“We started singing a few songs and “Joy” (a local believer) listened as we sang. Then I started singing ‘I love you Lord, and I lift my voice…’ and I looked over and there were tears running down her face, and she joined us, singing in the local language. After that we sang ‘Amazing Grace’, which she also knew. The remainder of the 8 hours of riding in the SUV in and out of the earthquake zone basically turned into a songfest, and a great time of worship and fellowship.”
This is an excerpt from the diary of one of the five men from Parkside Church who traveled to East Asia in late April on a short term missions trip. Parkside has a connection with an evangelistic organization based in the region, which asked for help in an outreach program that they have undertaken. The five men were Bob Yanega, who served as the team leader, Josh Johnson from our Green Campus Joe Yates, who is on the Parkside facility staff, Vince Lupe also from Green, and Marvin Mullet, who was making his second trip to the region.
The purpose of the trip was to assist in rebuilding efforts from last year’s devastating earthquake. The goal was to show genuine compassion as well as create open doors for the furtherance of spreading the gospel in this area. As the team discovered, God often uses us in ways that we may not expect and He does more than we can ask or imagine, in His timing and through His methods.
The team was able to transport a number of items for use by the local believers in their ministry. The lack of concern by government officials was an answer to prayer, and the items were joyfully received by the believers in country. The men also had many opportunities along the way to share their faith and give people Bibles, starting in O’Hare Airport in Chicago and continuing all the way back on the final flight to Cleveland.
There were difficulties upon arrival, as the local believers had concerns about recent government interference and surveillance. The team from Parkside asked for prayer concerning this and also spent time helping the local construction team solve several construction problems with a house/community center building that was already underway. Then God opened the door to actually begin work on a new house in another town nearby.
The first day of building was similar to an Amish “barn raising”, except the structure was made of steel, not wood. Brothers and sisters in Christ, from Asia and America, worked alongside one another lifting the heavy sections and pulling ropes to get each of the large frames into place. Then each section had to be bolted to the foundation and to the other secondary framing pieces. On the second day, the team became masonry laborers and bricklayers, as the walls were started. Once again, everyone pulled together to move and set (literally) tons of bricks.
The end of the week brought a day of teaching English to kindergartners, with a curriculum created by Vince Lupe. The original purpose was to maintain good relations with the local government officials who have shown favor to the local Christian organization. Once again, God had bigger plans as the afternoon turned into an opportunity to do a presentation for the students, teachers, parents, and townspeople. Bob was asked to give a speech, in which he included some general statements about our creator God. Then, led by Joe, the team sang ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Silent Night’, and each song was introduced by Charles Ho (a liaison from California and overall trip leader and interpreter) who explained the significance of each song as it related to the gospel message. It was very well received, and the head official took the team to his son-in-law’s restaurant and bought dinner for all!
After worship in an international church on Sunday, the team was able to hear the testimony of several local young women who have trusted Christ. One common theme was the influence of American English teachers in the country and how their kindness and desire to share the Bible drew these women to Christ. It was cause for further anticipation of the Parkside trips to this region this summer, which will focus on teaching English for two weeks to older students. (For further information on being part of that effort, contact the church office.)
Only God knows how these future trips may also have an impact for His kingdom!
