Mmmmmm....Food


On the weekends, people from the surrounding villages AND people in town come together for what we call a market day. They sell every fruit and vegetable known to man... in fact all kinds of things. You could buy anything from asparagus to shoes, as long as you know how to bargain. You know how smell is most associated with memory? There was a certain smell that will remind me of the marketplace. A mix of fresh vegetables and dried herbs and incense.

An example of the food. This is Yang Huo Guo (lamb hot pot). It was opened by Muslims so they didn't have any pork, but boy was it so good. And for 3 people, we totally dug into this monster. Speaking of hot pot. Those of you in the bay area. We must go hot potting. It is essential. And as Diddy said at the most recent MTV video music awards: "Anything can happen."

HA!!!!! I'm only 58% nerdy!!!!

TIC

Gotta love the language.

So this is the city center and down this whole pathway these people gave massages. They're blind, I believe. But it's a cool program especially for those who are sight impaired and I've been told was the blind don't have their sight, but their sense of touch is heightened which makes their massage skills so much better.

What was really encouraging was this program that helped hearing impaired individuals make a living. I was priviledged to visit their workshop and when I first walked in, the silence fell over us like a blanket. Besides the sound of a few sewing machines, there was no human voice at all. Here, those who were rendered deaf due to ototoxic antibiotics (that should have been banned but are still dispensed) created craftwork and pieces of art to sell so they can make a living. The intricate craftmanship was remarkable and their handmade everything was so beautiful.

I saw this in a commercial overseas and was subsequently amused for a full 4.5 minutes after that. It's called "Your Turn."

Lifestyle Changes
Is it wrong to be ambitious? The thought occurred to me today that the line between being hungry for pride, money and prestige and pressing on towards the goal and being disciplined is very fine. I suppose for some people it's much easier to distinguish, but it's something I've been thinking about a lot. A lot of people want a good job, money for security, a comfortable life. Those are things I want, too, but there's so much more I want now. I was telling my team leader a month ago that I want to accomplish all these things. I have a lot of dreams, a lot of ambitions. Some of them include getting married, earning a pharmD, having children and raising them well. Some were going back to China regularly and making a difference in their healthcare system and other career/health related ambitions. In the Psalms somewhere, it says that without God willing it so, the builder builds in vain, the night watchman watches in vain. In a sense, I never ever want to be satisfied with myself but at the same time to be completely content with the circumstances God has put me in and the salvation and identity I have in Him.

During the trip, my most cherished times were spent with God in my quiet time. This was one of those times at a Starbucks in Chiang Mai, Thailand. When there was time, I spend time in the morning and evening in prayer and it's something that I didn't want to lose coming back. But I'm realizing now that life here carries with it so many distractions. There's so much to think about, so much to do. I've been wondering today if I've made any significant changes in living after the trip. There's a lot of words that I regret saying and there's still a lot of things that the Spirit can do to change me. One thing that I want to cherish is that precious time alone with God. To completely calm my heart and rest in the comfort of the Father. For someone who hates to be idle, that's tough, but somehow it happened during the trip. It can happen here, too and it should. I was talking to a friend and telling her that I was going to thread my eyebrows today. 2 seconds after I said it, I realized how vain it was to pay money for someone to pull hair out of my face. The money doesn't need to go there. It can go somewhere else that's more productive. Looking at my room, I realized how much I have and how little I treasure. One of these days, I'll have a list of what I treasure but I can say right now that the things I treasure can't be bought with money. Apartment hunting this past week, I was thinking, what would I say if I meet these people again. Would I share the gospel with them? Why not share the gospel now? Is it appropriate? I want to be intentional in all my relationships (not the dating kind, but in all contact with people). I want to be used by God to encourage and serve people wherever I am. If it means sharing the gospel, if it means praying, if it means just sitting and being there, here I am. Just like how Isaiah's posture in Isaiah 6. This is what I want.

So How was your trip?

Something that really struck me was how intentional people were with their faith in a place that was so oppressive. The nationals and long term workers alike were smart about what they said and the setting they said it in, yet bold. They trusted God in everything, even getting out of bed every morning. There was someone whom I befriended named Shauna. She was born and raised where we served and a year younger than I. I should have asked her for her testimony, but she was one of the most on fire, willing and teachable people I have ever met. She had so much life and love, all the kids around her loved her and wanted to play with her from sun up to sun down. They didn't want to leave her side. We were on one of our walks one day and the little girls just pulled her on ahead and decorated her hair with flowers as if she were a blushing bride. She told them that Jesus loved them and took every chance she got to spread that love even to the adults. She would have headaches and other discomforts but her smile was infectious. You can tell that she isn't a slave to anything except righteousness. Every night she would watch sermons, one after another trying to learn as much as she could. She joined in our times of singing and wanted to copy down the words for "joyful joyful we adore thee" and "amazing grace." She served people in every chance she got, even if it wasn't asked for. I'm not sure if we'll be able to see each other again, but it makes me look forward to heaven because then I'll be able to ask for her testimony and hear about all the great things she's done for God's glory.

If you'd like to hear more stories like this I'm inviting people over for sharing in both SoCal and the Bay Area:
SoCal: Monday, September 5 at 8:00 at my parents' house
Bay Area: Sunday, September 11 at 7:30 at my flat in San Francisco

I'll have some good stuff like homemade cookies and maybe cheesecake if you're into food, but this is a time to thank you for partnering with me and to just spend time in prayer for those overseas. Let me know if you wanna come. :)

Reasons to go back
I'd have to say this trip is the most fulfilling trip I've ever been on. The Father put this here at the perfect time. I can't exactly put my finger on what happened, but something happened and it was very good.

Being in the countryside forced me to see what joy and contentment looked like without the distractions of internet, gap/banana/abercrombie, grades and stress. One of the long term workers told me, the more things you have, the less you treasure. The less things you have, the more you treasure.

So yeah, being asian allowed me and my other asian counterpart to wander around villages undetected whereas the other teammates who were caucasian were swarmed with men, women and children everywhere they went. Mix that in with zero personal space and we have the best people pictures ever. Unfortunately I was too dense to take any of them, sorry 'bout that.

We spent about a week in the first place. It looked like this. Then we hopped on a bus/plane and came here

This is the view from our guest house. See that lake? There's a lot of mud around that lake. Ask me how I found that out.

Curiosity.


The minute we step off the van to our first gig, there were more than 100 pairs of elementary school eyes staring at us. Partly because, well, they've never seen foreigners before. Curiosity, fear and wonderment accurately described the children's emotions as we de-vanned and unloaded our foreign luggage. There was no running water in this place, the school was surrounded by rice paddies (farmland) and the toilets were holes. We couldn't take a shower for a week, but when I saw these kids and their eagerness to learn and the beautiful creation that God had created, I can't help but forget all the discomforts and inconveniences to fall down and worship Him.

Guizhou, China

So check it, we spent our long layover in HK and this is what we found. Look familiar? Look at my Europe pictures. (sorry just wanted to share that. i'll be posting more interesting [and meaningful] pictures later)

Motley Crue of 5 people. Boy I'm gonna miss 'em.

Something that I don't want to lose after this trip:
Continually praying
Always open for opportunities to minister to others
Uninhibited, smiling-from-ear-to-ear joy
Cherished quiet times every day
knowing God's heart for the nations