CBC Winter Retreat 2011:Counselor Training #2

Welcome back Counselors. Hopefully by now you have read the first training session to prep your heart for the excitement that awaits you. I shall now attempt to answer all your questions.

Theme & Vision: What are we hoping to accomplish this year? Our focus for our youth ministry this year was "missions." We have been teaching that missions isn't something we do once a year and it's not just feeding poor people...missions, according to Acts 17 (and mandated in Matt. 28) is wherever we go. Our hearts are changed because of the Gospel and therefore we herald the Good News to all that might not know him.

We wanted our Winter Retreat this year to continue to push this idea. We wanted our students to leave with two very big things:

1. Understanding the Biblical intent of missions and how it applies to each believer. 
2. For our students to leave with a practical plan and implementation of missions when they go home. 

We want their understandings to shift from inward focused consumerism to outward focused love and service. Your job, leaders, is to teach them what that looks like...challenge them to live and own it. So maybe some of you need to start researching Houston a bit more and see what is available. Start coming up with practical plans of implementing missions in their community and sphere of influence. At ACCESS (our weekly fellowship) we practiced talking with people and one friday we went out and did it. 

How Do I Get Ready to Counsel? First thing is to read through our document called "Core Values (leaders)" that is attached in your email. Second thing is look over your small group (emailed) and perhaps do some research on them. Most of our students have mentors that you might want to ask to get some help. Third, be sure that you know the schedule and where things are - if you're prepared, it helps the student feel more confident in your leadership as well as keeping you organized. Lastly, prepare yourself physical, spiritually, and emotionally. 

What Do I Do As a Counselor? 

1. Counsel: Your big responsibilities are:
1. Small Groups: Leading discussions in your small groups about the relevant topic of the night given to you by the speaker. Your small group material will be based off of the nights session. Part of this is helping the students think through what really happened that day. Your job is to coach and to challenge all at once. Get them to engage in discussion and teach them how to ask questions. 
2. Participating: Your role as a leader is to be fully bought in to - the vision, the goals, and the mission of CBC's Winter Retreat. So we're asking you to sacrifice a bit more in addition to what you've given already to being fully engaged with each student. Play, talk, and minister to the students. 
2. Talk: Each of you have a unique perspective when it comes to your spiritual growth (esp. as it relates to missions). Be constantly teaching the students about how you grow in your walk. Be honest with them about your struggles as an older christian and how you are currently/or have fought it. Help them see how you are doing missions and what are your efforts like. Other times, talk with the students about "deeper" issues - family, relationships, self-esteem, etc. Always remember, though, if you feel like you cannot answer the question, please refer them to Justin or Adam. 

Difference of 2011: If you've  been to CBC's winter retreat before this one is a bit different. If you haven't...well, you won't know any better. Anyways...we just ask you to be extremely flexible. The worst thing you can do is have a negative attitude about how things are turning out or whatever. Trust me, this one will challenge you as counselors...but we believe the book of James when it says that those things are for your good. 

1. Organization: We wanted to let our youth leadership take the lead on planning and organizing this retreat. I wanted to let them learn how to work together, think through things, and vision cast. They are doing a great job with it but there are things they still need to work through. This year, Adam Lee will be the winter retreat director. Which means he'll be behind the scenes instructing and organizing everything. He'll be leading the counselor meetings and he'll be the main one you report to at this retreat. We want to give him the leadership development that God has called him to and we trust that this will be another great moment for him to lead us. 
2. Speaker & Band: Last year we went without a speaker because it fit our vision best. This year we're bringing it back. And we're bringing in one of my personal friends Mark Heavener who is an expert in local and global missions. He works with the BGCT in helping second generation asian churches get together and organized. I've asked him to speak on some of his experiences and especially what specific needs there are in Houston so that our youth can go home and start meeting those needs. We've also invited a band with us this year (from Baylor) and they'll be ministering to us via music. 
3. Visitors: This year we have an exceptionally large group of visitors with us. Some of them are from other various churches in the area that we've made connections with but the bulk are Bhutanese refugees. We're extremely excited to invite a group of them to come and play with us during this retreat. A lot of our church members made a huge effort in providing so that they're able to come. So they'll all be integrated into your small group. Do your research. 

Everything Else:

1. Serving: As an act of service, we provide the cafeteria additional hands to clean up. A list of names will be posted on the wall with a meal time in which you are responsible for cleaning. 
2. Pine Cove: We'll be going to Pine Cove again for the 4th year and we love it. We've already built a great relationship with the staff and admin. If you want to see it please visit:  http://www.pinecove.com/retreats/outback
3. What to bring: bring what you'll typically wear to a 4 day retreat in hill country Texas in late December. There are beds and mattresses...no linens, no towels, or blankets. Must bring bible. Additional points if you provide your group with resources. Oh yeah, bring western attire for Thursday night. Giddy up!

CBC Winter Retreat 2011:Counselor Training #1

Dear Counselors and Leaders: You have taken on a very sacred and exciting role. You get to help equip, train, and transform the lives of many youth with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift that not only the youth allow you to speak truth to them, but the parents, the church, the other leaders hand over the responsibility to you to carry out what they've been doing all year. We have prayed for you and now God has brought you to CBC Winter Retreat. So whether you are new or old to our youth group...we ask you to remember several things:


Remember: 

• That you are a counselor, leader, and/or musician because you were saved by the grace of God. That is your first identity - not in what you can do, or what you have to offer...you are first a child a God, adopted into his kingdom, were a slave to sin but redeemed by Jesus...Remember that it is never about achieving moral perfection but about admitting total surrender. This is not a "us" verses "them" mentality. Remember that at the end of the day...all that matters if your personal commitment to Jesus and the death to yourself. If you don't remember this this retreat is not for you and i'd ask you to humbly release your responsibilities.
  
• That you are here to serve to the best of your abilities. Please spend as much time equipping and training our youth for life AND holiness. Like Jesus, you are to have the thought that you come to serve rather than be served. And that you serve not because you "have to" but because you want to mimic your savior and be a servant to all. Please don't waste your time while you are there with us. Whatever needs to be done...please be the first to do it with expecting anything in return.
  
• Please leave your pride at the door. You no longer represent "UT" or "Baylor" or "A&M" or even "college student"...you represent a risen King. I'm begging you to be more about Jesus than you are about claiming worldly organizations. Teach them all day long about what Jesus is teaching you at college but never use it to point back to yourself and elevate your status.
  
• Live and Learn: as a counselor and leader...winter retreat is not a time where you discover yourself or for you to sort things out (i mean, it'll probably happen) but please have all that done before camp and be refueled and ready to give all you can to the students. If there are relationships that are broken, please go and fix those before camp. If there are issues that are present in your life...please begin to work on them before camp. Also, please brush up (keep up) with your spiritual growth - service, discipleship, bible study, etc. Come to camp spiritually ready counselors and leaders.
  

