I was asked last week, “Why are you playing this game? Does it bother you that your organization is associated with Zombies? Is all the work we do planning and executing HvZ worth it?” After a week like HvZ (Humans vs Zombies) I feel like a zombie! HvZ week is a hard on members of CIA. On top of the chaos of school, work, life, and CIA we have to be available 24 hours a day for questions that students have. A normal day for me on HvZ consist of being at the campus from 10 am to around 10pm, except on Thursday and Friday when our day ended around midnight-1am. These hours it made for extremely long days. Now imagine throwing in a full time job, full time classes, and the all of life’s little quirks into the mix, now you have a glimpse of how our college students felt.
Why are we doing this? People would ask this question almost every day. The answer I gave them is because of what Jesus has done in my life. If you would have told me four years ago in college that I would be leading a game centered around zombies with the intent on reaching people for Jesus, I would have told you that it was out of the question. Jesus has changed the people in CIA. We do this game with the purpose of reaching people for him. During this HvZ week, CIA gets to share in more than playing a game. This game is an opportunity to share the love of Jesus. As people are sharing their journey we get to share ours. CIA views this game as a huge opportunity to share the love of Jesus with people that desperately need Him. People in CIA are exhausted but sharing the gospel in this way is very much worth it.
“There has to be a catch.” was the number one response. One guy told me, “let me get this straight, you put all this time and energy into this game with the purpose of telling people about Jesus? That sounds crazy.” It sounded crazy because it is. There is no catch. We want people to love Jesus. No money, no credit card, or social security number required. We are desperate for you to know about Jesus. Jesus who takes real Zombies and gives them life, the Jesus that raises people from the dead and thirsts for righteousness…. not brains, the Jesus that loves the unlovable, that’s the Jesus we get to share with the students at TAMU-CC.
Why is HvZ and Zombie Prom worth it? At HvZ we get to see all kinds of people. Geeks, jocks, foreign exchange students, even fraternity brothers. All kinds of people want to play this game. And here is the crazy part: all the students work together, laugh together, play together, share their stories together, they survive the game together. People are coming together from all walks of life in unity and loving on one another. These friendships last past the game itself, too. I see former groups get together talk about their stories over lunch then help each other with their homework. It’s beautiful. This kind of unity is something only God can do. People who are outcasts finding love. Just typing this makes my eyes swell. God brings all sorts of people together. Look at the disciples. They were from every walk in life together. I would venture to say that Peter didn’t like Matthew very much. Matthew was a tax collector and tax collectors weren’t known for their memberships to the better business bureau back then. When Peter would come in from a long day fishing he would see Matthew right there at the docks with money purse in hand waiting to tax Pete. That’s the culture. I have often wondered when Peter asks Jesus, “How many times must I forgive?” He had Matt (Not to mention John) in mind. But after they met Jesus none of their past nor their differences mattered any longer. Jesus can move any boulder even the “you’re different from me” boulder.
Thursday night, after Zombie Prom, I looked at the clock it said 2 am when my head hit the pillow and knowing that 6:00am was going to be around the corner fast, why didn’t Asher get the memo that dad had HvZ week? The girls question rang in my ears, “Is it worth it?” At 2 am, a resounding yes came rushing through my head. Now wait, exhausted, tired, voice cracking from talking all day and back hurting from sitting in the University Center’s “Lazy-boy” (the UC chairs are designed to be the most painful- sitting experience of your life) for 10 hours and I would do it all over again? Not only that but I was so excited about the “yes”, that I had to get up and pray for all the HvZ players at 2 am! I was rejuvenated with no sleep! Peace and joy swelled my soul.
At Zombie Prom Cyndi came to help put on make-up for all the college students. She did an amazing job. The make-up was delightfully scary. But something else happened at Zombie Prom. Cyndi did something I didn’t expect. She put on makeup herself and then danced with us. I think it was somewhere between the third or fourth verse of YMCA and seeing Cyndi joining in with people she wouldn’t usually associate with, I felt the Spirit of God speak to me saying, “This is how I work.” God brings people together; make no mistake about it, but more than that he lets us join in life together.
Zombies are a fictional creatures, although don’t argue that with the college students. However, the bond these students made are not fictional they are very real. CIA gets to share a very real Jesus with TAMUCC because new contacts have been established, new friendships have been forged, new bonds have been created through the game. And HvZ isn’t the end of our relationships with these students. Their journey has just started. We as a Church need to be on our knees for these students (CIA and the contacts). In more ways than one their game has begun.
Awesome blog! Love how everything came together and the bonds that were created. Hope y’all are well! *Kim*