(ignore)ance

This week I have come across a few very ignorant people. Quite ignorant actually. I had a conversation with someone who didn't know "what Darfur is" and also someone who didn't know that AIDS was running rampant in Africa.
I was shocked that people could be so ignorant. At the root of ignorance is the word ignore and I started to wonder what type of things I ignore in my life all the time. I choose to ignore so many things, and so many realities that are a large part of others' lives. Many times I say a believe in something, when in practice I do not. What are we, as Christians choosing to ignore everyday that are tearing apart our minds/lives/bodies and negating our testimonies? That's about it. Happy 4th of July my fellow Americans.

The Obvious

Readjustment is difficult. It's not very fun. I'm struggling.

Here I am, discussing the obvious again. Of course coming home would be hard, I knew that when I left FOR Hong Kong. Well, it is. There are so many adjustments. I feel like I felt when I was first adjusting to Hong Kong, only this is home, and it's supposed to feel, well, like home. And it doesn't really. I am also discovering my identity, yet again. Way back in September, I was discovering...
Christ is sufficient
Surrender
Submission.....

(PM had a four word catchy thing, that reminded me of Sonlife, which unfortunately, I cannot remember it in it's entirety, thankfully though, the results of those lessons have remained)

Well, I'm listening to Delirious? which has an amazing version of MY GLORIOUS, which I am copying a portion of it.

God is bigger than, the air I breath, the world believes that God will save the day, and all will say, my Glorious.

I was reading Proverbs 16 today, and I don't remember which verse it is, but it says that the LORD detests dishonest scales and weights, and then continues to say that God is the one who holds the bag that the weights is in anyways.

At this point in time, I feel dizzy: like someone made me put my forehead to a baseball bat on the ground and spin around forty times, and then told me to run in a straight line. Not that I'm literally dizzy, but this whole readjustment thing is very disorienting. I guess this is the part where I say that I'm glad that God holds everything and that it's all going to be back to normal once I give it time. Which I do believe. I believe that what is happening in the world is bigger than me, and that my life is just a minute portion in an amazing hand woven rug that extends over the universe. I do believe that. And I believe that God is good, and I know that I am His, and that I am in the shadow of His wing. But I'm saying, that it is so hard to run this race when I am feeling so dizzy. There's a reason why He said it wouldn't be easy.

New Feature

I'm adding a new feature to my blog (yeah, it's a post, hahahah, just kidding!). It's called "IMPORTANT QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK". Here are the questions of this week. If you have an answer, post a comment!

1. Do sharks have tongues?
2. Why does Mitsubishi own a pencil company? (I know because I am holding one of their pens in my hand)
3. Why does a pencil co make pens?

Who knows, eh?

The Rebarbative Stages

My time here is winding down. More like plummeting quickly to an end. I'm finding myself so conflicted about it. I am getting so excited to see my family, but at the same time, I know that once I leave here, it's like it's officially over. This chapter will have an abrupt end no matter what. And that end is a week from Tuesday when I leave "On a jet plane...don't know when I'll be back again...". Pardon me while I drift into a TimeLife infommercial from a midnight in my past. The other day I was helping to paint Mike and Melissa's new flat and talking to Ryan, another friend that was painting. He's a teacher and he and his wife and baby moved here around the same time as I did. So he asked me what was the best thing that I've done while I've been here, and I had to think long and hard...and still didn't come up with an answer. So I'm going to start working on this post, and keep adding to it, and probably publish it in a week or so. Just to warn you, it may get sappy at the end. =) Some of my favorite times in Hong Kong:

