spend another year forgetting about all the people that I see August through May. God helped me see for the first time what living missionally as a student today looks like, and how I, alongside my brothers and sisters in USC KCM can embody that on our campus that is so lost without Christ.

We spent our last week meeting many different missionaries. The recurring theme that I felt from all of them was resilience. By that point in the trip, my mind was racing with thoughts of how I could take what I learned back home, but the testimonies of these missionaries was a humbling reminder that the road ahead to the rest of my life as Christ’s disciple is going to be challenging and strenuous. Even still, God encouraged me. Many of these missionaries were in different stages of life, yet they all showed such strong faithfulness. Through this realization, God reminded me that though I could never cross the road ahead on my own, I would never be alone. 

Our host missionary, Pastor Peter Kim, was a USC KCM alum and I got to spend a lot of time talking to him about his experiences. As I heard bits of his testimony throughout the 4 weeks while still processing everything that God was showing me, God gave me clarity about all the reservations I had coming into the trip. He helped me understand how much His presence is needed at USC, how He can use KCM very purposefully to touch hearts on our campus, and encouraged me to take part in this. Through discipleship in our fellowship, we can build each other up - just as our team did for the children at VBS and the youth at the missionary conference. As we grow more and more in Christ’s likeness, our daily living witness and proclaiming of the good news of the gospel can make God’s name known on our campus just as we did in Taiwan. Though it may take years for there to be any fruit of our labors, we can still serve faithfully knowing that the completion of our work is in the hands of an all-powerful, all-loving, and perfect God.