Be a blessing and be blessed

Be a blessing and be blessed

by Michael Yohanes

I was part of a mission trip to Cheroh that took place on the 21^st to 27^th of November 2011. If one sentence could summarize everything I learnt during the trip, it would be this: “Be a blessing and be blessed”.

Be a Blessing

My job during the mission trip was to teach the orang asli children English, so I blessed them by doing just that. Furthermore, the Cheroh mission trip members showed them that we love them by showering them with affection, attention and love. And I can tell you that if God had not called us, we would not have been able to do so since we would not find it in our hearts the willingness to sacrifice 7 days of holidays just to go to Cheroh.

Personally, I was called by God when I came to realize that the Christian orang asli people are among some of the most persecuted Christians in this country. One of the orang asli children in Cheroh further confirmed this to me. Because those children are Christians, their friends in school often mock them by saying, “You’ll remain poor as long as you remain a Christian”. Imagine if this happens to us. I personally have never had such difficulties and I can choose to be a Christian without any dire consequences awaiting me. Thus God called me to give these children hope so that they would not be crushed under persecutions such as these. One response I received from one of the boys is really one that we all should learn. He said, “I don’t care if I’m poor in this world, as long as I’m rich in the next”.

Be Blessed

Secondly, “be blessed”. It’s actually really hard to explain the blessings I received from them. No words can do them justice. The orang asli children are really an innocent, funny, gentle and very straight-forward bunch with no hidden motives at all. They are gems in this modern day. The same can be said for the workers there. I became close to some of them and I really, really like them because they too share the same traits as the children. In short, the people there are the kindest bunch of people you will ever meet.

I wish I were a professor of the English language so that I would be able to sprout out grand words to explain the blessings I received from them but unfortunately, I am not. Regardless, I would like to use this chance to urge all of you to be a blessing to others. Through this, you will find that in the end, you will be blessed too.

Praise the Lord for His goodness!