*blah blah blah*
another chapter in the 'find a long lost friend' saga.... visit cienne's site. she's a funny girl. sister of hon sing, a funny guy. i only met her for a short time in the summer of 2001, but it's cool to connect with her again. i love when stuff like this happens. :)

the shanghai dream is becoming reality. i will be picked up in tst at 10:30am on monday, for a 2:50pm flight!! well i guess it would take a long time to check in an entire film crew... the hong kong wrap party is tomorrow night. should be fun!

God is really so good. i've been praying this week to be able to develop more relationships with the crew, because it's been quite difficult so far. everyone just sort of keeps to themselves, and because i'm not on set all the time, i don't know all their names... just random faces. i've started placing people with their jobs, but everyone is also mad busy on set (or so they appear) that i'm never sure whether i'm bothering them. anyway, i guess God (being omniscient and all) knew how i felt, and my desire to get to know people more, and lo and behold! just today i've had so many people come up to me and start conversations! this is just a small taste of what is to come. i'm praying for God to keep doing his thing.

i'm especially praying for sophia, a production assistant (meaning she does whatever needs done around the set: move chairs, get cameron more candy, stock the bathrooms...). she's one of the few that i got to know from the beginning, and i know she's got a soft spot for the holy spirit. we talked about 'the passion', and she really wanted to see the premiere, but she thought she had to work late. of course, they ended up wrapping early that night, but she didn't call me. and unfortunately, she's one of the few who are not going to shanghai, so i gotta do something quick! i'm going to invite her to church/alpha. please pray that she will!

another person i met this week is duc (pronounced duke), who plays one of the bad guys in the movie. a few of us were casually sitting around just after lunch, chatting about australia. he had a perfect american accent, and so i asked if he was from america. he immediately said very definitively, "we've met before!" i was like, "uhhh... where?" and he said, "ing." oh. i all of a sudden recognized him. he was one of the regulars at club ing, where i used to work a few years ago, moonlighting as a bar waitress while maintaining my day job as a kindergarten teacher. yes, i was quite the oxymoron then. in the few short conversations we've had since, he's mentioned that he's over that party phase, that he's trying to figure out what to do with his life, etc. the usual early mid-life crisis. and he seems a perfect candidate for a transformation by the Master Potter.

there are so many others, too many to list. but rest assured my trip to shanghai will be more than teaching french and math!

while i'm there, i also have another mission. i met cliff's coworker last monday at alpha. he was in hk for business, and happens to be from shanghai! how convenient... he was definately intrigued with the whole jesus-is-God thing, and cliff got him 'the case for christ' by lee strobel. so, i have a delivery to make. :)

yippeee yay, shanghai, here i come!!

*note to self*
a question really:

am i influencing the world, or am i allowing the world to influence me?

lord, we stand here as a desperate people
hungry for the things of you.
come quiet the storms that rage all around us
so that we hear the passion that beats through your heart.

spirit, put healing in our hands;
put life in our words;
and drive a passion for the lost deep in the hearts of your people.
inhabit the praises of us your children.

father, send us out with a reckless passion,
deliver us from evil,
and set a standard of unity to break down walls
and to heal your people.

unity is the cry of your church lord.
reconcile the children to the fathers,
and with forgiveness and mercy rush to the hearts of the land.

we cry out our deep need for you jesus.
o god come in power and bring glory to your name!

~ the road to OneDay

*countdown to shanghai: 7 days*
i'm still a bit speechless about this whole idea of going on a sort of "business trip." in my entire life, i've never been in a position to travel for work. well actually... i did get a free trip to melbourne last year...

ok nevermind.

the point it, i'm just still flabbergasted at the thought of it all. this one is different, because i'll be gone for more than a month - 5 weeks - instead of just a week or two. beyond the huge blessing that this job as been for me, i'm also curious, maybe even a bit anxious, to see what the real point of it all is. there is a purpose for me to be in this position right now, beyond just making sure cameron gets his math done and learns to think. the many opportunities i've had already to share with people is encouraging, but i feel like there's more to come. in shanghai, i'm going to be able to see the crew more often and spend time with them outside of the work environment. if anything, last night was a motivator for me to seek out these opportunities more vigilantly.

what happened last night? well, i got called up at 11:30pm to go with derek to see some of his old frat buddies in lankwaifong who are only in town for one night.

