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VCBC English Congregation Newsletter
October 2012
Steps of Faith By Nicole Jung Faith. What does it mean to love God with all your heart? What does it mean to take every breath for Him? What does it mean to serve Him with passion? These were some of the questions that I asked myself when I was thinking about being baptized. I am one of many crazy youth at VCBC that went to Tsawout, SYC, and Summer Conference back-to-back. Being so busy meant I had to prepare my testimony beforehand, so I wasn't able to include these amazing experiences in my testimony. After being baptized, it was still on my heart to share about what I had learned in those three amazing places. I prayed for a way to share and got an answer through getting an opportunity to write this article. Writing this article, in itself, is a way God answered and showed Himself to be real in my life. Continues on p. 2
IN THIS ISSUE Steps of Faith Consumerism in the Church
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Breakthrough Prayer: A Faith Adventure in Prayer 4 Why I love my Small Group— and why you should join one too!
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The Worship Experience: Summer Youth Celebration 5 Couples Interview
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Three Stories of Short Term Missions
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Seeing God through the Children of International China Concern
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Building Community Through Vacation Bible School 9 How Do You Know God is Real?
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Our church annually sends a group of people from VCBC to Tsawout, a First Nations reserve on Vancouver Island. We go there to reach out to the kids and the community through doing a VBS-like day camp for them. Our goal is to show them God's unfailing love. As the week went on I got to see the community and get a feel of what life is like there. The suffering I saw touched my heart. What good can come of all this hurt? But while a lot of what I saw was pain, God continually reminded me of this verse: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28a). God has good planned for the Tsawout people. In many places around the world, people who are physically in rags are the ones who are spiritually rich. Why? In dark times we are forced to truly rely on His love and unfailing support. I believe Tsawout can become one of those spiritually rich places. Tsawout was an awesome experience that's hard to describe in words on both spiritual and emotional levels. So much has been done, said, and changed in that community. As Acts 20:24b says "My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me— the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." Through this trip I have truly learned how to give up everything to serve Him. My heart still reaches out to Tsawout and I miss the kids a lot.
Publisher
Interviewers
Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church
Chris Cheung Einar Wong
Pastoral Staff
Writers
Cindy Bridges Johnny Lo Tom Cowan
Elizabeth Moy Helena Akrigg Henry Lew Jack & Lisa Young Joey Leung Johhny & Angel Lo Adeline Cheng Nicole Jung Rachel Tang Sam Chan Tom Cowan Verna Leung
iiConnect Planning Team Alison She Christopher Cheung Cindy Bridges Cindy So Wayne Yu Designer Cindy So Editor Alison She
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Photo Credit Alfred Au Chris Cheung Wes Liu
But I am reminded that even though we are there for only for a week, God is with them all the time. The week after, I was off again to SYC. SYC is an event in which youth fellowships from many different churches come together to experience and learn about God. To simply state what went on, we felt an overwhelming powerful presence that could have only come from the one, true God through worship. As a fellowship we cried and prayed together, asking God to lift burdens and heal hurting. We grew closer as a fellowship and as a family in Christ. Finally, Summer Conference came around and I got baptized in a muddy, slimy, and gross pond. (I wouldn't suggest swimming in that pond, it's disgusting!) After being to Tsawout and SYC there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted my life to be dedicated serving Him. Being baptized really helped me reflect on the journey God has taken me on and how much I’ve grown as a disciple of Jesus. For me this summer of strengthening my faith meant not only giving Him my heart, but also my hands and feet. It meant spending time with Him, a lot of time. It meant giving more of myself to Him than ever before. It meant committing my life to Him through baptism.
