Embracing the Good Shepherd's Call: Nicole's Mission Trip Testimony

By Nicole Gan

In February, I took a one-month mission trip to Chiang Mai under the MITE program with the Methodist Missions Society (MMS). This was something I had felt called to do for quite a while but could never quite find the courage to pursue this tugging on my heart. The very first time I felt this strong burden and calling was in my first year of University. However, pressured by my peers who were using their summer breaks to gain useful working experiences through various promising internships – I caved in and decided I was going to do the same. It was up until my final semester in school when I felt this strong tugging on my heart once again. I could almost hear God’s voice so clearly as He reminded me of this desire He had birthed in my heart four years ago and that there was indeed no better time than now to embark on this journey with Him. 

The months leading up to my trip however weren’t all that smooth, especially with the slight increase in the number of Covid-19 cases throughout the region. I had concerned and loving friends and relatives (with good intentions of course) advising me against proceeding on with my trip. As someone who overthinks and worries quite a bit, I had many sleepless nights wondering if this was really the wisest thing to do. I remember crying out to God one of the nights just before flying off because I had an overwhelming sense of anxiety and uncertainty – but as I cried out to God, I felt a strong sense of conviction that this was a path and season that He had ordained; and there was no place safer and more secure than being where He has called me to be. With that, I found the courage to obey God’s call to get on that flight on February 16 and fully embrace all that the Lord had in store for me. 

My time in Chiang Mai was beautiful. It was a time of learning so much more about God and His love towards His people; while at the same time experiencing and witnessing His deep love for me. I remember in one instance praying so hard that God would give me an opportunity to witness the work He was doing in the mountainside but not knowing exactly how He would get me there. By His loving grace and His hand at work, He connected me with a brother-in-Christ who owned a children’s home up in Phitsanulok (just a 5 hours’ drive away from Chiang Mai). I managed to make the trip up over a weekend and witnessed first hand the gracious love and the tender heart of our God for the children there. Hearing the story of how the Lord’s hand was moving to set up the home was when it really hit me just how far (and wide) the Lord would go for His one sheep that we may know Him.

As we read in Luke 15:

‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after that one sheep until He finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep”.

That the Lord would impress upon the heart of someone miles away from Thailand and provide all the required resources was just a testament of His love and desire to pursue all His children that they may one day come to know Him. 

Children at the local school

It was also in this instance that the Lord revealed to me the deep love He had for me; that I too was that one lost sheep that needed saving. Before making the trip up to Chiang Mai, I was deeply anxious about my future post-graduation. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do with my life and I often found myself lost under the weight of this pressure. I had found a lot of my worth and identity in my achievements and what others thought of me; while refusing to relinquish control over my life. But with witnessing at first hand the heart of God and spending time in the stillness of His presence away from the pressures and all things familiar, I began to dig my roots deeper within the Lord and rebuild an identity rooted in who He said I was and what was pleasing in His sight. The journey to Chiang Mai – as much as it was to help and witness God’s work for His people in Thailand, was also a time of witnessing the love of God for me and His work in my life.

For that, I will always be so grateful. 

With the children I taught in the local school

About the writer

Nicole is co-chairperson of the Youth Ministry at Trinity Methodist Church.