What does it mean to know we are Made Well?

This year's theme for our Asian Pacific American (APA) InterVarsity conference was Made Well. Many Christian APA students struggle to find meaning and purpose in their ethnic heritage, whether their families have lived in this land for many generations or have recently arrived. 

Since the term "APA" encompasses a diverse range of experiences, the conference also aimed at expanding our definition of who is in our APA family (Southeast Asian, South Asian, Islander, etc.) and creating spaces for underrepresented narratives to be shared and valued.

What did that look like, you ask?

As each person arrived at the conference, they were invited to have their picture taken with a sign saying "Made Well." 

Then we added their photo to the wall collage!

Each person also reflected on the following questions:

What do you like best about your cultural or ethnic heritage?

Answers pictured:

honor/respect; large families are fun; the making of food, bomb food; hospitality and respect for elderly; love in our actions; Dat Korean BBQ all day, every day; family loyalty; favorite thing? The FOOD!; Self-Sacrifice; Korean food and pop culture

What are some fears and insecurities about who you are?

Answers:

any emotion is dangerous; being overweight; not manly enough; not good enough; parents control too much of life; losing my ethnic culture/language; pressure to be successful; grades; failure; my voice is not important; feel less worth when I'm alone

The weekend's speaker, Jonathan Tran, shared his experience as a Vietnamese immigrant whose family struggled financially in the United States. He invited those of us with different stories (parents who came over for education, not to escape war and poverty) to embrace our own struggles as well as those of others. He reminded us that our experiences being an immigrant people are what enable God to use us fully in this world, pointing us to God's work through Moses with the Israelites in the desert.

He also called attention to the ways we are sorely tempted to "settle" -- to try to make a permanent home in a land we are journeying through -- by following various scripts that the world offers. We try to escape the discomfort of being caught between multiple worlds: am I Asian enough if I don't speak the language? am I American enough if I don't constantly talk and assert myself? Maybe if we acquire enough money, familial approval and cultural fluency, we'll finally feel at home.

On the other hand, if we stay with the tension of not fitting in, we could be called into the restorative work God is doing with others who are not welcomed into the social structure of this country because of class, race, or simply the perception that they pose a threat.

I appreciated this word because it made space for there to be pain and confusion in our journey--in fact, this very pain and confusion would serve to shape us into the blessing God intended us to be! It's very counter-intuitive to the narrative of "I suffered so that you, my child, could experience opportunity and never suffer" but I am constantly reminded:

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:9