Van’s Story

January 12th, 2019 by

Hi everyone,

It is such a privilege speaking here in front of everyone today. My name is Van Hong and I’ve been going to SCAC for a bit over 2 years, which is around the same time I first heard of Jesus. A little background about myself; For many people here that grew up in the church, I grew up in the temple. For about half of my life, I went to a Vietnamese Sunday school where I was part of  a Buddhist youth group. Within those 13 years, I learned a great amount of Buddhist teachings and practices. One of the main practices for this religion was getting rid of all desires: emotional, physical and spiritual desires. By doing that, you are supposedly rid of all immoral temptations. The accumulation of your good deeds would also be a weight towards redeeming your fate.

My parents were essentially strong practicing Buddhists and enforced their beliefs on my two full-blood siblings and myself. Their strong perseverance during the Vietnam war, fleeing their home from government tyranny, starting with nothing after immigrating to the states to live the American dream, and practicing their religion led to relying on only themselves and family during times of adversity. Essentially, it was like putting up a mask and just powering through with whatever life throws at you. It wasn’t until I was in high school when our family was challenged with a traumatic incident that changed me. My older brother passed away during the summer of 11th grade from a drowning accident.

This led to a ton of guilt, pain, and shame for my parents, older sister, and I. Entering my junior year, I didn’t really know how to process this incident and was advised by my parents to put on my mask, act like “everything is okay”, suppress my emotions and continue persevering. Putting on this mask became a natural instinct for me as I continued on with my life, attend college, entered my gap years working and continued building my career.

After my brother, Mark passed away, I developed a void that was filled with discontentment. I became self-critical of my successes but especially my failures. Buddhism didn’t answer this void I felt, it made things more difficult because I couldn’t clear this void. I then began internalizing a lot of criticisms and failures. I fell ill easily whenever I got stressed.  Work was always tiring, and I sustained a few injuries.  I felt like I was in the body of a 60-year-old. I thought to myself “Is this all there is to life? What is my purpose and why am I here?” It was until I had a deep conversation with a friend that talked about her faith and allegiance to a man named Jesus Christ.

I began going to church with her, started learning about God, his creation and his desire to have a relationship with us. After weeks of going to church, worshipping God and listening/discussing the sermon, I felt a sense of hope for the first time in a long time. The void I felt started to fill and I wasn’t just happy but JOYFUL about life and for those around me. I was hesitant to what I was experiencing, so I began going to different churches by myself to “reassure” if this change wasn’t simply just because of my friend. It wasn’t until a few churches later where I stumbled upon SCAC.

During my time at SCAC, my faith solidified. I began learning more of the love Jesus has for us and how we are redeemed not through our acts, but through his blood. Ephesians 2 says: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Eph. 2:8-9

Once, being overwhelmed with so much emotion to know about this type of love, I started crying. These weren’t tears of anger or sorrow from my brother’s loss but tears of joy and grace, for in the house of God, I felt consoled and protected.

Over these past few years, I personally have heard from the Lord of his love for me and his encouragement for self-care. After struggling with criticism and rejection from my parents after sharing with them about my faith and searching for my identity for the past few years; Over this past week at Urbana, I’ve heard from Jesus reassurance that he loves me, that I am his son and he is with me.

And so brothers and sisters, I first want to thank everyone (Pastor Roy, Pastor Tung and those in my fellowship, community groups and Sunday schools) for being with me during my new walk. Our God is a glorious, beautiful and a victorious God. I still will miss my brother, and will continue struggle with my old self and upbringings. Jesus has done so much for me and all of us and I want to share him with those who haven’t heard of him. He has given me trust, clarity, wisdom and direction; Even though I don’t know what the future holds for me, I know that I want to honor God and advance his kingdom.

 

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– Van Hong

Yvonne’s Story

January 12th, 2019 by

My mom sent me to SCAC when I was in 5th grade because of how naughty I was; she was hoping that the church would teach me good morals and how I should behave. Growing up in Church, I had always identified myself as a Christian, though I didn’t truly understand what it means to be a Christian.

Then came junior year of high school – that year was a turnaround for me. Through much pain, I started to really see God’s work in me, and His mercy & His grace, and how He allowed me to suffer to receive something much greater – a relationship with Him.

Many things happened that year. It started off with the discovery that my dad had been unfaithful to my mom and our family. When he told my mom that he had a son outside of their marriage, my mom collapsed, and she was in severe depression. Meanwhile, we lived on Beacon Hill, but our landlord wanted to sell her house, so we were forced to move out. Due to financial and other reasons we ended up moving six times in less than two years.

