Chu chats journey

Hello blog... it's been about 10 years since I've written in here and my oh my, it's been a long time.  So much has changed.  I'm married to my wonderful wife, Esther since 6.15.2013.  We live in St. Louis, Missouri.  I'm still doing Intervarsity.  It's been a blessing the past 10 years.  It has been a bit of a faith building time over the past couple of years as Esther & I wait for him (more on this later) As I'm on sabbatical, I've been physically weary and it's felt like Jesus has invited me into a deep rest without a ton of "work".  It's been joyful to think about God's provision in my life.  He reminded me of that through a bird that landed in the 88 food court.  He's brought me this far in my life and I know it's his hands that have guided me.  I've been also wrestling with the idea of disappointment & hope and how to hold both of those feelings & ideas in the same hand.  I notice that I have a self-p...

Acapella group practices for Coffeehouse Renewal is a strange word to me. It can mean so many different things. Some of the things I think of are physical renewal, emotional renewal and spiritual renewal. But most recently, I've been wrestling with renewal of your purpose and calling. As an InterVarsity staff worker, I've learned so much yet there is so much more to learn. I've learned that every day I have to allow God to renew my focus. It's so easy to do things safely, but what does it actually mean to be on the forefront of God's mission to the campus? I think I was losing focus the past month. I struggled with being renewed on a daily basis. My sloth and pride caused me to do God's work without God. As I look back today, one day after turning 27, I realized God was right there waiting for me, standing there with his hands open. He allowed me to try it my way and as I look back it was so draining and it felt empty. Doing God's work does no...

(above: our annual dumpling party for new students, over 280 students attend) September is usually a crazy month and this year it was no exception. I was overwhelmed by the number of students that came out to our dumpling party. I found myself not knowing exactly what to do, besides meet people. It was hard, because there were just so many! The challenge was connecting new students with former students. How do we create bridges for students to connect? Some students told me afterwards that they were exhausted, even those who consider themselves extroverted. It was nice hearing that the VSA (Vietnamese Student Association) officers wanted to partner to do some local community service. It was great seeing people from every nation literally come. We put up a map of the world and had people put stickers up of their homelands, and they were literally scattered throughout. I've always wondered, what would it be like if our fellowship literally had people from every nation to w...

What have I learned through a year of ministry? There is so much to say, but I'll keep them to three basic things 1.) The power of prayer... it's been stated over and over again that prayer is powerful, but I have seen through this year how powerful it can be. I have seen God answer prayers for healing, depression, logistics, etc, etc. I have felt others prayers for me in particular in the mornings when I wake to read God's word. Prayer has definitely changed the culture of our group on campus. It has been a way for us to rally together as a whole group to pray over others and ourselves. My own personal prayer life has become more bold as I write my prayers out, they are definitely bolder and bigger. 2.) Spiritual warfare is rampant! There have been many times this year when I've tried to engage people with gospel or scheduled times to discuss spiritual things, but for one reason or another something happens that prevents the meeting from happening. Whether so...

We ended our finals week with one last service opportunity towards the campus. It was great to see students take initiative towards sharing God's love through free coffee and cookies. They encountered many stressed people throughout the week, but still had opportunities to encourage random people and even had chances to offer prayer and pray for students. It's been highly encouraging to see students work together to love the campus for Jesus. "Words can't express how much AACF has impacted my life. Freshman year, I wasn't even seeking but open, and was invited to small group at AACF. That small group really changed my life. It was a safe environment to ask questions and walk closer to Jesus on my own timing, and by the end of the school year, I had become a Christian. Sophomore year, AACF provided outlets for me to connect with God personally. The prayer retreat didn't really jumpstart my prayer life or anything, but did give me the interesting idea of singing...

(BU AACF Senior Appreciation) After four years of hard work, the seniors are finally finished with their collegiate careers. There are always nostalgic feelings when you see seniors graduate. I have personally seen them grow so much in different ways. I praise God that a lot of them have become men and women who desire to seek to make the world a better place. (Prayer & reflection weekend) A couple of weeks ago, I took the seniors to New Hampshire for a day of reflection & prayer. It was a good time to hear of the different trials and places where the seniors had been and where they are going. What I love about InterVarsity is that it reminds me that the seniors aren't a finished body of work and neither am I. The New England vision is to see students move from cynics to seekers to followers to leaders to world changers. Jesus does all the work and I'm just ...