Growing up with the typical “Christian” mindset, it was always easy to do the “right” thing, live a good moral life, and do good works. Sunday school consisted of telling Bible stories and how they could be applicable in our lives. Prayer, devotion to reading the Bible, and going to church were key elements of being a “good” Christian. It seemed as if Christianity was just one big algorithm. As time went on, I lived the same, dull, ritualistic life. I went to school, church, and youth group. Although my life seemed to be full of activity, I felt as if I were wasting my life.
My Christian walk changed when my family did a DTS (Disciple Training School) with an organization called YWAM (Youth with a Mission). We trained for 3 months in Hawaii and spent 2 months in Brazil reaching out to the local community about God. During our training in Hawaii, I learned a lesson I will never forget. I was taught that as creations of God, we have the right and the tools to talk and listen to God’s voice. That’s when my spiritual journey started to improve. I talked to God as if He were right next to me. Because we did the DTS as a family, my family always kept me accountable and prayed with me while listening to God’s voice. I realized that Christianity was not about doing good works but about having an intimate relationship with our personal Lord and Savior.
My family has always been there to support me and remind me of the love God has for me. My Mom and Dad always had the answers when I was in doubt or had a question. Whenever people would attack and question my faith, I would always ask my parents how to respond. However, I knew there would be a time when my parents would not be there to help me defend my faith, so I did a two week training course through Summit Christian Worldview. I learned about different world views and how to defend my faith. They taught me Biblical content that will help me rebuttal a lot of other world views and knowledge on how to approach people who question what I believe.
I realize that each of us has a destiny. God created us uniquely and for a purpose. He gives us passions and abilities that we are to use to make a difference in this world. I am passionate about tennis and teaching, and I hope to use my passion to influence lives. I am not 100% sure what I want to do in life, but I want to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit and exemplify Christ wherever I am. I hope that as Christ is in me, I am able to change my environment so it reflects more of God’s Kingdom.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Dear Tennis Coach
Elijah has been looking into several schools. Cornerstone has offered him almost full scholarship (everything but room and board). We do not know if this is where God wants Him to go, but I just wanted to write the coach and make a connection. I really like the fact that this coach is a man of prayer. I sense he could be a good mentor for Elijah. Here are the emails.
Dear Tennis Coach,
I am Elijah's mother, and I just wanted to introduce myself and touch base with you. When Elijah first received an email from you, he was not very excited about Cornerstone because it was a new program. However, when I read your bio on the school website, what caught my eyes was your desire to help players develop their relationship with Jesus. Our desire for Elijah is to go to a school where he can experience a deeper relationship with Jesus, so we encouraged him to continue communicating with you. We have been looking into mostly Christian universities, but as you know, not all Christian Universities and coaches have a focus on Christ these days.
Elijah has been playing tennis for about 4 1/2 years, and he knew he had a late start. His goal was to play college tennis. He has worked really hard during that time to get to where he is today. We are very proud of him for working hard, setting goals, and achieving them. Tennis is important to Elijah, but we also know that that is not the end goal. We, as a family, have experienced many miracles and blessings through tennis during the past 4 1/2 years and know that God has used tennis in Elijah's life to train and mold him. We also know that God will continue to train and mold Elijah through tennis in college as well.
At the beginning of the recruiting process, going to a school with a good team was a priority for Elijah. As he has been visiting different schools, some that are ranked, God is slowly opening his eyes and showing him areas that he hasn’t thought about before, for which we are thankful. His priorities are slowing changing too.
Since we live overseas, my sister has been doing college visits with Elijah and she had a very positive impression of you. She told us you were the first coach to pray for them. Elijah also told me that you are praying for him and your other recruits. We really appreciate your prayers. We really appreciate the fact that you pray. This is really important to us because we know that his coach will have a big influence in his life during college. One of the things that we are praying about is that he would find a coach that would be a spiritual mentor for him.
Elijah really enjoyed his trip to Cornerstone. He thought he wasn't going to enjoy it, but he was pleasantly surprised with the visit. He also really liked the team members, and he also liked you. We are praying and seeking God's heart for Elijah. We appreciate you praying with us. We know that God will indeed lead Elijah to where he needs to be. We are asking God for confirmation and hope that He will show us soon.
Thank you for giving Elijah the opportunity to be part of your recruiting process.
