Biking For Buhoma

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

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

jhlaucircle