Who Am I?

1st Gen = Immigrating Generation to Canada 
2nd Gen = Born and raised in Canada (but with Asian parents) 
Next Gen = Those were were born and raised in Canada or came to Canada at a young age.

Who am I?  Am I Asian or am I Canadian?  Why did God create me to be Asian in a Canadian context?

These are common questions to just about any and every Asian Canadian here in Canada.  Especially for the Next Generation.  What is happening is that the Next Gen are born and raised in Canada but are raised with very Asian values & culture because their parents immigrated to Canada.  Yet outside of their homes and in schools and sometimes even their friends, they are constantly exposed to a majority Canadian culture.  This results in a lot of confusion in their identities because they are in a constant state of tug-of-war with their identity.  Do I say I'm Chinese?  Do I say I'm Canadian?  Who am I?

For me, I recently found out that I wasn't 3rd Generation, but actually 5th Generation in Canada.  It was my Great Great Grandfather that moved to Canada during the construction of the railroad.  My mom even has a receipt from the times of the Head Tax.  Even though I am technically 5th Generation, I have been seeing the need to work through my identity as a Chinese Canadian.  Yes, I am definitely Canadian because my parents raised me that way, but on the outside, I am 100% Chinese.  If me being a 5th Generation Chinese Canadian STILL has to work through my own cultural identity, how much more will a 2nd or 3rd Gen have to pay attention to that?

I remember walking around the SFU Campus over this past semester and seeing so many Asian Canadians on the campus.  I started thinking, "I wonder if there will be a need for an Asian specific ministry for Next Gen's here on campus?"  So I spent the next couple of months praying about it and eventually, I felt that it wasn't the time and put it behind me.  Yet as I continued meeting with others who are like-minded in helping the Next Generation and as I continued to receive healing and restoration for my Chinese identity, my passion continued to grow for the Next Gen.

One day, I had to chance to sit down and talk to my Team Leader (Kim) and she said, "Justin, I have a proposition for you.  How would you feel about starting an ethnic specific small group on the SFU Campus? Focusing on 2nd & 3rd Generation Asian Canadians helping them work through their identities as Asian Canadians."  When I heard this couldn't help but laugh.  I did not mention anything to Kim about this in the past and then she brings this up out of nowhere.  Here it is, this is what God was creating me for and training me to do.  To help and empower Next Generations to find their identities in Christ not just  as an Asian or as a Canadian, but as Asian-Canadians.

So starting in the Fall, I will be pioneering this new small group on campus focusing on Asian Canadians.  It feels very daunting because as I looked for another ministries that are doing this, I found none.  The ethnic specific ministries that I did find were more focused on the immigrants.  There was absolutely nothing for the Next Generation.  The only other place I have heard of this actually being done is in Edmonton.

Now some of you may be wondering, "Wouldn't it just be easier to integrate them in the multi-ethnic group?"    I thought about this too and was considering this but soon realized that just thrusting people into a new culture and expecting them to change actually doesn't work to well.  If this is done, usually the person will go to one of two extremes.  They will either accept their Canadian identity and completely reject their Asian identity (which is usually the case) or they will accept their Asian identity and completely reject their Canadian identity.  Either is not good and I can say for certain that if we choose to reject any part of identities, we are not serving the Lord to our full potential because these pieces of our identities are gifts from our Great Creator.

This small group is more a bridge for the students to walk on and to work out, in a safe place, the identity they rejected or are looking for.  I hope as this develops more that it may be a place where they all begin to learn on how to "Lead out of our Identities" and that it may be a place to strengthen and empower these Next Gen students into missions.

I am definitely excited about this and there is so much more to talk about.  So if you have any questions or comments, please contact me.  I would love to have a chance to share more about this.