She called me “sister.”

As the cool stone floor of the kitchen relieved my bare feet from Phnom Penh’s swelter, I felt that word, so warmly given, embrace my heart in a way more enduring than any arms could. The home where we stood, Dahlia Dorm, has taken in over a dozen girls rescued from human trafficking and the young woman standing in front of me was one of their first. The power of the gospel to redeem and restore is movingly displayed in a story like hers. She has known evils we shudder to mention, yet laid them at the feet of her Savior. Many would reduce her identity to “victim,” but because of Christ, she is victorious.

And there she was, referring to me, a stranger, in familial terms. Christians are accustomed to calling each other siblings, but on this occasion, I was struck with a sense of bafflement and awe. By any other standard, “sisterhood” doesn’t fit. We differ in parentage, culture, continent, background, and lived experiences to no small degree. Yet, she was entirely accurate in describing us as sisters, for our Elder Brother in heaven has made us so.

The Westminster Confession of Faith has an entire chapter on the communion of saints, which teaches that for those united to Christ the Head, “being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces” (26.1) and are further obliged to utilize such gifts to “encourage and build one another up” (1 Thes. 5:11). One way WSC has pursued this mutual edification is by sending students and professors on Vision Trips in partnership with Mission to the World (MTW), and I was privileged to be a part of the 2024 Cambodia team, where I met my new “sister.” A professor, four other students, and I had the opportunity to glean wisdom from the MTW missionaries on the ground there, get to know some Khmer siblings in Christ, share some sermons and Bible lessons, learn up-close how the local church grows in a foreign context, and gain a better understanding of how we might support the global church.1 In short, we got to encourage and be encouraged.

My own motivation for going was rooted in a desire to clarify whether foreign missions is perhaps where the Lord is calling me post-graduation. Indeed, he graciously used the experiences I had in Cambodia to both prompt me to pursue this path and continue to greatly encourage me along the way.

“Sweaty and sanctifying” was the description I frequently gave to folks afterward inquiring about the trip. Don’t get me wrong: although it was packed as tightly as our suitcases with sweetness and joy and laughter, I was also confronted with my own weaknesses and inadequacies. Yet a message continually broke through: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9a). Missionaries are not superheroes; they’re ordinary servants of God who seek to be obedient to his commission. I treasure the conversations I had with several members of the Cambodia team, particularly regarding challenges in missions. Their words attest that we don’t have to be dazzlingly talented, daringly adventurous, perfectly knowledgeable, or even socially extroverted to play a role in spreading the Word abroad. The Holy Spirit is faithful both despite and through our weaknesses—we just have to go as the Lord calls.

As family in Christ, we are responsible to serve each other according to our gifts, and this ordinance transcends national boundaries. WSC’s Global Church Initiative equips students for biblically-sound ministry and aims to bring encouragement to those laboring abroad. The MTW Cambodia team partners with Khmer believers to cultivate the local church and seek the well-being of the larger community. The young woman whose life was radically changed by the ministry of Dahlia Dorm is now its social worker, caring for both the physical and spiritual needs of the girls who come under her wings.

Through time spent with these brothers and sisters, my own heart for the global church has expanded and I am set for an internship with the MTW Bulgaria team focused on anti-trafficking ministry late this year. We may not know how exactly God will use us with our particular talents and infirmities, but as The Valley of Vision prayerfully recounts of the Lord, “thou canst accomplish great things; the cause is thine, and it is to thy glory that men should be saved.”1 May we all go forth in the confidence of this truth.


This article is from our Spring 2025 edition of UPDATE Magazine, Servants of the Church.