Being able to go help the MN team settle in, I was able to get a front row seat of how God was actively answering prayers even before the team arrival date on June 8, 2010. It was especially timely and appropriate that the devotion time passage on the third day in Mark 16 told about the women going to the tomb with their spices to prepare Jesus’ body. They came early in the morning with their load of burial clothes and spices to honor a man who was dead, disgraced by the crucifixion, and deserted by his followers. They came with what they could offer to honor and show devotion to Jesus. This in some way hints of the team who left the mild-weathered Bay Area, their jobs, familiar surroundings like the abundance of Asian supermarkets, and some, their houses, to be on a campus that they did not know, where none of them attended nor had connections to, and where the weather fluctuations were the greatest. They knew all this and decided to show their love and devotion to Jesus and in turn to bring the gospel message to the student population at the University of Minnesota. So they left and went on their way.

Who will roll away the stone?

As the women were walking, they realized that they had a large obstacle ahead of them that they did not foresee. There was a large stone covering the tomb and they would not be able roll away the stone. Similarly there were obstacles that came as the team relocated. God had already answered the prayers for housing and places to meet for both Friday and Sunday as well as for jobs. Yet as we opened the three pods used to transport the belongings of the team, it felt like we were moving a large stone. Seven apartments all on different floors- it was not an easy feat but at least we had elevators. Also the building manager was nice enough to let us borrow their dollies, furniture carts, and door stops. We quickly loaded, uploaded, moved, and assembled for the seven apartments in the span of one afternoon and half of a morning. What was particularly spiritually challenging to me was to settle in families, who have a 2 year old son. They moved from a townhome to an apartment with much less space. The reality of moving with their son hit me as we unpacked diapers, his toys, and so many other things. As long as it took for us to unpack, it took much longer for the family to pack each item. Other households arrived without any furniture and had to make multiple IKEA runs to put together a new apartment- everything from plates, to furniture, decorations, and even kitchen condiments.

Another challenge was preparing for the meal for the first Bible study. Alice prepared a menu of teriyaki flavored meatballs, salad, and rice. This is pretty simple and low prep, in California, but as we shopped at the Costco in a nearby suburb, we realized that it wasn’t California and many of the items we see as staples for our menus were not found there. There were no 50 lb bags of rice, Yoshida sauce, or Styrofoam cups. Alice quickly figured out what was needed to make a homemade version of the Yoshida sauce and we made it for the first Bible study.

God will roll away the stone.

I think one of the biggest worries for the new Christian group is for no new person to show up at the first meeting. There weren’t any posters or announcements to be sent. We had planned to go to a dining hall to meet people but it was closed because there were not many people around in the summer. Yet God had already rolled away the stone and there were eight new people at the first Friday Bible study and five at the first Sunday worship service. Two had spent a summer at UC Berkeley for summer sessions and met some Kairos students. They were so excited to welcome the team. They brought some friends as well. Another was a classmate of one the students at the Austin church and was waiting for our church to start a fellowship on her campus. Another is a summer student who was looking for a Bible study group and church. She and her two friends couldn’t find one that met in the summer, and she decided to pray for one that Thursday. They were almost going to just start one with the three of them. Then she met one of the helpers who came to help the team settle in and exclaimed that she was the answer to her prayers. She and her two friends came on Friday night, the day after she prayed that she would find a group. Another student came to the first Sunday service. I happened to sit by her mom on the plane and we struck up a conversation about what our group was doing going to Minneapolis. We probably stuck out a lot and she noticed that we all knew each other on the plane. After telling her about the reason why the team was going, she mentioned that her daughter worked at one of the local milk tea places and had many Chinese friends that she wanted to bring to a Christian group.

God answered our prayers in so many ways. It is my prayer that I would commit to be God’s servant and that when there are obstacles, I would pray and experience that God would roll away the stones. This trip and the team are concrete reminders that we can only experience God moving the obstacles when we become servants to His work and live a life of devotion to Jesus even when there are hardships and inconveniences.

