True Freedom

In celebration of SEAPC\’s 30th anniversary, throughout the next 12 months, we will be sharing stories and testimonies of God\’s goodness and faithfulness from friends around the nations! Each of these testimonies is like a stone of remembrance (Joshua 4) for all that He has accomplished. We are taking this year not just to look to the past, but also to praise God for what He has in store for us and those we serve in the years to come. We hope you enjoy these stories our friends have prepared each week!

This writing is an excerpt from Wei Wei Chang’s book, \”The Lens of Love\”

In 2010, my husband Steve and I had a pastor friend who invited us to join a mission trip to the Tibet Autonomous Region. What comes to mind when thinking about this Region is Mount Everest, the world\’s highest mountain, which is located there, and the fact that Tibetan Buddhism is deeply entrenched among the people.

Somehow, we had a heart for this city. We started to read about its people, religion, and culture, and the more we read, the more our love grew for this foreign land and its inhabitants. How difficult it has always been for good news to reach this land.

One of the books we read was about translating the Bible into the local language, which took almost a hundred years and cost many people their lives. Reading the stories of the saints who died because they dared to share the gospel, we could almost hear the voices of the martyrs crying for the righteousness of God to rain down from heaven.

Buddhism was popular in the early \’90s in the United States, and there were several Buddhist Temples in Arizona. Together with the other members of the group who would be going on the mission trip to Tibet, my husband and I decided to visit a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Phoenix. I had done some research about Tibetan Buddhism on the internet and discovered there are a lot of deities for different purposes. When we arrived at the temple, we saw statues and images of the gods everywhere. Fear of the evil spirits gripped some of us, with a number complaining of headaches after the visit. In general, if we as Christians do not believe we have authority over the evil spirits, then we should avoid going to such dark places; otherwise, we may be affected by those evil spirits.

To further my preparation for the trip, I conducted a lot of research online, including finding images of the gods and spirits of the Tibetan religious beliefs. Suddenly, I heard a voice: \”Look how much attention you have given me.\” Immediately, I stopped researching. I shared this with our friend Matthew, who had been to this land more than ten times, and he said I should delete all the research. So, I did. I hit the Delete button, and all my research on Tibetan Buddhist gods and spirits disappeared from the screen of my computer.

A couple of months later, we flew into Lhasa, Tibet\’s capital city, on a special visa. A giant rainbow hanging in a cloudy sky welcomed us. It was exciting to see, and we were filled with expectations that His promise would be fulfilled for the people in this land. About ten of us from different parts of the world rode a bus to the Kyichu Hotel. Inside the hotel, the paintings of gods and the artifacts all had similar faces and feelings to the gods and spirits I had found during my online research. Every morning, noon, and afternoon, incense was offered to the Tibetan Buddhist gods and spirits in the hallways.

During one of our morning devotion times, I plucked up the courage to speak to our leader, Pastor Mark, about it.

\”We are here for a mission trip,\” I said. \”Why are we staying in this place that is full of demons and evil spirits? The images of the gods and spirits are everywhere in this hotel.\”

\”I don\’t see any demons and spirits,\” Pastor Mark said. \”All I see is Jesus.\”

The conviction hit me: while my eyes focused on demons and spirits, there was no space for Jesus. I had been so afraid of the demons and evil spirits and of what they might do to me. Why was I so frightened? Maybe, when I gazed upon these images, I had surrendered myself to the power of darkness. I had allowed fear to influence and overtake me. It was all about the focus of my eyes. When my eyes focus on Jesus, there is no space and concern for demons and evil spirits. He is love and light, the truth, the life, and the way. In the light of Jesus, all darkness must flee.

That was huge for me. True freedom from fear is not in the absence of fearful objects. Instead, true freedom is when we gaze upon Jesus in the presence of fearful things. His light dispels the power of darkness.

Suddenly, a shift occurred, and I was no longer concerned with the power of darkness or what it could do to me. The word I read became alive: \”You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world\” (1 John 4:4). With this lightning switch, I was filled with boldness to proclaim the good news of Jesus to those who had never heard about Him.

Pastor Mark is the South East Asia Prayer Center (SEAPC) founder and led a team of doctors, nurses, project managers, and intercessors on this mission trip. My husband and I were intercessors, serving a ministry called Touching Hearts. Many children in Tibet have a heart condition due to a lack of oxygen in high altitudes. At the height of 12,000 feet or higher, some children\’s hearts do not fully develop while many others have a hole in their hearts, a condition manifested in purple lips, purple cheeks, frequent sickness, and low immunity.

During our mission trip, one of our activities was to sit with the families who anxiously awaited the outcome of heart surgery on their precious children in the SEAPC Cath lab. They once again allowed themselves to hope for a healthy child who would breathe freely in the heights of the Himalayas. The promise was on the horizon: the children would no longer have purple cheeks and purple lips; they\’d no longer be tied to their tents for lack of oxygen. Instead, they would be able to run freely after the mountain yaks and goats.

The families felt the presence of peace as we prayed for them and successful surgery in the operating room. During one procedure, a child\’s blood pressure plunged dangerously low, and the surgeon came out and asked for prayer. The child\’s blood pressure came back to normal shortly after the prayer, and the doctor and nurses gave glory to God in this foreign land where His name was forbidden.

Our God is love. His love is so vast. He called people like us from the other side of the world to come to this place in Tibet, 12,000 ft above the sea. We were filled with His great love to touch the hearts with holes in these people. We hugged them and embraced them even though they smelled like yak butter. God\’s love is deep and wide; His love reaches the people dressed in suits and ties in metropolitan cities, and His love also reaches the nomads in the heights of the Himalayas. In 2011, my husband Steve went back to Tibet and met with one of the young girls who received the procedure and stayed in the hospital much longer because of her liver complications. She grew much taller and looked healthy. We gave glory to God for His healing in her body and salvation in her soul.