The Vision, Revisited

Christian Hernandez-Hollie (a really talented young lady!) read a poem during our Friday Night Fellowship a couple weeks back entitled "The Vision".  It's worth five minutes to listen and dream with God about what He wants His people to look like.  If you'd like, you can read the poem yourself here.

The vision happens one person at a time, as hearts are turned to God and lives are changed.  The vision is personal because we serve a personal God.  It can't be mass produced because He doesn't mass produce us.  It will look different at different times and different places and in different people, but in the end it will always look like Jesus.  That gets me excited!
This month, 10 of our campus missionaries will take 55 of our students to Washington to learn more about this kind of personal ministry.  And hopefully to catch a clearer vision themselves.  These are students who we hope will step into leadership this fall.
Please take a moment to pray for these students that the Lord will do something special in each of their lives that week (May 16-25), and that He will knit our hearts together in true Christian community, based not on our similarities, but on His vision.
My prayer for you is that you will see His vision more clearly, and that your friends, families, and co-workers will see His vision more clearly by looking at you!

The home stretch

I came across this sermon that one of our sophomores gave at his home church about his experience in campus ministry.  If you have time to listen to it, you will be so encouraged!  If you only have time for a sound byte, I recommend listening for one minute starting at 3:15--a great testimony to "one on one is how it's done!"

This past week we hosted 21 students and 3 staff from Campus Christian Fellowship at Western Washington University.  Each of them chose to spend their spring break reaching out to students on our campuses--and it was awesome!  Walking around campus last week, you would have seen each of them, paired with one of our FOCUS students, starting up spiritual conversations around campus.  You would have heard them respectfully asking questions, getting to know people, finding out where they are with God and trying to help them take the next step.  Over the course of one week and 4 campuses, we talked to Christians of all stripes, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, Wiccans, Satanists, agnostics, and everything in between.  These students are growing in love for their peers and becoming more courageous about starting spiritual friendships with them.  Great stuff!

Part of the team from WWU showing some Comet Pride!

Friday night we hosted a Good Friday service on campus at UTD and had a great turnout.  We had people from other ministries as well as students we met during the week come out.  You would have been so touched to hear 6 students perform monologues they wrote about different perspectives on Jesus' arrest, trial, death, and burial.  Sihui, one of the international students who gave her life to Christ this semester, wrote this from the perspective of the woman who recognized Peter in the courtyard.  (It's written in exactly the style she shared it--so personal).  

Yeah....It's him! I wasn't sure if he is one of the men who always with the master, who called Jesus. But I'm sure about it now since it's not just me recognize him, other people recognize him also. I went to the temple and listened to the teaching from this master several times, and I also met him on the street when he was teaching or healing people miraculously. This man was always with this master! I thought he was faithful and loved his master. But what did he just said? He said that he doesn't even know him! He was lying! He just disown his master! Why? after listened to the teaching of this master and saw the miracles hie did, even me started to believe this master, Jesus, maybe is a prophet sent by God. But this man, who just said he doesn't even know this master, the time he spent with this master, Jesus, much more than I did. The teaching he got from Jesus much more than I did. The miracles he witnessed much more than I did. Even though he was so close to Jesus, he betray Jesus. Oh, what a poor man! Not even a dog would disown its owner. Not even a dog would betray its master. This man must be freaked out! He must be afraid about his safety since his master just be arrested. Even though he witnessed the wisdom and supernatural power of his master, when things came to his own interest, he chose to betray his master for saving himself. His faith to his master is not even as faithful as the faith of dog! Oh...this poor man. Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest disciples. Even though he could use his miraculous power to heal people, even though he could give so much good teachings, he could not make his disciple keep his faith to him. Yeah, this is human. When things come to our interest, we always tend to think about ourselves and worry about ourselves. If I were this man, I would disown this master also. Yeah, no matter how good and powerful this master is, I would betray him also, as this man did, for saving my life. Who would not want to save his own life? No one would be so foolish that willing to lose its life for someone, even though this one may be a prophet, a man sent by God.

Wait......why then this man, Jesus, still boast that he is the son of God? Why he didn't deny his master for saving his life? He seemed so calm and not afraid at all when he was arrested. He seemed so ready and willing to give up his life for insisting that he is the son of God. Why a human being would have such courage and faithfulness? Is he crazy that he is still claiming himself as the son of God even though he would lose his life for saying it? But his teaching is full of wisdom. How could a crazy man give so much good teachings? Where does his courage, faithfulness, power, and wisdom come from? Oh..it must be from God! Only God could offer such faithfulness, power, and wisdom. I was wrong! He isn't only a prophet, a man sent by God, he is also the son of God, whom he always claims himself is! This master, this teacher, Jesus is the son of God! But he is about to be killed by human! How could this happen? How could this happen? Oh, my God! Oh My dear God! Please please stop these human from killing Jesus, your son. Please have mercy on us. Please have mercy on us, God! Please allow us spend more time with your son. Please let the truth from heaven stay with us!

Keep praying for the mission on campus.  God is doing great things through our partnership!