Wednesday, May 31, 2006

tuen ng what?

so, being the true cbc that i am, i really have no idea what all these different chinese holidays are for. so today, i finally took advantage of this age of free information (and wireless in my house) and tried to find out why we have such a random day off in the middle of the week.

legend has it that a wise, honest government official by the name of chu yuan, who was also very loyal and dedicated to his state and king, was the man behind all the fuss. there are variously versions of the story, but it all surrounds his suicide by jumping into the river mi lo (that's mee loh, not milo the hot chocolatey beverage to those from down undah). he was also apparently a pretty good wordsmith, and there was some controversy about a poem he wrote about a king.... anyway, those who loved him were so grieved by his suicide that they raced out into the river on boats in an attempt to save him. hence, the dragon boat races.

i suppose after they realized that death-by-river was unavoidable, these loyal followers of his threw rice into the ocean in hopes of warding off any predatorial fish and turtles, thus preserving his body for as long as possible. another story says that the rice was actually a food offering for chu yuan, but the fish and turtles kept eating it all before his deseased body could get to them, so his spirit appeared to them one night and politely asked them to wrap the rice in bamboo leaves (or silk, depending on which story you listen to) and tie them with colored string. this way, those nasty fish and turtles would not be able to eat the rice because of their lack of opposable thumb action. hence, the zhong that chinese love to eat.

fascinating, isn't it? ok. history lesson over.

* * *
so derek tried to bake another loaf of bread today. yesterday's loaf, a cheese herb bread, turned out pretty good. today he tried (i am still not allowed to partake in this activity yet) to make plain white bread, and for some reason the dough just didn't get mixed properly. a lot of flour ended up being stuck to the bottom, so the loaf ended up being a bit too wet and really dense. bakers out there, does anyone know why this happened?! how do we fix it??

and while i've got the attention of bakers, i would LOVE your help!! we are looking for anyone who would like to 'donate' some (as much as you like) baked goods like cookies, muffins, cupcakes, bars or other goodies for a fundraiser!! yes, we are doing the good ol' bake sale to raise money for our team of 6 to go to the thailand/burma border to work with refugees. for more info about why we're going, please refer to the BURMA links in the may 17 post below... let me know if you can help!! i'll probably be bombing you with emails soon anyway....

Monday, May 29, 2006

*nu*

yes everyone. a new skin. again. i think the last one was way to complicated for people to figure out. sheesh. so here, it's all laid out again. no mystery butterflies.

* * *

on different note. i'm loving the onset of summer this year. where we live, there is a grove of frangipani trees right near our building, along the path home from the bus stop. the air is smelling more and more glorious every time we walk past. it reminds us of our honeymoon in bali where these flowers were everywhere. all along the resort we stayed at and along the cobblestone paths to our private bungalow.



frangipani is my new favourite flower. and peonies.

* * *

derek got a bread machine with his credit card points last week, and he is insisting on making our first loaf on his own. this is entertaining.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

*academia and such*

i have a friend who's just finished his first year at seminary. not just any seminary though, he's at regent college in my hometown of vancouver. (at this point you should hear angels singing and bright lights aglow in the background of your mind, because regent is the creme de la creme of seminaries, and should recieve such halo-worthy fear & trembling honor, shouldn't it?)

there was a time in my life when i wanted to go to regent. i thought that was where anyone with aspirations for doing life with God was supposed to go. i applied and got accepted, but the school fees were more than i could bear. so i asked my church for sponsorship, as they had been known to do from time to time. but lo and behold, they said no. so i deferred, hoping maybe by the next year i could save enough. working 3 jobs did nothing for my bank account. it was 2000 and i ended up in hong kong after that. and the rest is proverbial history.

what i soon learned after that, having had the chance to do a DTS instead, was that God knew what he was doing. i mean, there is a part of me that loves academia, and philosophical discussions and reading books that make me don my smarty pants. but i've realized wholly and truly now that i am one who would rather get IN there. get my hands dirty. i would rather, instead of sitting around pondering the meaning of a life in ministry and counting the costs with a calculator, ponder next to my togolaise brothers who have just fled their country washing dishes, and gladly give up the costs with abandon because jesus said those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly, and those who sow generously will reap generously (2 corinthians 9:6).

so even at the end of every day, of every week, when derek and i are bone tired, and we have "creaky knees" (and busted ankles), i am glad to be doing what i'm doing. i am glad to give up personal ambitions ("why CAN'T i be a snowboarder for jesus and live in whistler forever??") in order to serve the people around me.

and now as i stare down the 2-year tunnel of academics that is ahead of me, i am also glad. because this too is a phase i need to go through. i look forward to being able to devote some time to study and bettering my mind SO THAT my heart will continue to beat. i've already started this training... the past few years i haven't read very much, but i've got a new motivation. after finding out more about togo, and just generally following the ONE camapign and sojourners websites, my mind's focus has zoomed out again to see beyond my own life and hong kong.

currently reading: 'our common interest' by the the commission for africa

Sunday, May 21, 2006

*pics*

the much awaited photos from the live CD recording... amazing.

i've also finally got flickr so you can click on the smallest dark butterfly and see my newest pics.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

someone sent you a video!

