Urbana 2006

Urbananites returned from the conference with an abundance of heartfelt praises, practical resolutions, and hope for His Kingdom on earth. Please read their letters and share their praises, burdens, and prayers.


Dear Church!
How are you all? Let me first thank you all for your prayers and financial support! Your support alone has truly blessed all of us and I hope that as I write this letter, you too will be blessed!

So Urbana was awesome. It was filled with fun, crazy worship times, great speakers, and resources a plenty. We met inside the Edward Jones Dome with 22,000 other believers and spent time listening, praying, and worshiping together as one body. The whole worship time in and of itself was really an amazing experience. There were so many different cultures that were represented and we sang so many songs from all around the world. The diversity of speakers ranged from mission-minded college students to doctorates giving expositions on Ephesians.

We also had times for seminars throughout the day and I went to a seminar discussing the Biblical worldview on art. It was definitely something that I had somewhat known about, but I didn’t really spend a lot of time thinking about. By the end of the seminar, I had realized again that God was the first artist who created the heavens and the earth and is without doubt the best designer out there. I was challenged by the speaker to do something with the talent God had given me. I wanted to use art, but how? I think this was where I first began to start thinking… art in missions? it’d have to be short-term… missions?

As Urbana progressed, more and more speakers came discussing the world, the need and the role of the church. I learned that as we mature as churches, we must grow to be interdependent on each other and truly become the body of Christ. I must hurt when the church in Africa hurts and I should praise God when the church in Mexico praises God. I also learned that God most definitely has a calling for me and that he most definitely has a calling for you. I began to think more about what I can do. How will I respond?

Urbana ended. I missed it. It was a great time enjoying the unity in Christ (whether through the worship times, prayer times or even meal times), the oneness of mind and the simplicity of life revolving around Urbana 06. Reality was ahead of me and it all ended so soon. But Urbana was not about Urbana. Urbana is about God and about the life we live after Urbana. I definitely committed to some things like really allowing God to take control of my life in all areas like money, career and time. I want to surrender all things to him who brings redemption. Urbana has planted a seed of possibility in me. Missions seems that much more tangible and realistic now. I’m still not sure exactly what I’m going to do, but I will do something. I must.

Thanks again!
Andy




One of the things that struck me the most at Urbana was just how much the members of our group (and most of the 22,000 others) want to serve God all-out. I noticed a transparency and a zeal in our group that I hadn't seen before, and I don't believe it was fabricated. I think these are the true desires of our hearts, but it's the culture of Urbana that allows it to come forth. There is something about being with others who are like-minded that brings courage and joy to the surface. Also, the many whites, blacks, latinos, and other non-Koreans made it apparent to me that our church has much to learn and gain from other Christians. I was impressed by the pro-activity I saw in many of these 18 year olds. I could see it in the way they talked to representatives of mission agencies, and in the way they started conversations at meals. They showed very little reservation or hesitancy. It was like they enjoyed talking to strangers, finding things about them, asking questions, laughing heartily, and not being afraid to reveal themselves. It was refreshing to say the least! And I saw it in our group members as well. Some were talking to complete strangers, as if they had done it all their lives in Southern California! It was awesome, seeing them relating to people and suppressing inhibition. Not only this, but our group talked a lot about deep kingdom matters. They asked questions to one another about the purpose of work, the purpose of school, the possibility of raising children in a 3rd world country, finding a spouse who wanted to live the kingdom life, and many other things that truly matter in life. It was a joy for me to witness these things, and for me to fantasize about the fruit of these things years down the road.

Roy




Dear Family,

Hello! I’m really excited to share with you guys about my Urbana experience. There was so much that God taught me and challenged me with. Thank you for all of your support through prayer and finances and hopefully you also will be blessed through what I learned.
The theme of Urbana 06 was to “Live a life worthy of the calling”. So what is our calling? I had always been confused about what exactly my calling was. It wasn’t just about God giving me a dream and showing me my future, I realized, but how else would I know what God was calling me to? I learned that God has a plan for your life. We are called to share His gospel.
So each day, we had two sessions: a morning one and an evening one which were basically worship times and a message. The speakers really hit home with me and at times it seemed like they were speaking directly to me about issues in my life. One of the speakers, Brenda Salter McNeil spoke about calling from Genesis 1:27-28. God calls us to multiply and be fruitful, fill the earth with God’s image and subdue it. So, like the people of Babel, God will scatter us and disturb our plans when we start getting comfortable because He is reminding us that we have a calling.
Many times, when I pray or just live my life I tend to forget about how much power God has, but I was reminded that He is far above all rule and authority, power and domination, and every name that can be invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:21). With that in mind, how could I limit God and think that some things are just too impossible for Him? Things like changing my parents’ mind about me going on missions or saving my non-believing friends (whom I think that it would be near impossible for them to start believing) are possible with God.
At the convention, there were different mission organizations and I had the awesome opportunity to talk with a missionary from SIM (Serving In Mission). One of the things that he shared that was a powerful image was that we are slaves, but slaves to a good and perfect master. We only need to obey and He will take care of us. Like sheep following their shepherd, we don’t know what His plan for us exactly is but we just need to trust in Him to lead us. So I learned to let go of struggling to control my own life and instead let God control it. I always feel like I have to be in control of what is going on in my life, like making plans for everything and worrying about what is going to happen in my future with school and work, but I realized that God is in control and I only need to give my best and obey. It’s easier said than done, but I realized that my own control was just a weak attempt compared to God’s control.
So after coming back, one of the ways I wanted to live out my calling was to go on a short-term mission trip (for about one year) after I graduate school. I discovered SIM and many other mission organizations that I could potentially go with, but SIM seems to be the most likely right now. Since my future plans involve psychology/counseling, I am interested in a short-term mission trip that would expose me to that in the mission field (which I discovered is used out there!).
I hope you were challenged to answer your calling!

Sharon




Dear FPC,

First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who supported us, Urbanaites, through your donations and prayers. Because of you and God’s grace we were able to afford the trip and truly experience God.

I’m just going to hit a few highlights of my experience in Urbana and tell you kind folk what I have learned. Well, I guess I should start off with why I decided to go on this adventure to St. Louis. Actually, I went to Urbana with quite low expectations. I had heard so many great stories and experiences from those who went in the past and I wanted to experience the same feelings, but I was skeptical. What I was looking forward to was gaining knowledge and information on how I could utilize my major, business, to glorify God. I could say that I found what I was looking for, but just like many others, I was overwhelmed by the amount of blessings I had received.

