Submitted by Kaitlyn…
During the Christmas of 2007, I went on Gracepoint Fellowship Church’s mission trip to Hsinchu, Taiwan with about 80 other members of our church. That was a very special mission trip because we were there to celebrate the inaugural of our church plant in Hsinchu. Pastor Ed and Kelly Kang, and many directors and older staff were part of this trip, spending Christmas away from their children and family, so that they can encourage and strengthen Eugene and Cynthia, and the other founding team members of our Hsinchu church, who had been in Taiwan for several months at that time, braving their first typhoon encounters, testing the waters and adjusting to a whole new country and culture, away from the spiritual home they’ve known for 10+ years. On this trip, I saw the parental heart of our leaders for the young team in Taiwan. One thing that I noticed and that really moved me was the kind of things that we packed for this mission trip. Of course besides our personal items for 2 weeks, we also packed gifts that we wanted to give to the team there. And because there were 80 of us going, and we were trying to pull off 2 large-scale events – the inaugural and Christmas Celebration – and trying to pull them off WITHOUT burdening our small team over there, we packed everything from speakers to stage lights to reams of copy paper to 2 huge Christmas trees plus ornaments… all the way down to isle runners, Kirkland brand cookies, even crispy noodles and canned mandarin oranges used to top the Chinese Chicken salad … and, get this, we packed ROLLING COOLERS! Yes the 40 quart square-ish blue ones with white lids with the retractable handle on wheels. I remember being slightly surprised seeing the coolers when we were gathering all our supplies to be packed as check-in luggage – like who flies igloos over the Pacific Ocean as personal check-in’s? When normal people travel, luggage is a hassle, you pack light and whatever you don’t have, well you just make do. But then of course, what we did made sense because we needed the coolers to transport food (like the Chinese Chicken Salad) to where we will have our events. Without the coolers, things won’t be kept warm, it would take a few people to carry what could fit in one cooler and it would be difficult and tiring to transport. That fact we packed these coolers, that kind of detailed thinking and planning, really reminded me that we went there to serve, to support our team there, not to create any extra work and to help them out, at the end it was because we love our brothers and sisters committing to serve in Hsinchu.
I saw this love throughout the mission trip as Pastor Ed would give messages and lead us to pray for Eugene and Cynthia and the team, it was really with that tone of a parent who is slightly torn by the protective love wanting to spare them from the hardships and pain of ministry, pain that probably Pastor Ed knows too well himself, and at the same time recognizing that what greater thing can we be doing for God. It reminds me of Paul’s solemn charge to Timothy, his dear son, at the end of 2 Timothy. Kelly would cook food for all 80 of us when we were practicing for Christmas Celebration, and even some of the dishes for the inaugural dinner (for over 100 people) because we had some trouble with the original caterer. From that I really learned what it means to roll up your sleeves and work, to be flexible and ready for anything. It would be one thing to cook for the same amount of people back home (not a small feat in and of itself) – but at least it would be in a familiar environment where you know what food is available in the market, where you know the kitchen and where presumably you would’ve planned for this. But I don’t think all of this was planned. It was just our leaders seeing what was needed and responding to the need. So I remember that dinner before Christmas Celebration – instead of eating popcorn chicken or the cafeteria bento-box for the n-th time, we had some homemade food with homemade kimchee.
I really cherish this special mission trip because it captured for me our church’s concrete commitment to send and sustain our missionaries away from home; and showed me the beautiful picture of what it means to hold each other so dearly but yet tear ourselves apart because the gospel message is that real, that precious, and that urgent.
I really agree with everything that Kaitlyn is saying here. I feel really privileged that I was able to go on that mission trip, and I especially enjoyed all the time that we were able to spend as a team, doing DT, praying, sharing, and hearing messages from Pastor Ed, because it was during that time that I was able to get a better idea of what our missionaries there in Taiwan are going through on a day-to-day basis and I was really challenged to remember them in my prayers and to always use any opportunity that I have to encourage them. Now every time I hear any news from Taiwan, in addition to just being interested in what’s going on there, it’s also a reminder to me to do all I can, whether to commit more to our ministry here in the States or praying for them or sending an e-mail to my friends in Taiwan.
Yes! Thank you so much for all the planning, labor of love to the nitty, gritty details that made that mission trip so memorable, for rolling up your sleeves, and the sacrifice of spending Christmas away from home. I was such a beneficiary of all this and greatly encouraged to press on after being in the fellowship of leaders, peers, and the body of Christ! Thank you!!
thank you for sharing kaitlyn!
thank you for your sharing Kaitlyn! We’re all praying for you, Taiwan team!