F.A.T. Volunteer

F.A.T. stands for Faithful, Available, and Teachable.  Dan Seo is definitely FAT!

The truth is, Dan Seo wasn't planning on staying at Cornell for a whole semester after he finished school, but thankfully God was!  Dan rocked out his Electrical/Computer Engineering degree in just 3 1/2 years and was dutifully applying for jobs throughout the fall of '13 but nothing panned out!  Dan had seriously considered staying at Cornell and volunteering alongside our interns, but in the end he and his family had decided it would be best if he went straight into engineering.  BUT, surprisingly, he just wasn't getting the offers!  The situation was actually very stressful.  Dan is certainly capable and qualified, but the discouragement compounded each time he would do an interview and fill out an application only to be passed over.  And not only was Dan himself getting unnerved, but his father and mother were increasingly distressed which put a lot of pressure on him. When January of 2014 arrived, Dan decided that -without another job available, he would hang out in Ithaca for the semester, and spend time serving our ministry with his free time.  

Dan was able to have a God-centered perspective on it all.  Relaying his experience to our movement he said; "I ended up without a job and I like to think that it was by God’s grace that I didn’t get a job [last semester]."  It's been a faith challenge for sure, but those of us who have been involved can affirm that Dan has fought hard to believe truth in the face of adversity. (In fact, at the time of this writing, Dan is still applying for jobs, and is even now trusting God even with the future so uncertain and out of his control.)

As a student Dan was a real servant leader who was a big part of leading Community Groups in Collegetown.  Dan also acted as the functional "secretary" of our ministry, helping to ensure that notes were taken at every one of our leadership meetings and typing up 'minutes.'  He would typically post the minutes right after the meeting thereby enabling anyone who was unable to attend to "catch up" on all the stories and business that had been covered.  Numerous leaders benefited from that contribution!  Doing that, also enables us as staff to look back on over 2 years of leadership meetings to keep track of what we have covered in the past and help us be more effective going forward.  As a volunteer, Dan was able to keep doing those things and even more.  

Dan's friends would tell you that he is truly one of the most disciplined and organized people they have ever met.  I knew that his strengths would be a wonderful compliment to our staff team.  Explaining his experience working with us he said  "I don’t think J, Will, or Mercy will take offense when I say they are not logistical/administrative masters or necessarily detail driven. They just weren't made to be people sitting in front of a computer screen typing all day....or to discuss logistics for hours on end.  Instead they... communicate, direction set, build relationships with people, teach and lead.   But me, with my personality and disposition, I’m an organizer!  I like figuring out logistics, planning and thinking about the details."

Especially as we organized and orchestrated the logistics and finances of our 3 spring break trips, Dan and his spreadsheets enabled us to send students to New York City, Guatamala City and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. And because he didn't have any coursework on his plate, Dan was able to be very available to fill in holes and help with almost anything at all! And it certainly wasn't all business! We enjoyed his company and appreciated his friendship.

I will say that for my part, I was extremely grateful that Dan was able to stay with us!  And I know that the rest of our staff team loved it as well! He certainly finished his time here at Cornell in a way that was definitively non-traditional, but it was so, so helpful.  (In fact, I truly hope that others will follow his example and do the same in years to come!)  Sharing at our last weekly meeting, in his matter of fact way,  he encouraged others to consider staying as an intern or volunteer staff. 

"I wouldn’t ever want people that serve as a volunteer staff, much less intern, to have not thought this over. [Going to] work immediately, taking a vacation, a celebratory trip somewhere fun, or just bumming around and relaxing (after graduation).....none of those are the wrong choice to make.

But I do believe there might be a better choice. Like a lot of thing Cru advocates, Fall Getaways, Summer Projects to name a couple, it may not always, in every situation be the best move, like when you need to be studying or working at a job, but like a lot of thing Cru advocates, staying and serving is something you will not regret doing. For me, it's been a blessing and helpful in my walk, and I hope that makes staying a bit more appealing."

Tyler Kelleher: Content in God

Tyler Kelleher enrolled in the Cornell vet school in the fall of 2010.  He did his undergad at UC Davis where he had been involved with Cru, and when he showed up to Ithaca he had just finished a Summer Project in South Africa.   Because of his experience in ministry he was able to jump right in to our movement and was a dedicated leader pretty much from day one.

Many grad students find it difficult to stay plugged in with campus fellowships, but Tyler was truly an exception.  He possessed a spiritual maturity that came from age and experience, but he operated with a vitality that made you think he was still an undergrad!   He was very involved in the leadership of small groups and he was a huge part of our praise band.

Tyler in Guatemala

"Authenticity" really became the theme of the evening at our senior share, and Tyler brought some powerful reflections to the table.

He titled his message "The sufficiency of Christ and displaying the gospel in singleness".  He opened up about what it looks like to cope with disappointment in relationships.  Basically, what do you do when you really want to be married and it just doesn't seem to be working out with anyone?   He talked about really finding your identity in Christ and and resting in His unconditional, overwhelming and profoundly sufficient love.

At the beginning of his talk, Tyler said candidly "I want to be married and I'm not afraid to admit it."  He talked about God's good and glorious design for marriage and expressed his plain desire to have a wife.  He went on to talk about how he had pursued relationships with Godly women over the years -in a way that was honorable and God-glorifying and yet nothing had panned out.  He talked about the discouragement that comes with growing older and seeing friends and even his younger brother get engaged and find a spouse. He talked openly about believing lies.  It's easy when things aren't going how we expected them to go for us to believe things that aren't true about God and about ourselves.  Tyler began wrestling with the idea that there was something wrong with him, and that God was holding out on him.  Ultimately he began to believe that he was "unlovable".

Tyler said "I Ultimately realized that I that was believing a lie which boiled down to 'I’m not lovable'.

