Elevator Conversations

"We moved here because in our country, people hate us because of our skin color. They are racist. They do not like us because we are dark, like you", The woman explained in broken English. As the elevator reached the ground floor, she looked at Varun and noted, "You are from India, right? Today is Shah Rukh Khan's* birthday. Have a nice day!"

This conversation is just one of many we've had in the past two weeks as we've been intentionally chatting with our neighbors in the long elevator ride down from the 18th floor. We hope to meet this family, who is of the Roma people of the Czech Republic, soon.

As I mentioned back in August, God has been challenging us in many ways. One decision that we've made is to move into a downtown neighborhood that has many immigrants, refugees and a lot of poverty. Our desire is to love our neighbors in word and deed, and to share our hope in Jesus with them.

I'm sure that as we struggle with this and attempt to follow God, we will need lots of prayer and have many stories to share!

*Shah Rukh Khan is one of our favorite Indian, bollywood actors!

Water and Sun

This morning, as I read my Bible, I felt the truth and goodness of God's word just washing over me. I am reading through Proverbs and am astounded at the wisdom of the verses. I realized that for the past week, not reading my Bible hasn't just been a lack of discipline, it's been a spiritual starvation period.

I remember days where I carried my Bible in my school bag, bringing it out to read in free moments. I remember having verses on the tip of my tongue while talking to friends because God's word was so present in my heart and life.

This morning, that love and desire resurfaced.

I glanced out to my porch, where a potted plant is struggling to survive. Despite getting fresh air and plenty of sunshine, the leaves are wilted and withering. I haven't watered it in a week as I was out of town. I wondered how much my own heart is like that: thirsty and struggling.

Although outwardly my lack of time in God's word was only this past week, I know that inwardly I have been struggling to read the Bible. I have been praying for an increased desire and this morning I felt the first stirrings of a renewed yearning for God to speak to me through His word.

YAY!

Life These Days...

Recently, God has been challenging Varun and I with many new ideas, people and desires. Suddenly, we are questions the assumptions we've long held about our lifestyle and goals. There is still a lot that we're praying through and a lot that God has to reveal to us, but God is stirring in our hearts and inviting us to make many choices.

I look forward to sharing with you in the future how we are being led and what changes we'll be making in our life.

Otherwise, it has been a perfectly normal and happy summer. Our trip to India to visit Varun's family was joyful and relaxing, filled with answered prayers and lots of interesting and sometimes awkward cultural mishaps. We have enjoyed the sun, spent time with friends and have been able to see both of our families. This is more than we deserve and we are incredibly grateful.

Why?

"Why did you move to Ontario, anyway?", A friend asked me yesterday.

So many answers flooded into my mind. Varun got a job here. It's closer to my parents and Varun's sister. The west coast was too rainy. God called us here. We missed good pizza and bagels.

On July 23, when Varun got his job in Ontario, we were moving because that's where he found employment. And yet, even then, before we knew where we would live, what I would do or who are friends would be, we sensed God's hand moving. In fact, the week before Varun got a job we both began to have a sense of peace, and a surety that things were soon to change.

And change they did.

In Ontario, we have tons of friends from South Asia. We prayed before we moved that God would give us the opportunity to share our faith and discern if He's calling us to India. Since moving here, we have met more and more Indians and have had really exciting opportunities with them.

Why did God bring us here? I'm still not totally sure, and I imagine that over the next years the answer will become more and more clear. I do know that God DID lead us here, and prepared friendships, opportunities to share our faith and many joys for us to experience in Ontario.

Please pray for boldness and discernment!

Give Us This Day

Last night, as I thought about the week that stretched before me, I wanted to hide. Another week without a job. Another week alone for most of my waking hours. I hugged tight to Varun and went to sleep.

Doing my quiet time this morning, I was struck by the phrase, "Give us this day our daily bread". I know that God provides for us not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. As I prayed the Lord's Prayer, I realized that I have been scorning what God has been giving me: days of alone time, weeks during which to pray, read, rest, organize, dream, catch up on skype. In fact, this season is God's best for me!

As I contemplated what my daily bread might be, I asked God to give me a heart to see His provision today, and that I would be given exactly what I need. This is a hard request for me to make, as I know what I want. I want social interaction. God will need to change my heart so I can see the myriad blessings which surround me.

