A Forced Pause?
As I’m waiting for the 968 bus that takes me back to Yuen Long, the title of this blog post “A Forced Pause?” was the first thing on my mind. “Corona…” nah. Okay, it was the second thing on my mind. I still have around 12 minutes until the bus comes.
At the beginning of Chinese New Year, not even. In the middle of December, there were rumors about a virus but not much news covered it. It wasn’t confirmed until after Chinese New Year. Following the news definitely caused a lot of worry and uncertainty, seeing people in Hong Kong getting prepared with face masks, toilet paper, hand sanitizers, bleach, rice, instant noodles… some store aisles were empty and my first reaction was: “Am I back in Venezuela?” All jokes aside, it was quite shocking to see people’s reactions.
A New Lifestyle
During the first couple weeks, the streets were quiet, families stayed home, people worked from home. One cough in the public transportation causes glaring eyes and people avoiding contact. I thought… this will probably last a couple more days and die off, right? But that didn’t happen. It’s been almost 2 months and a half and things seem to get worse, and suddenly it’s now affected people globally. But people seem to be adapting their lifestyle around the pandemic.
As the weeks went by, thoughts started coming into mind. It’s my first half year in full-time missions and all the things I was expecting myself to do, I can’t really do. As a missionary, what do I do under these circumstances? Street evangelism, visiting schools, setting up art workshops have been the usual ministry ideas… but we haven’t been able to go out as easily as before and ministry opportunities keep being cancelled. Churches are starting more online services and even some churches have stopped meeting.
Was I putting my identity in ministry? I continued to have these kinds of thoughts:
If I don’t do ministry, then why would people support me during this season of full-time missions? Am I wasting my time? These have been thoughts going through my mind during the past couple weeks. I started doubting all that God had called me to do here in Hong Kong. God has constantly been reminding me to take captive of those thoughts and to continue being faithful in the little things. Even though there is so much uncertainty, to continue walking in faith and not based out of fear.
What does a “forced pause” mean, anyways?
I joined YWAM Harbour City last July, and the city was already starting to go through a lot of turmoil. The past 6 months has been an emotional roller coaster for all the youth and citizens of Hong Kong. Even for myself, with all the political unrest I was already carrying from my own country, imagine having to face it once again. From a very comfortable, steady and busy city to a place of anger, division and chaos. Right after the virus was announced officially, it seemed as if the city was forced to be calm. Even in other parts of Asia where it’s been affected even more, believers have taken this time to really seek God. Personally, I’ve been able to ask God a lot of questions, spend time journaling my thoughts and writing down important Bible verses that are highlighted to me each week. I’ve been able to pause in all my own plans and surrender expectations of this year and really press into asking God what each small step is.
Latest Outreach Opportunities
A couple months after the coronavirus breakout, it’s been challenging to meet people and do ministry but yesterday, God showed me how nothing is impossible for Him.
At the base, we had been praying for opportunities to do ministry but we weren’t sure where and with who. In February, a team from Germany did some activities for children and youth in our village. It was pretty successful and we wondered if it would work again this time.
During this whole week, we prayed for the youth of Hong Kong and asked God for creative ideas and ways to make people feel safe. We invited families to a local basketball court to do simple things like sports and arts, we had a blast! Many children showed up, parents were also there, and even the village elder (he’s like the village head) came by. The ice cream truck made it an official village event haha! What are ways we can continue advancing the gospel during this season of craziness and fear?
