"Choose 5 things to prioritize in your life right now," my mom said to me.
You see, I love staying busy. When I see a blank square in my calendar, I feel like something isn't right and that I am not maximizing my time.
And now I have too much on my plate. Monday golf lessons, Fusion Wednesday nights, Friday youth group, and Sunday church + small group. Add in the occasional Alumni and Parent Admission Program for WashU (college fairs, interviews, etc). Then there are the activities I am considering/toying around with: DSP Atlanta Alumni Chapter, Fusion leadership, volunteering with Intervarsity, helping start a college/post grad ministry at church. Now I'm in over my head.
Yesterday I made a few new dishes with the promise of pictures for other recipes I try this week. I was in a very paleo-snack mood, so I decided to try the kale chip recipe I've been seeing all over forums. In addition, I did not wake up in time to try the egg-in-tomato dish, so I tried it tonight. Both were fun to make, but didn't turn out exactly as I would have liked. The kale chips were a bit too salty (must add less salt next time!) and the eggs were too runny :(
Cooking these few days have given me some insight into God as Creator. I would sit down, think about what I was going to make, be really excited about the idea knowing full well that it may not come out exactly as I wanted. However, I was still willing to go through with my creation even if it turned out to be a failure.
Now I can't say I know exactly what God was thinking when He created us, but I think God had an idea of how He would like for us to turn out (righteous, good, etc) like how I wanted my eggs to turn out more well-done. Yet, we have minds of our own and do what we want, like my eggs choosing to not cook all the way. All the while, I still hope that my eggs would cook more over time, like God wanting to see us grow more like Christ.
Pull kale leaves off the stem. Drizzle with olive oil & sea salt. Make sure they don't overlap on the cookie tray. Bake for 15 min at 350 degrees.
The finished product: crispy, salty kale chips!
Hollow out a tomato, add pesto, crack an egg inside. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
It was a bit more liquid-y than I was expecting, but it was fun nonetheless.
I made it through last week's paleo on a budget challenge! Every morning, I had a onion & green pepper omelet. For three days' lunch and dinner, I had chicken, onion and green pepper stir fry. On the other two days I had beef and broccoli stir fry. On Saturday, I was blessed with the ability to eat at Sushi Itto before it opened because the owner wanted our opinion/feedback - so I got a free meal! Saturday night I had a sausage from our office's cookout on Friday. And Sunday I had two meals of omelets.
But this week, one of our "challenges" is to Taste and See God in something artistic. This could be exploring a new place, trying a new food, or watching a good movie, etc. So far, I've cooked two new things!
1. Spaghetti Squash. FUN! Popped this bad boy in the microwave for 20 min or 5 min per pound (flipping halfway through). Cut it open, de-gutted it, and scraped out the "spaghetti" with a fork. This was really exciting because I've never cooked any type of squash before, plus this was a very interesting squash. It is very watery, but has a subtle sweet taste similar to yams. I can't say it is as fun as eating normal spaghetti, but I do find it a very suitable substitute for spaghetti especially when I'm craving Jo Mama's Famous Spaghetti sauce.
2. Home made pesto. Used basil, pecans, garlic and olive oil. I have to admit, I do miss Washu's rendition of pesto... it must be the pine nuts and cheese. Mine tastes a bit... woodier? ALSO. We don't have a food processor, so I was slaving away at trying to mince the pesto as fine as possible, and then used the stone bowl smoosher thing, then finally discovered our blender. Man, without the blender, I think it would have been impossible to make pesto. But I do have to say, I really felt caveman-ish while using that stone bowl.
If I get up early enough, I'm going to bake an egg inside a tomato (w/ pesto) for breakfast! I should really take pics of these things..
As you may know, my small group decided last week to post 10 things we're grateful for each day. That was great because I got to see how God was working in even the small things in my life & how blessed I am. At the end of the week, I really felt happier because I had all these things to be grateful for. If I wasn't forced to write 10 down, then I wouldn't have thought about what all I'm grateful for. I think I'm going to continue doing this because it really helped me to see how God was blessing me.
