How Continual Surrender Shapes Faith, Marriage, and Ministry

We trace a journey from college plans and depression to a daily practice of surrender that reshapes calling, marriage, and local mission. Chana shares life among refugees in Chicago’s West Ridge, why betrothal made theological sense, and how faithful presence changes a block.

• Moody years shaping spiritual formation and resilience
• Moving from one-time to ongoing surrender
• Reframing missions beyond overseas to local presence
• Practical care as credible gospel witness
• Marriage as a picture of Christ and the church
• Choosing betrothal and a two-ceremony path
• Courage for clear invitations within trusted relationships
• Support through prayer and newsletters

Transcript

Alumni Welcome And Setup

Stephanie 0:02

Hi, this is Stephanie Shafer, and you're listening to the NorthStar Narrative, a podcast from NorthStar Academy. I want to thank you for joining us. I hope you're encouraged, challenged, and motivated by what you learned today. Enjoy the story. Hey everybody, welcome to this episode. I'm excited, really excited, always fun to have an alumni joining us from NorthStar. And so today we have Chana Noah. And her family has been an incredible part of NorthStar. I just love every one of them. And yeah, always think about her mom, Marilyn, who just plugs in with the parents and is always so welcoming. And their whole family is great. They've visited our graduation and then been a part of our graduation so many times supporting us. So it's always fun to um hear more about what's going on with the Noeth family. And so Chana has some great updates since graduating from college and um, yeah, graduating from NorthStar. And so I can't wait for her to share. And I know it's going to be a real encouragement as you hear her heart for Jesus, her heart for people that God has placed around her, and then her um recent marriage and um such a special time with her husband, Nathan. And so can't wait for you to share and just get to hear more about what God's doing. So thank you for taking some time to talk with me today.

Chana 1:28

Yeah, it's a pleasure. Love NorthStar. So yeah.

Stephanie 1:32

How many times have you been on the podcast before?

Chana 1:35

Uh only once before. Only once a student, spiritual life leader.

College Years And Spiritual Formation

Stephanie 1:38

Yeah, yeah. I knew at least once, but I couldn't remember because we've had so many fun students talking about Stuco and stuff. So this isn't your first time. All right, so tell us, give us an update um on what's been happening, especially college, how God, you know, really used that time in your life um to grow you and prepare you for what you're doing now.

