Wednesday, June 30, 2010
7/1/10
This morning before we went to campus we had a Bible study. We're doing our bible studies from a book called "Losing Face and Finding Grace". Today's Bible study was about the Prodigal Son, and it hit home for me. We examined the story and thought about our physical fathers. Even though my father isn't perfect, I know that I wouldn't be the same person without him. I'm so thankful for the relationship that I've had with my father, even through the bad. I think that's why I cry every time I watch any movie where something happens to the father (The Lion King is the worst). But there's one movie in particular where I cry, and that movie is called Click by Adam Sandler. Yes, it's supposed to be a comedy, but I seriously cry my soul out when I watch a certain scene from that movie. I really don't want to explain it now cuz I know I'll cry. After our Bible study, we went straight to campus. While on campus, I got rejected a couple of times as usual, but its okay, God still loves me. After we went to campus, we went to Doshisha for our outreach event. It was a guy speaking in Japanese for 2 hours, so it was kinda boring because I didn't understand any of it. But it was cool because we got to meet some student's from Doshisha, and they came out to Karaoke with us. God is providing us with so many contacts! Please pray for my eye, it's beginning to act up again and it's very sensitive to light. Hopefully it'll be okay by tomorrow!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
6/30/10
My body hasn't been dry in 3 days. It's been pretty humid so I'm constantly sweaty. And it's been rainy the past few days, so that sucks too.
Today wasn't a normal day. The reason why it was different was because he handed out a lot of fliers to promote an event that's happening tomorrow at Doshisha University. We printed out about 80 copies of the flier and handed them out to students. I got rejected about 10 times, so I was pretty discouraged. I began to pray to God that He would give me strength to simply approach people without fear and hand them the flier and invite them to the event. We did this the majority of the time, and headed home a little early. Even though it was a short day, our team as a whole did a lot, so I feel satisfied. I have to prepare my testimony for thursday, but I'm not really nervous at all. Usually I don't prepare what I'm going to say when I share about personal experiences, because I feel restrained when I try and follow a structure. I really like to let God take the reigns and talk through me.
I just realized that I didn't pack to much clothes this trip, and it's not too good because I constantly have to go to the laundry place. Our team is staying up to watch the Japan vs. Paraguay soccer match. I wore my Japanese Jersey today at campus, and I felt like a dork because people were just looking at me. I think it's because they're jealous, yeah, that must be it. Please pray for our outreach event at Doshisha tomorrow night. I really have no idea what the turnout is going to be, but I'm 100% confident that the people who are there have been hand picked by God to be there.
Today wasn't a normal day. The reason why it was different was because he handed out a lot of fliers to promote an event that's happening tomorrow at Doshisha University. We printed out about 80 copies of the flier and handed them out to students. I got rejected about 10 times, so I was pretty discouraged. I began to pray to God that He would give me strength to simply approach people without fear and hand them the flier and invite them to the event. We did this the majority of the time, and headed home a little early. Even though it was a short day, our team as a whole did a lot, so I feel satisfied. I have to prepare my testimony for thursday, but I'm not really nervous at all. Usually I don't prepare what I'm going to say when I share about personal experiences, because I feel restrained when I try and follow a structure. I really like to let God take the reigns and talk through me.
I just realized that I didn't pack to much clothes this trip, and it's not too good because I constantly have to go to the laundry place. Our team is staying up to watch the Japan vs. Paraguay soccer match. I wore my Japanese Jersey today at campus, and I felt like a dork because people were just looking at me. I think it's because they're jealous, yeah, that must be it. Please pray for our outreach event at Doshisha tomorrow night. I really have no idea what the turnout is going to be, but I'm 100% confident that the people who are there have been hand picked by God to be there.
Monday, June 28, 2010
6/29/10 (The real one)
Sorry for the mistake, I accidentally clicked enter after putting my title and it just posted the date. A thousand apologies to the 10 people who've read my blog =]
In the morning the leaders had a meeting at 8am, so that meant I had to wake up at 7:30. Bleh. The meeting went really smoothly, and it was cool to see how the directors worked with each other. I'm trying to soak up everything from these meetings, so that one day I may be able to lead a team to Japan (But that's not for a long, long long, long time) After our meeting, it was our personal time with the Lord. I went to the store around the corner to get some breakfast, and ate it under a tree in front of the store. After I finished eating, I read a passage from John and meditated on it for a while. Then I went back home to listen to worship music. At around 11:45, our team left for our campuses. I ate lunch in the cafeteria with Andy, Carrie, Jared and Cindy. We ate pretty quickly because we all wanted to start our ministry time. We split up into guys and girls groups because the girls wanted to go together. We walked to the information station, and found out there was an English group, a Christian group, and a Glee club! I was excited about all 3! Then at 2:40, we met up with Sato (the contact that we met last thursday). We talked to him for a good 2 1/2 hours about a lot of things, but wasn't able to get into a spiritual conversation. It's okay though, because I feel like we got closer to Sato on a personal level. And I know God will give us the perfect opportunity to bring it up, we just have to stay patient and trust the Lord. At around 5, we had to go back to the house. I feel like today was a long day, but a good day as well. I really need rest right now because I feel physically drained. Please pray for strength for our entire team, because the humidity is really zapping our energy during the day. I miss all of you so much, and I can't wait to see you all in 5 weeks.