Assignment: Please take this assignment seriously as it is my intention to spur you into deeper growth. Consider it joy as you are challenged by this sermon and intellectually engage the material and ultimately put this into practice. 

• http://www.thevillagechurch.net/sermon/salt-of-the-earth/

The Good Portion

Things that I found interesting about Luke 10:38-42

1. Jesus taught women.
2. Martha is a bit passive aggressive.
3. Martha isn't evil.
4. One thing is necessary.
5. Security is in Christ alone.
6. There's a difference between serving Jesus because we love him and serving Jesus because we want him to love us. 

Redefining Church

Redefining Church │ What is the Church? Like when you stop to think about it…what is this building and these people supposed to accomplish? Because many of us (me included) have grown up in the church all our lives but we rarely sit back and really think about what in the world we’re doing here or what we’re supposed to be doing.

·         Be “good people” │ Romans 3:10 quotes Psalms 14 saying “There is none righteous, no not one”. And then in Isaiah 64:6 says even our attempts of doing “good things” are like filthy rags. I’d explain more but you can come and talk with me later. If this is what scripture tells us why is it that there’s this “rule” that says we have to be perfect? Or at least act like it? The thing is that we can’t…we’re sinful people and we’re utterly and completely hopeless on our own. But “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” (Eph. 2:4-5) Please don’t forget this because when you take the Good News out of church, it gets ugly real fast. We no longer see the Cross of Christ as central…rather it has become about you and I trying to become “morally good people.” That’s not for me coach.

·         Country Club │ We have this mentality that the church for some reason is there for us, to serve us, to make much of us. And I don’t think you would actually come out and say that but just watch how you act. Don’t just watch how you serve…but with what kind of attitude do you serve? Will you sacrifice your own wants and “status” for the sake of the gospel, for this church? What do you think you deserve? Do you think you deserve to be on stage to tell everyone how they should be like you? Are you due all the honor and glory and praise of the people? There are way too many people that want the spotlight and very few who will work the trenches. And I’m not talking about picking up trash once a year and think that you’ve done it all. Where’s the guy who will set up chairs by themselves and not expect any form of recognition or payment? Where’s that guy who says “I’ll serve because I’ve been saved by a great God and King and this is the least I could do”? Where’s the person that will give without thinking about what’s in it for them? I’ll tell you…church life will ALWAYS expose your heart. And for some of us, it’s more about me than Jesus.

·         Rock Stars │ Everyone has a band now and we’re all waiting for the next big thing. And I get it…people get to see you on stage – gawk at your chiseled abs, buy your cds. But here’s the thing again…there’s only one true rock star – he’s the cornerstone and his name is “holy”. We got to stop thinking that our opinions is the only one and if someone doesn’t do it or even “get it” like we do…then they’re stubborn, ignorant, or unspiritual. When you hold that attitude, it goes to show that you have lost sight of everything. Why? Because you don’t extend the same grace that was extended to you when you first started off. And instead of modeling and guiding them biblically…you want them to be like you. When it comes down to it…who runs the church? What I’ve seen is that it’s been opinions that run the church…not biblical understanding, nor pastoral leadership, and much less the Holy Spirit…rather opinions, pragmatics, and rock stars that lead. Please let us run back to a biblical foundation and a biblical understanding of what Church really looks like. And you know what? It’s not always going to make sense – almost every circumstance in scripture doesn’t “make sense” but we’re not called to analyze situations to death and call it “due diligence”. Biblically submit to those God has called to lead this church in an honoring way. 

Getting the most out of camp

Getting the Most Out of Camp | Wisdom from the Experience

Intro | I figured if you’re reading this already, you’re a bit curious to find out what we have to say. Good! I like that. All I want to do is to share some wisdom with you from my past experience as a camper and all that I can offer as a counselor, organizer, and pastor. Ultimately, it’d be foolish to attend an event and “see what will happen.” So…here’s some advice for you so that you might be able to get the most out of camp.

The Prep Work | I know this is going to sound cliché for a lot of ya’ll but it’s true…if you really want to get the most out of camp, be prepared for it. Why is this so important? Well because you only get to go to camp once a year and so if you go without being prepared…you’ll just kinda wing it and go with the flow. Now that isn’t bad…but it isn’t the smartest either. So how do you prepare yourself?

• Prepare physically. The last thing you want to do is be sick or injured before going to camp. Try not to exhaust your body too much before camp starts. Try to sleep early, eat fairly well (there are these green things in the world called veggies…try some), and don’t do anything that might get you injured (like ultimate danger danger, run with giant forks, or be a contestant on Fear Factor) 

• Prepare Spiritually. The difference between church camp and any other camp is that there should be a different motive going. For these church camps, your ultimate (notice the word ultimate) goal is that YOU grow deeper. So the prep work might involve spending some time praying about different parts of camp. It could involve you settling some problems beforehand so that you’re not distracted at camp. It could mean setting goals for yourself to accomplish at camp. 

Chit-Chat | You might think I’m crazy on this one…but a huge part of camp is talking. Whaaat? It’s true though. I know some of ya’ll are shy or you think that you’re better than other people so you don’t need to talk, but talking is a huge deal at camp. Now let me explain what I’m talking (haha) about.

• Openness & honest during small groups: A lot of times we like to sit back and allow everyone else in the group to talk. And maybe that’s because of a variety of things (pride, selfishness, shyness, etc) but have the mentality that community occurs in the context of relationships. There’s a time for you to listen to others, BUT there must be a time where YOU have to share your life, your story, and what God is doing/not doing to you. Share your personal struggles, your victories, what you doubt…and who cares if you think people look at you. It’s ok. 

• Time to meet new people: Again, you don’t get these chances a lot in life and although we do camp every year…it’s only 1 week out of the year. And honesty, you don’t often see all these people…so take advantage of that. For you older kids, see camp as a time for yourself to grow BUT also see it as Eph. 4:12 and it is your mission field to train and equip the younger generation. All those kids younger than you…that should be your target to go, “Hey…I’m _______, I wanna tell you about what God has done in my life, what I’ve learned, and I’d like to teach you whatever I can.” And for you younger kids, it is a time to go find older mentors to ask questions to – ask them how they learned personally, ask them what some things to watch out for are. 

• One-on-ones: Take advantage of your 1-on-1 time. I know you think that playing is more important…but man, c’mon…you get to play all the other time. Again, it’s having the mindset that “I’m going to take advantage of this special opportunity at camp to GROW as much as I can” And one good way is during your one-on-one. Ok…now here’s something that nobody tells you. I’m going to give you all my advice coming from the counselor/pastors mind. Usually, the counselor is the one doing all the questioning and for the most part, you get into the same stuff. But if you really wanna take advantage of your time, ask him questions that you want to know. Challenge your counselor and pick their brains about everything. Again, find out what they did well and take notes and find out what they had trouble on and take notes. Listen to me…every single person has their own stories, so go find them out. 

