How are you connected with P2C-Students, and what’s a fun fact about you?
Hi! My name is Isabella Ng. I’m a Registered Nurse who graduated last year from the University of Alberta. I began attending Power to Change in my first year in 2019 and served as a discipleship leader for a little. I also took part in Meaning Makers, a creative writing ministry of P2C, where university-aged people across Canada come together to explore writing and spirituality.
Fun fact: I have a kitty named Tofu, my baby boy.
What's an area of your life where you've seen God at work recently?
In June, I had the opportunity to go on my first mission trip to Cambodia. At the beginning of this year, I spent time reflecting on what I wanted 2024 to bring. I had been feeling stagnant in my faith for months. I wasn’t really sure what I was being called to do, what actions to take next. I kept praying, “Lord, send me.” A very dangerous prayer, I was later told, because when God hears that, He will FULL SEND.
And send me he did. To Cambodia! However, God really had his work cut out in molding me and making me listen to the Holy Spirit in the months leading up to the trip.
How did you recognize the Holy Spirit in this situation?
I recognized the Holy Spirit in my discontented and stagnant faith before applying to the mission trip. I felt that I had stayed faithful but had hit a flat road through the prairies (translation: very boring) without anything to focus on.
In hindsight, I think the Spirit was preparing me for the trip. He was making sure I had a strong foundation because he knew I would be tested. Cambodia was my very first overseas trip and my very first mission trip. Double whammy. A lot of doubts clouded my mind and I did not feel adequate or prepared on my own.
However, the Holy Spirit wants a relationship that’s deep and intimate with us. He knew my fears and would show me how to work through them. The Holy Spirit embraced me and brought me great comfort in Cambodia. He co-labours with us, sharing the yoke in everything I do. I’m never facing my fears just on my own.
He will be with us through the grunt work of transformation, supporting us and whispering the truth that with God, all things are possible. He made me an effective agent to do his good works.
What difference does Jesus make to this part of life? In other words, how is Jesus good news in this situation?
Without Jesus, I am nothing. I could see myself without him: scared, insecure, and lonely. I wouldn’t have thought about applying for the trip at all. But with him, I know that I am transformed. My biggest worries about the trip were that I would have little to offer those we were serving in Cambodia spiritually and physically, and that I would feel lonely on a big team of people that I did not know.
However, over the next few months that we had to prepare, God helped me through each and every one of these fears. He brought the team together and I felt safe, welcomed, and encouraged by all of them. He placed us on the team for a reason, knowing our strengths. He showed me what I could do so that I wouldn’t focus on what I couldn’t do. He reminded me that he made me, just as he made every individual that I encountered on the trip: in his image and just as he intended. Jesus also gave me confidence and assurance in the maturity of my faith. He equipped our team well, guiding our pastor to train us in the months leading up to the trip.
How did you respond to the Holy Spirit's work and Jesus' good news?
If it’s not obvious yet, I ended up going to Cambodia! Those two weeks were a whirlwind, leading medical consultations and a kids sports camp with the team. Although I still had a lot of worries and there were still many unknowns, I felt equipped by the team, what I had learned, and most importantly, by the Holy Spirit. I knew how God has transformed my life and that urge from the Spirit to share Jesus’ love with Cambodians was much much greater than my fears.
How can we pray for you?
I’d really appreciate prayer going forth from this mission trip: sharing what God has been doing and will do for the people in Cambodia, translating the love and efforts of our overseas mission to serve the people in my city, and learning to lean into the whispers of the Holy Spirit even more.
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