Wednesday, February 11, 2009

"The Heavenly Man" Quotes

"On some occasions I've struggled while speaking in Western churches. There seems to be something missing that leaves me feeling terrible inside. Many meetings are cold and lack the fire and presence of God that we have in China. In the West many Christians have an abundance of possessions, yet they live in a backslidden state."

"If persecution stops, I fear we'll become complacent and fall asleep."

"I can assure the Western church with absolute certainty that you don't need any more church buildings. Church buildings will never bring the revival you seek. The pursuit of more possessions will never being revival. Jesus truly stated, 'A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.' Luke 12:15

"The first thing needed for revival to return to your churches is the Word of the Lord. God's Word is missing. Sure, there are many preachers and thousands of tapes and videos of Bible teaching, but so little contains the sharp truth of God's Word. It's the truth that will set you free. Not only is knowledge of God's Word missing, but obedience to that Word. There's not much action taking place."

"All genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with action and soul winning."

"They open their fat wallets and search for the smallest amount they can give."

"Just because you have a church building doesn't necessarily mean Jesus is with you."

"Of all the strong churches I have visited in the West I've noticed one thing they all have in common: a strong and sacrificial commitment to missions among unreached nations.....I'm talking about a heart to establish God's kingdom in the most gospel-starved and spiritually dark areas of the world, where nobody has ever heard the name of Jesus."

"If you truly want to see God move, the main things you must do is learn the Word of God and have the obedience to do what God tells you to do."

"Tears always come first before the Lord truly moves."

"In China, the greatest miracles we see are not the healings or other things, but lives tranformed by the gospel. We believe we're not called to follow signs and wonders but instead the signs and wonders follow us when the gospel is preached. We don't keep our eyes on the signs and wonders; we keep our eyes on Jesus."

"We learned a lesson that morning. When we arrive at the end of our own strength it is not defeat, but the start of tapping into God's boundless resources. It is when we are weak that we are strong in God."

"Pride had sprung up in my heart like a choking weed. Instead of obeying God's voice, I reasoned with human logic and based my decisions on my own wisdom."

"I feel so sorry that many Christians live in bondage though Jesus has signed their release forms with his own blood. When you've been set free, you should act like it!"

"If we truly claim to follow Jesus then we must do so without imposing any conditions or self-made plans."

"We're not called to live by human reason. All that matters is obedience to God's Word and his leading in our lives. If God says go, we'll go. If he says stay, we'll stay. When we are in his will, we are in the safest place in the world."

"Many people have said to me, 'Yun, you must really love Jesus.' You need to realize that any love I have in my heart for Jesus is only because of his love for me. 'We love because he first loved us.' 1 John 4:19


- All quotes by Brother Yun

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Realization

We think we know ourselves, but we don't. It is assumed that we know things and know ourselves even more. God says he knows us better than we know ourselves, and we've heard the saying, "Our minds are limited, and we know even less about ourselves." This is so true. Have you ever felt so empty, that this world is so boring and meaningless, but couldn't understand why you were feeling this way? You try to fill it with other things, i.e. eating, shopping, drinking, hanging out with friends, etc. We don't know ourselves and can't even comprehend our feelings, so there has to be a higher God. How can there not be? How can you say that you feel empty and don't know why and also say that there is no God?

There are times when we feel something and we just KNOW that "This is it." When we feel real love, you just know, this is it. You know? God shows and gives us real love. There's a reason why God didn't say, "Okay, buying lots of expensive things will completely fulfill you." With God, it's like "This is where I'm supposed to be." You can't get that feeling anywhere else.

End.

Monday, February 9, 2009

What Life Would Be Like - Big Daddy Weave

I love this song. It's so honest. I can't believe he's just using his voice a guitar. It sounds just like the CD.



