Week 5: New Brothers and Sisters -- June 2

8:36

So. Today started far too early, but it was good. We started with prayer 8-10. That began with a prayer walk which started with confession and sharing our bad attitudes towards prayer then we prayed to be focused and empowered to see with God's eyes.

Then we caught a buggy to the med school. The whole way there I was just singing the chorus to 'Create in me a clean heart' or maybe the song is called Psalm 51'? In any case I was basically just praying Psalm 51 musically or just verses 10-12.

Ya. The prayer walk was good and I was feeling a bit better. RN. I can't really read him. I feel like sometimes he's a bit pushy with the gospel.

Today these two girls walked up to me and I think they wanted to be my friends. I said that would be okay. Then they left..?

Me and DP met up with three guys and it was a deep philosophical conversation. I was a little lost... xP. "Why are all the horses the same?"

Fam dinner was messy, but fun despite the Korean BBQ [which at this point I hated! PW's birthday was so fun!!! I miss her!!! Come back to Canada already!!!!!].

I got my bag stuck in a locker.

Then a very exciting thing, three new brothers!

Also, REAL DURIAN! It is very interesting. I actually like the smell now [I'm one of those weird people who like the smell of skunks, to an extent]. xPP It was a bit expensive and the fruit lady was questioning me, bewildered as to why a white man would want durian. I was locked out of everyone's rooms and confined to the hallway. Alone.

We're gonna watch 'Tangled' now I think. [Such a good movie. 'He's a firework *serious face*']

I had a RL moment earlier.

AL smelled my face.

We are fasting this week, but I'm not really sure how to fast this week.

Also, 'All These Things That I've Done' popped into my head earlier and I feel like there are some cool Christian implications, but I don't remember all the words...

D.Fa

"Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar."

Monday..?

Ok. One more day gone.

-Dang. Tomorrow is Tuesday.

Anyways, I just said that out loud. xPP Today I got to pray for my brothers and family, play tennis, talk to my pastor about EAP and stuff to come, worked on a Bible study I have to lead tomorrow, played pokemon Yellow for an hour (lol), went for dinner with my parents, and now I'm texting TL.

I had a comb-over all day. lol....

Ya, tomorrow starts my training for the camp counsellor job and I get to learn more about what we are actually doing there. Training 9-4. It's gonna be intense..?

Ya. Slow day. whatever. dinner was cool.

I may be going to Toronto for a week at the end of August for a Vacation Bible School. I'm looking forward to that too. lol.

In pokemon I'm only gonna use names from East Asia. lol. But I'm not actually going to catch all that many pokemon because it's a race to the finish... Which goes against my perfectionist method of playing those games....

Ya.

Ttyl.

D.Fa

It seems like my thoughts are in a blender tonight.

SVdM is an awesome guy and it is unfortunate that I didn't get to know him better, but God had a plan for eveything that happened. Everything (about spiritual things that) he said was encouraging and although I never really got to talk to him because of barriers we may have both put up, I'm really glad that I have an older brother like him who has been through so much and seen God do so much more in his life. Love you bro.

Week 5: New Brothers and Sisters -- June 1

10:31

I don't understand myself. Sin is stupid beyond words. We have three new sisters and a new brother and I am feeling sad / angry / upset / depressed / annoyed / 'I don't know what' when I should be feeling super excited and over-joyed. I have seen a new sister today overjoyed to be in our family with Jesus.

Today's meetings actually were really sweet. We shared the gospel, we met a 'Christian guy who may not have a full knowledge of who God is' [but he knew more than enough that God loves and helps people], we talked to a group of girls to distract them from the spiritually interested girl talking to RW (which led to her praying to receive Jesus), then we missed a meeting, went to dinner for pray planning, then we missed the next guy too. I really want him to know God. I at least want to share the gospel with him again more completely and clearly.

I know I am playing favourites or maybe I thought that my feeling that I should meet with him was God speaking to me or something and thought for sure that he would accept Jesus into his life tonight or something... I'm so upset at this, but really, I was being unbiblical or maybe I don't know, it's God's plan not mine. Whenever my plans fail, God's plans show how awesome they really are, so, ya... something good must come from this and I have to destroy these stupid feelings. God help me. Help me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation and grant me a steadfast Spirit (the Holy Spirit) to sustain me.

D.Fa

[In was feeling so bad when I wrote this. I was in the hall pretty much pacing and silently fuming in my head. TL was sitting there and I probably looked crazy to him. Then RW came and sat in the hall too. I just felt like I wanted to destroy something. Like punch a hole in the wall, slice something up with a sword, explode a few things. Why? I don't even know. And I was not going to God about it. Or maybe I was. Not constructively anyways until I wrote this blog post. Then I read Psalm 51 which the last line of the blog post was from (the song actually came to me then) and it was the desire of my heart to have joy over His salvation that was poured out on these four new brothers / sisters as well as me, my family members etc instead of this slurry of bad emotions.

We ended up staying awake until like 1am in the hall just talking and stuff. I refused to go to bed until I gave TL a hug. Either this night or the day before we had some confession time to one another and I felt that I wasn't showing my love for my brothers as much. I mean I had been 'side hugging' the girls a bunch, but not the guys at all. I made it a mission to side hug DP, TL and SVdM before the end of the trip and I really wanted to show my appreciation for TL always being there. When there are things going on in my head. It always helps me to have someone there even if I'm not actually talking to them. Just them being there keeps me from getting worse. Anyways, I'm bad with words, so I felt like side hugs really communicated more than I could.]

Week 5: New Brothers and Sisters -- May 31

9:29

Yo. What happened today? I kinda slept in a bit then ran off to breakfast and class. We learned a bit about 'writing East Asian' today, but ya, learning about how to write the numbers 1-10 for the fourth or fifth time is kinda boring. We got to learn some things about 'National' policy and about how unfair it is... but ya. Some farmers have their land taken away and are then employed for 45$ Canadian per month to sweep the streets. It's kinda sad.

We had a BT meeting about going through follow-up materials with new Christians. It was pretty cool. Today I didn't really have any appointments. Not having appointments is kinda [very] lame. Me and RN went on a Phase I outing and met a cool guy, but when we gave him the website he crossed off his number [took the sheet of paper] and... ya... Fam dinner and frisbee. That was it for the day.

So some other things I think I should mention: I called my family the other day, and my mom said that she was praying for me every night. I love my mom. JW was saying the other day that my willingness to go to a different country and speak to people is a pretty big thing for a shy guy and that can probably be a good witness. I really hope my family comes to know Jesus. I should pray for them again. also for SC. and RL and KC. and 'Moped' [the name we've given the guy that prayed to receive Jesus the day before] and all the other friends I've met.

So little time left. So many friends. So many brothers and sisters that haven't come home yet. I pray this week that Moped's faith keeps burning and that he knows enough for now and that God strengthens him.

D.Fa

Week 5: New Brothers and Sisters -- May 30

8:54

Yo, awesome amazingness! And yet kinda really sad too. Sharing the gospel and then never seeing someone again is the worst. When you love your brother, but don't know what will happen to him on his own. Sure he will be praying, but what will he pray about? At least he has life now.

So, I have a new brother.

It is always super exciting. I know I didn't do everything perfectly, but I'm really glad that God was using my mouth. I'm really glad that I could pray with them. This long weekend holiday thing is kinda annoying though. It's all in God's plan though, so I just need to trust. Even if he falls away a bit, I know God is always with him. Even if he doesn't know much, God will give him wisdom. Even if he doesn't have a Bible (yet), he definitely knows of God's love, our problem, God's solution and our decision.

I need to keep him in my prayers and God I really hope that email works. I really need to pray for his friend too. There's so little time and so many people to tell the good news to. Lol. How much I thank Pastor DB for his explanation of the trinity. How much harder could it get than trying to explain the trinity?

