Eat

Cooking is somewhat of a passion of mine.  I tend to have favourites I often order at restaurants so what I often do is decided to learn how to make those foods at home via the internet.  Once I learn how to do it, I add my own twist or combine multiple recipes together often making my own unique creation.

A huge part of building community at IVCF @ SFU revolves around eating a meal together.  So when we came up with the idea of doing a Taco Fiesta Night for our Welcome Event.  There were no complaints.

However, as I started looking at the sheer amount of food to cook, the cleaning of my home, and all the other logistics, things became more and more daunting.  I started dreading the day of the Taco Fiesta Night and the memories of many failed Welcome Fall Events came back.  I began to even doubt if it was worth it and if anyone would come.  As these doubts were racing through my head, I decided to share some of my needs to the Executive team.  To my surprise, everyone volunteered to help out with the logistics.  Julianna became my assistant chef, Catherine made a delicious guacamole and did incredible presentation of all the food, Abraham came to help clean up the home and set up the sign, and Barron planned the small group structure and presentation of the night.  In an instant, all of my fears and concerns were addressed and I sat there blessed and deeply encouraged by the commitment of our Executive Team.

When the day of the event came, Julianna was doing all the cutting of the vegetables and the general prep of all the food while I proceeded with cooking the lime chicken, vegan bean mixture, and browning the ground beef.  Later, Abraham and Catherine came over to do their respective jobs.  All during this time, I kept looking at the clock and saw the minute hand click closer and closer to the 6:30 mark.  As it got closer, I kept peering out the window hoping to see more people come.  However, I could not see any and the fears of the previous failed Welcome Events came flooding back.  The last 5 minutes seemed to last and hour, until I saw out of the corner of my eye people walking past my window.  I looked up and saw more and more people.  They just kept coming!  Some of the faces I saw were familiar while the vast majority of them were brand new.  It became VERY clear to me that this wasn't going to be like any other Fall Welcome Event.  Within 30 minutes, we had 40 people crammed into my little basement suite.  Thank goodness for a beautiful day so we could eat outside.

Surrey Small Group:  SUSHI!!!

We are well into the Fall Semester now and with 7 small groups happening over a course of 4 days, every single one of them either happens during lunch break of in the evening for dinner.  Food is an extremely important thing when it comes to building community and for some reason, our students really get that. Please continue to pray that as we converge around the dinner table that we can grow deeper in our faith and invite others into deeper relationships.

Pray

Praying at our Taco Fiesta

Prayer is a very important part of my relationship with Christ, and this year I wanted to be more intentional about incorporating mandatory prayer meetings for the executive team of IVCF at SFU.  We as leaders needs to commit our time, and our mission to Christ, and lift all things up to Him.  So we have been prioritizing prayer, and ensuring that it is a part of our firm foundation for our ministry.  We are trying to build a prayer culture within our community so that we will not lose sight of God's vision and will for IVCF at SFU.

Catherine Luu - IVCF SFU President

I can say for certain that I am deeply encouraged and excited at the passion and excitement around being a community built off of a foundation of Prayer.  Ever since I experienced the power of Prayer at Urbana 12 through the Prayer Intercessor's team, I have been praying that intercession be the culture of IVCF @ SFU.

Now Catherine isn't necessarily the one who is leading us in the prayer.  What she did was use her power as the upcoming President to create a system/structure that enables us to be in prayer more on a regular basis.  God has blessed us with Anika, who has been with us from the beginning, with the desire and passion to start building and forming what the IVCF @ SFU Prayer culture could look like.  Here's what her experiences are so far:

I've been involved with InterVarsity at SFU for 3 years now, ever since my first week on campus. I've seen a lot of changes in our community and in myself during this time; I'm now part of an exec. team that I never even imagined would exist. My role this year is Spiritual Life Coordinator and I've been tasked with guiding our community into a deeper understanding and practice of prayer - what we've called developing a prayer culture.

