A letter from Barry and Shelly Dawson prior to service in Southeast Asia
September 2013
Annual Conference of the National Vietnamese Presbyterian Council, held at Big Bear Lake, California
The warm July evening was filled with jubilant praise songs that punctuated the worshipful atmosphere in the open-air Anderson Auditorium near placid Brittain Lake on the campus of Westminster College. It was a “night of numbers”—the 108th edition of the New Wilmington Mission Conference (NWMC), a week-long, annual gathering of more than 800 Christians passionate about global mission … A night to give thanks for the many years of faithful service by mission co-workers (when all the current and former missionaries gathered on stage, the cumulative total of their years of service was a staggering 1,072 years!) … A night when 24 Presbyterian Church mission co-workers were commissioned for their service in the name of Jesus Christ in such diverse ministry contexts as Rwanda, Colombia, and the nine countries of Southeast Asia. Yes, we were among those kneeling and receiving the laying on of hands with a powerful sending prayer. In those sacred moments we indeed felt in the depth of our hearts that we are called by God, connected to the body of Christ—the Church—and commissioned and sent to serve in the power of the Holy Spirit. Called … Connected … Commissioned … Sent.
Ever since that poignant evening of bending our knees and letting our hearts kneel during the commissioning service, we have met and re-connected with many people who are passionate about their calls to be ambassadors for Christ. Yesterday, amidst the stately Ponderosa pine trees and towering mountains of the San Bernardino National Forest at Big Bear Lake, California, we were privileged to share the story of our call and give a snapshot of our mission with the annual conference of the National Vietnamese Presbyterian Council (NVPC). Our Vietnamese brothers and sisters, including many youth, traveled from Houston, Denver, Seattle, and many California locations to engage in visioning, discernment, spiritual growth, and joyful fellowship. We believe that God’s timing created that wonderful opportunity for us to make connections with Vietnamese congregations who are deeply committed partners in Christ’s mission.
Barry and Shelly with Lao Ministry Partners of University Presbyterian Church, Fresno, California
Last Sunday we were delighted to experience two worship services—one in English and one in Lao—with a California congregation that has a strong connection to people from Laos, another one of the nine countries within our Southeast Asia region. University Presbyterian Church (UPC) in Fresno has developed a vibrant Lao Ministry as an integral part of its multi-dimensional ministry. In the Lao language worship service we shared words of introduction. Then, during a fellowship lunch with UPC’s Lao Partners we learned how that congregation’s long-term approach to mission partnership has yielded a strong relationship with the Lao Evangelical Church in Laos. Their first two mission trips for “listening and learning” have led to substantive engagement through the delivery of medical equipment and the installation of water systems in remote villages. What a joy to see how God’s Spirit is working to build mission partnerships in which both people in Laos and Lao Partners at UPC in Fresno are experiencing the blessings of true “mutuality in mission.”
Now we stand on the threshold of a seven-week mission interpretation tour throughout the U.S.A. that will lead us to more God-directed connections and planting seeds for partnerships. We ask for your prayers as we embark on a whirlwind itinerary that will take us to more than 25 churches in 12 states as well as make mission connections with at least a half dozen regional presbyteries. As we go to share our story and interpret God’s dynamic mission in Southeast Asia, please pray that the Spirit will be at work to build relationships, forge mission partnerships, facilitate our funds development activities, and inspire transformational mission engagement in the hearts of Christ’s people.
On that warm July evening when we knelt with bowed heads to be dedicated to our mission service in Southeast Asia, the closing song for the worship service was not the familiar “Here I Am, Lord.” Instead we sang a more recent creation from composer Tim Hughes entitled “God of Justice.” The lyrics of that powerful call to mission engagement with the world include the following reminders and challenges:
“Jesus, you have called us. Freely we’ve received. Now freely we will give. We must go.
Stepping forward, move us into action. Keep us from just singing. We must go.
Fill us up and send us out. Fill us up and send us out. Fill us up and send us out, Lord.”
We are excited about the journey we are on and the adventure of faith that awaits us in Southeast Asia. We invite you to join us on this journey and to be a partner who will share with us in this ministry of hope with our sisters and brothers in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
We ask you to please share with us in God’s mission in Southeast Asia through your frequent prayers, your generous gifts of financial support, and your commitment to learn and grow as we interpret to you the wonderful ways that the goods news of God’s love and justice in Jesus Christ is making an impact in the region we serve.
We and you and all persons who find their hope in Christ are indeed … Called … Connected … Commissioned … Sent. “We must go. Fill us up, and send us out, Lord.”
In the Joy of Christ,
Barry and Shelly
The 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, Asia and the Pacific, p. 185, 186–187
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