Ya. Praise the Lord and keep praying.

D.Fa

[Ya, so. If you can't tell, I saw someone pray to receive Jesus into their life this day. And it was so great, but then, so scary. So, me and TL were going through the 'four spiritual laws' booklet with him and his friend (these were the guys me and JW met up with about a week ago..?). We were going through and TL had to leave just after he made his decision. We were going to meet a guy who spoke a lot of Japanese. I was excited to meet him, but that meeting turned out to be them playing pool for an hour and a bit, so I'm happy I stayed in the coffee shop with the two guys.

So, I helped go through the last part of the book talking about 'what now that you have Jesus in your life?' using my Bible and the booklet. They were listening and asking questions and reading along in my Bible. We finished the booklet and I was starting to think about our next meeting so that we could start follow-up materials, learning more deeply about what the decision means and more about what your relationship to God looks like, etc. which is important, right? Don't just 'convert' people, but inform them and build them up.

Well, it seemed that there was a long weekend coming up and he was leaving on Wednesday and was too busy tomorrow with packing and school and wouldn't be back until next week. So I started freaking out a bit trying to clarify if there was any chance of there being time tomorrow. In the end they had time tonight, but I didn't have follow-up materials and tomorrow they'd text me (this does not work because of the multiple phones we use and none of them are 'mine') if they were free. So we just talked for a while about random things, exchanged some contact info and started walking back.

They saw one of their friends who was with DP and SVdM. The first thing he said was that we had been talking about God and that he was so excited to be Christian now! lol. Their friend had an English name?!? So, the two of them (who I started referring to as 'the brothers') asked me if I could give them English names. I said I'd think of some good ones.

Seeing his enthusiasm was so great. When he received Jesus, it was a little odd. I don't think he fully understood 'praying' to receive. I definitely stressed 'the words don't matter' part of prayer and it seemed like he took that as 'you don't talk out loud when you pray' so I didn't get to hear him pray. lol. He said he'd pray everyday. He also asked if we had to pray in English. No, God knows every language and He knows your heart.

Anyways, interesting night.

[Also, talking to him yesterday, he said he still doesn't have a Bible, but he has been praying everyday. Mainly for health of body for him and his friends, including me. This is interesting... I need to talk to him some more and pray for him some more.]]

Week 5: New Brothers and Sisters -- May 29

8:53

Hey. I am feeling fresh. xP. I got two new shirts and two new shorts and one pair of socks for like 67 dollars Canadian. I need to go to the bank again now though because I only took out 70$ a few weeks ago, so I'm kinda out and borrowed 20$ from our food money... xP... I'm kinda crazy. I want to be super Asian when I get back, but ya... I don't want my apparent FOBness to be my identity. Is it bad that I want to be FOB-y?

We just watched "Megamind". It was pretty great. It's always better being good instead of bad. Ya. It was really funny. We almost watched "Rio" but I thought it would be really, kinda, terrible.

Thank God, I mean, he provided everything for this missions trip and it's His time that He has given us for this day of rest and it was His plan that we are all here together an it, it's just all thanks to Him, so ya. I should be so thankful.

D.Fa

" 5/29
Anonymous says:
Yes.
AL"

Was this really a Sunday?

This was not a Sunday.

The Sundays I remember were as follows: Wake up, anime / breakfast, Sunday school, Church service, lunch (optional), work, walk home, dinner / anime, sleep.

Today was very different.
There was no anime. There were three meals. No Sunday school. I got driven everywhere. I got to hang out with YF / YA for (literally) hours and hours at the Pastor's house.

I assumed I'd be home at 4. It was 10 when I got home.

I just added JW and MW as friend's on facebook. The other day I realized that I can't deny the following statement: "D.Fa, you just want to be friends with every asian guy you meet." or something like that. I'm pretty sure I can't. When I saw TL, I wanted to be his friend. When I saw KC I wanted to be his friend. When I saw MK I wanted to be friends. When I saw JL, I kinda thought I knew him already, but I still wanted to be his friend.

Yesterday someone was like "Oh, if you want more Chinese friends you should go here (link to Chinese facebook)." lol...

Young kids should not have pets. At least, they should not have pets that can't fend for themselves. Like a 6 year old boy and a hamster..? Please no. A retriever? Sure. The poor guinea pig. >.>

Anyways, I meant to have so many more meaningless things done today instead of the one really long unimportant thing, but it was cool. Spending time with my family before I leave is a good thing. Oh, wait. I need to spend more time with My family. >.>...................

Another day closer to the end of this week,

D.Fa

PS India w00t.

PPS Journeys of Paul. I almost won! Poor AB. lol.

Too Much Sleep.

I feel like I wasted today by accidentally sleeping all day.

I mean I wanted to wake up early and do things instead of staying up later and waking up later, but when I woke up at 6:45. thst was too early... Then my alarm didn't go at 8:45.

I awoke at 1:30 after a series of weird dreams involving the Simpson family and weird surgeries. All about draining blood or getting blood through something.... >.> Weird....

I read my Bible and prayed.

I played tennis and almost started talking to AA and BH about East Asia.

I went home, had a shower, gelled my hair and went off to worship practice.

I got to sing about how great God is again!

I got a drive home and had some food.

I suddenly went to HK, JC and KP's house for a 'satrwars movie marathon' unknowingly, but left because I needed to get clothes for tomorrow from my new house and I didn't return because I felt I needed to do something productive, like go home and work on the thing I'm supposed to lead in YA on Tuesday.

I didn't...

I ended up texting TL, blogging, talking to a couple of my Asian friends, downloading skype, downloading a pokemon Yellow emulator and in general, not doing much.

I rearranged my room so that I now have a desk to work on. That's good.

I'm gonna need to sleep soon...

I need to be less about me and more about God.

God is the ressurection and the life (John 11:25-26)

God is my redeemer (Romans 3:21-24)

God is my armour (Ephesians 6:10-11)

God is always with us (Matthew 28:20)

God is more than we can imagine.

God uses us to bring about His final goal of unifying everything in Heaven and on Earth to Him.

God is our source. Tomorrow I will start my day with God. Tomorrow will be different.

Ttyl.

D.Fa

Random Thoughts.

Having a beard is hard work.

No not really. Having a beard although it means I shave less, it also means it gets really itchy. And if it is not of uniform length it bugs me... I guess I'm gonna chop it off again soon.

Anyways. Not much to do today. I did some more blogging. I'm on 29 week 5 almost!! You just don't see it all because those ones have only reached stage 1 - transcription and additional thoughts. Stage 2 is the edit and add a picture stage. Stage 3 is spell check and proofread. But who am I kidding? Stage 2 and 3 happen pretty simultaneously*.

Ya. I also got this email from this friend who had this link to this application made by this university's Engineering department and this application makes it easy to add this and that course to a schedule so that I can do this before registration day while at the same time not having to draw it out by hand. lol... Fun times last year, but ya... It at the moment seems that I should overload twice in the winter semester. 7 classes... not really because I have to, but because it suggests I take those courses and I want to. . . I will have to think about this again... Also I've been dealing with the idea of switching into Chemistry instead of staying in Biochemistry because I like CHEM more... but I like the biology courses too....... maybe double major..? lol...... as long as that means I don't have to write two thesises...

Anyways. I think I will sleep earlier tonight and wake up earlier. 'I think'. I hope so.

Ya. I want to download an emulator and start playing Pokemon Yellow so that I can compete with TL, my rival!!! Shoutout!!!

I miss TL. TT.TT and PW... and DP...... TTTTT.TTTTT I miss my family. TTT.TTT

Also, I never thought that a free trial pair of contact lenses could ever last a whole year. That's ridic. Like 200$ for glasses. 0$ for a free trial pair of contacts. what?!?