Depression, Doubt, And Daily Surrender

Rethinking Calling And Control

Chana 2:01

Yeah. So um when I graduated NorthStar, my plan was to go to Moody Bible Institute, which is where I graduated from, and study applied linguistics to become an English teacher overseas. I really wanted to serve God in that way. I grew up in Indonesia and so I saw just the beauty of going wherever the Lord leads. And so went to Moody and really it was a very, very formative time. It's very much a place that seeks to grow the people, the students, both spiritually and academically, and in every way of life, really, just to challenge us and grow us and form us spiritually. So I experienced a lot of growth, which is also very challenging. There's a lot of um, there were a lot of difficulties through whether it was academics or just a super fast-paced life. Um I struggled with depression, especially my second semester. Um, so there were a lot of different challenges, you know, family issues and other people um in my life really struggling. But I feel like one of the biggest things that I learned was the importance of regularly surrendering my life. I hit a point where I was like, God, like, did I actually give my life to you the did I do it right? Basically, because I still see I still see that I have sin. You know, I I still can tell that I am not sanctified. And I really struggled with that, and I realized um something I had been struggling with regularly um throughout my life, and I realized that um I had this view um that you give your life to God once, and then it's like done. Um and there are a lot of beautiful things about evangelicalism. One of my professors would always be like, Evangelicalism, a wonderful place to be. Um, but that is one of the the aspects that it can sometimes communicate. We only need to give our life to Christ once, and then our life is just kind of perfect, and uh we have everything figured out, you know, this 180 idea of like everything was a mess and terrible, and then I gave my life to Christ, and now I'm doing everything right, and it's everything's going well. It almost sounds like a prosperity gospel, but the reality is that he does change our lives, and it's also continual change until the end. And I realized that um very profoundly, and I realized that there were still things that I needed to give up to God. Um, for example, you mentioned that I'm married. Um I actually went into college saying I'm not gonna date anyone while I'm in college. I'm here only for the degree. I'm getting this missions degree, I'm going overseas. Because a lot of people do go to college with an eye to um, especially Christian schools, to find a helpmate for a life. And I was like, that's not what I'm here for. These guys are all brothers, and that was something that the Lord um after my sophomore year kind of brought to my attention halfway through it, of Chana, do you have lines that I can't cross? Like, if I brought a man to you and said, like, and and and he was like everything that you wanted, and he asked you to date him, would you say yes? And I was like, at that point in time, I would have said no. And I was really shocked by that of realizing that I had my own ideas of how things should go and would go. Not that I never wanted to get married, but I had my own ideas of how things would happen, and I really um had set those boundaries, and so realizing um that it's a continual journey of okay, Lord, what is it that you want me to surrender to right now? What is it that I'm trying to control? Because as humans, we like to have things be under control. We like to know that all the variables are taken care of. Like even we check the weather app, you know, before we decide what we're wearing. Like we really in lots and lots of ways like to have control, and technology helps us have control. Um, but it it's it was so important for me to realize okay, God, what am I not surrendering? And it's different every time. And some things like I had to surrender multiple times. Like, if there was like a certain person in my life, the relationship that I was really struggling with, and giving that to him, and then a couple weeks later realizing okay, I need to give this to him again, because sometimes we have a tendency to pick things back up that we set down, and so that was a huge thing for me. Um I also had this vision of going overseas directly after graduating, and that didn't happen. I'm not overseas right now. Not that the Lord will never take me overseas, I don't know. But really, I realized that I had this idea that's what's um kind of the best way to serve the Lord, um, which is so false. Like to some the Lord calls to another country, and to some he calls to their really difficult neighbor next door. And there's not a more valuable ministry. Um, for me, the Lord called me into marriage um a couple months after graduating, and that's something that needs a good foundation, a good at least first year of making sure that um the right things are prioritized and we're seeking the Lord and we're building each other up and learning how to how to adjust to that. And so that's something that we have chosen to stick around in Chicago for the first year. Um, and the Lord has also opened up beautiful ministry opportunities in that that I realized, wow, if I had never gotten married, I wouldn't have stuck around and I would have really missed this. Um and so his like path is definitely the best one, but first I've learned I have to relinquish what I want. I have to say, okay, I want this, but if you don't want it, show me what's better. So that that's a huge lesson that I learned in through college, through my college years. Yeah.

Stephanie 9:41

That's so good. We have very similar stories.

Chana 9:46

I did not realize.

Stephanie 9:48

Yeah, because I was like, okay, I'm going to college, I'm gonna study to be a doctor, go to med school, and be a medical missionary overseas because that was the best way to serve God. Being overseas mission, yeah. But I'm not overseas. However, with NorthStar, we are, and so you had that experience, you know, being a student here, and we get to, you know, how many, how many calls were you on that were literally sitting here talking to several continents at once?

Chana 10:22

You know, too many to count.

Stephanie 10:24

Yeah. So that probably put the love in your heart for missions too, you know, being a part of so many TCKs, MKs, and um yeah, so how good is God that He does give us better, better than what we can imagine, and how I can sit here and talk to students all over the world and get to minister and how NorthStar can pour into families and students as they're doing ministry on the field in all different countries.

Chana 10:48

Yeah.

Stephanie 10:48

So love that.

Chana 10:50

Beautiful how those loves can be used even in the places that we don't expect. Like I would think that a love for overseas and other cultures and unreached peoples and missionaries would lead me to the field, but even just right now, I'm part of a Ministry for Third Culture Kids uh website, um, and able to minister to third culture kids in that way.

Stephanie 11:20

Yeah.

Chana 11:21

And, you know, in my church, I'm able to talk about what it's like to live overseas and encourage people who are looking to go overseas as they ask questions about, you know, what's it like, and what about these parenting challenges? And so it's encouraging to see how God uses those things too in the places that we don't expect.

Stephanie 11:47

How many years did you live in Indonesia?

Chana 11:50

Seven years.

Stephanie 11:54

And how many years were you on NorthStar when you're in Indonesia?

Chana 12:01

I was in NorthStar for five years. Three of those years were in Indonesia.

