So much has happened since September. From September through to December I worked 9 to 5 at my "day job" and spent my evenings participating in small groups (aka Bible studies or discipleship groups), meeting students for coffee, organizing Friday night girls' group events on campus and building relationships. I was busy and my schedule was completely booked every single night of the week.
In October, Born for More partnered with Origin Church to host a huge Thanksgiving meal on campus. Students, staff, faculty and others living in the UBC community were invited to attend. Unfortunately, I can no longer remember the exact number but a whole lotta people showed up! I baked pie and helped with the turkeys -and yes, that is turkeys plural ... we served 3! My mother had been planning to fly out to celebrate Thanksgiving with my sister and I but had to cancel her plans at the last minute due to a family emergency. I was really disappointed and worried how I'd cope spending my first holiday alone, without ANY family members. (My sister had to work so we postponed our celebration plans to the following week). Let me just say that God totally proved Himself faithful, as always. Celebrating Thanksgiving with the students and my fellow ministry workers was such a blessing - we laughed, we joked around, we ate, we celebrated, we were thankful. It was a powerful reminder that the church really is one big family and I am never, ever alone.
About a week later, one of the students I had become particularly close friends with made the life-changing decision to become a Christian. She had grown up in a traditional Buddhist home and had begun attending our girls' group and Bible study meetings out of curiosity and a genuine desire to understand what Christians believe. When she told me about her decision she said, "I began praying and I just started bawling my eyes out because I finally knew without a doubt that this [the Gospel message of Jesus Christ] was all true" ... WOW. I'll save her testimony and the story of how she came to this decision for another post but trust me when I say that God has been doing incredible things in her life ever since. She is even hosting her own Bible study group this semester and has invited her roommates and co-workers to attend .... amazing!
Later that same week, I got a phone call from a friend of mine asking if we could hang out. I invited her over for dinner and a movie, and the second she walked through my door I realized that her heart was broken. She proceeded to tell me that she had "hooked up" with a guy, gotten pregnant, had an abortion and then gotten fired from her job the very next day. She told me she had no idea what to do with her life. There was silence between us for a moment, and then I said the only thing I could think of to say - "you do not have to live like this, you know. You might not believe in Him, but trust me that God loves you and He has created you for more than this." I really, truly believe that those words came directly from the Holy Spirit and that God gave me the guts to speak them. She wept, and I cried with her. Please keep her in your prayers as she is not a believer (yet!) and is still struggling with the emotional after-effects of her abortion, loss of employment and toxic relationships.
In November, the Born for More group attended the Passion conference held at Rogers Arena (formerly GM Place where the Olympic hockey games took place). 10,900 students showed up. Students literally lined up around the block to get in - I have photos, I can prove it! As we stood in line, a group of people passed by us and one of the women said "what are all these people waiting for? Is there a game tonight?" .... Nope. Just 10,900 students here to worship Jesus on a Friday night. Passion was out of this world amazing. There truly are no words to describe it. Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, David Crowder Band, Matt Redman and Louie Giglio - what an anointed combination! I wouldn't lie, my eyes filled with tears when we ended the night by singing God of this City. It is SUCH a powerful thing to hear 10,900 university students singing "greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city". People say that today's youth have no convictions, no values, no beliefs, no morals, no God. If they had been there to hear those voices joined in unison, to hear the chanting of "JESUS! JESUS!" as the show came to an end ... I do believe they would retract their assumptions.
December was filled with holiday preparations and Christmas parties. Many of the students left in mid-December to head back to their hometowns, so Born for More activities came to a close until the new year. I flew back to Montreal on the 23rd and spent ten glorious days with my Mom and Dad. I loved every single minute I spent in Montreal but was definitely ready to come home to Vancouver by the time I boarded the plane. I miss my family a lot, but Vancouver is where my heart belongs. Praise God for bringing me here!
During my holiday break, I made the difficult decision to withdraw from some of the Born for More activities and groups I had been a part of last term. This term (meaning January to June) I will spend much less time on campus hosting group events and more time doing one-on-one things with the students I've already established relationships with. I think this shift will be better for me in terms of having a schedule that isn't quite so overwhelming and crazy. I also feel that God is calling me to invest more time, energy and love into my friendships and relationships. When you're constantly on the run, it is so easy to maintain superficial connections that consist of little more than "hey, how are you?" .. "good, and you?" ... "good, thanks!". I really feel God is calling me to dig deeper, plant roots and invest in building authentic life-long relationships with students, co-workers, church members and my neighbors.
So that's where I am in terms of updates. I am so privileged to get to do the ministry work I do and am looking forward to all that the Lord has in store for me in 2011.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for lifting me up in prayer and keeping me in your thoughts. Your emails have been an incredible source of encouragement to me.
love in Christ,
xo Stephanie