D.Fa







*and there's little or no proofreading. lol

Week 4: Amazing Things -- May 28

11:26

Yo, today was awesome. We got to draw a lot today. First during prayer time we were instructed to take a marker, take a paper and to draw our testimony. You know, I'm not really good at writing testimonies, but I started drawing mine today and it just worked and I actually kinda discovered another aspect of my testimony. OCBC is a real family to me, well not just OCBC, all of the cool people in Jesus' family. I grew up pretty much apart from Christianity [ignoring jr. kindergarten that I don't even remember], but I was invited to a youth group. From there, I saw the love that was among them.

Anyways, Jesus has adopted us all into His family by His blood. The great thing is that now I can help tell others about Jesus and bring them into our family. Our big, happy family. Ya. It's a pretty cute picture I drew. I drew a bunch of people from YF and OCBC. Although some of the stick figures were just generic.

[After we drew them we all shared and prayed about all of our unique stories that God has written for our lives. We also prayed for all the students who also have amazing stories and for how God will work in their lives.]

Today we met with a couple of guys and the gospel was shared twice (in my presence anyways) and our family spent a lot of time together.

[I forgot to mention the other drawing. lol. In family time we took a huge piece of paper and with markers and worship music in the background we wrote down a whole bunch of stuff about who God is and we didn't need to use manners so some people just wrote "Jesus" or "God" or other Christian words in big letters just for the fun of it. lol]

We just watched 'Liar Liar' and I see why RL really likes it (unless that isn't his favourite movie). Now we are watching 'Bruce Almighty' a Jim Carey double feature.

Tomorrow we are likely gonna chill here in 'the city we are in' and rest.

D.Fa

[PS. I fell asleep at the part where Bruce is trying to make Jennifer Aniston love him again. When SVdM turned off the movie and said we were going to bed I was like 'what? It's not over yet? Are we just going to sleep because it's 1am? Although I am tired, so okay, whatever.' It was over. lol. I fell asleep without realizing it.]

Week 4: Amazing Things -- May 27

So, today was pretty nice. First was breakfast, class, announcements, then prayer walk (more on that later), then we had a meeting, quiet time and more meetings.

Today pretty much every meeting we talked more to girls than to guys despite calling and only making meetings with guys. Whenever one person has really English we only really talk to that person [because they speak too quickly for others to follow and then they just drop out of the conversation]. It also seems that girls generally have a bit better English.

But ya, our meeting with Rabbit was pretty sweet [So sweet!].

Anyways, today's wow moment came after the prayer walk. We were divided into three groups and then half of our group had to deal with financial junk, so me and MC were alone praying for ten minutes [then we went back and got AL and JW]. This is not a problem at all, but when one person stops praying, the next person should begin [as the Spirit leads] before the silence gets awkward. With only two [people], I had to pray. Generally I've been in a period of prayerlessness, a prayer drought, but today I was praying for at least like 10 or 15 or 20 minutes. And the awesome thing was that I was praying about everything I saw[, but] with a different prespective. Like speedbumps, military training, the school system, dorms, everything [it was cooler then it sounds. lol].

Ya, I've really seen how important praying is. I felt a real happiness and awe at how everythig can be used to worship God and how great a 10% Christian 'city we went to' would be.

As I said to my roommate: "Prayer is awesome. Prayerlessness is stupid."

Nothing comes from our own efforts without God supporting us. I'm sorry for ever being prayerless.

D.Fa

Week 4: Amazing Things -- May 26

10:20

Hey! Today just flew by again, but actually I feel like it was three days.

Day 1: Me and TL played badminton and did a workout at the exercise park across the street. We got back to the hotel to do stretches and stuff, but some people were going out for breakfast (which we needed to do before long anyways) so we went with them. We went to the greasy breakfast house and had a greasy breakfast. We also sang IN Happy Birthday. lol. We got back, stretched, had quiet time, showered (before quiet time) and then we had to go for lunch.

Day 2: We went to the all you can eat Korean BBQ place a few shops down from our hotel for a guy time lunch. We met this guy A(?) who has been in [and out of] Asia for [actually like 20 years including living in Asia for the last] six years and heard some stories, hot seat style [this refers to the way our family dinners have been working where one person is always 'on the hotseat' meaning they get to answer all questions that are asked to them during their time 'on the hotseat']. The only problem is that we weren't really hungry due to the breakfast only about two hours prior. Then A(?) spoke during BT. Then we ran off for ministry work time and met some awesome students. New Sister!!

Day 3: Dinner at an expensive hotel. We forget TL in the commotion of taxi-ing. He arrived eventually. IN was on birthday hotseat. Then we went to Karaoke and had ice cream cake! There were no backstreet boy songs. We sang for two hours [although it felt like forever, in a good way]. Highlights: Dynamite, 1 2 3 4, Apologize, Amazing Grace, Fairytale. Time just stopped at karaoke.

Only two weeks left. What?!? I really need to step up. God blesses us with so much and it's our mission to [be a blessing to all nations and] change the world.

D.Fa

Week 4: Amazing Things -- May 25

Yo. Today was pretty darn awesome.

Ya, for today all of the meetings were with people who had lower then average English levels [in comparison to the people we had been calling to meet up with. Still better than the majority of students we met and couldn't talk to]. So me and JW met up with these two guys and we went to the coffee place. The one guy was kinda Buddhist, but the other guy believed in himself and science I think. We were talking and JW actually thought the coffee shop was probably not a good place to share with them, but we ended up there.

With a lower level of English you have to go a bit slower, making sure they understand. This is in no way bad. Being able to spend more focused time on the gospel, making sure they understand it, it's a good thing. When you see their eyes open when sharing the gospel you just get so happy. xP. We took our picture outside after and gave them the websites.

Spiritual conversations just make me so happy. They give me joy and peace and just this amazing feeling.

We chilled in the park after for about half an hour. We prayed for them and I prayed for a praise and worship song to pop into my head and so I whistled 'How Deep the Father's Love for Us'. The trees, the sky, the breeze. I was just so happy to be able to see God at work.

We had another meeting with a guy who made the commitment to meet with us instead of playing basketball with his friends and we went through the gospel slowly again.

Then me and DP met with another guy and played badminton.

I was late to the next meeting and thought TL had already come and gone, but actually [as I later found out] he was too busy with our three new brothers. Praise the Lord [for three new brothers receiving Jesus into their lives!]

So much encouragement today. God loves every student in East Asia and I'm so happy I get to share it with them. I am so thankful I am not in a chem lab right now. xP.

D.Fa

"How Deep the Father's Love for Us"

[How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

]

Week 4: Amazing Things -- May 24

10:24

So, today. Me and SVdM didn't really have very many things planned for the day, so, mainly I had a large sum of quiet time. We had class, BT (IBS), then we went to YUMMY food street and we had lunch while talking to a couple first year guys. They had heard a little bit about Jesus, the one guy's grandmother is Christian I infer, and they had a couple questions.

They asked what worship was. That is a very hard question to answer properly. I mean, when I hear the word I think of singing praise and worship songs that talk about the gospel or how great God is and how His love and stuff, but really worship is praising God for what he has done, for how good He is, for how much He gives us, for just who He is and who we are because of Him. A lot of things can fit into the category of worship [including living your life for Him, re:Romans 12:1-2].

Ya. I have like this package of like educational lessons on Christian topics or something that RN had. I've been using it as quiet time material. Today I read some stuff about prayer and 37 ways to ruin your family. I got distracted by phone calls and AL with 'tasty potato chips' and stuff. I felt like such a waste of time, but really no one was free...

At 4 me and TL did some exercises. It was interesting. Cardio boxing, a lot of stretching and push ups.

We got air conditioning. I need new pens. The international phone is out of minutes. Stan was really cool. Tomorrow I have five meetings planned. I hope it is awesome.