In the morning the leaders had a meeting at 8am, so that meant I had to wake up at 7:30. Bleh. The meeting went really smoothly, and it was cool to see how the directors worked with each other. I'm trying to soak up everything from these meetings, so that one day I may be able to lead a team to Japan (But that's not for a long, long long, long time) After our meeting, it was our personal time with the Lord. I went to the store around the corner to get some breakfast, and ate it under a tree in front of the store. After I finished eating, I read a passage from John and meditated on it for a while. Then I went back home to listen to worship music. At around 11:45, our team left for our campuses. I ate lunch in the cafeteria with Andy, Carrie, Jared and Cindy. We ate pretty quickly because we all wanted to start our ministry time. We split up into guys and girls groups because the girls wanted to go together. We walked to the information station, and found out there was an English group, a Christian group, and a Glee club! I was excited about all 3! Then at 2:40, we met up with Sato (the contact that we met last thursday). We talked to him for a good 2 1/2 hours about a lot of things, but wasn't able to get into a spiritual conversation. It's okay though, because I feel like we got closer to Sato on a personal level. And I know God will give us the perfect opportunity to bring it up, we just have to stay patient and trust the Lord. At around 5, we had to go back to the house. I feel like today was a long day, but a good day as well. I really need rest right now because I feel physically drained. Please pray for strength for our entire team, because the humidity is really zapping our energy during the day. I miss all of you so much, and I can't wait to see you all in 5 weeks.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
6/28/10
Sunday Sunday Sunday! Today we went to a church in Kyoto. It was a very small traditional church with wooden floors. The majority of the people there were elderly people, and only a few teenagers. Even though everything was in Japanese, it was such a beautiful service. While we were standing and singing worship in Japanese, I started to think about my mother who was born in Japan. Then I saw a middle aged woman raise her hands to worship, and I began to break down and cry. It started off with just tears filling up my eyes, then it escalated to me sitting down and balling my eyes out. While I was sitting down and covering my eyes, I was crying out to God. I begged God to soften my family's heart so that they can see how much God loves them and wants to be with them. But the tears that fell weren't all sad tears, they were also tears of joy for the Japanese people in that room. Japan as a country is less than 1% Christian, but to see those people in that room worshiping God made me so happy and gave me hope.
After church, we all went to Shijo to eat lunch. Shijo is full of stores and shops, so there are many tourists and locals. We ate at this restaurant with a cool view that overlooked a part of the city. I had curry udon, and it was delicious. Afterwards, we checked out a few stores. I bought a Japanese world cup jersey, then we went home. The rest of the day was pretty much just hanging out and getting ready for our ministry that's starting tomorrow. Please pray for the two campuses (Doshisha and Kyodai) and that God will use us to build relationships with students. I know that God is going to do great things at these campuses, in this city, and in this country.
After church, we all went to Shijo to eat lunch. Shijo is full of stores and shops, so there are many tourists and locals. We ate at this restaurant with a cool view that overlooked a part of the city. I had curry udon, and it was delicious. Afterwards, we checked out a few stores. I bought a Japanese world cup jersey, then we went home. The rest of the day was pretty much just hanging out and getting ready for our ministry that's starting tomorrow. Please pray for the two campuses (Doshisha and Kyodai) and that God will use us to build relationships with students. I know that God is going to do great things at these campuses, in this city, and in this country.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
6/27/10
Today was a restful day. I woke up around 10am ish and pretty much just hung out until around 5. At 5, me and a few other guys went out to an arcade a couple of blocks away. It took us about 30 minutes to get there, and it was raining so it seemed longer. While we were there, I noticed a lot of guys wearing man-pris (capris for men). I took a picture of this one guy wearing his man-pris and my flash goes off, then all of a sudden this guy taps me on the shoulder and asks me if I asked for permission to take that other guys picture. I told him no, and he gave me a short lecture on how I have to ask people for their permission if I want to take their picture. I honestly didn't know that so I told him I was sorry. Once he went back to his videogame that he was intensely playing, I pulled out my camera again and took a picture of the guy who lectured me. This time, I turned my flash off. I'm such a rebel. After this fiasco, I walked around the arcade to see if there were any cute stuffed animals that I could win. While I was walking, I noticed that every person playing a videogame was extremely good. I then began to wonder how much money and time they spent at this arcade. Then I wondered how many of these guys were single.
