Silk Road Mission Expedition #3

Dates: August 5 - 27, 2023

Locations: Cebu, PHILIPPINES; Taipei, Taiwan; Kathmandu, Nepal

Leg #1: There was only one goal I had in going to Cebu. That was to minister to and fellowship with my former supervisor from my time in Taiwan as well as his wife. They were both members of the church I pastored while in Taipei. We also were working on an academic paper together so we took time to get that done as well.

In addition to that, this was a recon mission of sorts. I wanted to see what the state of things in the Philippines was and what was church like there. I was looking for schools, churches, and seminaries while being given the grand tour by my hosts. I noted several. Churches were often connected to a school and I rarely saw independently affiliated schools. I didn’t see a seminary but there was a university in the city center of Cebu. I didn’t get to visit it.

I left Cebu with plenty of organizations to research and reach out to. I’m praying that gospel networking can be done. My hosts were so gracious and gave me an open invitation to come visit whenever I like in the future! So, I consider this leg a success. We were able to finish our paper, I gained a good number of leads to pursue, and my hosts were happy with my visit. I can’t wait to return to the Philippines!

Travel #1: When I arrived at Cebu-Macatan International Airport early, I thought that I had showed up too early. My flight information wasn’t displayed on the board! I waited a bit but something gnawed at me (maybe the Spirit?) and I began to ask the airport officials about my flight. After getting the outside security guard on my side, he let me in to discuss my ticket with a gate agent. This was the first of many times that God would seem to give me favor with others on this trip.

The gate agent informed me that my flight had been cancelled! I was calm but concerned as I showed my ticket and that I never received an email informing me of the cancel. Their system showed that I had received one and even confirmed a new flight (that had already taken off)! I could not find that email so the woman showed me mercy and booked me on the next flight out. It was no longer a direct flight from Cebu to Taipei. Instead it was now redirected through Manila. It wasn’t a huge deal but it did make me a little late arriving into Taiwan. The Lord took care of me and brought me back to beautiful Formosa!

Leg #2: Being back in Taiwan was so refreshing! Visiting with old colleagues, eating at favorite restaurants, going to night markets, and drinking all the tea I could get my hands on! Sounds like a vacation right? In between all of those wonderful things I was meeting with missionaries currently serving in Taiwan, talking to former colleagues about future mission work, reaching out to a few churches in the city, and attempting to connect with a few schools as well.

It went….okay? Truth be told, I didn’t have much success on this leg of the journey. None of the schools I reached out to responded. The one I had previously arranged a meeting with had to cancel. The former colleagues and I had a great time of fellowship but nothing concrete came from our discussions. And I still have not heard back from the pastors that I contacted while in the city. It’s a little disheartening but not every foray into ministry will be home runs.

I left Taiwan with my heart full of love and lament. Love for the people and place that had once been a dear home to me. Lament that I had to leave it once again. My time here provided good closure for me and it helped me focus my mind on the next part of the expedition, Nepal.

Travel #2: Taipei to Tokyo and on to New Delhi was relatively uneventful. I’m glad I had received last minute support from my sending church, Fellowship Forney, because I was charged extra for my luggage weight. They really are getting serious about weight and I was over the limit ever so slightly. An inconvenience but oh well. I arrived in Kathmandu after a layover in New Delhi and made it to my guesthouse no problem.

Leg #3: Nepal is a place that has been a constant fixture of the SRM Expeditions thus far. It’s where I’ve seen the most ministry success and had the most opportunity. My third trip there proved to be a mixed bag of good and bad news.

My goal this time around was to do some inventory on who was still around post-pandemic. I had lost contact with several ministries that I was in close communication with before the border closures. Unfortunately, the reason for that was that several orgs had been shut down and forced to leave the country by the Nepali government. The lockdowns provided an opportunity to clean house and they took it.

When walked around to various offices I had visited in previous trips, I found that new businesses had taken their place and there was no trace left of the organizations that were doing such good work before. This honestly devastated me. It felt like all my progress had been knocked back to square one.

That wasn’t true however. I still had a full week of preaching ahead and I needed to focus. So, I made my way to the YWAM Kathmandu Base and began preaching on relationships at the Discipleship Training School there on the outskirts of the city. It was a good week of teaching the Bible and I enjoyed seeing my students wrestle with truths that run counter to the World and its lies. I’m still working on uploading those sermons to the Silk Road Mission Youtube page.

I finished my time in Nepal preaching on how Christ is our Great Advocate to the Father. I had the privilege of preaching the Gospel in full to a local church near the Kathmandu YWAM Base. I relish those opportunities because even those who are faithfully attending church can benefit greatly from hearing the Gospel laid out in front of them. It truly never grows old.

Final Thoughts: This expedition really was a mixed bag. Some success and some failure. It was a good reminder that I must trust in the Lord always. My job is to be faithful and He will handle the rest.

Thank you to all those who supported this expedition by praying each day through the prayer guide. I felt the efficacy of those prayers and was nourished by the Lord. Another big thank you to those who give regularly to SRM and the work I do here in Asia. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. Finally, to Fellowship Forney and C Life, thank you for being churches that support me and keep the mission going!

Now on to the next one!