D.Fa

[PS. I was honestly like 'who is Stan again..? I didn't meet any Steve... It's not on my schedule... Oh!' Then I remembered who he was. He was this awesome guy who AL (AL's brother), DW and JW had all talked to before in East Asia when they went on Project or STINT. He has been through a lot and is now graduating, leaving his campus and all the ministry that is still working there to continue as God provides. He will be entering the work force where it is harder to share your faith. Pray for him and others in the work forces in East Asia that they too may shine the light into the dark and change the world.

I was actually assuming that all or at least some of the people I knew would have previously been to the city I'd end up in. I guess I'm really glad we got to be on a pioneering project to a new city and at the same time we got to see the impact that Canadians are having there.]

Week 4: Amazing Things -- May 23

11:31

So, it is now very late and I have basically just wasted the last many hours doing next to nothing, but ya, today was weird. Class, BT, phone time, quiet time, and some appointments with friends.

Ya. It's always great to have a conversation with someone and neither of you can understand the other person. Phone conversations are notoriously terrible. Also, when you say that you are Canadian and don't give a name all the Chinese people meeting Canadians apparently walk towards the white guy standing half a block from the meeting place instead of continuing to the actual place..?

In either case God used SVdM today to speak into a student's life and she prayed to receive Christ which is pretty awesome.

Ya.. probably the wrong couple to be meeting, but whatever. I really pray that God uses her to reach out to him [her boyfriend] and that their relationship is real, both Him and her and him and her. I pray that God really blesses her.

Also, I told AL that I had to prepare to be on different teams for EAP. Prepare mentally and emotionally.

Grr. I feel useless.

D.Fa

[While SVdM was talking to the girl that received Jesus, I was busy being a distraction with her boyfriend. They were going through the four spiritual laws booklet while we were having a very awkward conversation while I was eating dinner. A few of the things he said were pretty weird though. He said that he though the sky was god.

Skip forward a few weeks.

She is still going strong having been discipled by MC and PW and she's strong in her faith. Even though she broke up with her boyfriend she 'has God now' and that keeps her going. She was smiling and happy even with the breakup. She also got connected to a church the week we left.

I'm still praying for the both of them. That she is still strong in her faith and growing and that her faith has shown him how real God is and just pushed him a step closer to knowing God.

Yep. Keep praying in faith that God will do great things!]

Week 4: Amazing Things -- May 22

9:18

Hey. It was rest day and really I did a lot of nothing.

First I slept in.

Then we had a greasy breakfast.

Then we had an extended quiet time.

Then we went to a coffee shop to sit on couches while having quiet time [this was the start of going to Friend's Coffee shop, basically, everyday with our new friends]. I got a rose lemon tea. It was quite good. I read a few chapters of 'Fireseeds of Spiritual Awakening' about repentance and retribution as well as how Jesus' prayer life is an exemplary example for ours and the power of prayers. One thing [the book mentioned] was that Jesus' 40 days in the desert fasting was payment for the 40 years that the Jews tried in the desert but didn't obey God and ya, it made a lot of sense.


We then went for lunch together and went downtown to a big park. MC's first kite experience was hilarious and then we played a game for a while with music on a grassy hillside in the shade.

We then went for dinner. We found this newly opened hotpot place 9did I mention yesterday was my first hotpot?) and it was like 20X better than yesterday's and actually less expensive.

Ya. We are about to watch 2012 together as an awesome topic for conversations. Today has been pretty great, but I can't wait to get back to work.

Thank God for rest days.

D.Fa

Week 3: New Discoveries -- May 21

10:49

So, today was the day before our rest day. This is also the day of the week that we have separate guy + girl time. So today started with a jog, a lot of stair mastery, some weight training and a jog back, water, shower, breakfast then guy time.

We listened to a rap about 'Saving the Dying' and how God has placed us in a position to do so, but choose comfort over saving others. You cannot save drowning people from the lifeguard's tower. You cannot save burning people from the fire station. You cannot save sinners from heaven. You have to put yourself in a bit of danger.

Then I had quiet time and played ping pong with TL and some students [John and his friends]. After that we bussed back for family time. We heard a sermon about God's guidance and how all of our choices are within God's plans for the greater good. We have free will, but all our choices are determined. It's a tough thing to get your head around.

Ya. Then I shared what has been called my testimony. It is imperfect and sketchy, rambly and disjointed, but I actually had a revelation about parts of it seconds before presenting it. About the possible moment when I first accepted Jesus into my life with my heart.

Ya, but that will take a whole post so I will deal with an updated testimony after project.

Ya. I still haven't discussed all the reasoning behind my blog or it's title or a full testimony, but hopefully all will be done relatively soon.

Ya.

D.Fa

Week 3: New Discoveries -- May 20

7:03

Ya know, today was pretty great. First we had class. Then we had quiet time, but I had to leave early for an appointment. We got to the place where we were meeting a couple minutes early so me and JW just talked and prayed for a bit. Then, realizing he had a phone in his pocket, called the student we were meeting. He had stayed up late playing cards with his friends. He came running to us from his dorm [his hair was a mess. lol]. We were going to meet him expecting him to bring a couple friends, but he didn't have their numbers and he slept in, so it was just the three of us.

We went back to his dorm room. There were four bunk beds and it was a little messy. No one was there at first, but one of his roommates came shortly afterwards (he didn't speak English though). We just started talking about some stuff and we got to speaking about how there are problems in the world. We started going through the 'English/East Asian bilingual booklet that has verses from the Bible and also shows that Christianity is not just a 'western' thing' and I could really see that he was understanding. Before he had said that he didn't think God was, but he [now] saw the possibility. His mom had told him when he was a kid that God existed [I wonder what she told him exactly, but it sounded like she was Christian].

The only problem was that he didn't know how to explain in English what he was thinking. We gave him the websites and we left. He's going to the capital city next week sometime and then they will get work experience there [he was in school to become a tour guide]. I was just overcome with sadness; no, my, hmm... the only word I can use is heartbroken. Tears just kept coming to my eyes. I really want to speak with him again. He said he was going to study [English] very hard so that he could tell us what he was thinking.

I have been praying to see people as God does. I think that feeling of brokenheartedness is a part of what God feels. [There are thousands of millions of people in East Asia who don't even know of His name, let alone believe in Him. Yet each and every one of them is a unique and beloved creation in His eyes and He is reaching out to them everyday.] I need to have faith that God will use others to reach out to him. I'll be praying really hard for him.

D.Fa


[that is the racket I broke. lol]

Rainy Days.

Hey guys.

Today was rainy. lol. I woke up late at like 9:30 or something I think. I don't actually really remember. I know I had breakfast... lol...

I didn't do much again. Just blogging, anime, emails, facebook. I'm kinda sick of staring at this computer screen.

Awkward situations are hilarious. And because of the short form for awkward (awks. Example 'that was awks') I made up a bunch of hilarious phrases about overcoming the awkward situations. "Take the awks by the horns and overcome it!" "You can't ignore the awks in the room forever" (I actually didn't make up too many, but I thought it was hilarious.) One that I am rather proud of is: "I'm tawksick". Translation: "This is so totally awkward that it is making me sick." totally ==> totes, awkward ==> awks, totes + awks ==> tawks, tawks + sick ==> tawksick. LOL!!! Short forms are hilarious. Adorbs, g-ross, grotes, ridic, etc... lol But I don't fully support them. Not yet....... I'm losing ground though.

So, ya. Also yesterday I got to tell my brother a Bible quote because he apparently wrote an essay for Anthro, partly about the nature or nurture debate thing and he used the 'clay analogy'. By nature it is clay, but depending on the potter it can be in any different shape. Isaiah 64:8!!! "But now oh lord you are our father. We are the clay you are our potter. We are all the work of your hands." God created us and he has a plan for our lives, a plan to mold us into the role he purposed for our lives and a plan for how we can be used. But many different things in the world or other things that we build up as idols that end up controlling our lives.

