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Imagining SEW Much More

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By: Joseph Chandra
                Students of all ages at Dalat International School are given the unique opportunity at the beginning of each year to refocus on God.
SEW, or spiritual emphasis week serves as a period in which students can deemphasize academic rigor and instead, emphasize spiritual growth through a variety of sessions highlighted by a special guest speaker. Yet, something about this year’s SEW was different.
This year’s theme was the phrase “Imagine More” and the speaker, Dr. Ron Walborn, dean of NYACK College and Alliance Theological Seminary, elaborated upon this theme through his sermons. His concise messages about healing, forgiveness, and grief resonated with many of the students. He shared amazing stories of redemption that challenged the community’s narrow view of what’s truly possible through God. By outlining actionable and simple steps, Walborn was able to give his audience the tools necessary to truly imagine more out of their lives. But it wasn’t Dr. Ron’s messages alone that made this SEW so different.
The worship team tore it up this year and played their hearts out. In both the noon and the evening sessions, they injected both energy and reverence into the crowd through their act of praise. The highlight of their performance, however, when, on the final day, they continued the Dalat tradition of playing the song “One Way Jesus”. The senior class led the way with their breathtaking dance moves and enthusiastic jumping. Worship was amazing, but it wasn’t the worship team alone that made this SEW so different either.
Senior stories, gifts of wisdom and life lessons, were shared to the audience by select seniors in hopes that their experiences would change how others imagine their future. This act of passing on wisdom is often regarded as many younger students’ favorite part of SEW. The brave seniors who shared their stories were Christina Beaman, Dael Kim, Corinne Fraley, and Grace Wan. When asked about the importance of her poetic message regarding grief, Grace Wan (12) responded, “I’m glad I got to share my story because I know many others have gone through this too, and it’s just good to remember that no matter what, Jesus loves you and that matters most.” Many heart-wrenching messages were shared over SEW, but senior stories alone were not what made this SEW so different.
                What did make this SEW so different? All the aforementioned things were great, but alone, they can only do so much. This SEW was different because the Dalat Community opened its heart to Holy Spirit and allowed God to act through SEW to an extent never seen before. God is doing great things at this school: from moving hearts to planting seeds to healing old wounds. Yet, we can’t be complacent with where we are now spiritually. We need to continue to further our relationship with Christ beyond the present. SEW is an amazing reminder of how we need to carry Christ throughout the year. So, here’s to an amazing, God-filled year.

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