Have you experienced a God moment recently and want to share? A “God moment” is an experience in which God has shown Himself to you, through a trip, a story, a new revelation from His Word, or just an ordinary encounter. We’d love for you to share it on iiConnect! Email Wayne congregational_life@vcbc.bc.ca
Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church 7474 Culloden St. Vancouver, BC V5X 4K2 www.vcbc.bc.ca/english www.facebook.com/vcbcenglish
Consumerism in the Church A message from Pastor Tom The flyer from Save-On-Foods announces that they have 2 for 1 sale on baby back ribs. Sounds like a great deal! Let’s put on a BBQ tonight. But we also need eggs and some other things. Safeway has a special on eggs, so we will go there. Did you see that Canadian Tire has a super deal on this week on household items for the fall? We call this consumerism. It’s the great Canadian game! Like everyone else, my wife and I like to get the best deals for our house. But what happens when we transfer that same attitude of consumerism into the church? Should we just check out who has the best “deal” on exciting worship (whatever that means), the most relevant sermons or just go where everyone else goes? Do we go church shopping to satisfy our needs? So when someone tells me that they are not “happy” with our church, after my initial struggle on hearing that, here is what goes through my mind and heart as a pastor. As a pastor, I am well aware that there are seasons when some churches are the “in” places to go, and everyone seems to flock there. There are other seasons when churches drop in numbers and people move away. There may be good reasons for that, and honestly, there may not be. I would ask if they are just following the crowd. Friendships and community are important. No doubt about that. But we need to ask ourselves some deeper questions about what is best for our own lives. Each of us is responsible for our own spiritual growth. It is the conviction to make up our own minds, and not just follow the crowd. The crowd will usually move on, again and again. I believe that we grow more as we stay with the church through its ups and downs. God may want to teach us something that will not be learned by moving away! If they tell me they are not getting anything out of church, then pastors and leaders need to hear that very seriously. We have often done young people and young adults a huge disservice by entertaining them rather than equipping them. We have invited them to be spectators rather than participants in the arena of ministry. If you have been asked to do nothing, except to sit and occupy a seat on Sundays, then I can understand why you’re bored! As a pastor, I am responsible to be as relevant, challenging and straightforward as I can be. My 11th commandment says: “You shall not make it dull”.
I accept the reality that a church like VCBC may not be able to satisfy everybody, whether it is in worship style, preaching or whatever. Some will love it: others may not. We are responsible to be committed to be and to do what we believe God has called us to be, and to do that to the best of our ability. Being complacent, comfortable or just maintaining the status quo is not acceptable. As a pastor, my ultimate commitment is to help people to be transformed into Christ. If that is at VCBC, then great! If it means that they need another place for this to happen, then I trust the broader sense of my love and care for them will mean I will help them to find that place.
A final word: There may be a right time to leave a church. Perhaps when its teaching moves away from being straight and true. It could be when its leadership fails in its ability to properly shepherd and care for the flock and leaves them wounded and hurting. Or when its internal life becomes so toxic, perhaps in some hurt relationships and we simply cannot grow there. But frankly some of the reasons we may give for leaving may be self-absorbed and excuses for some other personal issues that we do not wish to face. The church is not some supermarket where we continually shop around for the best deal in worship, preaching or whatever. It is the church, the community of the cross. It is where we come to give and also to receive. It is where we can laugh and also cry. It is a place to belong, and it should be a safe place. Some days it will be good; other days it might not seem as good. It will never be perfect. But it is the place where I belong.
Tom Cowan, Interim Lead Pastor
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Breakthrough Prayer: A Faith Adventure in Prayer
Why I love my Small Group—and why you should join one too!