Practically this has looked like hosting the prayer-focused portion of our weekly meetings and taking on the planning of our recent prayer retreat. We've explored silence and listening prayer as well as prayer-walking around our campus. The topic of liturgy also came to the table, giving us the opportunity to discuss this historically rooted practice and try it out for ourselves. During our prayer retreat we renewed our vision and our values by writing short litanies for hospitality, leadership, justice, faith and other fruit that we long to define us as a community. 

I am still growing into this role with IVCF and learning what it means to create a culture of prayer, all I can say is that I am struck by the beauty and grace of Jesus. Constantly before the Father in prayer. Interceding on behalf of those he loves. Extending the invitation to do as he does and walk in a mindful creativity, expectant of the wonders that God will reveal. Pray for us at SFU, and let prayer touch every area of your lives as we long for it to do in ours.

Anika Barlow - Spiritual Life Coordinator

Please continue praying for us as we wrestle what it means to be a community of prayer.  Pray for Anika (and our executive) that we would grow in our own ability to pray and intercede. 

Love

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

1 John 4:18 

I often find myself increasingly placed into situations where I am uncertain of how to act, or what is expected of me. I am constantly challenged to stretch myself and place myself in places where I am incredibly uncomfortable, reluctant and even unwilling. Caring for people and being a part of people's lives requires me to step out of my comfort zone and be vulnerable. I believe that God will continually teach me how to be vulnerable and be comfortable with the uncomfortable.

 Julianna Lei - Pastoral Care

Over the month of October, God has been revealing to me more and more about what His love really is.  I had an opportunity to reflect on passages from 1 John and it has really challenged me in my way of loving.  Since the beginning of September, I have found simple things such as initiating and intentionality to be extremely difficult in my relationship with April and keeping up with regular meetings with my students because I was too "tired".  I was finding excuses not to love people (wife, students, friends, community). As I reflected on this more, I soon realize a common thing amongst all my excuses.  That common thing was fear.  There was an underlying layer of fear of being rejected that was paralyzing me from loving the people around me.  This fear comes from generational sin as well as experiences of being rejected over and over again.  In 1 John 4:18, he clearly states that love and fear cannot co-exist with each other.  I hit the fear wall of my own capacity to love.  

Since then, I have been noticing more and more about the IVCF community and the places where fear is paralyzing our community in truly loving God and loving each other.  I could see how the fear of change often prevents us from welcoming new students into our regular small groups, how the fear acceptance (or lack of) leads us to choose isolation instead of community during hectic times (exams), and how the fear not being provided for leads us into keeping our God given talents and gifts for ourselves and not sharing it with others.

This is the reality of our community.  These are the things that we as an executive continue to work on and wrestle with in our everyday lives.  Yet despite all the problems that are happening, God still finds a way to do incredible things in the midst of our brokenness.  Here is Josh's story as he wrestles with leading a Small Group:

Ever since joining IVCF I have felt right at home, felt like there was a place I could find community. The years at university can be a lonely place and it can feel like that for a lot of people. I loved being able to delve into Scripture with the small group at IVCF, it was a place where I was constantly reminded that it was a safe space where my ideas and answers will not be judged. Judgment is such a big barrier that keeps me pinned to silence when it comes to the Bible and Jesus. Why am I so afraid of what Christ has done for me? Because it’s crazy, it’s not “normal”, but that’s the thing about Jesus, he’s not “normal” to the world, in fact he’s backwards at times. In a society where we are taught to look out for ourselves, do everything for ourselves, it’s all about me, everything gained is all for me. But why are we silent about something so grand? Do we make a feast and invite only our close friends? No, not with something this grand. Invite everyone around, tell them about this wonderful feast, this great light, for Jesus is the bread of life and the light of our lives. 


