<\/p>\n
We boarded the plane from our Asia-Oceania Team (AOT) base in Chiang Mai, Thailand. After two transfers, an overnight stay, and 36 hours of travel, we arrived. Unfortunately, I can\u2019t tell you where we went. I can\u2019t tell you who we met with either. Don\u2019t worry, we were in a safe place, but sharing this information would be dangerous for the people with whom we spent time.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t tell you where they came from. I can\u2019t share the road they took on their difficult trip\u2014two days on the bus over bumpy roads, past guarded checkpoints, waiting for mudslides to be cleared. I can\u2019t show you the pictures or videos of them that I took. I wish I could. You won\u2019t be able to see their weary faces as they reflect on their war-torn country. You won\u2019t see and hear their joy, either, as they sang praises together. I can\u2019t show you their smiling faces as we discussed the teachings of God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d love to show you a video of one elder who asked, \u201cWhat do you believe about Baptism and the Lord\u2019s Supper?\u201d When he heard the answer, he jumped out of his seat in joy and reached out his hand for a handshake. An excited thumbs up said it all: our teaching was exactly what they believed as well. As we parted ways, he shared, \u201cWe are very, very happy and grateful that you are confirming what we believe in the sacraments of the Lord\u2019s Supper and Baptism.\u201d<\/p>\n
The WELS Asia-Oceania Team is bringing grace to all in Asia and Oceania. \u201cAll\u201d is a big group. That\u2019s something like 4.6 billion people\u2014over 60 percent of the world\u2019s population.<\/p>\n
Why would we include \u201call\u201d when we can\u2019t possibly carry that out?<\/p>\n
We include \u201call\u201d because it reminds us that God\u2019s mission includes men and women like those I can\u2019t tell you about today. God\u2019s commission doesn\u2019t recognize the line between safe and unsafe areas, between those who will be persecuted for their faith and those where faith is openly accepted. It doesn\u2019t separate war-torn places from those of peace.<\/p>\n
And so we set out on yet another trip to another place I can\u2019t tell you about.<\/p>\n
I so wish that I could tell you about this small Lutheran church body with whom we are carefully studying God\u2019s Word as we work toward declaring church fellowship. They want to know us and our beliefs\u2014and we theirs. They want to walk together with us one day\u2014and we with them. They want to know about you, too: about your faith, your family, and your church. And they long to pray for you in your struggles.<\/p>\n
When it came time to leave, I wish you could have been there to see the handshakes and hugs. I wish you could have felt their embrace, their appreciation, and their love. I wish I could show you all of that. Our trip home was a bit shorter than our trip there\u2014only 24 hours of travel. When we left, they didn\u2019t know yet how long theirs would take.<\/p>\n
This will have to remain one more trip that I can\u2019t tell you about. I\u2019ll add the pictures to a folder I can\u2019t ever share. My notes about their lives will be added to a growing pile of stories untold.<\/p>\n
One day, though, the wars will cease. The threats will end. The trips will stop. Christ will return\u2014just as he promised. Then, when we\u2019re in heaven, come find me. Remind me about the trip I couldn\u2019t tell you about. Together, we can go find them\u2014they\u2019ll be there, standing around the throne.<\/p>\n
Then they can tell you all about this trip. They\u2019ll tell you how the Lamb of God brought his salvation to the ends of the earth. And together, we\u2019ll join our voices in praise!<\/p>\n
Written by Jon Bare, president of Asia Lutheran Seminary<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Learn about the ministry work of WELS Missions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Support the ministry work of WELS Missions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We boarded the plane from our Asia-Oceania Team (AOT) base in Chiang Mai, Thailand. After two transfers, an overnight stay, and 36 hours of travel, we arrived. Unfortunately, I can\u2019t tell you where we went. I can\u2019t tell you who we met with either. Don\u2019t worry, we were in a safe place, but sharing this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[5133,290],"class_list":["post-16466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-daily-verse","tag-trip","tag-wels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}