A Glimpse of God's Heart

This past week has been a breakthrough of sorts in my life. Never in my life have I been so consumed and compelled with a heart for evangelism. I never really understood it until this past week. Lately, I have been frustrated with myself because I have been too afraid to step out in faith and have intentional spiritual conversations with those around me. I have been upset at myself because I have been a constipated Christian - one who has been filled with knowledge from conferences and week to week meetings but has not put much of it into practice. I have held in all the knowledge and passion in my heart and I have not known what to do with it.

I have had this passion in my heart like which is described in Jeremiah 20:9

⁹ But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord
or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
I can’t do it!

There is something burning in me that is frustrated with holy discontent when I am not doing what my very heart burns to do. I believe that there is a desire that God has placed in each and everyone of our hearts that compels us to desire something more than just the mundane. There is a unique identity that God has given to us that breathes life into our incomparable destiny. For me, God has put a desire on my heart to see the restoration of the church.

I can't explain, but ever since God has been revealing His heart to me about seeing the church restored there has been no turning back. I remember in my sophomore year God putting on my heart to reach every club and people group on the campus. I didn't understand it then, but something was kindled in my heart. Later that year, I went to a conference and heard a guy named Jaeson Ma speak. I had heard about him before, but I didn't really know who he was. Later, I would read his book the Blueprint that talks all about planting simple churches on our campuses to reach every people group on the campus. It blew my mind away that what God had put on my heart, He had been revealing to others all around the world. God was revealing to me that when we reach the campus, we impact the world. We have a sign in our Campus Crusade meeting room. It says, "What happens here changes the world." I firmly believe that what happens here at this campus changes the entire world! We come in contact with so many students from all over the world each day on this campus. Imagine what it would look like if we reached every student group on this campus who would likewise go back to his or her home, city, or nation and win their families for Christ. I can't even imagine what that would look like.

But it starts with prayer. Luke 10:2 says, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Pray earnestly for the Lord of the Harvest to send His labors out into the harvest." We need people to respond to the calling that He has placed on our generation. But we must first respond in prayer. Prayer is the very desire of God for His people. He desires to commune with us and be desired himself. When we pray, we ask God to release His power and His spirit to set us free and step into the fullness of who he made each of us to be. There are so many things I would like to say right now, but in the past few days, as I have moved out into action in responding to God's call to share the good news with others, my eyes have caught just a glimpse of God's heart for the nations. He desires His people to know about Him, and He has chosen us to take part in telling them about Him. What an honor!!!

Thank you God!!! You have set us free!

Redeeming a Faceless Generation

Here's a little blurb I wrote the other day about how the Jabbawockeez serve as somewhat of a prophetic parable of what God wants to do in the Asian American community and beyond by raising up a nameless, faceless generation. All glory to God!

The past week I have been thinking about a possible concept we could run with in planning for a workshop at ASU this spring. As I was thinking through this process, I really wanted to find a way we could use this workshop as an opportunity to share the gospel with the campus. As I was thinking about ideas for the concept, my mind began thinking about creative forms of art and media that we could use to engage the campus especially the Asian American community and share the gospel with them through these creative means. As I was pondering on these things, my mind began to think about the concept of the “Faceless Generation.” I began to think about how God was raising up a “Faceless Generation” of young people around the world who would be faithful witnesses in proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the earth. I pondered on the idea that our generation would not be defined by one evangelist like Billy Graham, D.L. Moody, Charles Finney, or any other great evangelist. Instead, I was reminded of how God is going to race up an entire generation who is not concerned about individual accolades or success, but rather a faceless generation consumed by a passion to know Christ and to make Him known. Even recently, I began to think in terms of what this would look like for the Asian community and seeing the way in which God is raising up a faceless army in East Asia to bring the gospel back to Jerusalem. No one will know who these fearless messengers are, but collectively, they represent the faceless generation who is radically pursuing the cause of Christ to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission!

