Mishelle, can you tell us where you're from? I was born in Korea
raised in California, lived in Hawaii now I'm here. So I was born and raised in
a household where both very devoted Buddhist family was - my parents were both Buddhist
so I was raised going to the Buddhist temple but my mom's side came to Christ with my aunt
who shared so I grew up going to Buddhist temple and going to church and honestly as a
kid you know the Buddhist temple had like a retreat things like that too but every night
I would be so scared when we're sleeping in the Buddhist temple where the monk had to like hold on
to me till I'm like falling asleep because I was just so terrified of the night which is so funny
because I wasn't scared of the dark. When I was eight years old I was going to the Buddhist temple
and I've been to church and then I remember asking my grandmother what's the difference between Jesus
and buddha. And this was my dad's side grandma who was a Buddhist so she was like, oh they're friends
so you know you're young, so you're like, okay, they're in the sky kind of shaking hands together
I believe from there, God really wanted to show me that He's one true living God because
after that a lot of things in my life happened that was out of my control I did come to America
and by that time my parents did divorce but in the first household that my father who's devoted
buddhist entrusted me and my brother with was a third generational pastor's house so from there
like I was going to church like it's home or it's like a you know I was going there to like learn
english and have fun it was fun and from there on like I was going to church it wasn't personal
to me it was just like religion fast forward to my high school year i was very depressed I
was chasing after education after money after friends after just just wrong things of the
world I had this face mask on right like oh like I'm all good but I came home and I felt so empty
and I was just sitting and I was like if I'm gonna die anyways like what's the point of like studying
hard what's the point of like living and I just felt so empty and I remember one day I was like
why am I living so I was super depressed for me everything happened at school one of my friend
um she came back like very just something was different about her and then so after math class
I went up to her and I was like what is wrong with you and she was telling me like Michelle
God is alive I think because I kind of grew up in church no one really asked me this question
but she asked me are you christian and I said I'm half Christian and half Buddhist
and she was like there's no such a thing and so she asked me do you have five minutes after school
and I said yeah I mean I have nothing to lose and um we went to the park and we're having a
conversation I just felt this warmth that five minute conversation turned into like three
hour conversation and I was just like crying because I was broken like my family's broken
like my parents got divorced and when they got divorced my mom left our house so I never like met
my mom since when I was eight years old till all day to high school and then so she invited me to
Friday night service I went to church and similar to hungry gen everyone just like on fire for the
lord and I was like okay this is different but I went because there was something you know maybe
Jesus dying on the cross is real I was like maybe there is something more about his
love like what is this love from there on um I was just devoted to church I was keep going
and I remember after work I was sitting on the couch and I was like wait is this it like going
to church and then doing like you know homeless outreaching and then like going to like reading
the bible is this it is this it and then that's when my leader called and she was like michelle
like can you come to the retreat um and I said oh I have work and as soon as like I hung up
my boss called me and she's like oh you're off this this day and that was a retreat day I was
like okay so I called her back I'm like okay I could go and she's like well you're gonna help me
in the room so you need to come to like the prayer meeting and we're gonna fast I wasn't fasting I
was starving because I didn't know what I was doing I was just curious I was like this love
that people are talking about like I want to know because everyone at the end of it wants to love
right we want to be loved and then I went to the retreat and soon as I got there I just felt I felt
on my knees and my life went in like a film and he was saying I was always there with you um
come on let's give Jesus a clap offering he is so real he is so real got baptized with
the Holy Spirit show me a vision and I was wearing a wedding dress but it was very dirty and i felt
shame and guilt and all of a sudden He took the wedding dress off and He put a new one on but
it wasn't even white I was wearing the light and here's a crazy part my name in Korean means light
little did I know cause that little did I know little did I know um and 2017
14 years later me and my mom met for the first time and my mom came to christ in 2007.
she got baptized the Holy Spirit she didn't know anything about the bible she was just like she
just heard Holy Spirit saying go to the seminar so she went to seminar without knowing who Peter, Paul
nothing she just went and so when we met there was a spiritual connection
and then she was always praying for me and then she showed me a scrapbook of when i was
young and it's so crazy because in one of the the little sticky notes she saved was a prayer
from my like a preschool teacher and he said "let she be the light of the world"
who knew there was someone praying for me who knew there was a prayer invested in me
when I was depressed and I was angry you know and um I got into fight in school I got kicked out of
school okay I was chasing after education but let me just tell you when christ came into my life
everything shifted he opened the doors but now the intention motive was completely different i went
to UCLA let me tell you if you are chasing after education you guys that's not the answer I've been
to the high known school of UCLA there's kids who are depressed there are suicidal thoughts so it's
not the answer if you're chasing after career is not the answer if you're chasing after relations
is not the answer but Jesus is the answer and His love is so real demand so real His love is so real
amen amen never underestimate what one conversation can provoke in someone's life
whenever you have that feeling or whenever the Holy Spirit's telling you "hey initiate
that conversation" do it because it can transform someone's life forever so Michelle what would be
some advice that you would give to someone who was maybe in a similar situation there's one
true living god and that's Jesus grace is what makes Christian like so different from any other
religion because every other religion is a give and take even Buddhists they are like oh live a
good life then you will be born into a better life reincarnation and even muslim like you pray five
times then your sins are washed away but Jesus says I just jump into the shower I'll wash you
you just come as you are and I'll wash you I'll wash you and my grace right God's reckless love
always changes everything he changes everything so if wherever you are I just want to say, God
knows you. You're not just created in this earth to live and die you are so uniquely designed and
God will hear you wherever you are to surrender and just ask for his love and he will answer