*learning how to wakeboard in Sai Kung on the Enns' boat
*tubing with the Enns and whoever else was on their boat at the time
*playing Settlers with the Enns
*going to Macau with PM and Mel and Izzy to "get my passport stamped", and to also look at furniture
*falling asleep with Izzy in a rocking chair the same day
*babysitting Izzy
*the first time Izzy ran to me with her arms open
*going to Thailand for American Thanksgiving and seeing NWC students there.
-seeing James Bond
-seeing the Prestige
-having the most unconventional thanksgiving ever
-getting my haircut without any verbal communication
-seeing people that I recognized in Asia
-chatting with Dr. E
-DQ and Dunkin Donuts
*Leading the youth worship team
-the thousands of times asking for feedback from the group and getting blank stares, even though all of them are extremely gifted musicians...they like to go with the flow
-playing all hymns one Sunday and bombing them
-playing all new youth songs, and bombing with the congregation
-worshiping in sync
-doing adlib song writing
-spending time with the team
*Getting lost for over 2+ hours late at night (I pretty much almost crossed the border into mainland) Thankfully, Brett NEVER turns his cell phone off and always answers it!!!
*Realizing that I missed my stop by two stops, but deciding it would be easier to wait till the bus came back down the same route on it's return...Though I knew it was a circular route, I didn't know that it takes almost 2 hours to complete. Whoops.
*Getting hopelessly lost in TST and being only a few blocks away from where I was supposed to be
*RISK with the youth pastors
*Getting lost a block from church, (Ok, we'll make it three blocks)
*Missing my train stop twice in the same trip
(As you can see, I have many fond memories of getting lost)
*Trying to get to starbucks at the border crossing and almost getting arrested, this happened twice
*Sleeping on a sidewalk in the heart of the city on a pizza box...this was when me and Brett waited all night outside of the 2nd Krispy Kreme to open...and yes, we did win the golden ticket!
*Going to SoHo every Sunday after church to get 2 dozen Krispy Kremes...that got really old...and fattening...
*Going to Ebeneezer's with Scott...he introduced me to it
*Going to Ebeneezer's with anyone.
*Ordering over the phone for Ebeneezer's
*Sleeping over and PM and Mel's.
*Dai Pai Dong
*Having Christmas with PM and Mel...Christmas dinner rocked...
*Walking from Hung Hom to TST at Christmas time
*Exploring the heritage museum by myself
*Going to CROSSROADS INT'L with CAIS as a chaperone...getting to live in the "slums" there for a night and doing simulations
*Going to CROSSROADS with the youth group
*Going to Thailand with Mike and Melissa and Izzy...
-having fun with Sangkor
-Eating spicy salad
-Eating DQ..a lot
-Exploring a Sangkor Fair by myself...it was sweet that I sort of blended in...
-trying new Thai delicacies, and mumbling everything and pointing so that they wouldn't know I only spoke English
*Riding the bus with Angela Chan after Revolve and discussing China vs. Hong Kong
*Going to EXP with Angela Li
*Going to EXP with Angela Li and Vania...discussing everything from Manga, to boys, to fashion, to God, to devotions, to birthday presents, and family
*Watching Angela Li use chopsticks
*Angela trying to teach me to use chopsticks properly, which was every time we ate together
*Listening to Ben Chan play piano
*Chinese New Year
*The youth group's Thanksgiving
*Singing at Keswick
*Discussing ways Vania could possibly die before our next event
*Lunch Bunch days with the Youth Group
*Din Tai Fung...esp with Melissa...=)
*Going to an intra church meeting at the Mother Church
*Finding my way to a theatre without getting lost
*Going to band concerts
*My 20th Birthday
*Standing in the hall holding hands with people from all corners of the earth singing Christmas Carols and praying
*Playing the Friday songs for Dorie
*Making coffee in the office
*Lunches at CAIS
*Girl's Bible Study
*Lunches at ICS...or at Dunbar Snack...hahaha
*Playing the piano at the funeral of the father in law of a celebrity and sitting five seats from that celebrity. Then hearing from PM about his lunch with him the next day.
*Watching Caleb try to lick his elbow
*Finding out why Angela is nicknamed Manson
*learning how to teach...this is still on going
*The development of the coffee house in the office
*Tuesday morning meetings with PM at PCC
*Hanging out with Lori...Tai Po, the Big Buddha, talking in the kitchen...that woman has wisdom galore
*Time with Dorie...she literally knows everything, and is so humble, loving, and fun.
*Being there for Izzy's 2 year birthday...and remembering that I was there right before whe was born
*Hanging out with Melissa...Esprit, the ghetto of Hung Hom, the lanes, baking Christmas cookies, getting advice, seeing her laugh at a random Christmas song...she's amazing
*Lofty Virtue
*Listening to Angela and Brett discuss Manson and Eminem
*Staff meetings...ok, these aren't always exciting or enjoyable, but meeting together with the others in the office is always good.
*The weekly CD warehouse run with Beckel after church
*Buying eggs for the Easter egg hunt, actually, coloring them was the fun part. I ended up buying 200 brown eggs without realizing it.
*Google Paper
*Friday night train rides home
*Mong Kok with the women from church
*Activities with the Rainers
*Having my Mom visit...that was so great!
-going to Cheng Chau, the Peak, MK, tea ceremony, seeing her actually get excited to shop
*Teaching a lesson that clicked with everyone...and receiving a trowel of righteousness
*Packing...NOT
*St. Alp's Tea House
*Being humbled and overwhelmed by love.


That's all for now. It's now Monday evening and I leave in the morning tomorrow. I cannot believe that these 9 months are over. I have learned so much, been taught so much, loved and been loved so much. God has watched over me blessed every step that I've taken. I feel so lucky that I have the opportunity to serve here. I'm beginning to realize a little bit more about being a servant. This weekend, I was drowned by love and generosity from the youth group and people at the church. People would thank me, and the only thing I could think is, "This is so backwards...THANK YOU! I am feeling quite...well, indescribable at this moment. I am turning the page with great weight and hesitation, yet excited for what lies ahead. The people and experiences won't be left in my past, nor shadow my future, but I carry them with me, and run toward the prize.

Fusion

Sunday night was a night that I will remember for a long time, and one of my highlight times that I've had in HK. Sunday afternoon Dorie, Emelda, Ave, Map, Melissa, and I met at the MTR to go to spend time in Mong Kok. We had quite the group: Dorie and Emelda are Filipino, Ave is a Kiwi (from New Zealand), Map is Chinese, Melissa (White-American), and Me (American-but-no-one-would-guess-it). None of us noticed how odd of a group we looked until we sat down to dinner.
We met in the MTR and then headed toward the Ladies Market. I'd never been there, and I think it was one of the best I've been to. It was fun going with Map, because she grew up in the area, and of course is fluent in Cantonese. So she bargained for us and showed us how to get food at the side stalls along the road. We all got Bubble Tea for $5 HKD, and where I usually get it, it is $20+! And everyone else got hooked on it too. We also fish balls and they were actually good. After wandering through the hyper crowded Ladies Market (seriously, there could easily be a million people there...if not, at least 100,000), we wandered around to Temple Street Night Market, which is the most famous night market in Hong Kong. Then we ate dinner at a Dai Pai Dong Restaurant that her friend owns. Dai Pai Dong is an outdoor street restaurant. According to HK magazine, it's a dying cultural landmark. We had amazing food. Well, it was mostly amazing. We had Oyster bake and clams. The clams were so delicious! I could've have eaten just those. We also had Chinese Sausages, chicken feet (I only could finish a toe), radish cake, and egg pudding stuff. It was great. The best part was just hanging out with some of my favorite women in Hong Kong. It was a great way to spend time with them and to see a side of Hong Kong that I had never seen before, even though I had walked those streets before. Here's a few pictures...