Anyways, Ttyl.

=D.Fa

Week 3: New Discoveries -- May 19

9:06

Hey. Did I ever tell you that my roommate is awesome? Well, ya... He is. This morning I was being lazy and apathetic towards the idea of breakfast. He went out and got breakfast for both of us.

Ya, I kinda sinned last night. I wasn't feeling all that bad about it this morning. I mean I confessed and repented of it. I never really wanted to... but... ya... Where was I going with this is that I was having a feeling that was keeping me from praying and I didn't feel good.

This morning 8-10 we had a prayer walk and more prayer afterwards, so it was kinda depressing... [because of my prayerlessness] I later read that prayerlessness is sinful. Ya. It is. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 "pray continuously". God commands constant prayer. There were a lot of other verses, but that one is the most direct. [God wants us to be in a close and open relationship with Him.] Ya. If we aren't praying, we are on our own, disconnected and lost in a losing battle. Prayer is essential.

I did a lot of phone calling today and made plans for tomorrow. I then had quiet time. Then we went to meet John. He brought a couple friends and we had a conversation. His friend likes Titanic especially the sacrificial love of Jack(?). Jonathn (in the Bible) had a selfsacrificing brotherly love for David. From the the conversation went spiritual and I started praying. There was this old guy listening to our every word and another guy showed up. We gave John and his friends the websites and will hopefully meet up again on Saturday.

I always feel funny using materials I haven't seen before. I mean, I don't actually know what is on that website. xP.

Me and DP had some meetings afterward, but it was a no show [which led to us meeting 'New' who I will later talk about] and six extra girls [which was really annoying... lol], so kinda unplanned changes, but ya, it's all for Jesus.

Tonight was fun night and after a family dinner with a few guests [a stinter and a couple project directors] we went on a photo scavenger hunt. I really like animals. I will call home tomorrow morning. Phase II is interesting.

=D.Fa

Week 3: New Discoveries -- May 18

9:36

So. I keep getting really big, greasy breakfasts. This seems to make me not hungry at lunch. Anyways, ya, crummy attitudes again... It really keeps me from doing anything. It also made me feel really sorry for my ministry work partner. We did nothing for a couple hours, barely talked to one guy then we were late for BT... I blamed myself.

I apologized after and we had a little chat about what quiet time is. He figures that God is our friend, right? Quiet time is the time when you can just talk openly and just hang out with Him, or something like that. A time with no distractions, no worries, just you and God.

Ya. Phase II. We called a couple people and actually ran into the guy DP was meeting, didn't meet the first guy we were meeting and got to talk to five students when we only called one of them, so, ya, God works in crazy ways sometimes.

Ya. After that we went to an 'English Talk show' which turned out to be more of a speech competition... lol.

Um... I was just asked to share my testimony on Saturday. Ya... I'm still working on it...

The international calling plan has just been bought and I guess I can call home. I don't know what I'd say. xP...

The school we were going to study at is such a nice campus. God can use us, but every speck of sin must be eliminated.

D.Fa

"Joshua 7-8"

Week 3: New Discoveries -- May 17

9:27 [all pm from now on unless otherwise stated.]

Hull-o! I'm a little sick... I have a runny nose and I've just been sweating all day... That's not important though. What is important is how great and awesome God is.

In the last three days or so, I really only ended up meeting like two or three people, but today in our last couple hours officially only in Phase I I met eight more students that all had pretty good English! It was pretty sweet. TL had decided to back off so much that he wasn't even in a couple of conversations. He wanted me to do it. [It was totally the Holy Spirit that was doing it though. I wasn't.]

You know what's even more sweet? We had class this morning and I was in a crummy mood again. Just really to do nothing again, even though I knew I was way behind in Phase I. Then we had quiet time at McDonalds, but I don't carry around my Bible or books, so I thought I had nothing to do. Instead I just looked over John 14 of the IBS (my last resort). You know what? I was just looking through it and I was seeing so much more than I ever do. I was asking questions and stringing together gathered info and understanding to an extent. I was getting excited about God's word. I just felt so pumped about going out and doing work for God and then we met so many people (with English) in such a short ammount of time. =D

Then Phase II hit.

I had just got to being comfortable with Phase I and now we are in Phase II. We really need to get good phone plans so that we can actually call our new friends instead of walking around looking for a phone to use...

Ya... The crummy attitude came back. But then we went for dinner with a student and we had a good conversation. I'm excited again. xP...

I guess I'm fickle, or there's an internal war going on.

D.Fa

Week 3: New Discoveries -- May 16

9:37pm

Yo. Today was the day of rest. I was having a bad attitude towards it, I mean, I only have 14/25 contacts and we only have four weeks left, we've got to start moving onto Phase II and start getting into the spiritual conversations, right? Why should I take a 'day off' when I haven't really been applying myself because of scummy attitudes, but today I was pumped and ready to go... but wasn't allowed to.

But ya. I slept in. I read a cool Christian book. I'm actually ahead of my daily Bible reading schedule. This morning after breakfast (we went to a bakery) when I was in my room I heard the song 'Relax' by Mika. "Relax (echo, echo) Take it ea-----ea----say." I kinda took that as a sign and just asked God to be with me today too, although I wouldn't be doing any ministry work and swore I'd work five times as hard this week.


Ya. Today we went downtown to Walmart. We (five of us) took a taxi and it cost like 4.40$ Canadian for like a 10-15 minute drive. We went to KFC for lunch, went to RBT for tea (very expensive) we checked out the malls, Walmart and a couple parks. It was pretty sweet. There were a million kites flying above the park. We had PizzaHut for dinner. Western restaurants are classy here. It was 55.9$ Canadian for the 13 of us. I got to hold the baby for most of the meal, so I only had two slices of pizza, but ya. I'm glad I finally got to hold him. My camera broke... I hope I can fix it soon. [It is still not fixed. lol... whatever. What's another thousand photos on facebook and my computer?]

Oh. Then we went to play frisbee at the circle [best place ever. old broken fountain surrounded by student dorms and the laundry lady's place. It would be refered to as the square, but it was circular]. It was a lot of fun. Two frisbees. Six people. Twilight. People walking by constantly. xP We also had some students play with us and I got to meet one and get their number. Even on the rest day, with no effort, God got me a contact.

Praise the Lord.

D.Fa

Week 3: New Discoveries -- May 15

--

Hey! Today was interesting as usual. First we went for a short jog and crazy workout at the park. (The other day I saw a real elliptical machine in another park, so they do exist, as opposed to the pendulums.) I could barely lift my arms afterwards...

We then had an awesome man time. It was kinda really funny. The pastor that was speaking (we listened to it from JW's ipod) about the differences between men vs women and how men are built to build bigger, better, faster, awesome things [it's biblical. lol. but the way he phrased it was funny].

We then went to do ministry work. Sundays there are no people... We did however meet three first year airport security majors (one of which who was 14 years old). We had lunch with them [The only time I actually had something from McDonalds].

We then had a couple free hours, which we used to do laundry, buy towels and buy bread/juice for communion.

We then had a 'family time'. This is equivalent to church while we are here in East Asia. TL, SVdM and MC shared their testimonies. We prayed. We had communion. Then because of our IBS on John 13 we washed each others feet. Litterally.

It was pretty funny. All the guys couldn't contain their laughter at their roommates tickling their toes. But seriously, Jesus came down from Heaven and humbled Himself to our level, He came down, felt all the temptaions we do, He even came down and washed His disciples feet the day before the ultimate sacrifice. From being in Heaven, with all things under His authourity down to scrubing dirty feet.

I tried imagining Jesus washing my feet, but it was too funny when DP was washing my feet. I tried again afterwards, I just can't think about it. How would I react?

Another thing that is awesome is that because Jesus died on the cross, TL, SVdM and MC are all alive right now. I'm so glad they are my brothers and sister and that I got to meet them [and spend seven weeks together with them]. I love them.

