by C. McKee

By December 29, students in the International Track at Urbana 09 were already practicing the kind of radical reconciliation that missions is made of.

That week, instead of heading to family groups after the evening session, students in the track headed to the Millenium Hotel where they met with others from their home countries to pray and worship.

One hallway represented 79 countries as students gathered to pray and process in their own languages. On Tuesday night, December 29, the hall was filled with an atmosphere of celebration as the Holy Spirit broke down cultural barriers.

One room was designated for students from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong but was split by dividers so that the students interacted with those from their own people group. Tuesday night, the students from China wanted to worship with those from Taiwan.

Tim Leary, on staff with InterVarsity’s International Student Ministry (ISM), was leading the Chinese students in prayer when they mentioned they wanted invite the other countries to join them. When the Taiwanese students received the invitation, Jennifer Huang, ISM staff, first led them to prepare their hearts through prayer and worship before joining the Chinese room.

“One section of the physical divider was already beginning to split on its own,” Huang said. “The Taiwanese students started playing guitar and singing, and the students led themselves in worship.”

“After three songs, they opened up the wall. China was still praying in their small groups. Many of the students were taking pictures and commenting that the movement of the walls was a physical representation of their own cultural barriers coming down.”

Huang likened this event to a similar happening at Urbana 06, in which Japanese and Koreans worshiped together and were reconciled to one another within the International Students Track prayer times.

Later, the walls of Hong Kong’s prayer room were also pulled back, creating a large open space for students to mingle on their own. Eighty people from three lands began to cross the boundaries of their prayer rooms. At the same time, they crossed the political, social and spiritual boundaries of their respective cultures.

“It was a major breakthrough,” said Huang. “There is definitely a barrier of awkwardness and bitterness that exists among the cultures.” She said it is a sensitive issue even today that makes these cross-cultural friendships almost impossible. “But in Christ, we are all one family, and He breaks down political boundaries. In Christ, we have the desire to make the first steps to connect.”

More worship started after students had mingled. “The worship time was very uniting, Huang said. “The students from Taiwan began to lead worship from First Corinthians 13 about love. I prayed for them, reiterating the words to the song, ‘Love accepts, love is laying down our lives for one another.’”

The Taiwanese students then asked the students from China and Hong Kong to lead worship songs specifically from their cultures. A group of several students from Hong Kong led a song in Cantonese – their home language – and a Taiwanese student translated it into Mandarin for the Taiwanese and Chinese.

“It was like a Cantonese choir,” Huang said.

Kathryn Hom, ISM volunteer in the Hong Kong prayer room, noted “an atmosphere among the students of energy and joy, a sense of camaraderie.”

“The evening was celebratory,” Huang said. “There was super high energy. I told them that we are living out what we have learned this week in John: This is ‘God is with us.’”

Huang asked students to divide into small groups with others they did not know so they could celebrate what God was doing and pray for their nations, their national leaders, and for each other.

On Wednesday night, December 30, the three groups combined with Japan and Korea for an East Asian worship and prayer session for unbelieving family and friends.

Huang led students in reading Ephesians 2:22, “In him you are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives.” Huang said, “This scripture totally correlates to what we’re learning through John about God dwelling near us.”

Lucy, an Urbana attendee and international student from China, was surprised by the unity.

“We are the same people,” Lucy said, “but sometimes because of politics, government and media, we don’t have access to these people face-to-face, and so we think they are different from us. However, when we are talking together, I see we are so similar to each other.”

“I felt so touched; it was really a moving time,” Lucy said. “This kind of thing would not happen in another situation, but because we are in God’s Kingdom, we do not need to keep any barriers between us.”

Click here to see other stories and media from the Urbana 09 International Students Track