By Elizabeth Moy
By Adeline Cheng A few years ago, while I was doing my prayer routine before bedtime with my younger daughter, it dawned on my that my prayers were really a list of things for God to do for me, my family and my friends. The realization troubled me as I knew that prayer life is much more than giving God my to-do list. Are my prayers just about getting God to do what I want? And does it mean my prayer life is dull when God doesn’t answer me in times of troubles and tribulations? I wanted a more intimate relationship with God that is sweeter than honey! When Grace Lu told me about the prayer conference that she attended and would like to start a Sunday School Class focusing on prayer, she caught my attention. She told me about the book called Breakthrough: A Faith Adventure in Prayer by Karen Braun and I was excited about attending and improving my prayer life! We learned about the different tools for prayers. Learning the model to pray helps me focus on who God is and allows me to see more clearly the depth and width of His grace and love for me. We did not just learn about the other tools such as scripture praying, pray walking, fasting and journaling; we got to share and practice using these tools in our prayers and in our daily life. Reading the Bible is no longer about reading stories about someone else but a personal message to me from Heaven above. There is hidden brokenness buried so deep inside me from past hurts and pains that God wants to break through and restore. His desire for me, and all whom He adores, is to be healed and restored as a whole person rather than having improved compartments in life! He wants to free me from all the strongholds in life that are weighing me down instead of lifting me up!
Adeline’s small group
The first time we remember hearing about intergenerational small groups was when we heard an announcement made by Auntie Naomi after Sunday Morning Service. She spoke fondly of young people wanting to spend time with old fogies and how exciting that was to her. Matt knew then, at that very moment, that small group was just the place for him! The experience at first was a little intimidating, as joining a new small group can sometimes be. You don’t want to sound stupid, offend anyone, make anyone feel uncomfortable, and you often have no clue what to really expect. There is now a pattern to how our small group begins. As more of the members begin to trail into Uncle Phillip’s house, we greet each other excitedly and ask each other how our week was. There is always a bit of a fight for the comfy couch but it is first come, first serve (for the most part). Once everyone arrives and we’ve had a bit of time to chitchat, things get a bit more serious. Uncle Philip starts off the discussion in a word of prayer and with our hearts more settled, Lewis begins to leads us through the questions from the sermon. You quickly realize that you can no longer daydream during Pastor Cowan’s sermons. Nonetheless, even if you did end up sleeping in on Sunday and missing the sermon entirely, it’s still fairly easy to just follow along. There is no judgment in our group!
I am so grateful for Grace Lu, Sarah Lau & Lisa Young in leading the class by listening, sharing their experiences and stories with us, and helping us to embark on our own prayerful and faithful journey. Often times, we think we are alone in dealing with the busyness and struggles in life. I appreciate the sharing of everyone; we are not alone in this faith journey. We are not alone in dealing with the different storms and waves in life but have the confidence to know that God will get us through!
Discussing the sermons not only helps us remember what was spoken about, it offers us a greater understanding of the main points of the sermon and, most importantly, the take home message. It’s nice to hear others share about the verses or the points that they related to most, as well as how the sermon impacted them. One of the best things about going to small group is that there is honesty and acceptance within the group, which is truly refreshing. Overtime, you start to get to know each and every person better and begin to build closer bonds with your fellow small group members. With each of us at different life stages, intergenerational small group provides you with a bigger perspective of how other Christians live and what their walk with God is like, including their struggles. Through the sharing, you also hear their love for others and what it means to live in God’s grace.
Prayer is no longer about presenting God with my list of things to do but it’s really about being tuned into Him, being connected to Him, knowing Him better, listening to Him and – most difficult of all – being obedient to Him. I am not sure I could say I have graduated from this Breakthrough Prayer Class...
The bottom line is: joining an intergenerational small group has been a great experience for us! Not only have we been able to learn more about Christ, we got ourselves some great new friends that care about us and are dedicated to helping us grow. You should join one too and see for yourself! You won’t be disappointed!
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The Worship Experience: Summer Youth Celebration Interview with Verna Leung By Chris Cheung SYC is a week-long summer camp for high school students and leaders every summer in the BC interior. During September, you can’t avoid the stories of how God changed lives, committed and recommitted lives to Him, and started a fire to burn through the new year. We also hear about the worship and how special and different and open it is. We catch up with Verna Leung, who has recently led worship at Gardom Lake for the second time, following after the unforgettable leader Jeff Slaughter.
