Philippians 2:13

It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose. [Philippians 2:13]

Good morning readers! 

Above is the first memory verse for the second book of Masterlife. (Trying hard to keep up with everyone else and finish my homework.) As I reflect back my past month, I can relate to this verse on so many different levels.

When I first started as an ISEEDer, I kept the mission statement of IFI in mind, which is to reach out to international students and to serve them. However, the ways I can think of to serve are limited to the ways that I have been served before. Picking up students to the Friday night Bible study, driving them to do grocery shopping, helping out at events, etc. I would pray that God would lead me to person with peace so that I can build relationships with them and introduce them to Christ. However, as I started the internship outside of IFI and no longer can spend time on campus, I found that I don't have many opportunities to meet new students other than through the Bible study on Friday which we don't have new students that many often. Especially the group I am in is categorized as the old-timers group. I've been looking for the chance to get to know new people so that I can do what I'm supposed to do. One thing that I forgot is that, God is the one behind all the work that I do and He does that through the Holy Spirit inside of me. He provides. 

When I think back, all the new people that I encountered during the past month, are the ones that God brought. I stepped out of my comfort zone and went on a trip to the Smokey Mountains and met amazing people that are somehow related to IFI that I have never met before. Before the morning of departure, I only knew one of the people that I was going with. I was on the same car with a student that goes to Dana's group. We had a really deep conversation about faith and Christ, and this was even not brought up by me. He was also interested in what I do in the ISEED program and the books that I've been reading. After 4 hours that we first met, we were talking about faith. I sensed that, he, from our conversation, was seeking conformation that following Christ and having faith is a good thing to do. I shared with him what I know about all the good things that would happen when someone follows Christ. 

I also met a Phd student that used to attend Friday night Bible study at David's group but had stopped attending for a while. We connected really well during the trip and he shared how he wanted to get baptized but never got the chance to do it. When we continued our talk, he said that he considers himself as a Christian since he decided to follow Christ years ago. There was also a girl that lives at IFI apartments on Tompkins that is just 40 seconds of walk from where I live. A girl really into photography said she really wanted to come to see our worship on Friday and take photos (I'll share what happened later). I also met someone who used to sing and play the guitar in a band and he even came to one of the worship team practice on Monday together with the girl that's really into photography. This is beyond my imagination and all that I could asked for from God. God not only got me out of my comfort zone, but also gave me the opportunity to make new friends, and not even one friend, but eleven.

Another really important thing I got from this trip was that I felt closer to God than I'd ever felt before. I was surrounded by more believers than non-believers during my internship, and really took the ease of interacting with brothers and sisters in Christ for granted. I was surrounded by mostly non-believers or seekers during the trip and sometimes I have difficulties adjusting and coping with the ungodly characters that I see, or those characters brought out from me through the interactions with them. Every night before I go to sleep, I would read the Bible at the cabin, write on my gratitude journal and pray for them. I would pray that God would speak to them, give them a humble heart, work in their lives and let them be more like God. The moment when I opened the Bible and start praying, I felt like all the noise around me is gone at that instant. It was like one of those scenes in the movie where everything around you blurred into a grey background and the only thing you can see is the thing right in front you, and the only thing you can hear is the sound of truth that echoes in your heart. I felt so close to God. 

It was absolutely amazing how God answered my prayer and gave me more than my heart can handle. It reminds me of something that I read in Masterlife book 2, "God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." 

Group Photo

From Clingman's Dome

Sunset at North Carolina/Tennessee (Hard to tell which state I was at)

Last Friday, God led me to the Union to pick up students. I picked up three students and they all ended up in my small group. Even though one of them knew nothing about the Bible, the other two have just started attending Bible discussion, everyone was participating and being responsive. We had a really good discussion about Genesis chapter 2. I can felt that God is preparing me to build more relationships with students. We had a good time carving pumpkins as well. I'm really thankful that God is leading me to all the people with peace. (We carved Batman and Pikachu just in case if they are hard to tell)

What was also encouraging was that the guy that used to go David's group came last Friday night after stopped attending for a long time. It was really good to see that God is opening up his mind and has removed what was keeping him from attending. I also saw Zhang and Zhan that I knew from the Smokey Mountain trip who were really interested in worship. They came on Friday night and took photos of the worship team. Even though they didn't stay till the Bible discussion, but I'll continue to pray for them so that they would be interested in hearing God's word as well. 

A lot of things have happened during the past month. I thank God for each one of them. As what is said in Philippians 1:6, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. I believe all the connections that I made with the help of God will turn into fruits if that is what God wills.