Trust: Probably the most important ideal that really struck me during my time in Urbana. The theme of this year’s Urbana Conference was “Answering to God’s Call”. Now for myself, I’m usually confident in God and His plan for my future, but many times I’m plagued by doubt and uncertainty. After listening to Brenda McNeil, a preacher in Chicago, speak on replying “Yes” to God’s call, it reminded me that God is in full control and to just follow His calling.

Understanding How to Use Business: After the first couple of days of Urbana, I was afraid that I wasn’t going to get all the information that I wanted for the business field, until I got to the Global Connexions booths. Yes, ConneXions. I got to talk to a lot of missionaries, mostly in Asia, who were or worked with missionaries working in the business field. I met the author of Tentmaking, who spoke to me mostly about the concept of tentmaking and how that was used in the mission field. I was really excited and happy I got to talk to all these missionaries who greatly inspired me.

Injustices Around the World: A main topic that was constantly brought up to our attentions were the injustices that take place everyday around the world. How people in other countries were suffering through various ways, and how we could help them. We heard stories from Princess Zulu of Nairobi about AIDS in Africa and cases about child prostitution from Sharon Cohen of International Justice Missions. They made these cases aware to us and have opened my eyes to the sufferings around the world; reminding us to pray and do anything we can to free these people from their sufferings.

Multilingual Praise!: So, another really cool thing that I had experienced for the first time was the multiethnic praise. We sang songs in French, Chinese, Korean and even English! It was wild. There was also a sign language translator who was signing in the middle of the crowd, and it was really cool watching other people praise through signing with her. There was also this one part where someone was rapping on stage and they brought out this professional sign language translator to do it in lightning speed. We also praised God throughout the New Years Countdown with the other 22,000 Christians. It was a great experience and I won’t forget it, EVER!

So, there are just a few highlights of Urbana 06-07. I was truly blessed and have made commitments to make a difference in our community and pray for those who I cannot directly help. I’ll always remember that God is in control and have total confidence in his decisions. Thank you again for all your support and prayers and Hallelujah!

Sincerely,
Andrew Hyun




Dear EM Brothers & Sisters,

For me, Urbana 2006 was a time of learning, exploring, praying, praising, and so much more and I would like to thank you all for making that possible through your financial support and prayers. It truly would not have been the same if it wasn’t for your support, so thank you!
I learned & experienced too much to share in this one page letter, so I’ll share about a few of the things that really convicted my heart.
First of all, who knew that the United States was the 3rd largest pagan nation (following China and India) in the world today? Because I sure didn’t! I learned that there is a tremendous need in the United States and one speaker even claimed that the United States is now considered the primary mission field because Christianity in other parts of the world, such as Africa and S. Korea is thriving and growing, but Christianity here is slowly dying. Before Urbana, I think I felt burdened at times because I felt that I HAD to go overseas for missions and that if I didn’t, I was being selfish. However, during one of our sessions, Pastor Rick Warren told us that it’s about having the willingness to go wherever the Lord calls you to do his work – whether it’s overseas or in our local communities. I was really encouraged by this and I felt more at peace and less guilty! In the future, I would really like to experience what it’s like to do His work overseas but I don’t want to discount the great need that’s here. I feel that God is pulling my heart towards working for Him here and with faithful prayer, I’m sure I’ll find out soon!
Another thing that struck me was what I learned at my first seminar taught by Rebecca Pippert (author of “Out of the Salt Shaker” – a book about evangelizing). Although the seminar was entitled “Talking about God in your everyday lives,” she hardly talked about this (I was expecting to learn how to incorporate God in our conversations – things of this sort), and instead spoke more generally on how we should approach evangelism and I’m glad she did. She spoke mainly about emulating the character of Jesus Christ when we evangelize. We have to be proactive and approach others and not wait for them to approach us. We have to make an effort to cultivate relationships with non-believers, instead of just shoving a pamphlet about Jesus in their faces and forgetting about them. All of these things Jesus did while he was on earth, but most importantly, we have to view everyone – believer or non-believer, as God’s precious creation. Many times, it’s hard for me to care about people who I feel are so different from me, which include non-believers, non-Asians, etc. even though we’re all people who were created in His image. She said that Jesus should change the lens in which we view everything and everyone and by doing just this, I think that it’s hard NOT to start caring for the lost and for those who are different from us.
I truly believe that God answered my prayers about my hesitation about my future at Urbana and I feel that I was able to grow closer to many of our EM members as well! The next step is to apply what I’ve learned and I hope that you will keep me in your prayers and keep me accountable. Although everything’s not crystal clear, I feel that God provided direction. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to attend because I felt that overseas missions was not my calling, but through this experience I learned just how much the mission is near & dear to God’s heart and that we can work to further his kingdom anywhere in the world! J