I wish I was more of a man
Have you ever felt that way
And if I had to tell you the truth
I'm afraid I'd have to say
That after all I've done and failed to do
I feel like less than I was meant to be
And what if I could fix myself
Maybe then I could get free
I could try to be somebody else
Whose much better off than me
But I need to remember this
That it's when I'm at my weakest
I can clearly see


He made the lame walk
And the dumb talk
He opened blinded eyes to see
That the sun rises on His time
Yet He knows our deepest desperate need
And the world waits
While His heart aches
To realize the dream
I wonder what life would be like
If we let Jesus live through you and me


What if you could see yourself
Through another pair of eyes
What if you could hear the truth
Instead of old familiar lies
And what if you could feel inside
The power of the hand that made the universe
You realize


He made the lame walk
And the dumb talk
He opened blinded eyes to see
That the sun rises on His time
Yet He knows our deepest desperate need
And the world waits
While this heart aches
To realize the dream
I wonder what life would be like
If we let Jesus live through you and me


All our hearts they burn within us
All our lives we've longed for more
So let us lay our lives before the one
Who gave His life for us

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

"Another Day In Paradise" - Big Daddy Weave



(Picture courtesy of Half the Sky Foundation.)

This song reminds me how lucky we are and how we neglect to heed to God's word that "You were naked, and I clothed you" and that if we feed someone less fortunate, we are feeding God himself. This song humbled me.

Another Day in Paradise
She calls out to the man on the street
Sir, can you help me
It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep
Is there somewhere you can tell me

He walks on, doesn't look back
He pretends he can't hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there

Oh think twice, it's another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, it's just another day for you,
You and me in paradise
... Just think about it

She calls out to the man on the street
He can see she's been crying
She's got blisters on the soles of her feet
Can't walk, but she's trying

Oh think twice, it's another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, it's just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

Oh Lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh Lord, there must be something you can say

You can tell from the lines on her face
You can see that she's been there
Probably been moved on from every place
Cause she didn't fit in there

Oh think twice, it's another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, it's just another day for you,
You and me in paradise
You and me in paradise

Think about it
Just think about it
Won't you, won't you please

It's another day, for you and me in paradise
It's just another day for you and me in paradise
It's another day for you and me in paradise
It's just another day for you and me in paradise
In paradise
In paradise
In paradise
In paradise

Trying a New Thing

Okay, this blog has officially become Angela's Blog to God. I find it really hard to sit down and pray for some reason. My heart is willing but the soul is weak...that's why I love the song "When Our Hearts Sing". Lol, jk. I do love that song, though. So, anyway, I'm going to write everything that is on my mind to God. I don't care who reads this. This is actually going to be impossible, because I already gave people links to this page. Hmm, what do I do? I think I'll create another blog. LOL. Forget what I just wrote!

- Angela

Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Vision

So this guy comes up to me and says "what's the vision? What's the big idea?" I open my mouth and words come out like this…
The vision?

The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.

The vision is an army of young people.

You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.

They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday.
They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won.
They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.
What is the vision ?
The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure.

Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.
It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers

choose to loose
that they might one day win
the great 'Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.

Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"

And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing…
This is the sound of the underground

And the army is discipl(in)ed.

Young people who beat their bodies into submission.

Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".

Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ?
Can hormones hold them back?
Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them ?

And the generation prays

like a dying man
with groans beyond talking,
with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and
with great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365.

Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive

inside.

On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity?
They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.

With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,

they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.
Don't you hear them coming?
Herald the weirdo's! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.

And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.
How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.

Guaranteed.


http://media.24-7prayer.org/thevision/index.html

Lifehouse - Everything (Skit)

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Prayer

Lord,

I just want to thank you for my small group leader, Coco, Angela Liu, and Rachel. I want to thank you for teaching me the faith part of tithe...thank you for the breakthrough. Thank you that the hardest thing for me to give up right now, I have given up, and need you to provide for me instead. THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME WEAK SO YOUR POWER CAN SHOW THROUGH. Thank you for Coco's heart, Lord. I told her about my breakthrough and she started tearing up really badly and enthusiastically hugged me and said, "The Lord loves you so much! I just know it. It takes people a long time to learn this!" Thank you so much for her heart, Lord. Thank you for bringing her and Angela Liu and Rachel into my life. They are so genuine, warm, caring, funny, and self-sacrificing. Lord - just like family...maybe even better than distant family. Thank you that they have seen my bad/negative side and they still love me the same. Thank you that I've found a place and people I can be who I am around. Thank you for always being so incredibly FAITHFUL.

