Deepening, then Widening October 3, 2011

Last year was an odd sort of year for the Navigators at UC Riverside. Each year up until that point, we had seen pretty decent growth in numbers (not that numbers matter), but for some reason, last year we only had a few newcomers join us. At the time, I remember wondering, “God, did we do something wrong?”

God is faithful and good. I can only describe last year as truly a deepening year, where each of our students developed deeper roots and firmer foundations in their faith in Jesus. Those who began wobbly are now rock stars. Those who were already firm, firmed up even more.

Not only that, but it was a unifying year for our ministry. The students are no longer acquaintances, but brothers and sisters in Jesus. Brothers and sisters who serve one another, love one another, call each other out on sin, redirect one another, pray for and with one another….it is a gift to us as “spiritual parents” to witness!

This deepening led us to the formation of our first student leadership team. This core group of students have shown dedication to their walk with Jesus, and a heart to serve and love on others, in addition to a heart to reach out to those who do not know Jesus. They live and breathe with the heartbeat of Christ.

We are endlessly and beyond blessed by these amazing students. God has been so faithful and good to us. As I sat in our very first student leadership meeting, I was reminded of when RJ and I first moved here two years ago. At that time, we could barely get five students out to our weekly dinners. In fact, during our first quarter, even two would have been a stretch! But to be so blessed as to have God allow us to see the fruits of our labor is indescribable. It brings tears of joy to my eyes.

I truly believe that after a year of deepening, these students are ready to go out for a year of widening! They are ready to disciple, they are ready to lead Bible studies of their own, they are ready to pursue those who do not know Jesus…our man-power has tripled from spring quarter until now! Already, these students have been faithful in calling back freshmen, in organizing events, in meeting and caring for freshmen, and it is only the second week of classes. They are doing our work for us! And we believe that God is going to reach to the ends of campus and to the nations through these students and the students who these students disciple. And we are excited to be a part of that.

God’s hand is moving at UC Riverside in mighty and deepening and widening ways. It is an exciting time to be a part of this ministry at UC Riverside.

Pray For Us! February 11, 2011

I don’t know if anyone still reads this, but I sure hope so!

This weekend, we will be making the trek down to Pine Valley, CA for our annual regional conference, where the Navigators from various campuses around California, Arizona, Utah, and Hawaii will gather for worship and messages. Every year, UCR seems to increase in the number of students represented. The first first year, one student attended. Me and RJ’s first year, we had 3 students join us. Last year we had 11. This year I believe we have 15. God is growing our little ministry! Oh, how my heart did swell last year when RJ and I emceed and had a little cheer section of UCR students that did not exist 2 years ago!  God is good!

This year, God seems to be giving UCR more responsibilities at conference.  RJ is co-leading a workshop with our campus director on quiet times, I am on the worship team on keyboard and bringing my mad harmonies, my “brother” is emceeing, my real brother is also on the worship team (not from UCR, but thought I’d throw him in there), and some students from our group are performing a thought-provoking skit at conference. If there is one thing we could ask of you, we would ask for your prayers! We have been experiencing significant spiritual oppression and warfare in the past couple of weeks, and we are definitely in need God’s protection over us this weekend!

Please pray:

1. For safe travels down to Pine Valley, CA.

2. For RJ and Brandon as they co-lead the workshop on spending time with God. You can pray for the other workshop leaders as well. =)

3. For the worship team, that we would be unified and that the Spirit of God would fill us and use us in mighty ways this weekend.

4. For the skit team, as they prepare and that they would honor God with their acting.

5. For protection against spiritual attack, that God would stand guard and surround us with His safety.

6. That people would be brought into the throne room of Jesus and that lives would be touched and changed by the power of the gospel.

7. For the speaker, John Hess, that his message would be from God and that it would resonate in the hearts of students and staff.