It's Been a While

Long time no post.

So much has been happening, and I'm kind of dreading writing this post. But I'll just have to bite the bullet and do it. I have been writing in my sweet leather, old-world-map-with-Psalm 24-written-on-it Journal. So I have been writing in there, which makes the chances of blogging a lot slimmer. So let's see, what has been happening lately:

*I leave a month from Tuesday
I'm really quite confused about how I feel really. I'm excited to see family and friends, but I will miss all of my new family and friends that I have made here. It's extremely bittersweet, so I'm trying not to focus on it too much so that I just use my time wisely. I'm actually a tad nervous about readjustment. I tend to get emo and try to bring everything back with me when I leave a place (like, pretend I'm still there almost and try to still live there in my mind). That last statement may make sense, and it may not. But that's all the explanation I'm going to give.

*Last week was the much anticipated holiday in Thailand
I was able to go to Thailand with Mike/Melissa/Izzy on their family vacation. It was a great time to hang out with them, soak up some rays (I went from milk chocolate to dark chocolate), swim, explore a little bit, and eat DQ!!! We ate at DQ three times, AND bought an ice cream cake. It was magnificent. Now if only I could find a Taco Bell... It was Sangkor, Thai New Year and the Water Festival at the time we were there. It was the third New Years of 2007 that I've celebrated. And I think this was my favorite. It's a country wide water war, and people have buckets of water in the back of their trucks and someone will sit in there and splash people. And if you were walking by someone with a hose, WATCH OUT! It was great. The Thai people are so laid back, friendly, and they are not bound by social classes as I see here and elsewhere. (At least, not to my knowledge...which isn't too much.) The world was proven to be quite small again: The place we stayed at was run by a woman from MN, there was a family from Iowa there who are currently living in Bangkok, and there was another guy from Bangkok who is from Virginia. It made me laugh, especially the Iowan family. Who knew they could be so adventurous!? Hahaha. Izzy enjoyed her time by the pool and was in that thing every second she could be. I was trying to get her to say, "Hannah" by the end of the vacation, but for some reason, she associates me with cookies and so every time we tried to get her to say my name, she would say, "cookie". It was cute, and I do slightly resemble a triple chocolate chip cookie.

*Today: It was kind of a crazy Sunday. The youth worship team played and I also spoke to another youth group immediately afterward. The worship team hardly got to practice this month, so I was really worried that we might bomb this morning. But I know it was totally God answering my prayer, because, it went great, in my opinion, one of the best. Man, if the "He is strong when we are weak" works this way, maybe we should cancel all practices. Completely kidding there! I've known about this talk at HKMBC for quite a while, but, as I tend to do, I procrastinate a bit, and I wrote it this week. (HKMBC is a Mandarin speaking church with an English speaking youth group that has their service on Sunday.) When I wrote it all out, it was OK, and by the end I was pleased with it, but when I got up to speak, I had a few jolts and pauses. Although, I feel like my speaking isn't as forced as it used to be. It's just remembering where I'm going. I seriously don't think that my brain works independently while I'm speaking publicly. It's kind of like I'm speaking to get through it. I mean, I believe what I'm saying, but I don't quite enjoy it totally while I'm doing it. I think that will change as I do it more. However, I am grateful for the practice and learning, and I think that a few kids may have been tracking with me. So that was good, and the experiment/example that I used a volunteer for seemed to go over well. So after that, I took the MTR a ways, then took a bus to Sai Kung for a youth event we did today. It was wakeboarding/tubing day. A parent has a boat here, so he was nice enough to agree to taking the youth group out. We had close to 20 people too. So while half the group was boating, the other half explored the cute town of Sai Kung. Today I finally got up on the wakeboard for more than 10 seconds. It was great. And it was cool that a lot of kids who wouldn't normally do fun things like this, got out and did it. Afterward, we all went for pizza, the typical and most vital component to any youth gathering. J/K.

*Well, that's about it for now, I'll try to write more in my last days...a few prayer requests though:
-Pray for Pastor Mike and Melissa, they have been given the opportunity to move into a bigger flat at a better location. However, there are two flats to chose from and both locations are wonderful, and the owners of the flats particularly like them, and are giving them a choice. Pray for them as they are in this quandary and are considering all the options for both areas.
-Pray for me as I try to get back into school: There are a lot of things to register for, fill out, etc. to get back into Northwestern. I'm finding it particularly difficult and frustrating to do thousands of miles away. Also, pray for me as I finish up the my distance ed courses! Finals week is coming up and I have a LOT left to do! Thanks!

First Sign of Spring

Today I saw it, the first sign of spring in Hong Kong.


Most people, when they think of the first sign of spring, they think of nice, marvelous, springish things. The first sign of spring can be many different things, such as:
*The snow being completely melted
*Baby Birds appearing
*A Robin
*The date that the groundhog foretold
*The first flower
*Planting season
*Muddy season
*The semester coming to a close
*Leaf buds appearing on trees

These are all logical things to call the first sign of spring. But today, I saw the first sign of spring. It was horrible. It was hideous, and oh so unnecessary. Does that ever stop it from happening? No. It's spring, they're back again: OLD MEN IN SPEEDOS. Yep, they're back. The lovely walk alongside the harbour has been quite enjoyable this winter, and I forgot why. But as I was walking today, I heard a splash, and in goes an old guy, into Victoria Harbour to do his laps, then out of the water climbs another old man. Thankfully, I only saw three, but soon, it will be up to the 20s or even more. It's the sign of spring. Of...old life that tries to be young. Of things that shouldn't be worn out in public.