We also went to dinner, bubble tea, and we are just hanging out now. Tomorrow is the day of rest and we are probably going downtown for shopping and fun time.

D.Fa

Week 2: I'm in East Asia!?! -- May 14

--

I was feeling really awesome this morning. In BT we had a talk about who God is and our possible misconceptions or imaginations of God based on parental figures or mentors, or our feelings [which was apparently part of our OCBC church family retreat a week later back in Canada. What!? Crazy!]. Then we looked at a number of verses that give a real picture of who God is and who we are because of who God is. It was really awesome.

[I'm actually still using the card we made from this BT. Thanks MC!!! Here are some points:
God is:
-my strength + my rock + my deliverer (Psalm 18:1-2)
-the true vine (John 15:5)
-the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)
-rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4)
-my armour (Ephesians 6:10-11)
-love (1 John 4:16)
-good (Romans 8:28, Psalm 106:1)
-My redeemer (Romans 6:23)
-resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26)
-my Shepard (John 10:27-29)
-creator of all (Prov 22:2)
-consuming fire (Hebrews 12:39)
compassionate (Matthew 14:14)
-great and awesome (Deuteronomy 7:21)
-eternal (Matthew 24:35)
-with us always (Matthew 28:20)
-giver of good gifts (John 15:7)
-unrelenting in his pursuit of the lost (Luke 19:10)

In Light of who God is, ____(insert your name here) is:
-adopted as his son/daughter through Jesus (Ephesians 1:5)
-marked in Him with a seal the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
-a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20-21)
-raised with Jesus (Collosions 3:1)
-called (Collosians 5:24)
-masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10)
-Child of God (2 Corinthians 6:18)
-new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
-victorious (1 Corinthians 15:37)
-loved (Galatians 3:20)

We ran out of time though, but I am still adding to this list and looking back on it. 'It was really awesome']

Before BT, me and TL had a badminton man-date. It was pretty fun for a while. The problem is that I tend to play to[o] hard. xP I swung at the birdie and the racket went flying. Well, just the neck and head, not the handle. So, ya, we stopped playing.


In quiet time I read Joshua 3-4 and Psalm 58-60. I also kinda zoned out. Me and TL then went out to explore and meet people again. We bussed to the PT University and it was pretty quiet, so we walked. We ended up at the river. It looked like it was dry. [It looked like it was dry!] I found out the hard way. I was the first to get a mud bath. We walked through 'the ghetto' to get home, I changed shoes and we went out again.

We really didn't meet too many people, but this one guy, who we named David was really nice. I really felt that we should make friends with him. I'm glad we did. [He was misunderstanding our question of 'how many years have you studied' as 'how many will you', so he kept saying he was in 5th year. I didn't believe it, but TL did. In the end he had been in university 2.5 years. We had lunch with him.]

I'm so sunburned. lol. If sunsickness exists, I probably have it. Kinda a depression and a rash and some headaches.

MC is so nice. heart. SVdM is kinda a combatative person.

D.Fa

"Col 3:12-14 'Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.'"

Week 2: Im in East Asia!?! -- May 13

--

It's funny how God works. Up until like the last half hour, today was, like, the darkest, worse day. Not that the sky was cloudy, not that anything big and bad happened, I just was burying myself in unrepented sinful ideas and attitudes. My attitude towards my fam member SVdM was growing worse and worse, I was feeling apathetic towards ministry work, I was closing myself off from others, I slept in, I was getting fed up with 'East Asian Language' class, I was just being sinful. Quiet time was a fail, BT was a fail, I wasn't really praying, I was just on a downwards, internal spiral of apathy, self-centered attitudes and a sinful outlook. Just because you haven't physically sinned in a couple weeks does not make you able to personally, on your own, keep yourself in the right. It's all this self-centrality that is undermining everything I am doing here. Satan is stupid and lame, but against you he has power. Against God in you he is weak.

I'm so thankful for how God was speaking to me to confess these attitudes and actions to someone although Satan kept telling me to bottle it all. I'm thankful that God uses others to speak into our lives, I'm super thankful that God humbles us. If it wasn't for JW. Scrap that. Even with him there prodding, if it weren't for the Holy Spirit convicting me to be honest always and to be open about some things I would be so much further down right now, probably taking the scum into the physical realm, but instead I've seen how wrong I was, how incorrect my thoughts were, how much God unconditionally loves us, how many and endless are the possibilities for those who rely on God, the value of confession and rebuking brothers,

God, thank you.

D.Fa

"Every second I am here"

[PS. That is a picture I took from the 14th when we were going through a broken part of the city. It was pretty sad, but really, there used to be more people in the town, so some parts just aren't used anymore.]

Losing things.

Life in East Asia was so much simpler.

No need for cell phones or keys or laptops.

The third day back and I lose my cellphone. I havn't found my house key yet, well I have found my old house key and my new one, but not my parents' house's key...

Also, with the cluter of boxes and furniture I almost lost my notebook... The one that had all my Asian friend's email addresses! I was freaking out about this. Luckily I found it today. I was so relieved. I just added all my friends and I just started having a conversation with one of my and DP's friends! I miss him. xP

Anyways, today I blogged, watched anime, went to BF's to get my phone and I ended up feeding RM's bird and signing up to lead YA next week..., I had a really long quiet time and prayer time, played softball with a bunch of friends in the rain. So great.

About all my problems with the summer camp: They have all melted away! lol. We will have internet in Quebec. I'll be in a community near James Bay. We fly back on the 12th.

Oh. I don't have to work in produce at all these next two weeks. Bonus! But actually, BJ is leaving. TT.TT

I think I should start trying to get my G1..?

D.Fa

Week 2: I'm in East Asia!?! -- May 12

10:52 am

'Proverbs'
-Prayer walks are pretty awesome, but sinful attitudes are not.
-Fluffy seeds can make things look magical, but when they get in your eyes it is not magical.
-Having a family in another country is like the best thing ever.
-Make sure you call him back the next day. (lol.)
-God speaks in many ways, but you have to be listening for Him.
-Comparing yourself to others is never a good thing. You either get prideful (sinful) or jealous/depressed (sinful). God will use you in a unique way.
-Threatening to destroy an alarm clock that ticks very loudly may result in the sudden disappearance of said clock.
-Side hugs are a safe and culturally acceptable way of showing affection for one another.
-If you want something [in specific] to drink and you have water, there is definitely a powdered form out there for you.
-You don't have to pretend to be foreign if you are.
-Look both ways before ya cross. Even then, be prepared to book it.
-Make sure you wash or 'hanitize'[our way of saying 'sanitize your hands with purell or other hand sanitizers] before eating. You don't want to get on the 'D-train' [euphemism for 'getting diahrea'].
-Never walk barefoot in your bathroom, or anywhere. Both floor and bathroom start with the same syllable.

D.Fa

Week 2: I'm in East Asia!?! -- May 11

8:26pm

Yo. Today was pretty awesome. Instead of a run, we went for a prayer walk to the big cafeteria near the South Gate of the city. There were so many students. We ate some 'delIcious breakfast food' and soy milk. (So proud that I ordered the 'delIcious breakfast food' by myself. "Two" (in East Asian) =D) It was so good and only like '35 cents Canadian'.

We bussed back to McDonalds for class again. The same song was playing. We did some more 'East Asian spelt with English characters' and pronouncing stuff work. After we had business time (BT) and quiet time and Inductive Bible Study (IBS). IBS was pretty cool.

