Excitement filled me when the 2023 Cambodia missions trip was announced. The Lord had
moved powerfully the last time I went there and I was eager to go again to share the love of
Jesus with the Cambodians.
Moreover, Ps Daphne mentioned that the Cambodian worship team hoped to learn more about
worship. Serving a youth worship leader, it was a chance for me to build the Cambodian church
in this area.
My prayer before the trip was for God to show up, for the Cambodians and the missions team to
be challenged by Him, and be ready to take up whatever God calls us to do.
God really challenged me. Days before the trip, I came down with COVID-19. And on the day
itself, five other team members came down with COVID-19 too. They were my closest friends.
This meant losing half the band playing in the Youth Evangelistic Concert (YEC) that we had
planned for months!
At the airport, the pastoral team was assured to let me go, since I was no longer contagious by
then. They left the decision up to me.
A sense of guilt tugged at my heart, as I felt responsible for possibly being the one to spread the
coronavirus to my friends. My friends did not blame me, but further encouraged me to go.
Their gracious words gave me some assurance, but I was still anxious. Could I lead the Youth
Evangelistic Concert (YEC) by myself? The task of leading worship in both English and Khmer*
alone was daunting.
Feelings of inadequacy and a deep-seated fear overwhelmed me. Thoughts of staying home,
resting, and watching K-Dramas became so enticing at that moment.
I felt like Jonah. I wanted to run away from doing God’s work.
who was I to disobey God, now that the door was already open?
Yet, this seemed like no coincidence. How was it that I was medically cleared the very day of the
trip? Furthermore, it would not be right nor responsible of me as the Worship IC to bail on the
rest. More importantly, who was I to disobey God, now that the door was already open?
Feeling a tugging in my heart to just go, I took a deep breath and told God, “Lord, I will say yes,
but I really need your help. I can’t do this on my own.”
“Lord, I will say yes,
but I really need your help. I can’t do this on my own.”
I left the airport trembling, with tears in my eyes. All I could do was to rely on God, 100%. Upon
arrival in Cambodia, we took time to seek the Lord in worship and prayer to realign our hearts to
His purposes.
The next day was a flurry of activity. We needed to pivot as half our YEC band was gone. One
of our team members, Clarissa Ee, took the initiative and stepped up to play on the keyboard,
even though she was quite new to the band. Two Cambodians also joined us – Ratha played the
guitar, and Sis Chanthu joined me on the vocals. I was so grateful because she knew the Khmer
words and could support and guide me on the pronunciation.
We spent time coordinating hand signals with them and teaching them some music theory so
that we could flow with one another. It was a good time bridging our cross-cultural differences
too.
When the day of the YEC came, I was so scared and nervous! The thought of leading worship
in a foreign language to a new congregation sent my heart pounding.
However, my fears were unfounded. Once service started, the Cambodians sounded like they
saw a K-pop band – the whole hall reverberated with their shouts and worship unto the Lord!
Their overwhelming energy and eagerness to worship God was so encouraging and inspiring
that I too jumped and praised Him with all my heart!
There and then, I experienced the Lord’s supernatural empowerment. Truth be told, I struggled so much with Khmer words. Prior to the trip, I would slow down each worship video to 0.25x
speed to catch the pronunciation and write my personalised romanisation of the Khmer words.
Sis Chanthu also pronounced certain words differently during the practice sessions, which made
me rather nervous. While the confidence screen at the back of the hall showed both Khmer
romanisation and written Khmer, I could not seem to pronounce the words correctly even during
the practice sessions.
However, during the actual YEC, I found myself speaking and singing all the Khmer words
accurately!
Knowing that the Spirit of the Lord was upon me gave me the
confidence and boldness
I was absolutely mindblown. How could I pronounce all those words without struggling? This
was surely the Lord’s doing. Knowing that the Spirit of the Lord was upon me gave me the
confidence and boldness to lead the congregation into the presence of God.
That night, God revealed to me that had I not gone for the missions trip, amazing things would
still happen to the Cambodians, but they would not have happened through me. It was truly a
humbling experience partnering with the Lord, and I’m so glad that I did not lose out on this joy!
Despite the many “disasters” we experienced – losing five leaders and having to re-strategize at
the last minute, we all saw how God had turned the disasters into good.
Plans are necessary, but God’s plans are
the best plans
If you are considering going for a missions trip, just go for it! Don’t be a Jonah. This missions trip
taught me to trust in the Lord, and not in human plans. Plans are necessary, but God’s plans are
the best plans, and we just have to flow with Him.
May you witness the faithfulness and power of God as you partner Him in obedience on a
missions trip!
*Khmer is the official language of Cambodia.
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