Sincerely,
May Kim

Dear FPC Body,

I would like to thank all the individuals who supported the Urbana Team financially and prayerfully. Urbana was an impacting week and I am very grateful for the overwhelming support from FPC. I went to Urbana with really one purpose and not only did God meet my goal but exceeded it in many ways. I know that I’ve been called to ministry but I didn’t know if God wanted me here in America or Over-Seas. I have all the respect in the world for Over-Sea Missionaries but I never felt that it was my calling but I didn’t want to drown the idea just because it wasn’t in my realm of comfort. I have a mentor who is currently serving as a Full-Time Missionary in Thailand and he told me that he got his calling as an Over-Sea Missionary at Urbana. So with much prayer, I decided to attend Urbana 06’.
The first seminar I attended was called “Barriers to Intimacy with God.” Initially, the only reason I attended this one is because I wanted to know what the series was like. This seminar was part 1 of a 4 part “Prayer Ministry” series. I was mostly interested in part 3 and wanted to know if the series was worth attending. However, when I got there, I was challenged in a way that I’ve never been challenged. Pauline Chen Fong (Chinese-American Intervarsity Worker) talked about some of her barriers that she had to overcome or is still overcoming that hinders with her intimacy with God. Throughout the seminar, I kept brushing a lot of her words off thinking that it doesn’t apply to me until I realized my biggest and greatest barrier, pride.
I was being prideful throughout the whole entire thing. It greatly shed light on how carnal my pride is. I didn’t fully realize how bad my pride could be until the time of ministry. This was a huge room with about 200 people attending and there were Volunteer Intervarsity Workers surrounding the room. I felt like a little baby but I wanted, I needed prayer. A volunteer named Aaron talked to me about pride and how God came to heal the sick and also how God wants to see His children forgiven. Aaron prayed for me and then he told me to surrender my pride to Him personally. So I prayerfully did so. Never in my life was my pride ever challenged. I walked out of that room ready to go home. This was only the second day of Urbana and I was content with what God has done. But God wasn’t through, oh no, He had more for me. Rick Warren was the speaker for the final night. He said a lot of great points about our life, our purpose, and how our future is shaped by our past experiences. I started reflecting on my past experiences. I think the reason I never had a strong pull towards Over-Sea Missions was because I’ve always been surrounded by a lot of problems here. I was born in East L.A. in a run-down majority Mexican neighborhood. All my friends growing up were African-Americans or Mexicans. Everywhere I moved and all the schools I attended, I was one of the few if not the only Korean there. I grew up around a lot of difficulties that my friends went through. Most of my friends since 3rd grade have been friends who were growing up in a family of gang-members whether it was their brothers, sisters, parents, uncles, or cousins. Even when I got a job at Boys and Girls Club, they put me at a club where the location was full of a lot of gang violence and families with harsh living conditions. These were the individuals that I always had a heart for so this night, I accepted my calling as someone who will be doing ministry here in the U.S.

From,
Solomon Lee




Hello church,
I hope all is well. I want to thank you for sending us in praying and in finance. I have to say that I was encouraged by how much was collected in the Urbana offering, and I am slowly realizing how important you all are at a personal level and especially in the bigger, eternal level. As some of you may know, this is my second time going to Urbana. I think the first time I went, the reason was out of curiosity and wanting to make myself available to God. This time I had intentions of becoming more informed and, really, becoming more confirmed that being involved in a ministry overseas is OK for me to start pursuing.
Here is what I wrote on the fourth day of Urbana (it’s really repetitive, but for the sake of authenticity):
His glory fills the earth! So God is in the unreached nations, He is in countries where people/children are ravaged and exploited. So we can go in full confidence knowing God is there. He is there; His glory fills the entire earth, so go in victory already ahead and in confidence.
Lord, would we have an even bigger picture of the reality of heaven. That this world is only temporary for us, and our reality is, in fact, heaven. So live life here on earth recklessly for You, as if our world’s wants and what we think we need are, really, nothing to us. Heaven is our reality now, this world will pass and heaven is our place with our Father; our eternal home. So, for now, live life on earth without worries, without fear, without insecurity, and with victory and confidence.

I really do hope and pray that this literature was written by the Holy Spirit. It seems to me that our identity in Christ is enough. In theory, it all makes sense, but the reality of the practice is both exciting and frightening. There will be bombs dropped on a couple of people that mean so much to me.
Church, we will need you to pray for those of us who went to Urbana and have made decisions, as well as for those in our family who are currently involved and going to be involved in such activity.
May we be a church who is so jealous to see our Father’s Glory come.

Angela Shin

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,

Thank you, family, for supporting us financially and through prayer! We truly appreciate all your support! Urbana was a time where God reaffirmed many convictions and grew my heart for people.
Before I even considered going to Urbana, I was quite proud in thinking that I was already committed to long-term missions and that this conference wasn’t going to help me much in my convictions. I thought that Urbana would only serve to point me in a more specific direction, so I was quite reluctant to go. Boy, was I wrong to think that way. Praise God for the godly peer-pressure from our junior high teachers, because they were the ones that helped push me over the edge. Our junior high teachers made me want to go, and I was so encouraged by each and every one of them, as I could see the heart they had for God’s glory and serving as faithful kingdom workers.
A couple of episodes from Urbana really stick out in my mind. I’ll try to list them under short headings:

Missions is about reaching all peoples –
Missions exists because worship doesn’t.
John Piper says in his book “Let the Nations Be Glad” that “missions exists because worship doesn’t.” I had the privilege of participating in the “Celebration of the Nations” opening procession. It was cool to see so many brothers and sisters from all over the world coming together to worship God. I remember walking in my traditional Costa Rican outfit and as all of us bowed in worship of God while the Urbana praise team sang “Jesus, We Come to WorshipYou,” there was a burning desire in me that really wanted to see every tribe and nation worship God and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. I remember not being able to sing throughout the whole conference (I was coughing really bad and had to serve on the praise team for our Youth Group winter retreat which was the week after Urbana), yet I was still so blessed by just listening to 22,000 other souls doing what they were created to do – worship God. Urbana really reminded me that the end for which God created the world is the praise of His glory. We were created to worship. Missions is about all people groups coming to worship our worthy King, Jesus Christ.

Missions is about interdependence
Another memorable time was when Pastor Oscar Muriu from Nairobi, Kenya shared about how true maturity within the body of Christ should lead to interdependence, and not independence. He shared from the perspective of a non-westerner, explaining how the western Church needs to be more understanding and accepting of other cultures and their churches, and how we as Christians really need to embrace one another and work together. I remember him asking “If the Church was made up of only African members, where would the order be? And if the body of Christ was full of Europeans only, where would the joy be?” What Pastor Muriu shared really helped me view overseas missions in a different light, and I am challenged to apply this concept of interdependence in the way our junior high ministry does its outreach to our brothers and sisters in Lynwood. I realized that we need to empower the local churches in Lynwood and help them reach their community more effectively, instead of going in and “running our programs” in a “Korean-American way.” We need to learn to learn from other cultures. Missions is about interdependence.

Missions is about commitment
I remember one of the speakers shared that our generation needs to step up and learn to make long-term commitments, so as a response to that, filling out our Urbana decision cards was a great way to solidify our convictions into commitments. I know that oftentimes we make commitments (like new year’s resolutions, for example) and then forget about them fairly quickly. New Year’s resolutions quite often tend to revolved around ourselves, as they are usually about self-improvement. But these commitments that we made at Urbana are different because they’re not about self, but about God’s kingdom and His glory. I went through the decisions card with much sobriety and prayerfully filled in the circles, as I felt the weight of these decisions I was making. These weren’t promises that I was making with myself, these were promises I was making with the Almighty Creator of the universe. I sat next to my girlfriend Sharon as we filled in the bubbles, and I told her that we would keep each other accountable to serve as missionaries full-time, no matter what happened in the future. I realized that to serve as a missionary, one must overcome laziness, fight the gravitational pull toward complacency, and make an effort to live a life worthy of the calling we have received (Eph 4:1-4). We must make long-term commitments.