We went to the caf again for lunch and to meet some people. We prayed for an awesome person who could speak English. We approached one guy in line to ask him what to order and he ordered a 'delIcious chicken meal' for us. It was spicy. He likes to play Devil May Cry 4. He was pretty cool. I then accidentally approached a girl and awkwardly left, but then a guy approached us asking if he could help us. He was really good at English and he definitly has an interesting story. A fortune teller told him that if he didn't change his name from 'Grass Cutter' he would have a disaster occur to him. He changed his name to 'Family Protector'. He had to leave quickly so we didn't get to talk for long, but I'm excited for him. We also talked to a graduate by accident. He was great to talk to too.

After we played basketball with our teacher's English class. We gave some guys English names. xP. We also went towards the cafs for dinner, but ended up going through 'an area that resembles a more stereo-typical version of what I thought East Asia might be like' and getting a 'crepe'. It was so much more 'East Asian' than the rest of this city.

We went for Korean BBQ. I love my family. This city is awesome and there's so much going on. I'm ecited for this summer.

D.Fa

Week 2: I'm in East Asia!?! -- May 10

8:59pm

Today started off earlier than usual, but later than expected. I wanted to wake up at like 6 to do a work out or something, but I kept sleeping after I turned the alarm off. Ya. However, when I woke up again I couldn't get back to sleep easily (combination of opening my eyes too much, rolling around, the darn ticking clock, etc. so I went through Deut 29-30 and then started going through the Spirit-filled life booklet again. I got to the fourth point I think and then RN and JW knocked on the door and all the guys (except DP) went for a good run.

It was pretty sweet. Ya, problem. We 'did our laundry' last night. This involved giving the laundry lady and her Chihuahua all my clothes, so I had nothing else to wear. When I showered, I washed my shirt too... lol.

Then I had a peanut butter sandwich with taro and honey breads. We had another class at McDonald's, we had some 'business time' [the time of day when we either learn something with quotes from the Bible about a spiritual topic, do our inductive Bible studies, share things that God is doing in our lives, plan for the week ahead, etc.].

I ended up feeling pretty bad. I mean I had all these scummy feelings of apathy and uselessness. I prayed that they would be replaced by joy and peace.

We then went for lunch and afterwards ministry work finally began. We (RN, DP and I) went around meeting people. On the basketball courts we were celebrities with screaming girls, but that's not important. We met some guys and then we bought a basketball for later. We went to play ball across from our hotel with some of our teacher's students. By the end of all that ministry work and stuff I felt so much better and I am really excited for this summer. Praise the Lord for answered prayers, yo.

D.Fa

Week 2: I'm in East Asia!?! -- May 9

7:50pm

So. Today was interesting. We woke up at like 8, had breakfast at the same place again, and then we went to McDonalds!(sarc) I didn't want to go to McDonalds. xP, but it was so good! Why? Our first 'East Asian Language' class! Pretty exciting, except that the subject matter was not. We were just reading 'East Asian written in English characters' for the whole two hours... Kinda got boring.

Ya. Today was our day of rest, so we went for a bit of a prayer walk, had some quiet time, went for a tour on a bus trolley thing [Which we started calling either a 'buggy' or 'little bus'], did some laundry, went to this crazy park with ridiculous machines for working out and we explored a bookstore and a mall.

This was all great except that my stomach was hurting. It turns out I was hungry. At the time I thought it might have been 'constipation' or 'diahrea'[this is awkward, but it was way more fun writing thos words with manners. lol]. I feel better with some food in my stomach.

I'm actually getting bored of all this free time and rest and junk, but I guess it will all work out for the best. If I had been doing ministry work while my stomach hurt, it probably would not be very effective.

D.Fa

Week 2: I'm in East Asia?!? -- May 8

2:30pm

We had breakfast together this morning. To feed all fifteen or so of us cost like 10$ Canadian. That is ridiculous. There's no tax and no tip. Craziness. Breakfast is like 10$ per person [minimum in a restaurant] in Canada.

This morning when I woke up breifly at 5am I heard 'fireworks'. It turns out that they have 'rain cannons' that make it rain [very low percentage though] by firing chemicals and junk into the air.

At 8 we looked around the town and broke into groups for exploring. Me, MC and DP went together and found like a bank and some female dorms and finally the school where we'll be learning at [nope. more on that later]. We talked to some students and it was cool.


We then went for lunch (I have been taking pictures for CC. lol.) and afterwards it was raining. All the stores had umbrellas for sale. All of them. At competative prices. So we got new umbrellas for like three dollars Canadian. Ya. This is gonna be good.

D.Fa

Excuses.

So, today I slept.

I slept until 2:30. I went to bed at midnight though, so, really, 14.5 hours. Kinda terrible... BUT I was sick... AND I'm still lagging a bit... but really those are excuses. I could have woken up earlier.

I could have.

In anycase, I did very little today. I had lunch, played tennis (poorly), read emails and went to YA.

YA was cool though. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 makes way more sense after having read a bunch of the Old Testament. Also, my friends are awesome. A friend confessed something tonight and I totally agreed with him. We had been talking about how it is hard to love some one you hate (because we were talking about this week's sermon on love being a sign of assurance of your salvation in Jesus) and generally it is only 'normal' (in the most basic sense) to love people who help you some way or people who love you is the idea that came up. That friend said that he really loves this guy who there really isn't much of a reason for him to and I totally understood that. I love that guy too. I want to pray for him every night. I'm gonna get a prayer journal to keep track of stuff. JW's influence.

Ya. More to come tomorrow maybe..?

D.Fa

Service Charge?!?

So.

Today was another somewhat long day.

Today I had to get a Police Record Check, so that I can work this summer and help orient the new kids at school in September, and exchange my Asian money so that it would be useful to me.

Service Charges are outrageous. lol. In Asia there's practically no price on any service. Again I need to remind myself that people aren't treated properly in Asia. Workers get absolute minimum pay and no tip or anything. Working hard all day for almost nothing. So, my paying a bit of tax or a small fee is helping a lot of people.

Anyways. I eventually went to the house I'll be living in come September and we had pasta and ice cream and played monopoly. We also talked about Asia. It was good.

You don't know yet, but you will see that I was really being tempted to do nothing and given bad attitudes and temptations to do 'that thing that guys sometimes do' and all that stuff while on project. The devil doesn't want us doing work. He definately slowed me down. I could have done way more, but God taught me a lot and sometimes the hard way is the better way to really learn things. Hebrews 12:11 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." I hope I have really been trained and pray that the training sticks and doesn't wash away.

Ya. I'm sick.

Goodnight.

D.Fa

Week 2: I'm in Asia...?! -- May 7

9pm-ish

Hey! I'm in East Asia! What?!? So crazy, but I'm kinda beyond tired.

So, ya, after the four hours, I didn't sleep on the bus, I didn't sleep before the plane ride, and I only got a little sleep on the plane. I watched a movie and some TV including 'Being Erica' and 'Modern Family'.

So, one thing to remember, if you want to sleep on the plane, make sure you sleep during the simulated night time or else you won't be able to sleep during the simulated day time and the simulated sunrise will wake you up. I got to see some mountains (East Asian character for mountain)! So cool!



The hotel we are staying at is pretty nice. I can't complain. There is a toilet in our bathroom, but also it is a shower. The bathroom. Kinda funny.

Also, I think that it is odd that today was yesterday. In other words, I am blogging during the same day of being awake, but the time change was pretty severe. lol.

D.Fa

Week 1: Orientation -- May 6

Almost 8am

We have left the college and are going to the airport for our crazy 12 or 14 hour flight..? [more like 11..?] It's gonna be a bit long, but whatever. I hope my television screen works. Ya. xP [on the ride to Vancouver, it did not.]