After an hour or two of hanging out at the arcade, we went to this ramen place where they serve very thick ramen broth. It was so delicious because it had some garlic in it which made it so good! That bowl of ramen was the best thing i've had so far on this trip, so I plan on eating there again very soon. After eating, we headed back to the house, where everyone else continued to do exactly the same thing as when we left, absolutely nothing. Tomorrow we're going to a Japanese church, so I'm very excited to experience that!
After an hour or two of hanging out at the arcade, we went to this ramen place where they serve very thick ramen broth. It was so delicious because it had some garlic in it which made it so good! That bowl of ramen was the best thing i've had so far on this trip, so I plan on eating there again very soon. After eating, we headed back to the house, where everyone else continued to do exactly the same thing as when we left, absolutely nothing. Tomorrow we're going to a Japanese church, so I'm very excited to experience that!
Friday, June 25, 2010
6/26/10
Today was a really nice and adventurous day. We tried to explore the Imperial Palace, but our group was too big, so we ended up just going to the Kiyomizu temple on the other side of the city. It was a pain to get there because you have to walk up a really big hill, but when you get there it's such a beautiful sight. We went through this tour where they took us under one of the shrines, and it was in complete darkness. We basically went in a big circle and when we came to the end, there was a big rotating stone. After we went through it, we were all wondering what the significance of that tour was. But after really thinking about it, I realized that I had never been in a place of complete darkness like that, and it gave me goosebumps thinking about it. To be totally cliche, it was like my life before I came to know Christ. When I was walking through the darkness, I had no direction of where I was going, but when I saw the light at the end of the tour, I had a sense of direction. While I was going towards the light, it made me happy knowing that I'd be out of the darkness. But like I said before, it took me a while to realize this. After a couple of hours at the temple, we finally headed home. Even though we didn't go to campus today, God still made me realize some things, and I praise Him for that.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
6/25/10
Today was such a blessing! I'm so excited right now, so all my thoughts are swirling around and I don't know where to start. I GUESS I'll start from the beginning of the day. So in the morning, we had our usual meeting and sharing time. It was especially exciting because we found out what campuses we were assigned to. I was assigned to Kyoto University, which is a shock because Kyodai (nickname) is the second best school in Japan. All the student's there are very, very, very smart. So if you know me personally, you're probably thinking, "Then why are YOU going there?" I was actually thinking the same thing myself to be honest, but God has a funny way of speaking to me. When I was doubting and asking why I was put in Kyodai, God spoke to me and told me that He wants to challenge me. There has been another time on this trip that God said the same thing to me, and that's when we were being assigned what role's we'll have on the team. There are 4 categories in which we can help serve. The first one is inreach, the second one is outreach, the third one is stewardship, and the fourth one is worship/prayer. I requested to be in the inreach or outreach group as my 2 choices, stewardship as my third, and worship/prayer as my last. Then long behold, the leaders met up with me and told me I was going to be in the worship/prayer group. At first I was like, "What? what? what? what? why? what? what? GAHHHHH" But I could tell God had designed it this way so that I can be challenged. So after hearing that I would be at Kyodai, we left for our ministry time.
We had lunch on campus and scouted the cafeteria as we ate. Then we went to this building to try and see if we could find the English circle. There wasn't anyone there, and as we were leaving, we noticed a guy with a really cool painting in his hands. We asked if he made the picture, and he responded back in English saying that he did. It was super awesome and everyone liked it a lot. The student's name was Yuske (spell check), and he was telling us how much he liked american culture. After about 15 minutes of talking with him, our team left. We were then paired up into groups to pray over the campus. I was grouped up with Andy and Carrie so we walked around the campus praying for the different buildings. We then approached this one small building and went inside. We had no idea what building it was until we asked this one student. He told us that it was the Psychology building. He then walked away and we really didn't think to much of it. All of a sudden, he walks back to us with one of his friends! It was so encouraging to have him re-approach us, so we talked to both of the student's for about an hour! We talked about a lot of things, then it slowly turned into a spiritual conversation! The girl (Yuka) said that she kind of believed that there was a God in the trees and animals. We then asked the guy what he believed in, and he said that he was interested in CHRISTIANITY!!! In my head I was like OHHH MYYYY GOOOSHHHHHHH!!!!! but I didn't want to scare him off so I refrained from jumping up and down. Long story short, we got their contact information and will be meeting up with them next week because we wont be on campus tomorrow. Afterwards, Andy, Carrie and I were all saying that we were so excited with how cool that interaction was and how God had his fingerprints in everything that happened. Praise God for that divine appointment! I'm so excited to see how God is going to continue to work within the next 5 weeks! God is here, and He is doing amazing things!
I noticed that this was a pretty serious passage, and it sounded like nothing funny happend. We'll something did. I dropped my melon ice cream bar on my pants and now theres a small stain. The end.