Sermon Time | As a speaker for many camps, I spent a lot…I mean, a lot of time prepping for my talks for camp. And come camp time, I’m friggin’ nervous! Not because youth scare me (although sometimes ya’ll do) but because I’m responsible for bringing the truth of God and all that it implies to your life. It’s like I have these awesome information that might (with the work of the Holy Spirit) change your life so of course I want you to hear it.

• Leave your pride at the door! Who cares what the guy/girl looks like?! Who cares if they speak in a funny accent?! The real reason why you focus on all these external things is because you truly don’t want to listen to him. Maybe because they’re “boring” or maybe because “it doesn’t speak to me”. C’mon…that’s all about you! Don’t focus on those things because it does you no good and it’ll ultimately rob you of growth.
• Look & listen for truth: Please please please bring your bibles and something to write with. There’s always truth to be found when anyone is talking. Take notes…see if you can find the main idea of the sermon. And then, when they’re done, figure out how that lesson applies to you. And here’s the big thing…always ask, “Ok self…how do I take this lesson/passage and teach it to someone else?” Because it’s not ok to just know it…but you must know how to teach it. 

Final Thoughts | That’s why camp is a blessing man! Because you get the chance to hear all these different stories from all different people. That’s why you sell yourself short when you just hang around the same people all the time wanting to just play all the time. I’m not saying don’t play or don’t hang out with your friends…all I’m saying is go to camp with the right mentality – to grow.

If your goal is to just “get away” or to just “have fun” then I’m sorry, I think you could have saved your money and done that somewhere else. And in the end, you’ve wasted some valuable time and neglected some excellent resources. Please please please know that my heart is for your growth. So please think about these things. Know that I’m praying for you as you go to camp…hey! It’s really fun and it’s changed my life…but go in with the right heart, right attitude, and expect God to change you!

How do you fight?

1. What's the point? Remember, when you're talking about things...always remember what the bigger purpose is. For us, it's about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't forget that our life here is temporary and we look forward to a future when all things are made new. I know that when people are living in their selfish, prideful bodies...they tend to focus on what is right in front of them. They let their emotions own them and they totally forget why there were arguing in the first place. Don't forget the bigger picture.
2. Issue not Person: When you're talking with people it's way too easy to make everything personal. Emotions fly and things go everywhere. When you argue...argue the issue, not the person. Don't make up things that are not there or that you don't know about. We tend to do that when we make assumptions as to how they think or what they do. The worst part is when we go on making all these conclusions and speculations as to what we "think" they are/will doing/do. Also, when you are talking with the person...go to that person. Third-party arguments (i.e. hearing from other sources, email, texting) are a shallow substitute for actual dialogue. Beware of thinking the worst of the other person. Be quick to show grace and forgiveness. 
3. Study for yourself: When you're dealing with an issue...make sure you have studied it yourself. It's always kinda weird when I hear someone explaining something and it's totally wrong. Make sure you have read the thing in its right context. Be fair when you present both sides of the argument. But more importantly...come to a conviction about your stance on your own rather than following someone else's opinion. You need to, at the end of the day, have your own thoughts about things...this is where study comes into play. Yes it's hard and tedious to go and learn yourself...but it's how we grow.
4. Be flexibly solid: As you study more and more and as the Holy Spirit continues to reveal truths to you...you're going to develop convictions about things. It's what you believe. You've studied it and you've come to your conclusion. That's a good thing. However, always be open to refining and shaping your thoughts. You might not have considered the other side of the argument. Allow for some flexibility to change when you come across something that might challenge you.
5. Fight like family: When you discuss topics...remember who you are dealing with. If they are believers in Jesus Christ...it's family. Yes you might disagree with them on how they interpret things...but in the end, they are your brothers and sisters and you can and will worship with them for eternity. Don't you ever elevate certain parts of your theology at the expense of other theology. Like don't get all worked up about "limited atonement" or "unlimited atonement" and neglect Romans 12:10 where it says "love one another with brotherly love". Your heart matters whens you talk about things. Don't forget that you are also commanded to equip and train the saints for the work of the ministry.
6. The Goal: Just like the first point...the goal of you arguing things (if there is a bigger purpose) is NOT to win. If all you want to do is win the argument...then your heart is wrong. Because you don't care about the other person and maybe you've made up all these things about them...and you just want to prove that either you're right or they are wrong. Your heart is off. What's the purpose then of arguments? Ultimately for the refining and sanctification of the Church. The point of conflict in Matthew 18 is restoration and reconciliation. That is your end goal....not to win your argument. 

"Count it joy..."

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

James 1:2-4   

There are times when you read a verse and it does nothing to you aside from a good fortune cookie line. Then there are times when the verse punches you in the soul. There will be times that you receive the consequences of your actions. Those are coming for you. You deserve it. But there will be times when people (even those you trust) punch you in the soul. And i've realized that some of those are birth out of betrayal and some are birth out of misconceptions. They draw up this picture of you...or take something you kind of said...and just beat the trash out of you (the fake you).

But James encourages us...count it all joy. He's not talking about faking happiness here. He's talking about remembering/thinking through what it means to possess joy. This kind of joy isn't something that shows up and leaves. It's not acquired at an instance. Rather it's more of a foundation on which you stand and weathers any storm. When do we "count it joy?" when you meet trials of various kinds. If you read a bit more into the text...he's actually talking about all these different trials that "fall upon you." These aren't consequences that you created for yourself. These are ones that seem "random" in our life. But here's the thing...if we are God's children...trials aren't random. Actually, God sends them our way not because He hates us...but because He wants to grow us and in the end allow us to taste joy. 

I know some of you believers are going through a difficult journey right now...and you can't seem to find the light at the end of the tunnel. You feel like God has left you and you're stuck trying to survive on your own. I know...it's hard. I'm there right now. Sometimes people (even God's people) are crazy. They act like the "older brother." but i need you remember some things though - regardless of what they do you to, remember the Gospel. Remember that it was for your sins AND their sins that Christ died for. That Jesus went to the cross with all of that junk in mind. Remember your example that you follow. Don't forget that He was unjustly beat to death...mocked... accused of things that didn't make any logical sense...and killed. But don't forget that He prayed for you in John 17. He prayed that you would remember what this whole thing is about. That it's about His Church that would display his manifold wisdom to the world. 

So endure with faithfulness my brothers and sisters. Pray for your enemies (even if they are within your walls). Ask the Holy Spirit to be the one that brings wisdom to his people. Don't let any root of bitterness sprout and destroy. Continue to faithfully teach what is true and never be satisfied with spiritual shallowness. It has been an insanely difficult time for me...but i write this to you saying that i trust Him. I trust that Jesus is better than anything i would have done and that He's better than my circumstances. 