How many ways I am given my daily bread and fail to thank God!!

A New Season

In some ways, this blog is totally representative to me of another season in my life. When I read through old posts, look at the pictures and prayer requests, I almost feel like this blog should be preserved and tucked into a scrapbook entitled, "Campus Ministry".

And yet. When I see the title I myself put on this blog, I can see I'm not going to get off that easy.

Compelled by Love.

Two and a half years ago, I was compelled by God's love to enter into full time ministry. I spent that time raising support, asking for prayer, moving to Vancouver, getting to know students, sharing the Gospel. You've read my struggles, the times I felt insecure or tired. And together we've prayed and rejoiced.

Today, I'm writing this from our new home in Ontario. For reasons I have yet to fully understand, God has called me out of campus ministry and has brought Varun and I out east. And so here we are. Now that I am out of ministry, I can feel my selfishness taking over. It's tempting to think of my time as all mine. To wake up and plan my days as I'd like to. And yet, I know that God has brought us here not only to be blessed, but also to be a blessing.

How? When? Where? To whom?

In all honesty, moving back east has been hard. Unlike my move to Vancouver, I had no job waiting for me here. I had no staff team to welcome me or a Church home eager to meet me. Together, Varun and I dreamed about what our life here would be like. In many ways, our expectations have been dashed. But in other ways, they've been exceeded.

In this new season of my life, this blog will be a place where I'll reflect on and share stories about how we're living our lives for God, or in what ways we're struggling to do so.

God's Pursuit of Y

This an email that one of my teammates received from a young student whom she had met a few years ago. This student, Y, eventually met another student in our club and finally met God. Here's his journey....

"I just want to thank you, although we have met only once, you were part of my long journey to find Him. I remember you
gave me the book by Lee Strobel called the Case for Christ. Back then I was a hard-hearted atheist and I was thirsty for scientific evidence, and you understood my situation! I recently had the courage and strength to revisit the book and went back on my track to learn and love God. One amazing thing that happened for these past couple of weeks is that I have learned to accept Christ with my heart, and I didn’t have the need and urge to seek for any more evidence. The Lee Strobel book is packed with full of evidence approached in a very scientific way in which I thought would be the perfect book for me.

But now, the book is the last thing I need in this world to prove that Jesus and God really exists. I know this because its Gods work itself to even find myself even going to church regularly and be amazed at how true and holy the bible is. I never had imagined I would turn to God for help, but for some reason I did. I had near death experiences on my volunteer trips, change in friends, got myself into fraternities, and all other struggles and forces in life that hit me hard in the heart. This happened all last year, and the last person I would have thought to even consider for help was God. But really, God is all I had at the moment. I think at this point, I started to let go myself and trust my instinct and life to God, and now for some reason all the things I read in the Bible seems very vivid to me...

I know we don’t know each other very well but I consider everyone in the community that helped me my family now, and this includes you... and countless number of people who have prayed hard for me. I know one day another person will come like I did and ask questions about God. I can assure you that down the road, your quick conversation and maybe provide some sort of book or resource for him or her will eventually guide that person to Christ one day, I can vouch for that! Keep up the good work..." -Y, student at SFU

The Yellow Brick Road

Sometimes I really wish I were Dorothy and had a yellow brick road before me. That would certainly make decision making easier! However, I think that that wouldn't require a lot of faith. As of now, God is showing me just a few steps ahead, and to be honest, that's all I really need to know.

Here's what's happening:

-Campus work: We're done on campus! This next week we have intern debrief and a day of prayer. I also had admin and lots of wrapping up to do. I won't be interning again, so I'm headed off into the big wide world.
-Project: This summer, I'll be going on a project to a country in South Asia. For more information, email me!
- Work: I'll be job hunting and hopefully finding work in Vancouver. I've also gotten into Grad school and am hoping to begin in september. My plans are contingent upon Varun's, so please keep praying for a job for him!

Serving God on campus has been quite an adventure, and I'm excited to see where He's calling me to next. As the title of this blog suggests, it's about me being compelled by Him to share his love. So expect more posts and more answered prayers as I move into a new phase of life!

