This week was packed with experiential learning. On Monday, we went to Gracious Aquaponic Culture where Pastor Andrew Choo gave us an introduction to what his ministry was all about. Setting up a farm, using farming as a therapeutic means to reach out to ex-convicts, an alternative means to educate, most importantly, it was that passion to respond in a Godly manner to the issues in society. During the introductory session, I could feel that passion, that conviction bouncing off his every sentence. And when Charlie came up to share his testimony, it was really amazing to see the way talked about his journey coming to Christ and how it had changed him. I’ve known people like Charlie from my army days. What they’ve been doing has become habits, a lifestyle that is really difficult to change. And Charlie was absolutely right when he said that Christ was the only reason why he was able to make such a huge change. It is the same for me, even being born into a Christian family. Only when I realized the need for Christ to be the Lord over my life could I leave the past behind. Only through Christ can one be free of past sins.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17
After a short tour of the farm, we got our hands dirty, weeding the ground. When we were given changkol, in my mind was, “This is shell scrapes all over again… Sigh…” But when we started on the task at hand together, we just rolled. Some of the weeds were small and had really delicate roots, and that was the difficult part! If we did not remove the roots, they would just grow back! But at the same time, we had to be sure not to damage the roots of the plant as well. This analogy has been used many times throughout the Bible and Sunday school class. But nothing beats having that first hand experience in weeding. That slight frustration knowing that if we do not clear that root out, the crops might be in jeopardy (I know it seems a little melodramatic but as a first-time weeder, I think it is excusable). It is the same when we realize that the detrimental effect sin had on our life, we would probably grab on harder to Christ to weed our sins. Hey! That’s experiential learning!
Similarly, during our visit to Healthserve, we had dinner with the migrant workers from China. During that meal, we had conversations that once again reminded me of the part of society which we conveniently forget. To be honestly, if I were there alone, the conversation would have had a lot more awkward silence. It was not that I could not understand his situation; rather, I was afraid that in my attempt, I might come off as a presumptuous, ignorant kid with a “disillusioned” Christian outlook. Thankfully, there were brothers and sisters who brought him to church. Although he was not yet a Christian, he was considering it seriously and I was touched because he understood that believing in God had to be thoroughly considered and not to be accepted purely for the promise of a better life. After understanding a little more about his background, we did a short prayer with him (trust me, this is where 20 years growing up in a Chinese church comes in handy). Through this experience, I really felt the need to articulate my faith in the Lord and how to encourage others too, especially IN CHINESE! Trying to do a literal translation is not enough.
My largest take away was Pastor Andrew’s call to each of us, how are we reacting to the issues of society. Are we going to be like the priest and the Levite, turning away from the needy or are we going to be like the Samaritan, who reached out with love? What exactly would “reaching out with love” look like? Do we look at broken families and judge them? Or do we support them lovingly? Most of us (and I actually mean me) may be afraid because we know that we have much to learn to contribute to this broken society. But ever since the first week, we have been reminded constantly that God makes use of the inadequate. So brothers and sisters, let’s work harder together to equip us to do His good works. Let’s put our trust in the Lord and rely on His strength, not ours.
We love because He first loved. – 1 John 4:19
Joshua Xie
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