I'M SORRY for doubting that you aren't able to do what you said you're able to do. I'M SORRY for forgetting what you've done for me in the past. Why did I doubt? How could I ever have forgotten? Lord, I need you to do the impossible, because you make everything possible. Lord, thank you for teaching me to EXPECT. I EXPECT that you will make everything possible.

I'M SOLD OUT FOR YOU, and that's an understatement.

"Please know that I am God."

Quotes
1. Yang was surprised by the fact that there two gigantic trash cans in the middle of the shopping street.
Angela Yang : "Oh! Is that a trash can?!"
Angela Liu: Why? You want to get in it? (LOL)
Yang: Hahahaha. No! I was just wondering why it's placed there.
Liu: Yeah, it's just more obvious that way. (HAHA)

2. I always tend to wander off while I'm shopping, and once I started wandering off, and felt like I couldn't move. I turned around and Angela Liu was holding onto my scarf and looking the other way. (hahahahaha).

3. Rachel and Angela Liu are always trying to learn English, but they purposely try to say it with a really heavy accent, and it's so funny.
Angela Yang: So when can you use "ji1 che1"?
Rachel: Like, when someone does something to you and you're like "UHG!"
Angela Liu: Yeah, you know, (heavy accent) you are so motorcycle." Which translates into the Chinese slang, "Ni2 hen3 ji1 che1". (hahahaha)

MORE TO COME....

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Adam Sandler in 'Click'

So, after I finished praying last night, the longest, most passionate prayer I had prayed in a long time, I turned the tv on. It was like 2 am or something. A new movie had just started and it was one of my past favorites - Click. I watched the entire movie, until like 4 am or something, and it really reminded me of what I always preach to myself and others about.

Adam Sandler fast-forwarded everything he hated about life - showering, traffic, arguments with his wife, his boss - but in the end, realized that if he deletes the bad, he deletes a huge part of his life, and that life is made up of the good and the bad. Sometimes we go through life and think "Why do I have to go through this?" or "Why is this happening?" but this movie made me realize that that is what life is about. Who would we be without all those things? Just like when someone tells us to turn the negative into positive - many times, good things come out of bad things. So, God teaches us, throughout our lives through different experiences and hardships, to embrace everything that happens, and turn it into good, which I think is amazing advice.

I'm saying this and I'm not even living in, like, Darfur or something. Can you imagine how BLESSED the persecuted are - that they live with such meaning, such fullness of life? We, who are materially blessed in every way, complain that we are empty. Why the contradiction? Only through our sufferings and hardships do we realize that we are so incredibly blessed and fortunate. Sometimes when volunteering to those less fortunate, I learn priceless things from them, like the joy I see in their eyes, even though they possess nothing of material worth. They give willingly and freely. Humans are so easily spoiled. We take things and hold onto them, forgetting who (God) gave those things to us in the first place.

CAUTION: MOVIE SPOILER!!!!!

In the end, Adam Sandler returned to the moment he fell asleep, like it was just a dream. He made friends with the quirky store guy, ran to his amazingly crappy car and sat in it with joy, drove to his parents' home, kissed and hugged them, went home to his family, kissed and hugged his wife, bought a companion for his dog because "Doggy years go by fast!", and started planning the camping trip he had previously postponed because of work.

It was a great movie. Lol. Yay. Praise God.

"Peace Be Still"
Rush of Fools


Come to Me, you who are weak
Let My strength be yours tonight
Come and rest, let My love be your bed
Let My heart be yours tonight

Peace be still, Peace be still
Please be still and know that I am God
and know that I am God

Come empty cup, let Me fill you up
I'll descend on you like a dove tonight
Lift your head, let your eyes fall into Mine
Let your fear subside tonight

Rush of Fools - When Our Hearts Sing




Lord Father,

Give me the words when I don't have enough wisdom. Father, guide me and lead me to where you want me to be. Open my eyes to who I am in your view. Help me see myself the way you see me. Reveal yourself. Father, you are all-knowing, omnipotent. You can take the smartest person I know and make him search for you. Lord Father, I pray for those who are searching, for the empty, for the lonely, for the broken. One snap of your finger, and IT'S DONE. Father, hear my prayer.