We had lunch on campus and scouted the cafeteria as we ate. Then we went to this building to try and see if we could find the English circle. There wasn't anyone there, and as we were leaving, we noticed a guy with a really cool painting in his hands. We asked if he made the picture, and he responded back in English saying that he did. It was super awesome and everyone liked it a lot. The student's name was Yuske (spell check), and he was telling us how much he liked american culture. After about 15 minutes of talking with him, our team left. We were then paired up into groups to pray over the campus. I was grouped up with Andy and Carrie so we walked around the campus praying for the different buildings. We then approached this one small building and went inside. We had no idea what building it was until we asked this one student. He told us that it was the Psychology building. He then walked away and we really didn't think to much of it. All of a sudden, he walks back to us with one of his friends! It was so encouraging to have him re-approach us, so we talked to both of the student's for about an hour! We talked about a lot of things, then it slowly turned into a spiritual conversation! The girl (Yuka) said that she kind of believed that there was a God in the trees and animals. We then asked the guy what he believed in, and he said that he was interested in CHRISTIANITY!!! In my head I was like OHHH MYYYY GOOOSHHHHHHH!!!!! but I didn't want to scare him off so I refrained from jumping up and down. Long story short, we got their contact information and will be meeting up with them next week because we wont be on campus tomorrow. Afterwards, Andy, Carrie and I were all saying that we were so excited with how cool that interaction was and how God had his fingerprints in everything that happened. Praise God for that divine appointment! I'm so excited to see how God is going to continue to work within the next 5 weeks! God is here, and He is doing amazing things!
I noticed that this was a pretty serious passage, and it sounded like nothing funny happend. We'll something did. I dropped my melon ice cream bar on my pants and now theres a small stain. The end.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
6/24/10
I'm getting very confused with the dates. Oh well.
Today was pretty cool, we went to all 3 campuses (Doshisha, Kyodai and Ritsu). We had Eukiyum lead us through all of the campuses. It was exciting to see the campuses again after a whole year. While we were at Doshisha, we met with a Japanese student (I forgot her name) and she told us about how she became a Christian and how she wants to help her friends now. We also met a staff worker that's working with Eukiyum. Then we went to Kyoto University. Kyoto University, or Kyodai, is the second best school in Japan (behind Tokyo University). The atmosphere at Kyodai is very gloomy and kind of intimidating to be honest. Doshisha's atmosphere was somewhat lighter, but the only difference between the two campuses was that there were 2385792475908347205 bikes lined up. After we toured around Kyodai, we went to Ritsu. I was very excited because I was supposed to meet up with two students that I met last year, but I had told him that I would be coming to campus around 12, and we didn't get to Ritsu until 4:30. So when I got there, the two student's were gone. For the most part, everyone loved the atmosphere at Ritsu because there were a lot of students walking around, and there were a lot of people dancing. Although I'm going to miss going to Ritsu this year, I'm excited to go to either Doshisha or Kyodai this year.
When we got home, I had to take a dump so I ran into the house. When I finished doing my business, I reached over to get some toilet paper. I noticed something was different. Yep, there wasn't any toilet paper. I then opened the door and yelled out for help. Thankfully, someone responded and I told them about the pickle I was in. So some people from my team ran to the convenience store to get some TP. If I were talking to my sister, I would have said "I NEED TP FOR MY BUNGHOLE!" and she would completely understood. So after waiting about 15 minutes alone and bored on the toilet, I got my desired treasure and was satisfied.
Even though this may seem like a pointless and moronic story, it really got me praising God for blessing me with such a cool team. I honestly was kind of worried prior to this trip because I didn't know how my team was going to be, but now I'm praising God for everyone here. =]
Today was pretty cool, we went to all 3 campuses (Doshisha, Kyodai and Ritsu). We had Eukiyum lead us through all of the campuses. It was exciting to see the campuses again after a whole year. While we were at Doshisha, we met with a Japanese student (I forgot her name) and she told us about how she became a Christian and how she wants to help her friends now. We also met a staff worker that's working with Eukiyum. Then we went to Kyoto University. Kyoto University, or Kyodai, is the second best school in Japan (behind Tokyo University). The atmosphere at Kyodai is very gloomy and kind of intimidating to be honest. Doshisha's atmosphere was somewhat lighter, but the only difference between the two campuses was that there were 2385792475908347205 bikes lined up. After we toured around Kyodai, we went to Ritsu. I was very excited because I was supposed to meet up with two students that I met last year, but I had told him that I would be coming to campus around 12, and we didn't get to Ritsu until 4:30. So when I got there, the two student's were gone. For the most part, everyone loved the atmosphere at Ritsu because there were a lot of students walking around, and there were a lot of people dancing. Although I'm going to miss going to Ritsu this year, I'm excited to go to either Doshisha or Kyodai this year.