God gives us opportunities. they are all around us. we don't have to go to a faraway village in a faraway third-world country to share the gospel. those places are someone's backyard, and we have our own crop to sow and reap in our own backyard. as i told the kids at sna last saturday, our lives are more than just fulfilling our job description at work, it's more than getting a good report card, we are more than what our parents, our friends, our boyfriends/girlfriends, our bank accounts say we are. our life's purpose is, very simply, rooted in the One who thought it up in the first place. you know that old analogy: you reap what you sow. if we choose to sow into the person that God intended us to be, our life would be perfectly fulfilled. PERFECTLY. i look around at the things that drive this business around me, and all i see is selfishness, greed, and pretention. none of it is real. none of it is authentic.

it takes a lot to stay true to that authentic self. first, we have to know who this authentic self is. sometimes i feel like a lot of people, even christians, don't really understand who they are. it's something that only becomes clear when we muster up enough courage to stand face to face with the Almighty and Creator of the universe, with all our imperfections, and really allow Him time to reflect His light onto us. i'll have to admit, being on this journey is not easy. sometimes i feel myself getting comfortable with my facade, and i think it doesn't really matter that much... whatever is really underneath this mask doesn't need to get out. sometimes i feel like it's too much, i don't want to deal with it, i don't know what i'm dealing with... but these are all just excuses. they're just excuses....

we have to fight so hard - SO hard - to keep God's call in perspective. to keep all these things that are unseen by the natural eye but so deeply felt by the supernatural eye (if we allow it) within our view. but who are we, really? we are

OVERCOMERS (gen.32:28; luke10:19; 1john4:4)

KINGS & PRIESTS (1peter2:9)

SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE ALMIGHTY (romans8:16-17)

AMBASSADORS (2cor.5:20)

A NEW CREATION (2cor.5:17)

that last one is the key. we are made like new again when we fully accept the grace that jesus offers. all the layers of lies, deceipt, falsehood that we've collected when we didn't know God falls away, and that genuine authentic person that God made is finally revealed. i guess this is, in the truest sense, what people call "finding themselves." sometimes we think we have to go to tibet, or leave our jobs and families, or 'experiment' with different lifestyles to do it. but finding our true self isn't so much about the physical but the spiritual. that's why we can do God's work (and God can do His work with us) right where we are, whether it's an office building or a contruction site or a classroom or on the street. that's the mystery of the Spirit. and i want to live in it.

*the long-awaited philippines update*
i love missions.

someone asked us when we got back, "if you were called to do this for the rest of your life, would you be willing?" my answer was an immediate YES. he said he would come back in 3 months' time, when we have become acustomed to hk life again, to see if our minds would change by then. i knew mine wouldn't. i've felt a calling for missions from the very first time, and i have yet to change my mind. it's just a matter of time.... i just love, i mean love, going out there. i have to admit i would much rather go for longer than a few days. since last year, i've really felt a strong passion towards training and taking people who have never been on missions before. i know at this point in time, i'm still going to be in hong kong. and our church is growing in such a way that there are ample opportunities.... oh the opportunities!

anyway, this was supposed to be about the trip! so here goes...

as you saw from the photos, most of the people we ministered to were children. if there must be one highlight to pick, it would be the children for me. every time i look at the videos, or the photos, i'm so taken aback by the hunger in their eyes, but also the depth of resilience. even though verbal communication is often non-existent, there is something special about simply being in their presence. watching them play, sing (even when they don't know any of the words), dance around, even fighting with each other... maybe it's just knowing how much God loves these kids and is blessed that they are so filled with joy in His presence. it was particularly special to be able to go back to project nehemiah and see some of the same kids we met last year. i am so inspired by what harold, the man who started the orphanage, and his team is doing.