Last night we played 'Catch Phrase' with some people. It was a lot of fun. [lol. balls on a stick. *hand gesture of balls on a stick*... *beep* "It was grapes." lol] Then we started watching 'Peter Pan'. I ended up accidentally falling asleep when I went back to my room to use the washroom. It was a bit cold again, but I don't want to complain about it 1) because biblically I shouldn't [Philipians 2:14 "Do everything without complaining or arguing"] and 2) I will soon desire to complain about the heat. xP

We played badminton. We learned some important stuff. We had an awesome praise and worship session and really prayed for a while. I really want to see God reward our faith and see all the stones connect. [The last day of Orientation we all took some stones and prayed in faith that we'd be able to give them to new Christians when they pray to recieve Christ, encouraging them that Jesus is the firm foundation and solid rock. Matt 7:24-27]

Ya. I can't wait. I'm gonna miss everyone I meet this summer. >.>

D.Fa

Week 1: Orientation -- May 5

Almost 8am

It's rainy again. It's been so nice and sunny most of the time though so I guess its ok. xP. God has really blessed us this week. Yesterday we had a bunch of sessions on sharing and the gospel including a session on apolegetics. We also got our family roles. I've been given the role of materials coordinator and I'm sharing the fun time coordinator position. This summer is gonna be awesome. I don't know how I feel about the day of rest, but I suppose it is a command, so I'll do it.

Yesterday the elastic band battle continued and intensified. I now have 15. I'd been thinking, there's probably like 150-160 or so maybe, so I've got like 1/10 of the bands. xP. I followed one guy and made sure I got the two he owed me. lol. [Elastic band battle: there was a game to help us learn to speak 'politely'. We were each given 3 bands and whenever you 'swore', meaning to say a Christian word, you would lose a band to whoever caught you 'swearing'.]

I was also told that I am good at East Asian, so that is a positive thing. I really want to be a circle head when I get back. That would just be the funniest thing ever. [There was an analogy in a session. Canadians are 'block heads' and East Asians are 'circle heads'. We want to adapt and become 'stop-sign heads' (octagons. both round and with edges, so in between) being able to relate with them, yet not becoming them.]

Ya, spiritual warfare / temptation has definitely not been a very strong problem so far, but I'm sure that when it gets down to it, it will be... I really pray that I will be fully open with my family and that we can all support each other in this.

D.Fa

Week 1: Orientation -- May 4

Almost 8am

Yesterday was full on, hardcore. We had so much to learn and take in. Especially manners [which is the 'polite' way to use Christian words while we were in East Asia. My blog was written in manners and as such I will need to change a significant number of words.] It's a real challenge to pray politely, I mean, I usually say 'Lord' at the end or beggining of most of my sentences while praying, so I have to break that habit. I suppose it's a good thing. Sometimes we end up praying the same way for a long time and it just ends up being so much less meaningful, so much less powerful, sometimes you forget that you have to pray from the heart.

But either way, God doesn't care what you say. He hears what your heart says.

So, ya. Yesterday was awesome, finances have been dealt with and I can just relax with my family.

I didn't really realize that we wouldn't be going to a church in East Asia. That we have to be the pastor and the praise and worship team and the congregation. It'll be amazing to see how God and the Holy Spirit speaks through my family.

D.Fa

[PS. family was the 'polite' way of saying team, but I much prefer the word family. The 15 of us were a family, not a team. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ and so I will continue to use the term family. From here on out family (when used during an EAP blog post) means my team unless otherwise stated.]

Week 1: Orientation -- May 3

Almost 7am.

Yesterday was great once we got off the plane. We got to meet so many awesome people. We took a two hour bus ride to a Bible College and moved into a res building. Each room has two people and a shared bathroom with one other room.

The weather yesterday was kinda exactly tha same as Ottawa. Mild, cloudy, rainy. Ya. Kinda strange how you move from one side of the country to the other and it's the same. Well, the houses are all huge here. lol. There was a suburb I saw from the plane. It was like all monsions.

Ya. We got to know where we are going and who is on our team and by a small probability, AL is on my team. I was prepared to be on different teams. It's gonna be interesting.

We have a pretty packed schedule. 8am-9pm with an hour or so of freetime. We also have 9-11pm to do whatever. I went to bed at 11pm, ie 2am Ottawa time after playing Settlers of Catan with my roommate, his friend and two other guys who are not involved in EAP. I had 8 victory points, but we had to go at 11pm, so, we all won. lol.

D.Fa

Week 1: Orientation -- May 2

Almost 11am.

So. We are at the airport and we are waiting until we can board the plane. I am bag sitting. I don't have a watch. It's kinda a gross day in Ottawa, cloudy, rainy, ya. And I'm a bit confused, but whatever. It'll work out.

Time to start living every second, every breath, every step, every thought, every desire for God. JK and HK got me a camera! So awesome. Just need to make sure I get a converter for the outlets while I'm in Vancouver or wherever we are going.

This is where my blogging will be for the next month and a half. When I get back... guh... typing all of this, ya right... Ya.

So excited!

Ttyl.

D.Fa

Day 2 of the lag.

Yo. I slept 3:30-8:30 am. weird, eh?

It seems that I get so much done now. like 3 hours feels so much longer. I like it.

Anyways, I went to church today in all new clothes from Asia and gel in my Mohawk (yes I have a Mohawk again, but it's way better.) and a lot of people said that they didn't recognize me at first. Everyone did in the end. My church family is awesome. Singing with all of them is awesome. Just being surrounded by that love, the love of God manifested in each of them and them as a family, so good.

Father's day was today. I feel like it isn't really celebrated as a holiday. Like it's hallmark cards and a couple tacky presents. In church it was so much more. About how our father's are simply modeling our Heavenly Father and all that good stuff.

Ya. I talked briefly to a lot of people. RL was the very first person I saw and I was sooooo happy when I saw him. I thought "awesome! RL's going to church every week again!", but no... first time since I left... T.T I'm still praying for him. Apparently someone is disciple-ing him now. Sweet.

Anyways, we went for lunch in a huge group and ate Mexican food. Like 12 times more expensive... I could eat for 4 days in Asia for that one meal. Tax and tip... lol. There are unseen benefits to everyone with the higher cost.

Then I've been here working on the email and playing tennis with my brother. My forehand died with all the badminton, but my serve is way better. lol.

I need to email the summer camp people and see a couple things. 1. I can't register for classes until the day after I leave... And, there's a wedding the day before I return... We'll see what happens.

Yup. I need a quiet time.

Ttyl.

D.Fa

PS. I'll start blogging tomorrow. I promise.

I'm Home, Yo!

Hey!

I've missed you guys! These last six weeks have been an amazing time seeing what God has been doing in East Asia already, seeing how he can use us, and really learning more about our relationship with Him. It's been up and down, but so many great things have happened and I can't wait to share them with you guys and everyone else.

We had no internet acsess while in East Asia, so I apoligize for there being no updates, but thanks so much for all the prayers and support you guys gave for me, for the project, for East Asia, for everything. Thanks.

Anyways, I was keeping a blog journal which because it was not online AL corrected my calling it a blog because it was a log not a web log, but I still called it a blog and labelled the cover "Incomplete Compostion: Log B". I wrote in it everyday up until yesterday and I plan to type it all up. So, please be patient. xP

I'll still be sharing great things with you anyways. xP Today was messed up though. I slept from 6am-4pm after scanning through my emails while drinking chocolate milk and what I discovered to be two-month-old, stale Frootloops (in East Asia where I was, there was very little cow milk, only sold in small bags like a juice box, although there was a lot of soy milk, but that's different. Also, there was no cereal). Then I woke up and the first few hours seemed to drag on forever. I cleaned the kitchen, answered my new emails (mostly from facebook) and turned on my cell phone.

I've also been procrastinating writing an email to my supporters. That will be done soon. Ya. So, I have two weeks here then I'm off to Northern Quebec. This means the 45ish blog posts must be completed in about 14 days as well as all the other stuff I have to do.

Ya. Apparently while I was gone some people from Armenia, Barbados, and Kyrgyzstan saw my blog! w00t!

Okay. I gotta work on the email. I'll keep you posted.

=D.Fa