Student Testimony: Chase Lenard

I am a fourth-year student attending Louisiana Tech and I am planning on graduating next year with a Bachelors in Studio Art. Many things have changed in my time at Louisiana Tech. I used to commute to school, but now I am a residential assistant in the dorms. I have switched majors once and have fallen in love with painting. I have made many friends and been a part of many clubs and organizations on campus, but, through it all, the Wesley Foundation has been my home. It is where I am challenged to grow to be a Christian in community with others and where I am humbly called to follow the Word of God.

Looking back on these past years, there was frustration, stress, depression, anger, and pain. Life is not always sunshine and rainbows, but, in hindsight, most of my troubles were self-inflicted. Perception is something that is quickly twisted. In my pride, I resisted all that God had called me to surrender. Many days I felt like the walking dead. Before I switched majors, late nights working on architecture homework kept me sleep-deprived. A good grade dictated my personal worth among other smaller idols and gods that I chased after. I remember almost bragging about the lack of sleep and coming into the Wesley exhausted to pass out on a couch. These attempts for validation left me empty. College is hard and, to me, anything but perfection was unacceptable. These ideas and expectations were made in my social isolation. I was involved with clubs, friends, and other activities, but I always felt a public face had to be kept up. I was ashamed to ask for help. Whenever I felt confident, I would pile on commitments and activities to keep busy. I could never allow myself to find actual rest, and often I would cycle back to procrastinating my work and commitments with manic surges of productivity. I could not allow myself peace because I felt like I never deserved it. Halfway through my freshman year, I heard about Wesley mission trips and went to an interest meeting about them one night. My interest in the Cambodia trip pulled me into the Wesley and the people kept me there. 

Deciding to go on a mission trip was a huge commitment. My mission leaders that first year made it clear what I was getting into. We met once a week, sent out support letters, committed to a covenant (a signed commitment to pursue Christ and one another), and much more. I had committed to being part of the Wesley community and I had to give up other commitments or learn how to balance the new ones. My friends and team depended on me and expected me to be present emotionally and intentionally. My mission team leaders taught me what weakness looks like and demonstrated dependency on God’s grace. After my summer missions and through the rest of summer vacation, I grew to miss the people on my team and the rest of the Wesley. It was when I returned for the Fall quarter of my sophomore year that I knew I was a member of the Wesley. 

Through switching majors and learning how to put my value in God’s love, my brothers and sisters have been there for me. The students here at the Wesley have a radical kind of love that I have not experienced in many other places. They love others for who they are and where they are, in their mess and all. I see God's love in the Wesley and how much He loves me. From self-hate and destruction, He has delivered me from my day-to-day walking dead. My journey at the Wesley has been a path to vulnerability that started with my Cambodia mission team. Getting to know them and the example they set for me challenged me. Shame and doubt blinded much of my daily thoughts to the joy and opportunities around me. I had to stop playing the Christian and act like one.

I have discovered new joys and freedoms this past school year. I have a new excitement for Sunday school and mission meetings every week where before I felt the need to keep face. I have learned to be myself, unashamed in the fullness of Christ’s salvation. Not everything has been easy. Temptation still comes against me, and I must die daily to the flesh. I have made a family at the Wesley that will last longer than my time at Louisiana Tech. My friends continue to meet me with grace and compassion that I do not deserve and with love that I will not be able to repay. The Wesley community is quirky, joyful, vibrant, generous, kind, and a little weird. I must say that it is weird to find a dedicated group of young believers that is so ready to love others. The Wesley has cared for me and others beyond Tech’s borders, and this summer, I hope to be doing the same on mission in Mexico.

Chase Lenard has been a beloved member of the Wesley since his freshman year at Tech. He’s a funny guy, doing stand-up comedy sketches at our Open Mic Nights that have the room roaring with laughter. He loves exploring new places and dancing. He is excited to be going to Mexico on a mission trip this summer.