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

What are our "Talents?"

The Parable of the Talents, for most people can be VERY uncomfortable.  Especially at the end with the whole weeping and gnashing of teeth business.  It's also uncomfortable in a way that the one who receives this result did absolutely NOTHING with his talent.  Yet, the other ones who faithfully invested in them yielded a return and was able to share in their Master's joy.  So another question could arise from this then...  What are the "talents" that God has given me?

In the context of the parable, it specifically talks about being a wise steward of money, but the way we looked at it, was something much bigger than money.  For the application, we split the "Talents" into multiple categories.

Family, Time, Health, Education, Our Story, Networks, Passions/Dreams/Goals, Co-op/Job Opportunities, Gifts/Talents, and The Unique thing that makes us... us.

Now, when we ask the general question of "What are you gifts?" it seems to be all too general for me (and I'm older).  I couldn't imagine how difficult it would be to answer for a University student who's gifts are more formed DURING their University Years.  When we broke it up into these specific places, we started realizing of the MANY "talents" that God has given us.  A specific one that one of our executive members commented on was the idea of our Health as being something we need to steward well.  They were all young and full of energy, without any health conditions or concerns.  Their health was not a factor in what they can/cannot do.  This gave some new perspective in the types of gifts that God has already given to our students.

Please be praying as we are heading into Mark West Pacific and the Summer that we would be sensitive to the opportunities around us to use our gifts well.

"Digging-in" to the Gospel

Since we at IVCF SFU absolutely love studying the gospel, it's only logical that we also love Mark West Pacific, a 40 hour immersion in half the gospel of Mark.

As a way to leverage our invitations to Mark West Pacific, we always want to give a taste for people who may be "sitting on the fence."  This year, we decided to invite Melody Kwa and Lida Hellqvist to take the lead in teaching scripture for this event.  Together, we all decided to do Jairus & the Bleeding Woman (Mark 5:21-43).  During the study, as party of the interpretation, we were invited to reenact this story.  People took on roles such as Jesus, Bleeding woman, Jairus, mourners, Jairus' daugher, the messenger, and the crowd.  Acting out this passage really put a whole different perspective.

"I have always looked at this

  

 This opportunity was also Melody's first time leading scripture study.  Here are her thoughts on the experience.

...it was really encouraging to see how willing everyone was to help out and contribute to the planning and carrying out of the event. This helped make me less nervous about the entire thing, and it also reminded me in a very real way that God doesn't just leave us by ourselves to do things but He brings us other capable people who walk and serve alongside us to make the load lighter. It was challenging and a new experience for me to lead it, but it was definitely an experience that helped me grow and learn more about myself as well. I felt like I was stepping out of my comfort zone, which is something I unfortunately rarely do. But I learned that sometimes we just need that little extra push to do something. I'm really glad I agreed to lead the dig-in; it taught me a lot about leading bible studies and bringing other people into conversation about Jesus, which are two things that I really value and aspire to in my life.

Please continue to be joining me in praying for those who are still deciding if they should go to Mark West Pacific.  If this is where God is calling them to be, pray that He would remove any barriers that would prevent them from going.  Also, continue praying for Melody in her growth and development in her teaching gift.