This past week we sent off Joohye at the airport to go to Texas for her T cell transplant treatment, and I was really amazed at how not only has God really been watching over her, but he gave us the opportunity to collectively experience how awesome he is as a whole church.  As we all prayed for her together, we got to experience together God showing himself to be someone who loves her dearly, who has the power to do the impossible, and who really will hear and answer our prayers.  As we met her family at the airport I remembered bringing on her birthday dozens of cards from the Joyland kids and gifts from Joytown, including a bracelet that read, “We Love You Joohye” and I was overwhelmed with gratitude thinking how, because of God we can all participate in loving her together and lifting her up in prayer as a community.  So many people were at the airport and most of them were seeing Joohye for the first time that morning.  She was excited to finally be able to go on this trip, and that morning she got to see just a small portion of all the faces of the people who have been praying for her even though they have never met, all smiling back at her and waving her goodbye.  It was such a beautiful picture how, we might have seemed like just a random assortment of people who would otherwise have nothing to do with each other, yet because we all share the same God we got to share this in this wonderful joy together.

Submitted by Jeannie…

This morning, I experienced a bit of what Apostle Paul describes in Ephesians 1 as “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”as about 50 of us gathered at the airport to see little Joohye off, a 4th grader from our Joyland Department, whom many of us have never met. I think her parents and older sister were shocked and delighted at the same time to see the sizable group waiting for them as they were about to board the plane to go to Texas for Joohye’s t-cell treatment.  This is something we’ve been praying for for months now.  And Joyland kids, youth teachers, Joyland teachers, college students, and the rest of us just members of the same congregation who have been praying for her, gathered to encourage her as she went off.  She was wiping away her tears of gratitude after the prayer and was all smiles as she received the care packages for the flight and the stay there.  I’m just so thankful that because of the Gospel, I am connected to this family and can experience God’s incomparably great power together.

We were looking for Trina, the youth leader, and were led upstairs to a room where service was to be held. It was filled with older people and a grandpa came over to greet us. He spoke Vietnamese to Azusa inviting her inside. Without hesitation, I used my native tongue to exchange greetings. A younger lady who spoke in English came to led us downstairs into another room where we were told to wait for Trina. We came early to do set up which included a light breakfast of orange juice and yummy pastries. As we waited for Trina to arrive, we went over our schedule and each of our roles for the day as well as offering a prayer for the program.

Trina welcomed us warmly and we had a little chat about the youth and the church here. At around 10 AM, the youth began to arrive. There were 5 students total: two girls, one in middle school from San Leandro and the other a freshman in college. The rest of the students were siblings, twin girls in high school and a freshman boy in college who came later. We invited them to have some breakfast and had a nice time getting to know the girls.

We played a game of “2 truths and a lie” led by Victoria. The youth really took their time to make sure their lies were hard to guess. We learned interesting facts from each other like how Tiffany used to have a “zoo” since she had so many different types of pets, how the college girl really like fishing, and Victoria had gone 3 days without food by accident.

Azusa began her message about the Misunderstood God in which she pointed out the misconception that God was aloof and distant. There were many verses that reminded us that God is always interested in us, and that He really cares about who we are. He knows everything about us even the most mundane things. The youth were attentive throughout the message and participated in our discussion questions. Towards the end of the message, we heard the amazing story of David Livingstone who went through incredible hardships in his ministry because he knew that God was with him as it is written in Matthew 28:20 “…surely I am with you to the very end of the age”.  When it was time for the closing prayer, I was filled with longing for the youth to understand God’s heart for them and how I need to come back to these basic truths about God. I know He is always faithful to these students.

After the message, we taught the youth how to play King Kong Shower. We even got into the second level of stereo. Then, after putting the room back to normal, we packed up our equipment and took a group picture. The youth waved goodbye and said to us “See you next week.”

I was excited for a chance to serve the youth especially when I remember of my experience as a youth in a small immigrant church. I really didn’t know what to expect at first but I understand now that God has much in store for all of His children. He is never absent in our lives even at times when we thought we are alone. May we always remember God’s message of love and that it is for all the generations!

My sister and I spent about the past 6 weeks in Korea taking care of my mom fighting last stage of lung cancer. Through my time in Korea with my parents, I think God has taught me some lessons about what it looks like to live a life of faith and the key to living in peace regardless of the present circumstances.

