Emmanuel: I am a 4th year student in Music, my instrument is the Pipe Organ (welcome 😃 to hear me play at Con Hall!). My home is the tiny city-state of Singapore! I travel back every summer to see my 5 amazing sisters, and eat lots of tropical fruits.
Favourite memory from summer is: Walking my sisters to school, enjoying unhurried time talking to dad while giving him foot massages.
I'm Jemma, just spent a crazy semester in Toronto on exchange from Psychology in National University of Singapore! Chose to exchange to Toronto because my dear brother Emmanuel is there, and I thought it might be nice to check out his life there (spoiler: christian fellowship).
Favourite memory from summer is: beach days with family and friends!
How has following Jesus impacted your goals and plans this summer?
I may have many plans, but my ultimate plan is: taking the path of seeking God's will.
In May, I received (a rather last-minute) confirmation from my family that they got air tickets to Canada for June. I had envisioned a restful June spent seeing my friends' graduation ceremonies, instead we got together a jam-packed itinerary to Montreal, 1 day in Toronto, Niagara and Vancouver.
I knew it was a short window of opportunity for my dad to explore ministry opportunities in Vancouver, for my sisters to meet my girlfriend (while hopping around the Pipe Organs of Montreal), and for all of us to visit my Great Grand-uncle (now a centenarian 100 years old!) together.
Through it all I praise God for my tight-knit family, our mutual submission to each other, that enables us to seek God's will together. When we surrender our wants, face up to certain fears and see Christ in every interaction, we see how God honors our intentions and makes beautiful things come out of nowhere happenstance.
Following Jesus has always been a disruption to normal life (in a good way). I did have some plans to go for a different mission trip + school trip to China, but somehow things worked out for me to go to Paris instead for missions, which I see as God's guidance. Also, I thought my goal was to share about Jesus with people over summer, but I realized I also needed to ground myself in the truth of the Gospel again - it never gets old.
Why is engaging in missions important to you?
My dad reminded me at a sharing that "missions begins with an explosion of joy". Nothing makes me more happy than seeing today's generation, an increasingly confused and purposeless people, engage with the life-giving truths of the gospel, forming communities of faith that wrestles with life questions together. Recently at church, my sister Kyra was presented with a candle and Bible, symbolising the church motto "Lighted to Lighten". Many at her age of 13 begin questioning, why Life? Our response is, Life is a gift from God, to be celebrated through the inspiration of God's Word. This celebration is a lamp on the hill, not to be hidden, visible to all those around we share our lives with!
Great commission. And also because I think it's a response that the Holy Spirit stirs when I know more about the great grace from God in Jesus Christ - how can I keep it to myself?
Can you share about the spiritual climate, outreach strategy or ministry overview during your time on your missions trip?
We spent 2 weeks in Paris, France, reaching out to Mandarin-speaking International students over mealtimes at the campus cafeteria.
Despite it being exam season, we were greatly encouraged by the Chinese church fellowships, seeing God continue the work of connecting building up people together in church. Super excited for the next chapter in missions stories!
There isn't much Christian presence in Europe (Paris). However, I'm encouraged to see pockets of christians gather and worship God together, whether it was the Chinese students we were reaching out to, or the French locals of the land. I was also surprised that some Chinese students (despite being warned by the Chinese government to be wary of church) were curious about knowing God too.
How would you encourage someone looking to get involved or engaged missionally? Any specific resources, tools, or communities to connect with?
Just start praying! God will open your eyes to see opportunities all around you, living out a walking gospel about our daily lives.
Pray pray pray (by self and with others!) for God to grow your heart in outreach and if there's any specific people groups/places He's directing you to. Look at your local church to see if they have mission trips, best case scenario is joining a mission trip supported by your church! Next is with mission organizations or campus christian fellowships that do missions!
Any other specific stories you'd like to share?
Future Directions! I would like to share the biography of my Great-grandma that I translated into English: Google Drive is linked! In 1960, she responded to God's call to minister to the Hakka Chinese diaspora in Mauritius despite the difficulties of raising a family of 5 children as a widow. She is a great inspiration to many people, and hopefully to you too!