As I was thinking about this emerging “Faceless Generation,” I then began to think about the ways in which Asian Americans are often “faceless” in a negative context. Asian Americans are often amongst the most highly educated and qualified individuals in applying for work; however, if you look at the top sectors of the corporate world in America today, you will have to search hard to find an Asian American face. If you begin to take notice of any sphere of society, you will begin to realize that there is lack of Asian American presence in light of their credentials and experience. You see this in the ways in which Asian Americans are deemed as the “model minority.” The “model minority” myth is the assertion that Asians are the model minority group for the ways they have overcome adversity and achieved the “American Dream.” However, this myth fails to take into account the large diversity of what the term Asian American comes to embody. Statistics fail to show the diverse populations of Asian immigrant groups who are living below the poverty level, struggling to assimilate as refugees from war-torn nations, or struggling to culturally adapt to a society that values individualism over family and community. History books fail to tell their stories. Statistics only give a false-sense of hope and a misperception of their experiences. For every successful Asian American business man, there are countless others who are impoverished, lacking resources, and trying to make ends meet. The point here is that just like any other minority group such as Native Americans, African Americans, and Latino Americans, likewise, Asian Americans have unheard stories and experiences that tell a story of pain and brokenness. They have been overlooked and disregarded in our American society. In other words, they have been “faceless.”

As I continued to think about these issues, I realized that God wants to redeem the negative aspects of the Asian American community being “faceless” in order to raise up an entire generation who passionately seeks Him whole-heartedly without concern for individual success. While I was pondering on this idea, I feel like God gave me a clear picture of what this redemptive process will look like. In thinking about a faceless generation of Asian Americans, the dance group called Jabbawockeez came to mind. At that point, everything began to come together. The Jabbawockeez are a dance crew that appeared on the first season of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. What got my attention is that this dance crew was made up of primarily Asian Americans, and they ended up winning the hearts of America and winning the overall competition.

What is amazing about the Jabbawockeez is that each member of their crew wears a mask when they perform. They each wear white masks for the sake of taking attention off the individuals and allowing the audience to focus on the overall quality and precision of their dance moves. In an article in Asian Week, one of the members stated that “the idea of the mask is to remove all ethnic and social barriers when [they] perform.” In reference to the masks, another member mentioned that “those who watch us will see us for the dance moves and the style we put out there.” In essence, when the Jabbawockeez perform, they are “faceless.” It then occurred to me that the Jabbawockeez are a clear picture of what God wants to do within the Asian American community and not only that, but an entire generation of young people as a whole. What God was speaking to me was that He values the sense of community and commitment to family that the Asian heritage values. In the midst of an individualistic society, God wants to honor an Asian American community who has held on to these values.

But what is even more beautiful is the way in which God was showing me that the Jabbawockeez represents what he wants to do in the body of Christ as a whole. He is showing us that when the body of Christ begins to understand their unique roles and embrace their unique identities as a body rather than as merely individuals, they will capture the hearts of a generation and win them for Christ. When the foot begins to operate as a foot and the hand as the hand, we will see the beauty and the harmony of what God created the church to be. It’s crazy to think of the parallels because the Jabawockeez represent a revolutionary dance style that reflects unique precision and creativity that is amplified by their unified choreography. Likewise, God is showing us what He wants to do with the body of Christ. What is mind-boggling to me is the ways I feel God wants to use the Asian American community to help paint this picture for American society as a whole. As I see what God is doing in empowering the Asian American community, which is evidenced through what He is doing in Epic Movement, I am overwhelmed by what this could look like as others begin to catch on to this vision. It is already beginning to happen in the ways we see our Epic community consisting of not only Asian Americans, but Latinos, Native Americans, and Caucasians as well. Looking once again to the unique and shocking similar parallels to the Jabbawockeez, we see their unique diversity. The article in Asian Week states that, “masks aside, the crew embraces their ethnic backgrounds (seven members are Asian American, including Filipino American, Korean American and Vietnamese American; one is African American and two are Mexican American.” So even here, we see the diversity that is represented which reminds me of the racial reconciliation that God wants to do in the midst of our communities as well.