Now, for the record, I do plan on swimming in Victoria Harbour myself before I leave. I think that it has got to be the most polluted water in the world. But it's just something I've got to do. I will however, be wearing appropriate swimwear.

I realize that I haven't blogged in a while, just about things, so let me just fill you in on how life is going. It's been quite full, as every spring anywhere seems to be. We had our spring retreat REVEAL about 3 weeks ago. That went really well. I started a post about it, but it is still in the drafts folder. It will probably be posted soon. Last week me and PM were both recruited to go to CAIS' High School Camp. That was pretty good. And we also had our Annual General Meeting last Sunday, and this Sunday is our 2 year anniversary as a branch church. Then the next Sunday is Easter. So things are hopping around the church. I have been taking two distance ed courses through NWC, so I've been keeping up with those, along with stuff at church. It's going fairly well, and I think it might be a crunch, but I'll get them done in time. The rugby sevens (or "The Sevens") are this weekend in Hong Kong with teams from all over the world...so every male, and every rugby fan are all psyched about this weekend. The second week in April I am going to Thailand with Mike and Melissa and Izzy on vacation. It will be a good time of hanging out with them and relaxing before I start the interesting/tiring/emotional process of preparing to go home. Already I have started to prepare, like housing at NWC for next year, a job for this summer, etc...

Well, that's all for now. Please pray :
*That I would be able to get all the details ready for college next year, it's kind of confusing to get it done on this side of the ocean and not being able to talk to anyone in person.
*That I can get all my course work done on time.
*That I would use my time wisely here.
*For my girls Bible study, due to certain circumstances, it may be restructured.
*For the Youth worship team, that the kids wouldn't feel discouraged and that they would be able to just enjoy playing.
*For me as I continue to learn about leadership and teaching. I speak at another church on the 22 of April, so pray for me as I prepare for that.

That's about it! I'm gonna go hit the hay, I'm sorry that this wasn't a very detailed post. If any of you guys back home have any questions, or would like to know more about what's going on, just email me!

Attack of ADD

I'm pretty sure I've just suffered from the worst attack of ADD I've ever experienced.

I'm taking two courses over Northwestern's Distance Ed. Program. The program is great. I've never done distance learning, and the only thing similar that I've had was homeschool in years 3-4. And I can barely remember that, I'm not sure if I purposely blocked it out. All day today I've been planning on taking my midterm exam for my Christian Theology class. So after I got home from babysitting, I immediately grabbed my water bottle, computer + power cord, large Bible (with concordance and index), Knowing God by J.I. Packer, bottle of nail polish, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and my course binder. I sat down at the dining room table about 9pm. At about 9:20 or so, I stopped checking my email and logged into the course website. I got into the test. Only 8 questions...fabulous. Or not so much. The test was open book, meaning that I could use my text book, the extra books, or the very large Bible. That's a lot of resources to use when you're trying to convince a professor that you understand the point. So yeah, by question 2 I was averaging about 28 minutes per question. It was at that point that I realised it was going to be a LONG night. I got distracted by everything!!! I don't think I've ever been more distracted. I had to get up to fill my water bottle, to get a snack, go to the bathroom, paint my nails, drink nescafe to keep me awake, watch Seinfeld, take off my watch, stare blankly at the screen, stare blankly at my reflection in the patio doors, and stare blankly as I thought about all the other things I have to do before I go to sleep. Anything that I could get distracted by, I let myself be. So I finished, finally 3 hours and 47 minutes after I sat down to start. And now what am I doing? I'm blogging about it so that I can procrastinate on going to bed (it doesn't make sense, does it?) But hey, I think I did OK on the test. And now, I'm going go pack for camp tomorrow. Wahoo, Batman!

My Perfect...Moment

I'm having one of those perfect moments right now. This weekend at the retreat, we did this exercise where we went through all five senses and thought about how we saw God in them, and that's what I'm going to do right now to draw you a mental picture. It's 10:35pm. I got home about an hour ago, I had Bible study with a girl and then we hung out for a bit. I've already taken my shower, so I feel nice and clean and refreshed. I'm on the roof of the Enns' house, which is one of my top three places in Hong Kong. I brought this computer up to work on a video for this event on Saturday, but you know me, I had to check if I could get internet signal up here, and, well, you know what happens after that. While I was walking home, I saw the rooftop, and a ton (for Hong Kong anyways-about 25) stars, and decided it was warm enough to be up here. Here's the scene:

Right now I see the light post that is on the corner of the roof wall. Also a few stray pieces of laundry hanging on the line. I see the village houses surrounding this house, most of the houses are dark, except for 5 houses with dim lights on. I see mostly clouds unless I look straight up. There is a lot of light coming up over the mountain tops. If I had a sense of direction, I could tell you if I was looking at lights from China or lights from Kowloon. (Yes, I do know that China is north and Kowloon is South from here, but I haven't figured out yet which way is north. So let's just say I'm looking at China.) I am sitting in a plastic lawn chair, with a matching stool next to me. On it is a Coca-Cola coffee mug with cold water, my iPod, and my cell phone. I really only need one of those things right now, the water. I thought I really wanted to listen to music. But this is one of those rare moments in Hong Kong when music would not be an improvement. I'm wearing my pajamie pants and my hoody (not a jumper as Beckel would call it), so I am quite comfortable. I can feel a slightly cool breeze, that kept blowing the door open and shut, until I propped it open. I can smell a tiny bit of fresh air, and a lot of Herbal Essences. I can hear a few random dogs barking--thankfully not the ones next door or I would be tempted to drop something on them--traffic far off in the distance (it isn't that unpleasant when it's far away, almost like the ocean waves or something), the wind rustling in the trees, and the click-clacking of the keyboard. I taste onion-ess, sesame, and fruit jelly. I was given some Thai candy earlier. I am touching the chair I am sitting on, and the computer, which is warming up my lap.