Missions exists because two things are eternal –
souls, and God (and His glory)
For dinner on Friday evening, our MC for Urbana 06, the energetic and extremely entertaining Greg Jao, invited all 22,000 brothers and sisters to participate in an act of solidarity with many around the world. He asked us to eat cornmeal for dinner, something that many refugees in Africa have to eat in order to simply survive. He said the money saved from serving us dinner that night would go toward AIDS relief. He reminded us that we had a choice, that we weren’t obligated to eat the cornmeal, but almost everybody took part in this sharing. Many people ate with joy and gratitude, as we read the card with a different testimony on each person’s dinner tray. It really helped put things into perspective and my heart broke for those who didn’t have enough to eat.
Then our FPC family got to serve communion during the last worship service. We rehearsed our routes and took the elements to our assigned sections. We all served sections toward the back of the Edward Jones Dome, and I remember looking up and seeing a picture of the bread and the wine on the big screen. As I waited for the elements to be passed down the row, I felt God calling me to look around. And the first thing that met my eyes were the empty stands. Please don’t get me wrong, worshipping with 22,000 other souls was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, as it truly was a small taste of heaven. But it is this very fact that the worship experience was so amazing, and the fact that there were souls outside the arena who couldn’t partake in this that broke my heart. Sometimes God, by His grace allows you to feel just a small portion of what He feels. He will put the weight of His love for His people in your heart and you are overwhelmed. As I looked into the empty chairs, I could imagine God asking me – “Chung, if I really am so worthy of all praise, then why are those seats empty? Where are the other worshippers?” God was telling me “There may be a seating limit in the Edward Jones Dome, but heaven does not have a limit – I want worshippers.” What broke my heart even more was the fact that Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, offers Himself freely. In my mind I put together the picture of the cornmeal and the picture of the bread and the wine. Bodies are dying because they can’t eat the cornmeal. Souls are dying because they can’t eat from Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. As I looked into the stands, God put a huge burden on my heart, reminding me that in missions, what is at stake is the eternal destiny of souls, and the glory that He will not give to another.

Missions is not a place, it is everywhere;
Missions is not set aside to a certain time, it is always
-- Missions is life!
Something struck me about the options on the decision cards. Under a header that said: “I commit to pursue God’s call to serve in a global or cross-cultural context – two options were presented with regard to where one would serve: “Within North America” and “Outside North America,” as if those were mutually exclusive. I remember a couple of years back, my brother Chris asked me “Where did this whole notion of missions come from anyway?” By what he said, he meant overseas missions. One thing I learned at Urbana is this – wherever I step foot, that place becomes my mission field. I had to repent of this view I had, that for now I was serving as a junior high pastor but that further down the line, I would be an overseas missionary. How foolish it was of me to tell my students that I was only going to be their pastor for four years, and that I would later leave to serve the Lord abroad, as if those were two separate things. I felt like I was cheating my students by compartmentalizing life as a pastor and life as a missionary. I felt like I was being a half-hearted pastor running after an idealistic dream of being a missionary. I realized at Urbana that my students are my mission field. I realized that just because our students come to church doesn’t mean that they are faithful followers of Christ, or even professing believers for that matter. I realized that the needs of our local Fullerton community or the needs in Lynwood or Compton or Inglewood are the same as the needs abroad, and that it’s cheaper and more strategic for us to share the Gospel with those in our immediate surroundings. Opportunities to be a faithful witness surround us left and right. There has never been a better time to share the Gospel. Whether it’s at work, at the supermarket, or at church, everything is missions. Missions is life!

So, God worked in an amazing way at Urbana. Not so much in the way I was expecting, as I wanted to find out where and in what capacity God wants me to serve. The answer I got was that I am to serve anywhere, and in whatever capacity. God grew my desire to serve abroad, as well as those in our local community. Missions is life, whether it’s at Fullerton Presbyterian Church, at the armory, in Latin America or at Lynwood. Brothers and sisters, we are all missionaries. We are all witnesses to what Christ has done in our lives, and we are to let Him work through our lives in order to gather souls to worship our Father. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. My prayer is that FPC would be a place where kingdom workers are raised and sent out, for the praise of God’s glorious grace in sending us His Son Christ Jesus.

for His glory,

your brother Chung

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:5-11

Dear FPC family,

It has been a blessing over the years to be a part of this family. I thank you guys for supporting the Urbana team through prayer and through your gracious outpourings of financial support. (It cut my plane cost to 12 bucks!! whoohoo) It was a huge encouragement to me to see such generosity and has made Urbana a greater enjoyment knowing that you guys were supporting us.
Urbana was action packed from day one. We were plugged into small groups (which consisted of a hundred people or more) and meal times and were given name tags to officially welcome us to Urbana. I was overly excited to go to Urbana knowing fully what to expect and do. The first day we worshipped with over 22,000 people from all over the world. It was a very small glimpse of heaven. We had our whole week planned for us. Early in the morning we were to go to small groups in the main convention hall and then have a morning session on Ephesians. Then we broke for lunch and were let loose. St. Louis was ours, literally. There were 22,000 plus people roaming about trying to find places to eat. The city even had banners for us welcoming Urbana 2006. From 2-4 pm, we went to our respective seminars. Then we came together for dinner at the convention and had the evening sessions.
The greatest experience I can take from Urbana was the worship. The first day we arrived, I was exhausted and weary. The last thing I wanted to do was sing. Praise and worship do not come naturally to me, especially when I am tired and grouchy. However, in the state I was in, I made the decision to worship and give God the true worship he deserved. As the days progressed, I learned why it was easier for me to worship. Despite the tiredness, I was learning so much about God and his grace thus making it easier for me to praise God. I earnestly pray to be at that point where I can’t stop praising him. The dome where we worshiped was truly filled with the Holy Spirit. It was as if everyone was hooked up to some spiritual IV. Worshiping as one body, corporately and as a community of believers, had a tremendous impact on me. I also attended a seminar titled Hearing and Responding to God’s Call. It was led by a couple who had met in high school. They emphasized that we should live a life of worship which involved more than just singing. Worship was a state of mind, a place where we long for God’s glory not ours.
There were many speakers who emphasized global issues and the injustices many were facing. There were issues stressed about oppression and sex trafficking. Many stressed HIV/AIDS. There was also the reoccurring theme of unity. Because our focus for Urbana was Ephesians, it was very refreshing to hear unity being stressed as it was. One speaker named Brenda spoke about how there should be no separate parts of the global church. The church should be interdependent. I started thinking about our church
and how in small groups we learned about spiritual community. It was unimaginable on such a global scale. How can we, as a Korean American church affect the African American churches? How was I even going to answer such a question when I wasn’t being an active participant at FPC. So I began to question my role at FPC and what I was going to do to be more intentional with my relationships. The only thing that causes disunity is our rebellion against God. I needed to use God as the unifying factor.
I came to Urbana wanting to know God’s calling for me. When I went to the global connections area where there were various missions agencies, I tried to see what they could do for me and if what they offered matched what I wanted to do overseas. But then I began to realize that I was being selfish. I was not seeing the greater purpose behind it. I needed to be more compassionate about those who have not yet heard the gospel. Not about children dying of starvation, but children dying without knowing Jesus. I already knew my calling because it had already been spoken through scripture. I made the decision that my life would be used to glorify God and whether it is through overseas missions or to be a nurse at a local hospital, I felt very convicted to live a life worthy of the calling.