One lesson that I learned is about the importance of guarding my heart through the word of God. My mom has shared with us about how she has been guarding her heart and mind through the Word of God and that is the only way that she is able to be at peace even though she has cancer. God has given her this verse in Proverbs 4:23 – “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” & Philippians 4: 6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” My mom shared that she would have become depressed, filled with all kinds of worries and anxieties long ago, if she did not control her mind & thoughts with words from the Bible. She has disciplined her heart and mind in this way that even when she was hospitalized recently with a breathing tube, she said that she continued to think thoughts of God’s word. By this time, even when she wanted to think her own thoughts, she couldn’t, because the presence of God’s word was so strong. I thought about how my mind & thoughts go in all directions on a day to day experience, how I experience anxieties and restlessness as a result of that, and witnessing my mom at such peace & joy has caused me to want to develop this kind of discipline of the mind and heart through prayer and intentionally thinking about what God’s word says and what it means by meditation.

My mom has also been meditating a lot on faith verses. Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” I saw her not looking at the present circumstances (cancer, pain, continuing with chemo treatment, rude & unsympathetic doctors, the short amount of time given), but putting her trust in the unseen (promise of heaven, God’s character of love & his promises in the Bible). One way she has been exercising her faith is through obedience to the Word. If God says be joyful, she said she will try to rejoice and if God says be thankful, she will be thankful. She said that recently, as she has been praying through the actual words in the Bible as God convicts her, she has been so blessed. When she honestly told God I don’t know why I have cancer and it’s gotten worse, but I will still give thanks as you said, she was so moved that tears just flowed down. Another way that she exercises her faith is through COMPLETE trust in God’s word. As she has been worried & fearful about what is to come as she will start treatment with chemo injections starting this coming Monday, God has given her 1 Corinthians 10:13, about God giving her only what she will be able to handle and that he will provide a way out. She said that she will not doubt, but as she puts her complete trust in what God says, there is such peace and even joy.

She shared that God’s word is the only thing that gives her strength each day. It is true; I saw her living under the shadow of death but not being crushed under this reality because God’s word lifts her and carries her through. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me (Psalm 23).” As we recently did DT about the end times, and seeing my mom being sustained through God’s word daily, I was convicted that God’s word is one way that I too will be able to face the ever-darkening world and the difficult challenges of the end times. My mom shared that she was brought to mind Jesus overcoming all the temptations of the devil in the desert through the Word of God and that she needs to continue in this way of claiming God’s truth written in the word. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Mark 13:31).”

The way in which I was challenged and renewed in my understanding of living by faith is to trust in God’s promises DESPITE the present circumstances that may not be changing as I wish and the problems that persist. My understanding of faith used to be to put my trust in and keep praying that God change and fix the problems that needs to be fixed right in front of me: I wanted God to heal my mom completely, I wanted God to give us clear direction for my parents’ ministry, to solve problems and save us from the troubles that we are faced with. None of this has happened as we have been praying, but I saw no resentment or bitterness on the part of my parents, and I realized that my faith is not to be dependent on God changing these problems. FAITH is being sure of the hope that we have in God’s word, that one day it will all be fulfilled, and in the meantime living a life of obedience to what the Bible says we should do. It’s also being certain of what we do not see. I learned that living a life of faith is to trust in God, in his word and to do what it says even though problems are still there and my circumstances don’t change. Besides, there’s ultimately heaven, a sure and secure place for us no matter what may happen on this side of earth, and that God can work all things for good (Romans 8:28).

Another lesson that I learned is learning to give thanks in all circumstances. There’s always things that can be better and things that need to be fixed in life, and if I am to only focus on these lacks and what more I want to be done, then I will never be able to give thanks for what has already been done. Honestly, when we went in for my mom’s last CT scan and checkup, I was focused on the fact that she has to now start chemo injection rounds and that she has but a year to live, according to the diagnosis of the doctor, when there was also the good news that the cancer that has filled her lung a month ago has decreased significantly in size.  My mom was very happy, saying that she got her lung back, saying that medicine will do its job to the extent it can and God is the one who will do the rest. As Joyce shared with me that we should give thanks to God for what He has ALREADY done, I felt rebuked and realized the rightness about giving thanks (of course) for what he has already done: my mom’s cancer has decreased, that she has a year as opposed to 1 month to live, she can breathe so much better, stable enough to cook and wash dishes, able to talk more, and the way she challenges us to live a life of faith. Furthermore, we have been the recipient of so many people’s prayers, we received much care from the place in Gangwondo, got to experience God’s wonderful creation at Solrak mountain, and my aunt has provided food for us during our time there. I was also challenged by the way in which my dad was always giving thanks for little or any progress that my mom was making and details of his prayers of thanks. One day, after one of the trips to the mountains, my dad sat us down at home and prayed a prayer of thanks. He basically made a list of specific thanks: for my mom being able to stand and walk for 40 minutes, for her good appetite, for her breathing better, for the trees in the mountains, for the cable car we were able to get on for the view, for the comfortable lodging place, for the safe travels. My dad always gives thanks for safe travels and not getting into any accident almost every day. As Philippians 4:6-7 adds that we not only need to bring our requests and petitions to God, but also thanksgiving, I realized the importance of looking back and acknowledging God’s blessings and what he has already done.