When we got home, I had to take a dump so I ran into the house. When I finished doing my business, I reached over to get some toilet paper. I noticed something was different. Yep, there wasn't any toilet paper. I then opened the door and yelled out for help. Thankfully, someone responded and I told them about the pickle I was in. So some people from my team ran to the convenience store to get some TP. If I were talking to my sister, I would have said "I NEED TP FOR MY BUNGHOLE!" and she would completely understood. So after waiting about 15 minutes alone and bored on the toilet, I got my desired treasure and was satisfied.
Even though this may seem like a pointless and moronic story, it really got me praising God for blessing me with such a cool team. I honestly was kind of worried prior to this trip because I didn't know how my team was going to be, but now I'm praising God for everyone here. =]
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
6/23/10
Jet lag is so weird coming from America to Japan. I say that because I went to bed around 4am, woke up at 8am, and was completely awake. It felt as if I slept for 10 plus hours, but I knew that I only got 4 hours of sleep so I kept telling myself to get back to sleep. But once Vince (he was on my team last year) told me that he was going to the convenience store to get food, I jumped out of bed and got ready.
Today was pretty light, the directors and I met up with the staff worker that's stationed in Kyoto. We had lunch and talked about what's going to happen within the next 5 weeks. I ordered beef curry and it was so good. It was one of those times where I looked at my food, slowly grabbed my chopsticks, blinked, then my food was gone. This may be the reason why I gained 15 pounds in one year. I've accepted the fact that I've gotten a little pudgy so don't judge me, plus I'm still not as chubby as my brothers, which gives makes me happy. ANYWAY, after lunch we just hung out at the house for the whole day.
Dinner was super awesome because a couple of people made dinner for all of us. Last year, nobody cooked anything (expect this one guy who made Soba for himself, thanks mr. selfish. Just kidding Kris Lee, I love you) Right now, it's about 9:48pm, and I'm all ready for bed. One thing that I've been praying about is strength. I know that it'll be hard to maintain my energy and strength because of the busy days and hot/humid/rainy weather. Although there are a lot of things that can prevent me from being fully effective, I know that if I trust God, he will give me the strength that I need. I know that I must fully rely on God's strength and not on my own, because if I rely on my own, then I'll just be burned out and frustrated this whole trip. Please pray for everyone on our team's heart and that we'll be able to adjust being in a foreign country. And lastly, that we'll all have the same common goal, which is to show God's love to the people in Kyoto.
Today was pretty light, the directors and I met up with the staff worker that's stationed in Kyoto. We had lunch and talked about what's going to happen within the next 5 weeks. I ordered beef curry and it was so good. It was one of those times where I looked at my food, slowly grabbed my chopsticks, blinked, then my food was gone. This may be the reason why I gained 15 pounds in one year. I've accepted the fact that I've gotten a little pudgy so don't judge me, plus I'm still not as chubby as my brothers, which gives makes me happy. ANYWAY, after lunch we just hung out at the house for the whole day.
Dinner was super awesome because a couple of people made dinner for all of us. Last year, nobody cooked anything (expect this one guy who made Soba for himself, thanks mr. selfish. Just kidding Kris Lee, I love you) Right now, it's about 9:48pm, and I'm all ready for bed. One thing that I've been praying about is strength. I know that it'll be hard to maintain my energy and strength because of the busy days and hot/humid/rainy weather. Although there are a lot of things that can prevent me from being fully effective, I know that if I trust God, he will give me the strength that I need. I know that I must fully rely on God's strength and not on my own, because if I rely on my own, then I'll just be burned out and frustrated this whole trip. Please pray for everyone on our team's heart and that we'll be able to adjust being in a foreign country. And lastly, that we'll all have the same common goal, which is to show God's love to the people in Kyoto.
Monday, June 21, 2010
6/22/10
Gahh its already tuesday the 22nd! Where did monday go!? So today was literally all travel. We flew from LAX at around 1pm and got to Tokyo around 4pm the next day. Then we took the bullet train (shinkansen) from Tokyo to Kyoto. The train ride took about 2 1/2 hours and the plane ride took about 11 hours. The plane ride wasn't that bad, but I had my pillow from home so I literally had no space. And I didn't get up to stretch throughout the whole flight, so when I got up I felt really weak and puny (Just like Wayne feels everyday.) We finally got to the house around 11pm. I made the mistake of sleeping on the bullet train because now I feel kind of awake. I already had a funny encounter with our project director. I was showing someone on our team the house and the conversation went like this,
ME: "Okay so here's the bathroom, the bathroom light is right here so it's not actually inside the bathroom."
*I flip the light switch*
*Then I try to open the bathroom door, but it wont open*
ME: "Man, the door is hard to open."
ANDY: "Oh, I think Kerby is in the bathroom."
KERBY: "Yes, please turn the light back on too."
Yep, already off to a great start! I think tomorrow we're taking it pretty easy and exploring the city. It still hasn't really hit me that we're in Japan already. I really hope it hits me soon.
