Will You Go For Me?

Danielle Ban shares her testimony of God’s work in her life on a year-long missions stint.

“Will you go for Me?” These five words solidified my decision to go to Miri for a year. Many thoughts flooded my mind as I considered the missions stint. “Did I hear Him wrongly? What will my parents feel about me leaving my opportunities here in Singapore to go?” More importantly, “God, what is on Your mind?” It was a confusing season with many opinions and voices coming at me, but I knew that I wanted to hear from God directly. When He said those words, I made my decision.

I’ve always had a heart for the nations ever since I was exposed to the real needs out there through various

short-term mission trips. But I never expected that God would call me out for a year to serve in another nation. Even more so, why Miri? In fact, Miri had never really been on my mind. It was only during my School of Ministry term at The Bible College of Wales that the Lord gave me this assignment.

Sometime later, He revealed how He had already been preparing my heart through various conversations and interactions I had with my Bible College roommate, who was from Miri herself. As everything started to align, I moved ahead. All I knew at that point was that God was looking for my obedience and faith to believe in what I could not yet see. Unbeknownst to me, this was just the start of a new season of deep transformation and refining in my life.

Something that God had to correct in my heart when He gave me the assignment was the idea that I was only there to give. The question I had was, “God, what do I have to give?” And that was when He corrected me by saying, “Why are you thinking about giving when I have asked you to receive?” While we come to serve others, there is so much more that He has prepared for us to receive on the mission field. The exceptional love and hospitality of the local church was something that I had the privilege of receiving during my time with Cornerstone Miri.

Knowing that He had taken care of all my needs, I was able to serve with a sense of peace and freedom, reaching out to the youths and building genuine relationships with them.

It was definitely rocky at the start, being in a new place and environment, away from everyone and everything I had ever known. My parents, the biggest pillars in my life, were now a flight away. Yet, God was there with me every step of the way. He knew exactly what I needed at every moment and faithfully showed up. He brought a few young adults into my life who cared for me as though I were their own, giving me a strong community there to have fun with. Knowing that He had taken care of all my needs, I was able to serve with a sense of peace and freedom, reaching out to the youths and building genuine relationships with them.

As the months went by, I began to see the youths grow in their walk with God, regardless of where they had started in their faith, and I witnessed God bring the youth ministry to a greater level. Beyond that, God taught me that He is not only a God of the big moments, but also of the simple things in everyday life. He showed me that living among people of a different culture, sharing life with them, and building a community together could be enough to draw people to Him – as long as I allowed Him to be reflected through my life.

Through this one year, God revealed His purpose for me through many encounters that I had with Him and the people around me. He also truly gave me His heart for the people. My posture towards God was that if He sent me there to be a blessing to just one person, that was more than worth it. It was truly an honour to witness how the same God we serve shows up in a different setting and context. God will always be looking out for people He can entrust with His assignments; Therefore, I saw this apprenticeship as an opportunity not to be missed,

to be a part of the Great Commission He has called all of us to.