Serving the Seekers

October 08, 2014

Tabitha (Tabby) Yang, M.A.B.C ‘11

Tabby Yang currently serves as a staff member of L’Abri in Rochester, MN. She helps those who are wrestling through ultimate questions, and she gained many tools for her role while at Westminster. We recently spoke with Tabby about her work at L’Abri and how Westminster has helped her in her work.

Tabby came to Westminster for the Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling degree. Her first memories of her time here were of the people she came to know and love. “The first year I was there, I lived in the dormitory and just had a really wonderful community. It was great to spend some time getting to know my classmates, having fellowship, praying together, and learning a lot of deep theological truths, as well as [taking] the counseling classes together. Sometimes we went to the chapel and sang worship songs or had meals in the dining room together.”

The classes she took were formative for her theological understanding and counseling ability. “I think the whole emphasis on the heart and motivation was helpful to me, as well as the emphasis on the sufficiency of Scripture. I really appreciated the way that the professors in the counseling department engaged with Scripture seriously. Some of things that I was reading by Dr. Powlison I found very helpful and practical, and it gave me a greater appreciation for Scripture and its relevance.”

After graduation, Tabby applied to several different jobs in Pennsylvania, without any bites. She had visited L’Abri in the Netherlands previously, so as she was looking for a job, L’Abri more and more came to the forefront of her mind. “I wasn’t sure –the process of becoming a worker is a bit involved, so deciding to pursue that was a step of faith for me. But God really opened the right doors. Looking back, I’m thankful for how he smoothed the way for me. What I ended up doing was going to the English L’Abri, which is about an hour and a half southwest of London, and I spent two terms there as a student and then as a helper (which is basically a volunteer assisting with their day-to-day functions). After that, I spent a few months at the Canadian L’Abri helping out. I was thinking maybe I would join the staff there, but ultimately the position opened up in Rochester in 2012, and I’ve been here since then.”

Students come from all walks of life to stay at L’Abri for various lengths of time, and Tabby is involved in every area. “While they’re here, they stay with me and two other people who are on staff. We have two houses here, so I welcome students in, get them oriented, cook some meals for them, lead some discussions, give occasional lectures, and also do some tutoring work—which is essentially counseling, mentoring, and discipleship.” The center is open to students for six months in a year, and there is much happening in the interim to keep her busy.

L’Abri has provided Tabby the opportunity to use the skills she gained in class in a variety of ways. “As I look back on Westminster, I think there were two parts of my education [that have helped]: theological classes, which provided a framework and structure for how to think about faith, and the counseling classes [that] were more the practical outworking of that theology. Both parts have been valuable as I’ve been at L’Abri because the students who are coming have a pretty wide range or questions that they’re dealing with. Those things have carried over as I’ve been at L’Abri and have been helpful as I minister to students.”

Working at L’Abri has brought its own unique set of challenges. For one, it is not an organization that actively raises support. Because of this, Tabby has had to live by faith more often than not, and God has met her and her team there. She recalls an instance of that: “The roof of one of the houses was in need of repair. We waited several years thinking this is an issue that needed to get done, but we didn’t have the money to do it. So, we were praying that God would provide. Lo and behold, a few weeks ago, a parent of a former student asked us if we had any needs and if there were ways he could help out. We mentioned the roof, and he ended up giving us a sizable gift that pretty much covered the cost of getting an entirely new roof. It was a wonderful answer to prayer and an example of God providing for us in a way we weren’t really seeking out – we weren’t knocking on people’s doors or calling them asking to give. I guess the Spirit was working in this man’s heart and prompting him to give!”

She also has found that walking with the students who come in presents the simple challenge of interpersonal relationships. “I’ve met so many people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise if I hadn’t worked at L’Abri. Most of the people coming have grown up in church, or have some exposure to church, but as far as where they are individually and their faith walk, some are really struggling with some wisdom issue, or want to get a handle on some question or other. We don’t get to choose who comes! From time to time, there are people who test your patience, and that’s a character-building opportunity.”

In the midst of her interactions with students, Tabby’s prayer is to always remain faithful and that God would give her eyes to see all the ways that he’s working. “I think sometimes it can be discouraging when you see people struggling with things in a deep way, and you can feel quite insufficient – how do I help this person?”

Would you say a prayer for Tabby as she seeks to counsel, with the whole counsel of God, those who come across her path?