Your sister,
Christina

align="left">Dear FPC (& God),

I guess I should begin with an introduction. My name is Chris, one of the two Urbana orphans your EM adopted into their fold. It was wonderful to experience Urbana with 22,999 other attendees, but it was especially wonderful to share in it with your 17 from FPC. You have a wonderful church and a wonderful pastor who has a big heart that welcomes strangers like me.

So why’d I go? I went to Urbana to find answers: Why was I working and not a pastor? Why was I in America? Why was I a Christian? I felt so sure of everything senior year of college: the theology of work, social justice, why I was going back home. But in the last 6 months, I’ve been horribly confused and unsettled. I wanted some mental clarity and peace, and so I went.

To be honest, I didn’t really like the last Urbana all that much, but with the “Calling” theme, I felt “called” to go. The Working tract excited me, and I thought I’d find the bulk of my answers there, in the seminars. Well, I was wrong. Or maybe I just picked the worst seminars. Either way, this Urbana for me wasn’t about answers. It was about worship.

It was in worship that I got my clarity. It was in worship that I got my peace. I remembered why I first fell in love with our God, and I remembered that it’s never been my careful planning that’s allowed me to live for God. It’s been grace. In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps? Absolutely. When I think back on any major occurrence in my life, it’s never been anything I’d planned much ahead of time.

It was also in worship that I realized my passion too. Watching the signers translate praise for the deaf, I realized I loved missions. Watching redemption is my joy. But I want desperately for more than one day of the week to be redeemed. I do want every people-group to see the face of God in church, praise, bible studies, sermons, and Sabbaths, but I also want to see every other facet of God’s creation redeemed. The unreached creation-groups that ache my heart: work, the arts, recreation, nature. I want to see entire societies redeemed. I want to see the kingdom of God come on Earth.

But that all starts with simple, daily worship. I experienced the sweetness of worship again in St. Louis, and that was the greatest takeaway of Urbana for me: don’t forget to worship. I just wish I could articulate worship outside of QT’s, Christian songs, church, and sermons. I wish everywhere I turned and everything I did was worship. I wish worship was inescapable. Thy kingdom come, God. Please.

Love,
Chris




Dear FPC family,

Thank you SOOO much for all the love and support you have given me and the rest of the fellow Urbana attendees. Your generous givings and prayers blessed my experience at Urbana and truly helped me feel the unity and love that is in our church.
I received so much from Urbana, not only through the knowledge I received there, but also from the amazing community among fellow believers in St. Louis. Something that I think a lot of us was convicted by during Urbana was how much we lacked in prayer. Something that I’ve been realized was how much I lack in purposeful prayer. Prayer is so important and I’ve discredited it in my life, and from Urbana I have gained a better understanding of prayer and the amazing connection it provides me with God. I was also convicted to go back to address issues that I sort of set aside and shoved underneath the bed. God really challenged me at Urbana to face those challenges and to approach these issues again with him right by my side.
It would take too long to share everything that God did in my life through Urbana, but Urbana was truly an unbelievable experience and one that I will treasure forever. It was such a blessing to not only go through changes myself, but to also see fellow FPCers go through life changes also. Thank you once again for helping make the Urbana journey for all of us, such an amazing one. I love you all so much and God Bless!

Mina




God,

You are good and your mercy endures forever!

Father, college has been a time of spiritual growth and soul searching. My freshman year, I started coming back to church after a long absence. I felt empty, unmotivated, purposeless, and meaningless. The world didn’t satisfy me like it used to. I half-heartedly signed up for Urbana 2003, not really caring that it was a conference for missions. I honestly just wanted to go somewhere new during my winter break, but you had something bigger than my winter getaway in store for me. God, you met me at Urbana and planted a seed to live for more than personal gain. You showed me your heart for the lost, broken, and destitute.

Since Urbana 2003, you have shown me more of what you had planned in advance for me to do. God, you have opened so many doors to share the gospel and teach your Word. It is not by accident that I became a teacher with the Jr. High Ministry. It is not by accident that I am part a co-ed business fraternity. It is not by accident that you placed certain people in my life. God, give me boldness and courage to be faithful to you and your Word even though I feel like I lack so much.

God, it is not by accident that I am a business administration student with an emphasis in international business and marketing. You gave me a desire to study international law or international business law. You had something beyond my comfort zone of southern California planned for me. I felt you were using business and law as a platform for me to minister to the poor and expand your Kingdom. I went to Urbana 2006 for confirmation and opportunity.

God, you exceeded every expectation at Urbana 2006. I learned so much about the church, prayer, justice, reconciliation, worship, and Kingdom work. Thank you for the church who made it financially possible for me to go and supported me with encouragement and prayers. Help me to continue to share all the things you have taught me and placed on my heart with the church.