This all happened during my junior and senior year, my two busiest years of high school. I was taking five AP/college level classes and was active in various clubs & extracurriculars, while applying to colleges. And because of everything that were happening at home, I was unwilling to compromise anything that would potentially hurt my chances of getting into a good college. I believed firmly that a good education is the way out of poverty and that my mom will only have me to rely on in the future.

I was overwhelmed to say the least. My broken family broke me. Having to move so many times and the heavy workload in school were like the chili pepper and salt rubbed in my wounds; Although I felt so lonely, so empty and dead inside, my faith in God was the ONE thing that kept me going. I’d turned to God, constantly seeking for His presence, this great loving God that I had been hearing about for years. I started praying a lot. And somehow, I felt God’s presence and felt as if God held tight on me every time I thought I was about to sink into the deep waters.

At one point, during the summer between my junior and senior year, we couldn’t find a home and we had to stay in my uncle’s place. But my uncle’s place was very packed already, and I didn’t want to add any more trouble for my uncle or be a burden to my mom, so I packed some essentials and went homeless for almost a month without my family knowing. I moved from one friend’s place, to another, to another. Being homeless was scary. I had to constantly worry if I’d have a place to stay the next day, who was going to keep me, and how will I be able to return the favor in the future. All those worries added to my fear and desperation. Then I came across Luke 12:24: “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” I felt like my heart was resurrected. I was enlightened. I held tight to the verse and trusted that God will provide for me and that He has a plan for me, the best plan.

And He really did provide for me. I had a roof over me for every night I was homeless. And He for sure planned everything out for me. Through all the fear and pain, I learned to seek God as my refuge and my cornerstone, the One whom I can rely on for everything and at all times. He also taught me how to be resilient by trusting in Him, and how that I can be so loved by Him and the wonderful people He put in my life who helped me walk through my darkest days.

I also learned to see the good things in my life, not as a coincidence, but blessings from a God who loves me dearly. So when I got accepted into Carnegie Mellon, and when we finally found a stable home in a very ideal location, and when my mom finally ended the unhealthy relationship with my dad and walked out of depression, I was able see and embrace God’s love for me. All that had happened in the last two can’t be a coincidence, there must be a loving God out there watching and caring for me. And the more I learn about Him and the more I experience His love, the more I want to be with Him. I am finally ready to say that He is above all else King of my heart.

-Yvonne Liang
 

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Seminary Update – Serena Lee, Seattle Pacific University

December 20th, 2018 by

Hello everyone! For those of you who may not know me, my name is Serena Lee and I am currently attending Seattle Pacific Seminary as a second-year Master of Divinity student (shout out to our church’s amazing seminary scholarship fund!). But seriously, words cannot express my sheer gratitude to SCAC for giving me this meaningful opportunity to learn so much and to earn my degree as I follow God’s calling for my life.

There are so many things I could say about my time in seminary, but for this post I would like to highlight one main thing that I have learned and experienced thus far, and it is that ​God is present with us and restoring hope and justice to all of his creation. ​This truth, although very simple, has brought me immense hope and clarity in my faith and ministry journey. Growing up, I have often understood my relationship with God to be one that is mainly personal and one-on-one, resulting in things like personal transformation and maturity of faith. I have always loved attending small groups, growing with fellow Christian brothers and sisters, and learning to share my faith and testimony with others. However, as I got older, I started to pay more attention to the news, to events in history, to the unjust structures, broken systems, and suffering and pain in the world around me, and my prior understanding of a personal, one-on-one relationship with God no longer seemed enough to address these bigger issues and questions. For a long time I felt small and hopeless because it seemed like despite our genuine efforts to resist these broken systems and to bring justice and hope through social services, charities, advocacy, and other forms, it did not seem to matter. Brokenness, evil, and injustice seemed to prevail.

However, in the new testament we see that ​Jesus continuously preached and embodied what he called the kingdom of God. Everything that he did ​—​ his miraculous healings, his compassion for the sick, his intimacy with the marginalized and dispossessed, his resistance to unjust power structures, and ultimately his death and resurrection ​—​ was to announce and demonstrate the good news of the inbreaking reign and kingdom of God, the beginning of true restoration in the world. Do we believe that God actually has authority over all the brokenness and injustice that we see in the world? Do we trust that God will bring ultimate restoration and enable his people to truly flourish under his care? These are the truths that we as the church must grapple with. As Christ was sent into the world to establish and announce God’s reign and restoration over all of creation, we are sent into the world to represent this reality and to invite others to participate in this reality.

