God Gives the Increase

Andy - Laura - YuHua @ the fish ladder in Old Town Lansing

We met Yuhua two years ago, through another Chinese student who invited her to come with us to Lake Michigan for the day. (Actually, this is the connections between us and her: Yuhua – Coworker – Roommate – Friend – Us. Networking, folks…) We had a great connection and soon she started to attend Bible study with us. At the time we were going through the gospels, and had many wonderful opportunities to highlight the difference between the Old and New Covenants – Law vs. Grace.

The more we got to know each other, the more Yuhua opened up about her life. Although she was always cheerful on the outside, she carried around a deep hurt – something that had happened shortly before we met her.

As time went on, she was still very interested in learning about the Lord, but we recognized that she needed someone who could take a role of more authority in her life – especially in Chinese culture, we were not as qualified to “teach” her as we are younger and less educated than she is. Fortunately, earlier Yuhua had spent some time with my family and maintained a relationship with my mom. So, when my mom asked if she would like to meet for continued discipleship, Yuhua eagerly accepted.

Zhao Yang - YuHua @ Weicong's birthday party

"I woke up one day recently and I realized that the pain was gone."

At a recent meeting, Yuhua said that she realized that the deep hurt inside of her was now healed. She had received lots of good advice and positive encouragement before – but it was not these things that brought the change in her heart. She recognized and acknowledged that is was God who had brought healing to her from the inside out.

Having experienced the loving touch of the Father on top of a firm foundation in the truth of Jesus' work of grace, Yuhua was eager to commit her life to Christ and become a Christian! She is telling everyone around her, including her parents. She is waiting for them to come visit next month so they can witness her baptism.

It's hard to explain the feeling of joy at her spiritual rebirth, I felt like I was in shock, a shock of overwhelming joy! It just brings to light the truth that WE don't accomplish the work – we are simply partners to what God is already doing in people's lives. Sometimes we get to join in harvest, other times we faithfully water and plant – but it is GOD who brings the increase. Either way, we feel incredibly privileged to be a part of God's active plan of redemption at work!

Vacillation

Our friend Weicong was struggling with acceptance recently, but not from someone in particular. MSU was holding Weicong in limbo between acceptance and denial for continuing education as a graduate student. At first it seemed likely, then they told him no, and then again they were reconsidering his acceptance a second time. This vacillation lasted most of the Spring semester and caused much frustration for our foreign friend. It seemed like our time in close proximity was nearing an end.

We've experienced many lifelong memories with our friend Weicong. It's been a real honor to get to know him, and to say goodbye at this point, just when we are drawing closer together, would be a huge disappointment. I'm sure he would say the same about us, and the truth is that we've learned just as much from him as he has from us.

Weicong's story is not an uncommon one compared to the other Chinese students at MSU. Following suit with the rest of the foreign student population, his time here has been fraught with intercultural complications. This very frustration presents itself as one of the best opportunities we have, as US citizens and Christians alike, to reach out with Christ-like love to the nations. When we step in and fill a gap in someone's life the results can be lifelong and beautiful.

"If I don't get into a top school like Harvard, I want to stay at MSU. I want to be near you."

Recently while still uncertain about whether or not he would stay, Weicong said of us, "If I don't get into a top school like Harvard, I want to stay at MSU. I want to be near you." Sometimes you don't know just how deep a simple friendship based on uncomplicated kindness can reach. He may continue to vacillate between faith in Christ and ancient Chinese beliefs, but in the matter of keeping a lifelong friend the decision has already been set in stone.

The decision process for Weicong's grad school acceptance had taken several months and Weicong only just found out whether or not his ticket to China should include a return trip, which it will! Weicong will indeed return in the fall and we can continue to forge a deeper relationship. I pray that as we continue to uncover deeper truths about each other that all Weicong finds at my core is a deep love for Jesus Christ. I know there is nothing more attractive than discovering this treasure within someone else. A decision will always be made regarding matters of great importance, and I hope to be there for Weicong in the future for more than just education and airfare.

Discipling the Unlikely

Do you ever catch yourself labeling people "least likely to get saved" or "closest to the kingdom"? I know I do at times, without even meaning to.

Well, doesn't God just like to burst our little bubble.

One student in particular we thought was least likely. Weicong (pictured above, far left) started coming to Bible study just because he was new to MSU and he had friends there. Eventually those friends left MSU, but he stayed at Bible study.

I feel like maybe we spent more time investing in other students because we expected he wasn't as interested. We eventually realized that maybe God was working in his heart, too. So recently Andy asked him if he would like to do more intentional one-on-one discipleship, to which he replied, "Of course!" Maybe we shouldn't have been surprised, but we were! He and Andy have been now meeting regularly and going through the Purple Book. 

More on discipleship....

We are called to go and make DISCIPLES. Jesus spent three years just living life with his disciples. It has become increasingly clear to us that a lot of Kingdom of God stuff happens in a normal, daily-living, yet intentional discipleship context.

Chi Alpha is acting on this conviction with separate discipleship groups for the girls and guys. We're being open and honest, pursuing God and truth together, and experiencing change in our lives. We also meet with several students one-on-one.

Sometimes it's shocking to discover what some students don't know about God. There is no shame in this – it just brings to light what kind of issues are so easily missed when there isn’t intentional discipleship. 

Holy Spirit Time

Recently we had a great speaker, Dick Schroeder, come to MSU Chi Alpha and share with the students on the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and just give general ministry and counseling where needed. It was a wonderful time for the students. Dick was an excellent listener and encourager, which is precisely what some of these aspiring professionals need. He really laid a good message on the table the evening that he was with us at Pastor Mark's house. Three students in particular were eager to be prayed for baptism in the HS and showed a great passion to pursue God more intensely moving forward. Praise God!

Here's a little more about Dick and his HS Series. He basically travels almost exclusively to XA (Chi Alpha) ministries, but also other venues, around the nation just to serve them however they feel they need service at the time. He's a cool guy.

One of the great things about Dick is that he is so sensitive to the what the Holy Spirit is speaking. He spent a whole day just meeting one-on-one with Chi Alpha students, listening and speaking encouragement. Afterward, we had a time of feedback with students for them to discuss their expectations and experiences with Dick. It was really valuable to see the different ways the Holy Spirit was speaking to each student exactly what they needed - it really helped to grow our faith in how to listen to the voice of God.

Bowling for Friends

We've been having a blast this spring semester with all of our friends at MSU. The weather is still finicky, but we know exactly what we're working toward. Bowling is a perfect winter connecting point. What's more, our international friends LOVE bowling. Too bad we had to say goodbye to some of them again already.