I’d like to say I’ve had five days to process my time at Equippers Conference and CMC West Coast last week, but the fact of the matter is I came home right into my new job with WCF (my official start date was Jan 1st) and I haven’t sat still long enough to completely process the whole time.

What I do know is that it was an extremely busy time. At EC, I was responsible for photography and leading a small group, neither of which I did particularly well because of all the activities on my plate. I also spent a full day at CMC West Coast which honestly could not be done justice in a single day with all the fantastic workshops and plenary sessions going on there. On top of that, I had plenty of people to catch up with during the in-between times; missionaries, potential missionaries, ministry consultants and other leaders of missions organizations.

As I write it all down, I can now completely understand why it has taken me so long to process it all. The Lord gave me a drink from the firehose last week. But it is difficult to gripe about too much blessing.

I suppose because of the busyness of the week, I failed to completely engage with either conference well. But I found that God is faithful about meeting us where we are. He knew I was going to have a busy week and He provided spiritual food in less conventional ways.

First off was my amazing small group at EC. As I am basically an introvert, I am generally a reluctant participant in small groups, let alone a leader of one. But God gathered such an diverse collection of men in my group who were open and honest with each other about their lives and truly engaged during our sessions. You don’t usually expect a lot of transparency during a short conference small group but we had a quality time of sharing and praying together, and really, just having fun.

Second were the many divine appointments that happened during the week. I met countless people during mealtimes, on breaks and even skipping sessions (yes, I did that a couple times) who provided me with encouragement, wisdom, and opportunities to share about missions. The reason we go to conferences is not just the messages; if it were so, we’d simply buy the CD after the fact and listen to it in our car. The reason we go to conferences is to meet other believers who are travelling the same road as we are, seeking the path God has for their lives.

Lastly, the Lord continued to confirm my calling to serve with WCF in many ways. There was so much encouragement for my decision coming from old friends and people I had just met. I heard messages that reinforced my view of the role of Asians and Asian-Americans in global evangelization. It was as if God was telling me “See how I have prepared you for such a time as this.”

Overall, I think it was a great time of preparation for the role I have now stepped into. But now, it’s good to be back and starting to focus on the issues at hand.