Dec 19 2011
Sad story of a Asian student, New Jesus followers, A Joyful yet Sad Goodbye
Sad story from this last week that hit me hard. I took a student to the airport to go home this week that I first picked up 6 months ago from an affluent country in Asia. He was an short term English student who happened to be a PhD student. We saw him occasionally at different events but lost track of him as the year went on. Anyway, as we were driving to the airport, I asked him what he planned on doing when he got home, he told me he was planning on quitting his PhD program and getting a job so he could “demonstrate.” “Demonstrate?” I asked him to clarify. He said, “yes, demonstrate against my government.” I was surprised. He is a humble young man, seemingly not too taken to passionate expression. I wasn’t sure what to say.. so I asked, “What kind of job will to do?” He said, “Self-Sustenance.” I was thinking he meant self-employed and I asked him to clarify. He said, “You know, living off of the land, planting vegetables, etc.” All I could say was, “Oh…” I asked why he was doing this. He said, “People from my country have so many things, everything a person could possibly have and yet our people are not happy.” Like Emerson and Thoreau, he sought the peace and meaning by chasing simplicity. At that moment, I realized something. He was a man who was looking for something while here. Something that would sate the angst that he felt living in modern Asian society. I have no doubt God could have filled that void, but I was not sensitive enough to his need. I didn’t sow broadly enough, thinking he would not be interested and so I missed an opportunity. I was sad. I learned alot from the conversation. I needed to salt all my conversations with the Hope that I have in Jesus so if God is working in someone, like this young man, he could identify himself to me.
- A new student Andrew from Nepal made a decision to follow Jesus through one of our volunteers doing Discovery Bible Study with him. God was influencing him in many way through many people and when he read the Bible he recognized what he was looking for.
- We are praising God that several of some of our closest students finished school this last weekend. Still we will miss them dearly. Vritant, Fernando and Bibianna specifically said that we all were their family in Texas (they even said it in a caption on facebook). Cynthia and TCU was showered with many blessings by the team over there. We are very sad to see these very special friends go home.
- We are excited that our student friend, Greg from East Asia welcomed his family to the US to join him after 6 months apart.
One of the more interesting parts of my job in the international students ministry is the meetings that I have the privilege of being a part of. The last two weeks I took part in several very important meetings. Among the things we met about were:
Meeting to share at a seminary class about helping with ministry with international students
Okay, I think you get the message. Honestly, each of these things were energizing and invigorating… It reminds me that God is at work right now. Continue to pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up more people for the harvest. Also pray that he will take these that He has risen up already that He will empower them to share with t
The original purpose of the Friday group going to two different locations was to alleviate pressure in the homes that we meet in. There were just too many people for our homes. We are praising the Lord because while the late group is growing and developing a regular following and a level of stability, the early group is still bursting at the seams with as many as 50 people still coming. God is working in different ways in each group and he is able to touch different types of people in different ways because of the different natures of the groups. Praise the Lord. Pray that the Lord of the Harvest will raise up more workers (and maybe more and bigger houses to host) Pray also that the students will still feel like while we meet at different locations, we are still “one group” following one Lord.
When we look back on the summer, the obvious HUGE thing was the trip. I was asked the other day about post processing the trip with my kids and we have done that in a way. Jonathan’s interest in Anime and doing art has been re-kindled by the trip. He used a lot of his birthday money to buy a digitizing tablet that allows him to sketch and draw on the computer and he spends much of the day perfecting his skill. I asked Tim the other day if he would like to eventually do an exchange program, even to Europe. He said no… while he is our most adaptable traveler, he is also our staunchest Texan and loves it at home. Charis seems more “secure” in terms of thinking of her Chinese family and stuff since she returned. She has also become a huge part of our ministry of late as she acts as a great host to a fairly large group of kids who have been coming to Friday night group.
One of the blessings this summer has been the team who did the UTA Friday night groups while we have been gone. The Friday night groups are healthier than ever and we are so blessed by this wonderful team. In fact it has been so healthy, the group has outgrown any single home and we are looking at expanding to two homes. God has been very very good and we praise Him for this.