THIS WEEK we have some exciting challenges. The one that I am most nervous/excited for is the "Simplify Your Life" challenge where as a group, we are choosing to not eat out this week and only live off of $25 worth of groceries for the week. Originally, I thought we were going to do $2/day or $14/wk, so the jump to $25 is huge for me! The idea is that we would be able to better empathize with people living on less than $2 per day in third world countries. Then we take the money that we would have used to go out to eat and donate it to a cause.
For me, the real challenge is trying to figure out how to keep the Paleo Diet while limiting myself to $25. This makes me angry because I'm realizing that all the cheap food that I would've purchased while not on the diet (spaghetti, bread, rice, beans, corn syrup, etc) are all not as good for you. However, hopefully I can prove that it is possible to go paleo on a limited budget.
Thankful for an awesome/fun dream this morning about dating Josh Duhamel and he was trying to impress me by how manly he is :)
Thankful that my first client training went well.
Thankful for the opportunity to sit in on strategic planning meetings to see how the higher ups think and approach client relationships.
Thankful that I'm of good health and don't have cancer.
Thankful for the reusable Leukemia & Lymphoma Society bag I won so that I can carry my lunch stuff back home.
Thankful for living at home.
Thankful for the opportunity to be in Atlanta to watch my brother grow up (and to teach him how to drive!)
Thankful that when Jonathan Hsieh saw that the girl counselors weren't present and joked, "The girl counselors must not love you," that Victoria yelled, "But Joy loves us!" :) Made my night.
Thankful for slowly rebuilding my relationship with my dad.
Thankful that my presentation today got moved to tomorrow because I wasn't prepared to present it.
Thankful that in times of need, I accidentally left things in the right place. For example, leaving my peacoat in the trunk because it is so chilly today!
Thankful that I have a car that I can nap in during lunch time. Exhausted.
Thankful that my golf instructor has extra golf clubs I can use tonight since I accidentally left mine at home.
Thankful that a kind Samaritan returned my instructor's golf club that I borrowed and lost >.<
Thankful that I have a friend who knows how to cook with a limited budget.
Thankful for Scoutmob deals in Atlanta.
Thankful that my umbrella was found.
Thankful that I forgot about my sweet potatoes from this morning. Now I have lunch for tomorrow!
Also, this seems like it is going to be the Caveman month where I eat nothing but meat, fruits and vegetables and where I hit things with clubs.
1. "The 40" aka Georgia's Intervarsity Fall Conference. I'm friends with various staff workers in the Georgia region who invited me to help out as a prayer intercessor/minister. Since prayer ministry has been a huge part of my relationship with God, I wanted to help other students experience it too. This weekend, God really worked in huge ways.
Satan was really putting up a fight and continuously tried to thwart God's plans, and we knew it was because God was going to do something big. And He did. Last night, we invited students to receive healing by coming up to the prayer ministers. Going into it, I was very weary of how many people would actually come up to get prayer. Before coming to The 40, I prayed that God would at least give me the opportunity to pray for one person. Last night, I had the opportunity of praying for that one person, and after going back to see if anybody else wanted prayer, not only was there a line, but there was a pool of students standing there waiting to receive prayer. PRAISE GOD! I had the privilege of helping six students hear from God and be freed from what was holding them down.
This weekend has shown me how much I miss college ministry. While rooming with a fantastic woman of God that reminds me of my college roommate from last year, I learned that she moved to Atlanta and started work at a social media marketing firm the exact same day that I started work at Nielsen, and she helps with Emory's BASIC (African-American) chapter as a volunteer staff. That got some wheels turning in my head about the possibility of me being a volunteer staff as well. The idea is still premature and may or may not come to fruition next year or in the future. For now, I am committed to ACCCN's youth group and I know I won't have the time and energy to do that and help with Intervarsity and go to Fusion on Wednesdays. So we'll see where God brings me.
2. A few of us young adults around Atlanta were desiring community of people really seeking to follow Jesus and challenge each other, so we started a post-graduate small group that meets on Sundays. We currently began our group study of reading "Practicing The Way of Jesus: Life Together In The Kingdom of Love" which is a book that shows how to practically follow Jesus' teachings. I'm REALLY excited for this. Each week, we take on one or two of the experiments/challenges as a community.