I am experiencing God in all these things. This evening I spent some time with a girl from the youth group. She's going through some challenges right now. I wish I could solve them for her, or even help her solve them for herself. It's really frustrating. I wish I could change people. I think that is one of my challenges in life: I wish sometimes I could change my friends, the people that I don't get along with especially, sometimes my family, God, and myself. And the thing is I really can only change myself, and even that's subjective. I can change my relationship to those people though. I wish that I had answers for her, or even sound advice. I'm not sure I gave her either. I tried though. But in reality. It's up to God. And while I've been learning to make my advice not sound so flowery and Christianese (ex. Trust God, He'll take care of everything, or just pray some more, the answer will come) sometimes the truth is just those things. The things that are easiest to say, and hardest to do....and sometimes it's not. Someone told me that I always know what God's will is for me: it's that I love Him with everything, and love others. C.S. Lewis gave me a different perspective on loving others. He said that loving them doesn't mean that we have nice feelings for them, or even like them. (Previously I thought that if we forgave them, eventually, the good feelings toward them would come back.) Lewis was talking to a people in the middle of WWII. How were they supposed to "love" the Nazis? He said that truly loving someone means loving them like you love yourself. A lot of times we do things even we don't like, but we forgive ourselves, and wish we hadn't done it and weren't facing the consequences. He pointed out that we should wish it weren't so when someone does wrong, not glad that they'll be getting their punishment. That we wish deep down that it wasn't so, and that somewhere along the line, they get all those kinks in their soul straightened out with God. I'll tell you, if I lived in Nazi Europe, I would have a tough time not wishing that those men would go to hell. But that is not loving them.

I think this moment that I've been having for the last half hour is God telling me that He holds it. All of it. I can't have the answers nor should I.


What a relief.

Tin Roof Tonight

Tin Roof Tonight: Sounds like a Chick flick, or an ice cream, or add "baby" to the end of it, and it could be an emo song. But I'm actually talking about a tin roof. It's raining right now, and I just realized that I think both of my umbrella's are at the church. I haven't posted a serious blog for a while. But I think it's time. Besides, it's raining, which means I can't go outside, which means I have more time to do my homework, which I put before playing RISK tonight with friends. And I'm sick of doing schoolwork, ergo, a blog. Right now, I'm kinda in the bittersweet part of this whole experience of being overseas. I'm missing home, and family, and friends. But at the same time, as soon as I know it's time to pack up, my heart will be rebelling for all it's worth. I also don't really like the fact that I'm missing those things so badly, because in the future I plan on being gone from home quite a bit longer.
I look around and realize the blessings that I've been given these past 6 + months. I was sitting in Habibi's with two new friends on Saturday night, and realized that several friends wanted to do things with me that night, while, in the beginning of my time here I was spazzing out because I thought I needed friends so badly and didn't have any. But when I learned (this lesson isn't done being learned though) that Christ is sufficient, I wound up having several good friends. People and families that I love spending time with. I live with an awesome family, and even though they're Canadian (hahah, just kidding), they rock. They threw a birthday party for me, and encourage me to keep playing Settlers (even though I lose 4 out of the 4 games we play a week), and continually invite me to go wakeboarding, even though I have yet to do it. And I get to be an aunt to a little (almost) 2 year old whose aunts are far away. I work in an office with a coffee maker 8 inches from my head, but it is still encouraged to go to Pacific Coffee for meetings. An office where the Friday songs are, "Kung Fu Fighting" and "You are Beautiful". Where the secretary really does know everything, and where the cultural differences among the staff are so different, that I must keep myself from laughing when menstruation is mentioned in a prayer meeting. An office where my boss only says he's my boss when he is forcing me to accept something generous. And a job where I am forced to work on myself as a person, like learning to be patient, to speak in public, to pray, teach, and work on a mac. I am so very grateful for all of these things.
I thought I had more to say than that. I started off giving myself a large slot of time. So people at home, I miss you, I still am very glad to be here, I'm still learning, growing, and stretching, and learning patience (I knew that was a bad thing to pray for...it always gets answered by way of testing!) Just one more thing:
While you're at home being buried alive in snow...this is what we have here!

Kangaroo and Diddley-doo

I was rather disappointed when I realized that the Webdings in my last post showed up as Arial font or something. But I'm hoping it's just my comp, which has been acting kinda strange in the area of fonts lately. Otherwise, that last post looks stupid, and other than for the reason that I never blogged that night. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to write, but I know that if I don't, a few things (10 to be precise) will happen:

1. If I don't blog soon, I may never
2. If I don't blog, I will get flack from PM because I let another night go by blogless (or postless, as he would correct me)
3. If I don't blog, I might actually get more sleep
4. If I don't blog, then I have to stop
5. If I don't blog, then I'll have to write a longer one later
6. If I don't blog, then I can't honestly say that I have
7. If I don't blog, I could actually do something useful
8. If I don't blog, then I'll have to go inside and use the washroom, which I'm avoiding at all costs right now because I'm comfortable in my bed.
9. If I don't blog, then I won't be able to get this list up to 10, and right now, that's pretty important, because if I don't, then it will drive me nuts... I may have just discovered that I have OCD, just from blogging...amazing
10. If I don't blog, then I can never say, "Ha, I made it to ten!"

Ha, I made it to ten!!!

I will blog soon (I don't want to restrict myself to a timetable) and tell what is actually going on, but for now, I must go to sleep.

My Promise

I promise I will blog tonight.

Tranlation from Webdings language to English:

"I promise I will blog tonight".