Last lesson that I learned is about perseverance through suffering. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you many be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4).” One thing that I have seen in my parents over the years in their ministry, especially after the news of my mom’s cancer, is that of their persevering struggle to keep trusting God, in his word and his character. When my mom was in the hospital with a lot of pain recently for a week, Joyce and I saw her getting herself up at 4:30am still to pray on her bed (to keep her commitment to God that she will spend time in meditative prayer for 100 days).  I learned a bit about holding onto the unchanging character of God, as we recently did Bible reading in Psalms. It didn’t occur to me until this time around how much David and the psalmist held onto the names of God in their struggles, fears, and confusion and it helped me in my prayers as I faced similar emotions.

“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (9:9)

“I love you Lord, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (18:1-2).

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?” (27:1).

God is Sovereign. God is good. God is faithful. God is our creator. God is also healer, so I will continue to pray for a miracle of healing, as I claim the following verses:

“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.” (James 5:15a).

“As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” (James 5:11)

“Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:25).

“With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27).

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14)

In sum, I witnessed God giving my mom just enough grace for each day. I am reminded of the hymn, “Day by Day”.

Day by Day with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,

I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure

Gives us to each day what He deems best

Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Everyday the Lord Himself is near me

With a special mercy for each house;

All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,

He whose name is Counselor and power.

The protection of His child and treasure

Is a charge that Himself He laid;

“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”

This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation

So to trust They promises, O Lord,

That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation

Offered me within thy holy Word.

Help me, Lord when toil and trouble meeting.

Ever to take, as from a father’s hand,

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,

Till I reach the promised land.

I feel confident and encouraged to know that God will lead each of us with enough grace for each day. God is good!

I am blessed by my mom’s servant-like attitude, and it gives me a window into the sheer joy of servanthood. For a few years now, she has been wanting to serve the handicapped or autistic children, spending her free time taking classes and learning the American Sign Language so that she can one day use these skills. But being as old as she is, she got virtually no interviews, even when she wanted to just volunteer for free. But she just wanted to somehow serve, so she just kept at it, and one elementary school in Alameda decided to let her be a volunteer in a class of autistic children.

She was very excited, but to her dismay they didn’t call her to come in at all. After some waiting, she started to just go to the school and showed up to the class, wondering how she could help. Without any invitation or request for help, she would show up 2 times a week and started to observe the situation in the classroom, trying to understand how she could help. Then she realized that there didn’t seem to be any room for her. The classroom was busily run by a group of 5 teachers who had been working together for a very long time, and they had great teamwork and knew exactly what to do. She said that she felt like her presence was just a nuisance in that classroom.

But instead of such a realization causing her to become cynical, she just did whatever she was told to help with. They asked her to put velcro on fabric, to glue things together, etc. And then one day, they asked her if she could make a poster regarding street lights. They just wanted her to cut out 3 big colored circles and paste it onto a black background, but my mom asked them if she could take the work home and draw something more interesting. They said for her to go ahead, and she brought the posterboard home and drew a fun picture of a fat police officer stopping surprised school kids from jaywalking. (Unbeknownst to them, my mom was, for a period of 10 years, a professional artist). When she brought back the poster, the teachers were faint with delight, and they started to ask her to redo and redraw all sorts of posters and pictures in the room. The rumor has spread that there’s an artistic volunteer, and she has become the most popular volunteer in the school. She was delighted to tell me that she currently has many backed-up work orders for different posters she’s being asked to draw.