Thanks! We are thankful you are in this work with us, though maybe not in person, but definitely in prayer.  =)

Three Week Mark! September 1, 2010

This summer has been a super refreshing time for RJ and I to spend with friends and family, to get in touch with donors, to rest before the impending storm, and we even got to serve at my home church’s (Chinese Bible Church of San Diego) youth retreat, which I haven’t done in the past four years.  It was fun, RJ and I got to each lead a group of 10th-12th graders, and I even got to lead a workshop on dating and relationships from a Biblical perspective.  Much of it was based off what I learned last summer at the Summer Training Program in San Marcos.  (Quick recap: since the Bible doesn’t mention dating at all, let’s look at what it says about how to relate to one another in marriage, how to relate to one another in general, and based off those two topics, extrapolate to what can be generalized to dating relationships and how to treat one another)  I received much encouragement from other counselors and older high school girls, that much was learned, appreciated, and brought to light.  One counselor told me she knew that because of the workshop, the course of two lives of girls she knew would be changed radically right away.  I praise God for His work there, that He could use me and my story to touch lives!

My small group, "Team Fusion," at CBC's 2010 Family Retreat

So we are at the three week mark before craziness begins!  I myself will be starting the Master’s program in Marital and Family Therapy in two weeks at Loma Linda University.  Here is where we’re at.  We have over 200 names of freshmen and transfers from orientation recruiting (praise God!).  The first month, staff and students will try to get in contact and meet with each of these 200 names, to share the vision of the Navigators and what our group is all about.  Will you pray with us for each of the 200 plus students we will be contacting, that God would prepare their hearts and lead them to the group that will help them grow the most with God?

To do what we do at UCR, RJ and I raise support.  Everyone in the Navigators, from the president to the new interns are required to fundraise their own salary, business expenses, administrative costs, and benefits.  It is like we are running our own business.  In order to be on campus, we need to be at 70% of our funding, and we are currently at 60%.

Our budget has increased significantly this past summer, due to our transition in staff role.  The reason for the increase is that much of what used to be subsidized is no longer, and also so that we can receive a less frugal salary.  We currently need to raise an additional $3000/month in support to be fully funded.  Will you pray that God would provide the rest of our funds?  And will you prayerfully consider joining our support team? We would love to be on campus in the beginning of the school year to recruit hard, work hard, and bring students into the kingdom of God.

One easy way to give is by clicking here!  You can easily set up a one time or monthly donation via the Nav website.

Thanks for reading, we are blessed by your prayers and support!

By the Numbers July 27, 2010

Now, I am not one who particularly cares about numbers.  If our group forever remains small, but is filled with people growing in their relationship with God, growing in faith, taking steps towards holiness and love, I would be thrilled.  However, God has blessed us this past year with growth in both numbers and in maturity.  Here’s some numerical history of the Navs at UCR:

2007-2008: Began with 0, eventually 2 students involved, one transferred at the end of the year.

2008-2009: Began with 1, slowly grew to a solid and consistent 8, with one non-Christian hanging out with us consistently.

2009-2010: Began with the 8, grew to a pretty consistent 35, with numerous non-Christians consistently hanging out with us.  We saw the solid and consistent 8 of the previous year grow from infancy to maturity and leadership, pivotal to our growth as the Navigators at UCR.  Two people accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, and the non-Christians from the previous year continue to hang out, and even begin attending large group regularly.

We’re growing exponentially, in new life, in faith and dedication to Jesus, and in numbers.  It’s a fun time to be part of the ministry at UCR!  Here’s what to look forward to for this next year.

Last year at the end of the 10 freshmen orientations we had:

123 names

77 female

44 male

2 unknown

This year at the end of 6/10 freshman orientations we have:

112 names

62 females

43 males

6 unknown

We are on our way to surpassing last year’s orientation numbers, onto continued growth and especially as we have many more students to help us recruit and meet with these 112 names.  We expect another 80 or so names by the end of orientations.

Thanks for praying for us.  God is working here in amazing ways.  =)

Coffeehouse April 6, 2010

Winter quarter, our NavNite theme was The Wheel illustration, which is a tool used by the Navigators to describe a Christian’s life with God.

