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.