African Diasporic Appreciation

To appreciate= "to recognize the significance of, to recognize the full worth of, to be fully aware or sensitive to, to be thankful or show gratitude for, to increase in value." (web dictionaries)

In this post: *Spring Quarter B.W.A. *Summer: Family & P4CM'S Rhetoric. *Black Church Experience. *Application: Take a Stand*

Black Women Appreciation & Senior Brunch

Charity and I at B.W.A dinner :-)

Towards the end of Spring quarter BPRO held their annual Black Women Appreciation (for all the black women of UCSB). I hadn't been before, in fact the last BSU (Black Student Union) event I had attended was their Annual Unity Meeting which was their very first meeting of the year. But I wanted to go and I wasn't doing anything that evening (it would give me a break from my stinkbug hiatus) so I found out that Charity was going so I went with her. As expected there was lots of new faces but then something unexpected happened, a couple of people we didn't know actually greeted us and introduced themselves to us! (well, two to be exact which was a nice surprise. I'll explain why later). When we got there we found a few people we knew and sat with them. As the night proceeded, I had this weird combination of feeling at home yet not quite. Well, I was kinda feeling at home not just because the people in the room looked like me, but also the guys really went all out to appreciate us (serving us food, sharing poems, songs, spoken word pieces, gifts, a slideshow, and yeah, lots of words of affirmation) and yeah there was just this liveliness in the room... so I guess what was missing was I didn't know most of the people there and they didn't know me. And there's my problem. It seems like I'm the misfit everywhere I go. Maybe I should change my blog's name to the-diary-of-a-misfit lol coz not fitting in/not feeling at home is a major theme of my posts. Well it's connected to the main theme of this blog which you find out in the "About me" section, which is: I haven't been myself for a long time (who I fully am) and so I'm on a journey to remember who I am and to be myself. K, back to the story... so here's the deal: I was in FT freshman year (not on the black floor in Santa Rosa) so living in FT already isolates you from lots of stuff going on on campus, but I did go to their African Diasporic social where I got to meet some East Africans, it's also where I met InterVarsity people tabling and I signed up since I wanted Christian community. I got more involved with InterVarsity and my sophomore year, I was placed to lead Bible study in Santa Rosa (where the black floor was) so through that I got to meet more black people (most of the ones I know). I dropped some clubs that year since I was busy with leadership in InterVarsity (bible study, family prayer meeting, african diaspora csame group) and school. But I would still go to BSU meetings sometimes. During my third year there was a time I went more consistently before I stopped going altogether. So what happened? It was hard for me to keep going because it was a catch 22. You see I was going to make friends but it seemed like no one was interested. At that point most people knew each other so I was the outsider coming in, not being welcomed in. And so that would mean that if I was interested in friendship I would have to initiate and that was my main problem. I was insecure so I had developed fear of rejection which kept me from initiating. So yeah after I had enough of that tension I took the easier route and gave up on trying to be part of that community. So when I went to BWA and then later to their senior brunch, I was surprised by the few who initiated with me and it made me think that I had given up too soon on trying to be friends with them. At the senior brunch it was cool to hear people share how some of them lived in ft but they were always at the black floor coz that's where they felt at home, they found family :) So yeah, it made me think: everyone's just looking for a place where they belong ("home, love, family"). Below is the video they made for the BWA night.

Passion for Christ Movement's Rhetoric 2012

During Summer Charity told me to check out P4CM's Rhetoric event- The largest Christian spoken word event in the U.S. She was planning to go with her brother. I looked it up and I wanted to go with my family. So my brother and I ended up joining her and her small bro (thanks Charity!). It was nice to see lots of young people there and most of them were African American. All the spoken word pieces were really good and really powerful! (You can find some of them on youtube). We debriefed at the end and everyone loved it. Even my brother loved it and he asked me when they were going to have the next one. That was great to hear coming from him since he stopped going to church a while back. For me, yes the event was great but it brought up a familiar feeling... it reminded me of Kenya... I felt like I had paid to go to church in Kenya lol. You see, the youth had their own service (the kids had Sunday school, there was teens church and the young adults had their own thing too) and we made it our own. The youth led but yeah there was a youth pastor to oversee and to preach but sometimes he let the youth preach as well. I remembered how back then I would go to teens church and the concerts they out on with my bro and he liked it. So I was glad he liked the Rhetoric event but it was sad he had to wait for another event to be in Christian community (that he was comfortable to be in). Check out this video for the overview of the rhetoric event we attended.

"The Black Church Experience"

Let's tie things together now. What do the above two sections have in common? I mentioned "liveliness'. Young people leading, sharing, using their talents. What made me feel more at home at Rhetoric was what we had in common, a passion for Jesus. They were using their gifts and talents to passionately declare Truth, Love  and their personal testimonies. I think that's why my brother liked it. It's really powerful to see young people like you following Jesus with a passion, while being themselves and having fun at the same time.

