Hao zhou bu jian

So it's been a long time since I've posted. I'm alive. My nails are painted red. Bridge Cafe in the morning is the most beautiful time of the day.

"I love morning sunlight--it's crisp and golden, with a bit of sweetness thrown in...kind of like a well-made waffle."

Remotivation

Through our team meeting today, I have been remotivated to capture our campus' students' hearts for J.Cool. I've been desiring this for a long time, and I think Dad has finally started His work in this area of my life. I was randomly shuffling through some songs in my playlist, and I came across "Guhrisoodoh ae gaejuhl"... it's been a long time. When I heard that chorus for about the 6 billionth time, I broke down crying. I don't know why, I just was overcome with emotion. I had forgotten this vision. I had forgotten this rap. I had become so lost in the drudgery and work, that I forgot to remind myself everyday what calling I was working for.

As we drew out our trust goals and numbers for this year, I knew I could dream big. I knew I had to. This was something I needed to push for this year, not just to get big numbers and achieve big goals, but to achieve the GC. These young people are the future of their country and of this world. If I don't take advantage of the fact that I am here during this revolutionary time, I am missing out on being an effective worker in a strategic place at a strategic time.

So I jumpstarted my outreach, not for the purpose of doing "well" in my min. I jumpstarted it, because I realized I had been sleeping for the last year, and I needed to wake up. Step up. There is so much potential for great things to happen, miracles to happen, in the next couple months, the next year, the next decade. I can't let this chance slip by without putting my fingerprints all over it.

Dad-filled Day... not.

I just got back from a P & W session from a friends house, and I feel bush wacked. I was shown through the HS that this special Day for Dad had been filled with activities and events where I had done things to Him, and not with Him or for Him. I remedied that right away.

Other than that, here are the things I did today to Him:

-Prepped some bookmarks to remind people to rap for East Asia
-Went to building: tried to focus on songs, failed miserably on focusing on the message
-Wrote letters to home, with sp content
-Met with MSN couple and M couple, talked a lot about Dad and what He's doing all across this nation and the world
-Went to P & W session at friends house

A lot, huh? And I did all that to Him, with very little focus on Him at all. Makes me ashamed, makes me also wonder how many "cool" people do this on a daily basis. When will this lukewarm generation get sick and tired of pretending and going through the motions? I'm sick and tired of myself. Hypocrites. The major reason why this generation's Western culture avoids "coolness" like the Plague. Make me a solid, true, honest, genuine, passionate, open, fair, humble, gentle, understanding, unprejudiced woman, Dad.

A New Sister!

I met a friend today, who had not fully accepted before, because there were parts that she did not understand. Having another believing friend there sharing helped a lot... there were times when I felt really incompetent; I didn't know what to say, and I felt insecure about my sharing "skills" and "abilities", when I knew deep down inside that I was being ridiculous. I was not being led by the HS at that moment, but at that same time I felt Dad was speaking to me that my confidence was found not in myself, but in Him alone. It was shaming, but at the same time I felt so relieved... If doing EV was fully dependent on my skill alone, that would REALLY suck :-P Thank Dad for Dad!

My Friend

I met up with one of my friends from last year, and we were sharing about our summers. She shared how she felt motivated to use her major to share about Dad in the country of her major's language. It was the first time she's said anything like that.

"My Beloved mine, I His~"

Buzzing Busy-ness

I can feel the buzzing of busy-ness disturbing the air around me... it's that time again. Time when every minute is planned out, not enough hours in the day to do all that needs to be done, frantically rushing from one meeting to another appointment to the next party, with no minutes and no breaths to spare. It's a good but exhausting feeling, like the achy soreness your muscles feel after a good hard workout.

I met up with one of my contacts from last year, and she seems to be doing great after the summer! She read some material I gave her before the vacation, and she even found a Book at home that she read some of. She is interested in getting one here, which I already have ready to give to her next week. Yay Dad!

My gang makes me happy :). We have such unique, talented, and fun people this year, and I am grateful that I have this chance to work with them. I have a ton of stuff to do this week, and I will depend on Dad's grace to get me through it... please rap for me!

Always,
lovingEA

I'm Tired

I'm tired. It's been a hectic day/week/month. So much has happened since my last update... it's funny that when I didn't have easy access to internet I was diligent with updating my blog, but now that I have it 24/7 I haven't updated once... and it's been almost a month!

I've sent out my update newsletter today, and if you haven't received one let me know, and I will send one to you.

That's all I have to say for now. I am taking an SP Language class on P&W music, which should be interesting. I spent all day at Bridge for the first time in a long time, and it was so good. So good.

Trip to LX

Today our team went to visit the campus at LX... out near 6th RR, and it really is in the boonies! Nothing around except for open land and pollution. The campus was great, because it reminded me of schools back in the states: Lots of large open areas, a few buildings gathered here and there, students walking in pairs here to there...

