*showcase*
this is a small collection i like to call, simply, "poses"...

*testing*
hooray i've figured out how to put pics up directly on this page!! hey for someone who nearly failed comp.sci. in grade 12 (way back in 1993!!) this is an accomplishment! we were doing simple c language stuff and i had no idea what was going on.... that's what happens when you try to make me go to class at 7:30 in the morning.... i rarely made it at 7:30 needless to say...

a selection from the philippines/australia trip:






this is a worm in christian's mouth...

*magnetize*
the call burns
consumes me and all that i am
here we leave these tendrils of what we were to
stagger into the secret dark of love's deep dream

*midnight ramblings*
i can't utter much these days. i need the help of little words on little strips of magnets. i've never been much of a poet or writer of any sort, but i've always felt like i could be. only when it comes down to me and the pen, nothing seems to happen. that's one reason why i was never too good at keeping a journal. it helps now that technology has progressed, because i think i type faster than i can write. my problem is my thoughts always seem to escape me before i can get them on paper. derek says i have "swiss cheese memory." but the holes... they're usually the stuff that don't need to stick around in my memory. i mean, God has swiss cheese memory too doesn't he? he's chosen to forget - chosen not to remember - our sins, all the ugly stuff that nailed him to the cross, when we walked through that door of faith. so i don't feel so bad. i'm trying to be more like God. forgive, forget. see the shining star behind every blemished soul. sometimes it takes a bit more effort to see the original, authentic creation that was supposed to be. but how amazing it is when we do! that moment of clarity should be what drives us to be Jesus to everyone. Jesus saw that in everyone. he always had time, even for the dirty prostitute, the despised tax collector, the lowly fisherman, the little old me. amazing this grace is.

my saving grace
my endless love
deeper and deeper
i'm falling in love with you
my one desire
my only truth
deeper and deeper
i'm falling in love with you

~ saving grace by michelle fragar

*it comes down to this*
exciting times as we stand on the doorstep of a new era in the life of one_eighty. tonight (it's 1am where i am...) will be the inaugural evening at the fringe club. it's been much talked about, and it's come down to this. several of us went by the fringe after dawn's birthday dinner, and prayed for the place. there are certainly many unknowns and many uncertainties. in a different environment, away from the physical covering of a church, odd shaped room, ground level, a bar... so many things are out of our control. but that's the beauty of it all. GOD is at work, not us! i pray that new seeds will be planted and that deep roots, yes DEEP roots will be nurtured and cultivated. one day we will see the fruit of these seeds, but that's not why we do it. we do it because we want to see the Master Gardener do his thing you know: soften hearts, change lives, break bondages, give hope, renew purpose...

... i have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. NOW CHOOSE LIFE... ~ deuteronomy 30:19

*finally*
i've finally retrieved all the photos i've taken in the past year from my aunt's computer and have spent many hours this afternoon uploading them through her dial-up connection. so there are HEAPS of kind-of-new photos on my imagestation you should go look at since i put so much time and effort getting them up. there are pics from various 180 events last year, jason's farewell party (yes i know he's back now), our first baptism at repulse bay, the awesome christmas pageant, new years' party, ben in make-up, and many more.... just go look.

*midnight with pine sol*
neither of my roommates came home last night, so i had the house all to myself. in hong kong, this a rare and beautiful thing. i treasure the times i have to myself, to do the things i never get around to, to collect my heart and my head and feel 'at rest'. and once in a while i will go on a cleaning frenzy, like last night. after looking at the sinkful of dirty dishes that greeted me when i came back from australia for almost a week, i just had to wash them. then i realized the garbage was full, so i did that. but not before it leaked yucky garbage juice all over the kitchen floor, so i had to wipe that up. but a simple wipe didn't do the trick, because the entire floor was pretty filthy with past spills, so i finally drew up a bucket of hot pine sol dilution and mopped the kitchen AND the bathroom floors, because of course that was pretty filthy too.

what have i learned? that hot water definately cuts grease better than cold water.

*uncle joe*
for the benefit of all my non-hk friends, a bunch of my friends have a band called uncle joe and they're coming out with a new album soon. there's a pretty good interview with them in a local english magazine. if any of you want a cd, i can hook you up via the 'johann express delivery' next month.... if he ever makes it here.

*magnetic poetry*
that savage song thunders full to her

slender morning skin
secret summer dark
wild blossom showers

with these she sees

i miss koryl.