This week we are experimenting with security:
Gratitude. Each day, we are writing down ten things that we are grateful for. (without repeating anything)
Time/money journal. We keep a detailed journal of where we are spending our time and money, and will share these with the rest of the group.
I will be posting my gratitude journal here each night (hopefully). I'm thankful that...
God really showed up at Georgia's Intervarsity fall conference "The 40" and showed His power as our Healer.
The car ride to and from The 40 was great in the sense that we got there fast and had good conversation.
I have the privilege of choosing what I want to eat each meal.
We started this post-graduate small group.
I had the opportunity to lead a GIG my senior year & that our Bible studies still speak to me today!
I can bundle up when it is cold.
God provides everything in my life abundantly.
The Kroger near my house is open until 1am.
I got to see old faces at The 40 and met many new people!
Thought of the last two months: God is like Microsoft Excel in that I thought I knew all about Excel in high school and college, but I've been learning that there's SO MUCH more to it. I'm continuously humbled by what little I know about Excel's capabilities and just how powerful it is.
Which segways into something AWESOME that happened to me tonight.
While cleaning up my room, I found a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card from my birthday. Since I've been learning so much about Excel at work, I wanted to get a copy of Excel for Dummies, so I drove to Barnes and Noble. I went to my local Barnes and Noble on Peachtree Rd, picked up the book, and got all the way to check out to find that my debit card wasn't in my wallet. NOOO. It could've been in my other bag, it could be in the car, or it could be left at the Peruvian restaurant I was just at. After apologizing to the cashier, I ran back to the car and found my debit card in the cupholder - hallelujah! I got back in line with three people in front of me. The first was this really down to earth girl with tousled brown hair and a huge smile, the second was her friend who had a grey beard and a baseball cap on. The man in front of me was a really tall balding business man.
As the girl was checking out, she pulled out a 40% coupon from her iPhone. The cashier exclaimed, "Wow, what a great deal! And you can use it over and over - it is a public coupon!" She let her friend use the coupon too, and the man behind her was saying, "You and I should be friends. What's your name?" With a huge smile, she said, "Patricia! It's nice to meet you." She proceeded to graciously wait for the third guy to check out, and let him use the coupon too. The whole time she was so friendly and loving toward this stranger. At the end, he said, "I really need to make this up to you! Thank you so much Patricia!" She replied, "Oh no, not at all! You can just return the favor and pay it forward," and she left. He turns around to me and asks, "Are you a Barnes and Noble Member? If not, you are tonight!" and swipes his card before the lady rings up my transaction to get the 10% discount. The cashier looks to me and says, "What divine timing! If you didn't have your card, you wouldn't have gotten this blessing!"
She was so right. If I hadn't found that gift card while cleaning my room, then I wouldn't have gone to Barnes and Noble tonight. If I hadn't gone to the Peruvian restaurant and left my debit card in the car, then I wouldn't have been in line behind those three individuals. Divine timing indeed.
I really admire Patricia. I'm not sure if she's a Christian or not, but she was so kind and loving to strangers that we were all immediately drawn to her. I want to be like her, a magnet that draws people to Christ. And look at the impact that she had! Her little action of sharing her coupon caused a chain reaction, a butterfly effect. Imagine what God can do through us!
I went to Barnes and Noble tonight so that I can learn more about Excel, but tonight, I also got to experience God's grace. Thank you God for being the master systems engineer that so intricately weaves our lives together.
These past few days, my head has been filled with lies. Lies that I'm not good enough, desired enough, capable enough.
Then David talked about Samson & how he had the spirit of strength in him that he was strong enough to rip a lion's jaw in half. Like ripping a sheet of paper. Imagine what you can do by having the power of the Holy Spirit on you. And we need the Holy Spirit because Satan is roaming the earth like a lion, seeking people to devour and destroy.
One of those people was me. But Holy Spirit, I pray that you would anoint me with wisdom to discern those lies, rip them up, and hear truth.
I really do make you happy, God.
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On another Fusion note, worship also spoke out so loudly today.