The Wheel Illustration

The vertical spokes represent our relationship with God, and how we commune with Him, which is through prayer and the Word. The horizontal spokes represent our relationship with other believers and non-believers. Ideally, in each believer’s life, each spoke would be equal in strength to make the most efficient use of the wheel, and where the rubber meets the road is obedience. When the wheel is working well, what you see  is not the individually spokes making up the wheel, but Christ the center, who holds everything together, the hub.

One night, Kristin gave a message on how to give one’s own testimony, and the next week students had the opportunity to share their testimonies at a coffeehouse. We wanted the night to be special, to feel homey, to have the coffeehouse feel.

The ambience creators!

Centerpieces

Students were given the opportunity to sign up to share their testimony. I was asked beforehand to share, in the event no one wanted to share, but in the end it wasn’t needed at all! Student after student volunteered to share their life stories, and instead of ending at 9PM, it ended at 11PM, but on their own volition.

The spread

Yours truly, the barista!

I sat in the back making mochas, lattes, espresso shots, decaf coffee, and hot water for tea as student after student came up to share. It’s a coffeehouse, duh!

The chair!

I am just so amazed at the vulnerability and maturity of the students, how open they were with their sins and their struggles, with their life stories and how Jesus was changing them. There wasn’t an ounce of superficiality or faking their walk with God. It was raw, it was real. And for some reason, on this night there were a bunch of new people who had never been to our NavNites, including non-Christians. I’m convinced hearing the real-life struggles and victories with the help of Christ these students shared inclined non-believers to see the reality of walking with Christ. There is still struggle, there is still sin, but there is hope. We are in reality all the same, but as believers we have hope. And that’s attractive.

Truth Conference April 2, 2010

We apologize for the lack of correspondence and updates for our faithful readers!  It has been a whirlwind of a quarter, for me (Alice) especially as I’ve been taking the equivalent of 3 classes in addition to Nav work!  There is so much to update you on, so I will just begin with our annual Navigator conference.

February 19th-21st, we made the trek down to Pine Valley, CA for our annual regional conference with the Navigator ministries in California, Arizona, and Hawaii.  The first year the Navs were at UCR, 1 student went to conference.  The next year (RJ and my first year at UCR) God brought 3 students to conference.  This year, it was 11 , 6 girls and 5 guys!  I don’t know if you’ve done the math, but it’s about a 400% increase from the year before!  And that isn’t even half of the students that are involved in some capacity with our ministry. God is growing our ministry, not just in numbers, but in maturity!

UCR Navigators Represent!

RJ and I were so privileged to be the emcees for the weekend, and to set the tone for the conference.  Another random fact, we are actually the first married couple to ever emcee a Sunland regional conference.  How fun!  =)  It was so amazing having a UCR cheering section! We began the weekend dressed as Mario and Princess Peach with a get-to-know-your-campus MarioKart themed trivia game. I’m not going to lie, it got a bit crazy.

Mario and Peach working MarioKart

I just really enjoy having more and more opportunities to serve alongside my husband, and to live out what Biblical marriage and partnership is. It’s definitely a learning process, chock full of compromise, but God definitely created us different  for a reason: RJ to keep the order, and me to bring the fun. =) Or is it the other way around?

It was neat to listen to the testimonies from our students of what they learned at conference through the different speakers and workshops they attended. Here is what some of them had to say:

“The biggest thing I learned was my role as a woman!! Wow I can’t even put words to how I felt learning this. It was beautiful and refreshing to understand the roles God gave both man and woman, not just for relationships but also to live a Godly life. I felt in love with God.” –Y–

“I learned and realized that we often overlook the fact that God is always with us enduring all our sufferings, knowing what we feel every second. We don’t come to him as much as we should and prayer can ultimately help you come closer to Him.” –L–

“I learned that one needs to put his entire love for God first before he/she can go out and love someone else.” –J–

“The biggest thing i learned from the workshops is i suppose to just DO stuff with God, and stop trying to plan everything out for myself, or else i might never start anything.” –A–

When I look at where we came from with some of these students and where we are now, I know it was completely in God’s sovereignty and control that we came in contact with them. If God had told me these students would not only stick around, but become a foundational part of our ministry, I would have chuckled like Sarai did when God told Abraham she would bear his child. But God led us to each student, and His Spirit is within each student, speaking to their hearts and changing them. And we are grateful to have been a part of that process.