When we lose sight of this reality, we can become more and more dependent on ourselves to advocate, to resist, and to do everything in our power to do justice, all while completely burning ourselves out in the process. Or, for others of us, we can get so intimidated and hopeless from the brokenness and injustices around us that we end up withdrawing and only focusing on personal faith matters instead. No matter where we are in this process, my prayer is that we would be comforted and motivated by the truth that ​God is present with us, and that God is restoring hope and justice to all of his creation. ​What we see right now is not the end of the story. Brokenness and injustice do not have the final word. Let us take courage as we continue to join together in God’s restorative work in our world.

Merry Christmas,

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Serena Lee

 

 

 

B.R.A.V.O. Tutoring Program

October 3rd, 2018 by

Hi all!

Beginning this school year, SCAC and Dearborn Elementary will be partnering to deliver a free math tutoring program, B.R.A.V.O., for 3rd grade students attending Dearborn. The tutoring program utilizes Khan Academy, a free, online, comprehensive, and easily accessible resource. The tutoring program will take place once a month on Saturday mornings. We hope that through this program, the students can continue to grow and flourish in their educational endeavors, and even develop a deeper connection with our church. I would like to briefly share with you all what we hope to accomplish through this program, and how the idea of this program came to fruition.

The idea of this program occured to me after my mom repeatedly detailed how some of her friends’ children were struggling with the standardized test required for elementary school students. She often wondered where she could recommend her friends’ children to go to for inexpensive tutoring and help in school. That’s when I thought of Khan Academy. After using it for so many years, I realized how many students, especially those at a younger age, where unaware of such an invaluable resource. After hearing this, my family and I decided we would try to get a free tutoring program running where kids could come for academic support in a warm and fun environment. The idea of helping kids in core academic subjects in which they may be having a difficult time with inspired me to propose, and ultimately, launch this program. With the help of Pastor Roy, Principal Conte, the Dearborn faculty, and many others, we were able to get the idea rolling. Even better, our partnership with Dearborn Elementary can further cultivate our relationship with our surrounding community, and was why I was so excited to propose this idea to our church and the staff at Dearborn.

For those that share a similar passion to help tutor Dearborn students in math, and seek to grow and reach out to our community, I encourage you to pray for the students’ continued growth, and the opportunity for us to reach out to the students and their families. In addition, if you feel called to help out with the tutoring program, we are urgently seeking more volunteers to help tutor these students, as well as any used laptops that are still functional and can access the internet at a decent speed. Also, if you would like to donate money towards a new Chromebook for the program, make your donation out to “SCAC” with “EHF Tutoring” in the memo line. We truly appreciate any form of support, and we hope that this upcoming year will be a success for the program!

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-Wesley Lam

 

 

 

 

 

 

StP – Thank you!

August 15th, 2018 by

Seattle to Portland! 200 miles…two days!  Or more accurately, 200 miles over the course of 30 hours.  There’s a great sense of accomplishment in long distance/endurance events.  At 47 years old, it means even more, especially compared to an acquaintance at my local gym where we train at the 9am Saturday spin class.  He’s ten years younger than me and fit.  He also did the StP but somewhere between Centralia and Portland he boarded an Amtrak train with his bike and “rode” to the finish line.

As fun as it is to come away with bragging rights, the real joy of my ride was who I was riding for.  I rode for the thousands of World Vision kids who live in Buhoma, Tanzania.  It was my first ride in support for someone else and for something more than my personal enjoyment.  I also made a personal commitment to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17) during the 200 miles for the community development efforts in Buhoma.

Praying for clean water was routinely interrupted with more selfish thoughts like, “I could use some ice-cold water right now!”  Praying for sustainable agricultural practices was routinely interrupted by the thought, “I can’t wait for dinner tonight.” In other words, I found it difficult to stay focused.  Thankfully before we left that morning, I stopped by Haydon Mar’s home to pick up his son Lucas (his first time cycling StP and for Buhoma).  Haydon asked to pray for us before we left and one petition he voiced stuck in my mind:

God, let every mile they ride, be one less mile that someone in Buhoma has to walk for clean water.

