Moving is always a stressful situation for us. It involves going from familiar territory with established friendships to, in many cases, an unfamiliar place where we don’t know anyone. We have found through numerous moves that it can get expensive, time consuming, and physically and emotionally exhausting. Both of us consider ourselves shy and resistant to change, so meeting new people in a new place poses a significant challenge for both of us. We came to Columbia last October once again in a situation of not knowing anyone, moving to an unfamiliar place, and starting a new career.

We knew we wanted to find a church home early on to help us in this transition. We visited Valley View Community Church (VVCC) during our "church shopping" and have been regulars ever since. We have met several people in the church through Sunday services and small groups. The couples small group we are involved in encourages us through learning more about God, sharing events going on in our lives and praying for each other. Having a church family has made Columbia feel more like home to us. We have always trusted that God would get us through these times of change and that He would provide for our needs. He has never let us down!

I was raised in a traditional Asian family where ancestors are respected as powerful beings. I thought believing in God meant I needed to choose either my family tradition or God. It looked as if there was no connection between these two different worlds. Little did I know that the connection would start with a seemingly unrelated question the pastor asked in a Sunday morning service, "Would you trust Jesus to forgive you?" It seemed like somebody pointed right at me and asked me that question. It echoed in my mind for quite a while and left me with many questions.

Several friends began to answer my questions but the answers weren’t given by their words. Instead, God led me to find the answers by looking at their lives. I shared a room with three other men at a conference at the Lake of the Ozarks. They read the Bible, talked with God each day, shared what they learned from God, called their family, and openly expressed love to their wives and children. I recognized God was working both in their lives and in their families. I didn’t have to choose either my tradition or God. Instead, I realized I could choose God and ask Him to work both in my life and in my family.

Through my friends at VVCC, God invited me to know Him and helped me accept His forgiveness. At the same time, He gave me confidence He will change the rest of my life because the Bible says, "Nothing shall be impossible."

A few years ago, I was struggling with some
major self-esteem issues and needed to feel connected with someone or a group I could really relate to. Well, I was a pretty shy person and it took more than a suggestion to move me. My mom picked up on this need and eventually convinced me to go to our youth group one evening in May. Before I walked out the door, I made sure that my hair was perfect, that my clothes looked okay, and that I wasn’t going to make a fool out of myself. I was so nervous that they would think I was weird or that I didn’t fit in the group. When I got there, I found a totally different story. They were so welcoming. It didn’t matter to them how I looked or how I acted. They really cared about me for who I was. And from that moment I was hooked. I made friends with some of the girls and the students I met helped me with problems I face and often encouraged me to draw closer to God. In return, I am able to help and encourage them. It seems like the closer we get in our relationship with God, the closer we become as friends. The youth group at Valley View really helped me, and is still helping me to this day in my relationships with people and with God.

We have been married over 20 years and have five children. When our daughter had trouble breathing one day, it got so severe that she was placed in the Intensive Care Unit. We felt helpless. The doctors didn’t know what was causing it and they told us that without knowing the cause, there was no treatment or cure for her condition. All they could do was to support her breathing and life functions so her body could heal itself. There was nothing we could do in our strength to help her. Sure, we asked God for help but we really wondered if we could trust God during that time. God had been faithful to us in the past, but since this was way beyond our control it was a great challenge for us. In the midst of all of this, our church family supported us, giving us hope that God would come through. Within a short time, God helped her body recover.

"Why do bad things happen" is no longer the question we are asking but rather "Can I trust God even though bad things happen." We learned through this and other experiences that, yes, we can trust Him and you can trust Him even though bad things happen to you. If you don’t feel like you can trust God but would like to learn how you can have a relationship with Him, come to Valley View or e-mail us at mea@socket.net.

A few months ago, a friend gave me a book that challenged me to begin thinking over how big, great, powerful and smart God is. He’s a good planner who loves justice. He loves turning wrong into right. It really makes me think twice about asking God, "Please don’t let it rain on Saturday!" I believe God cares about my views on plans and projects, but I first want to hear what His plans and projects are! Praying is talking to and listening to God. I do better at the listening part when I remember that I’m talking with a great and powerful God!

I have been treating God like a genie in a bottle, expecting Him to grant my wishes without me ever asking what He wants. I have been asking God to give me patience with my two children (2½ and 4½ years). As I’ve listened for what His will would be when I’m upset with them, I’ve remembered that the Bible says God is "slow to anger" and "abounding in love." Thinking about God’s patience has helped me to set aside anger at my kids and instead lovingly correct them. It is His power at work in me, helping me be more like Him.

...in busy-ness

I spent last spring and summer in Poznan, Poland living with a missionary family, teaching English, and planning an English camp. We were asking God for people to trust in Jesus, we were asking God to work in people’s lives, and we believed God could do anything we imagined. I had this amazing experience where Jesus was at the forefront of my mind all the time and where everything that happened was examined to see how He was working; then, I came home. I was told that things would be completely different in the states and that the transition would be the hardest thing I had ever done, but I blew it all off.

I returned and got back to life as usual. I did life, classes, work, and my Bible studies—I checked things off of my to-do lists and moved on. The busy-ness of daily life has been consuming me, so much that I have not been trusting God for much of anything. As a result, I have had very little reason to read my Bible or seek Him for answers. I have not only put God on the back burner, but I was beginning to turn off the stove. Yet, I am learning that when I keep turning back to Him, He is there for me despite the ways I feel I have let Him down. It does not
matter who you are or what you have done, Jesus is always there to pick you up, brush you off, and give you a push in the right direction.

My supervisor called me into a spur-of-the-moment meeting saying, "I can see you are destined to make a real career for yourself here at our company." In short, she wanted me to
fabricate letters to my supervisor expressing concern with a co-worker. I could choose to have compassion on my co-worker by refusing to falsely defraud his character and face retribution of a boss who could no longer trust me as a team player. Or, I could take the much more comfortable and more profitable route of obeying my superior regardless of the pain and suffering I would bring to my co-worker. I was reminded that Jesus also faced a choice of comfort or compassion for someone else. He could have easily chosen comfort by escaping death on the cross. But because He was compassionate, knowing I would have to go through suffering myself, He was willing to die a very painful death on the cross so I could go to heaven. One of my favorite sections of the Bible is, "Yet now God in His gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For

God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed His blood, sacrificing His life for us" (Romans 3:24–25). Jesus took the ultimate hit for me. Was I willing to take a hit for my co-worker? That day I took the hit. What happened to me? I didn’t work there much longer, but that was OK.

What you need to take from this story is not what I did for my fellow employee, but what Jesus did for you! He loves you and proved it by dying on a cross to offer you a permanent relationship with Him. One day we will all have to stand before God, the eternal judge, and payment will have to be made for our sin. Those of us in heaven will have one thing in common… we will have accepted Jesus Christ’s payment for our sin. Others will have to pay for their sin themselves. Simply stated, your response to Jesus’ gift of forgiveness will govern your eternal destiny. How will you decide? If you want to say yes to Jesus’ gift, you can tell Him, "Jesus, I believe that You are God. I believe You came to earth to save me. I believe that You love me and I want to accept Your payment for my sin. Help me to follow You as my Savior and King." Now these words won’t save you by just saying them. If you study the verses above, you’ll see that you really must mean what you are saying. You need to turn your life to God and He will be true to his promise to accept Jesus’ payment for your sin. I encourage you to consider God’s love for you and the price Jesus was willing to pay to save your life. Jesus paid the ultimate price to give you that chance. I urge you to "get right with God" and put your faith in Jesus.