Stand Together Against Anti-Asian Racism

Dear ISMC Staff, Volunteers, Students and Supporters,

It has been a long hard year living with Covid-19 and being separated physically from you and my extended family outside of Canada. For my family in Vancouver, the stress of this pandemic has been exacerbated with the exponential rise of anti-Asian violence in communities around Canada and the US. It is extremely upsetting that most of these attacks—name calling, spitting, punching, head slamming—have targeted children, women and the elderly of Asian descent.

In the midst of all these attacks, eight peoples’ lives were taken, including six Asian women, in a shooting in Atlanta. This crime was perpetrated by a young man who blamed these women as the source of his temptation for his sexual addiction. Hearing that his crimes were in no way racially motivated made my fellow Asian-American, Asian-Canadian, and other Asian brothers and sisters feel that our experiences and our pain are not heard and do not matter, as if we are invisible.

However, to God, all of us matter. In Scripture, we are told that every one of us is made in the image and likeness of our God (Genesis 1:26-27). In the gospels, we are shown over and over again that Jesus sees the men and women who are in pain and suffering. When Hagar ran away, the angel of the Lord met her and she said of him, “You are the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13).

To my fellow Asian-Canadian and Asian brothers and sisters living across the country, God sees us and He hears us. We are not invisible. To my fellow Canadians of all other backgrounds, and internationals living across the country who have been affected by any form of racism, God sees you and hears you too. You are not invisible, either.

At this time, I invite you to come together and surround our Asian-Canadian and Asian brothers and sisters in our communities by:

1. Listening to our stories and withholding judgement
2. Being a part of the solution by denouncing anti-Asian racism in your areas of influence
3. Reaching out and asking if there is a way you can serve and support them so that they can feel safe getting groceries or going for walks.

As we remember and celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection, let’s remember that Jesus chose to take on a particular flesh and embodied interdependence across ethnic and social lines as He walked the earth. May the redemptive power of the gospel be displayed as we come together as one body to pursue justice and reconciliation, so that everyone may know Jesus by our love for one another (John 13:35)*.

Yours humbly,
Jillian Chong
VP, National Field
(With the support of the National Leadership Community of ISMC)

*A summary of the Statement on Anti-Asian Racism in the Time of Covid-19 by the Asian American Christian Collaborative.

The financial audit of our July, 2019, through June, 2020, fiscal year is complete. Although our income is down a little from last year, likely due to the COVID-19 economic downturn, we are grateful to report a small surplus. This is mainly because COVID-19 reduced our costs by preventing our staff from holding large group functions such as hospitality events and face-to-face Bible studies during the second half of the year. Those restrictions also limited travel by national leaders to support staff across the country. Many meetings with students and internal staff are done with Zoom.

We are grateful for the surplus this year. This is important for our National Ministries Fund, which in recent years had very little cushion to carry us through the summer when donations typically decrease.

Our funding comes primarily from donations of faithful supporters like you.

We aim to keep our fundraising and management costs at reasonable levels so the majority of your donations goes into ministry programs.

Thank you for your financial support of our mission to “empower international students to impact the world through Jesus Christ!”

To receive a full copy of our audited financial statement, please email keith.boody@ismc.ca and the auditor’s report will be emailed to you.

As my first mission trip and first trip to Africa, it has been an eye-opening experience (culturally and spiritually! During the 10 days in Accra, Ghana, we:

• visited several support partners (many faithful brothers and sisters in Ghana are supporting our ministry in Canada! Amazing, isn’it?);
• shared our experience with the ISM leaders at the Legon Interdenominational Church, a church based on the University of Ghana, and equipped them in building an international students ministry locally (I had the opportunity to present the friendship and hospitality program Friends for Dinner);
• attended a service at the Legon Interdenominational Church (Ghanaian style worship was powerful!);
• met many international students and had a gathering with returnees who studied in Canada in the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s (and they are now impacting the world for Jesus Christ!);
• watched the rehearsal of a play directed by a brother who used performance arts to address social issues with a Christ-centered message (I learned a lot about the culture in Ghana, and am specially impressed by their creativity in mission works);
• visited the Wesley Methodist Church and learned about the inspiring life journey of the missionaries who sacrifice their own lives in order to sow the seed of the Gospel in West Africa. Today, the church becomes a vibrant local church (praying that the seeds they sacrificially sowed will continue to multiply and bear fruits).
• had several powerful prayer times;
• studied the book Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership (as part of the quarterly National team retreat);
• visited the University of Ghana and met with the Dean to discuss opportunities to work together to connect international students to Christian communities.
• gave a presentation about ISMC at ITCONSORTIUM, a Christian IT company who is supporting our mission (very encouraging to see Kingdom-minded business people);
• and finally, we celebrated the 40th birthday of our dear President Yaw (a mentor and brother who greatly impacted me)!

I am very thankful to be part of this fruitful and insightful trip. Please join me to pray for God’s continuous guidance and open doors for ISM in Ghana and in Canada!