This is a guest post by Chizu Shimizu. She is on staff with Intervarsity in San Diego and works with Urban Projects and Student Missions.
This is an incredible story of being committed to planting new works of God. Chizu, in many ways, was the least likely person in my mind that God would send to get this job done – her role on staff has nothing to do with planting new chapters. But I have known Chizu for almost 15 years and she has a heart that beats for the path of God. I love her obedience to a strange call of God (totally outside her job role) and her willingness to follow God’s planting scent all the way down the trail. Watch this video testimony of her telling the incredible story of a planting mission this last year.
[tentblogger-youtube DRo5ZTtqOVs]
If you would rather read the story, then here it is below in her words:
This year I transitioned into a new role with InterVarsity. I went from working on campus full time to doing a full time Urban Project role. I was excited about the new thing that God had for me but it felt like a sacrifice to walk away from direct students ministry year around.
One day as I was working on Ministry Partner Development I was talking with my co-worker Serene and she mentioned how there was this area east of San Diego which had no InterVarsity presence. It was kind of in no man’s land. It was a place that wasn’t really on the radar for San Diego because it is not in San Diego County but also not on the radar for the next region east, which was Arizona because it is still in California. The seed was planted. That week I couldn’t stop thinking about Imperial Valley and the college students that are unreached at campuses such as Imperial Valley College and SDSU Extension Imperial Valley Campus.
Later that week I was at a prayer meeting for my church got the sense that I had to go to ICV that night to pray. So as soon as the prayer meeting was over (it ended at 9pm) I called my friend Kathy, picked her up, and drove out to “the valley.” At the time I thought that it was going to be a 40-minute drive away, but I soon discovered that it would actually take us 2 hours. I knew that I still had to go, no matter how long it was going to take us. We left San Diego at 9pm and arrived at 11. I spent the next hour walking around, taking pictures in the dark and praying. I got to one spot on campus with an outdoor stage and big grassy area and as I prayed the vision that I got was for that place to be filled with people and that there would be small groups talking and learning about God. We drove back 2 hours that night and the picture stuck with me.
I continued to pray and think about IVC. So in January a week before IVC was going to be back in session I went out there with my co-worker, Dora. I figured that I needed to go out there when it was light out so that I could see the campus. When we got to campus we went into the Student Affairs Office. I didn’t want to be the weird Christian so I decided that I was going to be covert and not announce that I was a Christian and wanted to start a Christian group on campus. When we went into the office I met Vivian and her boss Saria. I asked them questions about the campus and what life was like there. They asked me if I was thinking about taking classes and I dodged it by saying that I was just checking things out. Vivian is a IVC student so I asked her about what clubs she was in at IVC. She said that she was in the Sing Language Club and also the Christian Club. That was my door in! I knew that I couldn’t leave the office that day without telling them who I was and why I was there. I proceeded to tell them about how I was a Christian and felt like God told me to go out to IVC and pray. To my surprise Saria thought it was awesome and told me how they could get me a table. She also said that I should talk to Bruce Page who was the advisor of the Christian Club on campus. It felt incredible to see God’s favor and watch him open doors at IVC. Dora and I continued to walk around the campus and we discovered that in a couple of weeks there was going to be a Welcome Back day during the lunch hour so I planned to return on that day.
In the meantime I emailed and called Professor Page. When I finally talked to him he told me that he would forward my original email to two of the students leaders with the Christian Club, Michael and Elijah. Later that day I received an email from Elijah and we planned to meet up when I went to campus for the Welcome Back Day.
As I showed up to campus on that Thursday I prayed that the Lord would help me take risks. I had no idea what I was doing or what my day was going to look like but I knew that I wanted to see God show up. My first stop was Professor Page’s office. When we were done I had a couple of hours to kill before I was going to meet up with Elijah so I sat down on a bench in the main quad on campus. As I sat there I overheard two students having a spiritual conversation. Even though I love talking to strangers I usually need an opening in the conversation and there wasn’t one. But I remembered my prayers as I walked onto campus and I told myself that I needed to talk to one of the students. The girl got up and left and as the guy was getting up I got his attention and told him that I had overheard his conversation with the girl. His name was Heman and after a couple of moments his initial suspicions of me seemed to subside. We talked for a while and I told him that I had talked to Professor Page and that he had connected me with Elijah and Michael. I also told him that I was going to be meeting with Elijah later that day. Heman then told me that he was in the Christian Culb and knew those guys. As we were sitting there he suddenly looked up saw Michael, called his name and waved him over. I couldn’t believe it. What a divine appointment! As Michael sat and talked to us he saw a couple of girls and waved them over. He then introduced me to Kassandra and Nayeli. As I talked to the girls, they told me that Elijah had just texted them and given them my number and wanted them to come find me. It was so crazy and totally the Lord. We talked and chatted and waited for Elijah to come.
Soon Elijah and his brother Daniel arrived. We also saw George who sat down with all of us as we met and talked. I got to explain to them about InterVarsity and who we are and what we do. They were super excited. When I heard that first day about the Christian Club I felt a little skeptical about it. It felt very possible to me that this club could be a group of students who were inward focused and not concerned about reaching their campus. I soon found out that this group of students were totally opposite of that. They wanted to reach their campus and see transformation in their city. It felt incredible. Elijah even said that they had been praying about how they were going to keep the Christian Club going after they transferred. They felt like I was an answer to their prayer! As I met them and talked to them, I saw that there were so many ways that they were an answer to my prayers as well.
In planting at IVC I knew that I would not be able to move there. My hope was that I would be able to go out once a week and work with leaders and really empower them to do the ministry. And this is what these students are. They wanted me to come and help them. They want to be trained in evangelism and become an InterVarsity chapter. I never would have imagined students praying for us to come to campus!
But wait, there is more. At the end of this past school year Elijah and Michael are going to be transferring to San Diego Christian College. When they told me I was excited for them but disappointed that they were going to be at a school with mostly Christians. I didn’t come on staff to work with Christians at a Christian university. But as we talked more I asked if everyone at SDCC is Christian and Michael said yes, except for the athletes. And what do you know, Michael is going to be there on a basketball scholarship. I pitched to him starting a bible study for athletes and praying for transformation in that community and he was totally excited. I then asked Elijah to consider planting at a nearby community college. When I mentioned Grossmont his face lit up and said that they knew 2 people that were Christians and going to be going to school there in the fall.
[If you like this post, check out: Harvesting Potatoes]
God was opening doors and my first encounter on campus and he continues to do so. From one littler conversation and seed that was planted in me, there is the potential to see 3 new chapter plants. The “sacrifice” that I made to leave direct student ministry was give back to me 100-fold. It has totally reminded me that it’s not about me. God has been working at IVC long before I decided to come, he is there now, and he will be there long after I leave. May God’s kingdom come and His will be done in San Diego and Imperial Valley as it is in heaven. Amen.
How does this story encourage you about the ways God is already at work in places we are discovering? Leave a comment here
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