Dear UUC students, especially new students.

I am Phong Ho, a graduate of UUC’s Master of Arts in Ministry program (MA), 2016-2020. The years of studying at UUC have had a good and profound influence on my spiritual life. It can be said to be one of important turning points in my Christian life. As an alum and a person who loves our school very much, I wish to share with you my learning experiences that have accumulated over the years. I hope this sincere sharing helps you on our learning journey in the coming years.

Do not worry too much about difficult topics.

I remember at the beginning of my studies at UUC, when I opened the class page, many times I felt confused, and worried that I didn’t know if I could handle the lesson requirements. Maybe you also have similar feelings – the temptation to give up and return to a normal life is always lurking. Please remember that, when deciding to accept you, the school has already measured your ability, so nothing is too much. Be patient, go slowly step by step, read the material, reflect, you will all get through and will find yourself significantly stronger. If you really don’t understand a problem, you can contact the professor to ask, they will help us enthusiastically. Then you will see how well UUC professors love and help their students.

Learn and do homework in a focused way. Don’t expect to finish it quickly to do other things.

Online learning, which is not fixed in terms of time, is an advantage. However, it is also a temptation for us to read books and write articles in a hurry to meet the demands of class. I used to have the attitude of rushing to finish the assignments to do other things. But it really didn’t work, and I paid the price. If you read without concentration, you will not understand. If you do not understand, it will take time to read again. Writing is the same, there are no shortcuts in learning.

Have a plan to tackle learning tasks proactively.

The good motto is still “as soon as possible.” If you know that assignments need to be completed, why not do it early? Some people are busy with some important and urgent work, but a lot of people do not deal with it in time because of a common mistake – procrastination. If we let the exercises “hang” in front of us, we will be very tired. On the contrary, taking the initiative to learn will help us really save time. For example, with the final lesson, when the professor has given you the topic, at the earliest time, read the relevant documents. Early reading of the necessary documents will make us relax, without pressure. While reading, we will see any information that needs to be quoted, take notes, then gradually visualize the article layout. When you have the layout in mind, you will feel very secure, and you will complete the final lesson well with a lot of knowledge and experience received.

Express independent thinking, personality, and creativity in each article.

The result of learning must be the development of independent thinking, and especially lessons that can be applied to your own life. In fact, that is also what the professor wants from the students. Everyone loves to read discussions and articles with creativity, personality, and originality. Don’t be afraid to criticize, even the textbook author, if we have really thought it through and have a solid argument.

Make friends and build good relationships with your classmates.

Be active to ask for email, phone number, Facebook of your classmates. Actively sharing knowledge and documents with each other can help us a lot in learning. Not only that, but it can also be incredibly beneficial in both our ministry and our lives. What a wonderful relationship in the family of God!

Actively search for and prepare rich resources.

Having good and rich resources available will give you an active attitude and learning will improve. You should go to the school library to see what titles are available. Look through the title and table of contents first for the main contents. Go to a believer’s home, especially the pastor’s home, and ask permission to look through their library. Look for software that contains Christian books like VietBible. I think we should buy the necessary books, at least the curriculum textbooks. They not only go with and help us for a few years of study but will follow us for the rest of our lives in ministry.

Most importantly, ask for wisdom and guidance from God.

The good news is that God wants us to learn and grow, and He is always there to help us on this journey. So, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Finally, your upcoming journey may be difficult, but it will certainly be a joyful and fruitful one. May God bless you a lot.

Phong Ho

A former student of UUC

UUC Newsletter, Jan. 2023.