Many of my friends are getting engaged & planning their weddings already. That's bizzare to think about, but I guess it's been making me think about romantic relationships a lot lately. Like, a LOT. And I've been trying to think of what kind of guy would be good for me - but whatever I come up with, I can never find in real life among the guys in my life. Nobody can meet my expectations.
Then worship came on:
He is faithful to the end
He is faithful to my heart
He is faithful to the end
He will come and marry me
(Jesus is Faithful to the End - Cory Asbury)
I can't find what I'm looking for because only Jesus can be that person for me. Not that he will literally come and marry me, but the idea that Jesus has bound himself in a covenant relationship with me (like marriage) & that He will always be faithful. And that our hearts can resonate with each other and seek God and his Kingdom. That there's no way He can't not meet my expectations. So reassuring & satisfying.
I realized that my ridiculous expectations weren't meant for humans, they were meant for God. Time to be more realistic with my expectations from people & myself.
It started with us singing " as the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you." And that became the cry of everyone in the room.
Pastor Johnson began talking about how we look for things in our lives to satisfy us, whether it be porn, boys/girls, food, etc - but these things can never fully satisfy. What we really need is to be satisfied in God, and that we would be filled & satisfied with spiritual food.
Yes, I've heard this countless of times, but it really strung a chord in my heart tonight. Lately, I've become such a foodie with my facebook food blog and all, I've come to criticize everything that I order and eat. Food has become the thing that I live for, but my body has become increasingly less satisfied with what I'm eating.
Then it dawned on me that food has sadly become my idol. It took a higher priority than God. And I need to change that. So from now on, I forbid myself to eat out unless I've done my devos & Bible reading for that day. In addition, each time I go out to eat, it needs to bring glory to God in some way.
Had golf lesson 2 out of 6 yesterday! This time, we learned how to chip the ball from off the green (rough patches of grass) back onto the green. For this, we used either a 6 iron, P, or 7 iron, depending on the distance we needed to go.
1. Keep the ball on the inside of your right heel.
2. Line up the club so that the flat of the iron faces the hole.
3. Put your weight on your left leg and lean to the left.
4. Keep your left arm straight and lead the swing with your left wrist.
I think my golf skills have gotten worse since the last time. Maybe it is because I've been practicing putting in my brother's room where the carpet is perfectly flat. Now I don't know how to hit on grass or when it is hilly. Fail.
Another memo to self: do not go to the gym to work out your leg muscles right before going to golf. Because when you bend your knees, they will shake.
After a whole summer's worth of being an amateur food critic and posting my food blog album on facebook, I've realized that I can't properly be a food critic unless I know a little something about cooking.
Last week while buying groceries, I picked up the latest issue of EveryDay with Rachael Ray (food magazine) with lots of pretty pictures of summertime dishes and recipes.
After much deliberation, my brother and I decided to attempt the End-of-Summer Chicken Milanese and Mushroom Straw and Hay Pasta. The End-of-Summer Chicken Milanese is essentially breaded chicken breast topped with corn, tomato and onion relish. The Mushroom Straw and Hay pasta gets it name from the green spinach fettuccine and yellow egg fettuccine that look like staw and hay. However, the real flavor in this dish comes from the marsala sauce and porcini & portabella mushrooms.
Let me tell you, we were a wreck in the kitchen! We kept dropping things on the floor, spilling things on ourselves, and messing up left and right. But in the end, we had a finished product! We cooked a little too much pasta for the amount of sauce we had, so the pasta wasn't as flavorful as we would have liked. However, that chicken dish was THE BOMB. Really impressed myself with that one haha.
Lessons learned in the kitchen:
Don't cut the stems of thyme too - just use the leaves.
I have a fear of portabella gills.
When breading chicken, don't just plop the chicken in the flour. Gently place it there, otherwise flour will blow everywhere.
Use more spinach than you think you'll need.
If you're feeding 4 people, don't cook 8 servings worth of pasta.
I had golf lesson 1 out of 6 yesterday, and we learned how to putt!