C: How has God prepared you for the experience? V: God’s been pretty creative setting me up for this role musically and then actually teaching me to lead. On the musical side, I’ve been surrounded and involved in praise music for most of my life. My dad and my sister are involved in worship, so I grew up listening to a lot of that. Also, it recently occurred to me that as a kid I found it relatively easy to memorize (sometimes useless) stuff. Somewhere along the way, I think that translated to relative ease in memorizing music, worship lyrics and chord changes. I’ve also had the awesome opportunity to see and work with some pretty nifty worship leaders in my lifetime. As well, I think I’m old enough now that God’s given me enough discernment to know what I like and what helps me worship. On the flipside, to suddenly be in this role as a worship leader – I didn’t feel prepared at all! The first time I got the lovely call to actually lead worship at SYC, I think I found out with about one week’s notice. That freaked me out. My worship music resume includes jumping around to praise God with kids, singing backup and pretending to know what I’m talking about when it comes to music. Not exactly feeling equipped to be a worship leader here. In hindsight I think being put in this position may have been the best thing that could have happened because I am a planner. Just ask my Excel spreadsheets. I think if I had been given a lengthy time to prepare for leading worship, I would have planned everything on my own and left no room for the Spirit to move. I would have made worship rigid and inorganic, but it probably would have sounded pretty good, and then I would probably credit any this ‘success’ to
my great ability to lead worship. Instead, God prepared me to lead in a different way —by making me feel utterly unprepared. He gave me the opportunity to really call on His name for help. He really let me see His provision, and at the end, I had the great honor of pointing all glory and credit to Him.
SYC worship, so yes, SYC worship has a special place in my heart. It was definitely petrifying taking the jump from participant to leading worship.
Long story short, God prepared me in small ways over the years. Then, in His thoughtfulness, He humbled me and showed up to do His thing, all while letting me be a part of it.
V: Jeff Slaughter has been the worship leader at SYC for many, many years prior to SYC’s vision for local believers to serve. Jeff is a professional worship leader and one of the sweetest guys ever. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it one summer because of some unforeseen circumstances, and I got the call a week before SYC.
C: One of the things people always look forward to at SYC is the music. How does worship connect with the youth there? V: A typical Worship session at SYC involves sharing, a talk and music as conduits to meet God - same as a normal Sunday. I want to make it clear that God is unfathomably bigger than SYC and the air we breathe. That means we can experience Him anywhere – on the street, in the shower, on a ‘normal’ Sunday, and hopefully, even at SYC. That being said, at SYC we do try to foster an environment where the youth can meet Jesus at every opportunity. This “concentrated”, weeklong time surrounded by believers can be seen as a different style of worship, and it can be a special experience. There’s power in praising uninhibited with friends and fellow believers, and that is something to look forward to. I know I look forward to that experience too. To be more specific and technical about the session itself, the message and songs are geared to teenagers, and I think relevancy goes a long way to help anyone hear God calling their name. In terms of the worship session as a whole, the camp’s surroundings and schedule allows for high flexibility in time. Flexibility with time means room for spontaneity, the ability to let go of our inhibitions and burdens, and gives us freedom to let God speak or let us respond to God however long we like.
C: Was worship a special part of SYC to you? V: I’ve been a participant at SYC probably six or seven times, and God’s given me some awesome moments associated with
C: What was it like to take over after Jeff Slaughter? How did this come about?
C: Challenges of the first year? V: The first year, I was absolutely terrified. Right after I found out, I think I just sat in a chair and didn’t move for some time due to shock. The challenges were all internal - me finally feeling confident enough to lead a team and to speak in front of people with some sort of authority. I learned to have confidence in God and in His power in me. He definitely saw me through that first year.
C: Challenges of the second year? Was it easier? V: The second year I had the amazing opportunity to lead worship, I also had not planned on it. I think I found out about it three days beforehand. I just remember craning my head upwards and thinking, “Again? God, what are you trying to say?!?” After the shock wore off, I felt scared and confident at the same time; worried that there wasn’t enough time, but brave because He had seen me through before. It’s been a wonderfully pride-squashing experience, and one of learning to be confident in God.
