Testimonies
God is the only One who could fill this deep void inside my being, and only He could become my rest, comfort, peace, love, joy, and everything that I need. It was through much prayer and fellowship with other brothers and sisters that I came to realize that my entire life would be meaningless without Him. I began to attach myself to the other members of Christian Students and they became my encouragement to bring God back into my life. Immediately I became so much happier, realizing that God was the source of all my successes, and I love Him so much that I want Him to always have the first place in my heart. Our God is the only One who can be our satisfaction!
E. Chang
Throughout this year, the Lord has really been showing me how much I need to rely on Him and how much I need to trust Him. I’ve learned that I can do nothing by myself. However, if I walk in Him everything turns out all right. The Lord really has a good heart towards us and loves us dearly because we are His children. All we have to do is place everything in His hands and cooperate with Him. We also have to take the time to listen to His speaking and take time to behold Him. I’ve really enjoyed singing the hymn, “Lord, I give myself to You right now/ I want to be occupied with You/ I leave all else behind/ And concentrate my being on You alone…” The Lord has shown me that He is the One who has to have the preeminence in my life. The Lord has also touched me with the verse 1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your anxiety on Him because it matters to Him concerning you.” All I can say is, “Praise Him! It matters to Him concerning us!” So just cast all your worries on the Lord and learn to trust Him and walk with Him every day.
J. Martinez
Every Tuesday we have prayer meetings in homes of families that are nearby UCI. During these times, we come together to pray for items such as the health of the saints, the going on of the members in each small group and/or items such as college retreats or other conference matters. In this meeting, we exercise our spirit to fight to not only be in spirit, but also to touch what is on our Lord’s heart. The Lord has many burdens on His heart, yet He cannot do anything if man does not cooperate with Him on earth by praying. This is the principle of incarnation and this is how our Lord operates. What I really enjoyed from these prayer meetings is that not only do we care for what’s on the Lord’s heart but also for what’s on the hearts of those who come faithfully to the prayer meetings. Just two weeks ago, after the prayer meeting, some of the sisters in the group got together to see how each one was doing. We started fellowshipping with one another our current situations. One of the sisters opened up about her moving situation and her concerns for moving to another state. After she opened up, the four of us just started praying for her, asking the Lord to be the Head of this situation and for Him to work out His perfect will in our sister. After we prayed for her, she expressed that she was so glad she opened this matter to us because what she needed was prayers from the members in the group. By praying with one another in this way, our spirit is exercised and we’re also built up with one another in spirit. It’s really through fellowship and prayer that the Lord’s needs and also our needs can be met.
L. Yang
I’ve really enjoyed the college meetings this past school year. Here you get a very practical word spoken to you by brothers who have been laboring with the college students for a long time and who know what you need to hear. I am always very touched, convicted, enlightened, or encouraged by their speaking. Whatever it is I never regret coming to the college meeting, even if it means I have to sacrifice studying or doing other things you can do on a Saturday night, because you leave the meeting with the sense that you have gained something real and solid and something that would help you in your Christian life. It is an excellent refresher from school work. And of course the singing is always enjoyable; we sing ourselves into our spirit before we receive a much needed dispensing of Christ. And I also enjoy breaking into smaller groups after hearing the speaking because you get to discuss the speaking with others in your group, talk things out, share your personal enjoyment or experience and listen to others do the same. It is great to hear how others feel about the speaking and what they enjoy and how they respond to the word. Then there is opportunity for mutual building up and mutual encouragement. We are all students running the Christian race, and it helps when you run together!
A. Freeman
I would like to share with you my experience of having weekly appointments with church members and student trainees from the Bible college in Anaheim. Having a least one appointment a week has helped me to grow immensely in my experience of the Lord. When I started out in college, I was very unsure about what kind of experiences I would have and how college would affect my relationship with God. I was very blessed to have met some people from the Church in Irvine through the Welcome dinner that Christian Students at UCI holds at the beginning of each quarter. Through the appointments I was able to meet some people who I could relate to and could share our experiences of the Lord together. Not only were we able to share our experiences together but we were able to bond through the way the Lord works through us. Some of my greatest enjoyments have been in the generosity they have shown me in opening up their homes for meetings to me or bringing a lunch to share with me. The appointments are very helpful ways in which one can build strong relationships with others pursuing the Lord and in which one can grow in the enjoyment of Christ. I feel truly blessed to be able to meet with a few people a week to be able to love the Lord together!
P. Pearson
When I was deciding on a college to go to, my first thought was how far I could get away from home. I thought about the academic life that the school had to offer but the last thing on my mind was my spiritual life. I didn’t even consider what the school offered in terms of my Christian life but I thank God that when I choose to attend UCI, I was choosing a place where I could grow and enjoy the Lord on a daily basis and in a real way. I didn’t think that I would be able to find such an inviting part of God’s family here that I could feel so at home with. (It’s an odd feeling to be so homesick at times and yet so at home at the same time. It’s comforting, though, to know that there is always someone close that cares.) For me to leave a congregation that was composed mostly of my worldly family to join my brothers and sisters in Christ hundreds of miles away from home and have it feel so right is an amazing God thing.