Their Host families were also there. Many of the students this year will be bringing their own families over. This was a wonderful time of swimming, talking, connecting, showing God’s love… It was a huge blessing for all who were there and it had a real sense of family together. Also with this group we have the honor of being the host family to two of these students. One of the students has told us that he has been baptized and he has such a sweet spirit about him, always wanting to serve people and he also has a keen interest in studying the Bible. A different students who has been regularly coming to our Friday night and has been a regular part of our Bible study has been going to church with us the last couple of weeks. In fact last week he brought three friends with him. We also have some really good friendships with several of these students. It has been amazing how close we have become in such a short time.
Lisa changed jobs and will be working at DBU this fall teaching ESL in their Intensive English Program. She begins teaching there on Monday of this week. While she is sad to leave her previous post at El Centro college after so many years, this new challenge as brought a real jump to her step and a real sense of purpose in he eyes. Needless to say, there will be adjustments that we will have to make as anything new always does but working at a ministry oriented university where one of the President’s goals is to be a beacon to and reach out to unbelieving international students is truly refreshing for her.
They’ve got two of the sweetest girls who are around Charis’ age. These three girls, and the daughter of the Phillips, key volunteers, enjoy every Friday night playing together. This precious family stayed at our house when we were gone to Asia. They just got a taste of what it is like to live in an American home for a while. We also are meeting together doing family church on a weekday night together using the discovery Bible study format. It has been a real blessing seeing their eyes light up as they study God’s word and learn the joy of studying it. We are really blessed by their friendship.
We learned how to be more effective prayers in ministry. We also evaluated where God took us last year in light of the goals he gave us last year and we established new strategic goals that we felt we needed to set for this next year. Among the things we felt we needed to do was continue developing and improving the new model of ministry that we have been developing already, strengthening our leadership in prayer, developing creative ways for young people could serve as staff, and looking for special staff with unique gifts for unique large projects. For example we need someone who is good with the internet and facebook who could be a “internet minister” for students… to make initial contacts before they come, to keep up with students so that when we hear of their needs on social networks we can serve them with Christ’s love more effectively, and to help with the follow up with students from a distance. We also felt the need for an entrepreneurial business savvy and networked staff person who could be a point person in developing a new way of doing international student ministry where we help develop them and get started in the work place. (more to come on both of these things in the future)
Jonathan is working on his digital art skills with a new graphics pad that he got for his birthday. He is getting really good. Timothy is working on his cello and his game playing skills. Charis has been visiting with her neighbor friend Olivia a lot and enjoys doing many art projects.
Before and during the meetings, I had to manage the registration and the Dallas side for Houston Space weekend trip that Jeff Newpher, our Houston colleague, hosts for our Dallas team three times a year. I did not personally go, but our TCU, UTD and UT Tyler campuses sent 30+ students with other volunteers on this trip to Space Center Houston and to home stays nearby NASA. They even got to meet a astronaut who shared his story with Jesus as it relates to his space experience. All reports indicate a great experience had by all with terrific conversations about spiritual and heart things. Prayers were important as the weather coming back was bad but everything turned out okay. The difficulty was in the many last minute changes and moving pieces. Praise God for the outcome of it all.
This last week was unusual as my parents arrived on Saturday, the weather took a turn for the worse and so the kids stayed home Tuesday through Friday because of the ice and snow. We had much cabin fever. Still what a blessing for grandparents to have total access for a whole week during what is normally a school week. I love Texas. But the one thing I miss the most of California and the thing that makes me sad is not having my parents near by during this stage of theirs and our kids lives. So this was special. Praise the Lord for His planning. Dad also turned 75 during this time but he insisted on cleaning up and building shelving for my garage during much of this time in the cold. He is awesome and he makes me so proud and appreciative on so many levels.
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for me, our team and our family. At TCU we had family weekend where parents of freshmen come on out to visit. We had a special tailgate party for the international students who did not have parents come all the way out. The following week, I had to travel to Colorado Springs for a meeting to discuss new ways of doing ministry to international students with our national leadership. Some of our team learned about how to reach Muslims from former Muslims who chose to follow Christ. Finally several major initiatives that I am intimately connected to are gearing up all at once. I honestly am getting tired of answering the question, “How is it going?” with, “It’s really been as busy as its ever been…” Still its is fun to be in the middle of some stuff that God is doing where He is pulling much of the weight.
Pray also for clarity in Tim’s scout pack that Lisa and Roy are in leadership with. We are struggling at the pack level though our den is going strong. Pray for a fishing trip we are taking the boys on this Saturday.