Again, it was not by accident that I signed up for the Open for Business track at Urbana. I was amazed that you would bring 1500 people together, all of whom were interested in doing Business as Mission (BAM). You taught us to integrate biblical principles with business to transform communities and nations. God, you reminded me that making a profit is not the bottom line. You taught me that Kingdom businesses have three bottom lines, namely producing spiritual, social, and economic impact. I pray that these Kingdom businesses and employees would be used to show Christ to customers, clients, employees, management, vendors, suppliers, distributors, and communities. I pray that we would flee from dishonesty and greed.

Lord, I will be graduating in June. I am planning on taking a year off before returning to graduate school. God, you have given me a heart for China and I want to participate in what you are doing there. Thank you for impressing it on my heart, through a Gospel for Asia worker, to follow Nehemiah’s example when he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. He was a man of prayer – in everything he did, he always prayed with great faith before acting. He had a genuine concern for the welfare of others and administered justice to the poor and suffering. Nehemiah also reestablished the authority of your Word in the lives of people, which led many to confess their sins and return to you. He reformed a whole nation based on your Word, tearing down their pagan practices and institutions. As a result, your people worshiped you and celebrated with great freedom and joy.

My prayer is that China will worship freely… shouting, “Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything and the multitudes of heaven worship you.”

Lord, I am in the process of applying for a short-term (6 months – 1 year) mission trip to China through Christar. I have been in contact with the China Christar team since Urbana and I get more and more excited with every email. Lord, use me on this short-term trip to “survey the walls.” Before Nehemiah started working on rebuilding the walls, he surveyed the damage and assessed the needs. I want to come back from China having a clearer picture of how I can better equip myself (education, training, experience, etc.) and mobilize others for Kingdom work in China.

Let every nation sing to the Father of everything. My Creator and King, there is none like you! You alone are worthy… you alone are God.

You are the Potter and I am the clay. Here I am, use me.

To him who is able to keep us from falling and present us before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Diane Kim




Dear FPC,

I went to Urbana expecting it to be a life changing event. I was excited about attending the seminars and learning a lot. God taught me a lot of things, but not in the way that I expected Him to teach me. I left in the middle of my first seminar disappointed. I decided to go to another seminar entitled “Barriers to Intimacy with God.” I didn’t want to go to it at first because then it would be admitting that I wasn’t doing as well with God as I should be, but I went because the seminar was held in the same building that I was in. I didn’t get to hear most of what the speaker said, but in the end there was a prayer ministry time where the intervarsity staff members went around and prayed for people who wanted prayer. One of the staff came up to me and asked if she could pray for me. She asked me to just take time to listen to God so we both remained silent together. Afterwards, she said that she felt God saying my name over and over again. The way she said it and the tone she said it in really struck me because I felt as if God were asking me, “Why are you doubting me? Don’t you know that I love you SO much and want just you?” I felt like God was calling me to Him and my heart broke because I knew I was ignoring Him. Afterwards, she shared Psalm 139 with me:
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.

I was struggling a lot with doubting God’s power. I placed so many things before Him like school, money, my pride and everything else. I lacked faith in Him and the promises that He made to us. Hearing Psalm 139 made me realize that God knows me fully, my doubts and fears and thoughts. He knows me and all I have to do is be honest with Him and ask for help.
The next day I went into the prayer room and went on the prayer walk. It was really joy instilling and humbling. The walk first started with reflecting on God’s goodness, then facing different barriers that keep us distant from God and laying them down at His feet, and it ended with praying for the world, children, and college campuses. Towards the end of the walk, there were globes on the floor and the instructions were to hold a globe and pray for the world. Holding the globe made the problems in the world seem so much smaller and prayer more powerful. I imagined people from all over the world and God holding them and longing for them to know Him. I realized that this is what God desires from us-for us to care for and pray for the world. Throughout Urbana, God taught me that the injustices in the world aren’t too big for Him to handle and that He can use me to bring change to seemingly hopeless situations. There is hope in God!
Worship/praise times were really amazing as well. The fact that there were people from all over the world in one room made me realize how big God is, that He is a personal God who draws people from the ends of the earth to Him. Also, I really enjoyed praising God in different languages. I felt like we were worshipping God for who He is and also celebrating and rejoicing in one another as God’s creation.
I learned a lot through Urbana. It’s hard to express my thoughts…I’m still struggling with living out my faith at school, fighting against the temptation to be busy and apathetic, and with questions like what it means to live a life worthy of the calling right now. Overall, I want to apply what I learned by spending quality time with God, praying in complete honesty and humility and asking God for more faith, fighting against injustices through prayer and action, and honoring and investing in our FPC body. Please keep me accountable J

