Called to Serve God in Asia

     As we draw to the close of another academic year, many of us are filled with the hope and excitement of embarking on a new journey in life.  Yet no matter where we go from here or whether we remain in place at Stanford, God is with us, at our side, within us, calling us to something greater than what the world can simply offer.  It is a call, uniquely given to each of us out of God’s love for His children, that promises far more possibilities and personal fulfillment than we could ever imagine or hope to achieve on our own.  We have only to open ourselves up to that call, to the immeasurable potential of what God can accomplish through us, and say “Yes, Lord!  I love you and will follow you wherever you may lead me.”

     When I first went to study in China in 2004, I had no idea that God would lead me back there four years later as a Catholic lay missionary, charging into rough seas and uncharted territory, to share the love of Jesus Christ with others.  Though often penniless and alone, with little support from family, friends and church, I nevertheless carried on in my ministry, often operating solely on an intense faith in God’s purpose for my life in that moment and trusting in His Providence to grant me whatever I needed to persevere.

     Now, after more than six years of serving in Asia and overcoming adversity that has challenged my wits, my rationality, and, especially, my faith in God to pursue a calling – indeed, a vocation – that deep down I knew to be true, the Holy Spirit has blessed my calling to this ministry with a sudden outpouring of support and encouragement from the greater Christian faith community.  Even more affirming, though, has been the way in which this ministry has grown into what it has become today: wherein I am daily blessed with the opportunity to witness the hand of the Holy Spirit beautifully at work in the lives of so many of the Christian faithful.  Moreover, I receive incredible joy knowing that I’ve somehow played an instrumental role in touching the heart and soul of so many people in Asia thirsting for God’s love, and guiding them further along their journey of faith and understanding.

     Indeed, it seemed that as I became increasingly able to give myself over more fully to God’s will and trust in His love for me, the Holy Spirit began opening more doors all around me to new ways of building up the Body of Christ in Asia through personal relationships, young adult fellowships, Bible studies, catechism classes, pastoral counseling, spiritual gifts workshops, contemplative prayer groups, teaching in the seminary, social justice activities, and so much more.  In fact, I have become so close to the Spirit through my ministry and in my life that I regularly turn to Him throughout my day for wisdom, strength and guidance.  The Holy Spirit often responds to this desire to better live out my faith and my purpose by revealing more opportunities in my daily life to spread Christ’s love and glorify God.

     Seeing where I am now, I cannot help but think back to when I was working to finish my degree at Stanford – researching the great 16th century missionary to Asia, Alessandro Valignano – or even when I was just embarking on my ministry in China; I could not have possibly fathomed all the things that God would accomplish through me and this ministry.  Indeed, had I a greater inkling back then of God’s unique plan for me and how the next few years of my life would proceed to get where God has led me today, I likely would have been overcome with trepidation and run screaming in the other direction.

     Yet God had a special plan for my life before I was ever conceived.  Upon being baptized into the mystical Body of Christ, He bestowed upon me the graces and charisms that would equip me to better live out His divine purpose in the world.  He knew my character, my hopes and my struggles … He plumbed the very depths of my being and in His love called me to Him and offered me a road to infinite joy and salvation.

     In each of our lives, God is calling out to us.  Just as he has chosen me for a special purpose in life, he has chosen you for something beautifully profound and engaging.  He has called all of us, by becoming one with Him as intentional disciples of Christ, to live a life less ordinary, to become saints.

     So as the sun dawns on a new tomorrow and we look toward the future and ponder our life’s purpose, spend some time with the Lord and ask Him where He is calling you and how you can evermore give your life over to Him.  Though the horizon may be filled with uncertainty and sacrifice, we have but to trust in God’s love and be comforted by the knowledge that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.  Each day brings with it unique opportunities to follow closer God’s will for our lives and be drawn ever deeper into His embrace.

     In my own life now, I am setting out on a new journey of faith and discovery that challenges me to place even greater faith in God.  With renewed vision, I am being given a clarion call to reach beyond my current ministry in China and embark on a newly expanded mission:  to found a Catholic lay missionary organization that will train, send and support Catholic lay missionaries to share the love of Jesus Christ with others in foreign countries, particularly with young adults in Asia; to promote greater understanding within the Church of  the universal call to Christian mission; and to encourage others to live out their faith with humility and love in service to God.

So where is God calling you?

     On a recent trip to India, I spent some time in Calcutta at the motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity.  Of the many inspiring quotes that were dear to blessed Mother Teresa – whose own extraordinary faith in God’s plan for her life serves as a beautiful inspiration to my own – I was inspired by a more recent quote she would have loved from Pope Benedict XVI that I feel really goes to the heart of what God is asking of each of us in pursuing God’s blessing for our lives:

     “Mary truly believed that ‘with God nothing will be impossible’ and on the strength of this faith, she in daily obedience, allowed herself to be guided by the Holy Spirit and his plans. How can we not wish for our own life the same abandonment to trust?”

Tricia Bølle graduated from Stanford in 2005 with an M.A. in East Asian Studies.  She has been actively serving as an independent lay missionary in Asia for more than six years and is the founder of the St. Francis Xavier Lay Missionary Society.  To learn more about how to support or become involved in this special ministry, please email Tricia at: tricia@laymissionary.org.  Thank you and God bless!