On another note, Rick Warren is praying at Obama's inauguration! Yay for Evangelicals!!

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Too Much Has Happened

...or maybe not.

Yangshuo

Jennifer, her two friends Ana and Jean, and I went to Yangshuo, China...it's a small city on the outskirts of Guilin. I don't have time to write about it, but I'll post up pictures soon. Here are some quotes I wrote down:

Quote 1:
Angela: Does money even work here?
Jennifer: No, they barter. How much can I get for my Watson's water?

Quote 2:
(On train upon seeing someone with food and thinking we won't get food for 13 hours.)
A: What are we going to do?! I'll show you my boobs!

Quote 3:

A: I have a huge butt rash.
J: They have a baby at West Lily (hostel). Maybe you can borrow their diaper rash.

Quote 4:
J: I'm glad we're here.
(5 min. later)
J: Angela, I'm glad Mommy instilled in us a love of traveling.
A: Jennifer, can you stop with the deep thoughts? I'm trying to enjoy the scenery.
(Both laugh)

Quote 5:
(Jen needed to spit a loogi in our orange bag. After she spit:)
"The oranges are like 'Oh no! Don't spit, I'm still here.'"

Quote 6:
(Right before we were leaving Yangshuo, we kept buying oranges to give as gift to hostel to eat on bus.)
Angela: We're going to have a billion oranges and no money to go home.

Quote 7:
(We were on a full bus to go home and Jen kept saying how we only spent so much, but we still have money left over.)
J: OMG I still have SO much money left over.
A: OMG Can you stop announcing your financial situation?
J: Haha, now they're really going to jack us!

Quote 8:

(I was in a huge rush and accidentally called my own price for the bus, to which the driver happily agreed.)
A: How much?! How much?! FIFTEEN!??!
Driver: OK! OK! 15!!
A: Shoot.

Quote 9:
(Jennifer received a coconut purse as a gift from the people at the Ancient Totem Pole Path show for being in it, lol.)
J: Oh I know why my backpack is so huge; it's my stupid coconut purse.

Day Back From Yangshuo
CRAZY. That's all I have to say. Well, I went to a salon and a guy named Tick did my hair. I permed it wavy. Lol. Jennifer's friends said it looked really good, but I think it's a disaster. I look like a MOM.

The Vine 180 Retreat
I couldn't stop crying the moment I stepped into where they were worshipping. God is strong there. Jennifer's friend Allison prayed for me and prophesied...and it was ALL COMPLETELY ACCURATE! More pictures to come from the retreat, because if I wrote everything down, it would just take too long. All I have to say is GOD IS SO AMAZING AND SO REAL.

Other Comments:
1. I'm okay with disgusting, have-to-stoop-down-to-pee toilets now. I embrace 'em.
2. People in HK are crazy mean. People in Yangshuo were extremely friendly and went out of their way to help you. I missed it so much when I got back to HK - so different.
3. Hold on to good friends. This is important!
4. GOD IS AMAZING.

It's 3:54 am and I'm in Allison's dorm. I got kicked out of POLITELY from where I was living. L.O.L. That's also another story...hahahahahaha! I'm losing control and I LOVE IT!!!!! (God is teaching me!!)

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

In Hong Kong

Please stay tuned until after I leave Hong Kong for an update...!

Actually, until then, this is something really funny. I saw this on the bulletin board of the CUHK (Chinese University of Hong Kong) Grace Tien Hall Dorm, on one of the girls' floors:

"cup + grey bowl: I see it, u die! Plz leave it outside. 213_"

Hilarious.

By the way, CUHK is where my sister is studying as an exchange student. It's on a gigantic mountain and walking around campus is so tiring...on the plus side, the canteen food is amazing, and they have the best HK-style milk tea. Mmmmm.

Oh, and I met some of my sister's floormates and they are social work majors...and so hilarious. We cooked dinner together, ate, and talked. Sigh. And, of course, we talked about the boyfriends/guys/dating topic for the longest time! They're really dramatic about everything and so goofy.