Planning for Next year

Because March and April were so busy, I'm a bit backlogged in blogging....In March, student leaders and staff got together for a day of prayer, celebration and planning for next year. Students shared their steps of faith and ways God had proven faithful to them. It was so neat to see them holding their posters with stories and drawings illustrating how they had seen God move on campus! One student in my group shared that as she prayed for opportunities to share her faith with her friends, they began to ask her questions about her faith. It's pretty neat to see students who in September were shy and searching freshman, to now being willing to step out in faith and give leadership and vision to others as they take risks for God's kingdom.

Year in Review

How do you measure success in ministry? In people you lead to faith? In answered prayers? In hours spent doing evangelism or hours spent on your knees? How do I know if I spent the past two years wasting my time, or not? These are the thoughts that have been bouncing about my head for the past two weeks. As I wrapped up on campus after two years last week, I tried to assign a total value to my work.

Luckily for me, our staff team went to the Sunshine coast for a time of fun, reflection and relaxation. During this time, I was able to share my concerns and insecurities with my teammates. I have a few thoughts and verses that helped me put my time serving God on campus into perspective:

"Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep." Psalm 127:1-2

-->This reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13...that we can labor and give and serve but unless it is done through God's strength and in love, it's all a waste.

My teammates also reminded me that God has called us to serve Him faithfully, and to trust Him for the results. My job was to pray for the campus, share the good news, lead girls in loving God and learning and obeying His word, share passion and vision...I'm not responsible for the answered prayers or the changed hearts. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6 While this is a famous proverb, the part that jumps out to me is verse 6, that I am to acknowledge God in all that I do. There were moments on campus these past two years that I was tempted to take the glory from God when things turned out well, and to blame Him when things went differently than I wanted. But I'm told in proverbs to acknowledge God's sovereignty when things are good and bad. What a relief!

As a reflection, our team wrote on sticky notes things that were answers to prayer, discouraging/hard, encouraging, steps of faith and characteristics of God we saw throughout the year. As I read through the sticky notes I saw a year of celebration--with over 30 people putting their faith in Christ (in BC alone!), the hearts of parents changed to let their children serve on summer projects, perseverance in the face of discouragement and fatigue and a deepening knowledge of who God is.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." -2 Timothy 4: 7-8

I know that as my internship ends this summer, I can trust God to bless the work that I did, love the people I neglected or hurt, and to continue to work in my heart and the hearts of others to draw closer to Him. As Paul says, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but it is God who gives the growth. Join with me in continuing to pray for spiritual growth of students at UBC and SFU this summer!

"What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers." -1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Running the Race

Today on campus, I was very, very tired. The four day weekend seemed to leave me with a serious lack of sleep. I spent the day in a staff meeting, planning, doing admin and dreading my Bible study. I was planning on taking my Bible study girls out to share their faith for the first time, and I knew it would take a lot more energy than I had.

At one point, I plopped my head onto the desk and thought, "I SOO hope they don't show up today". Convicted by such a silly thought--I had prepared them to do evangelism and this is one of the last chances I'll have to take them--I decided to pray about it. I opened up to Philippians 4:13, a verse that got me out of bed each day when I was recovering from mono, years ago.

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

I then started reading through Philippians and gathered encouragement from Paul's description of the Gospel and seeing the endurance and perseverance in his life. If God helps me, it's okay if I feel tired.

So, my girls came and Amy and I took them out sharing.

We had an awesome time! Amy and Joanne had a conversation with a girl, K, who said she had never thought about God before! Janice and I met up with R, who grew up in Tehran was questioning/ rejecting Islam and was interested in the Gospel message! Please pray for K and R that the words we spoke would be used by God to lift the veil over their hearts!

As I drove home, I realized that my mood had lifted and I wasn't so tired anymore. It's amazing what trusting in God can do!

What you cannot lose

Last night, Varun, Jessica (new staff at UBC!) and I watched "The End of the Spear" a movie about the five missionaries (Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and 3 others) who were martyred while attempting to make contact and share the Gospel with a tribe in the Ecuadorian Jungle. (If you haven't seen this movie, watch it!) While the movie followed Nate Saint's son, Stevie, the missionaries were not shown to be without fault.