1. The ball should be lined up to the inside of your left foot.
2. While standing, bend your knees and place eyes directly over the ball.
3. Grip the club palm to palm - I prefer right hand over left.
4. Tilt the top of the club to the left.
5. Keep elbows to your side.
6. Rock shoulders side to side to swing.
7. Finally, don't look to see if you hit the ball in - it'll affect your swing. Keep your eyes down, and listen to hear if your ball went into the hole.
The instructor was pretty good and said I was a natural putter. Cool :) Now I want to go mini-putt putting!
After two months of internal conflict, I've decided on a church. My primary church will be ACCCN, the Chinese church that I grew up in. But on Wednesdays, I'll still be going to Fusion.
After Shocco, our youth retreat, I was reminded of my love for the youth in our church and helping them grow in their relationship with God. Plus, they trust me and look up to me. Also, one of my original intentions for going to a multicultural church is that I could comfortably invite co-workers to church if they aren't Asian. Luckily, both my boss and my mentor at work are Christians, so our co-workers could go with them to their churches.
This past Friday, I talked to our youth director and told him I wanted to sign up to be a counselor at youth group. Right after I did, I wondered if my decision was the right one. And when I first walked into the sanctuary and saw a sea of young faces I didn't recognize, I freaked out. But once we broke up into small groups, I loved being a counselor for them again, and the rest of the night confirmed my decision.
However, ACCCN still lacks a young adults ministry, and that's been a big issue on my heart lately. Maybe I should start a young adults Bible study or Sunday school if I can find enough of us. Anyway, for the time being, Fusion will be the place where I can find that community and get the feeding that I need.
I'm pretty at peace with my decision, and pray that God may really bless it.
The most interesting things always happen at Fusion, the young adult's ministry of Victory World Church. Tonight, I got to witness something beautiful.
My Peru teammates and I were chatting when a tall guy comes over and motions for the whole crowd to come over. "I have something I want to announce to the whole group, so even if I know you or don't know you, please gather around."
We huddle together waiting to hear what he has to say. He takes this girl under his arm and says, "I would really like for you guys to pray for me. Six years ago on July 6th, I moved to Atlanta. And this girl has been my best friend since, and she really means a lot to me." He continues to shower her with praise, and I don't remember exactly what he says because at this point I'm going, "AWWWW."
"So I just want to ask you tonight, will you enter into a courtship with me?" This girl is so red and bashful, and her hand is covering her smile as she nods her head. "Great! So guys, I could really use your prayer because I don't want to be like one of those guys who disappears after they get into a relationship. You gotta keep me accountable." Then we all lay our hands on him as he prays for himself to be the spiritual leader and to be Christ-like.
Man, that. Was. Beautiful. I want a man like that!
Right now my heart is being tugged in two separate directions, and the pain of choosing is almost putting me at the brink of tears.
Originally, I was planning on leaving Atlanta Chinese Christian Church North (ACCCN), the church that I grew up in and served in. However, now that I'm back in Atlanta for good, I'm thinking of finding a church that can meet my spiritual needs better.
Victory World Church Pros (no cons) - Multicultural: Gives a bigger picture of the Kingdom, and allows me to invite coworkers to church without feeling awkward if they aren't Asian - Vision: They're super missional locally and globally, care about reconciling cultures, and are passionate and genuine - Has a solid young adults ministry, Fusion - Has really challenging messages and rejuvenating worship
ACCCN Cons - Not multicultural - Isn't challenging me or feeding me - Doesn't have a solid young adults ministry - Not as missional as I would like
ACCCN Pros - I have previous relationships with people that I grew up with, and it is hard leaving these relationships behind - After serving as a counselor for 9th grade girls at Shocco this past weekend, I'm realizing how much of a need there is for the youth to know more of who God is and what it means to be in relationship with him. My heart breaks for them!
This decision is so difficult because either way, I will have to sacrifice something. As a wise friend pointed out, both churches have benefits, but I have to give one up even if it's good for the people or good for me.
God, I pray that you would give me peace about this decision!!
After seriously considering joining Victory World Church in Atlanta, I'm now checking out their small groups to really get plugged into community. Tonight, I checked out one of their co-ed small groups called The Movement. When I got there, the leaders surprised us telling us that we were going to go do Gas Groupon.