C: What goes through your head as you see “physical” reactions to worship? (Eg. from simple hand raising, jumping up and down à la VBS, to the more emotional reactions) What goes through my head? Relief — no I’m just kidding. Joy mostly. Courage. I feel bold and excited, and yet, at the same time, just very humbled to be witnessing something like this at all.
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Couples Interview: Johnny & Angel, and Jack & Lisa By Einar Wong 1. What was your first impression of your spouse when you first began dating? Mrs. Lo: What a funny and thoughtful guy! Mr. Lo: She’s so easy-going and fun to be with. Mrs. Young: We were just friends when we first met in Microbiology class at UBC during our second year. We weren't particularly attracted to each other. Mr. Young: Lisa will tell you that I had only gone after her notes just before exam times. We only got to know each other more during our fourth year at UBC.
2. Was there any difference between how you imagined your wedding to go and how it actually went? Mrs. Lo: It was even more beautiful than I had imagined- it was a perfect day! Mr. Lo: Nope. Mr. and Mrs. Young: Tiring, but fun.
3. How are household chores divided up in your marriage? Mrs. Lo: By our interests and talents. Mr. Lo: We cast lots. Mr. and Mrs. Young: Lisa inside the house/ Jack outside the house.
4. How do you deal with conflict within a marriage? Mrs. Lo: Be patient and try not to do or say anything you might regret later on. Mr. Lo: Seek to understand each other and communicate in loving and respectful ways. Sometimes you may just even need to compromise. Mrs. Young: Not too well in the beginning, as often we just reacted to each other. As we grew in our faith, we learned to involve the Spirit to work in our own individual lives. Even in the midst of the conflict, we learned to slow down and talk to God individually before we start reacting to each other Mr. Young: This of course was not an overnight thing. I would say it took us more than 20 years to finally get it on the right track.
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5. How do you keep your romance alive? Mrs. Lo: Spend regular quality time with each other!
Canada, 2008); what are your thoughts about this?
Mr. Lo: Go out on dates. Plan to do something fun together! Do something romantic once in awhile.
Mrs. Lo: Interesting statistic but age is just a number and God made each of us unique! You may have an “ideal” age of when to get married but anything is possible.
Mr. and Mrs. Young: Spending time with each other, growing spiritually on our own, growing in our hearts for our vision in God.
Mr. Lo: It may seem “old” at first, but our society and culture is constantly changing. And hey! Looks like Angel and I beat the average!
6. How have you seen God through your own marriage? Mrs. Lo: Though we are far from perfect, God has taught me how to love a little more each day and how to make our marriage stronger by trusting in Him first and foremost. Mr. Lo: Through the imperfections of us as a married couple and how we constantly need to extend love, grace and mercy to each other, just as how God does to us. Mr. and Mrs. Young: He is the one constant in our lives. As we grew more confident and secure in our status as His children, we were more freed from our own fears and issues. We learned as we grew in Him, what it meant to love unconditionally, and to allow God to be the instrument of change in our family. We learned that the one person I am called to change is "me.” I can let Him be the one to change the others.
7. What are your thoughts about living together before marriage? Mrs. Lo: No thanks. I disagree that you need to live together before getting married to make sure you are “compatible” with each other. Mr. Lo: I don’t agree with it and I believe it can lead to other future potential conflicts. Mr. and Mrs. Young: Not a good idea, because even if nothing is going on, it defiles our witness for Him. He is a holy God, and His people are called to be a holy priesthood, set aside for Him. When we allow ourselves to take those little steps towards temptation, and follow the ways of the world, our hearts will also slowly turn away from Him.