Questions with purposeful adverbs

1. Have you been intentionally pursuing depth in your life? Have you been idly settling for routine? Where is your desire? What have you been doing with your time?
   
2. Are you currently investing in honest community? Do people really know know you? Have you moved past the surface and down into a deeper sphere of sharing? What have you been hiding from people? Are you known?
   
3. Do you serve with humble generosity? Have you sacrificed your time or money lately? Are your service directed towards others? How about others who "don't deserve it"? How about others who you dislike? Do you serve them? Are you over-serving and need to purposefully rest?
   
4. Where are you missionally engaging the culture? Are you aware of your sphere of influence? Do you pray for that person you sit next to? Do you want that person you pass by in the hallway to be saved? Are you avoiding conversations?
   
5. Are you mindfully equipping the saints? Have you been selfish with your knowledge and wisdom? Do you dream for the next generation? Have you let sin continue unchecked within the body of Christ? Have you been fulfilling your role as discipler?
   
6. Do you desperately yearn to seek what is true? Have you been neglecting the mind at the cost of entertainment? What areas of study have you been avoiding?
   
7. Have you relentlessly begged God to move? Or do you still operate on your own strengths and talents? Do you remember what God has done in the past? 

Leading Youth Teams

1. Don't forget the main purpose: The Gospel should always be at the center of you leader. What does that mean? Well remember that you are not "better" than them nor are they "better" than you. You both need to understand that there's a bigger reality than just planning for ____ event or doing _____. Don't forget that both of you are sinners saved by grace and working towards exposing the light of the Gospel to a lost and dying world as well as equipping the saints. The moment you forget this, it becomes about planning an event. People become statistics. 

2. Be a cheer leading coach: We tend to gravitate to manager-in-charge when it comes to leading a team. Your role, leaders, is mainly to equip the saints...not to take over. Realize that they have ideas too and some times they haven't thought out everything there is (same as you). So if you're part of a group then take the "hey, let me show you how to do this a little better" or "that's a good idea...but have you thought of this?" People will listen and respect the coach because they know they care about them (explicitly and implicitly). In the end, you're put in these groups to encourage the youth...to be their supporter. Listen to them and allow them to make decisions as well. One thing i'm always guilty of is looking back at an event and every part of the event has my changes to it. But keep a healthy balance when you're a part of leading a youth group. Get everyone involved. 

3. Admit your mistakes: When, not if, you make a mistake, lose your temper, act outside the bounds of a mature believer, then go and admit your fault to them individually as well as to the group. You're not perfect and nobody expects you to be. Jesus is and that's why this life is about him...not you. Your team is going to need you to own up to it too. It presents a solid Gospel. 

4. Replicating: God has wired you with your gifts and personality. God has placed you here to serve and to minister. This isn't "just something you do." You forget the eternal weight of what we're caught up in. But in the meantime, you should be replicating yourself. Find students or adults that you can train to carry on what you're currently doing. Share with them the insights that you have gained while working and serving. Tell them what to watch out for and what you've messed up on that they need to be careful. You should always be grooming someone to be right there next to you and eventually take your place...and hopefully they can do a better job. 

i share these things with you because i'm totally for your own growth. This is going to be challenging for some of yall just because it's not going to allow you to stay where you're at. Some of yall are going to have to let go of some control while others have to take control. Hopefully, this helps you to become a stronger leader that sees the Gospel as primary, equips the saints as secondary, and experiences the joy that comes from both. 

facebook chat: clarification of "the fear of God"

"fear" is almost the same thing as "worship"

and whether you believe it or not...everyone right now is worshipping something

and you can find out by asking the question, "what do i spend my time on? what do i really really treasure? what will fulfill me? what motivates me?"

because you end up dedicating your time, money, talents to chase after ______ (and that becomes what you worship or fear)

so how do we get out of it?

well you don't get out of it because it's what we're designed to do

so if you think about it...for a lot of people, they actually fear: relationships, success, status, money, school, etc.

but the problem with all of that is...those are just temporary. they satisfy for just a little bit but end up disappointing us

but this is where Jesus comes in though...because He can actually do what everything promises and fails at. He can actually take our worship and make sense of everything else. It's when we trust him and actually believe in him to satisfy us...that's when things make sense.

everyone worships something...it's just the object of your worship that determines what your life is about

Before the Throne of God Above

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great High Priest whose name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Saviour and my God!

Charitie Lees Smith (1841–1923)

Fatal Flaws of Youth Ministry

Hebrews 2:1  

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 

I think one of my biggest fears being in youth ministry is having a student graduate from this youth group and go, "Man...that was crazy fun. I didn't really learn anything...or at least i can remember...but it was sure fun!" The kid goes off to college and hasn't really been transformed or shaped. Yeah maybe they remember some lessons about Jesus feeding 2000 (or was it 4000?) or that when the world ends, the battle of Satan vs. God takes place in some epic duel. Ok...maybe it's not that bad (yet) but can we just stop and evaluate what's going on with our teens? Somewhere in our ministries...either due to our ignorance and unwillingness to study for ourselves, or ingesting everything from everyone...our ministries have suffered from some fatal flaws. 

1. Goodies instead of the Gospel: For the most part, we've sacrificed the totality of the Gospel for fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth sweets that might taste good for the moment but ends up rotting everything. We're guilty of teaching students what they want to hear rather than giving them what they need to hear. So we've painted this picture of every teen being a "good, perfect, kid" that Jesus loves and we stop there. We don't want to hurt their self-esteem because they have so much going on...so we tell them that they're good people and they're special. Yes, they're special...they're especially going to hell because they are sinners - like you and like me. They need to hear the full story. They aren't perfect and the good news is that they don't need to be. The Gospel explains that we're dead in our sins but Christ. But Christ took on our sins and gave us his righteousness. And our students must hear that. If we've traded out the Gospel for goodies...they might feel good about themselves for a little bit, but will wake up with a mouthful and heart full of cavities. 

2. Pulled Away: We've bought into the lie that youth ministry stands alone. Either the church has pushed the youth into their own little world or the youth have voluntarily ran away from the church at large. Doesn't matter...they are both guilty. A lot of us have ran youth ministry so independent of the church that the only connection is fundraisers and passing by the hallways. Youth become the workforce of the church or the troublemakers that need to be taken care of. We haven't done a good job educating both our congregation and the youth ministry about the understanding of the local body. We've pulled them away from serving in other ministries and regulated them in only youth functions. We haven't equipped them to be part of the church. We haven't mentored them well. We don't put a lot of effort in building biblical community throughout the generations. And what happens is that our youth get this idea that they can be independent from the rest of the church. They go off to college where this individualistic herd mentality is reinforced and when they come back...they're completely lost as to how to function as part of the body. We must do a better job educating in ecclesiology and then giving venues for our students to live it out. 