Powerful, right?!  Concise and full of God’s vision.  Whenever I felt myself losing focus while praying – which was often – I just went back to Haydon’s prayer.  Besides being concise and full of vision, it was emotional as I kept recalling research I came across just a few months ago concerning women, girls and water collection in Africa.

Water holes are not the welcoming, safe oasis I had naively pictured.  At least 17 million women and girls in Africa collect water every day, which increases their risk of sexual abuse, disease and dropping out of school, according to a study by the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University.  Since they often need to walk long distances to find water, women and children are at a higher risk of rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping, child labor, teen pregnancy and a host of health issues.

So yes, God, we give and pray for safe water and safe access to clean water.  No child should have to put their lives at risk just to get water.

I want to thank everyone who donated to me and our SCAC cycle team.  Having you personally support me and our team greatly encouraged us and provided a level of welcome accountability for our training, preparation and prayer for the ride.  Thank you for giving towards the vision of one less mile vulnerable women and children need to walk for clean water.

“And if, as my representatives, you give even a cup of cold water to a little child, you will surely be rewarded.”– Matthew 10:42

Blessings,

pRoy

 

P.S.  It’s never too late! If you would like to donate to our team, click here.  If you would like to sponsor a child from Buhoma, please click here.

Biking For Buhoma

July 3rd, 2018 by

Amidst busy lives we often ask ourselves what we can do to help others in impoverished countries. Seattle Chinese Alliance church has offered me the wonderful opportunity to aid Buhoma, a region in West Tanzania. Biking from Seattle to Vancouver B.C. (Aug. 17-18), I’m raising funds for this region to gain essential resources for survival such as clean water, education, healthcare, and sustainable agricultural practices.

At the age of fifteen, I started cycling daily to local areas, whether it was to the school, gym, pool, library, or even a friend’s house.  Over the summer, I’d participate in major cycling events such as STP (Seattle to Portland). To this very day, I still have not obtained a driver’s license, which demonstrates how committed I am to my habits.  But this summer, I want to do more than just exercise and admire my legs.  I want to cycle for a purpose greater than myself.

I learned how to ride a bike in the second grade while all my friends had already learned two years before me. I just couldn’t balance myself and fell off numerous times. During that long and grueling process of learning, I considered giving up. However, there was a glimmer of hope in me that I could prove my critics wrong and learn how to balance on a bike. Eventually, I learned how to balance, and it was a life changing moment. Hope is fuel for life and I want to do something in my everyday routine – cycling – to bring hope to children in Buhoma.

Would you consider joining me by making a generous donation to me and our Team SCAC through World Vision’s official donation platform?  100% of your donation goes to community development efforts in Buhoma, Tanzania. Together we can do more for Buhoma, Tanzania.

DONATE HERE

 

Arthur Man

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Seminary Update – Jessica Lau Dacus

July 3rd, 2018 by

Hi Church, my name is Jessica Lau Dacus. I am thankful to have called SCAC my home church for the past 20 years. I have lived in Washington for most of my life. My husband, Bryce, and I got married last summer. Our favorite things to do together, when I’m not studying for school, is to be in God’s creation, through hiking and traveling. I also enjoy writing, reading, and learning new insights.

This month, I tried a new activity. I created a timeline, starting from age 5 all the way until the present year. For every year, I wrote down a significant memory at that age. Then I closed my eyes, and meditated on every year from age 5 to now repeatedly. In this visualization process, I found myself in awe of the particular events that happened after I finished college.

I still remember, post-college, I prayed that God would reveal what I was called to do. There were oftentimes days I would doubt I would ever figure out where I was supposed to be. Now, it feels like God answered my prayers without me even noticing. It was never a clean break. It was a smooth transition, so seamless that I didn’t even notice I had “found” it.

Essentially everything now feels aligned, and interconnected and right. I am in seminary now, pursuing my M.Div degree, being supported by SCAC’s generous seminary scholarship. I just received a year-long internship to serve as a Christian counselor for next year. I am excited to learn about how to strengthen my pastoral counseling skills. I also started a second degree – I’m pursuing a Master’s of Arts in Counseling Psychology. God has made all things align. I’ve figured out that my passion lies in learning how to understand people’s stories and bring healing to them through God. It has been a series of elements and dimensions that connected everything together.

Previously, I had prayed so hard for God to tell me what my calling was. And in the right time, he truly made the dream unfold in more tangible terms. I quit my job and dedicated myself full-time to the two programs – both which are connected to my future desires of serving God’s people. I’ve learned that conversations of brokenness and vulnerability fuel me: these teach me perspective. I’ve learned to appreciate having Christian mentors who guide me and teach me how to be bold for Christ. I’ve learned to be in spaces where I love what I do and I love what is to come – even if it’s in uncharted waters. Sometimes you have to EXPERIENCE God’s plan by taking a leap of faith to truly see what God has in store for you.