Here's a video of the Jabbawockeez in action. Check out this article in Asian Week as well if you have time. It's good stuff: Behind the Masks.

Reflections on my journey... PART 2

Part 2:
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I realized that I had been pursuing a radical Christianity for the sake of being spiritually gifted. I wanted to have words of knowledge, prophesy, and heal the sick. Many times, I had not been content knowing that I was the beloved son of God and that He has loved me before the beginning of time. Now there certainly is a cost in receiving the anointing of God, one must deny themselves. But when denying oneself becomes a priority over loving God and loving others, I believe that it can become an idol as well. Where this really stuck out to me was the part that had to do with loving others.

I went back to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. Before we can do the Great Commission, we have to do the Great Commandment. We have to love God and to love others as ourselves. I realized that I was loving God hardcore. I wanted more and more and more of Him. But I realized that my loving others part was seriously lacking. I really wasn't taking time to love others because I was so consumed with myself. Then I realized that I don’t really love myself that much because my actions were saying that I needed to do things to please God rather than being good enough as I was.

The biggest eye-opening experience to lacking love for others came through talking to Sara. I realized that in the midst of everything I was going through I was pushing away an amazing girl who had stuck by me even when things were hard. She liked for who I was and not for my giftings or actions in and of themselves. She had seen me at my best and at my worst, and she still was there for me. Even after I had separated from her for five months to pursue God whole-heartedly, she had still waited for me and cared for me. She allowed me to pursue God whole-heartedly and she wanted me to have God as my lone satisfaction. But it had never dawned on me that being in relationship was a way to see God's love from a whole new level.

As I wrestled with these thoughts, I remember having a crazy conversation with my uncle one night. We talked about how in this past year, I was so up in the clouds spiritually that I didn't really understand the actual needs of the people. I had understood theory, doctrine, and theology, but I didn't know the actual needs of the people. I was climbing at to the top, but I was alienating everyone at the bottom who didn't know how to get there. My Christianity was only half way being fulfilled, I loved God with all my heart, but I wasn't loving others. So basically, my whole world was wrecked after winter break, and I am in the midst of another paradigm shift in which God is healing my heart and setting me free to see His true heart for the ones He loves.

With all these things on my mind and heart, I realized that God wants to see His love through others. God put relationships in our lives that we may see a glimpse of who He really is. We are not meant to do this life alone. We are not meant to pursue God on solely and individual basis. God wants us to love Him in community. He wants us to see the power and imagery of His character through relationships. This was all so new to me, and I never realized how isolated I had caused myself to be. It's still a struggle I have now. I am still trying to pop out of my Christian bubble and love those who Jesus loved. I have realized that intimacy with Christ means knowing Him and being with him. But it doesn't mean isolating yourself from the world. Jesus is hanging out with those who don't know Him, and part of having intimacy with Him means going to the sinners and tax collectors Jesus hung out with.

With all that said, it's been a crazy journey in the past few months. I have been working on my relationship with my brother and we were able to reconcile many things. I have gone closer wiht my family, and even my friends in Epic. Most of all, I have learned what it means to be a man in a relationship and the role that I have as an initiator and a protector. It has been a joy being in a relationship with Sara. It's been one month now, and it has been one awesome journy and learning experience. We definitely have had our ups and downs in terms of learning how to communicate with one another and working out this long distance thing. But it is so amazing to see the love of God through her. It is so encouraging to see her amazing, beautiful heart. I am blown away by her child-like faith and her compassion. I am challenged by her honesty and straight-forwardness. I smile every time she texts me or sends me a message. I am filled with joy every time she laughs. I see her as the most beautiful princess and beloved daughter of the King, and I vow to treat her as royalty of the King of Kings. And 0n top of all that, I can't help but mention that she is really really cute!