There’s so many different activities that the club offers from weekly college meetings and Bible studies to just hanging out at the student center. It is so hard not to get involved that you involuntarily help build up the body of Christ at UCI. Family has always been important to me so I have always enjoyed going to the home meetings. At the home meetings, we are placed with one of the local Christian families that have opened up their homes for us. It becomes a place where we can enjoy a home cooked meal and the Lord in a more intimate setting with a small group of saints. You really get to know these saints and they become important people in your life. I have been able to really open myself up to those in my home meeting more than I thought possible. I can ask them the questions that I would otherwise be too shy to ask in a larger setting, and tell them the burdens that weigh down my heart and have them pray for me.
No matter what event I go to, I always leave with my spirit uplifted and a sense of peace within.
S. Dangc
Nearer Each Day…
Every day that I spend with my fellow Christian students has been an enriching and encouraging experience, especially since getting closer to the Lord is my ultimate goal of living. Each day I feel that I am being transformed from the inside out. The club members of Christian Students at UCI have become the most important link to the transforming work that the Lord has been doing in my life. The relationship that I have built with the club members is not just a human physical relationship, but it is also a spiritual connection, one that was manifested through the unity that is only found in Jesus Christ. The students occasionally set up “appointments” with me where 2 or more club members come together and read the Word, share something about the gospel, pray, or talk about life in general. We are all friends, and it seemed like the more we were together, the more that I could see the heart of Jesus shining through everyone. That is when I realized that God is not someone that if far away and out of reach; He lives inside each and every one of us in our human spirit. He uses His own “sheep” to “shepherd” the ones that are willing to seek Him with an open spirit. I learned that that was the only way for the Lord to come in and have a personal relationship with us, and through my interactions with my fellow Christians in this club, I have continued to grow and follow the Lord every moment of every day of my life. There are many other activities that drew me closer to the Lord, but without the one-on-one time that I had with many club members, I don’t know if I would have gained such access to the Lord’s heart. Coming to college has been a journey. Every day I wake up is a new beginning, a new blessing that is waiting to be opened. Half the time I wonder why I ended up at the University of California, Irvine, out of all the schools that I was accepted to, but then I remember Jeremiah 29:11-14: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD…” I never chose to come here, but the Lord placed me here, and for that…I am eternally grateful.
N. Guobadia
Being part of Christian Students has been the highlight of my undergraduate college experience at UCI. I transferred to UCI from Northern California and on the second day I arrived, I was invited to attend the club BBQ held at the nearby park. The warm welcome by the club members made me feel right at home instantly. Although the time at the BBQ was not adequate for me to know the club in a thorough way; however, I had the sense that there was something more than meets the eye.
Indeed as I participated in the club activities. I found out that this club provided more than just a venue for social gathering and networking. This club, with the support of hundreds of dedicated staff members and the loving Irvine community families, offered valuable resources not only for my personal human growth but also for my pursuit of the Lord.
My most favorite activity was the gathering in the homes. There is a particular family that I would go to every week for dinner. Over time, an amazing bond was formed between us to the point that I could share all my problems and they will pray for me and gave me guidance.
The club had rendered countless help and amazing experiences. I am thankful to be part of the club. Now, as a staff member of the club, I spent my days with the students, going over the Bible during lunch hours and worked on club projects in the evening. It is definitely a privilege for me to be able to give back to the club, to share and dispense the grace that I have received.
P. Irwan
Meeting with Christian Students at UCI has been a real salvation to me during the past four years of my undergraduate education. I appreciate that the focus of every meeting is always just Christ. Although I have enjoyed all of the activities and meetings that the club offers—such as Bible studies, gospel outreach, and the mountain retreats—the meeting I have appreciated most has been the Friday night small group gatherings in the home of a local family involved with the club. No matter how tired I was from the week, Friday nights were always a time to get cherished with a yummy home-cooked meal and nourished with the word of God. It was always the perfect end to my busy week at school.
This past school year was especially sweet, as I was able to not only meet with the other members of my small group on Friday nights, but also throughout the week. Many times, another student and I would get together on campus and read the Bible, pray, and fellowship. Sometimes, we would just ask how the other was doing and spontaneously just spend our time praying for one another. Through these times of fellowship, the Lord was even able to bless us with others who would get saved and baptized! It is really the greatest joy on earth to be able to bring other men to know God. Although it is not always easy to pursue the Lord in the midst of all the activities in a college campus, I really have appreciated my time with other members of Christian Students at UCI. My experience has really been one of fleeing youthful lusts, and pursuing righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22). I praise the Lord that He has put me with other believers who have helped and encouraged me to love and know the Lord more!
M. Yu