Please pray that the high of conference wouldn’t wear off, but would renew a vigor and motivation to seek hard after God. And pray for protection from Satan for these students, as some have already felt the oppression of darkness. We’re thankful to be here.  =)

Truth Conference 2010, courtesy of Ernie Lam =)

The Home God Gave Us November 12, 2009

Just in case you were interested…  =)

Suicide October 4, 2009

A young man RJ discipled for a summer took his own life two days ago.  RJ spent the summer with him in Estes Park as his team leader for 10 weeks three summers ago.  That summer, I visited three times because RJ and I had just started dating, and a lot of people who I really love were going.  Because RJ was his “spiritual dad” for the summer, I remember assuming the role of “mom” to him and his teammate.  I remember RJ telling me about how Salvie was doing well, was excited about getting in the Word, how he wanted to meet with RJ twice a week for discipleship, how he frequently gathered men and women for day trips out hiking, I just remember him doing WELL.  RJ said he reminded him of a “more macho, younger version” of him.  After Estes Park, when I’d see Salvie at Navigators events, I would always make a point to check up on him because of the bond developed through RJ, and then share with RJ how his “kids” were.

I remember one particular conversation I had with him at Navigators road trip after STP, where he shared that he was struggling with his walk with Jesus, he was having the hardest time he ever had with school and grades (he was pretty driven and had perfect grades), etc.  I remember brushing it off, thinking it was just a temporary thing, thinking it would pass.

The next time RJ met with Salvi was the summer we got married.  They went to a shooting range together, and Salvie seemed fine.  Then, the last time they met Salvie shared with RJ how he felt God had deserted him, and that he could almost pinpoint when it began.  He shared how he felt God was asking him to obey, but he refused to listen.  The more he refused to listen, the more he had driven a wedge between him and God.  RJ spoke truth to him, that God is ALWAYS with him no matter what, and that all he needed was to turn back to God.  That was the last time they talked.

We received the news today from his Navs campus director and discipler at UCSD, right before we were supposed to begin our group’s Saturday morning photo scavenger hunt.  RJ and I were both pretty shaken up.  His discipler made it a point to tell RJ that he had never seen Salvi thrive as much as he did when he was there at Estes Park.  I know that was an encouragement to RJ, as the natural response to such an event is, “What could I have done differently?”

People always wonder how anyone could feel such hopelessness and despair as to take their own life.  As someone who has struggled with severe depression and probably will again, I really do understand that hopelessness and despair that lead to the contemplation of life and death.  But I wonder if despair and hopelessness is a natural part of life, that there are seasons of mourning and seasons of joy, that God leads us in the wilderness just to show us more of Himself.  If we look in the Psalms of King David, he definitely had those times of hopelessness, but he almost always ends in looking to God as his final thread of hope.  What about those who don’t have God, or believe He’s deserted you?  Without Jesus, there really is no hope.  Without Jesus, maybe the greatest comfort is death.

I am thankful Salvie is with Jesus.  I am thankful he is free from mourning, free from hopelessness, free from despair.  I’m thankful that he will finally know Jesus was always at his side, and He will always be at his side for eternity.

RJ's group at STP Estes Park summer 07 - Salvie, RJ, and Ryan

NavAttack! October 2, 2009

What a crazy first week and a half of school!  There is so much to update on, and yet so little time to do so!

Imagine our surprise after so many lonely weekends last year when our first attempt at a weekend activity drew out about 15 students!  In the style of Navigators past, we decided to play “NavAttack,” which is essentially capture the flag.  Instead of tagging with your hands, each person is given pantyhose with flour in it, and you take a good hearty swing at the other team when they invade your land, leaving a satisfying white dusty mark on their clothing.

We decided to play in the middle of a dorm complex, Pentland Hills.  It’s a cluster of individual buildings with a huge grassy knoll in the center, which is hardly ever used. What a waste of an open space!

A glimpse of Pentland and the grassy area where festivities were held.