Most importantly, her heart and compassion point me back to a greater revelation of who Jesus is in my life. He loves me and sees me for who I am. He is not concerned with the things I do in the past or even the things that I do to try to please Him. He loves me just as I am. He blesses me and offers me gifts even when I don’t have anything to give back. Sara exemplifies this characteristics and I see a glimpse of Jesus through her in these ways. She isn't perfect and neither am I. But that's why we need Jesus even more than one another. As we pursue God together, I see the beauty of Christ in relationships. I see the amazing qualities of being able to care for Sara by just being who I am, and Sara being able to care for me by just being who she is. There is no need for us to go out of our way or force things to happen. We see the love of Christ through the way that he has made us.

So on this Valentine’s Day, I have a lot to be thankful for. I have experienced love in a way that I never would have realized or expected had it not been for recognizing the my own depravity and selfishness and realizing my need to truly learn how to be loved and how to love and serve others. I have a long way to go, but by the grace and love of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have learned to be content where I am at this point of the journey. The breakthroughs will happen as we wait on God and allow ourselves to be loved. Let's not strive to be loved or made known, the God of the universe already loves us and there are no actions we must do to receive this. It's easier said than done. But I have learned that in the midst of frustration and disillusionment the best thing we can do is not to retreat or get away, but to obey what God has called us to. Love. Go out and love. We can have all the theoretical knowledge in the world, but when it comes down to it, all we have to do is obey. Love.

Thank you God that you have loved me and have shown your love through those around me. Thank you that your love is what satisfies me and sets me free. I long to know your love and make it known. May we move from knowledge to obedience as we go out and share your love with others. More of you in our lives Jesus! On this Valentine’s Day, I pray that you would shower lonely and broken hearts with your love. May we have open eyes and sensitive hearts to love those who are in need of you those most. Thank you that your love has set us free to step into our unique identities. We love you Jesus. In your name. Amen

Reflections on my journey... PART 1

So I know I have a lot to catch up on, and I haven't blogged in a while. But I wanted to take some time to reflect on my journey in this past couple of months. Since it's Valentine's Day today, I thought it would be a great time to reflect on this crazy paradigm shift I am currently experiencing, and this new understanding of love. I will try to finish my winter break stories as soon as I can, but for now, here is a two part reflection on my past couple of months...

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So it's Valentine's Day today! For the first time in my life I can actually say I have a Valentine even though she is thousands of miles away from me. It really is a good feeling to know that you have someone you can talk to, share your life with, and grow with. It has been a big shift in my life, and as I sit here on Valentines Day thinking about my special Valentine, my thoughts bring me back to remember how I even got to this part of my journey.

For the past year, I have been radically pursuing Christ and desiring to have a greater revelation of His love. I gave away my best clothes, I helped pioneer simple churches, I went on an extended fast, I prayed everyday, I went on a mission trip and saw people come to Christ, I have been to the most spirit-filled conferences.... It has been an amazing experience. I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. They really have helped open my eyes to the things of God. But something wasn't quite right. I got to a point where I was completely disillusioned with the church. I had been frustrated with the conservative church for a while because I was longing to see the power of God made known there, but then over winter break, I got increasingly frustrated with the charismatic church as well because I always felt like I had to have a spiritual experience their. I got so frustrated and bitter towards the church, and I was pretty angry at a lot of things.

But in the midst of all those frustrations, God was doing something in my heart. I had got to a point in my walk with God that I was developing this deep intimacy. I was willing to do whatever it took to know more of God. If it meant being celibate and single my entire life, I was willing to do it. I wanted to set my life completely before God and have him set me a part to do His will. Like I said, I was fasting, praying, and denying myself. I really wanted Jesus! In those times, I experienced the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in ways like I never have before. I sought to delight in God with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind. I saw the things of this world as temporary and fleeting, so why would I waste my time on them. I was so radically on fire for Jesus. And don't get me wrong, I am still passionately on fire with the love of Christ, but my eyes have been opened to a new realization that I didn't fully comprehend before.