I have a few thoughts about this movie, but what really struck me was the eternal perspective it lent. In watching the film, I was forced to ask myself, how badly do I want others to know Jesus?!

This clip (www.youtube.com/watch#!v=NRQhwYfXjN4&feature=related) (starting at 2:40) shows Nate saying goodbye to his wife and kids before making first contact with the Waodani. He knew his trip may cost him his life. And yet he tells his adoring son that he is willing to die telling them as the Waodani aren't ready for heaven. This coming from a man who had given up a career and a comfortable life in America to serve God in Ecuador--this man was willing to give more, his life, so that the Waodani might stop killing each other and come to know God.

In the end, the reconciliation and the healing of the tribe is a beautiful testimony to the power of the Gospel. Jim Elliot's famous quote rings true in the life of Nate, Jim and the others, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose". The challenge for me, in walking away from this inspiring story, is:

What am I not willing to lose?

"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him" -C. T. Studd

Taking the Gospel to the workplace!

Here's an account by one UBC student about how God has used her in her teaching practicum....

"As you might recall, I have begun my long practicum on Feb 1st, 2010... I was amazed about the importance of influencing the education sphere, especially as I pray and ask God to send out laborers into this field. This program has sharpened my spiritual eyes to see the realness of the spiritual warfare raging in this domain, especially as values and the truth are distorted in the name of "embracing diversity." Recently, the teachers of VSB (Vancouver School Board) and representatives of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual) movement have started pushing forth this movement to shape the BC curriculum. How important is prayer as we stand up and fight for our next generation! (As you might be aware, teachers are not permitted to impose any religious values in the school--you cannot openly share the gospel.)

Keeping this in mind and continually asking the Holy Spirit to use me, I was amazed at certain moments during the practicum. One short story: I have been praying for my sponsor teacher since the start of the short practicum in Oct 2009. She knew I was a Christian. During one of our conversations, she suddenly turned to me and asked, "Why are we here? What are we doing here?" (I was taken aback by the sincerity and abruptness of the question.) Then, my sponsor teacher told me that her friend's baby and the mother recently died in a plane crash... Soon, this conversation turned spiritual while the class was in session!!! (She was speaking to me in private. She briefly told me she's thinking more about death and heaven. She's really afraid of death now...)

Fast forward a few months later...in the second week of the extended practicum, I was alone with my sponsor teacher again. It was after school. We were talking, and suddenly she began to share about her asthma problem. What happened next was simply the spirit of God working in our midst. I was so surprised. As a Christ-ambassador, I need to clarify something with her: "I understand the school policy stipulates we are not permitted to openly discuss spirituality in the school. Isn't this correct?"

"Oh yes, that's right. You cannot speak speak about your religion to the students, but it's fine now. There are no students. You can tell me. I'm really interested.."

'What did she just say??!!' I thought to myself. WOW! God, you are Amazing! So, this conversation turned spiritual...I got to share my personal testimony with her, and a bit about Jesus' love...So, yes, this is just a simple story that I wanted to share with you! I hope you are encouraged! God is the God of the impossible! He makes all things work in His timing. There were moments, where I found myself paraphrasing the Scripture and sharing Biblical allusions to a student. Again, those moments were amazing and inspiring!

I hope you are encouraged because winter conference 2010 at the Hyatt really inspired me to apply the transferable skills of the gospel to the marketplace! "

Searching for meaning and finding God in Victoria

Over spring break a group of about 18 students and staff headed out to Vancouver Island to do a week long missions trip to the University of Victoria. During this time they did evangelism on campus, hosted conversations about destiny and purpose in life and grew together in prayer and community. On wednesday, my staff team and I headed over to Victoria to join the team in a day of outreach.

While there, I had a great conversation with a guy who told me about his struggles with faith and sexuality. Raised a Catholic, he came to believe in his teens that he was gay and upon coming out faced rejection and turned to drugs. After hitting rock bottom he turned back to God and has found love, forgiveness and acceptance in his Catholic Church. While he still has lots of lifestyle and heart changes in his journey (as we all do!), it was really exciting to hear about the healing he has found in a relationship with Jesus and the beautiful community he has found.

