Vox Veniae’s blog

1.  Name: Thomas Tsang

2.  Hometown: Houston, TX;  Plano. TX

3.  Job: Capital Metro

4.  Background of faith:  Buddhist

Born in Houston and raised in Plano, I always knew of Jesus but never really knew what it meant to follow Him. He was similar to that of an acquaintance like at work...you say hi to him on multiple occasions everyday, but never knew what he really did, if anything at all. This superficial and rather random direction of existence was as cheap of a thrill as any game in Vegas, and a snapshot of my most recent years. Sometime last year though, a close friend invited me out to church (Vox) and it was here that I felt God's presence stronger than I had ever felt before. At 23 now, my baptism marks a renewal of spirit, love and the beginning of something beyond my current comprehension. Under God's direction, I pray that I can follow him everyday here on out, so that when I do look back 10, 15, 50 years from now, life as I looked back on it would be more than just a matter of odds.

1.  Name: Nicholas Fung
2.  Hometown: Sugar Land, TX
3.  Degree: Finance
4.  Job: Equity Trader
5.  Likes:  family, friends, improv, writing, acting, vball, ping pong, cycling, good times, good food, good sleep
6.  Dislikes:  boredom, dirty laundry, headwind, heartburn, writer's block
7.  Background of faith: Non-religious family. My parents aren't religious but on my father's side of the family is mostly Christian and my mother's side of the family is a mix of Buddhists/non-religious.
8.  How you came to follow Jesus: Through a friend who asked me to go to church with him because he liked a girl.
9.  What excites you about baptism: what it represents
10.  Hopes for your lifelong journey with Jesus:  Grow in my relationship with Jesus and share my experiences with others.

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My earliest memory of being exposed to religion was during my first trip to Hong Kong. My grandmother on my mom's side took me to a Buddhist temple and told me I was Buddhist.
Ok. I'm Buddhist, I thought.
On the same trip, my aunt and uncle on my dad's side took me to church and told me, "Nick, you're a Christian."
Ok… I'm confused.
So, I went to the only person I knew who had all the answers at the time- my mom.
I asked her, "Mom, can you be both Christian and Chinese?"
"Sure," she said.
Sweet, I thought, I'm both Christian and Buddhist because for some reason I thought being Chinese and Buddhist was the same thing.

I was 6.

Of course I eventually found out that you can't be both, and after that I stopped calling myself anything. It didn't really matter in my family because my parents are non-religious despite being from somewhat religious families (Dad's side- Christians, Mom's side- Buddhists/non-religious).

Fast forward about 15 years to my senior year in college, when a close friend of mine asked me and some friends to go to a church with him. At the time, I thought it was kind of weird because he wasn't the religious type. When we got there though, we understood. It was for… a girl. Looking back now, we should probably thank him for wanting to impress her because the two other friends that went are getting baptized with me at Vox this Sunday.  We continued to go to AKPC because the people were so friendly and made me feel comfortable being at church, which made it easier at least for me to want to explore Christianity and God. But I have to admit during the first year as I discovered God, I was sometimes skeptical because I wanted scientific proof of what that the Bible said. And it was something that I struggled with.

Fast forward another year, I had just come back from Hong Kong where I had gone to study film and gotten to know my relatives.  I thought film was what I wanted to do but wasn't completely sure.  So that summer, I wrestled with what to do with my life.  Go back to school to find out if I really liked it or quit and get a "boring" office job with my finance degree (which I wanted to avoid). I hope none of you have ever experienced what it feels like when the path you thought your life was heading all of a sudden ends and leaves you directionless. But it su-cks. 

I didn't know what to do, and I was too ashamed to talk to my parents or friends because I felt like my life should have been together by now. So I avoided them, and became pretty depressed. I just didn't know how to handle the situation. And so I stayed at home, kept to myself, and slept… a lot, hoping maybe when I woke up that the answers would miraculously appear. Eventually I realized that there was someone I could feel comfortable talking to.  So, I started praying.  I prayed, and prayed, and prayed. I prayed for a clear sign to tell me what to do, to point me in the right direction with a big neon sign, or maybe the winning lottery numbers.  I prayed like I had never done before and then the prayers just started into conversations. But still nothing.