The biggest shift came after I came back from a big Christian conference this past winter. We talked about the book of Revelation, and God's end time battle plan for the church. While I was at this conference, there were some powerful moments, but I was honestly kind of worn out and tired of hearing a message that I had been hearing for a while. It was interesting and powerful, but for some reason, it wasn't transforming. I came home from this conference, and my mom and aunt asked me what I had learned. Thinking that I was now knowledgeable and spiritually equipped, I went on to describe their teachings on the book of Revelation. They respectfully listened to what I had learned, but they disagreed on several main points. When we got back to the house, the whole family got involved in the discussion and we engaged in some really good conversations.

Basically, what it summed up to was that I was getting schooled by my family. My family had grown up reading and studying the book of Revelation. They knew their background information and their interpretations well. They didn't need one conference to tell them how to interpret it. Then here, I was having really read and studied the book of Revelation for basically the first time. I came into my home thinking I was smart and spiritually inclined, and I found myself being knocked to the ground. It was such a humbling experience. I had just gone to one of the most influential Christian conferences for young adults, and instead of feeling empowered, I was completely humbled. My family began to question everything that I was learning, and I felt like everything I had experienced in the last year was put to question. It was a really difficult time. I felt like my whole last year of radically pursuing God was up in the air, and I wasn't sure about anything anymore.

To make things even worse, that same night, I totally got humbled once again after talking to Sara on the phone. To put this a little bit in context, Sara and I had just started again after not talking for about 5 months. As we were talking on the phone, Sara mentioned that she had been thinking and praying a lot lately. She was telling me how it was getting really hard for her to continue waiting for me to decide what I wanted to in our friendship. I told her about how I was just pursuing God right now, and I wanted Him more than anything else. She responded by saying that she already knew that about me, and she always knew that. But she couldn't wait for me and that by the time I figured it out, it would probably be too late.

I was so devastated and humbled. I didn't know how to respond. Honestly, I was angry. I couldn't understand how pursuing God had gotten me into blatant conflict with my family and now with this girl that I really liked. This was New Years Eve. So I had a lot on my mind going into the New Year. But as I prayed about it and wrestled with it, God began to show me a lot of the wounds I had experienced growing up and how that was affecting my current relationship with God and with others. I realized that since a very young age I have always been bitter and upset at my brother. I was angry at him when he was born because he took the attention off of him. I realized that as a result of this I never really was able to connect with him and love him at a deeper level because I was always trying to distance myself from him. Ahh, so there again, I realized another wound in my life.

I realized how in my pursuit of perfection and recognition as a child, I had desired affection from others based on my performance and actions. As a result of these things, I had in turn tried to receive affection from God based on my merit and the things that I did for him. Like I said, I did every extreme thing one could do so that I could please God. And don't get me wrong, most of the time I did those things, my heart was in the right place. But I was looking at the overall picture of where my heart was at and I realized that at times I was deceiving myself.

Winter Break Journey Intro...

Hmm where to even begin. I haven't blogged in a while, and there definitely is a lot to catch up on. It's been one crazy winter break - probably one of the busiest I have ever had. I have so much to sort through and process, but in the midst of it all, God has remained faithful and has been revealing a lot. So here is a brief summary of this winter's crazy adventures!

First off, I am in a relationship with Sara Tellio! Yaaaa!!!! Wow, I don't even know what to say. I have known Sara for the past year, and throughout the time of getting to know her, I have grown in my personal relationship with God. This has been one of the most amazing friendships/relationships I have ever had. Sara is an amazing woman of God who has continually encouraged me to be a better man in my relationship with God above all things. She has shown me the beauty of seeking God in relationships and has taught me the importance of filling both the God-filled vacuum in our lives as well as the people-filled vacuum. I am so excited to see where God takes us in the future, and though it is hard being in a long-distance relationship (she lives in Hawaii and I live in Arizona), it is amazing to see how God is working in both of our lives. It is definitely an exciting time in my life, and I am so grateful to God to have a relationship with such an amazing woman!

So that has definitely been the highlight of my winter break. But aside from that, this break has been a bunch of crazy ups and downs.

