Four months invested

As I leave the city where I’ve served for four months, I can't help but be excited to return home with my family and friends. But it also saddens me to leave the life I have semi-built here in East Asia and the relationships I have formed.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned here is the importance of true, genuine fellowship. Being here without that, until these past few weeks, really made me understand the impact it has on our spiritual growth and maturity. If we do not have true fellowship, how are we supposed to be rebuked and reproofed—chiseled—to become more like Christ? But because I was forced to rely solely on the Scripture for that chiseling, I was lonely enough to be able to hear solely from him, which brought many blessings and revelations.

As I look back over these past four months, I don't even know how to begin to process. So many things have happened in my life, but also in the lives of the local people here. While there have been many victories won and many seeds planted here, I can almost say with certainty that God moved in my life just as much as he did in the lives of those that I was allowed to impact with the gospel.

On a mission trip, one initially would think that the sole purpose for being wherever you are is to affect the lives of those you were sent to serve. While that is true in some aspects, I would have to disagree about the purpose for going. I believe we were allowed to be on this earth to have a relationship with God—ultimately, so that we could glorify him.

Wherever we go and whatever we do, it is to give glory to our Father; whether that be introducing people to Jesus, serving the poor, going to school, allowing God to have control of our lives or whatever.

Wes, a student at Stephen F. Austin State University, has been serving in East Asia with Go Now Missions. His last name is withheld for security reasons.