It now feels like my future is not a distant dream that is intangible and abstract. Sometimes, we may feel stuck. We feel fear and we feel regret. But God REDEEMS our story when we trust in him. We don’t need to stay stuck in the illusions or lies of the enemy. Let’s allow God to shape our timeline. I’ve learned to keep moving forward in faith: I am so thankful to God for crafting my timeline.

Blessings,

Jessica

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Mission Report: Turkey

May 9th, 2018 by

Merhaba! Hello from Turkey! This is my first time visiting Turkey. My primary focus is to shadow the local workers (they have repeatedly warned us not to use the “M” word, so we call them workers) and learn how to witness to Muslims. Our “home team” is a group of 14 people from 4 churches. We know each other well from taking the Perspectives course together.

We stayed in Istanbul for 6 days, where we received intensive training on Turkish culture, Muslim beliefs, prayer walks, and street evangelism (EV). We then spent 5 days in Isparta with a worker and his family, to put what we learned into practice.  There are many stories that touched my heart.

Before the trip we started praying for safety and protection. Once I stepped out of the plane, I saw policemen holding machine guns at the Istanbul airport. There were lots of police patrolling the streets. I realized that our securities in life can be taken from us without our permission, be it a loved one, our health, our jobs, our homes, and so on.  These things only give us the illusion that we are in control. During the trip several of us tripped and fell on the lovely streets of Turkey, and two of our team members suffered from food poisoning. Still, we knew what we needed to do, and that was to “PRAY.” God’s hands protected everyone, and none of us injured ourselves or became sick seriously. Throughout our time in Turkey, we experienced God’s new mercy every day. God is in control, and He provides all the protection and security we need!

Our “home team” is a fun group. Everyone is serious about seeing the wonderful Turkish people come to know Christ, while at the same time, enjoying jokes, laughter, and being together all day, every day. We enjoyed delicious food and new experiences. We loved the new spices, fresh produce, Turkish coffee and chai. We got used to the loud calling for prayers from the mosques. The ladies had a relaxing evening at the Hamam (Turkish bath house).

We cherished the time when we held hands in prayer walks, prayed with our eyes open, chatted with strangers in the open market and on public buses….  Everything was so novel.

The mosques are large and impressively decorative structures.  We visited one dating from the 1800’s on the site of the first mosque following the conquering of the city by the first sultan in the 1400’s.  This particular mosque complex is packed with people and activities, especially before and after the five-times-a-day daily prayer times.  Women are not allowed in the main prayer hall.  I went into the tiny prayer room in the back, that was for women only.  My heart was heavy, and I left the room after saying The Lord’s Prayer.  Our translator told us the Turkish people pray, “Allah is God and God has no son!”  Turkey is a very beautiful country, yet it is a very dark place.

I liked the “culture observation” time, where I sat outdoor in a café to observe the environment and watch the people. I watched the streets surrounded by a mosque, a subway station, bus stops, shops, and street vendors. People there walked without talking much to each other. Women walked behind the men and women walked holding hands. Children held hands with their parents. Street vendors waited for customers and men delivered bottled water by bicycle. Men collected garbage using a large bin in the midday heat. People mostly dressed in dark colors, like black and gray. I saw men sitting on stools sipping chai served in tulip shaped glasses. This marks the center of conversation and represents community in the Turkish culture. I did not make many interpretive conclusions on their worldview, but in general I see that it is impossible to escape the feeling of “lostness.”  In this unreached land the people strive to do enough to be accepted by an implacable god.  They seek the unattainable – salvation by their own works. There is so much pressure to maintain this culturally accepted religion. Sad!

We went out to do EV a few times. We learned the 6 steps – get connected, get to God, get to “sin”, get to the Gospel, get to a decision and pray. The Turkish people are warm and friendly, they respond so favorably to our smiles, that it is very easy to talk to them. Most interesting was the varying levels of Muslim practice. Some were devout, while others had only a limited knowledge of the Koran, the Torah, and the Bible. Some were highly educated and were skilled debaters.  They were very verbal about their commitment to their beliefs. Our conversations usually ended before we could get to the Gospel.