I love food, I really do, I enjoy eating almost anything, and I know that when I eat something good I want to tell everyone about it. “Hey have you tried this place out? No? Well then let me show you.” It’s so easy, and yet it’s so hard when it comes to Jesus. But honestly it’s something I’m still wrestling with, the freedom that God’s grace is for me. That the delicious sandwich that is God’s love and mercy is for me. And for a lot of people it can be that way, but it is, this banquet full of whatever you fit your fancy to be whether it is steak, lobster, sushi, or spaghetti is for you. But it’s not just for you, it’s for everyone to enjoy and the more people the merrier.  

This idea of a banquet made it easier to lead a small group where small group didn’t seem like a teacher-student interaction but as a community of peers all gathered together “eating up” whatever the Lord had set for us that day. There’s always going to be fussy eaters, there’s always going to be people who don’t want to eat but at the end of the day everyone needs nourishment, and my job wasn’t to force the food down their mouth my job was to set out a plate and provide a place where they could feel comfortable sitting and knowing that no matter what they eat that we are all eating together at this wonderful banquet. This was my hope for this semester’s small group, to create a safe space and a place where anyone could come in and feel like they were included. Was it a success? Well, I’m not sure but I hope I’ve created a space like that. 

It is my first time leading a small group and doing it by myself is quite the daunting task. Thankfully there are people who can support me and help me through being a leader such as Barron and Justin and all the members in IVCF. It can be so easy to neglect it with everything else going on in life. But these are real people that I’m at the table with and some days it can feel like, “Alright God, I really need your help today to continuously love these people.” It’s so easy to love those who we really get along with and I feel like that the people in my small group are like that, that they are easy to get along, even though they have their own quirks and problems they are easy to get along with. But there are always days where I don’t feel like it. But just being able to connect with them and talk to them makes me realize it isn’t as much of a chore as I think it is, that I really do enjoy being with these people. Surprisingly one of them opened up very quickly to me, and it scared me, I didn’t know all the answers to his questions. Heck I was far younger than him! But my job as a leader sometimes isn’t to know all the answers to his questions, but to come alongside him and acknowledge that he isn’t the only one wrestling with issues. To be there as a place where he can feel safe and know that I am his brother in Christ and that whatever issues he is dealing with there is someone here who cares for him. It’s difficult at times to lead because everyone is at a different point in their walk with Christ, everyone is searching for different things. But it surprises me every time when someone tells me that what I said impacted them, and it’s in this way that I love leading small group because it excites me in the ways that God is going to use me!

 Joshua Wong - Small Group Leader

Upcoming Events & Prayer Requests

Upcoming Events

• IVCF Fall Fundraiser - Nov. 22
• National Staff Conference (Toronto) - Dec. 1-5
• AMMiC Planning Meeting - Dec.12
• Winter Conference - Dec. 27-31

Students & Campus

• Pray for our community as we continue to identify the fears that paralyze us from loving God and loving each other.
• Pray for the Executive Leaders as we learn what it means to be leading out of our brokenness
• Pray for the Small Group Leaders as they are trying to understand why they are leading small groups.
• Pray that we will have a base foundation of prayer and intercession as we continue to fulfill God's Mission on the SFU Campus.
• Pray that mine and Barron's funding will be fully funded by the end of this semester.
• Pray for the health of our community.  There has been a nasty virus going around and it's really affecting everyone.

Personal

• Pray for my growth as a leader and mentor.
• Pray for me as I continue to network and connect with other Churches in the Lower Mainland.
• Pray for the Inter-Generational Dialogue between 1st and 2nd Generation Chinese Pastors.
• Pray for mine & April's relationship in our marriage and a deeper understanding of God's Love for each other.  We have just crossed the One-Year mark in our marriage.  Pray for opportunities to be witnesses to our neighbors.
• Pray for more opportunities and clients for April in her field of work.
• Pray for our general finances.  We are asking God to allow us to break even each month.
• Pray for me that I will rest well during my Sabbaths.
• Pray for me that I will be exercising more regularly.
• Pray for my health as the has bee a really bad virus going around.

Praise Item

• Praise that Lord that despite the negatives happening that we still see fruit and light coming out of the negatives.
• Praise the Lord for mine and April's One-Year of Marriage.  We celebrated through a wonderful trip to Portland and the Coast.