S and I met a lot of girls today by rushing one of the dorm buildings... We got at least 50 contacts for the LX team today. Woo hoo! I'm exhausted, but decided to make the trip out to SIT for internet, since tomorrow is a full Day with Dad.

We had an awesome Mid-Autumn Festival party on Saturday! We had more than 40 students gather with their moon cakes, and share about the holiday. Pretty much every student there had at least a short account of the Good News shared with them that night. I met a minority girl, and she already knew so much about it! Thank you for rapping for us!

I found out through an email from my dad yesterday that my grandmother passed away two days ago. I feel fine, actually relieved, because she had been suffering from multiple ailments for a really long time. It was taking a toll on my family as well, so we are glad that she is finally at rest now. Please keep my family in your minds through the aftermath.

I went for a run today, because I started training for the BJ Marathon. I will be running the 10K for the first time! I am very excited, and am nervous about the distance, but I will train my best, and hopefully be prepared for the task at hand! The race is in a month, so it should be enough time to get in shape.

My sister and I


Hee hee...

Watermelon Bash

My new roommate/teammates. Aren't they sweet?


After a harrowing day at IKEA, our brothers brought us some beautiful flowers to soothe our frazzled nerves.

Our party yesterday was a success! At least 50 girls showed up, played some games, and ate some sweet, juicy watermelon together.




It's been tough to adjust to the new team... new people, new personalities. I realized that I still have so much room to grow and learn in terms of people and relationships. Please rap for wisdom, love, and patience on my part in dealing with my teammates.

A Photogenic City

You know, when the weather is decent, BJ becomes a very photogenic city. We've had some incredible weather recently, as aforementioned, and here are some updates on how things have been while I've been back.





People who know where this is also know that this is an incredibly rare site... :)














Daybreak in our beautiful city...











Yesterday we got to go watch some wheelchair basketball, and I must say it is a truly inspiring thing to watch. The skill, bravery, and honor of these men and women inspire me to take what life gives to me and make some tasty lemonade. How about you? I highly recommend watching some of the events of the Paralympics on TV, and be inspired yourself... and maybe see me in the stands at some of the events! :)

Also, note that none of these photos have been touched up in any way! These blue skies are for REAL!

Note: I just realized that today is 9.11, and wanted to reflect on the events that happened 7 years ago. I recently watched some of a documentary on this momentous event on the National Geographic channel, and all the emotions of incredible sorrow, horror, fascination, anger, and outrage came rushing back to me in a span of seconds. How could this have happened? Are humans really capable of evil to this extent? How could I be safe at home, watching from the comfort of my living room couch, when people were being crushed by buildings, suffocating on dust and smoke, and being burned alive by airplane fuel? My mind and heart pounded with these unnerving thoughts.

And then the stories of heroic saves, self-sacrificing acts of kindness, and unconditional patriotism made me believe in humanity again. The stories of countless fire fighters, policemen, everyday white-collar workers, mothers, fathers, husbands, uncles, volunteers, random strangers coming together in the face of unspeakable tragedy to collectively empathize, sympathize, and throw their bodies into the recovery efforts. It made my mind and heart pound again, but with pride, appreciation, a yearning to be one with other Americans in this collective arm around the shoulder of lower Manhattan.

And my heart still pounds today. Father, bring peace to our hearts this day.

Signing off,

LovingEA

It's good to be back home...

Hello, family and friends. I am back home, and it feels so good. Soundtrack right now: "Through the Dark" by KT Tunstall. I feel settled, like I am back in my place. LA is still my hometown, and life seems good there, but I know that there is no place in the world that feels right right now but here in EA.

We've had some incredible weather this past week, and that's just another one of those quirks about this place that I love: unpredictable weather. I've gotten darker here in this past week than the two months I've spent in Korea and LA combined. Oh well, it'll fade by December anyways, so what's the point? :)

The Paralympics are starting today, and we've got tickets! We will be watching "goal ball", a game like handball, but for the seeing impaired... cool, huh? We also got tickets to men's and women's basketball, so I'll be posting up pictures from those events soon.

We've settled into our new apartment (3 Midwest girls, 1 EA intern, and me), a spacious 3 bed 2 bath apartment right next door to the guys' apartment. I'll take some pictures soon and post those up too :).

Another crazy fact! My roommate (the EA intern) got engaged last night! She is positively glowing these days, and I am so happy for her, though I do have concerns because of her age (22), and the fact that she wants to get married this winter, in the middle of her interning year. Please rap for her and her fiance, that they will act in wisdom, and that I can be a good support for her as well.

Freshmen move in on Monday... and the craziness will begin!

Always,
lovingEA