Isparta is a smaller city, very famous for its roses, you can count the number of believers on one hand.  We took many prayer walks, which really opened our eyes and hearts to the needs of the Turkish people.  Prayers are important and powerful, we walked and prayed quietly, in the name of Jesus Christ.  It is easy to fall in love with the Turkish people and to want the best for them.  Then praying for them becomes second nature.

I particularly enjoyed the walking and devotion time in the biblical site of Pisidian Antioch.  As I walked on the rocky road into town, there were a myriad of feelings bubbling up within me.  Here I was, an ordinary believer, walking on the road that Paul and Barnabas once walked on during their first “M” trip. I wanted to grasp Paul’s secret for being content in any and every situation, no matter whether in plenty or in want.  I wanted to live to “Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances.” During this trip I found myself complaining about the heat, the second-hand smoke, the fatigue from doing so much walking, and the early hour at which we woke up. When I noticed that I had forgotten about God’s protection, the warm hospitality from the local workers and the genuine love and care from my team members, I know I have much to learn to be a humble servant. For the local workers, I came to know their sacrifice and their loving obedience and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. They face loneliness, language barrier, and fear in the foreign land. God’s Love compels us to do things we cannot do on our own.  Praise God for His power! Rejoice in Him, always!

I cannot forget the feeling of “lostness”.  I have learned to love the people of Turkey and am grieved that there is a darkness in this land.  Without the Light we bring there is little hope for these wonderful people.  Most have not heard the good news and most have no way of hearing it. There is much to be done and each one of us can make a difference, if only we will “LEARN”, “GO”, “SEND” or “PRAY”.

Blessings,

Catherine Leung

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Worship Sunday School

March 31st, 2018 by

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Hi Church Family!

Hope you’re doing well. My name is Benjamin Soon and I’m a part of the SCAC English Ministry Worship Core team.

“A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” – John 4:23

This passage admonishes us to worship the Father both in Spirit and in Truth. Come join our Worship Sunday School as we unpack what those two words signify, as well as explore many other facets of worship. We will be exploring not just the musical aspects of worship, but also the truth in WHO we worship and the power that comes with living a life of worship.

Come join the Worship Sunday School on Sundays 4/8 – 4/29, from 11:45am – 12:45pm. We welcome anyone who is interested in learning more about the worship aspect of a Christian’s life. It’ll be an awesome time of learning, sharing, and of course, worshiping God musically with one another.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Benjamin.soon@gmail.com.

Cheers,
Benjamin Soon

How the Bible Reads Me

March 27th, 2018 by

I find large, dense books intimidating. Whether it’s a textbook, fiction, non-fiction or simply a long news article, I am not a patient reader. Thus, I miss a lot of information which often takes the enjoyment out of reading in the first place.

As a compilation of narratives, history, letters, poetry, parables and self-application lessons all packed into a single two-volume tome, the Bible is imposing and yet essential for growing disciples of Christ. As a new disciple, reading scripture has been one of the many difficult practices to do. However, I’ve learned that God can use ANY verse in the Bible to speak into my life. Reading Scripture is the clearest method to see and hear God work through our lives and God has been doing this ever since Moses and other ancient writers put ink to papyrus.

How am I currently going at it? One verse at a time! Journaling anything that strikes me and observing patterns in my responses connects my mind and heart with the Lord. Reading the Bible utilizing the S.O.A.P. – Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer – framework helps me focus on what I am reading and how I can apply the teachings of God to my life. As I continue to read scripture and ask God to speak to me, the Holy Spirit is able to read me and reveal in my mind what I need to hear from God each day.

What is the S.O.A.P. method and how can it be a way for God to speak in our hearts?

It’s quite simple. When you sit for your daily quiet time, read the Bible as you normally would with one simple difference. Underline or make note of any verses that jump out at you with special significance. This is the basis for diving deeper and using S.O.A.P.

Then in your journal, WordDoc, OneNote or GoogleDoc, you write down…

Scripture: Write down the verse or verses that stuck out to you. This can be one sentence or a whole book.
Observation: What did you observe about the scripture? What does it mean? Do you have any questions?
Application: How can you apply the observation to a particular circumstance in your life today?
Prayer: Write out a prayer to God based on what you just learned and ask him to help you apply this truth in your life.

That’s all there is to it! From there I sometimes try to paraphrase my S.O.A.P. entry into a few words. This way, when I look back at my entries, I notice consistent themes which indicate how the Holy Spirit is maturing me as a disciple, as a family member and as a human being. I love hearing God’s voice!