3. Advanced Placement: We've totally dropped the ball on educating our youth. While the youth are taking classes like Advanced Placement Physics-based Calculus in their schools...they come to our churches and are given fill-in-the-blank mickey mouse questions (and most of the answers are right in front of them). I think a lot of us are afraid to challenge them intellectually because either we don't know it ourselves or we feel like "it'll burn them out." And so it's no question why students will see their teachers at school or the universities as the authority. We haven't given them any reason why Scripture is relevant or even remotely intellectual. Why can't we teach them more than just 3rd grade level bible stories? What happens if we start introducing material that might actually be challenging? Church history? Systematic theology? apologetics and atheism? I know this is crazy...but what happens if we actually expect them to learn while they're at church? Like is it possible that we can hold them accountable for learning? tests? homework? I know it's crazy...but what if? It's a bit absurd that we refuse to challenge our students at church while the schools expects it. Why? because they can offer grades and scholarships? I challenge you to dream a bit bigger for your students...they deserve it. 

Malaysia 2011 - (Postscript - Justin Wong)

Malaysia 2011 was actually a sequel for me. I had gone with PJ Woo and Keith Chan back in 2009 to speak for the FBC Youth Camp. I remembered ending the last sermon with an over-dramatic, “Look guys…we’ll probably never see each other again but continue to live out your faith here while we live out our faith in the States.” I really didn’t believe that I was coming back but little did I know God had something a lot bigger in store.

When our leadership team began to plan the vision for 2010-2011, our core value of “truth” became very evident that it was definitely something we needed to focus on. And it wasn’t that we wanted each of our students and leaders to teach/preach truth unapologetically, but more specifically we wanted everyone to understand 1) the Gospel and its implications and 2) the basic doctrines of our Christian faith. Somewhere in that planning we started to think about applying what we were going to learn that year in a major way. I got on my email and made a couple of calls and reconnected with Su-Anne and Kevin from Malaysia. One thing led to another and we were given the green light to bring a team to Malaysia to teach. The faith that their church (Pantai Baptist Church) continues to extend to us is mind-blowing. I mean, would you be willing to invite a group of people from around the world to teach you and your students theology? Well…they took another leap of faith and allowed us to partner with them yet again. Now it was our turn to respond.

Assembling the Team

So I needed to assemble a team that I could trust to work with me and also one that would get the job done. My understanding of missions trips is that:

• God never needs us to accomplish His work. He’s not waiting for us to do something because He’s incapable of getting something done. Rather, God delights in His children when they are obedient and will trust Him in faith. And if God is going to open the door for the trip, He’ll provide for the trip.
•  It’s not a vacation. If we’re going to go minister to a group of people, we’re expected to work and to labor for the sake of the Gospel. There needs to be preparation and commitment involved.
• We are the supporting arm of the group that we’ll be partnering up with. Which means, we don’t come in and take over a group, rather we go in and partner with the local church and provide them with additional resources for that time period.

So I had to choose the team very carefully. And from the very beginning I had written down our expectations:

• Served for at least 2 of leadership with Justin. The reason why is because the leader of this trip needs to be able to trust that all of the members have the same philosophy, doctrine, and focus in mind. The leader should be able to know the weakness/strength of the team members and vice versa.
• Each participant will be involved in some aspect of teaching (large group, small group, bible study, theology class, and leadership training)
• The team will fundraise as a team. The reason is because we want to keep the “team” mentality on all levels – even money. The money will be pooled together until we reach our overall goal.
• Each participant is responsible for raising a part of their overall cost. I say part of it because the participant should be able to sacrifice for this trip and work for raising some of their own support (aside from support letters).
• Extensive training which included 3 textbooks and each person leading at least 1 workshop and counseling a group of students.

I needed to trust my team not only to take this trip seriously, but that they would get the job done. Looking back on all of this now…I wouldn’t have done the preparation any other way. I mean, don’t get me wrong…it wasn’t easy to prep for this trip, but it was definitely necessary. The next challenge was that of finances.

God’s Economy is Better

For some reason we started a bit late on fund raising. We had asked each person to contribute to this trip personally but we still had a huge amount of funds that we needed to raise. As a team, we needed to raise support for airfare, hotels, and the camp fees. It was something crazy like twenty thousand dollars in 3 months. So we just started writing letters and sending them out to people who we think would actually “support us” not just financially but also in prayer. Well…God did something that I’ve never seen before to this day. We raised about 21,000 in a month and a half. And I just kept telling people, “If God really wanted us to go to this, He was going to provide the finances for it.” We ended up with more than we needed and with all the excess we just gave back to the church…I mean, there’s no reason for us to keep it, it wasn’t ours to begin with.

Pastoral Leadership

This was my first overseas trip that I was leading. Not only that, but I was leading a team of 10. Not only that, but it was very very far away. Not only that, I had some kids in my group that if anything were to happen to them, their parents would shoot me in the face. So let’s just say that it was a bit stressful just from the “don’t mess up” side. I knew my role would dramatically shift from other trips because this time I had to look after a whole team and not just their physically safety but making sure that they were accomplishing the goal that we have set out to do. And then and then I learned a huge lesson. Although I can’t make moves for them, my responsibility was to set them up to make the right moves. I think they call that pasturing or something like that. I wanted to make sure they were trained and focused.

Not only did God allow me to pastor our people while we were still in the States, He allowed me to pastor fellow brothers and sisters overseas. It’s a bit surreal to find myself giving lectures and answering questions to a group of people. First of all…who am I that I have any advice to give? Second of all…surely there are better, more equipped people to listen to. Third of all…there was a third but I don’t remember what I was going to say. Anyways…all to say that God is gracious isn’t He? Yes there are people out there more qualified and yes, I’m light years away from actually knowing things…but I suppose God has allowed me to learn and to pass on knowledge and perhaps a bit of wisdom. I enjoy that pastoral side of my calling.

Extremely Grateful

There has yet been a Church so generous and hospitable than the one we’ve partnered with. I am extremely blessed to have been part of ministry with them. I keep wondering why God continues to be so good to us and the only reason I can come up with is…for his name sake and our joy. So thank you PBC. Thank you youth leaders, Pastor Marvin, and the youth over there. You have encouraged and blessed my soul in more ways than you realize. Thank you for allowing me to speak and for offering me an opportunity to bring my team over there. I pray that you continue to search out the deep truths of God and apply it to your lives. Until we meet again…I shall be praying for you. 

Funny way to end things (Deut. 31)

"Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them..."

1. Be Faithful: What would you do if you were given a glimpse of your influence after you die and you find out that everything you taught faded in 2.5 seconds? A lot of people would simply go, "It's not worth it...if that is what happens, why bother doing anything at all?" But here's the thing...regardless of what happens, our responsibility is to do what is commanded of us. We can sit back and play the "what if" games all day long or we can "predict" what other people will do...and as an act of disobedience use that to not do something. But listen...do your part well and be faithful to what you are supposed to do first. 