I'm in Love

Happy Valentines Day! Yes, it is officially as of 47 minutes ago. I've always loved valentines. Especially that one year when me and Bethany Veldhuizen dressed up as cupid (with clothes) and we made our own bow and arrows that actually worked, and we had wings and halo, and pink, and girlishness, and we ran around school trying to hit everyone with our coat hanger bows and our chopstick arrows. Good times, good times. Basically, what I'm doing right now, is procrastinating. I think it's just something I have to do. I even do it with things that I love. For example, sleep. I love sleep, and yet, I'm avoiding it. Why? No one knows. Maybe because I get flack for never blogging. Anywhoo. Yes, I love sleep. Do you know what else I love? James Morrison: 21, British, and sings like an angel. And yes he is a real person...I found him on iTunes the other day. He was the free download of the week. Go to jamesmorrisonmusic.com...you'll fall in love too. That sounded strangely reminiscent of an Time Life infomercial.
So I just finished watching an episode of ED. Oh the drama in a bowling alley. It was one of those cheesy romance twists, and you think you know what's gonna happen, and then they surprise you, but then you think about it, and you're really not that surprised. And then you wonder if they are going to be predictable. Or predictably unpredictable. I like that show. I got an email from my dad today. I've got to say, I've got the best dad in the world. Not a "#1 dad baseball cap" dad, which every dad has, but a real, live, #1 dad that hardly anyone has. Anywhoo. This has got to be one of the most scatterbrained posts ever. Here's a Quote about Love to get everyone thinking about the holiday, if anyone can guess the author, I will give you a fantabulous prize:

"But now that I know...I love"

Think about it

A Commentary on Life

I have this voice in my head. I'd like to think it's me. Actually, it is. I'm a people person, and, I'm also sometimes critical. I read blogs, books, have conversations, and am constantly surrounded by people. (Sometimes too many. Today I was on the KCR-train- and I was touching five people simultaneously. It was not a pleasant situation...thankfully it is winter, and no one has BO and I had my iPod to whisk me away from the sound of the masses) I'm also a thinker, a tangent taker, and quite random. Today I was on the bus on the way home, and I saw a guy picking his nose, and I immediately started a monologue with the voice in my head.
It went something like this,
"Ughhh, he's picking his nose. On the bus. Why is he looking at it? I know the bus sometimes seems like personal space, but it isn't. Why is his pocket bulging? Does he have another McFish in there like he just finished? Who would put a sandwich in their pocket? What is that big book on his lap? It looks like a large Chinese Bible. Why would he be carrying it? Oh crap, there goes my bus stop, now I'll have to walk back from the next stop!"
And that's how it went. My exact thoughts. Strangely similar to Elaine on Seinfeld. I am constantly have a commentary on life going on inside my head. I was having a conversation on AIM today, and I was like, "Why the heck is the person so stubborn? Don't they see that...blah, blah, blah?" Then I was reading a blog, and I was like, "Oh, honey, this stage won't last, keep your chin up." And the commentary continued. I am constantly making decisions based on this inner commentary, some of them aren't so good. Some of them are quickly judgmental, based on what I assume. Some of them are harsh, and irrational thoughts. It makes me wonder how many people have a commentary on my life. And what they think. This can be an entirely paranoid and overwhelming thought. But the truth is, only One Person's commentary really matters. And He is the other voice inside of me. Lately in Revolve we have been talking about silence, listening, hearing, posture. All very good, valid, and horribly difficult things for me. (And for most people, I'd like to assume.) My commentary drowns out His voice so much. And yes, I do like my random thoughts and tangents, but if I don't allow myself to shut up inside and hear what He is saying, my commentary on life will become the reality of life. And that's far too much of myself. My mom used to say that I like to talk to hear my own voice. It's true.

My Musings

Here are some things that I've been thinking about lately:

*Guys should NOT shape, wax, or pluck their eyebrows (unless they are bordering on a unibrow)
*Is it bad to forget to bring your Bible to a prayer meeting?
*It's always easy to be willing to learn when you're in a new place, because you have to learn, because it's new. But when you're used to a place, liking to learn gets a bit harder
*Dipping bread in olive oil is a good idea
*It's good to taste again (after having a cold)
*Who really is the best super hero ever?
*I'm going to try to smuggle a bamboo shoot back to the US
*My time here is going WAY too quickly.
*It's really ironic to be taking Race & Ethnicity in America over Distance Ed. Especially when I'm not in the states.
*I wish I could speak Cantonese or Mandarin
*Or at least decent Spanish
*Pizza hut is not a great place to go for a birthday
*It's a good thing that places here don't have sprinkler systems...we lit a cake with 17 candles in Pizza Hut w/o anyone yelling at us or getting sprayed with water.
*Climbing over a wall that has a thorn tree growing over top isn't a pleasant experience
*I am woman, hear me roar, I climb over an 8 foot wall. Oogah, oogah (Cavewoman voice)
*Lilies are definitely my favorite flower
*Contacts shouldn't be left in for three days straight
*Sportsmanship doesn't seem to develop in males until age 13 or later
*It only costs $10.30 to mail a large card to the states (that's like $1.50 USD)

