Phil 3:13–14

It is more blessed to give than to receive

By the time you read this message, my wife and I will be in Northern Thailand on a mission trip with the cell group we belong to. There are nine of us in the team, and this will be my seventh trip there since my retirement.
In the first three years after retiring, my wife and I led two short-term mission trips each year — one with the Feng Cai Ting ministry team and another focused on medical outreach — making a total of six trips. Many participants joined more than once, and some even took part every single time.
Why are they so willing — even eager — to return? Reflecting on this, I would like to share a few reasons why these short-term missions have been so meaningful to them.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:13–14)

Through short-term missions:

They see God at work in very real ways.
A place once dominated by darkness and known as a centre of the global drug trade has, within a short time, become a place where the Gospel is proclaimed and God’s glory is made known. Those who were once bound by drug addiction have become faithful servants of God, serving in churches and Christian rehabilitation centres.

The more they give, the more they experience the joy of serving.
Each day is filled with ministry — visiting people, praying with them, sharing testimonies, caring for those in need, conducting training sessions, leading camps, and interacting with orphans. Through these experiences, team members discover the deep joy of serving alongside God.

They encounter the beauty of God’s creation.
With a sea of clouds below them, mountain ranges stretching into the distance, and the vast sky above, they are surrounded by the splendour of God’s creation.

They learn to serve and work together.
The environment is not always comfortable, and differences between people can sometimes lead to friction. Yet team members learn to face such situations with humility and grace, resolving differences and supporting one another.

They experience God’s protection and care.
There have been many unforgettable moments — when all the medical supplies for a mission trip were confiscated by customs; when we had to hold hands and wade through streets flooded with rushing water; when the battery cables of the small van we were travelling in nearly overheated and melted (had the vehicle caught fire halfway up the mountain, the consequences would have been unimaginable); and when a team member had to undergo urgent retinal surgery the day after returning home. Through all these experiences, we clearly sensed God’s protection.
Through these short-term missions, brothers and sisters have come to know God more deeply. They have also learned what it truly means to serve as the Lord’s servants and experienced the truth that “it is more blessed to give than to receive”. As a result, their outlook on life, values, approach to service, and spiritual lives have been transformed.

Finally, let me share one particularly striking experience that deeply moved me.
First year:
At a Christian rehabilitation centre, the Holy Spirit prompted me to lead a young man to receive the Lord. I later learned that he was from Myanmar, unmarried, and had completed secondary school. He had spent seven years in Chiang Mai learning culinary skills and had also picked up Cantonese. Sadly, because of drug addiction he had become HIV-positive.

Second year:
At another Christian rehabilitation centre, I unexpectedly met him again. He shared that he was there for two days because of work and that he was undergoing training to become a staff member in the rehabilitation ministry.

Third year:
Once again, I met him — this time at a rehabilitation centre where he was not serving. He shared that he was preparing to dedicate his life to God and hoped to enrol in a theological seminary for formal training, since he had completed high school.
Each of these encounters could hardly be explained as coincidence; they were clearly part of God’s wonderful plan.

Fourth year:
I rejoined the mission team again in the capacity of a “retired pastor”, serving alongside the pastoral team of Kum Yan Methodist Church. May the Lord continue to use my wife and me so that we may still contribute in some way to His kingdom.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. | Phil 3:13–14