*what is money?*

(click on the video to watch)

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

some info links related to previous post:

BURMA
burma watch
partners international relief & development
about aung san suu kyi

TOGO
togo's rule of terror
facts & history of the country

RWANDA
hope:rwanda 100 days of hope

please support the organisations that are trying to help. if you are in hong kong, christian action and inner city ministries work a lot with asylum seekers. they are both based in chungking mansions. also check christian solidarity worldwide and partners relief & development, who work to support the cause of persecuted christians in these and other areas.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

*above the clouds*

fearlessnes may be a gift, but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavor, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions, courage that could be described as 'grace under pressure' - grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure. ~ aung san suu kyi

I feel like I'm finally coming out of my cloud of idleness and lethargy ever since I ruptured my achilles tendon nearly 5 weeks ago. i'm starting to feel like I know my purpose and know how to move forward again, like king theoden when gandalf finally comes and frees his mind in 'the two towers'. i've been so focused on trying to find a job in the past year that I've neglected what I know God has called me to. and now in these final months before I become a full-time student again, I can get myself back on track and remember why I'm going back to school in the first place.

Last weekend was amazing in so many different ways, but personally, I feel like I got a slap in the face to wake up.

For several months, there had been some new asylum seekers at the vine, but I never really got a chance to get to know them until last weekend, because I was mobilizing all the volunteers and many of them are our most eager volunteers. There are 5 guys from togo who are currently being hunted by the military dictatorship for their involvment in a democratic coalition party who ran against the militia in last year's rigged elections. They have all been tortured and beaten, some of their families have been killed, and they cannot return to their home country. Their stories broke my heart.

and yet, when you see them, they are always full of joy and smiling from ear to ear. I have so much to learn about what endurance and faith really means as james talks about. I have so much to learn about gratitude and being content with what I have, where God has placed me.

Next month, I finally have the chance to do something I've been wanting to for a long time: to visit the karen tribe along the thai-burma border. Burma is another country that have been held under a military coup for the past few decades, with many of the native people groups being persecuted under the guise of 'ethnic cleansing', and the situation has only worsened since the movie beyond rangoon. there are hundreds of thousands of refugees living along the border to thailand for years, with little to no basic necessities available to them. there have been several trips from hk in the past year, but I've never been able to go. Now, having missed the beijing trip, I am determined to go.

It's pretty unlikely that I'll be able to find a job for 2 months, so why not spend money :) i'm also hoping to join the '100 days of hope' campaign in rwanda, God willing.

Are these dreams too big? We have no money, and I need to pay $53,000 for grad school in about 3 month's time... And yet God has placed these dreams in my heart, so i will not be deterred.

"open your mouth for the dumb [those unable to speak for themselves], for the rights of all who are left desolate and defenseless... ~proverbs 31:8

And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness. ~ James 3:18

Monday, May 08, 2006

*overheard*

someone commented to me before the gongshow on saturday night:

"i wanted to come back tonight because, frankly, i thought last night was a bit dry."

!!!

Monday, May 01, 2006

*something new*

ok so i'm sick of looking at my last post som i'm going to post just for the sake of changing scenery.

what's new? not much. i can kind of walk now without crutches, except i kind of look like i've got something very large stuck up my butt.... niiiice.

the vine's live worship CD recording in 4 days!!! so absolutely thrilled out of my mind. i don't think any of us would have realistically thought that we would be at this stage 2 years ago. 2 years ago, we were still meeting at the regal hotel basement, with about 60 people on an average sunday service. flight852 (then SNA) was still meeting at the methodist church basement (we spent a lot of time in basements...), and 180 was going through our 'desert' stage at the fringe club in lankwaifong, with an average of about 15 non-leaders each saturday. we soon moved to music room live that summer and saw a reassuring rise in people as students returned for the summer.

i was helping tom and jacinta lead SNA, but took a month hiatus as i had to go to shanghai because i was working on a hollywood movie as the tutor for cameron bright. the month in shanghai was great, and it was great money :) as the will of God would have it, that 5-month phase of my life brought in enough money for me to volunteer at mother's choice and later at the vine.

how far we have all come in 2 years.

how incredible are God's plans when we forget ourselves BELIEVE His word and step out in faith....