Why Taiwan and Cambodia?

Cambodia has been on my radar for the past four years because some good friends who are missionaries there got me thinking and reading about the place. I loved the people there and it’s a place where the socio-economic needs are so plentiful and glaring that it would be natural to dive into the stream in my life that constantly pushes me towards spending more of myself serving the marginalized. There’s also a huge need for anti-trafficking work there, which is something I’m growing to care about more and more. I know these are things that are close to God’s passions and He’s definitely been at work there. Plus, Cambodia’s a strategic place to be right now – church growth is through the roof, an international superhighway is getting built in the north, the times they are a-changin’…fast. On a personal level, the sheer foreignness (relative to my current world), ruggedness and relative simplicity of life there appeals to me. I could totally see myself living there, maybe grass hut and all.

As for Taiwan, I honestly was pretty put off at the thought of being a missionary there and never really gave it any thought until my last visit in January. In the week I was there, I met and prayed with some folks who are part of a worship ministry in Taipei. As we prayed, I felt that God said, “You may have forgotten about your people, but I never did.” Then came this flood of memories of how I used to pray for Taiwan to come to Jesus on my way to school when I was a young Christian.

I also remembered a vivid dream I had in the spring of 2004. In the first part of the dream, my father bought a huge mansion for his parents in Taipei. The strange thing about this house was that it was on a huge tract of spacious, open land, which is pretty much nonexistent in Taipei. The reason why the land didn’t get developed and overcrowded was because there was a church on the property that protected the land. Though the church owned the land, we got to enjoy the grounds as if we owned it. Then the dream changed and I found myself with my family in my maternal grandparents’ backyard garden in Shalu. Though it was still too early for harvest, we found a few fruit, and those we found were giant-sized. After I woke up, my dad called and I was shocked to hear him say that my grandfather (his dad) had died that night.

All this isn't particularly well-informed or profound, I suppose, but it does make me pray and wonder...