***Happy Saturday to youuu. Enjoy this interview with Debbie who is currently serving with Cru in East Asia.***
1.What
has been the most challenging part of living overseas for a year? What has been
the most rewarding part?
- Probably
the most challenging aspect for me personally has been the difference in
community size from here in East Asia compared to college life at CNU. During
college, you interact with dozens of people at Cru weekly meetings, get deep in
small groups with girls going through all kinds of struggles and joys, stay up
late into the night laughing with friends in the library or adventuring around
campus, etc. etc. But here in East Asia, my main new community is my team of
ten people (seven Americans, three East Asians). They are God’s
provision for me during my time here, and I am so grateful for the bonds we’ve
formed and how the Lord has taught me so much through each of my teammates.
Being an extrovert however, it has been a fight to be content in such a small
community, and has pushed me to depend on the Lord and find fellowship with
Him, as well as dig deeper in my relationships with the university students I’m
reaching out to here on campus.
- The most
rewarding part of living overseas for a year has been getting to grow roots in
this culture. Being in East Asia in 2012 for summer project felt like just a
speedy, six-week visit, but getting to invest a year (or more ;)) and commit to
living life here has been so joy giving. I’ve loved observing
and partaking in so many details of East Asian culture, and God has used these
past eight months since arriving in August 2013 to reveal to me His creativity
and beauty in the people of East Asia.
2. What have you learned about yourself and your home culture
through this experience?
- I’ve
learned that I have a lot of pride in thinking the East Asian way of doing
certain things is wrong, and American culture is right. When it comes to using
the “squatty potty” toilets, biking down busy streets
where people commonly step out in front of your bike, hearing about the long
list of food women are forbidden to eat on their “special days”
(ladies, you know what days I’m talking about!),
observing men “hock a loogie”
and spit on the floor of the bus, etc, it’s so easy for me to
stick my nose in the air and condemn the East Asian culture for how they do
things. I’ve had to wrestle through these
feelings and remind myself that I am not here to change a culture but to preach
the gospel. Both America and East Asia are passing away (along with the rest of
the world), and what people of both my home culture and Asian culture most need
to hear is that Jesus Christ died for their sins so that we may have eternal
life with Him. Cultural differences might be challenging, confusing,
fascinating, or exciting but no matter my feelings towards them, my first
priority is to show and share Christ’s love. I’m
so grateful for God’s patience in teaching me this and how
He continually humbles my pride!
3. Is there an attribute of God that has been particularly
sweet to you during this season of life? - His
never-ending presence through the Holy Spirit with me. He will never leave me
nor forsake me. He is always with me, at every appointment with a student,
during every bike ride to campus, in the midst of every embarrassing moment in
language class… He is with me! It has been such a
comfort as of late to mediate on the eternal, empowering, sustaining,
indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit within me.
4. What one piece of advice would you give to graduating
seniors? How about freshman?
- Seniors: two
things! First, when it comes to making a decision about life after college,
spend more time in prayer and in the Word than talking to other people. People
can be wonderful encouragements and voices of truth, but ultimately it’s
your life and your relationship with God, and it’s
YOU who is going to step out in faith and head to that job/internship/grad
school/etc, not your roommate or Mom or boyfriend stepping out in faith for
you. So really seek the Lord and spend time just being still before Him. And
second, once you’ve made your decision, really. make.
your. decision. Step out in faith. Don’t wavier from what you’ve
decided. Trust the Lord in what you are walking forward in. Be confident when
people ask you about post-graduation plans. Trust that you’ve
made the right choice and that God would make things 110% clear if He wants you
doing something other than the step you’ve chosen to take.
- Freshman: seek
older women! Whether they’re three months older or thirty years
older, seek the counsel and friendship of godly women who have walked before
you. Is your Mom a woman of God? Cherish her. Figure out how to pursue, learn
from, and befriend her if you haven’t already! Ask God to bring women of
all ages into your life so that you may learn wisdom beyond yourself and your
18 year old girlfriends.
5. What's your favorite food there? What snack do you miss the
most?
- Favorite food:
a vegetable dish called “chu liu bai cai”
- cabbage stirfried in vinegar with some other random spices, peanuts,
and small veggies. So delicious.
- Snack I miss
the most: if fresh fruit smoothies count then that’s my answer. If
not, it’s a toss up between Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds and peanut
butter cracker packs.
6. How is life after college different than you expected?
- When you’re
in college, you’re the student. College is for you. Faculty
focuses on you. Organizations plan fun events for you. Ministry staff workers,
such as Cru staff, pour into you. There’s so much focus on your development,
you being fed, you experiencing new things, you having fun, etc. Whether I
realized it or not in college, so many things were simply handed to me during
my four years as a student. But being out of college, I now have to take the
initiative in many of the above listed areas. I can’t just walk out of
my dorm room and immediately find dozens of people to hangout with - it’s
up to me to stay in touch with people and be intentional in keeping up with my
friends’ lives. Being overseas, I have to seek
out women (other than my discipler here) via email and Skype to pour into me if
I want to continue learning from more mature women. Especially in regards to
the ministry I’m doing here in East Asia in reaching out to university
students, I am no longer the student in focus but rather am the one chasing
after the students. I hadn’t anticipated these changes and it’s
been an adjustment for me learning to make a choice to go after things that
previously had been handed me on a silver platter!
7. What made you decide to spend a year overseas?
- In 2012 right
before my senior year, I went on a summer project to East Asia with Cru. During
my time there, the Lord moved in my heart to show me the great need there is in
East Asia for people to hear the gospel. It broke my heart that so many
students I interacted with during my six week summer project had never heard the
name of Jesus before. The Lord continued to grow my desire for sharing the
gospel and desire to experience East Asian culture at a deeper level, so I
applied to Stint during my senior year… And here I am!
8. Can you share a story of how God is working in your
location?
- Last semester,
roughly 20 students prayed asking the Lord to come into their life! I’ve
gotten to watch a few of those girls in particular go from having no interest
in knowing God to wanting to repent and believe and now burning with desire to
tell their roommates and friends about Jesus Christ. One girl in particular, “Susie,”
went from being a shy freshman who had never seen a Bible before to now
a faithful witness who boldly initiates with strangers in the cafeteria so they
too might know about Jesus. It’s been so sweet to see God work in
girls like Susie, and rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit to use sinners
like me and Susie to bring more worshipers into His kingdom.
9. How can we be praying for you?
- I would love
prayer for rich, consistent quiet times; for me to be filled with the Holy
Spirit and daily walking in full dependence on Him; and for all the new
believing students to fall more in love with their Savior, cherishing His Word
and going to Him in prayer every day!
Thanks Debbie for sharing! Tidewater Cru loves youuuuuu!