God moved mountains during Christmas break. When I received the email saying I would spend two weeks in a foreign land, with foreign people, doing something completely out of the ordinary, my nerves went through the roof.
During my two-week stay in East Asia, I had the opportunity to work alongside some of the most servant-hearted people I have met. Christ could not have blessed me with a better group to travel across the world with.
Getting to spread the love of Christ—whether by simply handing out a Christmas bag filled with the gospel message and cookies or by sitting down to visit one-on-one with a complete stranger to share my testimony—completely turned my world around. God showed me where he was calling me.
Ever since I can remember, I always wanted to be the physical therapist for the Dallas Cowboys. I had my heart set on it. I was two-and-a-half years into my degree to go into that field.
I had no idea my whole life was going to change over Christmas break. Christ showed me real oppression for the first time. He showed me true redemption for the first time. I fell in love with the gospel all over again. I fell in love with showing the love of Jesus to the least of these.
A bakery changed everything. From the simple baking of a scone, girls have been unshackled and have received the grace of God. Seeing brothels and seeing how hurt girls were and how much they desperately needed to be set free broke my heart. It broke my heart to think I wasn’t doing enough for nonbelievers or sharing the gospel enough in my own backyard.
It became so clear to me God has a completely different calling on my life than physical therapy. I am being called into ministry, and I am going to be able to share Christ with the least of these.
East Asia changed my life. The love that foreigners showed me changed my life. I cannot imagine being anywhere else. God’s love is so powerful, and I am so excited to go share that with the world.
Caitlyn Reily, a student at the University of North Texas, served in East Asia with Go Now Missions.
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