Stephanie 12:11

Yeah, so God prepared you in so many ways. Okay, your neighborhood. Tell me about your neighborhood and what God is doing there.

Neighborhood Ministry In West Ridge

Chana 12:19

I am really excited to talk about my neighborhood. Um, so I live in Chicago, as I mentioned. Um and kind of how I ended up here is the of course God. Um something that Moody does is it requires, sorry, I'm backtracking a little bit. Moody requires all students to participate in um what's called a PCM. Um it stands for Practical Christian Ministry, and so that means that every single student all four years is actually doing ministry once a week somewhere in the city of Chicago. And that's one of the reasons why the location of Moody is so great, is because there are so many ministries in Chicago. You can do pretty much anything. Youth ministry, whatever. So my second year for my PCM, I joined a or my PCM was with a refugee ministry in uh north part of Chicago called Devon Oasis. And I was placed through that ministry with a particular refugee family. They have five kids, they're from Burma. I'll talk more about that in a minute. And I was placed with them. So every week I would go to their home, help with homework, help them on with English, and also just build relationships and try to talk about um my life with Christ. Um so I was placed with that family my second year, and I chose to stay with them. You can every semester decide if you're continuing. I chose to stay with them for my whole last three years of college. Um, so I spent the last three years invested in the this one family. And now this one family, they're Muslim. They're from Burma, but they're a people group called Rohingya, and I don't know how many people know about Rohingya. I'm obviously in a very niche place that everyone knows who the Rohingya are. But the Rohingya are a very displaced people group. Um, two-thirds actually of the Rohingya globally are displaced, um, so millions of people. They are originally from Burma, but historically there has been a lot of persecution from the government and from other people groups in Burma. So there was a genocide um early, early on, like a couple about 20 years ago, there was a genocide, and um many, many Rohingya were killed um just because of who they are. The the government doesn't doesn't like them and is very unkind to them. And so a lot of them fled. And so they went to Bangladesh, they went to Malaysia, they went to lots of different countries. Um, and there are many Rohingya in those places now. But some of them eventually trickled their way to the United States. Um and so Chicago, a lot of Rohingya made their way to the neighborhood right now, which is called West Ridge. Um, West Ridge has way more than just Rohingya. It was originally a Jewish neighborhood in about this in the 70s. Very, very Jewish, all the grocery stores, the population, um, and there are still Jews in this area. And then a bunch of Indian uh immigrants came and Pakistani, and then obviously the wave of Afghan refugees, and now the neighborhood is called Little India colloquially. There are a ton of Indian restaurants. The main central street, which I live a couple blocks from, is called Devon Avenue.

Stephanie 16:29

That's why you love curry so much.

Chana 16:32

It's everywhere, I'm jealous. I loved curry growing up, but it's really nice to live where I can buy cheap curry at a restaurant. Uh yes, I I do love curry so much. Yeah, so there are a ton of Indian restaurants and grocery stores and other ones too: Pakistani, Afghan, Rohingya, and um so it's just a very, very diverse community. And statistically, too, if you Google West Ridge Facts, um, it is the most diverse neighborhood in Chicago and one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the United States.

Stephanie 17:14

Wow.

Who Are The Rohingya

Chana 17:15

Yeah. And it is also very densely populated. So in Chicago, the average population density is 12,000 people per square mile, which is a lot of people, but West Ridge is 30,000 people per square mile. So it's very, very populated. Um, we have people also from South America here, Venezuelan. Like there are people from everywhere, and what's so great about that is there's so much opportunity for ministry. Um, back to the Rohingya, they're actually an unreached people group. If you look up Rohingya and Joshua Project, they do not have a complete Bible in their language, they don't have they have portions of the New Testament. Um, they don't even have uh one set written language. There are five different ways of writing their language, and there's not one that's agreed upon. Um, so there's a lot of need, and these people live are from places that is very unsafe to go to. Um, but they're here, and they're they need help and they need people to love them. And so that's where Devon Wasis comes in, uh, reaching out to refugees, not just Rohingya, but they're a lot in this area. Um, and just being a friend to them and being the hands and feet of Christ, uh, welcoming the the foreigner and saying, We see you as people, and what do you need? You need diapers, you need English, you need help with filling out food stamp paperwork, you know, whatever it is. Um, your kids need help with homework because the parents don't really understand English, or maybe didn't even graduate high school. Um, so just meeting those practical needs and talking about the hope that we have.

