My Story

I realized all that has happened to me since I became Christian has never been written down. I don't ever want to forget the things God has done in my life. So, here's my story...

I became Christian freshman year of college when I was in a crappy relationship and bad time in my life. I remember going to a church with a group of people and Jaeson Ma was there...he had just finished a conference in Houston that my sisters went to. At that time, my ex-boyfriend and I had broken up for a good six months or so, I had tranferred to UT and was, unbeknownst to me, very depressed and lonely. I had come out of a physically and emotionally abusive relationship that had destroyed me.

I was in desperate need of God, and I didn't even know. I prayed, yes, but I felt like I was in a dark hole. Jaeson Ma prayed over people - some cried, some didn't. I went up there and he prayed over me, and I'll never forget what he said. I remember everything Jaeson Ma relayed from God, even though I started crying right when he started speaking. He said, "God sees you and he knows you're lonely. He wants you to know you're the apple of his eye. He has a magnifying glass on you. He loves you." Then, he started saying, "Evangelism, East Asia, South America, write down everything that you think of, carry a notebook with you." He said the exact words to make me feel like he completely understood - it could only have come from God, because these were the things I had prayed to God before. He said things I felt but could not put into words. Only God could have known.

I started in a small, Chinese house church and had gone to Canada Bread of Life's 5 Bread 2 Fish conferences, etc. It was from them that I first heard of the 10/40 window and the Back to Jerusalem movement...that the gospel would be brought to Asia and then back to Jerusalem to complete the full circle. They said Asians in the U.S. are important, because what they need in Asia is money. I later realized that God was slowly introducing me to what is happening in Asia, and I started picking up books like "Brother Yun: The Heavenly Man" and "The Back to Jerusalem Movement." People didn't introduce these books to me, I just somehow found out about them. At one of the 5 Bread 2 Fish conferences, I made a promise to God that I would aid in this movement.

Since that time, any conference, sermon, etc. that talked about the movement in Asia, especially China, I would listen with keen interest and learn. I seeked out any kind of information about what was going on in China. It wasn't hard for me, because I've always had a keen interest in Chinese culture, and when I wasn't in Asia, I always felt like there was a magnet that was pulling me there. I yearned to be there.

I watched any movies about China I could get my hands on...I think I've seen every single one, and if I haven't, you bet I'll get my hands on it soon. And, everytime I watched, I would enjoy every minute of it, and yearned, yes, yearned to be there. I followed an organization called Half the Sky foundation, a children's home started by Americans that has many locations in China. One time, the year Jaeson Ma was at UT for Rez (Resurrection Week), I saw on the public board (where people walking by could write on), someone wrote, "I want to father 12 fatherless children", and that brought tears to my eyes. I think it's because I have a heart for orphans, and China, undoubtedly, has a lot of orphans. I once told God I wanted to adopt children from China. I know, without a doubt, that my future and God's purpose for me is in Asia.

As I look back, everything seemed to be for this purpose. I went out with a guy from Taiwan for 2 and a half years and dramatically improved my Chinese. I think he was even responsible for my interest in Asia a little bit, because I didn't speak Chinese all that much before him or was even interested in Asian things - mostly Korean, though. I started at a Chinese church and started listening to sermons in Chinese when I became Christian, so I know a lot of bibical vocabulary in Chinese. THE END. (Lol, I don't know how to end the story!)

This is my story. It's my whole life, because God is my whole life, and the reason why I'm here.

/edit/

Good sermon by Jaeson Ma, btw. This is Part 1, find Part 2/3 on Youtube.com. The title is "Noise to Signal".