About a month later at church, it was the first week of the 2nd year of the MFA program in HK, and I had decided to not to return. I was feeling pretty crappy because I had never quit anything before and did not know if I had made the right decision.  But for some reason that Sunday Pastor Ted ended the service differently.  He asked if anyone needed people to pray for them, and for some reason my hand went up slowly.  I just kind of looked at it and wondered, "What the heck you were doing?"  Then I felt it, peoples' hands and their prayers. This might sound cheesy or cliché but, it was incomprehensibly powerful. After that, nothing really changed. I still had the same fears and uncertainties of my future. And life still had its ups and downs.  But I finally realized something I should have already known - I wasn't alone. I had my sign. I had my proof. I have faith.

Name: Brian Sheen

Hometown: Sugar Land, TX

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

Job: Electrical Engineer at Washington Division of URS Corporation

Likes: Volleyball, Snowboarding, Eating Good Food, Hanging Out With Friends

Dislikes: Messy Rooms, Bad Internet Connection/Reception, Fuzzy Television 

One day when I was in high school, my brother asked me to go with him on Sunday.  That day I was asked, “What would you thank God for in your life?”  At that time I said something kinda stupid but still sounded legitimate (biomedical electronics or something, haha -_-)… but boy did I feel uncomfortable (as would most first timers in my situation?).  After that experience I’m pretty sure somewhere inside I decided to avoid church whenever possible.  This mindset continued for the rest of my high school career.  

When I started college, I gave church another try, but nothing really changed.  For the first year of college, I did what most freshmen did.  I stayed up late, played video games, didn’t study, didn’t do homework, & slept in on the weekends (although I slept in on the weekdays too).  As my sophomore year came around, my brother asked me if I would want to go to church again.  I was hesitant, but was persuaded to go because a good friend of ours wanted to go to impress a girl (haha) and he felt uncomfortable going by himself.  So one weekend, four Chinese guys decided to give Austin Korean Presbyterian Church a try.  

My whole journey of following Christ happened in this one weekend.  I didn’t know this beforehand but we went to an annual “New Comer’s Banquet” being held at the church.  This was a banquet for welcoming new members to the college group at UT /church.  As I was meeting new people and trying to remember names, I remember thinking “uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what the…how can I be a new comer when this is the first time I’ve even been here/met these people”.  As the evening continued, I stopped questioning and started accepting the idea of being a member of the church.  Everyone was so nice and I felt at home.  Eventually my discomfort I had previously felt at church melted away.  I found a group of people that I felt comfortable around and really enjoyed spending time with.  From then on, I attended church and went to as many church events as I could.    

Attending church and finding Jesus greatly affected my outlook on life in several ways.  Ask any of my childhood/high school friends and they will tell you that I have always had a bad temper (for example, I would punch holes in walls & throw things when I got angry).  I’m not saying that it all magically disappeared after I became a Christian, but I can undoubtedly say that God has changed me.  It definitely took some time, but now I am able to control myself and remain relatively calm during angry times (instead of becoming a madman).  I have also become more appreciative of everyday things in life.  Friends, family and even nature have become more meaningful to me.  Today, if someone were to ask me, “What would you thank God for in your life”, I would have to say “Beautiful days, rain or shine, are a blessing.  Family and friends, the backbone of my life, are a blessing.  For all this I am thankful to God.”      

1.  Name:  Kaider Sheen

2.  Hometown:  Houston, TX

3.  Degree: Finance

4.  Job:  Day Trader / Massage Therapist

5.  Likes:  I like to hang out with friends, have good conversations, watch movies, work out, play Magic, practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and eat! 

6.  Dislikes:  studying for exams! good thing I'm not in school anymore! =) too bad I have license exams coming up =(

7.  Background of faith:  non-Christian

8.  How you came to follow Jesus:  My good friend invited me to church sometime around my senior year of high school.  At that time, I was struggling with low self-esteem and always felt the stress of not being good enough.  The first time I went, I noticed a sense of peace and joy in the eyes of people there.  I began to see God's love and it was soon thereafter that I came to accept Jesus into my life.  Many things changed for me from then, specifically the way I felt about myself.  Believing in Jesus gave me a new outlook on life.

9.  What excites you about baptism:  I am excited at being able to show my faith!  

 Hopes for your lifelong journey with Jesus:  I hope to just continue my walk with Jesus and to always stay true to my faith.  I want to be forever thankful for all that I have been blessed with.  I hope that God can use me to further his kingdom through helping others and having compassion for those in need.  