Unaware

Tonight after (R)evolve I stood on the train, in the usually position: leaning in a corner. I had my new iPod out, and was playing solitaire. I don't like to read when I'm standing, so I usually find something else to do if I don't get a seat. That, of course, is a huge waste of time since I only get a seat about 1/2 the time. So I was standing there, playing solitaire on a tiny little screen, when I decided to take a look around me. I noticed a guy on the bench adjacent to me, on the end, reading a book. Bibles are really, the most recognizable books in the world. I had no doubt that it was a Bible, and not a Koran, the book of Mormon, or any other type of prayer book. Whoever decided that all Bibles should look relatively the same was a genius. Unless, they don't, and it's just something a fellow Christian knows. I found myself observing him almost the whole rest of the train ride. My heart just seemed to warm as I watched him, and I felt so connected somehow, connected to God, and to him. I looked at the Bible, and it was in Chinese, and it made me smile. I felt closer to him than to anyone on the train (the kids that were with me in the beginning left), and he was reading the Word of God in Chinese. It was great. I felt compelled to whip out my Bible (by that point I had put away my game of solitaire and was feeling sufficiently guilty for not attempting to read because I was standing up...) and start reading, or run over to him and say, "Amen brother!" and walk away.
He encouraged me so much. I watched him turn a page, then turn it back, and reread it, he was studying his Bible, and taking pleasure out of it. So often I don't study the Bible when I'm on my own. I just read it. I usually only study it when I need to for a class or lesson or something. He has reignited my fervor for reading on the train, especially my Bible, I never will know who I encourage. I don't know why watching him gave me so much pleasure (he wasn't cute, it wasn't that...) but I was so encouraged, and it gave me joy knowing I was connected with him through the Holy Spirit. And the whole time, he was unaware.

Lost in Interpretation

So I've been thinking a lot lately about interpretation. Earlier (like a few months ago), I was thinking about interpretations between people. The way people interpret what you are saying isn't necessarily what you are actually trying to say. People have these frames in which they are framing everything you say. In the same way, when I say something, I am framing it before I "send it out". Tricky. Yeah, if you need more clarification, go to my blog archives and look for the post "frames". Anywhoo. Back to the main subject.
Interpretation. I just finished the book Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. This book is amazing, and I recommend it to anyone, or most anyone. Rob Bell would be called an emergent thinker by most Christians. In the beginning of his book, he was talking about the authority of the Bible. He in every way states that the Bible is the true Word of God. He tells a lot of the Jewish history behind some things in the Bible. Like, the yoke. When Jesus says His yoke is easy, He was talking about His teachings. And he talks about how every Rabbi had his own interpretation of the Torah, and when a new Rabbi was said to have authority, it means that 3 other Rabbis had validated that this new interpretation was good and valid. Bell also talks about the practice of "binding and loosing", which is wrestling with a text and getting the meaning out of it. So yeah, it's hard to explain, but it all makes sense and he has the utmost respect and regard for the Holiness of the Bible. So then I started reading a John Piper book. In the beginning, he just goes through and talks about some of the people that have affected him in his faith journey. Piper was in college during the whole Existential movement in the 60s, where everyone could make up their own truth. So of course, his faith is firmly rooted on the premise that there is only one truth. Which I whole heartedly agree with. But Piper talks about there being only one meaning to a Bible passage, and that is the truth of the Bible. But the thing is, is that no one wants a Bible that was written 2000+ years ago by people who were writing to their own culture and time period, that has the exact same meaning that it did 2000 years ago. That makes it dead. Bell talks about wrestling with a text, looking at the original meaning, but saying that the whole power in the Bible is the interpretation that the Holy Spirit is doing with and in you and the text. But the thing with that is, that no one wants a Bible that is wishy washy and that can be explained away as a person's interpretation of the truth. Or that someone can simply say, "Oh, the Spirit led me to this." So many people use that phrase in the name of truth, and it is the exact opposite of that. So many people have their versions of the truth, or how they claim the truth. So yes, this is the quandary that I find myself in. And currently, the sinus pressure in my head is killing my brain cells, so I don't have any left to wrestle with this tonight. More on this later. If you have any thoughts, please leave a comment.

This Year in Review

I promised the classic New Years post, so here it is. And, it is not technically late, because Chinese New Year is still a month away!

In 2006 I...:

*Finished my first year at Northwestern
*Got a new sister
*Dyed my hair for the first time
*Tore 3 ligaments
*Had my second knee surgery
*Got closer to my other sister
*Broke up with my first boyfriend
*Got closer to my sister in law
*Started learning about and loving homeless/destitute people
*Was in my first car accident
*Finished a scrapbook that I had been working on for two years
*Made many new friends
*Had 2 of the best roommates ever
*Prepared for an internship
*Came to Hong Kong
*Learned so many things that are too numerous to count
*Got a bigger view of the world
*Went to Taiwan for the first time (very briefly, just a layover...)
*Went to LA for the first time
*Went to Thailand for the first time
*Experienced some of the hottest weather I've ever been in
*Have had my socks blessed off
*Spoke my first phrase of Cantonese to a native speaker (it took a lot of effort, I missed my bus stop many times because I was too afraid to say anything)
*Met a ton of international people
*Gained perspective (on many levels)
*Inherited a "niece" (for lack of a better word) for a time...Isabella...I love that baby!
*Lost confidence
*Gained it back again
*Lived through an earthquake (heheheheheee)
*Gained another family (the Roses)
*Missed the first election I was able to vote in
*Gained another family (the Enns)
*Realized what loneliness feels like
*Appreciated my own family more than ever
*Realized my family isn't quite conventional
*Learned (still learning) about leadership
*Ate real sushi, at a real sushi place
*Ate fried squid (not bad)
*learned to like cucumbers, asparagus, and tomatoes
*Learned how to make homemade frosting
*Learned how to find my way around a new country (I am now fairly confident)
*Got lost about a million times before I came to the previous point
*Stayed outside for a whole night with Brett to win the golden ticket at Krispy Kreme! (PS. We won)
*Got sick of Krispy Kremes (never thought that would happen)
*Realized there are more Indians than the 5 that are in MN.
*Turned 20

...That's all for now...maybe I'll add more!

It's been a while...

