By H. Leung
There are several staples at this church that will never change – Missions Conference, Deeper Life Conference, Great Commission Sunday… and for our Cantonese and Mandarin Congregations, the Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration. Every year, around the Martin Luther King long weekend, we step into high gear and really dig in and start prepping for the monumental day. Read more →
My name is Halie Yung ( age 11) and there is something that I will share with you. You know that video that we showed at the Youth Thanksgiving Dinner, right? That video took about 10 hours to film, not including the editing and brainstorming. On the day of the Youth Thanksgiving Dinner, everyone who made the video was very excited. When it was time to show the video, it wouldn’t work! We gathered the prayer team and everyone who made the video and prayed. In my mind I was kind of FREAKING OUT because we spent so much time working on the video and it was not working. After Abigail’s prayer ended, Jason opened the door and told us that the video was working again. I started to cry and hug everyone and my heart was jumping non-stop. I thought that maybe God wanted us to pray to test our faith. I knew that God controls everything and that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. I felt a connection that night that God gave us His love for us and that we should have complete faith in Him. Also, His ways are not our ways and he who believes in Him will have eternal life. Now, remember to keep the connection that you have with God and treasure it forever.
– Anonymous
God’s love covers me, a mom of young kids. God is so incredibly personal when I face the daily duties and challenges of being a mom. I was already feeling exhausted from a rough week, but this pushed me over the edge. My baby actually finished her meal. It doesn’t happen often. So I’ll take it. Then I gave her some plain yogurt mixed with fruit. She started gagging and threw up her whole meal. Sigh… I guess the yogurt was too sour. I could hear my husband’s voice in my head, “It’s better to put less yogurt”. Then I heard my own voice saying a lot of harsh self-talk. “Why can’t I get this right?! Why did I mess up again?” I held my emotions in as I cleaned up the sticky and sour smelling mess.
Later, I went upstairs while my husband watched the kids. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I broke down in tears in the bathroom, alone. Thinking back, it was such a small thing. But too many things were accumulating in my heart. A few minutes later, I heard small feet pounding up the stairs. My son didn’t notice my tears at first, so I didn’t bother hiding it. But for some reason, he started brushing my hair. I thought to myself, “Uh…kinda strange, but OK, I guess…” Then he went away to play.
When it came time for bed, my son and I finished story time and we prayed. I was telling God how discouraged I was feeling. I assumed my son wasn’t paying attention, since he was looking at the picture book and rolling around in bed. But as I praying, my son said to me, “Mommy, God says, ‘I want to heal your broken heart. I love you, even when you make mistakes’.”
God is so incredibly personal and so loving! I couldn’t say anything, just tears. Our Father knows exactly how to encourage and the exact words I needed. He fills me with grace, again and again. Since I was filled up, I could be gracious to my son, who wasn’t tired that night and kept chatting away. I just waited for him to fall asleep, even though it was very late.
A magnificent view of towering redwood trees, fresh air, blue sky, and beautiful weather welcomed us into a weekend of rest. One hundred women were able to partake in delicious food, plentiful spread of snacks, wonderful worship, powerful teaching of the word of God, and much more. We were touched and transformed by the testimonies of sisters who shared their life struggles openly and transparently. Sharing our pain, sorrow, condemnation, and shame broke the lies of the enemy and ultimately pointed us back to triumphant victory in Jesus. We were invited to pour out the darkness inside our lives on the altar so that the Holy Spirit can fill us. The retreat was just the beginning in the Lord’s deep healing work. We leave the weekend full of his grace and goodness, holding on to his healing with confidence and expectation for more of his work as we walk together in this journey of faith.