8. In Canada, the average age of marriage is 31 for men and 29 for women (Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. and Mrs. Young: That's human statistics. His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. My friend shared that when she signed up to go to China as a missionary, many people told her not to go because she was already old and she will never find someone to marry in China. She met her husband in China. He is from Canada, and was serving in China as missionary. With God nothing is impossible. With God, nothing is normal
9. What is one piece of advice that you would give to couples who are engaged or about to be married? Mrs. Lo: Treasure the time together as an engaged couple – yes it’s time to plan the wedding but enjoy the process and have fun! Mr. Lo: Invest in some good pre-marital counseling. Don’t rush to get it done because it will become one of the most useful things you can ever do for your marriage. Mrs. Young: Let Him be your first Love. Mr. Young: I agree whole heartedly.
10. What is one piece of advice that you would give to singles looking for a potential spouse in the future? Mrs. Lo: Really get to know the other person well first. Mr. Lo: Don’t rush. Look for someone who loves and serves God. Mrs. Young: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." —Matthew 6:33. Don't live your life chasing after relationships or future spouse. Seek Him first, grow your faith in this season of life. Love Him, not His gifts, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Mr. Young: Amen.
Three Stories of Short Term Missions Featured interviewees: L-R: Sam Chan (Project Shine), Henry Lew (Impact Ministries), and Helena Akrigg (EMAS) 1. Share some details of your team: Project Shine: To Rong Shui in Guilin, China. Purpose: teach English to students aged 12-20 Time: July 12-27, 2012 (first time trip) Impact Ministries: To Tactic, Guatemala. Purpose: Free medical clinic, school construction, and children’s ministry. Time: July 2-11, 2012 (second trip) EMAS South China: To Yunnan Province, China Purpose: Helena served as a nurse on the medical team that provided surgeries to residents. Time: May 2012
2. What was an unexpected lesson learned from your missions trip? Shine: Relationships made in just two weeks have lasting impressions. I did not expect myself to miss my students or my fellow team members so much after the trip was over. EMAS: 1Peter 4:8-11, “love each other...offer hospitality to one another.” Besides serving our clients, we had a chance to witness to a tailor and her spouse (they located 2 blocks from the hotel we stayed at). This couple’s residence and storefront had a fire one morning. That evening, we went to them with a collection and provided them money for a short term rental. Our support touched them. They came to the hotel and met us for Sunday service 2 days later. I prayed the God sustains this couple’s faith in Him.
3. Did the trip change the way you see your faith / how did it mature you in your faith? Impact: I was able to see first-hand how God provides and meets the needs of those who are committed to Him, who walk by faith. We visited a large piece of land that the ministry was able to acquire at a price they could afford which was a fraction of the original asking price and below assessed value. This was clearly God's provision for them and they have started building already on it. We saw a thriving church which included many young
children and adults who were brought to faith through the children in the schools. We witnessed the children in the school sing and worship with their heart and soul every morning at the schools--many who come from homes that are broken, poor, places where they experience all kinds of abuse. EMAS: I am not balanced with my schedule and I don’t have time to serve Him regularly. For now, this short term mission is how I use my gift to serve Him with a “chunk of time”. During the short term mission, I experienced God in an intimate, personal way. This strengthened my faith.
4. What are some challenges that you found during your mission? Shine: Learning to adapt. Our curriculum was written for a tier 1 school but the school we were at was a tier 2 school. Some of the things on the curriculum were too hard for my students and I had to adjust on the spot to meet their learning needs. There were also language barriers and we had to learn to not give up on conversing with students. It was rather easy for me to give students a simple version of the word they wanted to use in their essays but I tried my best to find the word that was the closest to the meaning they wanted. Impact: My main challenge was trying to learn the language. I discovered it is not my s t r e n g t h o r I ' m t o o o l d t o l e a r n ! Communicating during the medical sessions had to be done through an interpreter and that took getting used to. Another challenge was sleeping in a room with someone who snores loudly. I began to analyze it like music, with crescendos and decrescendos, rhythm, and pauses. Unfortunately, it did not quite turn into a lullaby.