I told them I was single, and they were like "WHAAAAAAAT?!" Lol, is that like some sort of sin or something? Hehe. I had a great time.

Lots of pictures to come after HK (December 20th). We're still going to Shenzhen, Guiling, Yangshuo, and South Korea. So, lots of pics.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Funny Observations...

1. My older cousin and I were walking down the mountain to go to Tonghua Night Market the other day to get some small snacks and fruits, and a taxicab honked and zoomed past us. We were already walking like right next to the cars. Were we supposed to climb on top of the cars or something?

2. My cousins and I just ate at this all-you-can-eat hotpot place, and I walked all the way home, which is a long-a** way. I thought if I stopped walking, I'd puke right there on the street. Normal logic is "You eat to enjoy the food, so just eat until you're satisfied", and Asian logic is "I have to eat as much as I can so I can get my money's worth" and Asian logic is what got me in this situation. At least I got in some exercise, because I've been eating enormous amounts of food lately...

3. As I was walking up the mountain to go home, I passed a security guard for an apartment complex in his box practicing the flute. L.O.L. You know those ladies in those old Chinese movies with flowing qipaos and huge ornaments dangling off their head? They play flutes.

4. I was walking and saw a ginormous (I know it's not a word, okay) dog that kept barking. As I walked past, the lady said, "Why are you barking so loud? Do you know that that's not good?" What the heck? You don't reason with a freakin' dog.

5. I was walking across the street to the Cathay Hospital to get my third chemical peel, and saw a nicely-dressed, seemingly decent guy in front of me standing on the street corner, fixing his pants around that area. He fixed the front then he fixed the back. We were in a really nice area and he was standing on the corner of a really big street with about 30-40 people crossing. I don't get it. You just couldn't wait? Are you like 5?!

My mom wasn't kidding when she said the word I'll use most often in Taiwan is "unbelievable".

My sister and I were talking on Skype and we concluded that God always does things last minute. She said that she's always to the point of pulling out her hair and freakin' out, and then God says, here's a solution. Lol, which is so true.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Hurry!

1. I took the Taiwan High Speed Rail to Kaohsiung (yeah, that's how they spell it, ridiculous. the entire world is using pinyin and Taiwan created their own pinyin. so stupid.) Anyway, I was walking into the elevator that would take me down to the "cars" (train) and there were four or five other 40 year olds, one holding a child, about to board the elevator. The elevator door opened and they rushed in. One of the "moms" that was standing in the elevator was outwardly fidgety and as we walked in, she goes "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! (not exaggerating) Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Get in! Get in! Get in! Which one is it?! One or two?!" I half-expected there to be a bomb somewhere near us. I think my blood pressure shot up 10 points, and I don't know how high hers shot up. Jeez.

2. I boarded late, and I had a window seat, so when I got there, a mom and daughter were already sitting down with their two luggages in front of them. The daughter got up and took her luggage out, so I could get in, and prepared to take her mom's luggage out. Her mom then goes, in Taiwanese (that's about all I know in Taiwanese), "It's okay, it's okay!" LOL. Like, wow. How rude would that be in the U.S.? Oh, man, Taiwanese people...sometimes I just don't know.

It's when I experience small nuances like this that give light to the Taiwanese people or culture that I feel 150% FOREIGN.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

My Story

I realized all that has happened to me since I became Christian has never been written down. I don't ever want to forget the things God has done in my life. So, here's my story...

I became Christian freshman year of college when I was in a crappy relationship and bad time in my life. I remember going to a church with a group of people and Jaeson Ma was there...he had just finished a conference in Houston that my sisters went to. At that time, my ex-boyfriend and I had broken up for a good six months or so, I had tranferred to UT and was, unbeknownst to me, very depressed and lonely. I had come out of a physically and emotionally abusive relationship that had destroyed me.

