Although VIV is full of opportunities to immerse oneself in scripture, I still feel very vulnerable when it comes to knowing my way around the bible. I'm excited to dig into 1 John this semester, but I yearn to have many different passages memorized, and available for sharing with my friends. I know that this will take a lot of work, so I think the real question is: am I ready to make this a priority for my life? If not today, when?

Paul Little, InterVarsity’s first Director of Evangelism, once defined evangelism as “one beggar telling another beggar where to find food.” The first part of our task is simply to point others in the right direction.

To be more specific, I longed to make friends on campus that belonged to the "majority culture."

Being Chinese at VIV and at school hasn't been easy. There are days where I feel like I am also white due to my low association with other Chinese or Asian students on campus...this is a very difficult thing for me to admit.

I long for a day where VIV, RCF, GCC, and Gospel Choir ministries will know each other intimately. 

Between the fellowships, there are a number of very different nuances, intricacies and emphases that have the potential to complement each other very well.

For example, (this is a generalization), but VIV has planned some amazing off-campus activities. We've got a knack for leveraging different families that are sympathetic to our vision. During my time at RCF, I remember the talented musicianship, and ample praise-leading resources. They're able to cultivate a depth of intimacy in worship that I often miss.

I pray that one day, we can freely intermingle between events, coordinate campus outreach together, and pursue Christ-centered living together. Then and only then will the rest of campus recognize the love of Christ in our groups. Maybe this year we can take small steps closer towards this direction.

I fall into the trap of using scripture as support rather than illumination. I would like to rely on the text and God's spirit rather than my own biases and predetermined ideas, but this is really difficult because I come to the text from a certain context that is hard to shake.

Praying before everything VIV does really reminds me that we need to rely on God to talk and move through us. Sometimes I can get overwhelmed because I feel like I'm not up to a particular task, but prayer reminds me that it is not up to me- It's all up to God.

Sometimes I struggle when people talk about the power of prayer. I know God wants what is best for us and listens to us. I also know that God has the ability to work wonders in this world, but sometimes I feel like praying for something specific is like telling God what he should do rather than being open to his will. I love talking to God, but I'm still trying to figure out what it means to ask God for something.

The last paragraph in VIVs explanation of their views on community, it expresses the challenges in growing a community: it is scary and at some points overwhelming. This is exactly how I feel. But because of the necessity, because of the pure good we are doing by growing and sharing what we know, what we love, what we want to know more of about Jesus, I am excited to see what the semester holds for our ever-growing community.

We must constantly be aware of the fact that "A Christian’s lifestyle is contagious..." and in recognizing this, we are attempting to live up to what it means to be a Christian.

One aspect of loving God's word is personal meditation with it. This is one thing I need to work on in my own relationship with God.

One thing I need to work on is listening to God. I tend to get frustrated when things aren't working out and I don't always understand why things happen the way they do. In acknowledging this, I hope to become more patient and understanding with God.