Aria

Dear FPC family,

As probably most of the “Urbananites”--as we were referred to as—in St. Louis, I really wanted to find out how God can use me specifically, not only in the future (as relates to my major/career path) but (even more importantly?) right now as I am, where I am, who I am today. Much of what had the most impact on me at Urbana came from the seminars. And I will only discuss the three most eye-opening seminars that I attended.
My current major is English. I'm not exactly sure what direction I want to go in. My dream and aspiration is to become a fiction author. Heading into Urbana, even though it is closer to a pipe-dream than reality, I was struggling with how I could fit missions-work with fiction writing. There were so many questions about where I could go and how I would use writing for God: How much of our faith should inform our work? How much of our audience? How do you balance creating art and/or an accurate portrayal of truth and offending/disappointing/boring your readers? What does being a “Christian” writer entail as opposed to being just a writer? Hence, I attended a seminar that was appropriately titled, “What Does it Mean to be a Christian Writer?” And after the seminar, I grabbed a hold of one of the writers in the panel, Andy Crouch, who led the session and I unloaded all of my questions. He kindly indicated that most of my questions shouldn't even be a struggle. He pointed out what seems very simple and obvious now: that our whole lives are (or should be) entirely centered on our walk with God—including our careers or whatever we do. When you are in tune with God and growing, maturing, and progressing as you should be spiritually, the truth of God will automatically inform your work with no effort necessary on your part—which makes total and complete sense—and how “right” that influence on our work is, is directly related to our relationship with God. Christ is a huge part of our lives together as a church and individually, so in whatever we do with our lives, if Christ is truly alive within us, His truth will no doubt inform and be evident in our work, unless we consciously block it. And of course if we're teachers we're going to educate first and foremost, if we're preachers we preach, if we're writers we write, but as long as we strive to make Christ who we are as each individual person (which we are called to do as Christians), He will, and should, have a significant and visible influence as we fulfill our job descriptions. So that sort of took care of my “future” issue (assuming I stay with writing).
I also attended a seminar by speaker/author James Emery White (he has contributed to the “Stand to Reason” seminars, which some of us in EM heard a while back) titled “Apologetics for the Postmodern Mind.” The seminar was focused mainly on the societies and cultures in the modern, industrialized, “western” worlds that we are a part of here in the U.S.. White started off by saying that there has been a “second fall” of mankind—the first fall was our expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the second is what is happening today: the expulsion of God from our lives. White explained that throughout human history, there has always been a dependence on a being or power(s) outside of ourselves (ex: the gods of the Mayans or ancient Greeks to the Judeo-Christian God, Allah, etc.), but most of the modern and postmodern times of the 20th century and today has been a time of exclusion of God (or any higher power) and focusing, imagining, and examining our lives with God out of the picture. And it probably is not a coincidence that our recent history has contained some of the darkest moments and events of our entire existence. However, society today is finally turning back to spirituality....but it is a confused, discombobulated, the-monster-from-Frankenstein sort of approach to spirituality—that can both be dangerous and destructive rather than a true “consolation” or salvation—in which any spirituality, as long as it's vaguely “spiritual,” can be pieced together and fused into one's own view, and that will suffice. The challenge that White says we as Christians have to meet is being able to understand and engage this world and culture that we live in, in such a vulnerable time—yet a time as wide open to truth—as the confused, empty, purposeless and direction-less postmodern culture of today. He mentioned the very true but rarely addressed tendency of Christians today to compartmentalize our faith. How we view film, literature, art, fashion, politics, or any other part of our culture is too often disconnected from our faith and viewed as separate entities to be viewed from the perspectives and guidelines of each specific cultural artifact itself when it is quite possible and much better for us to view them with a well-developed mind that is informed by our powerful faith in Christ. White pointed to the all-important scriptures, which what he was saying was backing up. In 2nd Corinthians 10:5, Paul, speaking out at the faulty reasoning and theories of the time (which is a theme that runs throughout the letter and which would certainly apply to our time), writes that we as Christians are called to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God” and “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Also, Jesus Christ, in Mark 12:30, when he was asked what the greatest commandment was, answered by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 (“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”), but Jesus added “mind” to the quote, emphasizing that our intellect is part of the totality of us that we must love, worship, and serve our God with. We must be able to understand with our minds where the world hungers, what it needs, where it's coming from and be able to offer God and truth in a manner that meets them there. Corporations and the media are more than happy to identify and understand needs and offer products and false (or incomplete) ideas as the fulfillment of them by way of mass marketing/media; shouldn't we offer the truth of Christ by way of our call to evangelize and “make disciples” (this is in no way suggesting that we follow some sort of “corporate blueprint” for evangelism, or anything like that)? In Acts 2, when speaking to Jews, Peter “meets the people” he preaches to by bringing up OT scriptures, David, and the Prophets to bring people the news of the Gospel. In Acts 17, he takes a completely different approach when he preaches to the philosophically-minded Athenians. He explains in terms of the deity of God, creation of the world, His reasoning and nature—all terms that the Athenians would understand. Christian world-view—the way we engage the range of human thought and perspective from a Christian standpoint and view—must pervade and be a part of every aspect of the culture we live in. We must be able to bring our faith in line with our culture (politics, music, film, literature, law, etc.) in order to be effective “salt” and “light” of the world (White brought up MLK's “Letter from Birmingham Jail” as a great example of bringing faith and intellect in line with our world-view of the social culture and structures). White also observed that there is a void of Christians who engage the mind, both within the individual and the world around. He suggested that the reason why C.S. Lewis is such a big figure in Christian thinking and literature was not an exemplary life (he smoke and drank regularly, was kind of rude, etc, etc...basically not “exemplary” in the same way of Mother Theresa or Billy Graham) . He is so respected and well-regarded because of the fact that he was able to explain his faith and bring it in line with his intellect and then put it in the terms of the world. So...I have made a stronger commitment to forge together (while developing and growing) a deep faith in God with a deep understanding of our world's culture to be able to answer questions like: “How would a Christian mind view political issues? That movie? This book? That social problem? That trend?” and eventually be able to view them like that without asking the question at all—to be able to explain and engage the world with a developed mind—a mind immersed in our culture while being firmly rooted in the truth of our faith. I found this to be as “mission-focused” as anything.
One last thing I want to share is how my experiences at Urbana made clear just how closely tied mission-work is to growth within the Church itself and our basic growth and maturing as Christians; they (missions/evangelism and the Christian life within the church) are truly inseparable and are both intrinsic parts of our lives as followers of Christ. Through one of the evangelism seminars I attended, I saw so many parallels between how we should evangelize to unbelievers and what Dr. Larry Crabb was saying about the church and how we should minister to one another in what we learned in small groups this term. The speaker, author Rebecca Pippert, laid out some basic principles of evangelism based on Christ in scripture. She emphasized that just as Christ, we must be “radically identified in love” and our evangelism and missions work should flow from that first and foremost. We have to open our lives in an authentic way that genuinely loves the person, investing in people (as Christ did), keeping in mind that although their primary/felt needs must be met, our ultimate concern should be for their relationship/reconciliation with God. Pippert also indicated that everything—which includes all this “radical identifying in love,” caring for the lost/broken, and investing in lives—comes from God and so we must surround ourselves in the ministry of God (the church) in order to be able to minister to the world around us. Many of these principles echoed what we read in Dr. Crabb's book. In our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, Crabb asserted as Pippert did, that all of our interactions must flow from a desire to show God's love to the person and we should open our lives in a real, genuine, Christ-centered way. Crabb also emphasized, as Pippert did, the importance of our relationship with God in our ability to love and minister, and also the importance of “surrounding ourselves in the ministry of God for healing and spiritual health and strength”—in Pippert's words—or finding satisfaction and fulfillment in the “spiritual community” of the church—in Crabb's words—placing a huge importance on the role of the church and our roles within it to build up and grow together and minister to each other. So although Crabb was talking about growing/ministering within the church itself and Pippert was talking about ministering in evangelism to the unreached, it seemed (and I believe it is no coincidence) that they were talking about the same thing—because it is. It is all a part of the life of Christians we are told to live and the effectiveness of one aspect (mission life/evangelism) is directly and proportionately related and dependent on the other (church-life), and vice-versa. The same principles for reaching out and touching unbelievers are applied in reaching out and ministering and growing with believers—it is all rooted in pouring out the love of God into people.
Through Urbana, I am more clearly and convincingly convicted of the fact that our lives themselves are mission fields that we are commanded to “go forth and make disciples of nations” within. Wherever we are, whether it's here in the States or anywhere that we end up around the world, we are called to proclaim the good news to the unreached. This is something we could start working on here and now in our culture and lives. And although I have been shown many things at Urbana, it is one thing to see and acknowledge and an entirely different thing to put into practice. I found that I have many things to work out and change in my life, intellectual fog and small obstacles to clear out in order to fully commit to the things shown me through Urbana. But the good part is that now I have a much clearer idea of what to do and what to look forward to once I do work through them; and working through the present obstacles is a way of meeting the bigger commitments that I wrote about above.