5. In what ways, if any, have you changed the way you live your life here at home as a result of your experience? Shine: Cherishing the relationships I made over the years. I realized that I cherish my students and team members who I met for only two weeks more than people who I have known for years. I realize I have not put
enough effort or time to cultivate a better relationship with the people I know who I known for years. I appreciate people more now and want to get to know them better EMAS: With work, I learned to watch for my resources. I learned so much from the Chinese nursing staff-how they try to save the dressing supplies. With my personal living, I focus more on God and try to live simply.
6. What encouragement would you give to someone who is considering going on a short term mission trip but might be hesitant. Shine: It will be worth your time. You’ll see things you can’t see compare to you not going. Being in foreign environment really gives a perspective on things compared to how life is back at home. You’ll grow from that. You'll make fond memories through these new experience. Impact: Short term missions is possible for anyone. You don't have to have a skill or special training (unless it is specifically for medical, engineering, nursing or some other professional service). The Guatemala trips have something for everyone to do. You only have to be willing and go with an open mind and humble attitude. With those, God can teach us and use us. EMAS: Roman 12:3-8, I think we have different gifts. We have to listen to God’s calling and how to use our gifts. I remembered my first trip was very negative. I told myself that I would never go again. However, that was not God’s plan. He provided me more opportunity to go to China again. I learned a lot about myself, my relationship with God, and most of all, a chance to serve the needy people in China. Project Shine: www.crrsprojectshine.com Evangelical Medical Aid Society (EMAS): www.emascanada.org Impact Ministries: www.impactminusa.org If you would like to participate in a short term mission yourself, contact one of our pastors or speak to one of the people featured in this article.
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Seeing God through the Children of ICC One of the most difficult things to understand about Jesus is that He works in His own way and His own time. We question why such sad and unfortunate events happen to undeserving, innocent people. We easily forget about His wonderful plans for the future and doubt His goodness. It is so much easier to complain than to be grateful. Spending two weeks in Sanmenxia, China this summer changed my perspective on the way I see God and his wonderful blessings. I felt first hand having my heart broken everyday and saw God work in his perfect ways. We volunteered at the orphanage almost everyday for two weeks, taking Wednesdays as half days and Sundays off. While we were at the orphanage, we had the privilege to witness three children being adopted from families coming from America and Sweden. The team got the chance to see the wave of emotions by the future parents; from excitement to being overwhelmed to pure joy. As thrilled as I am for those fairytale endings, the truth is that every kid living in that orphanage deserves a family. Each child has gone through the process of abandonment and each one has a wound that can only be healed by God’s grace. With three adopted, within the last three days we had five or more new children join us. The heart breaking cycle of abandonment never seems to end and in moments like these you feel so helpless. I’ve learned this trip to no longer label kids by their disability but by their personalities. So often they are defined based on what they cannot do and what their weaknesses are. But commonly what is looked over is what they are capable of, what they are able to achieve. And once you get to know the kids, their abilities are just overwhelming and beyond what you could imagine for them. I see more of Jesus in these disabled children than any other human beings I have ever met. Their ability to love and be loved despite life’s circumstances is aweinspiring. What I admire most about these children is their simplicity. They can throw tantrums one minute; bite you the next, and before you know it they are in your arms again. They do not have the pride and pettiness that causes so many problems and are just so pure and simple. They just want attention and are so easy to love. This is how I believe God works. His heart breaks every time we sin or disobey Him, but He is simple. He wants so badly to have a relationship with you and to love you.