ME: "Okay so here's the bathroom, the bathroom light is right here so it's not actually inside the bathroom."
*I flip the light switch*
*Then I try to open the bathroom door, but it wont open*
ME: "Man, the door is hard to open."
ANDY: "Oh, I think Kerby is in the bathroom."
KERBY: "Yes, please turn the light back on too."
Yep, already off to a great start! I think tomorrow we're taking it pretty easy and exploring the city. It still hasn't really hit me that we're in Japan already. I really hope it hits me soon.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
6/18/10
6/18/10
Last night before I went to bed, I had prayed for 2 main things. The first prayer was that our team would be able to raise enough support (because we’re short on support as a team). My second prayer was that our team would be able to bond quickly. God basically answered both my prayers today. During our free time, our team rallied together to support those who haven’t made their goal by calling supporters to raise more money. It was such a blessing to be a part of because you could really sense the unity during that time. Not only did we do that, but our team is already very comfortable around each other. All I have to say is praise God and that God is so awesome. I would have never thought that our team would bond so quickly! All the guys were able to pray for this one girl who is feeling really stressed out with her support raising. God is already working in this team, and it’s so exciting to be a part of! Please continue to pray for our team that we’ll be able to get even closer than we already are, and that all our worries/stress will just be replaced with comfort and peace. I’m actually glad that our team is short on support, because this hurdle is actually making our team grow stronger. And I’m 100% confident that we’ll be able to raise enough money by Sunday, because I trust that God will provide for us. God is just simply AMAZING.
Last night before I went to bed, I had prayed for 2 main things. The first prayer was that our team would be able to raise enough support (because we’re short on support as a team). My second prayer was that our team would be able to bond quickly. God basically answered both my prayers today. During our free time, our team rallied together to support those who haven’t made their goal by calling supporters to raise more money. It was such a blessing to be a part of because you could really sense the unity during that time. Not only did we do that, but our team is already very comfortable around each other. All I have to say is praise God and that God is so awesome. I would have never thought that our team would bond so quickly! All the guys were able to pray for this one girl who is feeling really stressed out with her support raising. God is already working in this team, and it’s so exciting to be a part of! Please continue to pray for our team that we’ll be able to get even closer than we already are, and that all our worries/stress will just be replaced with comfort and peace. I’m actually glad that our team is short on support, because this hurdle is actually making our team grow stronger. And I’m 100% confident that we’ll be able to raise enough money by Sunday, because I trust that God will provide for us. God is just simply AMAZING.
Friday, June 18, 2010
6/16/10-6/17/10 (Briefing)
(sorry for not posting earlier, I had to find out the internet connection stuff)
6/16/10
Today was my first day at briefing, and it started off pretty awkwardly. After I said goodbye to my parents in the parking lot, I proceeded to the registration area. I then noticed the international project leaders gathered in front of the entrance, so I thought that I was totally late. So I continued walking until I was behind this tree and acted like I was calling someone. Luckily one of them saw me and came to get me. I had apologized for being late, but it turns out that they had just gotten there 5 minutes before me, so I was really relieved. Pretty much the rest of the day was hanging out with the 3 project directors for Japan. Their names are Kerby (Project Director), Whitney (Project Director), and Chris (Operations Director). This was my first time meeting these three, and I was honestly hoping that Kerby would be a little chubby with a pink shirt, but he’s actually tall and normal sized. Oh well. They’re all really cool and I’m very excited about this trip! Can’t wait till the rest of the team arrives tomorrow!
6/17/10
I can’t remember the last time I went to bed at 11pm and woke up at 8am. For the past few weeks I’ve been going to bed around 4am, but it’s nice to sleep like a normal person. So for about half the day, a handful of others and myself were wondering if we could skip the session tonight to watch the Laker game. (I missed the whole game, but got text messages from people telling me the score). From about noon till 5pm, we were just waiting for the rest of our team to arrive. When everyone arrived, we all ate dinner together. It was so awesome to finally meet everyone, and everyone is so cool! Praise God! After dinner, we had a large group session with all the EPIC teams going out on missions. It was more of a welcoming time where people got to share where they were coming from and personal testimony’s. After the session, we were all split up into our teams for team bonding, so I ran outside to call someone about the Laker game. I caught the last 25 seconds and I can honestly say that I was jumping up and down when I heard that the Lakers won! Anyways, our team bonding time was a really blessed time. We had a couple games and then we shared about ourselves. Everyone shared how they made the decision to go to Japan. It still hasn’t hit me that I’m going to be spending 5-6 weeks in Japan again, but at the same time I’m so excited to see how God is going to work within all of us. I’m also really excited to see how God is going to change us. I wish I can just hop on the next plane to Japan! One thing that we’re praying about is the support. After tallying all the checks, as a team we’re down $5400. When I heard this, my human instincts told me that we might not be able to raise that money within 2 days. I know that God will provide, but it’s hard not to be doubtful. Project hasn’t technically started yet, and it seems like God is already challenging me to realize that God can do the impossible. Even upon typing this, I’m feeling a sense of comfort that the support will be raised. God is so awesome, and I know that He is listening to our prayers during this time.