Family, Food, and Mosquitoes

As I walked through an all-too familiar doorway, I was welcomed with the sweet smell of dad's home cooking.  As a family, we highly value hospitality and usually when people walk through our doors, they leave full.  This time it was no different.  Even though we had the company of all my uncles, aunts, and cousins on my mom's side (about 25) and in some cases up to 50 people, everyone still feasted on rice pot chicken wings, Chinese broccoli, home made BBQ pork, beef tenderloin, fish, sweet & sour salmon, ribs, and steak to their hearts content.   

Now, why would we be feeding 25+ people?  This trip to Regina was a bit special.  The celebration of my great grandmother's 100th birthday,  Along with that, to introduce my wife to my uncles, aunts, and cousins, and to celebrate with Saskatchewan friends who weren't able to make it out to our wedding.

The whole Family and Great Grandma.  Happy 100th Birthday!

Multiple celebrations were in order and with the company of family and friends, it made April and I feel really special and appreciated.  We are reminded that even though there are literally thousands of kilometers between us and our families, that they will always love us and care for us.  With my Regina friends, I know I am loved and appreciated and the acceptance of April into our friends circles, I am eternally grateful.  Finally, I want to give a shout-out to all the mosquitoes in Saskatchewan.  The MANY mosquito bites on April and I are enough for both of us to know that you also love us.  Can you do us a favour though?  Please love us less.  Thank you all for making our trip so memorable.

All the Cousins

Family doing all the prep and cooking for mine and April's Party

This is just the snacks...

The guests have arrived

Upcoming Events & Prayer Requests

Upcoming Events

• Student Leadership Training (SFU) - Sept. 1st
• Tabling at SFU - Sept. 2-4
• SFU Burnaby Clubs Days - Sept. 9-11
• SFU Surrey Clubs Days - Sept. 16-17
• Inter-Generational Dialogue - Sept. 25
• AMMiC Planning Meeting - Oct. 3

Students & Campus

• Pray for a good Student Leadership Training.  That our executive will catch onto the vision of IVCF.
• Pray for the community house over this fall.
• Pray for the Executive Leaders and Small Group Leaders Teams 
• Pray for all the Tabling and Clubs Days.
• Pray for an abundance of First Year interest.
• Pray for mine and Barron's funding that the rest of it will come over the summer.
• Pray for our President Catherine as she will be leading the community in the fall.

Personal

• Pray for my growth as a leader and mentor.
• Pray for me as I continue to network and connect with other Churches in the Lower Mainland.
• Pray for the Inter-Generational Dialogue between 1st and 2nd Generation Chinese Pastors.
• Pray for mine & April's relationship in our marriage.  We are coming up to our One-Year Anniversary soon.  Pray for opportunities to be witnesses to our neighbors.
• Pray for more opportunities and clients for April in her field of work.
• Pray for me that I will rest well during my Sabbaths.
• Pray for me that I will be exercising more regularly.
• Pray for my health.

Praise Item

• Praise that Lord for an Executive Team heading into this Fall Term.

Mark West Pacific Session 1

The Bible Studies

Imagine this:

At the end of April, students just finished a long year of countless hours of classes.  They just finished studying and writing their final exams and are worried if they have passed or not.  Some are worrying about finding summer jobs or figuring out what classes they need to take in the summer.  Then the students decide after all this stress, "I'm going to go and study half the gospel of Mark for 40 hours and pay $400 to do it."

Oh and did I mention that both Christians and Non-Christians do this?

For those of us who are used to working with youth in the church, it's hard enough to get our youth to be excited about studying scripture.  Some of us couldn't even pay our youth to study scripture.  So what is so different about Mark West and what is so intriguing about it that students would PAY money to go STUDY the Bible?

