Our Y93 story! This is just the beginning!
Nothing BETWEEN Me & God
WRITTEN BY JEREMY DYCK
From the first moment I sit down in their soon-to-open cafe, Susanna Man and Alan Yau start telling me about how God works in the lives of everyday people, just ordinary “Joes” like them. They remind me God isn’t always performing massive, extraordinary miracles but that He works in small moments as well, just a powerfully and effectively. It’s their story and how God is working through small moments in big ways that I feel privileged to share with you.
Susanna and Alan have three kids, two girls and one busy one-year-old boy. She has her hands full caring for the home and the kids while Alan plays guitar on the worship team. They are soon to become first-time entrepreneurs with their new sushi cafe. They, on the outside, look like they have everything together in their lives. But that’s only because God has been powerfully moving in their individual lives and together as a family bring them to this place.
It all started with a surprise pregnancy in January 2017, catching them off guard in their plans for their lives. Both Susanna and Alan speak about how they were angry with God and shocked that He would interrupt their plans with this unexpected discovery. Susanna knew God was using this surprise baby to deal with past hurts and unforgiven sin. She had been ready to take the next step in her career plans while Alan was on the fast track to a manager promotion at his current role. Alan wouldn’t have the time or energy to manage a third child with the increasing pressures of his work.
And it was around this time that they moved from their Chinese-speaking church to FAC. Alan, an incredibly gifted guitar player who played often for the worship team in his previous church, was dealing with his own pride. He struggled with being on stage and serving his own selfish desires and not God. Although the opportunity to audition for the FAC band was presented to him, he didn’t feel it was right, and asked God to take away his pride before going down that road again.
How many know that when you pray a prayer like that, God answers and sometimes in humbling ways we don’t expect? Alan lost his job in the manager role, a crushing blow to his pride and ego. Alan talks about his shame and humility at losing their income, their future plans, and his prestigious title in his job. And it was two days later that he was asked to audition for the FAC stage worship role. God’s timing was both perfect and unexpectedly on point for Alan. This was technically an answer to his prayer, but to at all what he expected.
Now, with no income, no plans for the future, and a new baby, Susanna and Alan struggled to come up with the next steps in their life. But all throughout his hard time, they kept coming to FAC where every sermon, every song, every Scripture was seemingly directed at their hearts.
“God’s grace was so obvious to us. We saw it pouring down on us. I saw Him looking after us,” Alan points out to me.
God pointed Susanna towards the idea of starting a new business and Alan wholeheartedly felt the same way. In spite of not having an income and never owning a business before, they both saw God’s miraculous leading towards this next step.
And throughout the whole process, God’s provision was incredible evident. Receiving a steep discount on the location they were looking at, finding a lender for their down payment without ever asking for it, and getting free rent and utilities thrown in to the deals, Alan and Susanna said that God was working even through the agent they were using. They recall thinking that he was almost like a pastor to them. Every meeting they had hearing about all these unexpected blessings, they would have tears running down their cheeks as God came through again and again. It was through hardship and brokenness and true forgiveness that God has taught them about his mercy and grace that is unending and always available. And now, just a couple weeks away from opening, they’re excited too see how quickly God moved and how His hand was evident the whole way through.
“I aways ask God why He wanted us to start this business,” recalls Susanna. “I see now that it was for us to learn to trust Him, to face our own weakness, and know that we are meant to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us. He doesn’t just give us all good things. He allows us to face the difficulties, but he is still loving us no matter what.”
I ask them why they want to share their story with the church, being very open about their struggles and a painful reality about God dealing with brokenness and hurt. Surely, this can’t be easy to be so transparent before God and to the church as a whole.
Alan’s reply says it all. “There’s an incredible feeling of having nothing between you and God. It’s a truly great feeling to draw near to Him and know, without any doubt, that God is real and He is loving us.”
Other interesting read by Y93
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/62289297/storyline-winter-2018/18