Blessings,

Van Hong

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Cycle for Tanzania

March 18th, 2018 by

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Since 2013 Seattle Chinese Alliance Church has partnered with World Vision helping children and families in the community of Buhoma, a remote region of Tanzania bordering Burundi. In Tanzania, approximately 12 million people remain trapped in poverty and more than 35 percent of children under 5 have stunted growth due to malnutrition. A team from SCAC visited Tanzania and witnessed firsthand the transformative community development efforts of World Vision. Clean water projects, sustainable agricultural practices, children’s education, healthcare and entrepreneurial empowerment are central to World Vision’s efforts.

photocollage

Photos from our 2013 trip

The cycling community at SCAC is banding together to “Ride for Tanzania.” We will join both the “Seattle to Portland” and “Seattle to Vancouver, B.C.” two-day, 200 mile rides, to raise awareness and donations that directly support community development in Buhoma. Lets join together to bring encouragement and hope to Buhoma, Tanzania. Thank you for your generous support!

Go to the World Vision-SCAC Team Donation Page

 

 

Come to Sunday School

February 28th, 2018 by

I stepped into the dormitory meeting room, not sure what to expect. It was my first Bible study as a college student…actually…first real Bible study…ever. I’d been a Christian for three years, but honestly, I was not into the Bible enough to actually study it. As we all sat down in a circle, the small group leader began to pass out the passage we were studying. “The passage we passed out is printed double spaced, with no verse or chapter labels. When you get the passage, read it objectively and start looking for observations and questions, and we will start sharing in 15 minutes,” the small group leader said with a cheerful smile. They called it, inductive study. I began to realize the uncanny resemblance of this Bible study with the dreaded AP English class that I thought that I left behind for good.

But as the Bible study went on, I was astounded by the richness of the scripture. The small group discussed observations, interpretations, and applications of the passage. By the end, I understood the text and had ideas how to apply it in my life. For the first time, my Christian walk was no longer simply following or believing what I was told. Instead, I was living my faith as my own.

Knowing how to study the Bible to me has been one of the most important parts of my Christian walk. Today, God’s word is regularly misused by politics, culture, and just plain bad theology. However, a good Bible study reveals God’s true heart for humanity. This gives me hope during the good and bad times. It also solidifies my understanding of what God is trying to tell us and what He is calling us to do. As I apply in faith what I learn, it strengthens my theology and what I believe which influences my passion for Christ.

This April, I will be starting an Adult Sunday School. My hope is to have a space where everyone at SCAC can strive to deepen their understanding of the Bible and be challenged to apply what they learn from it. In addition, I hope this study can be a space where Christians of different backgrounds, ages, stages of life, and thought can come together to share their experience with each other. I would like to open up the invitation to all ages college and up. If you have any questions, please come and see me and I would love to talk to you.

Blessings in Christ,
Richard Huang

richard3

Easter Eggstravaganza

February 27th, 2018 by

Dear SCAC family,

Easter is just around the corner! This is one of my favorite times of the year because we remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and we celebrate His life, death and resurrection!

Several years ago as a staff we made a conscience decision to move our yearly egg hunt, The Eggstravaganza, to Sunday instead of the usual Saturday morning. The purpose of this was twofold, one this makes it easier for our families that live on the Eastside to participate without having to make another trip back to Seattle. This also has given us the opportunity to share this important season with our families, friends and community. I ask that you think and pray about reaching out to those in your sphere of influence and bring them to Church and the Eggstravaganza, especially those with children.

We are offering a light brunch from 11:30 a.m. to around 2:00 p.m. This will allow those in the English congregation to eat and hang out. Once the Chinese service is over we will all go out for the egg hunt and the rest of the activities will begin. Then those in the Chinese congregation can head downstairs and have a light brunch.

If you don’t have family or friends, especially those with children, to invite than I would ask you to consider helping out on Sunday to make the Eggstravaganza work. I need lots of volunteers, probably between 40 and 50 people. The event runs from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. so you should have enough time to get home to your own Easter feast. If you are willing to help out please Register Here to Help.

Included below is some information that will impact all of us on Easter Sunday, 4/1/2018. Please read!