6/16/10
Today was my first day at briefing, and it started off pretty awkwardly. After I said goodbye to my parents in the parking lot, I proceeded to the registration area. I then noticed the international project leaders gathered in front of the entrance, so I thought that I was totally late. So I continued walking until I was behind this tree and acted like I was calling someone. Luckily one of them saw me and came to get me. I had apologized for being late, but it turns out that they had just gotten there 5 minutes before me, so I was really relieved. Pretty much the rest of the day was hanging out with the 3 project directors for Japan. Their names are Kerby (Project Director), Whitney (Project Director), and Chris (Operations Director). This was my first time meeting these three, and I was honestly hoping that Kerby would be a little chubby with a pink shirt, but he’s actually tall and normal sized. Oh well. They’re all really cool and I’m very excited about this trip! Can’t wait till the rest of the team arrives tomorrow!
6/17/10
I can’t remember the last time I went to bed at 11pm and woke up at 8am. For the past few weeks I’ve been going to bed around 4am, but it’s nice to sleep like a normal person. So for about half the day, a handful of others and myself were wondering if we could skip the session tonight to watch the Laker game. (I missed the whole game, but got text messages from people telling me the score). From about noon till 5pm, we were just waiting for the rest of our team to arrive. When everyone arrived, we all ate dinner together. It was so awesome to finally meet everyone, and everyone is so cool! Praise God! After dinner, we had a large group session with all the EPIC teams going out on missions. It was more of a welcoming time where people got to share where they were coming from and personal testimony’s. After the session, we were all split up into our teams for team bonding, so I ran outside to call someone about the Laker game. I caught the last 25 seconds and I can honestly say that I was jumping up and down when I heard that the Lakers won! Anyways, our team bonding time was a really blessed time. We had a couple games and then we shared about ourselves. Everyone shared how they made the decision to go to Japan. It still hasn’t hit me that I’m going to be spending 5-6 weeks in Japan again, but at the same time I’m so excited to see how God is going to work within all of us. I’m also really excited to see how God is going to change us. I wish I can just hop on the next plane to Japan! One thing that we’re praying about is the support. After tallying all the checks, as a team we’re down $5400. When I heard this, my human instincts told me that we might not be able to raise that money within 2 days. I know that God will provide, but it’s hard not to be doubtful. Project hasn’t technically started yet, and it seems like God is already challenging me to realize that God can do the impossible. Even upon typing this, I’m feeling a sense of comfort that the support will be raised. God is so awesome, and I know that He is listening to our prayers during this time.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
6/15/10
So here's the information regarding my departure flight to Japan on Sunday the 20th:
Operated by: UNITED AIRLINES -- UA 891. Please check in with the operating carrier.
Depart: 1:25pm Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles International (LAX)
Arrive: 4:30pm Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Narita (NRT)
And here's the information for my flight back. Just in case any of you miss me so much =]
Return Thursday, July 29, 2010
US Airways 6656 Economy | Boeing 747-400 Passenger (744) | Dinner | 9hr 56min | 5451 miles
Operated by: UNITED AIRLINES -- UA 890. Please check in with the operating carrier.
Depart: 5:15pm Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Arrive: 11:11am Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles International (LAX)
I'm getting more and more excited as each hour passes by. I actually started packing already which is shocking because I usually start packing at the last minute. It just kind of hit me that I wont be sleeping in my own bed for a whole month, but I'm not worrying, because my big, buff yorkshire terrier dog will keep it safe. Just like this:
Leave Sunday, June 20, 2010
US Airways 6657 Economy | Boeing 747-400 Passenger (744) | Lunch | 11hr 5min | 5451 milesOperated by: UNITED AIRLINES -- UA 891. Please check in with the operating carrier.
Depart: 1:25pm Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles International (LAX)
Arrive: 4:30pm Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Narita (NRT)
And here's the information for my flight back. Just in case any of you miss me so much =]
Return Thursday, July 29, 2010
US Airways 6656 Economy | Boeing 747-400 Passenger (744) | Dinner | 9hr 56min | 5451 miles
Operated by: UNITED AIRLINES -- UA 890. Please check in with the operating carrier.