2. Teach Well: Our role is the perpetual role of teacher and instructor. God comes to Moses before he dies and says, "teach the people these laws and statues...and let that be a witness against them" God does this because then the people will have no excuse to go, "Well nobody ever told me!" Instead, much like Romans 1:18-20 although they know...they want to suppress the truth. Continue to teach well and plead hard for your people. 

Malaysia 2011 (Postscript - Joseph Kwan)

God was glorified!

I would like to thank everyone who supported us spiritually and financially to our mission trip to Malaysia.  Your partnership with us changed lives in Malaysia, and it is still continuing to affect those who we interacted with.  

In September, I learned about the opportunity to go overseas to Malaysia with our youth pastor as he spoke at a youth camp. This would be my first overseas mission trip; so I was very hesitate about committing to this trip. However after much praying and talking to people about this opportunity, in December I committed to this trip. Even through my hesitations and worries, God was glorified.

We were assigned books to help us prepare for this trip.  However due to my laziness and my busy life, I was not very prepared for this mission trip. I read most of the books and researched about my workshop but I felt like I could of done a lot more.  A week before we were supposed to leave for Malaysia, I was over at Chris Gaw’s house (another team member) almost every night preparing for our workshop that we would teach at the camp. As I was traveling a part of me felt like I was inadequate and unable to serve him. Even through my laziness and our last minute preparations, God was glorified.

After traveling for 24 hours, we arrived at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Our schedule was very tight and we had no time to rest. When we got to the airport we were greeted by the leaders of Pantai Baptist Church.  I got the privilege to drive with Thomas Yap who I later served with at the camp. We spent our time just talking about ourselves and what we expected from camp and how I could serve this week. We went to the hotel to check in and had lunch with the other leaders and it was amazing just seeing people across the world loving the same God that I love as well as serving him because we have the same mission. After lunch we had a meeting with the camp committee to discuss the logistics of the camp and pray over the camp. At this point, we were exhausted and our jetlag got worst...we became delirious. Even through the awkwardness of meeting a group of people, and our physical weakness, God was glorified.

The next day was the first day of camp and it was hard just realizing that I had to serve these kids for the rest of the week. But I knew that I was there for a reason and there was no time to waste. The day progressed with the games, the dinner, the message, and we finished with our first small group. I was co-leading with a leader from Malaysia named Callie. She was a blessing to work with and together we lead 8 campers (age ranged from 13-18 of males and females).  During the message, Justin told them that if they had any questions about their faith they needed to answer them within this week because they must know what you believe. The questions ranged from: What was sin? Why did Jesus have to come down? Why are Christians so hypocritical? It was amazing seeing people so vulnerable about their insecurities. We spent a good hour just answering questions and posing questions to challenge their faith. Even through my worries and my lack of knowledge, God was glorified.

The next day we woke up at 7:30am after a long night of prepping for the next day to led a group devotional. During the group devotion I kept challenging them that there is more to life than what they been living. I wanted to stress the importance of studying and applying the truths of the Bible into their lives. In the afternoon I led a workshop with another member (Chris Gaw) about sovereignty and free will. The first day we had 8 people who came and by the second day 25 people came. It was amazing seeing how God’s grace overflowed as we taught this complicated subject.  As we shared about how God has so much grace and mercy that he actually saved us, we explained to them differences between the doctrine of Arminianism and the doctrine of Calvinism. God used us to bring basic and solid teaching on these two theologies. We stressed how this workshop wasn’t about learning about doctrines however it was really to help people understand about their own salvation. At the end of camp, many of the campers came to us about questions not just about these two doctrines but about Christianity as well as questions regarding salvation. Even through our lack of preparation, our limited knowledge, and our nervousness...God was glorified.

The stress and the pure exhaustion of the week took its toll on my body. Many of the team got sick and I was one of them. After lunch on the 3^rd day of camp I started to get headaches so I decided to take a nap during games and free time to try to rest my body. However when I woke up for the message, I started to have body aches. I decided to miss the evening message and sleep with hopes of feeling better in the morning. As I woke up for the last morning of camp and I felt all right, so I went to lead group devotions.  However after breakfast I went back to my room and threw up. I went back to bed and when I woke up I walked to the main hall, and I started blacking out and felt dehydrated. I left the camp early to get medical treatment at a local hospital. The host family was truly gracious to us throughout the entire trip and it was evident when they took care of me during this part of the trip. Also God provided a pharmacist on our team, Aunt Swee-Ling, who was a mother to all of us. As she provided medical advice and was the caretaker during our time in Malaysia. God was gracious to us on the way home and none of us got sick on the airplane.  Even though my body was physically weak, God was glorified.

The next day we spent the day attending the host church’s service and Sunday school. It was amazing seeing God work through the Church in Malaysia. That night we held a leadership workshop for the youth leaders of Pantai Baptist Church. We encouraged them and explained to them what the youth need from their adults leaders and the expectations that youth have. The last day we got to go sight seeing. God was gracious to us once again as he allowed us to come back home safely after a 24 hours flight back.  Even though we were not experienced in leadership training, God was still gloried.

The thing I realized the most from this mission trip is that even though I was unworthy, God was bigger than who I am or what I have to offer. He did what He wanted even though our team was unfit to be there. God showed his grace and his power so that we can experience joy from working with Him.

For pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chewywong/

Malaysia 2011 (Postscript - Erica Chen)

Dear Family, Friends, and Supporters,

                Today is July 13, 2011, and our team that went to Malaysia has been back a full month now. Thank you for all of your prayers, encouragements, and support; without y’all, there was no possible way that we could have made it there to be ministers of God’s kingdom.

When we first started fundraising, we thought it was going to be impossible to raise the funds we needed in time for us to go. But we trusted God’s provision, that if this really was what He was calling us to do, He would provide for us. We prayed, begged, and pleaded with God to help us accomplish a borderline impossible task, and He provided big time, exceeding everything that we expected. We ended up raising enough money in a month and a half, with funds still coming in from anonymous donors. Even while we were already in Malaysia, some people still felt led to give. God definitely taught us that when we fully trust Him to provide, He does so abundantly.

As I prepared for this mission trip in the six months leading up to it, I was very anxious and scared out of my mind. I was responsible for leading the Evangelism workshop with Avina, but i knew that teaching was not one of my gifts. I felt like I would never know enough, have all the answers, or suffice to actually help any kids in Malaysia. That was definitely my pride and sinfulness controlling me, trying to convince me that I could actually do all of this on my own, with my own human strength.

