Un-Crushed Students

We like to say that there are two versions of every Cornell student.  There is the regular version; a person who is brilliant, purpose-driven, often creative, optimistic and relational.  And there is the crushed version of that person: A person who's mental acuity, drive, vision and social abilities are fundamentally impaired by the "crushing weight" of homework, academic pressure, resume building extra-curricular activities,  un-ceasing competition and complete lack of margin. 

One of the best things about spring break trips is the way it enables us to spend time hanging out with the "un-crushed" version of our Cornell student leaders.  

Our spring break trips afford students the chance to get off campus, take a break from homework and get some fresh air.   The grace of the gospel pervades every aspect of the week.  And with our focus on Jesus, serving others and enjoying fellowship together the students are able to connect with God and each other in some really powerful ways.  The non-stop "success driven" culture at Cornell is actually very stifling.  But traveling together over the break is thoroughly enriching; students are categorically more joyful, clear thinking and social on the trips.  They are "un-crushed."   Lots of spiritual growth happens specifically because there is adequate mental and emotional space.  
 

I personally believe these experiences are invaluable for gaining perspective.  So much life at Cornell can become a neurotic shuffle from one intense class or assignment to the next.  It's "productive" in it's own rite, but at what cost?  Getting away for a week of doing nothing has it's own merits.  But for those who spend their week hanging out with friends, exploring ways to love others and soaking in God's word it is extremely fortifying.  

This is one of our guys, Paul, exhibiting some of the extra life students have on these trips!  haha. 

A Baltimore Reflection

Senior Andrew Shi wrote a fantastic reflection on our Baltimore Spring Break trip.

My spring break trip to Baltimore/DC was more than I could ask for. Our team of 18 stayed at the Village Church in Baltimore, a young church whose members reflect the diversity of its local neighborhood. Our week consisted of an assortment of activities. In Baltimore, we toured the city, handed out flyers for the church, did construction work on the church, went on a prayer walk in the surrounding neighborhood, tutored with an after-school program at an inner-city school, learned about World Relief, and participated in campus evangelism at UMBC. In DC, we toured the city, attended a prayer meeting at the headquarters of International Justice Mission, flyered for a new Hispanic Church, and met with church planters as well as a missionary inside Capitol Hill to learn about the spiritual climate in our nation’s capitol.

Andrew (center) with Michael and Dennis in DC

When I first saw the scheduled events of the week, I felt disappointed that the trip seemed to have no clear vision. I was hoping to work towards one big project--something to show at the end of the week. Now I realize how God used the little moments--from driving to YMCA at night to take showers to making food together at 10PM in the church’s tiny kitchen--to teach me big lessons. If there was one word to capture what I experienced and learned, it would be “community.”

To be sure, being around the same people for seven straight days is itself a community-building exercise. What made this community special, however, was not the fact that we were physically together. It was the goal of each member to love one another that moved me. Not once on the trip did I see anyone complain about being off schedule or feeling too tired to sign up for the next breakfast shift. One night during our team time, we did a group-bonding activity where we took turns saying positive things about one person in the group for one minute. The exercise, as one member put it, was both affirming and humbling. As someone who loves to be independent, I tend to shy away from the messiness of groups. But my experience on this team helped me to see that to live and serve together with other Christians is a joyful rather than a burdensome duty.

Andrew using the Perspective Banners to talk about Spiritual Beliefs

Beyond our team, my experience of community came from observing how members of the Village Church served us. The Village Church’s members demonstrated their hospitality to us throughout the entire week. On two separate nights, I had dinners at people’s homes nearby the church. On two separate nights, I took showers at people’s homes nearby the church. The church members welcomed us into their homes--often late into the night--without reservation. They took us in as their own and expressed a genuine desire to get to know us.

I want to recall one conversation I had with two young professionals who lived near the church. Both emphasized to me the importance of living close to a local church and being involved in the daily life of the church. While this advice may appear obvious, it was not something I’ve taken seriously as a college student. To think of it, school is arguably the only time in life where I will be around people exclusively my age, who do more or less the same things I am doing--classes, clubs, sports, etc. It has been easy--perhaps natural--for me to pick and choose my community and to be involved in as much or as little as I want, when I want. As a consequence of the four-year turnover rate in college, I’ve grown comfortable with the transient flow of friendships and responsibilities, and in turn, my conception of community. This spring break trip jerked me out of the college pond and gave me a glimpse of the ocean of the real world. The two young professionals I spoke with talked about how God worked through their life through the church. Both belonged to community groups. Both were being mentored by older women. Both found ways to serve inside and outside the church. Their advice unsettled my narrow and selfish conception of community.