Depart: 5:15pm Tokyo, Japan Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Arrive: 11:11am Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles International (LAX)
I'm getting more and more excited as each hour passes by. I actually started packing already which is shocking because I usually start packing at the last minute. It just kind of hit me that I wont be sleeping in my own bed for a whole month, but I'm not worrying, because my big, buff yorkshire terrier dog will keep it safe. Just like this:
Monday, June 7, 2010
6/7/10- "Memories"
This weekend was pretty interesting. It definitely started well, and continued with an upward momentum. But by the end of Sunday, I found myself in a place where I felt alone and even a little mad at God for a brief moment (when I say brief, I mean about 15 minutes). In the midst of my anger, I suddenly asked myself "Why am I mad at God and blaming Him?" There was no reason for me to be mad at God. That's when God totally spoke to me in the form of my childhood memories. He gave me two memories:
The first memory was when I was in elementary school. My whole family had decided to go bowling, which got me super excited because I loved bowling (and plus I could beat my older brothers). The closer we got to the bowling alley, (on Valley View and Chapman next to the movie theaters) the more excited I got. I remember jumping out of our old Astro Van and running through the parking lot towards the bowling alley. When I got inside, I noticed that there were a lot of people playing, but I didn't care, I just wanted to beat my brothers. My Dad talked to the front desk for a few minutes, then told me that there was a bowling league going on so we couldn't play, and that we were going home! I'm pretty sure I cried on the way back because I was expecting to play. When we got home, I was pretty mad so I decided to do the meanest thing that I could ever think of (at that age), I decided to ding-dong-ditch my own house. So once my family went inside, I rang the doorbell and ran through into my backyard. I was thinking "Yeah, that'll show them."
I was so mad at my parents that there was a bowling league going on and that we couldn't play. Doesn't this sound ridiculous? I was mad at my parents for something that wasn't even their fault! After God showed me this memory, He showed me another:
The second memory was when I was still in elementary school. My Mom and I were planning to go to Knotts Berry Farm. I've always loved roller coasters, but would SOMETIMES chicken out right before I got on the ride. Well, this time I was planning on going on every single rollercoaster! So the night before our Knott's day, I was watching the weather report on the news. The weatherman predicted rain throughout the next day. I was crushed. I remember walking up to my mom after hearing the weather report with tears streaming down my face because I thought my mom would reschedule our Knott's day. She looked at me with a smile and told me that maybe the weatherman would be wrong and that we'll just wait and see until morning. I went to bed that night still crying because I totally thought that we weren't going to go. My mom woke me up early the next morning and told me that we were going to Knotts! "But it's still raining outside Mom." She replied, "It's okay, that means there won't be as many people." So we went to Knotts in the rain, and had a blast.
After God made me remember these two memories, I understood why. I was basically mad at God, when it wasn't His fault at all and I had no reason to blame Him. Just like the bowling memory, it wasn't my parents fault that there was a bowling league. I think God revealed the second memory to show me that even though the immediate future might be a rainy day, He will tough it out like my Mom and be with me regardless because He loves me so much. God is so amazing.
The first memory was when I was in elementary school. My whole family had decided to go bowling, which got me super excited because I loved bowling (and plus I could beat my older brothers). The closer we got to the bowling alley, (on Valley View and Chapman next to the movie theaters) the more excited I got. I remember jumping out of our old Astro Van and running through the parking lot towards the bowling alley. When I got inside, I noticed that there were a lot of people playing, but I didn't care, I just wanted to beat my brothers. My Dad talked to the front desk for a few minutes, then told me that there was a bowling league going on so we couldn't play, and that we were going home! I'm pretty sure I cried on the way back because I was expecting to play. When we got home, I was pretty mad so I decided to do the meanest thing that I could ever think of (at that age), I decided to ding-dong-ditch my own house. So once my family went inside, I rang the doorbell and ran through into my backyard. I was thinking "Yeah, that'll show them."
I was so mad at my parents that there was a bowling league going on and that we couldn't play. Doesn't this sound ridiculous? I was mad at my parents for something that wasn't even their fault! After God showed me this memory, He showed me another:
The second memory was when I was still in elementary school. My Mom and I were planning to go to Knotts Berry Farm. I've always loved roller coasters, but would SOMETIMES chicken out right before I got on the ride. Well, this time I was planning on going on every single rollercoaster! So the night before our Knott's day, I was watching the weather report on the news. The weatherman predicted rain throughout the next day. I was crushed. I remember walking up to my mom after hearing the weather report with tears streaming down my face because I thought my mom would reschedule our Knott's day. She looked at me with a smile and told me that maybe the weatherman would be wrong and that we'll just wait and see until morning. I went to bed that night still crying because I totally thought that we weren't going to go. My mom woke me up early the next morning and told me that we were going to Knotts! "But it's still raining outside Mom." She replied, "It's okay, that means there won't be as many people." So we went to Knotts in the rain, and had a blast.
After God made me remember these two memories, I understood why. I was basically mad at God, when it wasn't His fault at all and I had no reason to blame Him. Just like the bowling memory, it wasn't my parents fault that there was a bowling league. I think God revealed the second memory to show me that even though the immediate future might be a rainy day, He will tough it out like my Mom and be with me regardless because He loves me so much. God is so amazing.
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