So it's been a while, hasn't it. Let me explain. The holidays rushed by, and then my mom came for a visit, and then I had been procrastinating for so long, that I was avoiding blogging like the plague. (Or SARS, if you want me to be more culturally relevant.) In any case... I have a lot of catching up to do. This post might end up being a blurred, boggled, mess of a blog, being that it's been so long! So lets get it started...

Christmas:
Christmas was definitely good. Definitely different as well. It was my first Christmas away from home, or any family. (The fact that I knew my mom was coming 3 days later did help though.) I spent the majority of the month of December at Mike n' Melissa's flat. That was very nice on several levels. 1. It was good to spend Christmas with people who have known me for years. 2. It's more centrally located. And most importantly 3. I LOVE THOSE GUYS! Seriously, I know you both are reading this, and it's semi cheesy, but I appreciate everything that you did, and still do to make me feel more at home, especially during the holidays. The best present that I saw over Christmas has got to be Isabella's tent. Ok, so when you think of a tent for a 19 month old, you think small. Isabella is so loved that she got a good sized tent. And when I say "good sized", I mean like it was a regular Gander Mountain 2 person tent (only with Hello Kitty all over it). Hahahha. No, but really, she loves it, and it's so cute when she invites you to play in it...that kid has a heart of gold. Melissa made a fabulous Christmas feast complete with turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, asparagus that I actually liked, and a "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake. It's amazing what that woman can do in such a small kitchen.

My mom arrived on the 28th. We stayed at the High Rock Christian Centre, where a family from our church also live. The name High Rock really isn't just to sound pretty. It's on the top of this really random hill, and to get to it, you have to climb a series of extremely steep inclines. And then when you get to the top, there's a set of stairs that climbs almost like a ladder. It was quite an adventure to get the suitcases up there. The hill aside, it was a great place to stay. The room we were in had a couch with a hyda-bed in it, and a bed up high with a desk underneath, a kitchenette, and a bathroom complete with washer/dryer and a shower.
It's really amazing how ingenious Hong Kongers are with space. A previous tenant had rigged a pulley system in the hallway where he could attach his bike and raise it to the ultra-high ceiling. The second bed was super high (the best mattress in Hong Kong though), and the bathroom had this wooden rack thing on a pulley. We figured out a few days in that once you wash your clothes, you can hang them on the rack, raise it to the high ceiling, and then there was a conveniently located fan pointed directly at the raised rack so it would be a speedier process. Genius, I tell you!
Me and my mom did a slew of things while she was here. We went to the Peak, SoHo to get Krispy Kremes, around the Island, a Chinese tea class, Cheng Cheu Island (rural fishing island...we got to eat seafood for really cheap at an oceanside restaurant and walk in the S. China Sea), Enns', TST to get Ebeneezer's (great Lebanese food), Heritage Museum, a temple, and some other random things that are escaping my mind. But we were running every second. I am so glad that she got to come. The ticket was actually a surprise from my aunt and uncle. What a blessing! My mom is such a prayer warrior. When she found out I was going to HK, she immediately thought of visiting. But then realized that we wouldn't be able to afford it. Then she kept praying about it, and in the fall, she was surprised with this ticket! What a blessing. It was so cool to have her come and bring a little bit of home with her. I was glad that she got to meet some of the kids here and sit in on some of the youth group activities. I think the thing that most pleasantly surprised me that I missed was praying before going to bed (yes, childhood tradition, that still goes on, even my older brother prays with the parentals when home on break) and hugs and kisses. I really didn't realize how much I missed physical touch from family. So yeah. That's the trip in a nutshell. If you know my mom, and are interested in hearing more, ask her to show you the DVD...she constantly had her video camera out, much to my chagrin =) (PM, I get a point for using "chagrin")

New Years:
New Years was not too different from normal: the classic youth group Lock In. This was a ton of fun. The kids were so laid back and actually just wanted to sit in one room most of the time and play board games and Xbox and watch movies. It was great. I think the kids here rarely have an extended time to relax and hang out with friends without other pressures. One girl did, however, bring one of her textbooks, I don't think she got a lot of studying in. I am going to write a separate New Years post highlighting 2006 for you all. I tried to do it last year, but never got around to it.

Since then:
*I moved out of High Rock and back to the Enns'. It's good to be back in their home, and I missed them. They are now obsessed with this game called Settlers. It's seriously a huge family event. I finally got to play last night. Needless to say, I lost badly. I think they've played at least 15 games of it since they got it a few days after Christmas!
*I'm a little bit sick, so you could pray for me if you think about it. I don't think I'm terribly sick, because when I take medicine, I'm good for "6-8 hours".
*Youth worship started playing again on a regular basis. (We took a break for a few reasons)
We have a new sound system that we share with other groups in the church and today was the first time we used in Sunday School. It was sweet. No amps to carry upstairs, and we even had mics! YESSSS!
*I have started a girls Bible study. PM had wanted me to start one eventually. The cool part about this is that one of the girls approached me and said that she knew the boys had a Bible study, and she was wondering if I would start one. I was totally blown away. So we have officially met 2 times. Attendance is a little lacking, but that is to be expected. Pray that more girls would come, and also that I would be able to develop teaching skills. Teaching is not my favorite thing (mostly because I'm not very good at it), and the worst part is that it takes practice to be good at it. (Annoying how that works, isn't it?) But I am deep down thankful for the opportunity to develop my teaching skills, get to develop my relationship with these girls, learn more about the Bible as I prepare, and share life with them, as they share with me. And so, we are both learning, which I have realized is a good and necessary component.
*I will be starting online classes through NWC soon, so pray that I can manage my time wisely and do well in these classes.

That's all for now. Adios.