SF Winter Conference!

This is much belated and I apologize for the delay. Life in Orlando has been hectic and frustrating to say the least. But here's a brief recap of my time at San Francisco Winter Conference! (Also, I did not take most of the nice pictures in this post)

Theme: Good News

Caroline and I collaborated on the app with the Marketing Director, and glad we got to work on it together. I personally would never use it again, but if cost and whatnot are a constraint, I guess then it was OK. But I really enjoyed working on something having a direct impact on a lot of people. Even if it meant telling students that we were unable to help fix the problem, I was able to directly interact with the students using the app. 

In a more holistic perspective, working the Winter Conference refreshed and reignited my vision of why we (read: I) do ministry. There’s talk in the office about the effectiveness and purpose of Winter Conference, but being there in person made me see that skepticism isn’t the best way to view a lot of things. It’s very different hearing about the number of students giving their lives to God vs. actually seeing people stand up during an altar call. But a little stats: at San Francisco Winter Conference, 15 people stood up to receive Jesus as their Savior, 61 people stood to re-dedicate their lives to Christ, and 2 people were baptized in the hotel hot tub. That’s pretty cool. 

All Them Students

In addition to working on the conference app, I got a small part in recruiting for Cru. I was assigned to talk to three students about their interests in getting more involved with ministry, and I was surprised how much each student trusted me and opened up about their stories. Maybe it was because I look like them/I represented Cru as an organization, which they trusted.

I loved all the worship we got to do at SFWC! Jessica and Gabe Senbetu led the band from Awakening Church, where I went the last year of college. It was so sweet being led by a familiar group and just singing my heart out. 

I wasn’t able to pay 100% attention during all the main sessions because I had app work and notifications to set up. But all the speakers were amazing and had such great points to share with the students. 

Dr. Efrem Smith

I also got to attend 20 minutes of a seminar titled “Excellence, Significance, and the Glory of God.” I arrived just in time for the seminar to start, and it was packed! It was so encouraging to see students hungry to learn about excellence and their significance in the context of also reflecting God’s glory through what they do. The few lines I heard that I wrote down include:

“We do things with excellence so people can be saved.” 

“Everyone is praiseworthy.” 

Yes, because everyone is created in the image of God, 

who is worthy of the highest praise.

“The highest level job you can do is serve. 

When you’re focused on yourself, 

you miss the glory of God around you." 

This is something I needed to hear today.

I also met one of my teammates for the first time at the conference! Ellen is from California and is currently raising support to join full-time staff. She worked on the app last year, and it was great getting to know her and gleaning bits of wisdom from her experience with the platform last year. I pray that she finishes raising support soon!

Me, Ryan, and Ellen

Now for the fun things:

I took some interns + intern coordinators around San Francisco. We went to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf for Boudin clam chowder bowls and Ghirardelli’s. On the way back, we stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts. 

The Group

And then on Monday, my parents and Aunty Grace came to visit me. We got dim sum and hung out on the beach. Then we went back to the hotel to watch planes fly in and out of SFO. Always a good time with the fam 😊

Yay the Beach

Taking a Stroll

That's it for now! Will write more soon~

I Know Them!