What I see in her these days is sheer joy. She didn’t plan on going to that school so that she can draw. She just wanted to help somehow, and she had no idea that her artistic talents would be used in this kind of way. She told me that after she became a Christian (which was during my college days), she wondered how her art was glorifying God, and she ended up giving up her professional art career, because she thought that her art was “just creating more unnecessary junk in the world”. But when she went into this school and just decided to be a servant and help out by doing whatever she could, she suddenly found that God was taking her desires to help and mending them with her past talent that she thought were long gone. She tearfully told me, “I never would have guessed that I would be actually helping really needy people in this kind of way. All I did was just show up to help and do whatever I could do. And now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”

As I listened to her story, I was just amazed at how God took her persistent willingness to serve others and turned it into a life-redefining and redemptive work that gave her life and her past a sense of coherence. She is taking English conversation classes now on the days where she is not volunteering, so that she could better communicate with the students. It is as if my mom, at the age where most people look back at their past with longing, has found her calling in life and looks forward to each day. One thing is for sure: she is joyful… She feels the joy and freedom of servanthood. And the pile of posters building up on our dining room table is a testimony of how God took her willingness to serve and turned it into an unexpected source of abundant blessing and joy.

After the time of prayer, we quickly left for the youth room, meeting the six youth students on the way. While rushing to set up, we introduced ourselves and learned the students’ names, grades, and hometowns. They ranged from seventh to twelfth grade and came from other cities, like Fremont and San Jose. After a quick “Two Truths and a Lie” icebreaker, Kevin began his message on the misconception that God is aloof and absent. This sermon from “The Misunderstood God” series conveyed that, though we may feel alone at times, God cares deeply about us and He shows this undeniably through Jesus. The many passages from the Bible regarding God’s knowledge of and passion for each of us were encouraging reminders and bulwarks against the dejection we can fall into so easily when we focus only on our own situation and problems. Kevin ended with the inspiring example of David Livingstone, who endured great suffering as a missionary to Africa by the power of God’s presence with him, remembering always Matthew 28:20, “And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” As we concluded with prayer, I was filled with hope that these six youth would have the assurance of God’s presence with them as well.

Heading out of our room, we joined the youth in their other weekly routines: setting up the tables and chairs for lunch and playing foosball afterwards. After a quick round of foosball, we ate a delicious meal (bibimbop!) together, got to know the youth more through some conversation, and finished the “Two Truths and a Lie” icebreaker, through which we learned some interesting facts about people: one eighth-grader said she hates cats, much to Sam’s horror; one freshman is a video game master who used to be addicted to gatorade; and Sam is the great-great-great-great-great-great-step-nephew of George Washington! The fun fellowship ended with an epic foosball match between the best youth player and Sam, almost all the youth joining in by the end, with the victory going to the Gracepoint representative. Our day there ended with a picture of our team with the youth in the fellowship room. As the camera clicked, it seemed that our team and the youth already shared a sense of rapport. Not to flatter our team, but the youth seemed to enjoy having us, and a few asked if we would come again on Friday. Their friendliness and receptiveness point to a lot of potential for a tight-knit fellowship and fruitful youth ministry at EBKP church, and I am really excited for how God will bless all of us through this pilot program!

When I look back on the past four years of my life, three major life-transforming decisions come to mind.  The first was committing myself to my small group, second committing myself to God and third, committing myself to God’s work.

The first milestone in committing myself to my small group occurred during winter retreat of my sophomore year.  My boyfriend and I had just broken up and I was with my small group in our cabin.  I think as a sign of comfort to me, one of the girls started sharing what she was struggling with, and one by one each of us shared something in our past that deeply scarred us. Praying for each other, I began to see my small group as real people with real hurts, rather than just a group of random girls I was affiliated with through church.

The pain of the breakup also shook me up enough to make me think about what I was pursuing in life.  Suddenly, it didn’t make sense to me anymore to go through the façade of parties or attention seeking culture that is common to the college experience.  What is more, I saw a genuine community before me pursuing real questions in life and living with sincerity and generosity.  I remember multiple times in the following month that I would call Jessica crying and she would immediately come, meet me wherever I was on campus, and pray for me.

So as they committed to me, I committed to them.  Since I had pre-dental club meetings during our normal small group time, I decided to give up that club and just meet with the girls.  I also devoted a lot of time to getting to know them by studying with them and sleeping over at their places.  In a given week, I would probably sleep at Tina’s place for four nights, Ellen’s place for two nights and my own place one night.  Most of the time I would only stop by home to shower and get a change of clothes.  Teresa told me that someday I would make a great missionary because I was so used to packing up and sleeping wherever.