I was in desperate need of God, and I didn't even know. I prayed, yes, but I felt like I was in a dark hole. Jaeson Ma prayed over people - some cried, some didn't. I went up there and he prayed over me, and I'll never forget what he said. I remember everything Jaeson Ma relayed from God, even though I started crying right when he started speaking. He said, "God sees you and he knows you're lonely. He wants you to know you're the apple of his eye. He has a magnifying glass on you. He loves you." Then, he started saying, "Evangelism, East Asia, South America, write down everything that you think of, carry a notebook with you." He said the exact words to make me feel like he completely understood - it could only have come from God, because these were the things I had prayed to God before. He said things I felt but could not put into words. Only God could have known.

I started in a small, Chinese house church and had gone to Canada Bread of Life's 5 Bread 2 Fish conferences, etc. It was from them that I first heard of the 10/40 window and the Back to Jerusalem movement...that the gospel would be brought to Asia and then back to Jerusalem to complete the full circle. They said Asians in the U.S. are important, because what they need in Asia is money. I later realized that God was slowly introducing me to what is happening in Asia, and I started picking up books like "Brother Yun: The Heavenly Man" and "The Back to Jerusalem Movement." People didn't introduce these books to me, I just somehow found out about them. At one of the 5 Bread 2 Fish conferences, I made a promise to God that I would aid in this movement.

Since that time, any conference, sermon, etc. that talked about the movement in Asia, especially China, I would listen with keen interest and learn. I seeked out any kind of information about what was going on in China. It wasn't hard for me, because I've always had a keen interest in Chinese culture, and when I wasn't in Asia, I always felt like there was a magnet that was pulling me there. I yearned to be there.

I watched any movies about China I could get my hands on...I think I've seen every single one, and if I haven't, you bet I'll get my hands on it soon. And, everytime I watched, I would enjoy every minute of it, and yearned, yes, yearned to be there. I followed an organization called Half the Sky foundation, a children's home started by Americans that has many locations in China. One time, the year Jaeson Ma was at UT for Rez (Resurrection Week), I saw on the public board (where people walking by could write on), someone wrote, "I want to father 12 fatherless children", and that brought tears to my eyes. I think it's because I have a heart for orphans, and China, undoubtedly, has a lot of orphans. I once told God I wanted to adopt children from China. I know, without a doubt, that my future and God's purpose for me is in Asia.

As I look back, everything seemed to be for this purpose. I went out with a guy from Taiwan for 2 and a half years and dramatically improved my Chinese. I think he was even responsible for my interest in Asia a little bit, because I didn't speak Chinese all that much before him or was even interested in Asian things - mostly Korean, though. I started at a Chinese church and started listening to sermons in Chinese when I became Christian, so I know a lot of bibical vocabulary in Chinese. THE END. (Lol, I don't know how to end the story!)

This is my story. It's my whole life, because God is my whole life, and the reason why I'm here.

/edit/

Good sermon by Jaeson Ma, btw. This is Part 1, find Part 2/3 on Youtube.com. The title is "Noise to Signal".

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

everytime i get off the blue 5 bus, i say "thank you God for keeping me alive." hehe, jk...but that's how i really feel sometimes.

i went to get my second chemical peel the other day and the girl who did it for me was really funny. i asked her where to get good food around here and she's like "if you want to know about food, just ask me." then she started talking about dating, i.e. if a guy and a girl go out together by themselves, people will always think they're dating or like they each other....there is no "oh they're friends". i told her it's not like that in the u.s., when you see a guy and a girl together, it could be anything really. she goes, "well, then how do you know? it is, but it isn't, so is it or is it not?" lol. that's the way she talked.

there was this little boy on the blue 5 today and he was really cute. we use a YoYo Card here to pay for transportation...you just swipe it. so, he had it around his neck and when he went up to the machine on the bus, he leaned over the rail, stuck his head out, swiped his card, and got off - like he did it everyday. i mean, yeah, it sounds really normal, but i swear he was like 6. i don't even know how he was out by himself.

