Reflection: Tiffany Tam-STM

How I’ve changed at AEF camp? I have been reassured of God’s presence during this camp. I went into this missions trip not really knowing what to expect at all and I was especially nervous since my Mandarin skills are very much less than proficient. The strange thing is that when it came time for meeting the other Taiwanese peoples and campers, everything just felt right.

I realized that when you rely on God, like really depend and lift everything up to Him…He will provide and He’s got our back. He provided a group with more than helpful TAs, and supportive helpers that comforted me and helped me get through the week in a place where I only understood 5% of what was going on.

It was really great seeing everyone working together from such diverse backgrounds. I really enjoyed building relationships with the TAs, the other STMers and the Taiwanese Aborigines. The friendships I made inTaiwanfelt so real because we all struggled and worked hard together for a common mission, to spread the love of God to others.

The week went by a lot faster than expected and I wasn’t sure if I made enough of an impact on the kids. I connected a lot more with the girls in my class so I tried talking to them more about the gospel and sharing my testimony before I put them to bed. Being 9 and 10 years old and extremely giddy, I’m not sure if any of it got through to them… but on the last day of the last large group gathering, they played “He Knows My Name” and something unexpected happened. The girls whom I spent most of my time with came toward to hug me with tears in their eyes, and of course tears down my face followed quickly after. That moment made my week more than worth it.

I felt such joy when I saw the happiness in the kids, I love everyone in my group. But I especially hope that the kids and the TAs were touched by God’s presence during the camp. I pray that they will become more curious about his works and may want to accept the great gift. I learned that God is truly great, dependable, powerful, and most of all…LOVING!

I missTaiwanand AEF a lot and hope to better my Mandarin skills so that I can potentially go back in the future. I also hope to maintain and continue my relationships with the people I met this summer. It was definitely a record-breaking awesome summer. I LOVE AEF!