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At the edge of the courtyard, a tired-looking Asian woman dressed in an oversized T-Shirt tried to avoid the heat in the shade of some steps. I introduced myself and explained to her what we were doing.
"You with Brother John?" she asked.
"Who's Brother John?"
"He come here to talk to the kids," she replied. "He from a church."
"Oh, John Musgrove." I'd heard his name mentioned before and knew that he would be joining us that evening for part of the carnival. John was a member of Butler Ave. MB Church in Fresno and had been visiting the neighbourhood several times a week for over two years. Each Sunday morning, John and his wife would make several trips to the community, shuttling 25-30 Asian children and adolescents to church. It seemed everyone knew about him. Once we were identified as friends of "Brother John", suspicious looks turned to friendly smiles.
I soon discovered that Pong (the woman I was talking with) was a single mother from Cambodia and had seven children. She had been a slave of the Khmer Rouge until she escaped at age 18. Her life in the US hadn't been much easier. Pong's first husband had left her with several children. Her second husband had seriously abused her and was under court order to stay away.
"What do you do with all this pain?" I asked.
Pong shook her head and with much sadness said she must have sinned very badly in a previous life to deserve this fate.
"No," I said. "You are a woman who is deeply loved by God. Jesus can heal you and set you free from your past. Have you heard about Jesus?"
"Yes," Pong replied. "I met a Christian lady who told me the same thing. Brother John, he talks to my kids about Jesus."
"Would you like to invite Jesus to live in you and change you?"
Pong pondered that question. After a long silence, she said, "Yes, I am ready."
We prayed together as her children watched. The first thing I noticed as I looked up was the big smile on her face.
"I feel much better," she said. I saw her later in the carnival explaining to one of our female leaders that she was a Christianwith that same smile still on her face.
Following Jesus is a long walk of obedience and trust. For Pong and all of us, that walk becomes a lot easier when servants like Brother John walk alongside us. There were many other "Brother John's" whose selfless service deeply impacted our YMI teams this year. Their lives have been an encouragement to us to continue loving others in the name of Christ.
Randy Friesen, Director, YMI
The asphalt turned into a rocky, dirt road as we continued walking. When we came to Laura and Miguel's house, they ran out to greet us. Their mother was glad to see us; she said the kids had been begging to go to church, but her husband had started drinking and it was hard to do things by herself. The drunken husband showed up, and we prayed for them both. They desired change in their lives but were not yet sure if Christ could actually forgive.
One wonders if SOAR makes a difference--10 days in a community in Tijuana. Then the three children, Laura, Miguel and Carlos, beckoned me to a tiny clearing among some bushes: "Come, look!" Their excited faces told me I was going to like it. "This is where we come to sing and pray!"
Annette Penner, Team Leader
The day had gone well. We'd had two great assemblies already. As we proclaimed the freedom found in Jesus and the power He has to help young people overcome the temptations of premarital sex, the students had listened well. There were some who scoffed at the message, but there were many others who came forward for prayer. We had great opportunities to share personally with a number of these students, but now we were tired and thought it was time to rest.
But no! The village social worker, a wonderful Christian lady, had hastily arranged for us to meet with another group of young people. There was a small group of youths, who had not been able to find a place in school because their marks were too low, waiting for us in a small hall about a kilometre away. Often ignored and looked down upon, these youths are prime targets for HIV/AIDS and other social problems. She urged us to meet with them. We were extremely tired, and we wanted to relax and rest, so there was a little complaining--but not much. We knew what needed to be done. The team learned that there is a time for rest but there's also a time to reach out even when we don't feel like it.
So we went. The group was small, only 25 or so, but we sang and prayed and preached and performed drama. We started a little slowly, but as we continued, the message progressively grew in power, and the presence of the Holy Spirit became obvious. At the end of the program, our Botswana team leader, Jan, clearly presented the gospel. Three of those young people gave their lives to Jesus--three young people who might never have heard the gospel, never experienced the grace and mercy of Jesus had we not gone. Nobody complained afterwards. Rather, we rejoiced and gave thanks for being counted worthy to serve Jesus. As we drove back to where we were staying, we talked about the faces of those young people, faces full of the joy of new life in Christ.
There are prettier places in the world to visit than Letlhakane, but it's a good place to learn lessons about following Jesus. Sometimes you have to take risks even when you don't feel like it. In fact, maybe it's when we don't feel like it that we most need to take risks for Jesus.
Bryan and Teresa Born, missionaries with MB Missions/Services and Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
Our goal was community development. We repaired roads, land markers, homes, anything. As missionaries, we were used to doing all the work. After all, we were there to make a difference. In one case, we repaired a road to passable standards and were very happy. A few locals helped, but we were the main crew.
At the end of the mission, we were to build a cattle corral, but there were so many locals helping that we pretty much stepped back. This was at first a frustration for someone who likes to work and be effective. Then God made me see that we had succeeded. The community had rallied together to better their area. We got the ball rolling, and now the momentum was incredible. As cross-cultural missionaries, our goal was not to save the country or do all the work. We were to train the nationals to do it. They are more effective and have real passion. An ambitious person wants to do the work of 10 men. An effective person wants to get 10 men to do the work. This way, when you leave, the vision and work continue.
