We had a wonderful time last weekend at the Sierra Lodge for our IGSM Annual Retreat. It’s taken me a week to recover from the very packed time that we had over those 2 days, but it was a really memorable time.
Dr. Zhu gave three messages in Chinese: “Be Wholly”, “Be Real”, and “Be Wise”. A brief recap of the three: in Be Wholly, he talked about his personal journey and how he had experienced tough times in his personal life. And yet it was meeting Jesus that made him whole and brought such joy to his life, changing him forever. In Be Real, Dr. Zhu talked about how we miss out on the big picture of life and reality because we get so focused on our present issues: research, publishing, school, and daily life. As a result, we don’t see the world around us, which is so much bigger, and should make us more humble. Finally, in Be Wise, he talked about how true wisdom comes from knowing God, not knowing more information.
Our brothers and sisters also gave their testimonies in Chinese–it was really moving and powerful to see them expressing how God loved them so much, how they came to personally meet Jesus, and the changes that happened as a result of their conversion. Indeed, they have been transformed, and it was such a blessing to see them passionately telling others about what God had done for them. (Think the healed demoniac in Mark 5!) I personally enjoyed this time the most because in their lives, I know that the gospel is real and powerful, and that God has much to do with their lives in the future.
There was a lot more as well: campfire, good food, and three packed gospel messages from Chul. (I hope someone else can recap those, or maybe we can post them online… he covered a LOT of Bible passages about the grace of God and our sinfulness)
We also applaud Meowmeow and Shufei for doing simultaneous translation of the Chinese portion so that non-Chinese speakers (and 1/2 Chinese speakers like myself) could understand the messages and testimonies. It was really hard work.
Check out the many pictures below.