October 2012 iiConnect 8
Through this trip, I’ve learned more than ever that I need to rely on Jesus as my source of strength. I cannot go through this life alone because there are just too many things that don’t make sense. I cannot live this life conscious of poverty, child soldiers, and disabled orphans without knowing that there is someone who has it all figured out. Someone who is perfect in all ways. Someone who is exactly who I strive to be: patient, compassionate, loving, full of grace, and forgiving. “It is as though my heart, in the midst of its euphoria, is saying to my mind, There are things you cannot understand, and you must learn to live with this, Not only must you learn to live with this, you must learn to enjoy this. I want to tell you something about me that you may see as weakness. I need wonder. I need wonder to explain what is going to happen to me, what is going to happen to us when this thing is done… At the end of the day, when I am lying in bed and I know the chances of any of our theology being exactly right are a million in one, I need to know that God has this thing figured out, that if my math is wrong we are still going to be okay. And wonder is that feeling we get when we let go of our silly answers, our mapped out rules that we want God to follow. I don’t think there is any better worship than wonder.” —Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
International China Concern is a Christian development organisation bringing love, hope and opportunity to China’s abandoned and disabled. ICC is one of VCBC supported partners. We sent a team of nine to serve with ICC this summer. Visit english.chinaconcern.org to find out more about their work.
By Joey Leung
Building Community Through Vacation Bible School Vacation Bible School (VBS) takes place every year during the first week of July. It is not just a week filled with fun and games. Many youth and adults come to VBS to volunteer and spend a week with the kids. Volunteers and kids look forward to a week filled with Bible lessons, bonding with their leaders and friends, and of course, crazy singing and dancing that you do not normally feel comfortable doing in a regular Sunday service. This year, many younger youth stepped up to serve at VBS. Whether it was serving on the worship team, as a station leader, as a group leader, or as a general helper, all the volunteers adapted well and were able to demonstrate God’s amazing love to the kids around them. Even though some of the kids may be more challenging to handle, volunteers still selflessly continue to return and help out. Without the dedication and care that the volunteers demonstrate without fail, VBS would not be what it is. The volunteers at VBS do an amazing job of introducing the kids to God’s word and love. Not all the kids that come to VBS are believers of Christ. Kids return because VBS brings new and different surprises each year. Returning kids also invite their friends to take part in the exceptional experience. This simply reveals the effectiveness of introducing God’s word to the kids in a fun and engaging way. VBS not only changes the kids, it changes the volunteers who create it. Some volunteers have mentioned that they return because the kids’
enthusiasm while singing and learning the actions to the songs is entirely infectious. Other volunteers have said that they enjoy the ongoing relationships that they build with the kids at VBS. VBS is not just for kids, it is also a fitting place for those who want to start serving. At the end of the VBS week, VCBC hosts a block party for everyone to attend. There are free games, prizes, and food. Each year, neighbours are seen curiously walking around and observing what is in motion as we set up. Some neighbours may be slightly bothered by the fact that we shut down the entire block just to hold a party, but many of them are still interested in what VCBC is organizing. The block party is a great way for VCBC to show our faith to others, and how excited we are to have Christ as our Saviour. Although the neighbours who attend the event may not be regular church-goers every Sunday, it is still moving to see the neighbours enjoy a great time and bring their families to join in on the fun as well. VBS is not only an event put together by the joint effort of people who are demonstrators of God’s love, but it is a joyful experience that will continue to touch all those who take part in it.
By Rachel Tang,
VBS Coordinator
October 2012 iiConnect 9
How Do You Know God Is Real? Interview by Chris Cheung
Arianne, age 7
Chantal, age 11
Because He listens to my prayers.
When I pray he shows me signs in different ways.
Stephen, age 9
Joanna, age 8
I just believe in Him and learn every day of the week through the Bible.
It says in the Bible and he answers my prayers.
Kylie, age 10 This question is like BSF homework! Peter, age 8 In the Bible it says so! Trinity, age 10 Neh. He’s just real. Michael, age 6 He talks to me. Nathan, age 10 You pray and it works and good gives you what you need, not what you want.
October 2012 iiConnect 10
Ethan, age 9 Because I have prayed to God and he has answered me! And he helps me understand how the world works. Lindsay, age 10 Because he is real! Melanie, age undisclosed Because I see him working in people around me. Emily, age 11 I read the Bible and know about His stories. He helps me through hard times.