*to the ends of the earth*
just thinking about where God might take me next... since i 'officially' announced yesterday that i will not be renewing my contracting with KELY come october. i know that i will at least be in hong kong for another year, to finish my committment with sna and whatever else God may have me for. but what then? one of the reasons i decided to quit the 9-5 life is because i felt God hint that it's time for the next step, to move on. hillsong certainly put things more into perspective for me.

i knew soon after graduating from university that a desk job is not for me. after a couple of years of work, i was confident that a 9-5 job is not for me, but it was not until i came to hong kong that i began to seriously consider that God may be calling me to missions (either short- or long-term). ywam helped clarify that, a lot. then it became simply a matter of when and where. i'm starting to get the when, and now i wait for the where. would it be a place i've already been? or will the Holy Spirit take me to a completely new place? kind of exciting to think about.... i resolved long ago that i would go to the ends of the earth for God. so here am i, take me Lord....

[a brief travelogue]
1974-1983
hong kong

1983-1993
vancouver, canada
(interspersed with short trips to seattle, bellingham, alaska, and california USA)

1993-1998
victoria, canada

1994
england
wales
ireland
scotland

1998-2000
vancouver, canada

2000-present
hong kong

2001
bacolod, philippines
bangkok, thailand
vancouver/victoria, canada
honolulu, hawaii
new zealand

2002
india
new zealand
shanghai, china

2003
cebu, philippines
melbourne/sydney/perth, australia
manila, philippines
sydney, australia

2004 ???

*new pics*
are up!! check out the extravagant wedding in manila and hillsong baby!!

*hohum*
i don't like slow days at work. it makes me feel lazy and unproductive, but the truth is, there simply is nothing to do. i've been slowly catching up on the stashes of emails that have crept their way in while i was away. so if you're expecting an email from me and haven't gotten a reply yet, i'll get to you soon.

i received a set of poetry magnets from my bestest and darlingest friend from hong kong, koryl, while i was away. she stole away back to america last week, while we were all in australia. i woke up the morning after i got back from oz, went to take a shower, and found the present and a card in my room in my half-drowsed state when i came back. the funny thing is i also got some magenetic poetry when i was in australia. so now i have 2 sets. i've been having fun with them, so i'll post some of my creations soon.... i may even try my hand at a haiku or two, but will i ever be as good as the infamous joe lo??

my question is, does ANYONE from vancouver read this thing? you were the reason i started this blog, but i don't know if anyone is actually reading it.... anyhoo, back to slacking off....

*return*
my 12 day hiatus has come to an end. the time and space i have here cannot fully capture what went on in the past week and a half. it has been a shower - no, a torrential rainstorm - of blessings from the Lord. right from the very beginning, with me being able to take friday off to leave early due to flight changes, the trip has been love in abundance from above.

derek and i first spent two heavenly days in manila for my friends christine & keith's wedding. since her father is a prominent businessman in the philippines, and according to pinoy custom they had 12 'sponsors' or godparents who took care of the whole shebang, it was an affair that blew our socks off. derek and i have never seen the philippines like this before, having only gone there previously for mission trips, where we only visited the most prestigious of squatter areas and graveyard slums, and having only travelled in jeepneys or the common bus. this time, we were shuttled around in private air-conditioned luxury vans complete with mega-tinted windows, driven by the family chauffeur. criket's father put up all the out-of-town guests at the shangri-la, i was treated to full-body aromatherapy massage, and royal buffets every meal time. he even gave us money for the taxi to the airport!! we did not spend a single cent the entire weekend, and it was probably the most luxurious weekend we've ever had. talk about blessing.

i felt blessed simply by having had the chance to see my friends from vancouver get married. vancouver seems like such a faraway place sometimes, and since moving to hong kong 3 years ago, i've missed nearly 10 weddings (that's not an exaggeration!). it was so good just to be able to hang out with keith and criket again, seeing criket's sister arlene after nearly 5 years, and having a few more people meet derek... it felt like the rope between my life in canada and hong kong was stregthened that much more.

in case anyone is interested, i've finally found a new webhost for my photos, and i've put up most of the ones from the past 6 months. the new ones from this past trip are on their way, so keep checking it! (sorry the link function has mysteriously disappeared so i can't put a link here, just go to "photo album" on the right...)

hillsong began, renewed, and continued many things - too many to mention here, although i'm sure these thoughts will slowly find their way onto this page.... the line on the cover of my new classic pooh journal sums it all up quite nicely: an outdoor adventure is beginning today. the best thing about an adventure, is that you never know what it will bring. and with God, the most extravagant of what we can imagine is simply too small for God....

therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. let us fix our eyes on jesus, the author and PERFECTOR of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scourning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. consider him who endured much opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lost heart. ~ hebrews 12:1-3

*break*
as of tomorrow, i will be out of hk until july 15. 2 days in manila for keith & criket's wedding, then 10 days in sydney for hillsongs!!! so sorry if this page will be out of commission for awhile.

girl's night was sooooo good. i'm sorry that it went on so late... but i'm glad we got a chance to pray for one another, although i was dead tired. for those who aren't going to australia, i will see you in about 2 weeks when i get back!! bless!