I came to know Christ around my senior year of high school.  However, before I did, I often felt empty and I had low self-esteem issues.   Then on a Sunday morning, one of my good friends decided to invite me to church with her.  With nothing else to do, I agreed to go and instantly felt God's presence around the people I met there.  When I later decided to accept Jesus into my heart, many things in my life began to change.  Most importantly, my outlook on life changed.  The way I describe it to people is this: Before knowing Jesus, I could only see in a straight and narrow view.  After becoming Christian, it was as if my range of sight increased to a wider view with peripheral  vision and everything on life.  God was able to take me into His arms and heal me.  Everyday I am thankful for the Lord's love for me and everyone in this world.  I pray that I may follow him for all of my days.

1.  Name: Tiffany Lok

2.  Hometown: Houston, Tx

3.  Degree: Human Development/Occupational Therapy

4.  Job: student? employed by Old Navy?

5.  Likes: chocolate, watching movies, 

spending time with friends and family

6.  Dislikes: bugs, rain, bittermelon and durian! :(

7.  Background of faith: I grew up in a Buddhist family

8.  How you came to follow Jesus: Through my friend Melissa. She was the one that finally convinced me to go to church just to check it out.

9.  What excites you about baptism: The fact that it represents something special between me and God; like a renewal of faith and discipline to continue walking His path for me.

10.  Hopes for your lifelong journey with Jesus: Definitely to grow and be more like him in everything that I do; To work on my flaws and to never give up even when the path is hard.

Unlike most of the people I know, my upbringing wasn’t rooted in Christianity. My entire family is Buddhist, and for a while, that is how I was raised. As a child, I knew nothing about Christianity; I had never even heard of it until one particular conversation with Melissa when I was 5. “Do you know Jesus?” she asked me. I was so puzzled. I thought she was asking me if I knew one of her friends from home room. “No, who’s Jesus?” I answered. She began going into detail about a man who was capable of doing all sorts of things, who knew what you were doing at all times. As a child, words like that stuck with me. Conversations like that became somewhat frequent, and I eventually asked my mom if I could go to church with Melissa. I wasn’t prepared for her reaction. I couldn’t understand why she was upset because at the time, I still didn’t comprehend the full meaning of going to church. After that, it was clear to me that I shouldn’t bring up the subject anymore. Melissa never pressed anything upon me, and she understood how conflicted I felt with my mom, so she stopped asking me to go to church. 

Years later, I still had this secret curiosity of what Christianity was about.  It was around the spring of my sophomore year in high school when Melissa randomly asked me to go to church. I initially declined all the invites, but then it became a weekly question. Eventually, I began contemplating it more and thought to myself, “This is it, I’ve always wanted to go, so why not?” Melissa had a talk with my mom and amazingly to my surprise, she said it was ok. My first experience at church was nothing like I expected it to be. I honestly don’t know what I was expecting, but regardless, something drew me back to go the week after. I started to attend church regularly, although my mom wasn’t happy about it, and my younger sister even began coming with me. I distinctly remember that it was sometime that summer where I had this moment with God. It was like this feeling of completeness, something that my words will never do justice, but I felt this strong connection with Him that just seemed right. I though about getting baptized that summer, but I was hesitant to because I wanted to make sure that I was ready for this new journey. 

I must say I feel like I’ve grown a lot with God these past few years, especially here at college. The thing I probably struggle with most on my path is accepting what God wants over what I want. As selfish as that sounds, I really have to tell myself that I’m not put here to do what I want, but what He wants me to do. It wasn’t until recently either that I came to terms with God’s unconditional love. If there was one thing I constantly questioned after accepting Christ, it was this. How could God continually love me after everything I’ve done? 16 years of my life I spent not wanting to know or seek Him. Every single day I live, I sin and yet, He still loves me. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to grasp. 

So, I’ve basically been pushing this day back for a long time because I keep thinking I’ll have some sort of epiphany that lets me know when the time is right, but that epiphany may never come, and it’s not about that moment of readiness to God. I want this to be a day where I reaffirm my belief and dedicate my life to Him.

Space12 renovations are almost done!  If you are interested in lending a hand for some final painting, cleaning and furniture arrangement, please let us know here.  

Join us on April 27th for Vox's annual baptism party.  It will take place at 2:30pm at Bull Creek.  Come celebrate with our community!