“Your first trip out of the country, and you chose Taiwan?!”
As my friend Jan and I were waiting to board our flight from Dallas to Tokyo for the longest leg (14 hours) of our journey to Taipei, Taiwan, a gentleman in the same boarding group struck up a conversation. He asked if Tokyo was our destination or just a stop, and as we talked, I mentioned that I had never been out of the country. His incredulous response was the comment above.
“Well,” I said, “that is where God led me.”
One of us explained that we were going to some public schools there to teach a cultural exchange/English class about the historical meaning of Christmas. He nodded and said something like, “Sharing the Word.”
Many hours later, he came to our seats and talked with us for a few minutes. When Jan asked if he was a believer, he said he was. Then he told us an amazing story about leaving Vietnam in a boat during the war, passing through several refugee camps, and eventually being sponsored to come to the U.S. by a group of Baptist churches. He gave a few more details but seemed pretty wary of giving out too much information, so I won’t go any further with his story. But that was a very special encounter – one of many on our journey, which had actually begun more than a year before we ever got our first glimpse of Taipei (as pictured above).
But for me, this was a trip whose roots went all the way back to my childhood.
As a child, I saw my slightly older brother (by two years) go on mission trips with our church youth group, and I couldn’t wait until it was my turn! Then when I reached seventh grade, the age limit was bumped up to ninth grade. Two more years to wait …
But when ninth grade arrived, our youth group started going to church camps instead of mission trips. I was heartbroken.
Many years later, the church my family now attends started getting involved in mission trips. At that point, with small children and one income, it was not feasible for me to consider participating. But every time a group prepared to depart, I would experience what I call “mission-trip envy.”
At one point, I told God I needed a very direct call from Him for me to know when I was supposed to go because I could not distinguish His voice from the one in my head that sounded an awful lot like a 7th-grade me whining, “When is it my turn, Lord?”
Then, in the fall of 2015, our church was hosting an audition for the Mississippi Baptist All-State Youth Choir and Orchestra. As the accompanist for our church’s student choir, I helped with the set-up and then just kind of hung around helping students rehearse their solos, praying for nervous auditioners, and generally being there to assist as needed. I met and visited with the choir’s coordinator, who asked me tons of questions about myself and my family.
A few months later, in early 2016, she called me – seemingly out of the blue – and told me that she believed God was leading her to ask me to be part of the adult team for the choir that summer. Somehow, I did not even recognize “the call” at first because it wasn’t a “mission trip” – at least, I did not realize it was at the time. As I have thought back on that over the years, I have come to acknowledge that invitation as God’s first response to my request for a clear call. I have also come to understand that my part in that mission was – and is – as much to the choir as it is to those to whom the choir ministers during their camp and tour.
Later that spring, our church was preparing to go on mission in Toledo, Ohio, and the group would be leaving before we returned from the All-State tour. But I was informed by our worship pastor that the student choir was going to be involved in a block party there, and the students who were with the All-State choir would have one day at home and then leave to join the rest of the group in Toledo.
He said, “That means you’re going to Ohio.”
Another clear call …
Several years later, my friend Jan entered the picture.
In the summer of 2023, Jan approached me one day and said that some missionaries had contacted her husband in hopes that he would come and prayer-walk in their area of Africa. As Jan spoke with him about it, he told her that he was not going. Instead, he said he believed she was supposed to go … and she was supposed to take me with her.
When Jan told me about this, I didn’t know how it would all come about; I just knew I was supposed to answer “the call” and leave the rest to God. However, He eventually closed the door on that trip.
Jan and I both knew that we had not mistaken God’s call. We both felt that He had just used the possibility of that trip to show us (1) that He wanted us to do this together and (2) that I needed a passport for whatever He had planned.
So we kept an eye on the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board website to see if anything jumped out at us. Nothing did at that point, and life continued.
At the end of July 2024, Jan texted me about a new possibility she had found on the website, but by the time she could look into it further, it had already been filled. However, that prompted me to start looking as well. On August 3, 2024, I sent Jan a text that I had found this listing: “Christmas Team – 2024.”
The purpose of this trip was to present the historical story of Christmas as recorded in the Bible, from creation to Christ. The presentation would be scripted by the field missionary and some of her friends and co-laborers, and then it would be pre-approved by public school administrators before teams would be allowed into their classrooms.
As I read the description, I remember thinking that God might allow me to do something slightly within my comfort zone since this was my first foray out of the country. After all, it would be a sort of scripted “performance,” which is something I am familiar with and not nearly as intimidating to me as impromptu street evangelism. (Spoiler alert: If you can rely on your own strength or ability to finish what you perceive is your assignment, you probably will not rely on God’s strength or His power to accomplish His work … and that applies to all of life!)
I sent Jan the link, and she said we should look into it. There were three dates available, but due to work and church responsibilities, only the first one was workable for me. After the previous failed attempt and months of various interruptions, I think both Jan and I were apprehensive about our probability of getting in on this opportunity. Nevertheless, we applied for the trip, and within just a few weeks, we were in the process of approval and training!
After several Zoom calls with our host missionary and more preparation, we finally arrived at departure day. In order to arrive in Taipei on Friday evening, we had to overcome a 14-hour time jump. This meant leaving home in the wee hours of Thanksgiving Day to catch our 5:17 a.m. flight out of Memphis, Tennessee, which took us to Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport, which is where I began this narrative.
I’m not sure how many installments this trip will require, but I hope you will follow along on my and Jan’s journey to Christmas in Taiwan.
And remember, wherever you are called to go – whether from Nazareth to Bethlehem on the order of a Caesar, from the sheep fields to a nearby town at the direction of an angel, from far-off Eastern lands on a two-year journey following a star … or from rural Mississippi to a city of millions clear on the other side of the world – the call Jesus gave to His disciples is the same now as it was when He issued it before He returned to Heaven:
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).