Sorry, this is a short as I could get this...you all don't know how much I cut out. Maybe when I could say something like this in a third of the number of words, and only then, should I consider a career in writing.

Sincerely,
Mike Kim

Dear FPC family,

I went to Urbana hoping that I would learn a lot from the seminars and that God would give me a clearer idea of how and where I would serve him after I was done with school. I already knew that I wanted to be a teacher and I had a small desire of going out to missions long-term in the future, but having no experience with missions – long or short – I felt hesitant and scared with that thought. After Pastor Roy told us that he really desired for us to see the world through God’s eyes, I really tried to imagine what that would be like. I really thought that I had a clear picture of how God saw the world, but I was clearly mistaken. And Urbana was a great way to be proven wrong.
I never thought of myself as a racist person. I may laugh at racist jokes and comments, but I never took them seriously. But after going to Urbana and having the opportunity to worship and learn God’s word through and with people from many different countries, cultures, and backgrounds, I realized that I was a racist person all along. I was blown away by the number of people there at first, and the many different ways that they worshipped our Father. I guess I knew it in my mind that people all over the world worshipped our God, but I didn’t completely accept it in my heart that they were my brothers and sisters until I arrived at Urbana. I think it was hard for me to openly receive these people I’ve never met, because they were so different from me in many shapes and colors. But after praising, worshipping, and learning with the thousands of people there, I was able to open my heart to fully accept them as my fellow brothers and sisters and be truly encouraged by their passion for our Lord.
Urbana was a great way for my eyes to be opened to what is going on around the world. I was so ignorant before, and honestly, I knew it, but I didn’t really want to change myself. I didn’t want to educate myself, because I knew it would be a lot of work, digging up information and finding out what I can do to help and then actually doing something about it. Urbana made it so simple to become more educated and aware of the need in other countries. Through the many speakers from various ethnic backgrounds, I was able to see that God loves them just as much as He loves us and we are all His children within His kingdom. Urbana helped me become much more compassionate for the people suffering and people who are dying everyday without knowing Jesus. For the first time in my life, my heart ached for the lost. I was inspired to do more than live my own life, so I have decided to take a small but very vital step of prayer. I rarely prayed for anything other than things of my life and community, but I started really praying for the people I have never met all sides of the globe. It is just baby steps, but I know that prayer is one of the most important details within God’s mighty plan.
One of the most important things that I realized from Urbana was that not only do I have a heart for the lost, but I have a huge aching heart for the lost children out in the world. I don’t think I will ever see them the way God does, but I believe that God has planted in my heart just a little amount of the love that He feels when He is watching them. I don’t really know how I can help them at this time other than supporting individual children through organizations, but I feel like that’s not good enough. The small desire of going out to missions really ignited a much greater desire to go out and spread the gospel after I’m finished with school.
Please pray that this passion and fire that has developed within me will not slowly fade away, but that it will grow even more intensely as I am finishing school.

Sunny

Firstly, I would like to thank our wonderful Lord for the wonderful opportunity He has given us to be part of Urbana 2006. I was so blessed to go to St. Louis with such wonderful men and women who have a heart for the things of God and are so mission minded. I thank the wonderful FPC family for your support financially….your generous giving has been very helpful….thank you!
The experience at Urbana was beyond words. Being together with my fellow brothers and sisters from all walks of life was terrific. Ethnic barriers came down as we worshipped the King of Glory. I remember looking around the Stadium and seeing all races having a common theme which was “I love you Lord.” Many times I wish our churches could be more ethnically diverse like it will be in Heaven. I felt a close connection with people I met for the first time, but I felt a connection with my FPC family. The times of sharing and praying we did together was awesome.
The teachings I received were powerful and refreshing. Seminars I attended were impactful to me. Rick Warren’s seminar touched me to the core. The Christ like character, humility, and integrity he lives by was transparent. Christ is truly reflected through the man, and it challenged me to grow in such a way. The seminar on homosexuals and how to relate and minister to them was insightful and provoking. It reminded me that I need to love people like Jesus did regardless of the differences in beliefs, behaviors, etc…To reach the hurting world we as followers of Christ need to hold dear the great commandment to love God and to love people. If we as Christians will love by the power of the Holy Spirit, our friends, peers, neighborhood, city, county, country, and the globe will be transformed for the glory of God.

Steve Shin

My name is Eric T Cho and I attended Urbana 06.

Isn’t this your second time going to Urbana, Eric? Yes. I remember the first Urbana really opened my eyes to what missions were all about. I didn’t really have a clear view about our purpose on earth and what we were suppose to do as Christians and Urbana 03 really help me understand our mission on Earth. I went to this past Urbana with the intention of finding a specific calling and narrowing down some possibilities on what I will be doing in the future and God was good!!!

So what are you going to do now after your came back from Urbana, Eric? Well, let me give you a teaser on what I am planning on doing this year. As of now, my goal is to finish school and continue serving as a Junior High teacher at FPC. I am also planning on going on a short-term mission trip in the fall with an organization I found at the convention. I also want to help lead a short-term mission trip to Costa Rica with the Youth Group kids. Since I enjoy taking photographs, I want to use this “skill” to tell stories through my camera lens. So, I will probably be taking a lot more photos from now on.

Do you recommend Urbana to your friends and family? Of course!!!

Well, that was a glimpse of my Urbana 06 experience and if you want more, just ask!

Thanks for your prayers! Love You Guys!!!

Eric T Cho