I confess that throughout college, I’ve often treated Cru fellowship time or Sundays at church as just another block of time on my schedule. God convicted me of these sinful and misguided thoughts this week. I realized that my primary obstacle to a deeper engagement with the body of Christ was not some well-meaning excuse but the pride of my heart. I wanted community on my own terms. Weary of falling into a Christian bubble, I considered it weak to develop a dependency on the Christian community. As a result, my imagination of what community looks like and what it can do has been so modest.

Praise God for revealing these truths to me in this time of my life. I am one month away from graduation as I think about these things. When I begin law school in the fall, I will have the opportunity to be involved in the law school’s Christian fellowship as well as the local church. Community there will not look the same as community here, but it will still be God’s body of believers. With what I learned on this spring trip, thanks to your prayers and support, I look forward to deeper waters that lie ahead.

Senior Maggie Wong

Comforted by Grades GRACE!

Maggie Wong sat stressed and anxious pouring over Powerpoint presentations that seemed completely foreign.  How did she get so behind? These "review" notes sure didn’t feel like anything familiar!  She was trying to cram for an upcoming test and it was not working!  Failure loomed inevitable and each click of the mouse felt like a bucket of bricks coming down, crushing and burying her deeper under the pile.   And then there was a phone call!  Could it?.....what?..... oh wow; bad news!  Nothing was going as planned; stress fueled negativity consumed her.  Sadness and hopelessness clouded her already stressed out mind!  

  

Maggie Wong graduated a semester early and is now interning with the International Justice Mission (IJM).   I am excited for her, but we are definitely going to miss her here on campus this spring!  Maggie served as a Community Group leader and she also helped emcee our Friday night meetings.  

Maggie grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. (A fellow south-westerner!)  God blessed Maggie with both a wonderful family and a good home church.  Like many adolescent's 'Mags' had a knowledge of God and some interest in spiritual things.  But it was here in college that Jesus really got a grip on her heart!   This year during our Christmas party, Maggie got the chance to share some of her story with over 250 of her fellow students.

It was during her sophomore year that Maggie began to struggle with the academic intensity of Cornell.  Her grades were slipping.  This was basically a new experience for Maggie.  She said "All throughout middle and high school, I was on top of my work, but somehow I fell totally behind in everything and felt like I was constantly catching up in all my classes.....Cornell is a rigorous academic institution, and the classes are hard, the professors are tough. There’s such a pressure to succeed and to be ambitious, and all of this leads to a huge emphasis on GRADES."

Maggie (right) with Rachel Chuang

It may be hard for outsiders to understand why even a slight dip in GPA can function as such a life altering crisis for some students.  Suffice it to say that "Making the grade"  here at Cornell is about actually getting good grades.   Every sub-culture has it's metrics; for some it's how healthy, "organic" and fit you are, for other's it's about how you dress or what you drive.   But the Ivy league success markers revolve around being academically excellent (and then vocationally good after that).   And most of the students who study at places like Cornell have had their eyes fixed on their report cards for many many years.  

But the reason it can be so dramatic is even deeper; it's about the heart!  Maggie explained: "My identity and my worth and sense of purpose were all tied very closely to my grades, so when this sense of security was suddenly threatened, I was absolutely terrified and had no idea what to do.  It was very unsettling."

Maggie speaking at the Cru Christmas party! 

I'm pretty sure every single student sitting there in the Physical Science Atrium that night could relate to Maggie's feelings.  The question everyone answers with their life choices is this: "What will you look to for peace and stability?  Where will you run for hope?"  

Sitting there freaking out about everything Maggie recalls "I felt like was going to fail this prelim and mess up my GPA, my life was not figured out, everything was going wrong, my mind quickly spiraled down down down, and I was just like, “God, why is this all happening?!” I was getting really worked up about all of this. But then I kind of paused and, -it wasn’t an audible voice, but I just had this thought in my head: “Hey. Stop worrying. God’s got you, everything’s gonna work out, it’s gonna be okay” And in the same way that stress was overwhelming me, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the most powerful comfort and peace I have ever felt.

