My first mistake was deciding that flats were a sensible footwear choice on a 20° night in Buffalo.
My second mistake was deciding to brave the mile-long trek to our destination, rather than finding a closer parking spot.
You live and you learn. (And yes, your toe-cicles eventually thaw, too).
Despite my ill-conceived tundra trek, it was my joy to join our recruiting team recently on a frigid February night to share with students at a Christ!an club at UB about our work in Asia.
By the end of the night, I had connected with three girls who felt as though God might be calling them to Asia…and one girl from Asia who I think God is calling to Himself!
The unforeseen highlight of the night was having the chance to meet Miranda, a girl from Asia who is completing a bachelor’s degree at UB. She’s not a believer, but attends this Christian club fairly regularly. I jumped in, mid-conversation, as she and another student “Dee” discussed relationships:
“Do you think people really just ‘fall out’ of love?” Miranda asked. “I don’t know if I can believe it can be there one day and gone the next.”
Dee thoughtfully replied, “Well, I think a lot of people expect love to be easy and exhilarating forever. And when it gets hard, they think it must not be love anymore.”
“Yeah. I think some people also expect a relationship like that to meet their heart’s every desire,” I added. “When it turns out that person can’t fulfill their every desire (because no human can), they try looking for someone else who can.”
It was a “chance” conversation that gave Dee and I the opportunity to share more with Miranda about God’s love. He loves us even when it’s hard, and helps us do the same. And unlike any other human, He is uniquely positioned to satisfy our heart through every trial.
Please be praying for God to continue revealing Himself to Miranda!
Another highlight of the evening was having a chance to talk with a girl “Q” about how God has been moving in her heart lately.
When she and I spoke, her family was in the last few days of a 40-day prayer challenge. Throughout the series, God had been stirring her up for missions in a way she’d never felt before. Without knowing what she had been feeling, her brother had also begun prompting her to consider going on a short-term missions trip. The day we met, she had been asking God if He wants her doing ministry work.
That evening, as we shared with her, she had a strong sense that God was asking her to go to Asia with us for a semester. As of this past week, she has applied to CT, and will hopefully be at our upcoming April Training event!
Would you be praying for Q as God gives her direction for the next season?
It was such a blessing to meet Dee, Q, and many other students who are fighting the good fight of faith at UB. Many of them shared that one of their biggest struggles is to maintain friendships with teammates and classmates while avoiding the party scene on campus.
Oddly, this left me feeling incredibly hopeful that God is on the move at UB. These students’ hearts are for God, and I am hopeful that as they seek Him, He will show up and help them navigate this balance of being “in the world but not of it.” These are ministry workers!
Would you join me in praying for all these students at UB as they seek to walk with God on their mission field?