For those who missed my earlier post about God rocking my world, Gas Groupon is where a group of us pools our money together to buy a gas gift card for someone. My group had many disappointing rejections, but that's okay, it is part of a butterfly effect. However, at the end, God told us to look out for someone who has a handicap and will really stand out. There was the adult black woman who got out of her car and was limping.
"MA'AM! MA'AM!" We called out. No response. We run up to her and talk to her, and realize that she's reading our lips because she's deaf. Talk about a handicap!!
We asked her if we could pray for her, and she said that she wanted to be healed. So in Jesus' name, we prayed that her hearing would be restored and that the healing could either be instant or a process.
To be honest, I was questioning in my heart, "Can she really be healed? Will this really work?" Oh me of little faith!! God give me more faith! I want to believe. I want to look Impossible in the eye, and say, "You are no match for my God." Grant me more faith, please.
Caught up with a fellow WashU Deltasig at Flip Burger in Buckhead tonight! Flip Burger is a gourmet burger joint known for its creativity and innovation. I got "The Local" which is grass-fed beef, farm lettuce, heirloom tomato, grilled vidalia onion, and local cheese. In addition, I got the Krispy Kreme milkshake, which is essentially liquid donut :)
If you are ever in Atlanta, you MUST MUST MUST come here! The prices are reasonable too.
Discovered my soul mate at work today. She works in the cubicle next to me, and she is a woman after my own heart - she's a major foodie! And she loves lists! Oh man, oh man. You know me and my bucket lists. Well, she sent me her list for favorite casual and fancy restaurants in Atlanta, and for Alpharetta!
For lunch today, we went to Fancy Pantry, a small deli with an amazing selection of salads, sandwiches, wraps, and desserts. I was an okay fan of salad/sandwich places until I saw their menu. Now I'm probably their #1 fan. Today, I ordered the thai chicken salad, which had avacados, tomatoes, egg, bacon, tortilla chips, and cheese over a bed of mixed greens with some peanut dressing. WIN.
I kissed my mom goodbye and told her I loved her as I left the house to teach my 15 year old brother how to drive. He got his learner's permit recently, so I've been given the responsibility to teach him how to drive. We found a huge empty parking lot in front of The Dump, a furniture store only open on the weekends. It was funny because there was a Nathan's Driving School car practicing there too.
My brother did surprisingly well. It was a much smoother drive than when I first learned how to drive.
Lesson 1: - Check mirrors and seat position - Buckle seat belt - Test windshield wipers, turn on lights - Learn how to break - Drive forward, reverse - Turn right and turn left with blinkers - Park on the right and on the left
I knew this day was coming,and now that it is here, it is exactly what I expected. Looking at my baby brother behind a driving wheel is too surreal. Soon he will be free to roam when he gets a car, and he won't need me anymore. Sigh.
On a completely different note, my second day of work was really fun! I met another DeltaSig in the elevator who graduated from UGA. And for lunch, I went to SAGE with my buddy, the mentor I was paired up with at Nielsen. He's in the same position that I'm in, but he's been here for a year, so he would be able to answer a lot of my questions. Turns out, we have a lot in common, and he's a Christian! I'm super excited to get to know him better and feel really blessed to have him as my mentor.
I want to say that I got my first taste of the real world today since today was my first day of work! However, I got many tastes of the real world during summer internships when I was working and had to pay bills. So never mind that.
But today's tasting was pretty sweet! Woke up at 6:30am with ample amount of time to get ready to head out at 8am. Had kind of a slow start though since I woke up at a weird time in my sleep cycle. Finally met my boss, who is awesome! She was really welcoming and introduced me to everyone in the office. After teaching me all the basics (outlook, phone, breakroom location, supply closet, etc), we sat down and went over the schedule for the next 8 weeks. I LOVE EXPECTATIONS AND SCHEDULES. She's my type of gal. For real. She likes color coding and lists too!