As our relationships deepened, I was also given the opportunity to stretch my heart and care for them.  I remember getting random phone calls, sometimes waking me up at 2AM and walking over to unit 1 with Bear Walk to talk to one of my small group girls.  Through these experiences, I saw the strength of true community and the satisfaction of engaging my time to care for these girls that I had committed to and were committed to me.  So even though my old friends tried to guilt trip me into joining them for parties, even to the extent of buying me new clubbing clothes just to entice me to come out with them, I knew inside that I was making the right choice.

Surrounding myself with people that also wanted to pursue God really helped me to take God seriously.  My ears opened and I was convicted bible study after bible study, Sunday sermon after Sunday sermon of the truth of the gospel.  Getting closer to my leader also helped me with the day to day questions I had about our church or living out Christian life.  Poor Hannah, I would almost weekly have two hour conversations with her, asking what probably seemed like unending questions.  But it was through those conversations that I began to understand the heart behind our church and trust its work.

My commitment to God occurred through many smaller steps.  First, it was structuring my life so that I had time for Him and His people.  This meant getting rid of the old stuff that was clearly immoral or just plainly a waste of time.  I stopped going to parties, drinking, clubbing, listening to my favorite R&B/hiphop artists like Usher, and I stopped watching Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, and Korean dramas.  With all of this gone, I had a lot of free time on my hands.  I finally started going to the post-bible study activities and spent time with the community.  Furthermore, staying in Berkeley over the summers taking summer school helped me to solidify these relationships and utilize the less hectic schedule to pursue my relationship with God.

Secondly, I started reading Christian books and doing DTs with my small group girls regularly.  In light of my past, Psalm 51 and Psalm 23 were passages that comforted me.  I found peace in the descriptions of the Lord as my shepherd, leading me beside peaceful quiet waters, guiding me in paths of righteousness, restoring my soul.  I experienced daily how He provided for me to the point of my cup overflowing and I trusted that He would have mercy on me and cast out my sins making me whiter than snow.  And I saw that no matter what I was going through, the bible had an answer for me, a way to correct my posture so that I could endure and still have hope.

Thirdly, I committed myself to God’s work.  Being actively involved in ministry really solidified my conviction that the gospel is true because I saw it played out in the neediness of the different girls I was ministering to.  I no longer wanted to be tricked into pursuing the things of this world, so I made a commitment to take every opportunity to fill the needs that came up.  I wanted it to be clear to myself that my life’s priority was serving God and not pursuing my own ambitions.

God took my commitment seriously and challenged me on many different occasions.  While I did take the opportunity to serve in different ministries at our church, it was the little daily decisions that were hard to make.  It was particularly difficult when I would have multiple midterms the next day and a younger sister would text asking if I was free to talk.  I wanted to just text back that I had midterms, but on each occasion, I found that it was well worth it going to talk to them.  I learned that the struggle for me was always fighting past my initial selfishness, but once I was there talking to her, hearing her problem, it was so easy to see that she was much more important to me than some test.  After multiple experiences like this, the decisions to go and leave other things behind only became easier because I knew it was worth it in the end.

Also, choosing to go lead DT group at a particular time even though I knew that I had a midterm right after that I wasn’t prepared for was difficult.  But I wanted to make it clear in my own heart what I was living for, so I would choose to go.  There were many times like these, where I had to prioritize God’s work even when I felt like I had no time.  But God was always faithful to me and well worth my commitment.

Through being engaged in God’s work I was also challenged to develop useful practical skills to meet those needs.  I learned how to develop lesson plans for ImpACT, make flyers with photoshop, give worldview presentations for Interhigh, lead someone in Course 101, estimate in cooking for a larger crowd, and even learned how to sew!  But I can only say that learning to serve in these ways have only enriched my experience of the joy of God’s work.  Seeing the children’s shine in their eyes as they learn or discussing with my Interhigh mentees about how media affects them fills me with wonder for how God works in various peoples lives.  Remembering my own pursuit of meaninglessness in this world, I can testify that it’s truly by grace that God saves, plucking people out of their destructive lives and placing opportunities in their life to take small yet large steps toward a life spent with Him.

In reflecting over the past four years, I find that it was these three main commitments, and their smaller supporting commitments that shaped me.  I hardly realized all that God was doing in my life at the time, but at each step of the way I knew what was the right thing to do and I just followed.  In Mark 1, Jesus says, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”