Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Urbana 06 Reflections- Carrie Lam
At the start of this school year, God placed a passion in me to help HIV/Aids patients. This new instilled passion of mine scared me at first, because I knew I would be dealing with an issue that was controversial in most churches. At school, I got involved with a group that advocated and promoted awareness for HIV/Aids. While prepping for World Aids Day events, my heart broke at all the statistics that I heard about the current condition of those affected in Africa and Asia.
Going into Urbana, I did not know what to expect. One of their major themes this year was HIV/Aids, which was a strange coincidence for me. The very first night of Urbana, I was blown away at the vast amount of people around the world who have such a passion for Christ, and were longing to know more. Looking around at the 22,000 people surrounding me during large group session inspired me to open up my ears, eyes, heart, and mind and be attentive to hear God’s calling during the next 5 days at Urbana.
During the course of Urbana, I attended seminars that focused on AIDS and injustice in this world, was inspired by speakers like Princess Kasune Zulu who was HIV+, had my heart broken by videos and staggering statistics of how those in 3rd world countries lived like, and bought many books about God’s response to the injustice in this world. My perspective on AIDS and poverty completely changed after all these experiences, and I tried to shake off all the stigma that our society today has attached to these problems.
Urbana provided me a chance to know God and His plan for me more. Though I still don’t know exactly where God has called me to go, but I do know God has placed a longing in my heart to help those who are victims of social injustice. God uses each one of us for a specific purpose and goal in His kingdom, and answering His call is of life’s greatest honors. The church is God’s leading lady, and He wants us to work with Him in extending His kingdom to one more person, one more family, one more community. I am excited to see where God will lead me in the future, and I am ready to say “Yes” to His calling for my life!
At the start of this school year, God placed a passion in me to help HIV/Aids patients. This new instilled passion of mine scared me at first, because I knew I would be dealing with an issue that was controversial in most churches. At school, I got involved with a group that advocated and promoted awareness for HIV/Aids. While prepping for World Aids Day events, my heart broke at all the statistics that I heard about the current condition of those affected in Africa and Asia.
Going into Urbana, I did not know what to expect. One of their major themes this year was HIV/Aids, which was a strange coincidence for me. The very first night of Urbana, I was blown away at the vast amount of people around the world who have such a passion for Christ, and were longing to know more. Looking around at the 22,000 people surrounding me during large group session inspired me to open up my ears, eyes, heart, and mind and be attentive to hear God’s calling during the next 5 days at Urbana.
During the course of Urbana, I attended seminars that focused on AIDS and injustice in this world, was inspired by speakers like Princess Kasune Zulu who was HIV+, had my heart broken by videos and staggering statistics of how those in 3rd world countries lived like, and bought many books about God’s response to the injustice in this world. My perspective on AIDS and poverty completely changed after all these experiences, and I tried to shake off all the stigma that our society today has attached to these problems.
Urbana provided me a chance to know God and His plan for me more. Though I still don’t know exactly where God has called me to go, but I do know God has placed a longing in my heart to help those who are victims of social injustice. God uses each one of us for a specific purpose and goal in His kingdom, and answering His call is of life’s greatest honors. The church is God’s leading lady, and He wants us to work with Him in extending His kingdom to one more person, one more family, one more community. I am excited to see where God will lead me in the future, and I am ready to say “Yes” to His calling for my life!
# posted by elessar @ 9:18 PM 
The SCBC Urbana 2006 team has much to share about their experiences in St. Louis, Missouri. Read what each of us have to say about what God has shown us. Oh yea, there's pictures and movies and sounds too!