We were nervous as we began, as the only people who showed up were the staff team and one student from last year, but slowly, students who we’ve been in contact with began to trickle out.  Because it was in such a central and public area, other passerbys  soon gathered to watch on the outskirts and then ran in to join.  At one point, we had about 20 people playing.

Not only was it a time to get to know students who expressed interest in the Navigators, but also their non-Christian dormmates, who saw the fun and couldn’t help but play.  One non-believer told RJ, “Yeah, you should definitely come visit me in my dorm whenever you want!!”

An upperclassman who wasn’t involved with Navs but is interested in checking us out came, but just watched.  As she looked on, she asked, “How many of these students are part of Navs?”  I was able to share with her that actually, the majority of people WEREN’T from Navs, but this was exactly what we desired.  To have a mix of believers and non-believers interacting and having fun together, building relationships.  And I was able to share that our prayer was that God would use these relationships to bring the gospel to non-Christians.  A bit unorthodox, but I could tell her interest was piqued.
It’s so hard to imagine the struggle we had in the beginning of our time at UCR last year!  Thanks for praying for us.  Your prayers are heard, and God is doing amazing things here at UCR!  We are blessed!

R’Side September 26, 2009

I know I said I would update next on our trip to New York, but this is freshest in my head, and I don’t want to lose the excitement!
We are in full swing in 0 week here at UC Riverside, which is the R’Side celebration (essentially a huge “Welcome Back” party thrown by UCR).  Droves of freshmen moved in on Sunday, and have been moderately entertained by the school. The staff team here was able to crash the comedy night for the freshmen on Wednesday night.  Tonight is the UCR Block Party, where they have some major acts headlining, like Kid Cudi, Talib Kweli, Mickey Factz, etc, as well as group booths out selling food and drinks.

Many of these freshmen are trying to figure out who they want to be in college, what identity they want to carry, what they want others to know them for.  They may be trying to leave behind a past identity, and be who they always admired.  In the process, they can lose who God created them to be, they can lose depth and fullness of life.  We want to help them find their identity and fullness of life in Jesus.

We’ve been busy calling and meeting with the contacts we made from Bear Facts.  Already, we’re off to a better start than last year!  Yesterday, I had four appointments lined up with girls, and today another four.  I was able to share the vision of our group with them, as well as my own story of how the Navigators helped me walk with Jesus.  Wednesday, RJ and I called probably 40-50 people from the lists that we had.

In our staff meetings, after prayer and discussion, we decided to try to start a NavNite in lieu of the Wednesday Night fellowship dinners.  It was a bittersweet decision, in that we may lose some of the depth and family feel of the group, but at the same time it shows we are expanding and need to figure out how to better use our resources.

The "Original Gang" - Our final dinner with just them

We decided on Wednesday evening to have an “OG” Navs (original gang) fellowship dinner before the hustle and bustle of the year, just for old times’ sake.  Even after a summer, it was amazing to see everyone loving each other, genuinely caring for one another,  asking how each others’ summers were, enjoying games together, missing those who weren’t able to make it, etc.  We were even able to go on campus as a group and pray for the incoming freshmen.  It really felt like a family reunion.

Yajaira and Allison's turn at hangman

Something else that is neat is getting the girl students involved in contacting the freshmen names we got.  We got a good 75 girl names, and 50 boy names.  With 3 staff men, contacting the boys was no problem.  With one fulltime staff woman and one with a young child, it was harder with girls.  We decided to train the younger women in our ministry to make calls and to meet with students one on one.  As I was describing with them what they should do, they responded, “Oh yeah, so just do what you did with us last year?”  Exactly!  And they are excited to take on leadership roles in Navigators, to help recruit, to meet with girls of their own.  We are hoping and praying that each would be an active disciplemaker by the end of the school year.

The girls on our prayer walk on campus. We were watching others run in the middle of the road, trying to activate the speed gun.

As we recalled where we were last welcome week, knowing only one student, we are thankful for all God has done, and for the quality people He has given to us.  God is good.  Thanks for your prayers, God is really moving here at UCR!