Hmm... so you might have seen my crazy nerf gun Christmas extravaganza with my family. That was pretty intense. But it got way more intense after that. Early the next morning, we drove to LA to visit our family up there. I got there on December 26 and then the next day I flew to Kansas City for the Onething Conference. I stayed at Kansas City until December 31 then flew back to LA to celebrate New Years with my family. I went back to Phoenix a few days later. I had a week in Phoenix before I traveled to San Francisco for Epic Conference, and then I just arrived less than week ago back to Phoenix for the start of school. Each of those trips warrants a full blog entry in itself. But ya, I have been so crazy all over the place that I havent had a chance to do that. So in the next few blogs, I will try to update my crazy journeys and my personal journey throughout Winter break.

Restoration

There has been lots on my mind the last few weeks. I am currently at a point in my life where everything that I once knew is being put to question. My world is turning upside down. It's an interesting place to be in. It has truly been a humbling process, but it has allowed me to go back to simplicity of knowing Christ and being like a child in His arms again. I'm learning all over again. It's definitely a time of restoration. I'll be writing more as I sort through this season God has me in.

As of now, I wanted to share an email, our prayer team for Epic Conference 2009 wrote to the staff members and friends who are helping with Epic Conference. This email reflects a lot of things that are close to my heart and things that we can all be praying for with Epic Conference coming up in a week and for this new year in general. For more info on epic conference. Check out www.epicmovement.com.


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Hello Epic staff and friends,

This is an update of things to pray for this week with Epic Conference coming up very shortly! This is a really long email, so Nich asked us to summarize it shortly and give a list of things to pray for the next week. We'll also be updating again next week. So here's our prayer request:

Pray that people would pray!

For more explanation read on below:


______________

We are working with Nich Beebee to help plan and set up the prayer room at Epic Conference this year. Nich asked us to introduce ourselves and share what is on our hearts for the prayer room as we have met and discussed it together. As of now, there are three of us students working on ideas for the prayer room. We all met Nich and know each other from our Epic Summer Project in Nagoya, Japan. The three of us include Daniel Nomura, Carl Catedral, and Sara Tellio. Daniel is a 2nd year student at UC San Diego; Carl is a 3rd year student at Arizona State University; and Sara is a 2nd year student at the University of Hawaii. The three of us have had various experience in what God has been doing in the place of prayer at our different universities. God has especially placed a heart for prayer on Sara's heart. Through a series of divine appointments and openings, she was able to catch God's heart for 24-7 prayer. She then was able attend an internship this summer through Campus America, an organization a part of 24-7 prayer that mobilizes students to plant 24-7 houses of prayer on their universities. Through God's divine provision, she was able to help lead a completely student-led movement that mobilized a week of non-stop prayer this last semester at University of Hawaii. Each of us has been gripped by the transformation we have seen God do in the place of prayer in our own lives and those around us, and we eagerly desire to see God work his transforming power on the hearts of the students and staff going to Epic Conference this year.

As we have talked about what God has been placing on our hearts, we have come up with the theme of "Restoration" to go along with the theme of this year's conference "Kingdom Come." We especially keyed on this phrase from the description of this years theme:"And the underlying theme of the Old Testament is the failure of people to bring about the Kingdom in their own strength."

As we discussed our experience in planning and preparing a prayer room, we realized that the most important part and most obvious thing to do is to PRAY. However, in our human desire to have control, we often attempt to bring about change and transformation in people's lives on our own strength rather than allowing God do it on His timing and in His way. This year, we really want to get out of God's way and allow the prayer room to be a place where we attract God and not man. We want the prayer room to be a place where people can come together and uniquely express themselves in worship and prayer in the way they were created to be. Many times we have tried to make prayer into something that we do on our own strength, but we have realized that we can only see transformation when each individual's heart is gripped by the movement of the Holy Spirit in their own lives. Thus, as we have planned and prayed about the prayer room, we desire it to be a place where people come and be themselves. We desire to create a sacred place where our hearts are corporately joined but individually expressed as we cry out for God to restore our lives, our famlies, our friends, our campuses.

