By Frankie Cheng

Have you ever felt like you were trapped or were missing something in your life? I have often felt like this and last year, I signed up for the women’s Empower class, hoping that God would resolve my problems. In the end, God freed me from my spiritual bondage and taught me many things along the way. I want to share the three things that God has done for me during this past year of being part of the Empower class.

God has released me from the bondage of fear. I used to say “no” to changes, new opportunities, things that I have never done before. I am scared of many things, like risks, failure, people’s rejection, and the thing I fear the most is…talking! I even labeled myself as “quiet and not good at talking!” Fear and anxiety have hindered me from personal growth. I could not fully enjoy my life and I often had regretful feelings. God has taken me out of my comfort zone through this class by pushing me to lead groups, pray for strangers, and care for other sisters. God has helped me overcome fear through reading, writing, doing homework, attending lectures, and prayer. I was able to enjoy a solo hike after God empowered me to be brave and conquer my fear. This lesson was rewarding. These days, fear still exists in me, but it is much less impactful. Read more →

Sam Kes

“He lets me lie down in fields of green grass.
He leads me beside quiet waters. He gives me new strength.
He guides me in the right paths for the honor of his name.”
– Psalm 23: 2-3

As Christians, we’ve been taught the importance of being active in our faith. This is good, because we ought to be a living testament of Christ. However being active can lead to burnouts, frustrations, and a sense of being lonesome. Finding rest is something we all long for in life, whether it is with family, with friends, or current situations. Here we read David finding rest in the Lord. Not only is David able to find rest, but be guided by the Holy Spirit on the right path. Today I just want to bless you to ask God, What is it that I need rest from?’ Because when we return back to Him for rest, He will guide you and me on the right path.

Barnabas Yuen

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.”
– Jonah 2:2

God hears us when we call. When we are feeling down, when the circumstances around us seem to challenge us to our cores, and there is nothing to do but to call out to God, this verse reminds us that He listens and answers. Our God is steadfast and kind, and we can rely on Him when we need Him most.

Jonathan Chow
Studying Aeronautical Engineering Technology at Purdue University

Some games I am enjoying are Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition and Persona 5. I have picked up learning guitar. I have been really thankful for my family. I did not realize how much I depend on them and that became evident during my freshman year. However, I have been working on my own independence. I thank God for allowing technology to continue friendships even in quarantine.

Camille Lee
Recently graduated in the Class of 2020 at Cal Poly Pomona Liberal Studies major to become an elementary school teacher plus a General Management Business Minor 

Some of my hobbies are baking, getting boba with friends, and kinesthetic activities (such as dance or team bonding games). I am thankful for the endless streams of music on Spotify. I really enjoy singing uplifting songs that boost my mood. Some types of songs I enjoy listening to and singing are Christian worship songs and any upbeat song that has an encouraging message to it. I thank God for the captivating gift of music that brings me peace during these times in the world.

By Abigail Young

Prior to this summer’s LIFE Conference I had heard many things from my friends who had attended the last LIFE Conference in Kansas City back in 2016… namely, that it was basically a Christian rave and that it was a place to party with fellow Alliance youth from around the world. Going into LIFE I was beginning to get exhausted from working as a youth intern at church and, due to this, I was prepared to go crazy with a bunch of teenagers on top of meeting God and having some lit worship. Of course, based on this description of my mindset and expectations for LIFE, my focus was on enjoying myself instead of having God as my top priority during the conference. Praise the Lord that despite this, He still showed up and moved in my personal life and broke down the walls that I had been unconsciously building up since I was still a baby. Read more →

By Victoria Ngai

This year, I went on my first ever short term missions trip to Mexicali. Originally, my intentions were to spend more time with my older brother Nicholas before he heads off to UC Berkeley, but by the end of the week, I saw God working in my life in unexpected ways. Leading up to the trip, I prepared myself physically and was ready to take on the bug bites and the burning sun, but I failed to prepare myself spiritually. My heart was focused on myself and my friends rather than God. I was too busy becoming excited about the time I would spend with my friends rather than becoming excited for the time I could spend with God. Read more →