That moment was a turning point.  God literally blessed Maggie with clarity and perspective. She couldn't stop thinking about it!   Before it had been hard to study because she was preoccupied by stress, and now she was simply overwhelmed with the presence of God!   The next day she feverishly wrote down her thoughts "reflecting on God and what he was doing in my life, and I realized that God was continually giving me opportunities that tested and challenged my trust and my faith in him. I realized that I had never fully placed my trust in God, but I had really put a lot of faith in other things like my grades and in my friends. Yet even when I had the best of those things—incredible friends who really cared about me and spent time with me, top-notch grades and perfect academic record—I wasn’t satisfied. I still felt empty, I still felt lost. I still wanted more. And the first time I ever felt fulfilled and satisfied, the first time I truly felt the peace and comfort I had always desired, was that moment the night before—when I was messy and broken, raw and real, humbled before God.

Maggie's experience was powerfully humbling.  In the face of failure, she was confronted with her humanness!  The main thing hindering most of us from putting real trust in God is the fact that we put so much trust in ourselves!  But in the face of failure, the illusion that we are completely strong and capable and trustworthy begins to fade away.  In and through her struggle, Maggie was able to evaluate more adequately.  And God graciously allowed her to see his incredible strength and her own undeniable weakness.   God took Maggie to the end or herself in order that she might understand her own smallness and comprehend God's bigness.  Through this, God graciously gave her an opportunity to stop trusting in her own efforts and live a life of trust in God.  

Maggie looked out at her classmates and declared: Do you know that God is near to you? He desires for you to know him and believe in him and trust in him. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) God cares for you and he wants you to lift up your troubles to him, he wants us to tell him what we’re doing and feeling, and he wants to give us peace and rest.

I want to encourage all of you to seek him, reach out to Him, and find him. I want to challenge you to rely fully on God and entrust your future to him. Find hope, peace, comfort, security, and meaning to life in God alone.

I dig this shot of Mags on our team in Haiti. 

Of course, Maggie continued to work hard at school.  But she was able to apply herself here at Cornell with a new found confidence.  She actually ended up passing that Astronomy test, and graduating early to boot! But she did a lot more than study during her time here as a student.

Maggie is an ambassador for Jesus.   She was a very helpful and committed servant leader in Cru!   Her life here as a student was a living testimony to the satisfying and life giving power of Jesus!  Walking in close fellowship with some of the other ladies, Maggie labored to walk by faith and help others to encounter the grace of God.   Right now, she is working with the International Justice Mission to rescue thousands of slaves, protect millions of vulnerable people and prove that justice for the poor is possible.

*Maggie is the third student from our ministry here at Cornell to intern with the International Justice Mission. If you are not familiar with IJM, please visit their website here: https://www.ijm.org/

Cru Short Term Trips are Worthy!

Right now we have a team of Cornell students working in South Africa with the Mamalodi Initiative.  The Mamelodi initiative is in my opinion, a model of effective, sustainable, Christian humanitarian aid. Pioneered with Cru students from Harvard, the Mamelodi Initiative is an educational program that serves underprivileged teens and school age children.  Ivy league college students spend time teaching and tutoring kids so that they can pass the matriculation exams that stand between them and a quality education.  It has been rightfully observed; "if there is one thing every Cornell student can do, it’s pass a test!"  

Our team that’s there right now is reading the acclaimed book; When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.  Insightful and provocative, the authors of this book (along with their organization The Chalmer’s center) are an asset to Evangelical Christianity in America.  Their organization has played a key role in pointing out the different ways that Christian mission trips can be categorically detrimental even as the participants are trying to be a blessing.  As the title makes clear, it is possible to hurt even when trying to help.  Together, they are enabling all of us to take a more critical look at Christian missions and offering insights about how to do things well.   This is an excellent resource for everyone who wants to minister in and to the world in a way that makes a comprehensively positive impact.  

Certainly they are not the only ones to write about this topic.  In recent years, much has been written on the web questioning the wisdom and overall value of evangelical missions trips -especially short term ventures.   I’ve read many articles and even had conversations with students here on campus who contend that most short-term trips are not worth doing. I disagree!  believe that short term trips are thoroughly Biblical and we must keep sending out teams both to do short-term and long-term work.  But we should help each other to strive after wisdom and move forward with God-centered purposefulness.  

I really believe that it’s possible to do things well, and on the whole, I think the short-term trips that we offer with Cru are very valuable and effective.  Cru has both international and U.S. stateside summer mission trips that college students can participate in.  

I want to point out three things that help enable the Cru trips to be more helpful than hurtful on the whole.  