In Jesus,
Steve Stauffer
Children’s Pastor

Easter Sunday 4/1/2018
Important information
Parking
If you are only attending the 8:30 am service you can park anywhere that is open. If you are attending 8:30 am service and also attending a Bible Study at 10:00 am then please park only along the back of the parking lot (the spaces that look onto the Chief Sealth Trail) or along the street, or across the street at the school (either in the driveway or down in the lower playfield). If you are attending either the 10:00 am service or the 11:30 am service I am asking you to park along the street, or across the street at the school (either in the driveway or down in the lower playfield).
There will be inflatable toys set up in the parking lot for the Eggstravaganza so we need the parking lot clear of cars and open for the toys. The driveway will be kept clear for all three services so passengers may be dropped off and picked up at the church entrance.

Lunch
A free lunch will be served following both the 10:00 am service and the 11:30 am service in the fellowship hall. Lunch will be served up til 2:00 pm.

Eggstravaganza
The Eggstravaganza officially begins at 1:00 pm. We are doing something a little different this year. In an effort to avoid the mass chaos of the Egg Hunt being held at only one time we will be running the Egg Hunt, The inflatables, Cookie Decorating, and the Photo Booth all between 1 pm and 4 pm. In this way people can go to wherever they want whenever they want, between 1 pm and 4 pm. The Egg Hunt will be located on the grass hill, the Photo Booth will be located in the Narthex in front of the Library, The inflatables will be out in the parking lot, and the cookies will be located in the “A” classrooms. Instructions and a map for the event will be handed out in the parking lot and in the narthex. The instructions will be in English, Chinese and Spanish.

Egg Hunt
The Egg Hunt will be run a little differently this year. The entire grass hill will be fenced off with 1 entrance and 1 exit. Approximately 20 children will be allowed to hunt at a time. There will be a time limit. The children will be encouraged to get certain colored eggs. The eggs will be empty. When the time is up or they are done they will go to the exit where they will trade in their empty eggs for a bag of stuffed eggs.

Ji Soo’s Story

February 15th, 2018 by

jisoostoryHi SCAC, my name is Ji Soo Kim. I am a recent graduate from the University of Washington and I have been a regular member of SCAC for several years. I first heard about SCAC though Priscilla Kwong during my sophomore year at the University of Washington and have been coming ever since. I have deeply appreciated the love and support from the SCAC community during my time here which is why I bring my story to you today.

My family came to the US from Korea when I was only 2 years old. My family wanted to escape poverty and decided the US had more opportunities for me and my sister. We entered on visitor visas but my parents were not eligible to obtain work visas. They made the decision to remain in the US and thus we became illegal immigrants. We faced many challenges due to our undocumented status, but despite many barriers my family was able to obtain green cards and are on their path to citizenship. I, however, did not qualify to obtain a green card with them so I relied on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to obtain legal status. With DACA, I was able to attend university and apply for work in the US.

While in college, I received Jesus Christ as my God and Savior and felt a strong call to help those who are vulnerable in this country. This led me to major in Public Health so I could influence systemic change to better the opportunities and outcomes for those on the margins. After graduation, I worked for TeenFeed, a nonprofit that provides food and case management for homeless communities; I hope to continue working in the nonprofit sector.

I am incredibly grateful for the DACA program. Before DACA I had to seriously consider whether I should give up on my dreams of going to college and being able to work in a field that I love. But this program allowed for me to attend University, find a job after graduation, and live free from fear due to my legal status.

However on September 5th, 2017, the Federal Government rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which gave me and 800,000 undocumented young people safety from deportation and a chance at living a normal life. Now that DACA is ending, I have only until October 13th, 2018 before I lose my ability to work and therefore cannot use my degree to help those in need. I would also be in constant fear of being detained and deported to a country I have no recollection of or connection. I want to continue doing the work that I love and believe Jesus has called me to do, but without a Dream Act I will never be able to. Not only are my dreams on the line, but almost a million young people are depending on this act to secure their futures.

Today I’m asking for your help as a sister in Christ, to pray for compassionate and sensible legislation that supports the ideas of the Dream Act. Positive action by the Federal Government would allow for me and many others like me to pursue our dreams in the only country we have ever known and loved, and serve as contributing members of the United States. I ask this because this church is my family and I have experienced firsthand how this body has been a strong catalyst for change on Beacon Hill and Seattle.

Please pray for our Federal government leaders, our President and DACA recipients. Would you also take a step further and advocate for a Dream Act so young people can have a chance at a future in this country? You can make your voice count by contacting…

• White House – https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
• United We Dream 478-488-8059
www.interfaithimmigration.org/2017/09/05/dreamactof2017/

Blessings in Christ,
Ji Soo Kim