For lunch, we went out to eat at The Cheesecake Factory and I ordered the lunch Da Vinci Pasta and got to know each other better. Tomorrow, I'm going to lunch with my mentor/buddy who has been in my position for the last year. So far so sweet :)
God and Victory World Church are rocking my world and turning my world upside down. First, Peru, and now, Atlanta!
After our Peru Team reunion today of eating Chinese food and watching X-men, we went to Quick Trip. Fusion, the church's young adults ministry, is doing something called Fusion on Tour. Instead of meeting for their weekly large group, they are going out into the city of Atlanta to share God's love.
Part of Fusion on Tour is something called the Gas Groupon, where as a group, we bless a random pump at the gas station by prepaying for a pump's gas. Originally, we were going to put $13 at pump #7 and #13 each, but the guy messed up and put $26 on #7. We saw a white van drive up to our pump and an Asian woman stepped out.
"Hi we're with Victory World Church and we just wanted to bless you by prepaying for your gas."
"What? Really?" The woman looked bewildered as tears welled up in her eyes. She only had $12 in her hands for gas.
"Yes, God really wanted to bless you tonight."
We found out that she's from Vietnam and her name is T. She thanked us and asked where our church was, and we gave her an address. She hugged us and said she'd come visit the church :) Then we parted ways.
Right when we thought we'd be calling it a night, another Asian man walks up to us. He's also from Vietnam, and he says he doesn't speak English very well, and tries telling us that he needed money to take the bus home. He pulled out a sheet of paper and told us that he was just in jail for the last 3 months in one area of Atlanta, and came out with no money to get back to his home in Marietta. He said he had been walking a long time, and he was hungry, and just wanted to get home to his apartment.
"Ok sir. We'd love to help. There's a McDonald's next door, can we take you to get something to eat? Also, it is too late for any of the buses to be running to Marietta tonight. Let us get you a taxi back home. Do you know the name of your apartment?"
He said he didn't know the address or the name of the apartment complex since his English isn't very good. We asked if he had any family there, and he said no, but he lived with his friend who hadn't been answering any of his calls and his kids are in Vietnam. He asked us again for money to take the bus back to Marietta. When we continued to offer him a meal and a taxi ride, he finally said, "Please, I just want to see my kids!"
"What are your kid's names?" "Uh, Tom." "Oh, just one?" "Yes."
We knew that the man had been making up his story and it had been falling apart on him. Finally, we told him that we wanted to help, and we could take him to eat at McDonald's, but that's it. After that, he said, "No, I'll just walk." We prayed for him, and he left.
PHEW! What a night! I'm so so grateful that I found people who can challenge me like this post-graduation. And they did it so lovingly and graciously. Oh man. They never called him out on his lies, and didn't give him money straight up so that he could use it to feed bad habits. Instead, we just offered pure generosity and help.
Someone made the observation that the responses of these two people are so contrasting. That one welcomed and appreciated our offer and the other rejected our offer. This can be found in many parables that Jesus tells, and they usually point to the open one gets to know and be with God, and the hard hearted ends up gnashing their teeth for eternity. Mmm gotta love late night lessons at Quick Trip!
As you all know, I will be leaving tomorrow for a mission trip in Peru! My team will be putting on many dramas and programs for street kids in San Bartolo and Lima. It's been a while since I've done dramas, but drama team kind of defined my last year of high school. I'm excited to get back into it again, especially using it to communicate who Jesus is to us.
These past few days, I've been reflecting a lot on my last overseas mission trip to Kenya. Man, that was such an experience trying to live in tents without showering for a week and not have clean water to brush our teeth with. Let me just say, we smelled pretty bad. However, that was such a great trip because I got to experience a different culture, and see God work intimately in our lives. My prayer is that I will be as open to Peru as I was with Kenya, so that this may be a great learning experience personally, culturally, and spiritually.