The Beautiful view on Thetis Island

 For me, this will be my 8th Mark West.  Over the duration of these year of participating, serving, and teaching at Mark West, I have had the joy and privilege of seeing hundreds of students changed and transformed by God's word through the study of the Gospel of Mark.  I have seen first-time commitments, baptisms, re-commitments, etc.  If you were to ask me why students would pay money to study the Bible, I would say first and foremost that the Holy Spirit has to be alive and active but the main reason why I have seen students choose to go is because of the community.  Now I understand that community is a big word and it can mean different things to others but in the IVCF situation, community is a considered a safe place for students to come and explore issues of faith and to be loved and accepted.

Mark II Track

This year, SFU brought a total of 21 students + 9 students and friends who were not at SFU.  If you compare it to last year when we brought 12 students + 7 students and friends who were not at SFU, it's quite a difference.  The difference in this though is not just in numbers but in the quality of our relationships.  Each of our executive team was choosing to be involved in the lives of our first years and other communities such as church, campus clubs, etc.  What I mean by being involved is seeking out genuine friendships with those who are different than us.  The simple act of studying, going to the gym, eating, grabbing coffee, walking, going to the movies, with classmates goes a long way.  Because of the hard work of building intentional relationships from our student leaders, over 20 students had an opportunity to have scripture change and transform their lives.

Some of our SFU Crew hanging out

The Dance Party

 

The Fun Activities

Some of the talent at the coffee house

Coffee House Art Display

 

Enjoying each others company

Worship Time

Wide Game

Schooool's Out for Summer!! Not for SFU...

Post Mark West Pacific BBQ for SFU Students

Did you know that SFU went from being a dream to registering for classes in just two years?  It is indeed a unique campus in a sense of the immediacy of it's birth and also along with it's Tri-mester system.  On average, universities have Fall & Winter/Spring Semesters while offering a few intensive courses over the summer.  However, at SFU, with it's Tri-mester system, along with the Fall & Winter Semesters, there is a full on Summer Term.  The expectations for students is to actually take classes year round.

So as Barron and I have been a part of IVCF's Global & Urban Partnerships (GUPs), we noticed that this is based out of the assumption of Universities not offering to many classes over the summer.  We realized that for SFU students, the risk of them doing a GUP was not just losing the summer and the financial opportunities, it could literally mean that they will be taking an additional year or years to complete their degree.

Knowing this, Barron and I decided to try something different.  Instead of doing a GUP this summer, we decided to do a full on Summer Semester.  It has only been a few weeks into the summer but already, we are seeing the benefits of having a Summer Fellowship.  It's giving Barron and I more opportunities to follow-up with students after students and also creating more options to hang out and build community.

Some of our hopes for this summer is to keep the students connected with the IVCF @ SFU community over the summer to build excitement for the Fall Semester, which in the past has been generally slow to start.  We also hope to build up an executive team and create excitement around small group leadership.

To prepare for all of this, we want to focus our Wednesday Night Discussion Nights on Cultural Awareness which includes:  Ethnicity, Gender, & Sexual Identity.  Hopefully students will start to become aware of their own cultural identity as well as the cultural difference around them.

Please be praying for the SFU community to be culture creators and culture changers in their workplaces and campus.

A Yuen Update

When April and I mention to people that we got married 6 months ago, one of the first responses we get are, "Oh you're in the honeymoon stage."  I just have to wonder about that statement because for April and I, we've been in conflict well pretty much since day one and continue to have a healthy dose of conflict at least one a week.  The thing is though, since we've worked through so much conflict during our dating and engagement time, we have established healthier ways to sort through disagreements.  We're not perfect though but it has been pretty nice to know that we have the tools to effectively work through conflict.

This year, April got to attend Mark West Pacific as part of the Prayer Ministry Team.  At first, she was skeptical and unsure of how things would turn out but as time went on and when Mark West Pacific came around, her view of prayer changed.  What she received was the constant movement of the Holy Spirit in students lives.  Student lives being challenged, changed, and transformed through scripture and her being directly involved in the intercession and prayer ministry.  It was indeed a breath of fresh air for both her and us as a couple.  We have been finding it so much fun to be serving together.