Mike Miller, Team Leader
Our leaders were ministering at an outside church and were going to have our team do a drama called "King of Hearts" that night. That morning, the two guys on our team got very sick. "King of Hearts" was cancelled.
The evening rolled around, and Kjersti and I were on our way down to play with the girls at the orphanage. Our leaders came to us and said, "Come on, we are going to the other church!"
"But the guys are sick," we replied.
"We know, but they want us to come anyway. You two are going to fill the half-hour time slot."
On our way to the church, we were brainstorming about things we could do. It seemed like we couldn't do anything. All of our dramas included the guys, as did the rest of our usual children's program. In an Arabic culture, we girls were not allowed to do much of anything. Now, here we were being asked to run a program. We knew we had to pray.
When we arrived, there were 200 kids waiting for us. We both gave the service to God, knowing our faith in Him was the only thing that would get us through. We began by adapting a drama, then sang a few songs and played a few games. Suddenly the half-hour was up. God had provided us with an entire program. Afterward, all 200 kids rushed up onto the stage to thank us and to talk with us. It was an incredible feeling to see God impact others through our faith.
Dina Ghilarducci
At many schools, while I was singing, there would be some disturbance--the school bell or a siren or a disruptive student or teacher. The disturbance was usually long and always loud. I realized that if I had been just performing, my perform~ance would have been ruined. But, because I was worshipping the Lord and surrendering to Him, He worked through me and touched the young people in spite of all the interruptions. I realized that it did not matter how good my singing was if the Holy Spirit's anointing was not upon it.
It was humbling to have my singing drowned out by a siren or to have kids laughing and not paying attention to what I was doing. It made me totally dependent on the Holy Spirit, and it made me aware that this was God's work, not mine. Nothing I could do was going to change the lives of the young people. Only God could change them.
Because of this experience, singing will never be the same for me. It has changed the way I worship God, and it has changed the way I approach singing ministry at home. I thank God for opening my eyes to what ministry should be.
Rickcola Slawter
I met a 15-year-old girl, Carla, whom God really placed on my heart. I made it my commitment to pray for her and start to build a relationship. During camp, Carla told me that she wanted it to be sunny the next day. I told her that we should pray about it. Later, I remembered that it was like when Gideon put out a fleece in the Bible. I did not want to put God to the test but to show Carla that He really does answer prayer. So I went to bed that night and prayed that we would have a beautiful day.
As I was walking to the bathroom the next morning, the sky was full of clouds and grey. I asked God why He had not answered my prayer because it was not showing Carla what He could do and it was His reputation at stake. Later, after our YMI meeting, I looked up, and the sky was totally clear and blue. God had changed the day within half an hour.
I shared this with Carla, and although she did not seem too thrilled, it opened trust between us. From then on, a curiosity about God grew within her. Our relationship grew over the summer, and God answered my prayer of being able to impact Carla's life.
This experience inspired me to continue to pray. God is working through His Holy Spirit in the lives of those we pray for in His time, even though often we do not see results. I am again committed to pray for my dad and give him into God's hands.
Tina Penner
Throughout the summer I was praying, "Lord, help me to love my team, help me to love the people", but it never occurred to me that I was leaving Him out. I thought I was showing Him love by going on a mission trip and evangelizing. But God wanted much more than that. He wanted me.
When we came back to Waterloo, Ont. for debriefing, I wanted to either go back to Portugal or go home. I did not understand why I had to be there. The second night, at praise and worship, I figured it out.
Gareth, the worship leader, told us to get into groups and pray or sing or whatever we felt the Spirit moving us to do. I wanted to be alone, so I took my Bible and sat behind a dividing wall. I knew that my love for God was dry, and I wanted it to flow. I asked Him to teach me how to love Him, because I did not know if I really did.
I opened my Bible to Zephaniah 3. Nothing jumped out of the pages right away, but then He called me daughter--three times! Right there in the text, He was saying He forgave me and rejoiced and sang over me. It broke my heart, and I started to cry. Nothing had sounded so real and so beautiful in all my life. I knew then that I could never earn His love because it was already given. Now I can honestly say that I love Jesus.
Christina Kliewer
YMI is launching three regional SOAR programs in 1998 for teens and youth groups: * SOAR-Tabor (July 19-31) will focus on ministry near the Texas/Mexico border. Coordinator Wendell Loewen can be contacted at (316) 947-3121 ext 1074.
* SOAR-Eden (March 12-21, during March Break) will focus on inner-city ministry in Toronto/Montreal and Haiti. Coordinator Ed Heinrichs can be contacted at (905) 646-9884.
* SOAR Pacific (July 14-Aug. 1) will focus on ministry in Baja Mexico/urban California. Coordinator Phillip Serez can be reached at (209) 453-2227.
Family QUEST is a new missions program for young families (children ages 6-14) who want to experience missions firsthand . . . together. Families serve alongside teens and youth groups on inner-city or Mexican assignments tailored to their unique interests. The QUEST program will run alongside the Pacific SOAR program in California/Mexico July 19-31. Coordinators Norm and Lori Nickel can be contacted at (604) 852-1790 (voice), (604) 853-2405 (fax) or nnickel@youthmission.org (e-mail).
YMI `98 videos/brochures are available from the Waterloo, Ont. office, 2-100 Rankin St., Waterloo, Ont. N2V 1V9, phone (519) 886-4378.
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