Today my son, T-9 became T-10. He had two of his buddies over for his birthday party and they had pizza, cake, played with their DS’s until the wii… I mean wee hours of the night (wii was played a little too) and fun was had by all. The last couple of weeks I’ve had the pleasure of being T-10′s Webelo den leader. It has been a blast watching he and his friend D work through some of the requirements and learn and truly grow. It was not too long ago that Jonathan as at this stage… or it seems. Actually Jonathan is now a teenager, spending countless hours studying about military history and the world… If you ask him what he wants to be… he would say to you, Ruler of the World. (I think tongue in cheek…). Our little one… it seems like she just came home from China and the precocious 7 year old is already talking about boys and wanting to dress well for them. What in the world?!?! Time is just flying. Lisa and I feel blessed to be able to be a part of all this but sometimes it feels like we are watching a car race running in front of us as we sit in the stands as spectators… the only think… we are actually in the race too, they are just moving that fast. Not too long ago, Jonathan and I read Ecclesiasties for our bed time story and I was really touched by its description of the brevity of life. Of how things go so fast… And his conclusion is it is all vanity… the only thing that matters is worshiping God. The fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. I am really beginning to appreciate that as I clearly get past the half way point of my life.
Yesterday was a good day. It started with me sleepily waking up to the great joy of my kids. C-6 was jumping up and down with excitement as I walked into the kitchen. I felt like I had won the NBA Championship or something. (Go Lakers!) There was genuine excitement as they were able to share gifts for me (a basketball, and a wrist rest for my computer… Yeah! No Tie!) and honor me. I really felt honored and loved. Even our pre-adolescent had a smile on his face (rare these days). I love being a husband and dad. Though it is not all easy.
we implanted deep within him: faith, truth, epistemology (big word… how do we know what is true), morals, grace, sense of justice, etc. take root so that it becomes his. I feel like for the first time we are flying solo without a net and its exhilarating and scary.
One of the fun parts of our ministry is that we take students to do things that we already like to do. I love basketball. I grew up a Lakers fan (still am) and kind of like the Mavericks too. Basketball has become a huge phenomenon around the world and going to a game is a great way to get to know students and share something very special. Little did we know that it is also an opportunity to meet many new people from an important people group.
Every year Sain, one of the janitorial staff at our church from Mexico and I take parts of our family to a Dallas Mavericks game. It started off as a way to reach out to him. As God has brought him to Christ, it has become a way to better connect and something to share with each other. I usually bring one or two students to this and usually we get a game with a “lesser” team. This year was different. We planned well ahead and I saw that the Mavericks were playing the Houston Rockets for the last game of the season. I figured the Houston Rockets would be a great way to meet new Chinese students and get closer to them. The Chinese see Yao Ming, Center for the Rockets, as a national hero and so he and the team are very popular. So, I talked with TCU volunteer Bennie and together we bought 30 tickets to bring students to the game. We also decided to take the train to the stadium to make the experience even more fun. Also, for the first time Lisa wanted to come with the rest of our kids.
It was a lot of fun… BUT… the BIGGEST thing that hit me was this. When we got on the train at Centerpointe TRE train station near Arlington, we found there were many, many more Chinese students than just the ones we brought. In addition, once we got to the AAC (American Airlines Center), there were even more. From all walks of life from researchers to undergrads; from EMBA businessmen to future lawyers and doctors from all over China. It was truly incredible. If a person had a heart to touch the lives of Chinese and needed to make new contacts, all it would take would be taking the train to a Mavericks / Houston Rockets game, talking to groups of students along the way, building relationship during the 30 minute ride and sharing contact information afterward. They could then hang out in AT&T Square in Victory Park before and after the game and talk to more. It would not be hard at all. 
I was amazed at the tremendous opportunity.
We got snacks – 9:05 AM Feb 28th from Ping.fm
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The girls began the day decorating aprons to help out with their work. Modern art seemed to be the style of the day. Then the girls practiced some homemaking skills, making some delightful (and tasty) pretzel/kisses/m&m snacks. It seemed like a lot of fun. All this seemed innocent enough… but then they turned to the outside… and next thing we guys knew, we were caught in their trap. (Maybe it was the snacks)
J-12 & T-8 were seen “helping” with the outdoor activities (no way!). T-8 was hoisting the pinata and jumping on the trampoline and J-12 was seen DJing the nasty game of musical chairs. I even had to set up the pinata. It actually was a lot of fun. The girls really took to our trampoline.
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