#1  Gospel Centrality.  One of the things that makes Cru’s projects so valuable is the gospel-centered nature of our missions. Throughout its history Cru has prioritized the communication of the good news of Jesus Christ as our primary objective.  The core of the Great Commission is to make disciples of Him!   We certainly value humanitarian aid and social justice initiatives; we believe in both good words and good deeds!  But no matter what else we do, we press forward with our conviction that the gospel is foundational.  Everyone everywhere needs Jesus, and our first aim is to make him known. Helping others to discover and follow Jesus is categorically helpful and good. Always.

#2  Working in Partnership.   When we take a short-term student team to another country we are typically working on or near a college campus, in conjunction with a long-term team of missionaries in that country.  Often, the long-term teams include local ministers who are native to that area or country.  Yes, sometimes a short-term team goes ahead of a long-term team, but in either case, we strive to connect our short term activities with those who are long term.  This format helps us to work in ways that are truly constructive, and it literally enables our short-term participants to contribute.  We aren’t just taking a group of students to a foreign country on some type of “Christian tourism” adventure, but we are able to involve them as ministers engaged in the long-term work.  

#3  Students working with Students.   A more cynical colleague of mine once asked the question: “Does anyone else think it’s weird that we take unskilled youth group kids to do construction in a country full of men who are skilled construction workers?”  He was scoffing the classic “mission trip to Mexico” phenomenon.  Certainly it’s an over-statement to say that everyone in Mexico is a skilled construction worker, but there is no doubt that most American junior high kids are in way over their heads at a construction site.  That’s not all bad, but what we’ve got going in Cru is different.  The majority of our ministry consists of straight-forward discipleship and evangelism in a context that our students are at least generally familiar with.  We take university students to a university!  It’s a venue where we are considerably experienced.  Sure, some methods need to be tweaked and “contextualized” a bit, but on the whole, our students are engaging in a kind of ministry that makes sense.  They are building relationships with other college students, they are building friendships and they are talking about Jesus.  It’s the same thing they do here at our campus!   

Here are some links: 

Mamalodi Initiative Website http://mamelodi.org/?page_id=651

Mamelodi Report Summary  http://mamelodi.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/mitwopager.pdf

When Helping Hurts  https://www.chalmers.org/when-helping-hurts

A couple of Articles on this topic:

From Gospel Coalition:

Why You should Consider Cancelling Your Short Term Mission Trips  

AND

Don’t Cancel That Short Term Mission Trip

Some Biblical examples of Short-term missional methodology.

Jesus’ whole ministry was a 3 year short-term trip.

The Apostle Paul’s ministry was a series of short-term style mission ventures.

Jesus sends his disciples on some very short-term trips. eg: Luke 9,10.  

Jonah’s mission to the Assyrian’s was quite short.  

Michael Horton talking about the Church’s mission to make disciples.  He talks about needing to be aware of “mission creep”; losing sight of the main mission.  Scrub to the 2:10 mark.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXIVOvTANv0

Big Break Delivers

CRU's annual Big Break is a power pack combo of  mission trip, conference, Jesus party and road trip all rolled into one.  This worthy adventure delivered as usual this year as we accompanied 37 students to Panama City Beach Florida for a week of worship, fellowship and outreach to spring breaking college students out on the beach.

There is truly nothing like Big Break and it serves as a venue for training in evangelism as well as personal growth for our students.  It's also the time of year when our kids get to spend the most concentrated time with our students.

This year was extra special because we re-united with our Cornell students after a few months apart.

Jack with Isaias Munoz

Joe with Larry Lin

The students put together a Vodcast each day to briefly highlight the days events.  You can find all 7 on youtube here http://www.youtube.com/user/cornellcrusade

In episode 5, Kevin highlights some conversations he and I had when we initiated an impromptu taxi service at midnight on Tuesday night.  The second guy we gave a ride to had literally been approached by three different groups of Christians throughout the day to talk about Jesus.  He'd engaged in three different gospel conversations, and he was literally beginning to get the message that God actually loved him and wanted a relationship with him!  I asked him if perhaps his (Christian) ex-girlfriend was praying for him because it seemed he could not escape the good news!  He said she was.  We had a powerful conversation where he acknowledged that his extreme love for alcohol was adversely affecting his life and relationships.  He talked about wanting God to really prove himself real -and admitted that the days events could certainly be a sign!!  Being completely un-churched he expressed a desire to know more about God.  I had a copy of Bill Clem's book Disciple sitting in my van, so I gave it to him.  Disciple is a pretty thick book, not one I'd typically hand out to guys who are still seeking, but it was what I had with me.   He looked me in the eye with true heart-felt gratitude and said "I will read this book.  You haven't wasted this book.  I'm not going to throw it away, I'm not going to leave it in my hotel room. Seriously.  I want to check this out."  We prayed for him and then dropped him off at his hotel.  

