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LIFT 19 Mission to Southeast Asia
We praise God for His faithfulness to us in making LIFT's first trip to Southeast Asia a wonderful success. Unlike previous trips we've taken, we entered into this journey knowing that it would be more of a vision trip than a traditional mission trip. Rather than a lot of hands-on involvement, much of our time was  spent watching and learning how God is at work in and through His people on the other side of the world. After fighting the American urge to feel "needed," we cherished this awesome opportunity to see and encourage faithful brothers and sisters in their Kingdom work. God is on the move in Southeast Asia, and the lives of this LIFT team will forever be impacted by our chance to witness it.
Our first week was spent on the beautiful grounds of Suen Douh Camp in Hong Kong. A lush and green five-acre plot in the shadows of nearby skyscrapers, Suen Douh has been a haven of fun and relaxation for over a million children as they learn about Jesus. The leader of our trip, John Bechtel, founded Suen Douh with his wife, Donna, over 35 years ago, and we enjoyed his entertaining and inspiring stories of decades past. Though our plans to work with kids at Suen Douh were canceled due to a flu epidemic which closed all the schools, we had a great time living at the camp and getting to know the staff. We even had our own  crew of three friendly staff who served as guides and translators for us everywhere we went. Their tireless work ensuring we had everything we needed (they even found Frosted Flakes for us!) was much appreciated, and we were thankful for the chance to learn their stories of following Christ. A big highlight of our time in Hong Kong was definitely the trip to a little fishing village where John Bechtel planted a church decades earlier. Now they have a thriving body of believers and even their own elementary school!
Coming from a land where idolatry takes more subtle forms, we were struck by the many temples and idol worshipers we saw. People were bowing down, burning incense and offering sacrifices to carved images - in each of the countries we visited. Outside of one big temple was a furnace-type device where people were burning paper. John explained that they believe that if they burn paper replicas of real objects (watches, clothing, jewelry, even cars!), their dead relatives will receive those objects in hell - which is where everyone goes when they die. He even showed us a whole stack of Hell Bank Notes! It was painful  to see the dedication of so many people who don't realize the futility of such actions. It was especially sobering to visit the enormous cemetary in Hong Kong where thousands of people have been buried thinking they had no choice but to go to hell and hope that some money would be burned for them. We saw two crosses marking Christian gravestones - in the whole place.
Despite the incredible odds, however, it seemed that God was raising up leaders for His church everywhere we went! Even in mainland China, where we were thrilled at the chance to travel to several rural churches, we met a number of devoted brothers and sisters who are tirelessly working to further the gospel, despite hardships. The love of Christ shone brightly in their eyes as they told us about their growing congregations, many of which began with just one dedicated believer who brought the good news to their entire village. In Thailand, we had the privilege of working with a team from Campus Crusade for Christ and worshiped with them in a beautiful, brand-new church building one Sunday. Their congregation is  growing, particularly attracting highly accomplished individuals - many of the people we met after the service were doctors, lawyers, professors and engineers. Living in one of the most Buddhist countries in the world, they face opposition from their friends and families when they choose to follow Christ, but there were smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts that was evident in our conversations with them. CCC is working together with many other Christian organizations throughout the country to develop a strategy for reaching all parts of Thailand with the gospel. Their enthusiasm for what God will do over the next decade was contagious, and we will certainly be lifting them up in prayer as they move ahead in faithful obedience. 
Our time in Cambodia proved to be the most challenging part of the trip for many of us. Not only was the weather unbelievably hot and humid, leaving us fighting dehydration the whole time, but we were confronted with horrors beyond belief as we entered into a land recovering from a devastating genocide. Witnessing the piles of skulls and the seemingly endless stretches of mass graves where hundreds of thousands of inn ocent people were brutally tortured and killed was very difficult, to say the least. Questions of justice and evil were raised but sufficient answers were impossible to find. Meeting people like Pastor David gave us the glimmer of hope we needed, and seeing his passion and energy for furthering the gospel was encouraging. We were able to see the plot of land where their new church will soon be built - and give him the good news that CAMP-of-the- WOODS has designated a significant sum of money to the project!
We look forward to all that God will continue to teach us through these incredible experiences - from eating cobra-and-chicken-foot soup to teaching English to Buddhist Cambodian students to ministering to prostitutes in Bangkok's Red Light District. Every mind and heart in the LIFT team has been stretched and expanded as a result of this trip, and there are even some who are feeling the call to one day return to that part of the world. It's exciting to think of all that God will accomplish in and through the people of Southeast Asia over the next few years!
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