April Update

Epic Movement Staff Conference

Houston, Texas was the location for our annual Epic Staff Conference this year. Staff from across the nation came and gathered to be encouraged, equipped, and to celebrate in the Lord together. We gathered and heard from some wonderful speakers, as well as had countless opportunities to engage with one another. We were also able to serve the local ministry at the University of Houston by evangelizing there! We spent a week together, which was admittedly intimidating, as I felt anxious about being away from campus for so long. However, the time away also served as change of scenery that helped me to reflect and assess how ministry has been. As I looked back on the week during my flight home, I was left with two key takeaways from our time.

The first was a shocking realization about the privilege I have serving in Southern California. Being able to hear from new friends during this time made me see that in other parts of the country, being an Asian-American can be restrictive, rather than conducive to campus ministry. There is an active wrestling for cultural awareness and how diversity can play a role in sharing the gospel with care and intentionality. In addition, simply hearing about the differences that exist with Epic Movements regionally was intriguing and helped to widen my perspective. I still haven’t come to a conclusion on what to do with this new information, other than a realization that I ought to be humble, as my perspective has been very limited. While I can say with confidence I have an understanding of my specific campus or ministry, there’s is still so much for me to learn. Being able to hear from and get to know faithful men and women, hearing both similarities and differences in our experiences, was such a blessing.

Just as I was humbled, I was maybe even more so encouraged and emboldened during this time. I had the opportunity to learn more about the story of Epic as a ministry, and how it became what it is today. Specifically, hearing the story about how God used our current national director, Margaret Yu, inspired me. To put it simply, as the story of our ministry continued to unfold, so many people continued to point towards the steady faithfulness and trust that she displays. I’m sure there were many other accomplishments or successes that were significant, but I was struck by what stuck with the people around her. While there were ups and downs, both in ministry and in her personal life, everyone continued to see the love of Jesus through her life. As I flew home, I reflected on what I value, and why. I was reminded of Martha and Mary, and realized that so often I am scrambling, hoping to put in my best effort and to please those around me, so much so that I can lose sight of Christ. The pieces of Margaret’s story I heard pointed me to Him, and reminded me to simply abide in Him day by day, and to trust Him with the rest.

Brother’s/Sister’s Appreciation

In place of two of our regularly scheduled general meetings, we held our brother’s and sister’s appreciation nights! These events serve firstly, as a time and space for our students to express appreciation and to encourage one another. A secondary purpose for these times is to help bonding amidst the planning processes. I was only able to see the brother’s planning firsthand, but during the time I observed brothers stepping up and out of their comfort zones to contribute! I was also proud of some of the guys who were great facilitators and delegators, valuing the voices of everyone in the room and helping the group stay focused on the heart behind the event. The sisters also did an amazing job and I had such a blast during the time. Despite having much less manpower in addition to appreciating such a large group of guys, they put together a blissful time.

SoCal Epic Vision Dinner

One large event we had to conclude the month was our first ever Epic Vision Dinner. This was a time where we shared about what God is doing in and through Epic nationally over the last year and more specifically here in SoCal at Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton, and USC. One of the key components of the time was also an opportunity to partner financially and through prayer with the ministry.

Despite it being our first time hosting a time like this, we felt that the time was a success! I had the opportunity to see and meet some parents of students and was so encouraged by how the students were eager to share about their college ministry to people in their communities. I realized how blessed I am to be able to daily witness first hand how God is providing and moving in the lives of these students!

Prayer Requests

• For our future staff members
• For the students, that the summer break would be a blessed time
• For our upcoming summer mission to Wildwood, NJ
• For me, that I would have wisdom and discernment in how to love and serve everyone and anyone who walks into our community