Thank God I had the opportunity to spend another week in the house of God as a counselor at East Region SSC to learn, to serve, to pray, and to praise with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I went thinking I couldn't do it, and thank God, I left knowing I couldn't do it (not by my own ability at least). Through many valuable experiences, God taught me that I of myself can do nothing, a critical and precious lesson in servitude for me to learn.
A few days before SSC began, I think my eyes got infected from my contacts so they were really red. I don’t know if it was pink-eye but if it stayed red, I probably wouldn’t have been able to go to SSC just as a precaution for the students. Thank God He healed my eyes very quickly within the two days I had at home between returning home from California and the first day of SSC. Also, the first day I had a bit of a stomachache but I prayed that God might take it away so I could serve without any distractions. Thank God, by the following day, I was completely fine. These were reminders to me that it is only by God’s grace that I can serve, because my health is from God too. Another thing (as you probably all know haha) is that I'm an introvert and am not good at talking in front of people. Like when I was a student, I was pretty quiet, hesitant to share many things with my group, and just not very awake during morning Bible sharing, but as a counselor, I couldn't get away with sitting quietly and listening to everyone else speak anymore. Knowing of my inabilities, I put it into prayer. Before SSC, throughout SSC, I constantly prayed to God for wisdom because I didn’t know what to say or how to encourage anybody. But I knew that God knows everyone’s needs, how they're feeling, problems they might have that no one else knows about, and how to perfectly comfort them, so I asked God to speak to me that I may speak (like the hymn says), and very miraculously, He did! During morning Bible sharings, group meetings, bedtime sharing, and reflection, God gave me the words to speak and the peace in my heart to speak it. I was also able to experience God's grace by being able to fall asleep easily at night. I don't remember a single SSC where I could fall asleep easily the first night, but thank God I was able to fall asleep very soon after lights out at 10 o'clock which was actually like 7 o'clock for me because of jet-lag. One night I took a little longer falling asleep and realized all the mm..interesting things that went on in our room at night (snoring, sleep-talking, sleep-moaning, sleep-chewing) and was thanking God, like "how did I stay asleep through all of this?" because I’m actually a pretty light sleeper. All these things made me certain that the strength and ability I had to serve God at this SSC was from Him. Thank God.
The theme for this year was "Be A True Messenger" and we were taught about the One True Church, Book of Acts, and the examples of Isaiah, Stephen, Nathan, and Barnabas as faithful messengers. Combining the messages from class and what I learned from serving, I learned that it's not about what I can or cannot do or what I am or am not comfortable doing, it's about God who can soften hearts and choose whoever He wants to. One thing really emphasized throughout SSC was the importance of prayer because it is the Holy Spirit that guides us, teaches what to say, and gives us power. Like in Acts 6:4, it's 1) pray, then 2) preach. A pastor said that if our faith is ever small, what we should do is go out and preach the gospel because we'll be able to see how God, "who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4) works with us. In my own life, I want to start by talking to my new roommate for next semester about my faith, answer any questions she might have about our church or about how we pray, and invite her to church if she’s interested too. I also want to make evangelism a priority in RUCF this year because we neglected it last semester so we can actively shine the light on campus also.
A few days before SSC began, I think my eyes got infected from my contacts so they were really red. I don’t know if it was pink-eye but if it stayed red, I probably wouldn’t have been able to go to SSC just as a precaution for the students. Thank God He healed my eyes very quickly within the two days I had at home between returning home from California and the first day of SSC. Also, the first day I had a bit of a stomachache but I prayed that God might take it away so I could serve without any distractions. Thank God, by the following day, I was completely fine. These were reminders to me that it is only by God’s grace that I can serve, because my health is from God too. Another thing (as you probably all know haha) is that I'm an introvert and am not good at talking in front of people. Like when I was a student, I was pretty quiet, hesitant to share many things with my group, and just not very awake during morning Bible sharing, but as a counselor, I couldn't get away with sitting quietly and listening to everyone else speak anymore. Knowing of my inabilities, I put it into prayer. Before SSC, throughout SSC, I constantly prayed to God for wisdom because I didn’t know what to say or how to encourage anybody. But I knew that God knows everyone’s needs, how they're feeling, problems they might have that no one else knows about, and how to perfectly comfort them, so I asked God to speak to me that I may speak (like the hymn says), and very miraculously, He did! During morning Bible sharings, group meetings, bedtime sharing, and reflection, God gave me the words to speak and the peace in my heart to speak it. I was also able to experience God's grace by being able to fall asleep easily at night. I don't remember a single SSC where I could fall asleep easily the first night, but thank God I was able to fall asleep very soon after lights out at 10 o'clock which was actually like 7 o'clock for me because of jet-lag. One night I took a little longer falling asleep and realized all the mm..interesting things that went on in our room at night (snoring, sleep-talking, sleep-moaning, sleep-chewing) and was thanking God, like "how did I stay asleep through all of this?" because I’m actually a pretty light sleeper. All these things made me certain that the strength and ability I had to serve God at this SSC was from Him. Thank God.
The theme for this year was "Be A True Messenger" and we were taught about the One True Church, Book of Acts, and the examples of Isaiah, Stephen, Nathan, and Barnabas as faithful messengers. Combining the messages from class and what I learned from serving, I learned that it's not about what I can or cannot do or what I am or am not comfortable doing, it's about God who can soften hearts and choose whoever He wants to. One thing really emphasized throughout SSC was the importance of prayer because it is the Holy Spirit that guides us, teaches what to say, and gives us power. Like in Acts 6:4, it's 1) pray, then 2) preach. A pastor said that if our faith is ever small, what we should do is go out and preach the gospel because we'll be able to see how God, "who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4) works with us. In my own life, I want to start by talking to my new roommate for next semester about my faith, answer any questions she might have about our church or about how we pray, and invite her to church if she’s interested too. I also want to make evangelism a priority in RUCF this year because we neglected it last semester so we can actively shine the light on campus also.
Thank God for guiding the SSC from beginning to end, for the immense peace and joy I was able to find in Him in prayer, and for the lessons I was able to learn in humility, servitude, and evangelism in the last few weeks which I really needed. I pray that God make me a channel of blessing and that the glory, honor, and praise always be unto His name :)
Thank God for such a fruitful experience at SSC!!! Even when school starts, may you continue to be channel of blessing to everyone around you. :)
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