I have been part of the mission team for many years. The experiences from the trips are valuable to me and they have shaped me to who I am and have given me the chance to find out what I could do with the life that God gave me. Each mission trip, although some were at the same location with familiar faces, was always different to me. Each year we go, each day we were with the First Nations, God always gave me a different experience.
This year God sent us to Yellowknife. We set up the VBS program for the kids at a church in the town Behchoko. During the program, a girl asked me if I could teach her to play the piano. I sat down with her to teach her ‘Jesus Loves Me’. The church, that we were in, was small and there were lots of kids running around. She got frustrated and began hitting the keyboard. She then left the room with a big frown on her face. At that time, I felt discouraged as I thought it was my inability to teach her, comfort her, or encourage her. Near the end of the program, I was surprised when the girl came back to ask me to teach her again tomorrow.
When I got back to the missionary’s house, the girl came to my mind. I got out a piece of paper and some coloured crayons. As she didn‘t know how to read notes, I drew out the keyboard and coloured each note with different colours. Then I wrote out the lyrics below and coloured it according to the corresponding note. Next day, when I gave her the paper, there was a big smile on her face and she immediately ran over to the keyboard to play. Although she struggled a bit in the beginning, she quickly learned to play the first few verses of the song.
Next day, I was surprised when she came back with the paper in her hand. Frankly, I didn’t expect her to bring it back as it was a piece of paper that can be easily lost or even thrown away. She started to play the song while I was standing next to her. Some children also got interested in playing the keyboard and started playing random keys while the girl was playing. The girl got angry and began to hit the piano again. I tried to comfort her but she ended up ripping the paper into pieces. I was a little shocked and heart-broken. She threw the ripped papers on the ground and stomped away. I was soon busy getting to know other children but for the rest of the program, I was worried about the girl. I didn’t see her until the next day in which she showed up with the ripped papers in her hands. She had picked up the pieces she have ripped last day and had kept it. She apologized for ripping the paper and asked me to make another one for her. I was very thankful to God for sending her back to me. I sat down with her and we made the music piece together. Afterwards, she practiced the song even while some of the kids were playing the keys next to her. At the end of the day, she was playing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ with hardly any trouble. At that moment, I was very thankful to God for the opportunity to meet the girl and for the chance to teach her the song.
My intention in sharing this experience is not to brag about what I did or to earn compliments for myself; but I am sharing this to show how thankful I am to God, my parents, my piano teacher, and everyone who has supported me with encouragement, selflessness, sacrifice and love. Without the past experience of numerous lessons and practices, I would have not been able to teach the girl “Jesus Loves Me”. Although I’m not exceptionally good at playing the piano, my skill was enough to teach her the song. I am glad I was able to share my small gift with her. I reflected upon how fortunate I am and how I should continue to appreciate all given talents, whether it’s big or small, and use them to full potential.
During the trip, the mission team led the worship for the Sunday service. I was very grateful for that 20-minute opportunity to play the keyboard as part of the worship team. I always feel closest to God when I am worshipping Him. My piano skill or my singing may not be good and although I might be making many mistakes, I am always happy to worship the Lord. I am proud to be part of the worship team and as I continue to worship the Lord, I am hoping to be able to worship Him anywhere at anytime.
I am thankful to God for giving me the chance to meet the missionary, Noblina. She is a wonderful, inspiring, kind, and hardworking person. After meeting her, I now have a greater desire to live to the best of my ability and to pursue my dreams even more. The past and present experiences from the mission trips gave me a new purpose and a new vision. I have the dream of becoming a dentist for the First Nations. I am also hoping to be a Sunday school teacher for the kids at the reserve. In my spare time, I would be more than happy to be with the children and teach them piano, clarinet or anything I can do to share my given gifts and talents.
I know that the pathway to fulfill my dream will be hard and that there may be barriers that might discourage me or make me feel hopeless, but I will continue to trust God as my guide and obey Him even if what I dream now is not what He has planned for me. I wish God will continue to give me these wonderful opportunities. Every mission trip is tiring but God gives me enough energy to get through the day, to worship, to play, to laugh with the children, and to share God’s good news with them. So if I were to stay there for a week, two weeks, month or even more, I will be grateful for the opportunity and be more than happy to go if that is what God desires for me to do.