I coordinated "The Black Church Experience" event my sophomore year and the idea behind it was providing a place for young people not just to receive (be part of the congregation/audience) but also to give - to lead, to share, to be seen and heard, to use their gifts and talents. The event was successful both years, as in people attended, but after the event people went their separate ways. It was an outreach event for mostly black students but no one joined InterVarsity after that. Why? Well, it was the event that attracted them so when it was over that was it. Which brings me back to the observation I made with my brother, "I find it sad that people have to wait for an event to feel comfortable to be in /welcome by christian community." What if this wasn't just an event? What if it was actually the church? [A suggestion could be, "Well he should find a black church if that's where he'll feel comfortable/welcome to be part of." But that mentality has caused segregation and God says, "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." (Isaiah 56: 7) And that's the new thing God is doing in this season. Post: Real Identity. God does not want us to lose our ethnic identity in church- by assimilation- in fact the only one we are to conform to is Christ and His Word. And that's one of the main reasons why God wants His body to be multi-ethnic, to uphold His Word. Not just the parts we like as influenced by our cultural backgrounds. Psalm 138:2b. 1 Corinthians 14:16.]  I realized that's what my brother needs. There's lots of negative influences all around him so having church with young people like him leading, fired up for Jesus, would really make a huge impact in his life. [♫ Revival fire fall!!!♫] 

 I also realized that most of the ideas I was giving to InterVarsity Staff was based on my experiences in Kenya. InterVarsity is really multi-ethnic than most fellowships/clubs on campus but the African descent peeps are still not well represented (especially this year). So the ideas I shared with the Staff was what would make black students feel more welcomed. This is part of the first email I sent to staff on 10/2/11: "The third main thing I want to share is: I'm excited for this year because there are more ways that people could serve (not just being Bible study leaders and A team). So I just I want to share a little about my experience in high school in Kenya. I went to a girls boarding school, about 800 students. We had what we called C.U (Christian Union)- we had a worship team, drama team, ushers and a dance team. We had one big bible study on Wednesdays (20-30 people), prayer meetings called Intercessors every other night, what we called Follow-Up (a time for being invested in by older guest speakers who would facilitate group discussion), we had church on Sunday morning and then Sunday afternoon we had our Christian Union meetings (kinda like Common ground). So what all of those different meetings had in common is that they all began with praise and worship and then after would be a time open for people to share whatever God has put on their hearts. During that time some people would share a testimony of something God did, I usually shared scripture that spoke to me, others would share a song or poem, then after the sharing time we would transition into whatever else was next e.g. start the bible study. I really liked that because it helps people see the different ways that God speaks to people, it helps us discover our spiritual gifts and it also helps us see each other as the body of Christ, all of us are important and God can speak through and work in all of us, you don't have to be a leader and non-freshmen for God to speak to you and through you. That sharing time was usually open for anyone and you didn't have to sign up in advance. The Christian Union meetings in the afternoon were different from the church service since the church service was put on by the school but the C.U service was put on by the C.U. coordinators (leaders of each of the different teams and 1 staff teacher). So C.U was different since we made it our own. After praise and worship it was time for presentations (people had to sign up in advance if they had presentation since C.U was like 500 people)- during that time people who signed up got to present, also the drama team would perform a skit if they had prepared one or the dance team would perform a dance. Then after presentations was preaching. We had Spirit-filled guest speakers and after the preaching people could leave or stay for healing prayer which was fun because the Holy Spirit would fill the room and it was prefall all over again. So yeah just wanted to share that, take from it what you may."

Application: Take a Stand

So far we have acknowledged some of the gifts and talents that people of African descent have (Artsy) and we have recognized how powerful they could be when used for the Church (especially in reaching out to the youth). Now there's something that we need to become aware of. Statistics. The black community faces and contributes to lots and lots of issues (Related post: Behold) Watch this video.


So yeah, I would like to ask all of us to stand with the black community. We really need them in the body of Christ especially in this season. God has blessed them with gifts and talents that are integral in a season of revival (post: Prepare The Way! You can watch the video I added there about the coming of a great awakening). African Americans through music and the arts have really shaped the culture in the U.S and around the world (the kingdom of the world) but God wants to use them to make an impact for His Kingdom. But "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." (Jeremiah 2:13) That's why an awakening is necessary. (I am a witness to all this stuff  I'm mentioning- even the brokenness and dryness- I can see it in my life and my family. But God has been restoring lots of stuff in my life and He's not done yet). P.S: God doesn't just want people of African descent or anyone for what they could do for His Kingdom, but because of who we are to Him. He loves us so much! He is our Father in heaven and He wants us all to remember who we are. To go back to Him and find rest in His love. He hurts to see us suffer and wants us to drink of His living water that fully satisfies. As for gifts He gives us, part of the reason He distributes them the way He does is to force us to interact with each other. To see each other, to love each other. That's why I called it "God's affirmative action plan for unity" in the Real Identity post lol)

*Please stand with the African diasporic community in prayer - Pray about the issues that they facing that have been mentioned in that video. You can pray for those around the world, or if that's too broad for you you can just pick those in America, or you can zoom in at UCSB (revival's coming out of SB according to prophecy. Soon! :), or specific people that you know of (If you don't know of any specific people who need prayer I volunteer my family and I lol). Pray for an awakening- the restoration of Real Identity and a launching into real destiny. Let's pray for God's Kingdom to come down! :)

*Let's also pray for ourselves (the rest of the body of Christ) - For God to fill us with more of His Spirit of Love, Power and Self-control so that we may be equipped to partner with Him in His mission... to LOVE. 

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." (James 5: 16-18)

As for the African descent people reading this listen to this song. I like Kanji's message at the end. "to proclaim good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." (excerpts from Isaiah 61:1-3) God is bringing restoration! He wants to restore to us the years that the locusts have eaten. Let's stop falling for the lies the world has told us about ourselves. Let's remember who God is and return to Him with all our hearts and let's remember who we are, who we are called to be. Arise! Shine! For your Light has come! =)

Thanks for reading and thanks a lot for your prayers!!! Really appreciate it!!! (If you wanna pray with me hit me up :) I'll share more application later. (Oh yeah, I'm starting to get more involved with the black community on campus- insecurity is too immature lol. So you can pray for me for confidence in my identity and for me to make friends. Thanks! Peace :)

*Wisdom, Kristin and I have re-started our family prayer meeting. We shall also be praying for UCSB's black community, racial rec, unity in the body of Christ, any other prayer requests that come up. We go with the flow :) You're welcome to join us on Tuesdays at 3pm in front of the UCEN :-)