i have to admit i took more of an observer's role this time around. i was actually trying to see things through the eyes of some of the others on the team, to remember what it was like to be on a mission trip for the first time. it was strangely satisfying to see so many people just dive without reserve, just as i did that first time 3 years ago. some of the people on the team are people that i have personally ministered to, prayed with and for, and seen grow so much spiritually in hong kong. to see them now 'out in the field', pouring back what they have received, was... such a blessing.

it was also great to catch up with dustin, the ywam cebu dts coordinator. i had a good chat with him over breakfast one day about his vision for training up passionate missionaries and staying faithful to that call. it was good to just listen to someone who is living out the call that i feel...

i think that's enough from me for now. i promised derek i would go to bed early tonight, and seeing that it's still before midnight, i'm still good.... plus i have an early day tomorrow. 9:30am! oh dear!! :P

*what sundays are for*
yesterday was the kind of sunday i've longed for for a long time. the last several months have been taken up by mission team meetings or drama practices every week, and since we've been back the weather has decided to be wet and miserable... until yesterday. the sun finally found it's way out. derek had successfully recruited nate, amy and myself to help with the primetime party at the crc, so we had to skip our ritual mass lunch at city'super. free meals on the church's tab are always welcome in my books :)

the thing is, in my old age, i think i have finally grown out of the "hang out with as many people as you possibly can" stage of my life. don't get me wrong, it's great to see friends and talk to people i don't normally get a chance to talk to, but i've realized long ago that real conversations rarely happen amidst a large group of people. perhaps in my old age, too, i've come to appreciate a nice mellow afternoon in the shade more than the raucous mayhem of aimlessly wandering the streets of causeway bay.

at any rate, after the primetime party (which was enough raucous mayhem in itself), the four of us just chilled out on the patio of the crc. of course, i had to remind myself every so often that i am not (and never hope to be) the kind of person who could regularly sit at an elite chinese country club and watch father-and-son tennis tournaments all afternoon and listen to boys compare their nike vs. adidas attire or tai tai's gossip about the latest sale at lane crawford. but this just happened to be where we found ourselves yesterday, and if the Lord so choose to bless, who are we to argue?

today i was thrown back into my warped reality of hollywood. although these days have been a bit less hollywood than usual. my student has been on hold for the past few weeks, so we've just been working at the hotel. again, i had to remind myself periodically that it is not normal to be chilling at the executive lounge of a five-star hotel gazing at the sparkling victoria harbour everyday. it's just a bit too... "rawkstar" (as joshua would say) for me. but again, such is the blessing of the Lord on me these days. things might just get a wee bit more surreal when we go up to shangai for a month, where i'll be put up in a hotel myself, and paid per diem and chauffeured around wherever i go. who cares if this is all because of my student? i somehow get all the perks just becuase i happen to be with him.

*something to whet your appetite*

photos from the philippines trip are up on my imagestation. go to the 'photo album' link on the side.... i'll give a more detailed update as soon as i have the time to sit and write... :D

*a quickie*
i'm going to be away from any sort of technology for a week, so i figured i should give a quick update... it's been exciting doing the final preparations for our bohol/cebu trip. we had a really good dance practice on saturday, and the final meeting today. there are literally 20+ amah bags of clothes and toys packed and ready to go tomorrow morning, and 34 of us who are so excited we can hardly sit down. please do pray for us! i'll report when i get back.

other interesting news of late:
- finally saw picture of koryl's new "special friend"
- rhiana is engaged to her new special friend!!!!!!!!!!!!
- alpha is starting again at the end of april at grappa's (woohoooo!!)
- vicki is staying in hk to work!
- ummm.... and still no confirmation of shanghai for me....

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!

ps. march photos are up --> here