The theme at the youth camp in Malaysia was “Truth Fitness”, meaning that we were to be teaching these students a lot of theology, doctrine, and essentials to our faith. The pressure was truly on; the leaders at Pantai Baptist Church wanted the kids to come out of this camp with a renewed desire to study Scripture and theology for themselves, and that was why we were coming in to teach workshops. We were partnering with PBC to support their ministry, and I did not want to fail them. I did not want to fail you all who supported me and the rest of the team; I did not want to waste PBC’s time, all the funds from y’all, and misrepresent Chinese Baptist Church. I wrestled for a long time with trusting that God would give me wisdom, understanding, and discernment regarding my workshop and also leading a small group during the camp.

Day 1: We left Sunday after church to begin our almost 24 hour transit to Malaysia. Here is an excerpt from my personal Tumblr blog that I wrote a few weeks before we left. This post describes my thoughts on Day 1 perfectly:

“I’m leaving for Malaysia in less than a month to help teach and equip youth there, and I am terrified right now. I constantly think about failing, about not knowing enough, about being boring, about not being able to fully convey how amazing the saving grace of our God is. I mean, it’s kind of a weighty responsibility, no? Why did God call me to this task if I’m not “ready”? Doesn’t He want me to be effective for the kingdom? What if I screw up? What if this ends up just being another camp workshop? How in the world can I possibly share how freaking broken I am, how much my soul aches each day because I can’t handle the weight of my sin, how I am renewed each day with the knowledge that I have a gracious Father in Heaven, how I will NEVER know enough, but that I have felt the immense discipline and humbling by God? How can I POSSIBLY do this? How can God possibly use ME? And then I remember, amidst my anxiety and frantic-ness: “BUT GOD” and there are many verses that begin with this, but all I remember is “But God”, and my heart can finally find rest in that moment—it’s not about how much I know, or how much I can understand, but about the glorious and redeeming grace of God that gives me knowledge, understanding, boldness, and comfort. God once again shows me how even while preparing for a mission trip, my heart is still sinful, stubborn, and blind to a personal and loving God right before my eyes. He will provide a way for me, will use me even when I don’t think He can, and will continue His sanctifying work in my life. His will WILL be done.”

Day 2: When we arrived in Malaysia, we were all pretty delirious, jet lagged, and exhausted. We arrived at 8 am their time, so we immediately had a long day ahead from the get go. We were able to eat at a local Malaysian cafe located in one of their huge malls for lunch. The food was delicious, and of course my favorite part was the dessert. Afterwards, we got to go back to our hotel and rest for a bit before we met with PBC’s youth leadership team. We went over camp logistics and got to meet some of the youth. Following the meeting, we went out to a nice Chinese restaurant with Uncle Bryan, a church elder that took ridiculously good care of us like his own kids during our stay. We were all pretty out of it by dinner, but it was awesome to get to spend more time with the leadership team.

Day 3: We woke up, packed up our things, and headed to PBC to get on the buses for youth camp. When we arrived, there was already a half day of events planned. We got to meet lots of the kids, began our week of heavy mealtimes, and got a feel of how the camp would go. We discovered very soon that their camp was the super camp of all camps. Everything that you have ever done in camp was all put into this one 4 day period; skits, small groups, games, workshops, free time, challenges. Not going to lie, I was pretty scared when I saw the schedule; I knew it was going to be a tiring but rewarding week. I got to lead my first small group session with my co-leader from PBC, which was extremely nerve wrecking and honestly slightly discouraging. Going into this trip, we had heard that the schooling system in Malaysia was different; that the students were not encouraged to ask questions in class. I knew that it would be hard to stimulate discussion, but I did not anticipate that it would be as hard as it was on this first day. I felt like no one really liked me or cared enough to talk about anything. That was definitely my pride getting to me, my impatience bringing out the worst in me. On top of these feelings, I was extremely stressed about my two workshop sessions that would start the next day. I did not think I was ready at all, and to be honest, I felt like my workshop topic was brushed over by the kids. Comparatively, my workshop did not sound as intense as some of the other ones, such as Sovereignty and Free Will, Pluralism, and Science and Christianity. I felt very inferior compared to the other workshops, like somehow mine was of less importance. Avina, my co-leader for the workshop, and I prayed a lot about this, about trusting in God to guide our words and hearts so that we might be vessels for His work. We still had so much fear, but as you will see, God definitely provided for us in big ways that only He could. By the end of this first day, we all pretty much just passed out from exhaustion; one half day was all it took to take out a good chunk of our energy.

Day 4: This is a clip from my personal journal during the trip. It describes how I felt for the beginning of the day:

“Today is the beginning of the second day of camp--I am feeling tired, frustrated, and weighty. There is a huge weight on my heart right now to plea and get on my knees to beg these students to listen. I feel like there is so much disrespect and lack of desire to learn (they just want fun). I have been at this place before, but from this perspective now, I really want to punch some kids in the face. I want to beg them to listen because their salvation is at stake. I want to tell them that Christianity is so much more than simply believing in Jesus so that they get to go to Heaven. I want to plead for their souls with them, to teach constantly because I know our time is limited. I feel like the teaching never stops, like I am constantly going--which is exactly the point that Paul makes in 2 Timothy. I feel a huge weight on my soul, like the sake of these students is on me. But thank goodness that it isn’t all me--You have already predestined a plan and already know what I do not. Father, thank you for being my comfort and my strength when I feel so week and defeated and upset. Thank goodness you are working in ways that I cannot see or understand.”

This day was the first time that Avina and I taught our workshop. It was extremely scary for both of us, and it did not go as smoothly as we had hoped. Our thoughts were not cohesive, the workshop did not flow as we had hoped, and many of the students were not listening to us. It was frustrating because we had so much to teach them in only an hour and a half, and yet it felt like no one really wanted to truly learn. At the end, Avina and I were both feeling pretty low. Yes, this was our first workshop, but we just felt so defeated. We prayed at the end together, just begging God to help us and guard our hearts from any feelings that we are not good enough and to give us wisdom to teach more effectively tomorrow. We prayed for the students, that they would take their faith seriously enough to want to learn it for themselves, not just play the infamous “church game”

The games were ridiculously exhausting but crazy creative and fun. Although there was allotted “free time”, it was almost always cut short because our group discussions lasted longer than the expected time, and other planned activities seemed to go longer than planned. We had a lot of fun doing everything with our group and such, but there were never any real breaks. God definitely gave us the energy to keep going, because I’m pretty sure we all felt like collapsing after Day 1.

Unfortunately, on this second day of camp people from our team started to get sick. It was probably a combination of the jet lag, adjusting to the food, and most importantly, God humbling us. I personally did not get sick during the whole trip, but i watched as may almost every member of our 11 person team started to drop like flies. God definitely taught our team about our true dependence on Him during everything, and that in all things, we should come back to God in pure worship and praise.

Small group discussion was still rough, but it was getting easier because some people started opening up. I begged God this night to plant a seed in the hearts of these students, that I would not be discouraged by what I physically saw. God sees the heart, and that was what mattered. We did not want to see the kids get a “camp spiritual high”, but rather, a completely life altering realization that they are hopeless without the work of God on the cross, and that THAT is what their whole lives should be about.