Stephanie 19:17

Yeah. Yeah. Wow. I love it. Love where God's placed you, that you're embracing that. And yeah, there's no joy like the joy of Jesus and then the joy of serving as he would serve. And so I can see that all over your face and hear it as you share your story. That's so good. So good. Chicago. Um, so Chicago's in the news a lot. What through your eyes, what is it like to live in Chicago in general at this time?

Chana 19:50

I mean Chicago's like anywhere else, it's full of people. And so, you know, when you see places on the news, even the most extreme places, like they have people with kids who are just trying to live life.

Stephanie 20:08

Yeah.

Chana 20:09

And you know, when you live in Chicago, you learn certain ways of like navigating, like I know like which public transportation not to go on after a certain time of night, you know? There's ways to be wise, but it's also like full of people, and that's one of the things I love about Chicago because there's so many people from so many different places. Um, even in the neighborhoods that people don't like to talk about or in the neighborhoods that are in the news more like they're full of people trying to live life, trying to make sure their kids live past the age of 13. And so, yeah.

Stephanie 20:50

Yeah. Being there, seeing the people, um, the humanness of it, instead of like the people that aren't there, just seeing something on the news. Um, same thing with Memphis. Memphis is in the news a lot, but now, you know, National Guards come in here, just all the things. Um, but there's people here, lots of refugees in Memphis that you know everyone in Memphis, no matter where they're from, need Jesus and practical needs, and yeah.

Chana 21:17

Yeah, and everyone has a story, and normally that which is sensational is not it's not very humanized.

Practical Care And Gospel Presence

Stephanie 21:26

Yeah. I love that. That's why I love the podcast so much. Everybody that comes on has such a unique story and nuggets of wisdom, like all the nuggets you shared with us, just that you're learning in college, and that you were open to listen to God's voice. And yeah, okay, you can change the direction. I thought I was in control. We're never in control. We think we are, and we want to be. But yeah, I love how you listen to God and where he's planted you, you're like there, making roots, and he's growing you and then using you in all kinds of ways you can see, but then ways you don't even know. Um, and the people, yeah. Just going into their homes and loving them. There's no greater, greater joy than that. All right, what's it like to be married? Um, I know you've been married for a short time. Do you want to share a little bit about how your marriage experience was different than really anybody I know with two ceremonies?

