2010 Conferences: SV Getaway & SV LIFT

2010 SV GETAWAY CONFERENCE: "UNSTOPPABLE. UNAFRAID."

It's only been about two weeks since I returned from the Student Venture (SV) Getaway conference that was held in Myrtle Beach, SC...but my mind is still reeling from it! What an amazing time of getting to know the high school teens that are being impacted by SV in many cities across the US. They came from Chattanooga, Atlanta, Orlando, Raleigh, West PA, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and N. Michigan. This having been my first ever full 6 day long SV conference, I literally jumped into any and every activity I could to get the most out of the 6 day long conference from a staff member's perspective...like a mini-boot camp =)

It might be easy to forget that high school teens have this crazy energy hiding beneath their "cool" exteriors. But getting to see how pumped up the teens got over inspiring speakers with challenging messages, and how they rushed the stage to sing and dance to the heart-stoppingly loud, energetic and worshipful music led by Tenth Avenue North was a treat. I couldn't help but find myself right in the front of the crowd with them, soaking up the messages and crying out with songs of worship as one voice...Wow. The week pounded into our brains the theme two high school guys had come up with: being "Unstoppable" and "Unafraid" for the sake of the gospel for the glory of God all the days of our lives.

It was worth it to get the few hours of sleep I got each night. I was thrilled to see how the staff came together from everywhere and worked for the good of the high schoolers in attendance. I loved personally interacting with and encourage some teens as I helped lead a small group discussion time with fellow SV staffer Kelly Emerick. And, my own faith and boldness was tested as I joined a small street-evangelism group in the sweltering heat and a bus load of people heading through the beaches to gather people together for beach-based evangelism using a staged battle.

Everyone was exhausted by the time the conference finished - and it was clear amazing things had happened by the end of it all. As teens got up one by one in their city groups to share testimonies of how God had worked in their hearts that week, one story of a high school football captain started a string of other tear-jerking testimonies.

This young man had cried as he confessed to his small group that even though he looked like he was living the perfect life on the outside, he'd been struggling a lot with thoughts of suicide. His fellow football teammates rushed over to him and cried with him, holding him and comforting him...and when other teammates heard, they had rushed into the room and joined the huddle. From stories of teens finally coming to forgive parents who'd cursed them during divorces to teens with stories of overcoming heavy drug use, God worked in beautiful and miraculous ways through the conference and SV staff!

WHAT'S NEXT:

My next conference will be the 2010 SV LIFT conference for staff and other SV workers. I'm excited to get to meet and know many more fellow SV workers from all across the US, and would love for you to be praying for this. You can find the prayer requests below as listed from headquarters.

Thank you for following me in this journey! I hope and pray you are blessed...

Love,
Kar-Lai

----------------------------------------------------------------------

PRAYER REQUESTS FOR UPCOMING
Aug 2010 LIFT CONFERENCE
Psalm 121:1-2: “I LIFT my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
2 Cor. 4: 16-18: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs then all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Eph. 3:20: “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us....”

• Pray that all who attend the conference will connect deeply with the Lord, have focus, find rest and encouragement in the battle, and believe God for things yet unseen.
• Pray that God would be calling and providing for many volunteers, community people, interns, hourly workers, and part time field workers to attend. Pray that people could get time off work or be able to come for a few days.
• Pray that God would raise up people in the Asheville community to come and cover this conference in prayer.
• Pray for the speaker Gene Mathis and the band Living Anthem as they prepare their message and music for the week. Pray for them to hear from the Lord in leading us.
• Pray for program details (Lee C.), administration details (Amy U.)
• Pray for Stephanie C., Kristie W., and Peggy B. as they meet again next week to work on childcare details. They need God’s direction for the spiritual content that will best serve our middle school and high school students attending the conference. Pray that all the children and students attending the conference would grow in their faith and be well taken care of. Pray that they would find enough workers and the right workers to lead all of the children and students.
• A financial ask has gone out for scholarships for college students to attend. Pray for those who have been asked, that God would speak to them about giving and they would be able to make a decision. Pray for God to meet the financial needs of all attending. Pray for God to put in on the hearts of personal ministry partners to give.
• Pray for God to design all the break out sessions to meet the equipping needs of everyone attending. Pray for wisdom for Mike Crandall as he puts details into place for these.

...Thank you for your prayers!

A Change in Student Venture

(Letter from Mike Crandall, Student Venture Director, to all ministry partners:)

Thank you for all you do to reach kids for Christ. We rejoice at all the ways God has honored Himself through you this year and into the lives of kids. Your investment is yielding great fruit in the Kingdom. As a parent of kids involved in SV, thank you for all you have done this year.

I wanted to make you aware of a big transition in our ministry. Warren and Misty Bane have served as our Venture Corps (recruiting) director these past 7+ years. Warren has done a great job helping us move ahead in this area and our new staff, part time field worker, and intern applications continue to grow. We’ve seen over 40 new applications so far this school year, and over 50 last year. Warren has faithfully served to move us ahead in this area and we are very grateful for his investment and leadership.

