God showed me how He builds Everything from Nothing!

The 11 days away was an amazing experience for me. Through this trip to Kalimantan, God has taught me many new things and shown me so much of His beauty, I cannot even begin to describe how awed I am. 7 full days at Living Waters was enough to reveal to me a whole new aspect of God's majesty, and enough to birth in me a renewed passion to seek after the things of God's Kingdom. It being my first mission trip, I had no clue as to what to expect in the natural sense; but I had two main purposes in going. The first was to avail myself so that God can work through me in this area of His Kingdom's work that I never involved myself in before. The second was simply to witness God's hand at work in the nations. Both purposes were, without a doubt, fulfilled by God.

From the very moment we stepped into Living Waters, upon being warmly welcomed by all the children, I sensed the miracle hand of God at work in that place - the awesomeness of God's glorious hand so evidently at work in Living Waters. I never sensed the manifestation of God's love so strongly before as I did in Living Waters. It touches my heart to know that God loves each and every child; that He has provided them with a new home, a new life, and a purpose-filled future in Him. This revelation of God's love helped me to see the children through His eyes, and to love them knowing that each one is uniquely and wonderfully made by our Creator. Recalling the times spent playing with them, frantically escaping from the little ones as they attempted to force captured insects into my hands, embracing them while they sat on my lap to draw and show off their artistic talents, admiring the budding photographers who took random snapshots with my camera, I already miss them so.

Much as I yearn to relive these precious memories, I miss the daily morning prayer meetings even more. Each morning, at 5.30am and barely awake, I would drag my feet to the Training Centre where all the children would have already gathered and readied themselves for conversation with God. Without fail, what would come next would wake me up, even if I did not understand their language. The heartfelt singing by the children was like angelic voices from Heaven, and every utterance of prayer so honest and sincere that it put my prayers to shame. There, I learnt what simple, childlike yet powerful prayers are. And I learnt the sweet sound of praises that delight God. No wonder God loves His little children!

I am blessed to have spent a week at Living Waters, to have invested a little of my life into God's Kingdom and His children. It was a joy helping out wherever help was needed, such as cleaning the training centre and the medical centre, painting the primary school, teaching music lessons, etc. I was also greatly encouraged by many in the team who stepped up in faith during the trip to conduct English and Music lessons, share testimonies, etc., and simply put God's agenda before theirs. Because truly, in our weaknesses God's strength is shown.

Of course, my experience was made THAT much more enjoyable by my weird/crazy/quirky but awesomely fun friends cum teammates (: Not to mention, the several wonderful first experiences I had, such as riding atop a vehicle with the wind blowing in our faces as we admired God's beautiful hills and blue skies surrounding us, as well as mastering the art of avoiding rocks and logs and whatnot while swimming downstream in the river.

I cannot wait to return to Living Waters. Soon, I hope. This is God's wonderful work that I want to continue to be a part of. The very existence of Living Waters has inspired me to dream big for God, and to believe that God will bring His vision to fulfillment through me if only I am obedient and faithful. I am excited to witness once again the continuous expansion of Living Waters - a testimony of miracles upon miracles. I look forward to seeing the Medical Centre in action, to see more colourful houses built for the teenagers, and to see the Hospital and Worship Centre in time to come. God's work is always exciting! (: - Xiang