Hi Mrs. Yi-
Thank you so much for your wonderful and encouraging message. It absolutely made my day.
I do pray for my recruits, all of them, quite a bit. It's sort of for me though. I found out early on that it was easy for me to be selfish and look at recruits as simply tennis players that I want to collect and not young people making a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. God very quickly made it known to me that my hopes and prayers need to not be that they would come to Cornerstone, but that they would choose a place that would prepare them to affect the world for Jesus Christ the rest of their lives. If that place is Cornerstone, then that would be terrific, but if it is somewhere else, and they leave that place prepared to change the world for Jesus, then that is absolutely the right decision. In the end, I mostly pray that they would choose to honor God with their decisions, and I believe that when we seek to honor Him with our decisions, He will honor our decisions. So that is what I pray for my recruits, and often.
I enjoyed Elijah's visit tremendously. I think he is a great young man, and I know the guys on the team really enjoyed getting to know him. I would love to have him on our team and as part of our campus family.
I'm glad that you felt free to contact me. Know that I am available at any time for questions, concerns, and of course suggestions for how I can pray for Elijah.
Blessings,
-Tennis Coach
Dear Tennis Coach,
I am Elijah's mother, and I just wanted to introduce myself and touch base with you. When Elijah first received an email from you, he was not very excited about Cornerstone because it was a new program. However, when I read your bio on the school website, what caught my eyes was your desire to help players develop their relationship with Jesus. Our desire for Elijah is to go to a school where he can experience a deeper relationship with Jesus, so we encouraged him to continue communicating with you. We have been looking into mostly Christian universities, but as you know, not all Christian Universities and coaches have a focus on Christ these days.
Elijah has been playing tennis for about 4 1/2 years, and he knew he had a late start. His goal was to play college tennis. He has worked really hard during that time to get to where he is today. We are very proud of him for working hard, setting goals, and achieving them. Tennis is important to Elijah, but we also know that that is not the end goal. We, as a family, have experienced many miracles and blessings through tennis during the past 4 1/2 years and know that God has used tennis in Elijah's life to train and mold him. We also know that God will continue to train and mold Elijah through tennis in college as well.
At the beginning of the recruiting process, going to a school with a good team was a priority for Elijah. As he has been visiting different schools, some that are ranked, God is slowly opening his eyes and showing him areas that he hasn’t thought about before, for which we are thankful. His priorities are slowing changing too.
Since we live overseas, my sister has been doing college visits with Elijah and she had a very positive impression of you. She told us you were the first coach to pray for them. Elijah also told me that you are praying for him and your other recruits. We really appreciate your prayers. We really appreciate the fact that you pray. This is really important to us because we know that his coach will have a big influence in his life during college. One of the things that we are praying about is that he would find a coach that would be a spiritual mentor for him.
Elijah really enjoyed his trip to Cornerstone. He thought he wasn't going to enjoy it, but he was pleasantly surprised with the visit. He also really liked the team members, and he also liked you. We are praying and seeking God's heart for Elijah. We appreciate you praying with us. We know that God will indeed lead Elijah to where he needs to be. We are asking God for confirmation and hope that He will show us soon.
Thank you for giving Elijah the opportunity to be part of your recruiting process.
Hi Mrs. Yi-
Thank you so much for your wonderful and encouraging message. It absolutely made my day.
I do pray for my recruits, all of them, quite a bit. It's sort of for me though. I found out early on that it was easy for me to be selfish and look at recruits as simply tennis players that I want to collect and not young people making a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. God very quickly made it known to me that my hopes and prayers need to not be that they would come to Cornerstone, but that they would choose a place that would prepare them to affect the world for Jesus Christ the rest of their lives. If that place is Cornerstone, then that would be terrific, but if it is somewhere else, and they leave that place prepared to change the world for Jesus, then that is absolutely the right decision. In the end, I mostly pray that they would choose to honor God with their decisions, and I believe that when we seek to honor Him with our decisions, He will honor our decisions. So that is what I pray for my recruits, and often.
I enjoyed Elijah's visit tremendously. I think he is a great young man, and I know the guys on the team really enjoyed getting to know him. I would love to have him on our team and as part of our campus family.
I'm glad that you felt free to contact me. Know that I am available at any time for questions, concerns, and of course suggestions for how I can pray for Elijah.
Blessings,
-Tennis Coach
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