Warren and Misty are feeling led of the Lord to move back to a field role and will move to Raleigh, North Carolina this summer to train and equip a growing team of college students who are leading Student Venture outreaches in the area. They will serve with Kevin & Alisa Bentley in the ministry the Bentleys started 2 years ago. At present, over 30 college students are involved in helping to lead Student Venture, and the campus ministry partnership there has opportunity to continue to grow.

This will be a great gain for our partnership there, yet there is a sense of loss for our Leadership Development team here in Orlando. Yet, we are all in full agreement that this is God’s leading and next step for Warren and Misty. Please pray for God’s next plan for Venture Corps. And, please pray that Kar Lai Leung (new staff raising support to work with Venture Corps) will see her support come in quickly. In the mean time, Mike Crandall will be the point person for Venture Corps efforts in the national office and available regarding our recruiting and Venture Corps efforts. Let’s continue to pray that God will raise up much more manpower.

Mike Crandall
Student Venture Leadership Development
100 Lake Hart Drive
Orlando, FL 32832
407-826-2819 office
407-460-8990 cell
mike.crandall@studentventure.com

Feb/March 2010 Newsletter & Update

Living the Dream: Returning to Syracuse (?!)
"I close my eyes and can still see the minty green and bright yellow shades of El Caribe - the hotel in Daytona Beach where I spent an intensive 35 days with about 100 people during our New Staff Training for Campus Crusade for Christ. Now, I open my eyes each morning to a field of snow and ice, heavy snowflakes falling like raindrops wherever I look...and I feel like it was all a dream."

Fortunately, things have warmed up since I last wrote these words. Syracuse is finally showing signs of Spring as the 55 degree weather has revealed the grass again and the air smells like new. I've been plugging away at my MPD (minsitry partnership development) and meeting with wonderful friends to share about my ministry with Student Venture and seek their support through prayers, finances, and other ways.

How amazing to know that God has enabled me to share over and over again about how He's called me into full-time ministry. And, with every time I share my story, I also end up sharing about my past and how God helped me go from a lukewarm Christian in high school up through the struggles in college into the joy of having a strong and growing relationship with Christ today.

Times are good, and I'm learning how to adjust to change. I subletted my apartment near campus and have moved in with my parents. True, I've cluttered up their entire basement with my oodles of stuff and taken over their last spare room, but it also has meant more time to see them. My brother and youngest sister are also living at home - although they're so busy, I hardly see them! But, nonetheless, it's been wonderful being with family again...and it doesn't hurt that I get to enjoy mom's home cooking! Wahoo! (mmm...Chinese soups, stews, and more!)

I've got my Feb/March 2010 Newsletter available here, and would love for you to read it for a fun story and my prayer requests.

Thanks again for your encouragement, support, and prayers. Till next time, God bless!
Gahlai

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which
God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." ~ Phil 3:14

The Start of Something New & Exciting..

The Surreal Life; It Has Begun...

"For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. The wild animals in the field will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed." ~Isa 43:19-20

What 6 months ago I would've never imagined I'd be doing and had seemed impossible before has now begun to take shape and become a reality as I see how God's unveiling his "I'm doing something new in your life" plans for me: I'm finally here in Daytona Beach, having completed my first full two days at Campus Crusade for Christ's New Staff Training (NST)conference! Really...I can hardly believe I'm actually phyiscally here in Florida!!

The night before my flight was to leave on the 4th, it was about 10 degrees and snowed about 8-10 inches in Syracuse, the travel warning was set to go till 6am and my flight was leaving at 5:30am...thank God I didn't get snowed in! With all the packing and unpacking and repacking (for 5 weeks at NST) I had to do after completely moving out of my apartment (more on that later), I actually didn't get to sleep but 1 hour on the plane and 1 hour when I arrived at the hotel (when I fell asleep texting =P ). So, needless to say, these past few weeks and days have been a blur!

But, I got here alright and was able to settle into the room without the other 3 roommates having arrived yet. Admittedly, I was a bit surprisedat my surroundings because not only did my hotel look really old from the outside and small from the inside, it's quite cold here too with 35 degree weather and wind that chilled me quickly. But, as I've spent time with people, bonding with them over food (yes, I took photos of my food...hehe) and kind of camped out in the conference room (more on that later too!) doing music, this place is growing on me as I'm seeing oceanic/beachfront beauty all around me, and "re-seeing" God's presence with me as a friend reminded me that I'm here not for vacation but to do God's work - so I've learned a good lesson about perspective and thankfulness already, within the first few hours of arriving here. =)

(Click here for my 1st picture posts!)