taiwan indigenous people, yay! i went to TITV (Taiwan Indigenous TV), and for all you immature people, yes, i know it spells "TIT" in the middle. how immature! anyway, i went today for dubbing and it was fun. interesting experience, even if i don't do it ever again. AND I SAW A CELEBRITY!!! i almost forgot! i've seen him on TV like a gajillion times, and i was sitting on the sofa, and he came over with his wife and kid, sat down, and ate lunch....RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! i was like, noooooo way this is happening. it's like i'm part of their family (laugh all you want) but after awhile, i was like, okay, he's just some normal person. lol. no big deal, really.

so people have been telling me they really enjoy reading my blog and i'm really happy! it's SO encouraging to me when people tell me they learn so much about God from me or they say they enjoying reading my posts. you guys are the ones encouraging me.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Chinese title actually translates into "Valentine's Day", but the English title is "A Time to Love". The best Chinese movie ever...with the depth of emotion and storyline as The Notebook, but better!

Monday, November 10, 2008

rain, rain, go away...

it's been raining these past few days in taiwan and it suuuu (high-pitched tone)....uuuucks (and pitch comes down)...we straight? but all's well that ends well!

clothes smell good

my clothes smell good! now about the lint problem...

CEO of Ideata TBWA
had lunch with the the owner (yes, not CEO, the owner, as i found out) of Ideata TBWA at a French restaurant (ooh la la) and we was so nice! i thought it would be some serious conversation but he was so personable! he says that he's thinking about retiring soon, and after he finds someone to take over, he wants to start teaching or talking about his experience at a university. he's already done it a few times. we had a good two-hour talk about advertising, career, Taiwanese politics, etc. it was interesting! i told him my sister Jennifer is majoring marketing and he said he would love to talk to us both and invite us both to eat when she is in Taiwan. (Jennifer, if you read this before i tell you, surprise!) anyway, he knows lots of people in advertising, so since you're interested in brand management, he can hook you up! really nice man.

http://www.ideata.com.tw/

Taiwan Indigenous TV
they recently started this English-language thing where they broadcast a one-hour newcast on TV in English about the indigenous (yuan2 zhu4 ming2). they're talked about a lot, because there's this really popular show here like american idol and lots of contestants are idigenous people, because most of them, can sing really well. you know A-Mei? she is an indigenous Taiwanese. anyway, so my point is, they were looking for people who are native english speakers do help be like the broadcasters. i don't know if that's the word, but you know when they're broadcasting the news, and you hear the person narrating (lol)? that's what i applied for. so they called me and i'm going in for a test try. cooooool.

Teaching English
yah. decided not to take the part-time job and just substitute for this school. i'm going to HK for 3 weeks in december and my sister will be in taiwan for the last week in december, so it's just too much of a hassle to start working now. i can come back in january and get a full-time job since bible classes are in the evenings. perfect. i can even attend bible study. yay, now i can go visit my extended family in kaoshiung.

other lil' tidbits:

- you can get three big bottles of fresh-squeezed orange juice for 200NT ($6 U.S. dollars)
- i fit in more when i dress up than when i don't (go figure)
- prices for clothing in department stores in taiwan are similar to the u.s. but it's the fancy restaurants that you can go to for 1/3 or even 1/2 the price of fancy schmancy restaurants in the u.s. that makes sense. no, really. it makes a lot of sense.
- i got a blockbuster card. hehe. there are a mix of chinese and english movies in these blockbusters! not that i can't get my fill on crunchyroll.com, which is a.m.a.z.i.n.g.
- whenever i hear a testimony, i have the urge to sing. L.O.L. i like testimonies, tee hee.
- i can't get over the fact that mcdonald's in where i've been, taiwan and shanghai, have 24 hour delivery and they have a breakfast menu, which means i can wake up, dial mickey d's, get up, get dressed, have breakfast delivered, then head out the door. amazing. which is pretty much what i did when i was in shanghai and starving at 3 am.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Chile

Houston

Taiwan

(at the suggestion of Amy Lee!) <3


/edit/

I just went to the store and bought a lemon air freshener (my room - yay), two lavender spray fresheners (one for the bathroom, one for the kitchen), 3 new face towels in a package (blue, yellow, and pink), a mini baby powder teddy bear spray to put in my purse (for those awful public bathrooms), and a big thing of teddy bear fabric softener.

I am ecstatic.