I had another conversation with a student who had just returned from a medical trip to a country in Ecuador. She was searching for meaning and order in the chaos and poverty she had witnessed. As my partner and I chatted with her, we longed for an opportunity to share with her the great news of our suffering Savior. She was not, however, eager to hear about God. Please pray for students at Victoria that God would lift the veil on their hearts and allow them to see the truth of who He is.

Quotes from Campus

The following quotes are a sampling of conversations I've had the past few weeks on campus...

"So you really believe in God? In my home [China] I have never met anyone who believes in God." -SFU international student Jamie and I met in the cafeteria

"There's so much to share, and I did get opportunities for spiritual conversations/my personal testimony/use of hidden Biblical allusions to encourage my sponsor teacher and 1 specific student on the first week of practicum." -A UBC student shares about her teaching practicum at local high school, and opportunities she's had to share her faith in her workplace

"I'd really like to believe in God, I just get so confused in my science classes. I know evolution is true, so how can I believe in God?" - First year science student at UBC

"I realize that I need to trust God with these things and surrender to Him everyday."- A UBC student referring to her journey in raising financial support for a project

"It's weird that you're talking to me today about Jesus, some bad stuff has been happening recently and I've started praying, and now you and i are talking about the Bible."- UVIC student I met during a trip to Victoria during the Uvic spring break project

As you can see, God is stirring up students hearts and transforming believers. Keep praying for a revival at campuses in Vancouver!

Prayer Walking

This is Jamie. Jamie is an upper year student at SFU studying Chemistry, whom I meet with weekly to disciple. Jamie and I pray together, share our faith, talk about how she's doing in leading her Bible study and grow in God's word together. It is awesome to see her taking steps of faith and learning how to communicate her faith with friends and family :-)

On this sunny Vancouver day, Jamie and I went for a walk around campus praying for the hearts and minds of the students. Prayer-walking is a great way to led God change your heart for a particular place. Seeing the beauty of the city, campus and mountains as well as the myriad students rushing to classes and lounging on the stairs reminded me that God is a great God who can even change the hearts of apathetic or angry students.

Let's keep praying!

Church-->Feel Bad-->Isolation

I've known for sometime that Canada, and specifically Vancouver, is becoming increasingly secular. Suspicion toward religion (especially Christianity) seems to be rising. Last week as I was walking home, I noticed this graffiti on a garage door on my block.

Clearly, the artist has had some experience in the Church and left feeling taken advantage of ("greed"), lonely ("isolation") and guilty ("feel bad"). I have to say these feelings are not uncommon. It's obvious that the artist felt a strong desire for HOPE...but really, don't we all?

Upon seeing this, I began to wonder what part I play in adding to people's feeling of guilt and isolation. Surely, if the artist had met Christ himself, there would have been an opportunity for acceptance and hope. I think that as Christians in a world that is becoming increasingly anti-religious, we need to expose ourselves for what we are: sinners who are hopeless without God's love. It's time that we stop acting self-righteous, annoyed, prudish and unfeeling toward non-believers. Like the artist, I too am often searching for Hope and meaning in a world that seems bleak.

What if we began to explore with our non Christian friends and neighbors those desires and fears that success and relationships leave unmet? What if we joined them in grieving, in celebrating and in questioning? I think it's time we come alongside people like this artist and love them where they are.

(Also) Check out to learn more about how to engage with people based on their desires and needs....

Korean BBQ and spiritual legacies

This past Christmas break, at our Western Canada Winter Conference Randy Newman came to speak. Randy is many things: a father, a fellow staff member, my mother's childhood friend, author of two books and, in a way, my spiritual Grandfather. You may be wondering what I'm talking about. Pause a moment and think about the person who shared the love of God with you, who first taught you about His grace, and who invited you to accept Him. In a way, that person is the father or mother of your new birth in Christ. It's amazing when we begin to share stories that we can see the myriad ways God works in so many situations to bring us to Himself. Our belief today is a result of some telling us, and that someone was told by someone....all the way back to Paul, Peter and the apostles. What a heritage!

