I began fasting and praying intentionally to seek God’s calling for me in January 2024. Eight months later in August, I began exploring the possibility of joining Wycliffe Malaysia because I was interested in trauma healing ministry, a ministry that other Wycliffe and Bible Translation organisations around the world are involved in.
A few weeks before I submitted my application form to Wycliffe Malaysia, my wife and I used the Joshua Project (joshuaproject.net) to pray for the unreached people groups around the world. Even though we have used other materials to pray for people groups like these before, the information we used on the Joshua Project was eye-opening. I looked at the percentage of Christians among different ethnic groups in different countries, and I found out for the first time that there are people groups in the country that I care about who do not have Bible in their heart language and worse, who have not even heard of the Gospel. This reality broke my heart.
Since then, the people groups in that country are not just ‘the unreached people groups’ to me anymore. Each people group has a name, a language, and a culture. Through listening to sermons and studying the Bible myself around that same time, I had a realisation. I had a clearer understanding of God’s redemptive plan, which is to save people from every ethnic and language group (Luke 24:47; Rev. 5:9, 7:9, 14:6; cf. Gen. 12:3). I never knew that God had such a specific plan for redeeming people on earth. And I believe that when people from every ethnic and language group whom God had chosen come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior, Jesus will come back to earth (cf. Matt. 24:14)!
So, my initial motivation to join Wycliffe Malaysia changed from doing trauma healing ministry to reaching the unreached people groups. Now that I have this understanding of God’s redemptive plan which seems more concrete and tangible to me, I see that the different gifts and past experiences that God has given me are not random pieces, but unique tools specifically suited for ministry on the field. Those gifts and past experiences have prepared me to serve in the area of Scripture Engagement, including but not limited to trauma healing. I believe that this path which God has called me to walk on is a lifelong journey and I pray that I will stand firm, stay passionate, and be faithful towards the end.