That was nothing less than a Satanic lie. Yes, we are all messed up and in need of grace, that’s true, but the enemy wants you to believe that part without acknowledging the rest of the story, namely THE CROSS!!!

From Jesus’ work on the cross, we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are loved.

Jesus was willing to endure the pain of being betrayed, scourged, mocked, and ultimately murdered for the sake of reconciling us and bringing us back to Himself to be with him forever"

After preaching the gospel and talking about his journey towards peace in the face of disappointment, Tyler went on to encourage everybody to maximize their singleness. He said "we shouldn’t be feeling unloved, discouraged or incomplete!  We should live in Christ every day -even doing things that might be harder to do once you are married!  

Throughout the years, I had the chance to talk with Tyler about relationships many times.  And I can personally testify to the way he consistently treated the women around him with respect and honor.  I've seen him grow tremendously in his faith as he believed God.  I know that God has a plan for him, and statistically speaking,  he will most likely get married some day.  But I can see clearly that God has a unique path for Tyler. Right now he's headed to California where he plans to work as a vet for a few years and then he wants to work somewhere overseas.  Tyler has a heart that is very missional and would like to work somewhere where he can make a significant difference.

Tyler provided leadership on our Guatemala Spring Break mission trips

Senior's Hannah and David

As I've mentioned before; during our last large group meeting at Cornell each year we have our seniors share parting words of gospel informed wisdom and exhortation.  One of the reasons this is such a powerful time is because our leaders share with openness and authenticity.  In doing so, they set a powerful example and really bless their classmates and fellow leaders.

Hannah Weaver explained;
"A lot of times in Christian community, especially here at Cornell, we are afraid to share our struggles with others. Whether it is because we want to seem perfect, or we are afraid of being judged, we all at some point try to hide from revealing our sin. We think that only God needs to know about it and no one else does. However, it is this attitude that typically keeps us from truly repenting from sin and therefore from experiencing God's forgiveness through grace. The truth is we are sinful.  We are not perfect - only Christ was perfect. He died for us so that we can live for eternity with Him in Heaven."

Hannah is dating another Cru senior, David Kim.  During her share time, she talked about their relationship and courageously opened up about some of the ways they had really struggled as a couple to maintain sexual purity. She explained that it was only by opening up, sharing their struggle with friends and confessing sin to others that they were enabled to live differently and pursue holiness. 

David also shared at our meeting, talking mostly about his first couple of years at Cornell.  I met David his freshman year and invited him out to a small group Bible study that I was leading with Edgar Lei.  He did come out a few times and Edgar and I repeatedly encouraged  him to get plugged in with Christian community, but he just never really got involved.  David had grown up in a strong Christian home and church but it seemed like he was on the path to being one of those students who "fall away from the faith"  when they get to college.  I'd see him on campus and he'd show up to Church on Sundays, but he was always telling us he was too "busy" to get more involved.  

David was on the Cornell track team, and no doubt the course load at Cornell is arduous, but what David was really 'busy" doing was watching hours and hours of T.V!  Growing up, his family didn't have cable and he hadn't been allowed to watch a lot of television, so when he got to college, he decided to use his new found freedom to make up for lost time!  He shared with us a whole list of substandard dramas from the CW network that he dedicated his freshman year to.  It was downright hilarious and sad all at the same time. Consuming t.v. was the focus of his freshman year at Cornell, and even extended into the summer!

Ironically, it was the Jim Carey movie "Yes Man" that helped usher David to a new place spiritually.  In the movie, Jim Carey's character has his life altered simply by saying "yes" and making himself available to the opportunities that come his way.  David watched it over the summer and felt inspired to do something similar.  He pledged to say "yes" to more invitations in the fall.  Enter Mercy Gbenjo.  Mercy is one of our interns now, but back when she was a student she was also on the track team.  At the beginning of Dave's sophomore year she invited him to come out to our Fall Getaway, and he said 'yes.'  It was a half-hearted and reluctant 'yes', but by showing up to the getaway, the course of his college life changed.  

Dave encouraged everyone to remember what matters and to help each other to see and savor Jesus.  I am so grateful for both Hannah and David and really glad that by grace, Dave was rescued from wasting his life at Cornell!  Both of these guys were very dedicated leaders in Cru! 

Class quotes 2

Here are some more excerpts from our senior leaders.  The class of 2014. 

I've mentioned before, that Brian Green is notorious for helping people understand God's unconditional grace. One thing that enables him to convey the hugeness of God's love is his willingness to talk about his own sin and shortcomings. He definitely did that on senior share night -confessing sin and talking about the transforming benefits of life lived honestly before God and others. He ended with this.  

I'll sum up my call to vulnerability with my personal testimony. I grew up felt very sure that I was not good enough to be worthy of anyone's love, especially not God's love. "There is so much wrong with me, how could anyone love me for who I really am?" So I hid who I really was from everyone and never opened up. The most beautiful moment of my life was realizing that even though God knew exactly who I was, He loved me anyway and was willing to die for me so I could know Him, be fully known, and experience His love. So I go to God vulnerably, with all of my failings, knowing that He loves me completely. And I do the same with friends, family, coworkers -- everybody, knowing that God loves me for who I am right now and hoping that we can love each other the same way.

Caroline Emberton gave a well worded encouragement to get involved in various organizations on campus.  She pointed out how good it is for Christ following leaders to serve within campus organizations and not just sequester themselves.  

Being a leader in the community can help you grow in your faith because you can be challenged to really wrestle with and understand other people’s viewpoints and you get out of your comfort zone. One of the best lessons that I learned was that God does not expect you to be perfect, he just wants you to have the faith inspired courage to stand. Be willing to be that person to stand, and be a servant leader in communities that are completely out of your comfort zone.