Life In Chicago Beyond The Headlines

A Betrothal Story Pointing To Christ

Chana 22:26

Sure, yeah. So, with getting married, one of the things that Nathan and I, as we were moving towards marriage and our separate journeys and also together, the Lord really showed us how marriage is so much bigger than um than us, than any married couple that we know. You know, we know people with good marriages, people with bad marriages. Um, but it's not about the best marriage that we know on earth, it's about the marriage of Christ and the church, and that's what Ephesians says. Um, when Paul's talking about Genesis 1, he says, This is this mystery, and I'm talking about Christ and the church. And so in our marriage and our marriage journey, that's something that we wanted to display. Um, and so we tried to be really intentional about the ceremony, and so with that, we opted to, instead of getting engaged, we opted to do betrothal. Um, and if you're like any normal person, you're like, what is betrothal? Um we are hopefully familiar with Mary and Joseph's story, but if not, then Luke and Matthew, um, they were betrothed, and it's described as um Mary got pregnant, but she was a virgin, but Joseph is described as her husband who was allowed to divorce her quietly, and so it's really confusing because they're married, but they're clearly not married because it was shocking that she was pregnant, um, because she was supposed to be a virgin at that time, and she was a virgin. Um, and that's because in Jewish custom they would for a very, very, very long time, they don't do it very much anymore, but they would have a ceremony, a short ceremony, where they would basically become legally husband and wife. There would be some signing of a document and a couple of witnesses, and they would be legally husband and wife, but then they would both go back to their parents' homes, and the betrothal period is considered a period of consecration, um, sanctification, holiness, whatever word you want to use. Basically, this idea of setting apart and preparing, and so it's legally binding, you can't break it off except to get a divorce, it's that serious. So at the moment of betrothal, you're you're effectively saying, I promise to be your spouse for the rest of my life, and we really love that level of commitment. Um, marriage and our culture now, for a lot of people, I mean, some people are not even getting married, but for a lot of people, it's just about what can you give me? Like, what am I getting out of you? And why would I want to marry you? Oh, because you make me feel good or you make me happy, or financial benefits, or whatever it is. And so the idea of getting married and not consummating that yet, but making that commitment. Commitment is normally the thing that we don't like about marriage, making that commitment and saying, like I love you, and you're so worth it that I'm gonna wait for this period. I'm gonna um we're gonna prepare for this because it's really serious. Um, we're not living together or anything, is really um says a lot about the holiness of marriage, and that's what Christ did on the cross. He he said, You are mine, and you belong to me, and I'm and I'm betrothing you to myself. And then when he went up to heaven, he said, I'm gonna come back for you. And so we have this idea, this picture given in scripture of Christ waiting, actively um preparing a place in his father's house, which is the Jewish custom. The husband would build an addition to his father's house, and when his father said, Okay, it's done, then he would go and get her. And so there's idea that she would not know when he was coming, and the idea that the father was the one who had to go ahead. So that's where in scripture we see Jesus say, no one knows the day or the hour except the father. And um, this idea that we don't know when he's coming. Um we just know that he's going to come and we're supposed to be ready. All these ideas come from that Jewish picture of betrothal and and this idea that we as a church are waiting for Christ to return. And so Nathan and I had a short ceremony. Um, we really struggled how do we depict this um married already and not yet. And so we opted to actually sign our marriage license um in our betrothal ceremony. So we were betrothed in March. Um, we had a short ceremony and we had went through some scripture passages about marriage um and signed the marriage license. We exchanged rings and we had communion. Um, sharing the cup is something that the Jew, Jewish ceremony um often included, and also communion points to the sacrifice of Christ. Um, and then we ended the ceremony with um Nathan said, kind of, I will return for you and I'll prepare a place. And then he left. And um my mom had veiled me, and we sang, um, even so come, like a bride waiting for her groom will be a church ready for you. Um, even so come, Lord Jesus, which is kind of the last verse in Revelation. Um, the spirit of the bride say, Come. And so we ended with that, and then we waited. We lived separately, we we we waited to be married, and so people were very confused, you're wearing wedding rings, like you're legally wait, so you're legally married, so you're married, and it's like, yes, we are married, our legally, like our our anniversary legally is March, but we had a a a wedding ceremony, like you would picture a ceremony and a reception and all that in July, and that's when we um went to our home after that and made a home together, and um, in that ceremony, we exchanged vows and we had a time of worship. Um, we started that differently as well because we wanted to picture the waiting of the bride for Christ. So actually, I was the one at the altar waiting for Nathan. Um, and I actually showed up before pretty much anyone else. So um it was really funny to see the people coming into the wedding, like doing a double take, like, wait, did I get the right time? The body is at the altar, like, am I late to this wedding? Um, because I was there first and singing just in a time of worship of just songs about the return of Christ and waiting for his return. And so we started the ceremony with that same song, even so come. And uh then there was like this procession, and Nathan came in. My little brother kept a Running to the back to see if he was coming, and so he ran to the back, and then he the third time he came back. He he kept running to the back, checking, and then he would walk back, like, no, he's not here. He looked kind of disappointed. Then he would run to the back the third time, and he ran back shouting, he's here, he's here, he's here. And so many people said that that gave them chills and the just like him running down, shouting, he's here, he's coming. Um, and then the doors open, and Nate possessed in with his parents and his groomsmen, and yeah, we just wanted to picture the return of Christ in that way, um, and how we all are living in that anticipation of we are already with Christ, but there is an aspect that we still desire to be with him. Like Christ has a physical body, and his physical body is in heaven right now, and so that that reality that we do have the Holy Spirit, and he is with us, and he's also not with us, and it's right for us to long for that and to uh wait for that with anticipation.

