Our 2006 Great Lakes Regional Summer Bible Conference was held at Oberlin College, OH, on July 28-30 with the theme, 횂징횂째Jesus is the Living Water.횂징횂짹 9 chapters participated: Toledo, Akron, Columbus, Virginia State, Grand Rapids, Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo and Guelph (Canada). Students from Namsan and Hanyang who have been in Canada for English training also participated. Akron UBF횂징횂짱s ministry is reviving. One shepherd family from the Philippines, Mark and Hannah Kalang, joined Cleveland UBF. Sh. Brian Karcher had a hernia surgery and has fully recovered. Two new missionaries from Buffalo, Abraham and Sarah Choi, were sent out from Yonhee UBF and Abraham Choi is a Ph.D. student in political science at the University of Buffalo. Sh. Sue Paul. who went through her battle with cancer recently, looked healthy and bright. She was taking care of many needy people diligently as she had always done. Dr. Paul Hong served the conference with much prayer and collaboration with other chapter leaders. The number of total attendants was 153.
In order to prepare this regional conference, chapter directors and conference workers got together at Oberlin College on June 14th and had a planning session and united prayer. Since then we tried our best to communicate with one another. We prepared this conference with three prayer topics: (1) repent and rejoice in the Lord; (2) grow in the spirit of community among Great Lakes Region Chapters; (3) recommit ourselves to our primary mission of undergraudate students and world mission.
Throughout the conference, the weather was hot. But Jesus was present with us at the conference and invited us to drink the living water that can quench our thirst forever. We are thirsty for many things—acceptance, fame, human love and healing. Even if we gain these things, they cannot quench our thirst. But when we drink Jesus the Living Water, he comes in us, and becomes in us a spring of living water welling up to eternal life. When we believe in Jesus, he gives us the living water who is also the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of witness. No wonder the Samaritan woman, after meeting Jesus, became a bold witness of Jesus to her village people. When we believe in Jesus, he pours into our heart the love of our God the Father and enables us to worship God in spirit and truth.
Conference attendants confessed what they were thirsty for and shared personal testimonies on what Jesus the Living Water meant to each of them. There was a deep sense of community, intimate fellowship, overflowing joy and satisfaction among the attendants throughout the conference.
4 messengers served the word of God wholeheartedly and effectively: Mark Ohashi and Jason Roth from Toledo, Ben Grubich from Akron and Jeff Gathergood from Columbus. There were beautiful orchestra performances, heart-moving life testimonies, student testimonies, Colombia and Korea mission reports, a modern-day Samaritan woman drama, a world mission history presentation, a North Korean dance, a Moslem dance, a Taekwondo dance, a world mission dance and exciting praise bands. There was also a Great Lakes Region Soccer Cup game Saturday afternoon. Shepherd John Wilson and Dr. Henry Park gave announcements and prayer topics.
Through this conference, we could build a sense of community among the Great Lakes Region UBF chapters and renew our vision for American campus mission through our Lord Jesus Christ. May God make America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation by raising Bible teachers and missionaries among young American students. May God send out 100,000 missionaries to 233 nations by 2041, including Moslem and Communist countries. May God be with our short-term missionaries: Albert Hong in Uganda, Susy Hong in Sri Lanka, and John and Paul Kuper from Argentina.
