Led by Dr. Sisi Chen, AUHS Director of Institutional Research and Assessment
Attendees sat in a circle and were given a list of passages from both the Old and New Testament of the Bible. The attendees took turns to read each passage out loud and shared what each excerpt meant to them on a personal, professional and spiritual level.
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Pastor Gregory Johnson, Co-founder of AUHS, emphasized the importance to seeking wisdom in order to relate with one another, better communicate and support one another as a University and as fellow Christians.
“2017 is going to be an incredible year for all of us. I know how blessed all of us are going to be and I know how much we are going to grow. So we really need wisdom in our communication with each other. We need wisdom in our love for each other,” said Pastor Johnson, “Wisdom is such that when you seek wisdom from God, God will help you navigate. Let’s encourage one another, let’s support one another, let’s help one another.”
God often gives us wisdom through trials and tribulations.
“God always put us in a place where we will be tested for our weaknesses,” said Dr. Kim Dang (Hon.), Founder of AUHS, “If we do not have patience, God is going to surround us with people who will test our patience. If we have anger issues, He is going to put us around people that will make us see red. Because that’s how we learn.”
The key to God’s wisdom is through understanding when that wisdom should be applied, said Dr. Dang. Understanding God’s wisdom allows us to know when it’s the right time to act and what are the right words to say and when to apply what you have learned.
Habakkuk 2:2-3 And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end- it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
It is beneficial to write down your hopes, dreams and aspirations so one day you can look back and see how far you’ve come and if your prayers had been answered.
“If you have anything in your heart, don’t let it sit there! Let it out, say it, ask for it, and it will become reality. Like all things in life, it will take time but you can make it happen one day at a time,” said Aya Almukhtar, AUHS Admissions Coordinator, “Even when you are not clear on what you want, ask God for His wisdom. Always ask Him, ‘Please God, show me clarity, show me the path, give me the reasons and the signs. Send the right people in my path to make my dreams come true.”
If you care for someone, it’s our duty as Christians to do all you can to lift them up and make their dreams come true. Encourage one another as you would encourage your own family members.
“I would never say to my children that they are worthless. I would never say to them that they will not be successful. I would never say to them that they can’t do this, there’s something wrong with them,” said Pastor Johnson, “I’m going to say to them that you can do as much as you want to do, you are going to be greater than I had ever imagined.”
Pastor Johnson shared the hopes and dreams he had for his children. His youngest child, Temujin, is the birth name of Genghis Khan.
“Before Temujin was born, I wanted to have a child that would go to China to take the gospel,” said Pastor Johnson, “Genghis Khan conquered China so Temujin was named so he would to go to China, take the gospel and conquer it. That is what he’s named to do, that is what he’s inept to do.
He then talked about his vision for his daughter, Alexandria.
“Alexandria is beautiful. Before she was born I asked God to give me a prophetess who would be beautiful and comely so that men would see her and listen and then she would speak to them the words of God,” Pastor Johnson said, “You have to get people’s attention. Get their attention, and then speak.”
It all begins with a thought. Everything that we say becomes reality. Be mindful of how God answers our prayers.
“Whatever makes us happy, I really believe God delights in giving it to us,” Pastor Johnson said, “I’m not one of those people that believe our God is a bad dad. Our God is not a stingy dad. He’s a great dad and He’s a loving dad. He’s a much better father than me and I love my children.”
Acts 2:17 And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
“This is powerful because we think dreams are for young people but not for old people,” said Dr. Dianna Scherlin, AUHS Provost, “God is there in the beginning, God is there at the end and He is waiting for us. When we’re done our dreams, our visions, our hopes will be given to us.”
It may take time for our dreams to become actualized and our prayers to be answered.
“Our time is on God’s time, our way is not God’s way. We may think we know God but we don’t know what He is thinking and what His perfect plan is for you,” said Dr. Dang, “The things that we want, a lot of time if it’s good, if it’s noble and if it’s it’s according to the bible, He’ll give it to us at the right time at the right place.”
The reason why people think God is slow to answer our prayers because we want it today. But things that seem slow for us is slow for a reason, according to Dang.
“We need to clean out whatever it is we need to clean out so that by time God gives it to us, we hold it and we can bless other people with it,” said Dr. Dang, “It took us 6 long years to get the nursing approval from the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) because we were an anomaly.”
When Dr. Dang and Pastor Johnson started AUHS in 1994, the BRN only gave BSN programs to non-profit or state schools.
“AUHS was weird to them, we weren’t like any other school,” said Dr. Dang, “We took a beating, they told us to get out of their backyard and go somewhere where there were no other nursing programs.”
Dr. Dang and Pastor Johnson went through many trials and tribulations when they first started AUHS.
“Some people who gave us a support letter told us they had to take it back because other people who were higher-up told them that they can’t give it to us. God took us through 6 whole years of people saying ‘No,’” Dr. Dang said, “But if we didn’t have that experience, we wouldn’t have tried CCNE and we would not have attempted to deal with WASC because we would have thought that we were too small, we don’t have the capacity, ability, and we didn’t look like everybody else. We would have stopped that dream.”
But Dr. Dang and Pastor Johnson were blessed with people who supported AUHS like Kaiser Permanente and RAND Corporation. The Director of RAND even sat before the Board of Registered Nursing in support of AUHS.
“The other for-profit schools weren’t there. West Coast didn’t exist, National didn’t exist, none of them existed. For-profits were not in the realm of the Bachelors in Nursing. AUHS opened the door for all of them,” said Pastor Johnson.
About American University of Health Sciences
AUHS is a Christian based, minority-serving university, which educates students for careers in the healthcare professions. AUHS emphasizes the values of faith in God, love of humankind, and belief that all people have a right to healthcare and deserve a good quality of life based on wellness of body, mind and spirit. The university celebrates diversity, and reaches out to groups currently underrepresented in healthcare and research. AUHS provides the undergraduate and graduate curriculum, hands-on practical training and supportive environment required to create competent and compassionate healthcare professionals.
American University of Health Sciences is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), 985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, 510.748.9001.
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