God Met Me
The Pursuit of Art
All along I was pursuing art, but God had a better plan —— the redemption of an artist.
The single-minded and relentless pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts in Public Art brought me to Beijing, where God met me in my hopelessness. In pursuit of a Master of Arts in Fine Art, my steps turned toward Hong Kong, where I had 7 years of unbelievable spiritual transformation.
I learnt two important truths: the hope that saved me is not supposed to be kept for myself, and Christ came to serve, not to be served. As a result, I was serving my heart out: in production, through a kid’s club, at orphanages, with the homeless, on mission trips – you name it.
The 'Abandonment' of Art
Yet, none of these had anything to do with art.
Deep down, I had despised art as fancy, unnecessary, impractical; therefore, just nice to have.
Art and missions were split.
I was ‘split.’
God Called Me to Be a Missionary
Towards to the end of my 4th Yunnan missions trip, I was strongly urged to postpone my return ticket to stay with two kids in their home. That one decision, one Spirit-led prayer, didn’t only light up the kids’ lives but also changed mine: ‘Heavenly Father, I know what it feels like to lose a parent at such a young age. I didn’t have a father to take care of me, either. But You called me Your daughter. Your love is the reason I’m in this room. May You be their Father just like You are mine.’ There is hardly an analogy to describe the satisfaction of connecting with people on a heart-level in the shared brokenness and being able to bridge with hope. When you find a treasure such as this, you sell all you possess to buy this land. At that moment, my faith became mine.
To Join Missions, but With What?
I secretly admired the doctors. How practical are the skills! Photography? I’m not professional enough. I even considered farming with the Yunnan Team. Since God called me, He has not left me struggling alone. Miracles after miracles, in 2017, I found myself in Thailand at the ILM (OM International’s Leader’s Meeting) invited by the International Director of OM, Lawrence Tong, to serve as a photographer with the OmniVision team, even though I wasn’t even an OMer.
Again, miracles connected me with Mat Carson, the director of Inspiro Arts Alliance, who introduced me to the mission discipleship training for artists – Incarnate. The Lord answered me loud and clear: art! The very thing I’m trained in, the last thing I would consider.
Check back in several days for the next part of Jin's story!
