I was blessed to be born in a Christian family, where I grew up going to church. The first time I remember hearing the Gospel and praying for my salvation was at a summer retreat in Elementary school. The teachers who led the program explained to us how we were all sinners, and how God graciously sent His son, Jesus, down to earth to die for our sins. They led those of us who believed in the Gospel in a prayer asking for our salvation. Despite this prayer, Christianity still felt as if it was more of my parents’ faith than my own. I went to church because my parents brought my siblings and me to church and because of habit rather than because of my own desire to learn more about God. In high school, the pastor at my church in San Jose went over a series on how “every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:18). I learned that although salvation is through faith alone, a true Christian’s faith should be reflected in his or her actions and desires. As a result, I grew in my desire to read His Word, and I started reading the Bible everyday. I also found a new enjoyment in going to church and learning about the Bible.
I was baptized in 2009, when I learned that baptism was simply an outward demonstration of my inner faith. The new challenges that I faced in my junior year of high school helped me to become more dependent on God. In my junior year of high school, my older sister left home for college. Previously, my sister had been the person I went to advice. She also helped me with my homework, and she drove me to school and my other extracurricular activities. In addition to having to adjust to the challenges of life without her at home, I also had to struggle with my harder classes in school as well as preparing for SAT exams. Through these blessings in disguise, such as not having my sister around and school getting more difficult, I grew in my relationship with God by learning how to trust in His plan for me.
After coming into college this year, I joined Grace on Campus, a ministry of Grace Community Church at UCLA. By seeing the faithful lives of many of the people in Grace on Campus, I’m continuing to learn what it looks like to be a true Christian, to love and serve others, and to have a heart of humility. Throughout my time of being a Christian, I have grown in my understanding about the depravity of my own sin as a human compared to the perfection of God and the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross. Romans 5:1 reminds us that “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” and the only way we can be saved is through God’s grace and our faith. Growing in my own understanding of how everyone is a sinner has helped me in my evangelism and my own spiritual walk with God. I’m currently taking a Gospel Proclamation class, and I’m excited about learning how to spread the Gospel more effectively.
I decided to go to Japan this summer in hopes of growing my love for Grace Community Church, spreading His Word, serving the church and the missionaries in Japan, exposing myself to a new culture, and challenging myself in terms of spiritual growth. I look forward to seeing God’s faithfulness to us, getting to know my teammates, and spending time with the people who we’ll encounter in Japan.
I was baptized in 2009, when I learned that baptism was simply an outward demonstration of my inner faith. The new challenges that I faced in my junior year of high school helped me to become more dependent on God. In my junior year of high school, my older sister left home for college. Previously, my sister had been the person I went to advice. She also helped me with my homework, and she drove me to school and my other extracurricular activities. In addition to having to adjust to the challenges of life without her at home, I also had to struggle with my harder classes in school as well as preparing for SAT exams. Through these blessings in disguise, such as not having my sister around and school getting more difficult, I grew in my relationship with God by learning how to trust in His plan for me.
After coming into college this year, I joined Grace on Campus, a ministry of Grace Community Church at UCLA. By seeing the faithful lives of many of the people in Grace on Campus, I’m continuing to learn what it looks like to be a true Christian, to love and serve others, and to have a heart of humility. Throughout my time of being a Christian, I have grown in my understanding about the depravity of my own sin as a human compared to the perfection of God and the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross. Romans 5:1 reminds us that “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” and the only way we can be saved is through God’s grace and our faith. Growing in my own understanding of how everyone is a sinner has helped me in my evangelism and my own spiritual walk with God. I’m currently taking a Gospel Proclamation class, and I’m excited about learning how to spread the Gospel more effectively.
I decided to go to Japan this summer in hopes of growing my love for Grace Community Church, spreading His Word, serving the church and the missionaries in Japan, exposing myself to a new culture, and challenging myself in terms of spiritual growth. I look forward to seeing God’s faithfulness to us, getting to know my teammates, and spending time with the people who we’ll encounter in Japan.