Beauty in the Process

My name is Cheeia, I come from a traditional Hmong family.

This is the story of Cheeia, a student whose life was transformed by God in college. They showed this video at Epic Conference. I'd highly encourage you to watch this!

Cheeia's Story from CCCNEHQ on Vimeo.

This story touches me for many reasons:

1. Cheeia finally found what she'd been looking for all her life. She tried to find satisfaction in so many different areas in her life, but ultimately it left her empty. And now here she is, deeply satisfied!
2. She realized it was important to not just keep this to herself but to share with others, specifically with the ones she loved the most - her family. So she took a step of faith. And continued taking many more steps of faith after that.
3. She persevered through many trials, especially with her family. I can't imagine how difficult the process must've been for Cheeia. Yet she continued praying. And looked for opportunities. There's so much beauty in the process. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." - Matthew 7:7
4. She couldn't do it alone. For the family to be impacted, it took a total team effort - all the people that shared the Gospel with her, the friends that helped her grow, and the ones that supported her through the tough times. It's evident that God placed a strong community in her life for a reason.

Thank you God for Cheeia's story! And all the ways you changed my life in the same way you changed hers.

Winter is here

It's snowing outside! I've realized over the past year or so that snow doesn't necessarily = fun anymore. Especially when it comes to maintaining my aging 2005 Honda Civic (affectionately known as Francine). But snow is certainly one of the highlights of the winter season and it makes New England so special and beautiful. I wouldn't trade it for anything else... unless you're talking about an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii.

Along with the snow, I wanted to share some other recent highlights with you as well. This past weekend was our annual Epic East Coast conference held in Morristown, NJ. There were~120 students, 30 staff members, and 10 volunteers from Epic movements all over the East Coast (to name a few... SUNY-Buffalo, NYC colleges, Penn State, George Mason, Florida International). Umass brought 24 students from our area, a huge blessing considering our "faith goal" was initially 10-15 students!

The conference was refreshing on many levels personally. I had a blast talking with the staff from other campuses, sharing stories and learning from their experience. A lot of them have been serving in the ministry for many years, some even at the start of Epic in the 90s, and through them I gained a bigger perspective of the ministry. One staff pointed out how the conference size has doubled over the years. It's a peaceful reminder that as far as God wills our ministry, He will continue to provide laborers and students. It also brings me confidence to know that He is already ahead of us working and we are called to follow faithfully.

But by far the biggest refresher is witnessing people's hearts change for Christ. The theme of the conference was Transformed, appropriate because God is in the business of transforming lives. What made the conference stand out in my mind was seeing how God transforms us individually AND culturally as Asian-Americans. It's one of the first times I've seen the speaker address specific Asian-American issues and how the Gospel brings healing and change to it.

For example, the speaker addressed the issue of Asian-Americans' perfectionist mindset. He said that it's not an entirely bad thing to pursue perfection. After all, God is perfect and the pursuit of perfection would point us towards Him. However, when our culture twists it and points it to ourselves, we experience impossible standards, inevitable failure, insecurities, high pressure, and stress. But the Gospel is able to point us back to Christ - to know that where we've failed, Jesus has succeeded. In this way, we experience freedom from performance and we are restored as a culture.

That's just a snippet of what I experienced from the weekend! It's weekends like these that remind me of why I chose to join staff for Epic - growing in my walk with Christ and journeying with students through their walk. I'm amazingly blessed to serve the students and work alongside them to reach the rest of campus. Spring semester here we come! Thank you for your continual support!

Group picture at 2012 Epic East Coast Conference

100% and Onwards

It's official - I will be interning with Cru this upcoming year! It's been a very long journey but I'm thankful for this summer. I didn't predict the support raising to be this challenging, but I also didn't predict how rewarding this whole process would be.

I've never been the type to take risks, especially in situations that I know I might fail in. But trusting in God and witnessing Him pull through (even at times when I couldn't see it) taught me it's worth persevering. So as I learn more of what it means to "step out in faith" I'm looking forward for the school year to finally begin.

Students return to campus on Sunday! Let's get everything started.

Living Through the Cycle

This summer, I've been reading from the Book of Psalms during my quiet times (one-on-one personal time with God). I've been very encouraged by it especially in light of my support raising process because the Psalms capture the emotions and feelings of this roller coaster ride so perfectly.

Why?

As I read them, I noticed the same 3 themes constantly appearing over and over again. Here's how it usually plays out: the author desperately cries out for God's presence in a dead-end situation (Psalm 22), discovers peace and refuge in God's comfort (Psalm 23), and joyfully rejoices in God's strength and deliverance (Psalm 24). Isn't it interesting how it's always in this cycle?

What's odd is that I find myself going through this same cycle! Not just once, but all the time. I always fear that I will never get through this situation, always doubt that God can bring me out, and always amazed that God actually delivers me through. Well, I'm glad that God is greater than my fears and doubts combined!

But it doesn't end there. What is most interesting isn't how often I doubt God (though you'd think I've learned my lesson by now right?) but how faithful God is. Just listen:

"God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling."

Psalm 46:1-3

A promise that never lets me down or disappoints. So powerful that He promises to be there, even past the time our Earth crumbles. Think about that! I'm learning more and more that there's nothing in this world that won't disappoint me. And it might take something beyond this world to not let me down. So if God does in fact promise these things, then I think I just found the greatest joy that can ever be offered.

What Does God Look Like?

Have you ever asked yourself this question? I know I've thought through it before many times, trying to wrap my mind around God's nature and characteristics. Check out this quick video -- it does a nice job of explaining why Jesus can point us to the answers we're looking for.

Finding Joy Through Perseverance

Everyday when I wake up, I think of support raising.

During the day, my mind often drifts to support raising.

At night right before I close my eyes, the last thought is usually support raising.

And I'm not sure that's what God intended support raising to be. Take a look after the jump.

A Good Day

Today was a good day. It had nothing to do with the weather - in fact it's been drizzling all afternoon, a huge contrast from the string of sunny days Boston's been receiving lately (hard to come by). My good day had nothing to do with anything physical either, like feeling pumped after a hard workout or having a good hair day (even harder to come by).

Today was good because God showed me he has the perfect timing. This morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. It turned out to be a friend John whom I served with last summer in Wildwood, NJ. He lives in Indiana so we rarely get a chance to talk. We caught up with one another and swapped stories of our summer. It was a blessing to hear about his growth, a sign that he's still bearing fruit in his life.

Then in the afternoon, my roommate Matt called me. We're both raising support this summer for our upcoming internship with Crusade. We spent most of the time sharing about the challenges of support raising, and the lessons God has been teaching us. It was also a time to reflect on the past month and think of ways to push through the rest of the summer. I'm thankful that God is challenging me to place my faith in Him and trusting that He will provide all my finances. I'm even more thankful that I'm going through this with a close brother. Having this opportunity to share and pray with Matt put my heart back in place.

To me, these are the days I treasure and hold on to. Those moments when I feel dry or unmotivated, God sends the exact person to check up on me. And then through sharing and confessing to one another, God does the refreshing and my soul feels revitalized again. Is this what God intended community to be? I believe that this is evidence God has given us community to share and celebrate His name together. God gives us situations to go through so that we can lean on one another. When the going gets rough, we pray for God to give us His strength to push through. When we feel like more than conquerors, we celebrate and praise God for His victories. Thank God for these good days!