Also in Vodcast 5, our kids were having a ball at the restaurant with our students.  

Fun With Broken Glass.....

We’re finishing a week in Florida with our Cornell students at CRU’s Big Break in Panama City Beach.

Our students traveled from Ithaca by bus and We left New Mexico about 10 days ago caravanning in two vehicles.

We left a day later than anticipated both because packing up took longer than expected and because Joe wanted to squeeze in a quick trip to the Emergency room.  While we loaded up the cars, our kids and their cousins were out in the desert playing with some empty beer bottles they found.  (typical kid stuff)  They were filling them with sand when Jack convinced his brothers that breaking them would be fun!  (Isn’t it?)  Titus smashed one like an angry drunk in a bar brawl holding it firmly by the bottle’s neck.  Joe wanted a turn and instead of finding a fresh one, he reached for Titus’ newly fashioned weapon.  He grabbed hold, Titus jerked it away and the blood started flowing from Joes thumb. 

So there we were in the midst of stressfull packing when a kid comes running towards us with his hand covered in blood.  Good timing!  It was actually pretty hard to determine who won the “foolish” award amongst the three competitors.

Hangin' in the ER

We went to the E.R. and thanks be to God, he didn’t need stitches.  So, we were able to leave the next day. 

Packing up in New Mexico was both arduous and emotional.  The last several months have been filled with so many different situations and experiences; care-taking for my dad, the Holidays, time with family, my father’s death, my sister’s wedding and other events along the way.  We lamented leaving our families, church friends and home town because we love them all.  But, we left with sustained conviction and confirmed sense that our calling to Cornell is from the Lord. 

We got to meet up with some family in Amarillo, TX and an old Spain (our first staff assignment) team mate –Kelly Skrapka (formerly McCarthy) in Norman Oklahoma on the way out here.  

And it was awesome to re-join with our students here! 

Preparing for Big Break 2

Yes, we do own a Honda Odyssey minivan that looks just like that, but this isn't mine and unfortunately, ours doesn't have those awesome RIMS! And that's a bummer because in Panama City Beach, it's all about the rims -in fact if you happen to drive a minivan like mine with stock rims, you can actually rent rims in Panama City just to look cool! That's right, not buy them, but merely rent rims by the day! Isn't that ridiculous?

We are continuing to get ready for our trip to PCB for Campus Crusade's "Big Break" mission trip. Today another girl signed up to go, so that is awesome! Please pray for us and our little team as we get ready. There are a few logistical things that we are still trying to work out like churches to sleep in on the way down, and vehicles to drive in.

Preparing for Big Break

In a couple of weeks, we're going to head out to Campus Crusade for Christ's "Big Break" mission trip in Panama City Beach, Florida. Big Break is a power packed combo of mission trip and awesome worship conference that takes place all month long in Panama City (PCB).

Throughout the month of March, as you know, students from all over America have spring break. Thousands converge upon the beach in places like the Florida panhandle for days of reckless and irresponsible debauchery. Campus Crusade heads out there for the sake of the Gospel to engage in reckless evangelism!

Our hope was to take our whole family down this year, but it doesn't appear financially possible at this point. That's a bummer, because I bribed Titus to let me give him a haircut by telling him I was going to take him to the beach! It's still possible that we'll all go down as a family, but most likely, I'll end up going with our students and the rest of the fam will stay up here.

This week, one of our students who is going on the trip sent out an e-mail exhorting everyone else to prepare adequately for the trip. Check out what she wrote:

Hello all!

As big-break approaches, I want to encourage each of you to prepare for panama city spiritually. In the last week, God has convicted me of this, and since I was so encouraged, I wanted to share this story.

Since registering, I've been going to the gym consistently (my mind was already at the beach, I guess), running at least 20 miles per week, and increasing my work out each time. Sometimes I would go to the gym twice a day. However, last Tuesday, as I was getting ready to go to the gym, God stopped me and asked, "How are you preparing for Panama City any differently? Who am I sending?" At that moment, I felt shakened and realized that those who don't know Christ are probably doing the same thing- going to the beach just to look good. That day I grabbed my Bible and read it even in the gym, and started to memorize scripture.

I hope that this reminds all of us that we are sent by God to proclaim His word as Christians. I encourage everyone to draw closer to God so others can see that we have been near Jesus. I'm thinking that before break, we could memorize scripture together so we can equip ourselves and look good for Jesus :) If anyone is interested, let me know! It would be good to keep each other accountable.