Today, I finally met the team after Fusion (Victory World Church's youth ministry). My teammates would see me, say my name and hug me! I felt so welcomed especially since I didn't know who they were haha. Some of them have been to Peru before on previous mission trips, and others are going on their first mission trip ever. Also, I think I am the youngest one on the trip. That means, I'll have lots of older wiser people to talk to :)
I'M DONEEEEEE!! My first response was to shout, "I'm free!" However, I've been blessed with the most amazing transition semester where I'm only taking 12 credits with moderate to low course load. This allows me the freedom to really enjoy my relationships and remaining time with people. Because of this, I don't really feel a difference between life with classes and life without classes haha. I guess that's a good problem to have :)
My favorite year in college has definitely been senior year. Previously, I would've said it was freshman year, easily. The thrill of meeting new people and having a taste of freedom being away from parents make freshman year so amazing. However, senior year for me has been even better because I continue to meet new people, but I'm really able to see my existing relationships come to fruition. Even in this last week of staying up until 8am working on papers and watching the sunrise, I've been able to get to know people more intimately, especially my stressbusters :)
On another note, I started writing my goodbye letters, and it is legitimately one of the most depressing things I've done in my life. It feels like I'm having a part of my heart torn out of my chest knowing that I'll be leaving these people that have made such a profound impact on my life. Even though I'll probably visit a couple times next year, it just isn't the same as living life together and enjoying the small, everyday moments together. Why must you people be leaving me in two days?!
Can you believe how time flies? I will be graduating in less than a month! The Lord has brought me on a magnificent journey from hating school as a biomedical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis to being passionate about how my marketing and psychology studies can be used for God’s Kingdom. One of the biggest lessons that I learned this past year is that as a Christian business woman, my role in the Kingdom expands beyond writing checks to the church. How I interact with co-workers in the work place, how I treat our suppliers, and how I work with integrity all play a part in being a light in the workplace.
However, ever since my last mission trip to Kenya my junior year of high school, I have been itching to do another short term mission trip. Since I took six years of Spanish, I have a heart for Spanish speaking countries. In addition, these past two years, God has really placed the topic of human trafficking/modern day slavery on my heart, especially as a business major knowing that cheap labor is necessary to produce cheap products. Furthermore, I knew the only time that I had was before I started work with The Nielsen Company as an analyst in mid-June. Then, the perfect opportunity appeared!! My friend is going to Peru from June 2-June 12 with her church, Victory World Church, and will be working with an anti-slavery organization called Not For Sale, and I asked if I could go with her even though it was already so late in the process. But God opened up all the doors necessary for me to go on this trip. If he wants it to happen, He’ll make it happen! God is good, is he not? This experience will be extremely valuable in shaping me as a business woman, because I’ll be able meet people who have been affected personally by human trafficking and hear their stories.
I’m writing you this letter because I want you to partner with me. If you also have a heart for Latin America, helping free children from human traffickers, or sending out Christian professionals, then consider partnering with me through prayer and/or finances. First, prayer is the most powerful force, and I am looking for prayer warriors! I am looking for people to specifically choose [at least] one day of the trip to pray for me. If you are willing, please let me know which day you would like to pray for me (May 31-June 20). Second, prayer is most important, but I also respectfully request your financial support. I need to raise $2100 for this trip. If there’s anything that I learned in college, it is that our resources are not our own, but they are God’s, and He’s chosen us to be stewards of his resources. If you are willing and able to partner with me, please consider supporting me financially. Every little bit helps, even $2.47! I don’t know how this is going to happen, but God does the impossible, and I am faithful that He will provide.
Peru and Not For Sale:
In Peru, Not For Sale supports Lucy Borja, a modern day abolitionist who has fought for the rights of Peruvian street children throughout her life. Together we provide shelter, education, healthcare, and job training.
Children living on the streets in Peru are deprived of family care, protection, and opportunity. Many have been pushed from their homes due to domestic abuse or poverty. On the streets, these children lack basic rights such as access to education, healthcare, housing and food. They are stigmatized as drug addicts, thieves and prostitutes and are defenseless, subject to abuse, neglect, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labor.
Our team will be ministering to the street children and showing the freeing love of Jesus Christ through skits, arts and crafts, and messages at Vacational Bible School (VBS). We desire to show them that though the world may be cruel, they are children of worth and are valuable and loved by God.
Prayer requests:
·He would use this opportunity to shape my future as a business person
·Team unity, especially since I am joining them last minute