Shortly after Mark West Pacific, April and I audited a Marriage Enrichment course at Trinity Western.  It's nice because we only had to pay one fee since spouses can come for free!  Through this course, we were able to confirm some of the things we were doing well along with learning new models and perspectives of what a marriage could look like.  We learned useful tools such as Speaker-Listener to help with conflict resolution.  Towards the end of the class, we then received training in the Prepare Enrich Assessment.  With the increasing amount of relationships forming in our church and the number of students in the IVCF ministry getting into relationships, we are really excited to have this tool that we can do together for our friends and students around relationship building.

Upcoming Events & Prayer Requests

Upcoming Events

• Wednesday Night Discussion Meetings (Wednesdays)
• Street Talk (June 13)
• Campus Gathering (June 17-20)

Prayer Requests

Students & Campus

• Pray for continued follow-up for students who went to Mark West Pacific
• Pray for the Summer Fellowship and continued connection with students
• Pray for the community house over this summer.
• Pray for the upcoming executive and small group leaders in the fall
• Pray for mine and Barron's funding that the rest of it will come over the summer.
• Pray for Catherine as she will be leading the community in the fall.

Personal

• Pray for my growth as a leader and mentor.
• Pray for me as I continue to network and connect with other Churches in the Lower Mainland.
• Pray for the Inter-Generational Dialogue between 1st and 2nd Generation Chinese Pastors.
• Pray for mine & April's relationship in our new marriage.  Pray for opportunities to be witnesses to our neighbors.
• Pray for more opportunities and clients for April in her field of work.
• Pray for me that I will rest well during my Sabbaths.
• Pray for me that I will be exercising more regularly.
• Pray for my health.

Praise Item

• Our previous student President Lida has been accepted into Medical School!

Introducing Julianna!

Hello all,

My name is Julianna Lei and I am currently a 4^th year student at SFU. Right now, I am studying psychology and criminology, and I hope to complete a joint major degree in both by next year. I tend to describe myself as a homebody where I would like to read a good book while having a cup of tea. However, I do enjoy going out of the house and enjoy spending time with my friends - which leads to my passion. I would say that I have a passion for people. I like to listen to people – to hear about their stories and struggles. I believe that is why I initially majored in psychology. However, God has shown me recently that I have a passion for social justice as well. I feel strongly for those who are disenfranchised and find it rewarding to help others. For these reasons, I am hoping to become a counselor and help empower others.

However, this path is not without it’s own struggles. God has been truly challenging me and shaping me – especially in stepping out of my comfort zones and facing the brokenness of my own life. Recently, God has shown His redeeming love for me at MarkWest and He has been healing me and restoring the broken pieces of my identity and of my life. Being vulnerable has always been a hardship for me, because I have been hurt deeply in the past by the people in my life. God’s healing and restoration of these dark places in my life has been amazing, albeit hard. I had to realize that I am ill-equipped to empower and help others. I cannot minister and help others from a place of brokenness. MarkWest was the beginning of this healing journey, and I believe God will continue to work in me to restore me and the broken relationships in my life. As of September, I am currently co-leading an IVCF small group Bible study. Not only has this Bible study group and the community of IVCF further opened my eyes to God’s healing and power, I am also challenged by God to step out of my homebodiness and spend time with people outside of my regular social circles. I do not know what the future has in store for me, but God has been faithful and has shown me that He is in control. I am unsure of what the future holds for me in IVCF or in my future career, but I will continue to be faithful to God and see what He has in store for me.

I am in need of prayer for three things. Pray for God to continue to help me keep my heart open to His healing. Pray for me as I am currently reconciling with my family and with others who have hurt me in the past, to be able to let go of my hurt and anger towards these people. Pray for me as I continue my studies as courses are becoming harder and harder.

Thank you for your support and for your prayers. May God bless you and strengthen you.


 Julianna Lei