So why the theme of "Restoration?"
This last semester, Carl was doing a morning prayer shift at the prayer house during 35 days of 24hr prayer at Arizona State University. As he was praying, he had this day dream in which he and Sara were together at a building. The building was oddly constructed. As he looked at the floor, he noticed that part of the foundation of one side of the building was completely missing. There was carpet over the rest of the floor and it hung loosely over the part where there was no foundation. Sara asked why the building was so weird. So we looked for someone to ask about the building. We ran into a construction worker there, and we asked him why the building was so weird. The worker made a profound statement. He said, "We have been trying to do renovations to the building, but it is really in need of restoration."

As Carl pondered over the significance of this vision and talked to others about it, he realized that the building represented our ministries. We have been trying to renovate and build things on our own strength, but we have failed to realize that what we need is complete restoration. We have been missing a vital piece of the foundation - the very cornerstone of what God has called us to do. We have left Jesus out of the equation because we have failed to invite Him through our prayers.

God has placed on our hearts to call Campus Crusade back to the place of prayer. We desire to see restoration in our lives and in our campuses as we see the restoration of what God did in Campus Crusade many years ago when it first started. Many students don't realize that Campus Crusade was started when Bill Bright initiated a day of 24 hour prayer. Through 24hr prayer, God used Bill Bright to launch a movement that has touched the hearts of people all over the globe. Consider this statement on Campus Church Networks' website:

Campus Crusade the world largest Christian organization was started by a 24-hour prayer vigil on the UCLA campus. Founder Bill Bright decided before he would try to plan, strategize or reach out to the students, he would first pray for them. He formed a 24-hour prayer chain with college students from his local church asking God to open a door at UCLA to preach the Gospel. A short while after this prayer vigil God opened a door for Bill to preach to a sorority house where half the students gave their life to Jesus and in the following weeks 250 students on campus were saved including the Student Body President, Top Athletes, and Yearbook Editor!

So a big part of our heart for the prayer room this year is to see students in Epic restore the vision of what God established as the very DNA of Campus Crusade years ago when it first started. We desire students to come to the prayer room, experience God, be transformed by His presence, and run with the vision that God gives to them. That's how each of our lives have been transformed and empowered. We have so many more stories to tell, and we desire to see a whole generation of Asian Americans be empowered to tell their own stories. As one person so aptly put it, "History belongs to the story-tellers and connectors." We truly do believe that God has something special in store for this generation of Asian Americans, but with that, we strongly desire to see our foundation restored through day and night prayer fueled by inimacy with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Practially speaking, we will be planning a prayer room that will be open 24 hours a day for people to come at any point of the day. We are planning different stations that will help guide people to express themselves uniquely in prayer. Also, we have been asked to help Nich plan daily morning sessions for the staff, interns, and students. Every morning at 7:30am, we will be having a prayer session before the staff and intern meeting that goes from 8 to 9am. From 8 to 9am, we are also planning on doing a prayer and worship set. We have already contacted some students from different universities to help lead these one hour prayer and worship sets each morning. Our prayer is that God will draw people's hearts to these prayer sessions each morning. We realize that for many people this is very early in the morning especially after long nights after planning and preparation, but we want to recognize that these early morning prayer sessions will be the very foundation for the rest of the day.

Sorry for the length of this email. Our group is just very excited to see what God will do this year at Epic Conference. We just have one prayer request as we prepare for Epic Conference. We ask that you pray that students, staff, and interns would PRAY! That is really all we have to do! We'll leave the rest up to God!


Together in Christ,


Daniel, Carl, and Sara

2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

A good day

Bacon, Eggs, and Rice for breakfast

Reunion with good friends

Miso Ramen for lunch

Little Tokyo adventure

Prayer Room Experience

Great Conversation with Cousin

Azuki!

Prayer meeting at Starbucks

Talking with homeless guy

Pizza and Egg rolls for dinner

Eye-opening conversations with my uncle

Great track by my bro and cousin

laptop fixed and ready for a new year of blogging


Sounds like a good day to me. Yay Jesus for the New Year!