Stephanie 31:06

I love it. In Hana's newsletter that she sends out, um, she had sent links to the video of the betrothal and then the wedding. And so I was able to watch both of those ceremonies and yeah, and then just now hearing you tell the story after it, and I can picture it, you know, in my mind watching it is incredible because you made this whole time of the engagement, um you know, signing the papers all the way to the celebration, um, all about Jesus completely. And you like lived out the picture of what Ephesians says that marriage is all about, and it really is to be a picture. Um and so yeah, you just started so intentionally, like it's incredible, and how I know God is blessing y'all and rewarding you and will continue because you've got that picture, that foundation that you played out for the world, and yeah, so that's gonna carry you. Almost like uh Yeah, here's the way we started, here's the way we're gonna continue to live to point to Jesus and glorify him through how we treat each other, through what our marriage looks like. And doesn't mean it's not gonna be hard. Marriage is super hard in so many ways, because it's two selfish people having to lay down their lives for Christ every day. So kind of back to how we started. Yeah, that surrendering when we give our life to Christ. Um we do enter into you know that relationship and we get to put on that um Christ's righteousness and know that we're being sanctified. But it's a process every day of surrendering. So I love that. I love hearing about everything that's happened um since NorthStar. Just incredible how God is using you. And yeah. So what as we wrap up, what are you doing right now? What are your plans that you know of, the path that God um has set out for you?

Waiting, Vows, And Sacred Commitment

Chana 33:18

Yeah. Um, so I'm currently, yeah, living in this neighborhood, Westridge, and working with Devon Oasis, um, actually as a staff member of Support Raising for that currently. And um just I made a two-year commitment. So we're gonna be here for two years, and after that, the Lord only knows. Um just seeking to be faithful in that, um, along the lines of continual surrender. Even just right now, I'm having to surrender um different uh fears and anxieties. I mentioned that I've been pouring into one particular family for three years. And in the past couple months with Devon Oasis, I've met many, many other families that I'm now building relationships with and um teaching and stuff like that. But the Lord has really opened doors with this one particular family, and they have they trust me and they know that I care about them, and there's a lot of opportunities to speak into their lives now, and with that, there's a lot of weight that that responsibility. I don't carry it lightly, and I know that the Lord is asking me to share the gospel with them and to present invitations to the the people in that family, and that's a heavy thing because I know the cost for them and their culture and their family and their religion, um, being Muslim. And so that's something that I'm currently surrendering to the Lord and seeking, like, okay, Lord, when do you want me? And and will you give me the words and will you help me to get over um my fears for them, my fears for what they'll think of me and these things? They know I'm a Christian. I've definitely talked many, had many conversations um and talked about many aspects of Christian life, but wanting to um be more direct and intentional with them now that there is so much trust. And I feel like people talk about the importance of relational ministry all the time, and I would say it's really true. It's interesting how much easier it is to be bold when you're doing street evangelism and you know that you're never gonna see that person again. And I really say to people who do street evangelism, ask yourself, would I be saying this in this way to someone that I love and care about? Because when you really know that person and love that person, it's so much harder to um give them a costly ask, but it's so much more important, it's so much more um emotional because I'm like, I want them to know the hope of Christ, and I want them to experience his love, and I want them to have eternal life and all these things. Um, but it's also risky. Uh so that's one of the many things that I'm surrendering right now. Yeah.

Stephanie 36:19

Yeah. Well, I thank you so much for sharing just the sweetheart that God has given you for him and people, and yeah, so we can be praying for you for the ministry that God has for you. How can people support you?

Chana 36:35

Yeah, um prayer for sure. If someone wants to be on my prayer newsletter and hear more, um, or even hear more about supporting you financially, um, they can reach out to me if you want to put my um contact information. I can give you um one that people can reach out to. Yeah.

Stephanie 37:00

Right. Yeah. Well, I know God's gonna continue to lead you every day and um continue to write the story that he has for you and now your new family um with Nathan. And so, yeah, wow, it was incredible to spend time with you and to listen to all God's doing. So thank you so much for joining us.

Chana 37:20

Likewise.

Stephanie 37:24

Thank you so much for listening today. If you have any questions for our guest or like information about NorthStar, please email us at podcast at nsa.school. We love having guests on our show and getting to hear their stories. If you have anyone in mind that you think would be a great guest to feature, please email us and let us know. And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on upcoming stories.