Being Built Together

“19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” — Ephesians 2:19-22

When we go for a missions trip, we tend to think of ourselves as “givers”, going forth with the intention of giving local ministries abroad a leg up. It is easy to forget that we’re merely participants building on the foundation of what local workers have been developing for years and years.

And like many teams who have gone before us, what we end up realising is that we ourselves get built up by our fellow “saints and members of the household of God” as well. Sometimes, even more so than the people we are ministering to.

Here are the ministries that we helped to build up, and in turn built us up, during our missions trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in May 2024.

Building up Nong Yaeng Methodist Church

We had the privilege of visiting and serving with Nong Yaeng Methodist Church (NYMC) over three days. 

On one of the days, we had the opportunity to literally build the church by helping out with the construction of their office and dining hall. While we were likely a lot slower than the professional workers, it was heartening for us—and hopefully, for them—to be working alongside fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to physically build what will eventually be a gathering place for the local community.

We also had the honour of building up NYMC in a more spiritual manner as Jan and I (Zhe Kai) shared a sermon and testimony respectively during their Sunday service. We presented a song, Holy Forever, during the offering, followed by my testimony on how God has transformed my relationship with Him and others as I served God over the years. Jan also preached her sermon in Thai, which I believe went a long way in connecting with the church members who were present.

In the afternoon, we had the privilege of leading them in a series of games and activities to promote team building and unity in the church. Planned by Li Xuan, we were pleasantly surprised to see both Thais and Singaporeans bonding over simple games such as Broken Telephone, Team Towers, and Candle Soccer. As Christians—and particularly, as missions trippers—we have a tendency to overspiritualise and complicate matters, when God can and will use whatever we have prepared, simple as it may be, to build up His people.

Finally, we capped off a long day with dinner together as we were introduced to authentic Thai BBQ and some traditional Northern Thai dishes. We had a heartwarming dinner and fellowship and it was the perfect way to end our visit at NYMC. We were truly blessed to have them host us and include us in their community.

Nurturing the next generation

With the world changing in concerning and unpredictable ways, it was essential to us that we spend time building up the next generation during this trip. We did this throughout the week we were there, partnering with different churches and organisations.

On day 5, we began our day by spending the early morning with a class of lovely nursery children at the local children’s centre. Jacqueline and Trina led them in several songs and dances, and it was extremely amusing to watch their cute actions. The entire room was filled with cries of happiness and joyous laughter. We had a great time and were fortunate to have participated in this programme.

Our next stop was a local community school, where we were asked to prepare a cultural exchange programme for over a hundred students at the last minute. With Jacqueline at the helm, we were delegated different roles and spent the previous night researching and preparing for the various activities.

We started with an icebreaker, “Hunter, Fire, Earthquake”, with Kai Wen explaining the game. Clarissa followed up with a crash course on Singlish, while Jacqueline shared more about Singapore and introduced the four major races. Kai Wen then led us in four popular songs in four languages. To conclude, Li Xuan shared a short testimony of how prayer has impacted her life, and encouraged the students to have a prayerful heart.

The next day, we had the opportunity to engage with youths staying at Mettakit Hostel. Kai Wen led with a sharing on how we can all make the most of our “away” time to keep our fire burning for Christ, which served as an encouragement to them as they are now living independently away from their parents due to their studies. The team also spent time covering them in prayer before we started another game of Candle Soccer.

Finally on day 7, we participated in the ministry of a local community centre called Baan Dem Raak (BDR), which does outreach to children and youth in a broken neighbourhood corrupted by poverty and sexual exploitation. Claudia prepared a series of games and learning pointers with the goal of teaching the youths about time management and goal setting.

The youths were each given a paper with a template that categorised how they wanted to achieve their goals for the year, giving them a clearer picture on how to set and achieve goals, and how to properly manage their time. During their sharing, it was heartening to lear that many of their goals were focused on helping their families and the community. It was a reflection of the love they have received from BDR and their desire to give back to those who have helped them along the way.

Hearing the sick and elderly at home visitations

Home visitations are an important part of pastoral work in Thailand, particularly for the sick and elderly who otherwise find it challenging to go to church. 

These were the most challenging moments for us, as we found ourselves in a position where we were unable to directly meet the physical needs of the people we were visiting. Instead, God gave us opportunities to build them up spiritually.

In the first home, we visited a young bedridden male church member who got into a motorbike accident. It was a very heart-rending moment and something that we were not prepared for. Many of our hearts sank as we entered the room, and I believed that most of us shared the same sentiment of helplessness. When we heard that he enjoys listening to songs and music, we sang Holy Forever to encourage him to have hope in God that he will receive healing and comfort.

In the second home, we visited an elderly church member living alone. With her daughter living in the city and experiencing her own challenges, this elderly lady experienced loneliness and found it difficult to find joy in her life. At her home, we had a meaningful conversation with her and gave her words of encouragement. By God’s grace, she also shared that she has in fact been feeling more joyful recently! We rounded off our visit by praying for her and singing 能不能.

At the third home, we visited another elderly lady who had an ischemic stroke and was had no sensation in her left hand and wrist. We thank God for Li Xuan’s expertise in nursing as she helped to assess the lady. Together with Kai Wen, they both shared with her exercises that she could do to prevent further loss of mobility. We also encouraged her to visit the church more often and to our surprise, she turned up for the worship and prayer session that very night at Shineforth Methodist Church!

Retreat & Reflection – Being Built Up

Just as Jesus invited his disciples who have been doing ministry to draw themselves away and rest, we took the morning to rest and be in communion with him. After a long week of ministry, we had the opportunity to reflect on what we have done in the mission field of Chiang Mai. 

On our final morning there, we went to a quaint reservoir at Chiang Mai University to take some time to be still, to listen, to read the word of God, and to pray. We then took turns to share what we had gathered and reflected on from the past week. Many of our sharings revolved around how our hearts and minds had been shaped and moulded as we participated in the local ministry and fellowship with the Thai pastors and staff. 

Through this missions trip, we experienced firsthand how we are all “being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” A reminder that, regardless of nationality or our best-intentioned efforts, it is the Spirit who graciously builds us together to participate in the ongoing work of God anywhere and everywhere we go.