Yvonne Yau
I first sensed God ’ s calling to get involved with missions when I
heard a sister ’ mission sharing about six years ago. At that time, my
heart was hardened and I was not willing to give up my annual vacation
for mission work. After two years of wrestling with God, I finally
surrendered and signed up for a mission trip. However, the door was
closed as my dad and I were both diagnosed with cancer within a year. I
questioned God ’ s calling and doubted that I would ever regain my
physical strength. Through God ’ s healing power and the prayer support
from brothers and sisters, I was able to recuperate. Despite the
situation, my heart for mission never ceased. Once again I prayed to
seek God ’ s plan and He revealed to me in a dream that I will go to
Latin America. After interviewing with many representatives from several
mission organizations, Impact Ministries touched my heart the most.
Coincidently, Impact Ministries serves the impoverished people in
Guatemala!
Spiritual Warfare
Just one week before my departure, as I was preparing for my
mission trip, my mom had a brain injury and was admitted to the
emergency room. I was devastated and confused. I did not understand why
God would keep pounding on my heart to participate in mission work but
the circumstances kept preventing me to go. When I asked God for
clarity, He answered my prayer by telling me that as soon as I commit
myself to do God ’ s work, I will enter into a spiritual warfare. I
suspected that my family and I were under spiritual attacks and the only
way to overcome Satan ’ s scheme was through accessing God ’ s divine
power through prayers. I gathered a circle of prayer warriors and asked
them to fiercely pray for my family. By God ’ s grace and power, my mom
was able to have a speedy recovery after her brain surgery, then both my
parents endorsed me to continue with my mission trip.
Morning Worships
Every morning the mission team would join the worship at the
local Christian schools. My attention was first drawn to the cute
Guatemalan children all dressed in nice uniform as they closed their
eyes and lifted their hands praising God at the top of their lungs. My
perspective changed however when the local missionary explained that as
alcoholism and domestic violence are very common in Guatemala, many
children or their mothers were probably beaten the night before. The
worship serves as their refuge in which God could release their burden
and give them a brand new day. Since then my tears never stopped every
time I was in the worship. I was so overwhelmed and touched by their
sincere, heartfelt worship to the Lord our Saviour.
The Children
One of our tasks was to deliver a children ’ s program to the
public school students who may have never heard of Jesus. On our way
there, some of my team members shared stories about getting hair lice
and skin rashes from the children. I was a bit intimidated at first and
as soon as I arrived, I could detect an unpleasant smell. The children
had dirt all over their bodies and most of their clothes were torn. God
reminded me of how Jesus, a holy man, came to this sinful world and
embraced us. God ’ s love moved me and helped me to embrace the children
with open arms.
Prophetic Dream
Our team had a chance to go to the marketplace to experience the
everyday life of the local Guatemalans. To my surprise, some images in
the dream, revealed to me earlier, appeared right before my eyes! I
recalled from my dream seeing many women and children selling things on
both sides of the dusty streets. I realized in that moment that God had
revealed to me a prophetic dream.
Sink Hole & Cixim
The local missionary took us to visit a few worship sites of the
Mayan people: One was a cave where it was believed the spirits of the
underworld are. Another one was a cathedral church which was built on a
traditional worship site. Initially I noticed two crosses in front of
the church building but as I looked more closely, I noticed that there
was a rum bottle and some ashes under the crosses. When I walked inside
the cathedral, there was a statue of Jesus nailed on the cross but the
plaque nearby says the “ Lord of Cixim ” . The missionary explained to
us that Cixim is the name of the corn god and the Mayan people used to
offer burnt sacrifice to their god on this site. During the Spanish
Conquest, the Catholic built the church there and named the status of
Jesus, the Lord of Cixim. It hurts to see how the Catholic church
presented a twisted truth by syncretizing with the local religion in
order to win converts. Unfortunately, the Mayan people never got to know
the one and the only true God, and they are still living under the
lies. In both places, our team stood in circle and praised God to bring
light to the darkest place in Guatemala.
Home Visit
The home visit was the climax and the most memorable part of my
mission trip. Some of our team members have sponsored children or just
started sponsoring children during the trip. We went to each of their
homes and brought them gifts of clothes and stationaries. Usually all
the family members would come to greet us with their warmest welcome.
However in our visit to the last family, the situation was very
different. That family lived on top of a steep hill. Just when we were a
few steps away, the mother ran out from the house and burst into tears.
When we arrived, every members of the household was crying because a
baby boy just died. The entire room was filled with grief and sorrow. We
were stunned and did not know how to respond. I asked God: “ Why did
you bring us here at this moment? ” and “ What is you purpose in this? ”
God spoke to me through a song (named 除 你 以 外 ) that He is the One who
wipes our tears away and we are to be His representatives. I took the
tissue papers out from my bag and went to wipe the tears of the
children. I hugged them tightly while praying that God's love and
comfort will flow through me. I also went to take a closer look at the
dead baby. Having come close to death, I once again faced death. I was
reminded that the reason I am alive today is not because I deserve to
live any more than that little boy but because of God ’ s sovereignty.
At the end of the visit, all our team members surrounded the family and
prayed for them. We brought them the good news that we would sponsor one
of her sons and from then on, her son will have access to education and
the family to healthcare. When we left, our hearts were heavy and
nobody said a word in the van. God had comforted me that all we were
called to do is to represent God to bring hope to the family in the
midst of their desperation. He himself will bring healing and life
transformation.
Conclusion
Through this mission trip, God has opened my eyes to the
spiritual realm and I have experienced His mighty power in a very
special way. I ’ ve learned that no matter how insignificant our
contribution may seem, as long as we are sensitive and obedient to the
promptings of the Holy Spirit, God will complete His work and will allow
us to inherit the fruits of His accomplishments.
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