Still, it totally seems like a dream sometimes because it seems like only yesterday I was conducting student admissions interviews at Syracuse University - but, in truth, it's been a good few weeks now since the office threw me my official going away party (where I bawled unashamedly once I realized how much I loved working there and with such wonderful people). It first felt surreal when I cleaned out my office of all the things I'd accumulated over 5 years and looked at the empty room I'd gotten so attached to. =P

On top of that, my roommates and I had found someone to sublet the apartment for the Spring semester (through Craigslist - she's a PhD candidate at SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, which is relevant to what my other 2 roommates are studying (Environmental Engineering)!), so the days after I cleaned out my office and was on "holiday break" were spent moving myself out of my apartment! And so, like deja-vu, I found myself looking into an empty room yet again once I'd cleared stuff out. I had about 5-6 carloads of stuff that I brought over to my parents' house, which is where I'll be staying while I raise support and develop ministry partners in order to reloate to Orlando.

Now, talking about surreal stuff...moving back into my parents' house was and has been interesting unto itself too - it's been both like being time warped back into high school days yet much better in different ways! I don't know if that makes sense, but I do love my family so much and know that as I make the move to FL, having this time to spend with them will be invaluable and precious. However, I started to realize just how carefully I'd have to budget my time as the last week in December was spent juggling time with family, and then learning that I have to prioritize the time being spent on prepping for this new staff position.

What I love about this phase of my new staff position is that my primary focus will be to connect with people and convey the heart and vision of what the ministry is that God's called me to. I've been able to connect with so many of you who say you'll be praying for me (THANK YOU!), and that you'll prayerfully consider partnering with me in this endeavor in other ways too. This is where I can humbly say I am in awe of what God's done to show me what love and support really looks like as I scroll through my contacts list and see so many names in there that say "Yes, I want to continue our friendship/relationship and support you in _____way." Words cannot express how grateful I am for you and for God showing His love to me through you =)

Being Humbled; Answered Prayer; Pray!
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." ~Phil 4:6-7

One of the things I cannot help but do is "brag on God" as He's shown me during this last few weeks that He IS my Provider and is caring for my needs in ways I could've never imagined. I must confess that I while I said I was confident that God could fulfill His promises to provide for me, I don't think I really fully believed it because I found myself feeling quite anxious (like some people have also said) about just having quit a perfectly stable source of income and certainly anxious about my finding the funding I'd need to become full-time staff. But, friends, let me tell you - God is amazingly faithful to His promises, like the one listed above and what's promised in Jeremiah 29:11 ("For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future..."). Because as I clung to those promises, I prayed earnestly and humbly, felt more at peace and pushed away my fears of asking for help and forged ahead and spoke to some of you about my needs. I didn't want to broadcast it because it's not just about finding funding - but it's about establishing partnerships with people who want to team up with me through prayer and resources to see lives changed and God's work done here on earth. I literally cried in amazement as God moved in many of your hearts in such a way that within the first 24 hours of my having said anything to a handful of you, ALL of my costs for coming to training in Daytona Beach were covered and the responses that came in (quickly!) thereafter from others have set the foundation for precious ministry partnerships and actual funding that is going towards what I need to raise in order to be full-time and relocate to Orlando - Praise God!

A Taste Of What Is Yet To Come
And so, I find myself here, 7 states away in Florida sitting at the table in the little kitchenette of the room I'm sharing with 3 other new female CCC staff members at a conference of about 90-100 people (also CCC new or senior staff) after having watched the moon and sun yesterday glistening over the waves of the Atlantic ocean. I woke up this morning to marvel at the beauty of God's handiwork when I looked at the rosy sunrise and listen to the surf pounding on the beachfront that's literally in my backyard...and I am BLOWN AWAY by truly, how surreal this is and how REAL God's faithfulness and love is. That I'd be here, going through extensive orientation and be rigorously trained up to become a fully commissioned missionary(yep - just found that out tonight) continues to boggle my mind!

Even on top of this, God knew how much I love to make music for Him and worship Him through the musical abilities He's given me, so I've been able to join the worship team for the conference and just helped lead the music for tonight's first official evening of the NST conference! And, with this bit of info, I ask for your prayers because the temporary worship leader guy asked me to take over the coordinating and leading of the worship team for the rest of the conference when he leaves tomorrow...and while I am excited for the chance to be stretched in this way, I'm also kind of scared out of my mind! I want to allow for the healthy dose of fear to exist in me because it'll keep me glued to God in prayer - but I don't want it to overtake me and prevent me from being effective, a good leader, etc. Thank you in advance for your prayers...and please know that I'm praying for all of you who are following my journey too! You are precious to me, and I'm grateful for your friendships.

Finally, THANK YOU...

...for joining me in this adventure! I've treasured each and every word of encouragement you've expressed to me, every gesture of support and partnership, and the continued connections I have with you through the wonders of modern technology plus face-to-face time we may have after training ends in February. I am so excited for what is going to transpire during these next 5 weeks at NST, and I'm looking forward to sharing with you about these things whenever possible. Please keep in touch and send me your updates too so I can stay connected with what's going on in your lives while I'm away.

Many blessings to you always,

Gahlai