Post-Winter Conference

Winter Conference was more than awesome. It is indescribable because God was at work. Here are my 10 reasons why WC was more than awesome:

One: I got to visit my 2 managers from DQ! It was New Year's Eve, so they were closing early. God is good because I got there just as they were closing. They already locked the doors, but they "saw someone familiar" outside. He let me in and we chatted for a bit.
Two: I like the Sheraton Hotel more than Hyatt. The rooms are bigger and the meeting spaces are all on one level, so it's convenient in that way.
Three: I got to see all the Western Projectiles again and spend the New Years with them! We had dinner at this place called U&Me Restaurant haha. I think you can guess it was a Chinese Restaurant.
Four: Did door-to-door evangelism for the first time with Matthew from UofC, who never went sharing before. We actually had a pretty good experience. We had 4 pretty long conversations...one was with a JW couple! scary! We shared the gospel with one lady, Robin. She's happy to just be a good person, but she said she will share the booklet with her sister. I hope she discovers that being a good person isn't enough and that she needs Christ.
Five: 11 people came to know Christ in less than just 4 hours!!! Praise God!!! Wow!
Six: the speakers were great. I really really enjoyed the testimonies given by Richard Blackaby's 2 sons...they were really touching. I don't know if I learned anything new from the speakers and the seminars, but I'm reminded again to "care about what God cares about", "love what He loves; hate what He hates."
Seven: God has done an amazing thing in some of the UBC guys. I think we'll see something different from the guys this semester, but pray that satan won't have a foothold on us again. He is nothing, God is everything. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom...
Eight: Squaredancing. T'was fun, but it could have been better if I was closer to the speakers.
Nine: UBC won the Campus Cup for the third year in a row! Best way to end my last WC. I wish it wasn't...
Ten: Singing praise to God through the New Year's. Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades; Neverending, Your glory goes beyond all fame!

As for Projects, 39 people already signed up! I have not decided what I want to do this summer or rather what God wants me to, but if I do go on a Project, it'll be an internship at Halifax...only problem is I might need to fly back to attend my graduation. Much prayers needed.

One month later...

...I write my third post. I wasn't busy all this time, but I guess nothing was post-worthy before exam time came along and then I didn't have time.

So there's only 9 days before 3 FULL buses leave Vancouver and head to Calgary. There are so many reasons to be excited about the Winter Conference. So in no particular order, here are my Top Ten reasons why WC will be awesome (there's probably more):

One: like Ivan would say, "I'll be in Calgary for the third time this year (2006)"
Two: the bus rides there and back are some of the best times. I'll be on the same bus as Amanda, Robyn and Steve! =)
Three: I'll get to see all the Western Projectiles again and share the wonderful memories in Calgary!
Four: Richard Blackaby will be speaking! I can't wait!
Five: making new friends, sharing hotel rooms, late night singing and games, shopping
Six: Afternoon of Evangelism, workshops, morning prayer - seeing God work in the hearts of people we talk to and our own hearts as we are challenged to go on Summer Projects etc.
Seven: New Year's Eve Banquet!
Eight: Campus Cup Competition! UBC for 3-in-a-row!!!
Nine: New Year's Countdown! Singing praises to God through the New Year.
Ten: And last but not least, one of first-year guys in my DG is coming! From the last post, it's Eric (to whom the $50 scholarship I won at Summit will go).

Exams are over but life is still as busy as ever. I really need to slow down and enjoy God's presence. Listen to His voice. Thank Him.

My DG at UBC

On thursday, all the members of my DG finally came together. Daniel (my co-leader; he's 2nd year) and I were very encouraged. In previous weeks, we've mostly had 2 of the 3 guys come and once only one came (Yang - he's our "faithful one"), but this week all 3 of them came! This week happened to be the week we decided to set aside time to go out sharing. So after a quick study on the Great Commission, Dan and I did some roleplaying (just like Amy and Mindy did for us on Project hehe) on how to approach a person, introduce ourselves, what kind of questions we would ask, etc. After that, we split up into pairs: Daniel with Alwin (first-year engineer), Yang (first-year science from New York) with Lorne (he's a HeadQuarters staff that went to the Tanzania Project this summer and found that he loved working with men, so he asked for permission to come to UBC every thursday to work with us and to go out sharing), and I went with Eric (first-year science student that was actually one of my follow-ups from Imagine UBC. he's a new Christian who accepted Christ in the summer, but I can see God teaching him and working in his life so much already).
So after praying, we went out to the SUB caf to share. Eric and I found a number of guys alone, but were rejected (nicely) by about 3 people. Feeling that Eric might be a bit discouraged (I was too), we stopped to pray again. We prayed that God would encourage us to keep trying and that He'll lead us to someone with whom we can talk. God answered our prayer right away. The first person we talked to right after that was open to talking about spiritual things. He comes from a Buddhist background, but doesn't really practice it; it was just a family thing. We found out that his best friend is a Christian and that this friend has told him about God and Jesus before. Anyways to make a long story short, we were able to share the gospel with him using the 4 Spiritual Laws booklet, and even though he wasn't ready to pick the right circle, I just feel that God has been working in his life already and that He'll continue to do so.
After our conversation, I had a little debrief with Eric to see how he felt about the whole experience. (I told the guys that they didn't have to say anything the first time unless God urged them to.) He said it was quite nerve-wracking and that some of the questions the guy asked were quite difficult to answer. I had a little trouble answering some of his questions, but by God's grace and with the help of the Holy Spirit, I was able to answer them as best as I could.

From the first meeting I had with Eric, I just felt this connection with him and just the desire to help him along in his spiritual journey. Even though he wasn't able to make it out to some of the studies in the beginning, I've been encouraged by his desire to want to come and his willingness to learn and know more about God. My prayer right now is for him to come to the Winter Conference (same for Alwin).
Yang is another guy I've bonded with since the beginning. He has a lot of bible knowledge and the study we're going through right now is completely review for him, but sharing is new for him, so my prayer is that he'll grow in that area and help the other guys along too. I wish he was going to Winter Conference, but since he's from the States, he'll be heading back during the break to visit family and friends and to go to Urbana.

Blogger or Xanga?

Well, this is my first post...we'll see if this will continue.