25/09/2024
Hello everyone, I'm Hugo from SCC (GC congregation), the summer volunteer of Smart Team for this summer.
Before going to be the volunteer at Smart Team, many people asked me about my expectations for volunteering there. At that time, I knew nothing about the work at Smart Team, so I couldn't respond. I just went with the attitude to help something. I have no clear idea until the first day of work that I learned Smart Team is a team serving in the mission network, spending a lot of time hosting people from different places. This prompted me to challenge myself to interact more with strangers, but working and eating with a group of unfamiliar people was already a big challenge for me.
On the second day, some people from a church in Taiwan happened to visit our church, and colleagues at Smart Team let me choose whether to participate in hosting them. To push my limits, I decided to join. That day we had time together. I was initially super worried about this, fearing we might run out of topics or feel awkward, but I pushed myself to engage in conversation. Through the interaction, I met Brother Qiang, a young theology graduate in Taiwan. We shared many things about spirituality and the difficulties and challenges encountered on our faith journeys. Normally, I wouldn't open up to someone I had just met a few hours ago about my weaknesses and innermost thoughts, but that day God opened my mouth and heart, and I felt very grateful.
I volunteered at Smart Team two days a week, mainly assisting in organizing the supplies needed for STM teams. I used to be someone who valued order greatly. Throughout the process, there were constantly supplies being delivered to be given to missionaries, without a clear deadline, and supplies kept coming in, which was a big shock to me. I couldn't stand the lack of a clear deadline and the continuous influx of supplies, disrupting the initial plans and organization of items. Although I couldn't accept this situation, I didn't express it because God reminded me that love and grace should not be limited, the supplies being sent were out shows great support and love for the missionary work, and I had no right to be angry. All supplies were items to be given to the missionaries, needed to be clearly distributed to different mission fields and ensured they were correct. Since the STM only happen once a year, so the supplies have to arrive the field correctly this time, so I knew my responsibility was significant. After the STM training camp ended, all supplies had been distributed to the teams, and for me, that was accomplishing a significant task.
However, a few days later, a colleague informed me that some supplies were missing, asking if I had noticed. When she asked, I remembered that some supplies had been placed in the wrong location and were sent to the wrong field. I felt deeply responsible for this because I remembered the incident but didn't catch the mistake at the time. This plunged me into deep self-doubt, negating all my contributions and even offering to pay for shipping to get the supplies to the correct place. Later, during team time at Smart Team, I found out that someone was returning to Hong Kong soon and could take the supplies to the right place. This made me realize that even when I make mistakes, God will help me.
During this period at Smart Team, I heard many testimonies and sharings, experiencing more deeply the power of God and His control over everything. In the past, I was full of doubt and feel worried about my future, always hoping to earn much more money because money could provide me with a sense of security and fulfill my expectations for the future. But these thoughts were not based on God; they came from myself, wanting to control everything. God reminded me to trust Him, showing me His power and reminding me to believe in the Almighty God. I can trust Him and don't need to plan my own path because He is in control of everything.