Growing up, my parents often read us Bible stories and taught us to pray in all situations. I remember the day my mom and I were in the car (where most of our good conversations happened) when she shared with me how I could pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart. And so my mother is also the one who led me to new birth in Christ. My mom, who grew up going to Church, was not interested in God until tragedy struck and she began to ask God "why". Randy, her long time friend who had just become a Christian at Temple university, began to share his faith with her. And so, with time, my mom placed her faith in Jesus.

This is more than an interesting story; this is the spiritual lineage that God ordained to lead me home to Him. It's true that each of our stories is unique, and this is what occurred to me in a Korean BBQ restaurant with Randy, Varun and a friend, Berman, one evening during winter conference. Berman has been on staff for several years and was integral in leading Varun to faith. And there we all were, eating sushi and talking about life in Vancouver. Who would have imagined the impact a testimony of God's greatness could make? How many lives have been touched through Varun by Berman sharing his faith with Varun? Would I know God personally if my mom hadn't told me about Him? If Randy hadn't told her?

It's amazing to look back and marvel at how God works. Were the students who shared their faith with Randy years ago nervous that he might reject them? Probably! Did Berman doubt that Varun would care about Jesus? I'm sure! Do I hesitate to declare God's amazingness? Too often. But I learned that evening at supper that God works in powerful and intricate ways to bring us to Himself...A chinese canadian leading an Indian to Christ who would marry an American who was led to Christ by a mother who met Jesus by a former Jew.

{If that's not inspiring I don't know what is}

Martha, Martha, Martha

Today during our staff prayer meeting at UBC, we looked at Luke's story of Mary and Martha. Part of me can't help feeling badly for Martha--always portrayed as the sister in need of a smack down. Perhaps it's because I sympathize strongly with her desire to impress Jesus with her hard work and excellence. Similarly, I bring to God a basket of my achievements and efforts...so much so that when I'm weak and failing I think He'll love me less.

And that's the beauty of it: God neither loves me more nor less based on my efforts to please Him. That's what it means to be saved by grace! And so, I am free to serve Him or sit as His feet. (sigh of relief)

A Rose by any other name...

Last week, staff from western Canada convened in Somewhere Cold, Alberta. We spent time with God, time in training, time watching fail blog(!)....needless to say, a great time was had by all.

Being there really recharged me as I hung out with men and women who have given their wisdom, time and careers to coming alongside students in their spiritual journeys. It blew my mind to hear Rod Alm (30 years on staff!) talk about students he had led to Christ who are now working fathers, teachers in Canada, pastors in unreached lands...what a legacy, eh?

During her training, Tara talked about a Bible study we once did back in Montreal. We went to a graveyard and looked at the tombstones...we talked about how one's life is represented merely by the dash in between the birth and death dates.

Powerful.

What will that dash look like? What impact and legacy will I leave? Our time in training last week really made an impression on me: that no matter where I go or what job I have, I am called to share the goodness of God and make disciples of Jesus.

This brings me to another, more funny but also equally pertinent point: how to describe my job of making disciples on campus.

What do these situations have in common: Applying for a credit card, chatting people up at parties, small talk at family reunions? I am asked what I do, and usually give a less than intriguing answer.

Answers I've given:

I work on campus with one of the Christian clubs.

I'm staff with one of the Christian clubs on campus. Which means I lead Bible studies and join students in their spiritual journeys.

Umm...basically I work at UBC....I'm kind of like a counselor?

I help students to discover Jesus.

I engage students in dialogue about spirituality.

Answers I've considered:

I drink a lot of tea and meet with students to talk about life.

I'm a life coach.

I guide people in their spiritual journeys.

I attempt to rouse students from their existential apathy and encourage them to ponder the big questions.

Answers I'll never give, but have crossed my mind.


I get paid to hang out with students.

I'm here to represent the God you're taught not to believe in, the creation you're taught was a cosmic accident and the love you're looking for.

I'm sort of a like a professional Christian on campus.

I'm still not sure what my job is...

*~*
The main problem is, most of the answers are received with a "Mm hmm. That's interesting. What are you doing for Christmas?" Or, my favourite: "Oh. What will you do after this?"

What do you think? How can I express my passions and job in a way that rouses people's interest and leads to further conversation? How can I engage friends, family and strangers in what I'm doing?