Day 5: Today was the second session of our workshops, and I have to say, God definitely showed up. It was such a beautiful thing to be teaching, but yet not know how all of the ideas and explanations flowed so well because God exceeded what we expected. Avina and I were
trying to study more and prepare more for this 2nd workshop, but we realized that we truly had to trust God to take care of us and guide us. We knew we were relying too much on our own abilities, which would ultimately lead to nowhere good. Here is a clip from my journal regarding how the workshop went:

“On the second day, God definitely showed up. Our ideas were a lot clearer, people weren’t messing around, and we could tell that people really wanted to learn. I felt so empowered by God to teach the Gospel in all parts of the workshop, and God truly provided. I definitely was not speaking--all the credit goes to God. The change from the 1st day to the 2nd was so radical--I really saw how powerful prayer was and how God really comes through when I put all my trust in Him.”


Day 6: This was the last day of youth camp, and it was definitely bittersweet. We were all kind of ready for it to end, especially since many of us were sick, but I felt like there was more teaching to be done. But what we had to remember was that we were not here to teach the students EVERYTHING about theology, doctrine, etc, but rather, we were here to support the PBC leadership in their ministry. We were never going to be able to teach everything, not matter how hard we pushed on. This realization gave me so much comfort and peace on that last day; that we were part of a bigger plan beyond these 4 days of camp. In my journal I summed up how I felt on that last day:

“I’ve really learned a lot more about how to do youth ministry--the dos and don’ts. The culture here is so different than at home--the way people interact, the humor, the characters, the way people treat one another. Despite our differences, I really grew to truly love the kids here. There were people that wanted to just have fun here, and that was okay, but there were also a handful of people that really wanted to know God more. God was faithful to provide this week even though there were times when I was discouraged and doubted His power. I felt a huge burden on my soul, a huge weight on my back because I was so in sync with God’s heart this week. I desperately want these students here to know God; not just know about Him, but have a true relationship with Him. My heart breaks for them when I see that they could have so much more than what their hearts are settling for--they could have Jesus Christ, our only true satisfaction. My heart is breaking for God’s children--they desperately need God--they are playing the church game just like I was in Middle school/high school. Life is so much more than this for them. I love and feel for them. Sessions were hard because people did not seem to care, but I know that God was at work despite what I saw. When I got frustrated, God humbled me and helped me love the students so much better.”

When we got back from the campsite, we experienced a true Malaysian rain. It rained super hard as we all were trying to get out of the bus--crazy! After we returned to the hotel and rested for a bit, we went out to dinner with Keith Chan’s parents who brought us to a delicious seafood restaurant. If you haven’t noticed, Malaysian people love food, even more than Chinese people--we ate such filling meals whenever we were taken out! So blessed :) And of course, after finally returning to the hotel, we all passed out.

Day 8: We went to Youth Service at PBC where Chris and Aly led worship and Justin gave the sermon to wrap up youth camp. Afterwards, everyone from our team split up to go visit various Sunday school classes. I went to the 16 year olds class, and in the class we basically talked about what we learned at camp (because some students did not go). It was a cool picture of the body of Christ teaching one another things about predestination, science, etc. After Sunday school, we went to a local restaurant where many of the youth came to fellowship with us and say their goodbyes, for we would be leaving the next day when they all started school. I ate some delicious noodles of which I don’t know the name of, but I got to sit with some hilarious people that shared their lives with me for that short 2 hours. Our team literally had to be pulled out of the restaurant when our rides beckoned us to go; lots of hugs goodbye. We rested at the hotel for a bit, then headed out again for a leaders training at the church. I was in the group of college students/ youth, and we got to give our perspectives on church discipline, bible study, and other topics that the leaders had questions about. It was crazy getting to teach older leaders, but it was such a powerful testament of what the body of Christ is supposed to look like. After this, we went out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant in a popular mall. We were told not to eat too much, for they planned to bring us out afterwards for another snack--Crazy! The food was great, I ordered Dim Sum dishes and shared with my table. I did not listen, because I was so stuffed after the meal. For dessert, we got this thing that was like 3 feet tall and had a tissue like texture; I can’t describe it, but it was freaking good! We got to see more leaders here, saying more goodbyes when the night ended.

Day 9: Today, we were sightseeing and shopping. We ate lunch at McDonald’s, which made many of us happy because we got to eat “safe” American food at last. Our whole team really wanted one thing from Malaysia to bring home--a popular flip flop called Fippers. We were obsessed! They were just like regular flip flops, but at the same time not at all. We went to a really upscale mall, picking up souvenirs here and there. After this mall, we took the tram to a marketplace that sold more traditional Malaysian souvenirs. At this mall, we each got to experience fish eating the dead skin off our feet. We paid the equivalent of two US dollars for like 15 minutes of giggling and putting our feet in fish. It was so gross! But I do have to admit, my feet were very soft afterwards.

We left the mall and then headed back to PBC for a little while before leaving for the airport. At the church, we were able to debrief with us as a team. We got to encourage and admonish one another, constantly giving God the glory for pulling us through this week and allowing us to be part of His plan.

Once we debriefed, a few of the leaders came in because they had bought us all Fippers! We were so excited and in disbelief because they literally bought 20 pairs of flip flops. We ended up taking lots of pictures with them and extending the inevitable good byes.

We actually got to the airport later than we should have, which resulted in us running through the airport to get where we need to go. It was quite the adventure! But God once again was looking out for us, thankfully not letting us miss our flight back home.

When we were finally on the plane, on the start of our long journey back home, I felt very content and peaceful. God showed up this week, was faithful, and taught me so much about myself. Even though there were moments when I doubted God’s plan, He was gracious enough to let me be a part of it, showing me that I am so loved and valued by Him. I learned firsthand the immense power of God when we actually trust Him to do what He says He will. I saw the beauty of the cross in my life as I taught my workshop; even when I thought I knew it all, God was faithful to keep showing me so much more. Even when I felt inadequate, like I couldn’t teach or communicate with the kids, God overcame my insecurities and blew my mind when I trusted Him.

                If you made it all the way to the end, congratulations! I hope you were able to get a taste of what this trip was like for me; so much more than just a week of my summer, it was a life changing experience that taught me more about God, myself, and others. I got to see the universal church at work in Malaysia; believers on both sides of the globe coming together to worship and praise the same God. I pray that just as our team studied and prepared for “Truth Fitness” with a goal to help the students in Malaysia desire to figure out what they believe in, that you would continue to seek answers, seek truth, and ultimately find God. Thank you again for supporting, loving, praying, and ministering to us. This trip would not have been possible if God had not been faithful to provide supporters like y’all.

In Christ,

                  Erica