Le Blog de Ling-en

Some things to consider (first)

15 juillet 2011 by Ling-en Hsia Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I had a phone call with a friend of mine, Tsing. I shared with her my plan to be a missionary. She gave me a very useful feedback and a lot to think about.

The main things I remember from our chat are:

I shouldn’t neglect the preparation time. Spending time studying the Scripture (not only reading the Bible on my iPad while I’m in the metro) is very important in order to have a strong knowledge of God. The purpose of that would be to get closer to God and also to be more confident in time to evangelize.
Serving God is a good thing. However, it should be based on God’s call for us instead of our own will and passion. Otherwise, we might just give up in time of struggle because our work would be based on our human strengths instead of God’s.
Going to a mission is not something we should do by ourselves. Getting a local church involve in our preparation and in this service should be a requirement.
Finding a spiritual mentor at the church who can assist us and guide us is really useful. Actually, in most cases, there shouldn’t be other ways to do it.

This conversation was so fruitful. I think it was exactly what I needed to hear at this time because I am excited like a child who wants to go to Disneyland right now. But going to a mission is a serious stuff and I need to ask wisdom and intelligence from God.

« Thank you Lord for putting so many amazing brothers and sisters on this road to accompany me! Bless them and continue to work through them that they can be a blessing for people every day of their life »

Sleeping on the floor – DWC1

13 juillet 2011 by Ling-en Hsia 2 Comments

Obviously, I don’t know much about Africa since I’ve never lived there, although I spent 24 hours in Nairobi -Kenya- a few years ago.

Pretty much all I know about this continent comes from the media. However, I know that in most countries, people are living in a very poor conditions.

« In 2009, 22 of 24 nations identified as having « Low Human Development » on the United Nations’ (UN) Human Development Index were located in Sub-Saharan Africa » (Wikipedia)

Introducing the Discomfort Weekly Challenge

Every week, I’ll try to put myself in a discomfortable situation for several reasons:

Training my body to get used to discomfortable conditions
Experiencing, as tiny as it is, another way of living
Having empathy for the poor in living one aspect of the way they live (or similar)
Growing my relationship with God
Enjoying even more my daily life by realizing how much God has blessed me

The kind of situations I’m going to put myself in, temporarily during a week, are:

Physical discomfort (food, hygiene, health, tiredness, not using some tools…)
Social discomfort (physical appearance, verbal restriction…)
Getting rid of hobbies (usage of Internet, phone…)
Spiritual « tasks » (longer prayers, devotions, worship, evangelizing, Bible reading…)
and some other miscellaneous stuff for « fun »

Every Monday, I’ll announce the new challenge of the week on my dedicated Facebook Page « Discomfort Zone: Getting prepared to be a Missionary » (that you are welcome to « like »)

I hope that this will be fun and inspiring for all.

Plus, it is a way for all the readers to support me in a casual and light way 🙂

A few examples of the upcoming weekly challenges:

Not eating meat
Eating with hands only
Not using Facebook
Not using tissues
Not using lights
Taking a shower for no more than 1 minute
Using only cold water
Preaching to homeless people everyday
Waking up several times at night
Not listening any music
Reading the Bible as the very first thing to do in the morning
Using only one hand
.,..

Discomfort Weekly Challenge #1:

My sleeping bag at the door of my bedroom

Last week (July 4-10, 2011), I slept on the flood in a sleeping bag. I kinda needed to do it anyway for some reasons and I’m actually going to keep doing it for a while.

This challenge wasn’t actually that difficult for me because my mother started several years ago to make me sleep on wood planks, covered by a very thin duvet. It is said that it is good for the back… Anyway.

Last week went pretty well. I did have some tiny back and neck pain but nothing major at all.

I know that if one day I’m called to go on a mission, I won’t be able to sleep in a King size mattress produced by a Swedish chain shop. And I think this is something I am pretty ready for. Of course, there might be other issues like heat, light, insects, smell etc.

I’m happy and excited to start these challenges and share it with you. It’s gonna be fun! 😉

If you have any challenge ideas, please don’t hesitate to share them on the comment section below!

What about if I die tomorrow?

7 juillet 2011 by Ling-en Hsia Leave a Comment

Heart Attack on a plane

This guy seemed to have a heart attack just before my flight to Paris took off (July, 1st, 2011) . I helped by lifting him across the plane.

I prayed. Not that he survived. But that he survived AND that he had the opportunity to know God one day. Otherwise it is just postponing an eternal physical and spiritual death.

I realized that life can be very short and we never know when death will happen to us.

â€œNaked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.â€ (Job 1:21)

That is why we should make the most of it. Not tomorow but now! Today! Everyday.

Easier said than done but at least we should keep this is my mind. I’ll try my best.

With the little help I provided, I felt a fulfillment in my heart. A great satisfaction. I was being useful. No matter how little and no matter the results, I was doing my part. (That made me also think that I need some medical emergency training…)

Thanks to the crew and the doctors, the guy was breathing and his heart was beating again when the ambulance came. I think he survived.

I spent the rest of the journey talking with a Christian Taiwanese next to me…

« God, I want to thank you for the things You’ve done during my stay in Shanghai. Until the very last day and hours, You had something to teach me. Help me never giving up the commitment I made to You. That one day, soon, I will serve you full time. In Jesus’ name. Amen »