Because Your Love is Better Than Life..

baby steps.

2008-07-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

Asami has a Japanese friend who is a Christian, and in fact is studying bible at UBC. Her friend, whose name is Tomomi, explained the whole gospel to her in Japanese which clarified a lot of things for her and peaked her interest again. Asami made it very clear that while she doesn’t believe it yet, she’s still interested to learn about it. The other day, Asami asked me “what is your favorite bible word?” I thought she meant verse, but she was like ‘no- word, you know like faith, love, peace’. Really good question. I was like mhh probably grace and explained that. Then Asami was like ‘I really like the word forgiveness, everyone needs it.’ Asami went to church today with Tomomi. Baby steps.

Yesterday, we bought 104 water bottles and headed to the fireworks show (canadians like to celebrate everything!). I dropped a waterbottle on the way and this dude picked up and started scolding me for buying plastics bottles because it destroys the earth; freaking Canadian hippies. Anyway, I told him I loved Jesus and then got a lecture about Canadian politics and how they misrepresent Christianity. I kindly told him I was from the states and got another discourse about American politics and how Sept 11th was an inside job. Politics make me barf. He concluded the dialogue by saying that even Jesus believes that all religions are valid and I just need to open my mind. He also added, that his dead girlfriend comes to visit him. Weird.—and that was water bottle number one.
Times this by 104 and that was how interesting our night was.

As we boarded a bus, I dropped some more bottles on accident and told the people to keep them and they yelled Free Water??!! Then the whole bus was like “YAHH! FREE WATER.” As we passed out a bus full of water, several people asked why we were just giving it out and I was like ‘BECAUSE JESUS IS ALIVE!” and somebody yelled ‘Yeah! I’ll drink to Jesus!” It was hilarious.
We carried the water about twenty blocks and got tired so we just started passing it out at a random part of Stanley Park. We stood on a street corner and shouted the name of Jesus! haha. I thrive in awkward situations so I was lovin it.
Here were some of the other responses:
-“Free water..whats the occasion?” “Jesus!”
-“oh, free water.. who are you sponsoring?” “Jesus!”
- “free water? Nothing in life is free!” “Jesus is free!!!”
- “Free water, from who?” “From Jesus!” “Thank you Jesus!”
-“Water? Well, do you have some important message for me too?” “psh yeah I do. Jesus is alive” “He sure is quenching my thirst!”
- One really disheartening dude: “So you’re giving out free water so you can talk to me about Jesus huh?” “Yeah, pretty much.” “Well then I don’t want your water” “I wont talk, you can just take it” “No. I don’t want it.” I could sense the hurt behind his eyes.
Baby steps. That’s all I can say. Our goal was to reach out. To meet a need. To associate Jesus with something that is good, and free. and have some blessed conversations along the way.

The kingdom of God is like baby steps at times. I feel like this whole summer was one giant baby step. Asami took a baby step towards knowing Christ. The youth group took a baby step towards leadership, evangelism, and growth. I took a baby step in an effort to understand the heart of my Savior. I’d say it was a pretty productive summer.

just more thoughts.

2008-07-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

Do we spend our whole lives missing people? I’ve pondered this thought a lot but never really wrote it down. Example A: my life right now. At this very moment, I find myself really excited to be going home in a week and seeing my friends that are as close as fam. But I realize that when I step off that plane and someone asks me ‘how was canada?’, I’ll find myself missing the kids, missing Asami, and missing the boys I shared life with for 2 months.
Ps: it was pointed out that the boys are the only Caucasians I’ve hung out with in the last 2 months. It will be weird hanging out with white people again. But really, it’s a really depressing thought: you are always missing someone. I miss my bro a freaking lot. I miss some old friends from high school. I miss the dude we met yesterday who, arguably might have been intoxicated, but seemed genuinely happy to be alive.

Why cant I just put everyone I love into my back pocket and carry them around—life would be so much happier.

sprinting

2008-07-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

I don’t know if anyone reads this anymore but I’m gunna keep blabbing..
10 days till home. Ten days. Weird, some mission trips are only ten days long- It’s not over yet. I feel like I’m a marathon runner and I’m on the last 4 miles.. I’m sprinting it home. Yeahh booooy.
Hmm, I think Ill continue speaking in cheesy analogies of running… So right before the sprint home, I tripped and went head first into the cold, hard pavement. Two days ago, I didn’t believe in God; let me explain. I believed God was real, more real than ever, but I was severely questioning his authority and if God doesn’t have all authority/power who is He? This ‘faith crisis’ was spurred by the realization that Asami might not decide to love Jesus despite my pleas to God. Instead of identifying with the heart of God (which my teammate Casey encouraged me to do), I beat around the idea that maybe He doesn’t do it because He can’t. That’s bull crap. But at the time, it was a very real and very scary question to reconcile.
Anyway, God reaffirmed his truth in my heart. He is all powerful and his heart aches a thousand times what mine does for her. I look at her and honestly see His pain, His sacrifice, His LOVE for her. It’s foolish to think God is dependant on my time schedule. Just because I am here for 10 more days; 240 more hours… wait 239 hours now. He better hurry up.. lame.
I feel like I have lived life here for the last two months; eat, slept, pooped, and affected the people around me. However, I labeled these last two months of my life as a ‘mission trip’, therefore, they should be impressively glamorous right? I know in ten days, life will not change much. Sure, there will be no more mountains ominously looming above my head, or no more homeless dudes to shake a hand, or 1.6 million hilariously lovable Asian people right on my block. Yet my life will still be a marathon—(thanks Paul for coining that phrase so now I just sound cliché.) I will struggle, I will seek, I will serve. I will experience God’s beauty in a Shawnee sunset. I will see God’s pain in the complacency. I will struggle with questions about predestination, passivism, and why men have nipples.
Yet, through all of this, I can already sense I will deeply miss Vancouver.

thoughts.

2008-07-15T00:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry I’ve failed to update lately; life has been busy yet rewarding.
Leadership camp was beautiful. The kids ATE up what God told us to teach them. It was like cramming a week of super summer into a day and a half. Intense but rewarding. The first night we did timeline testimonies; I listed to multiple stories of these kids sharing how they found Christ despite of their atheistic backgrounds- ‘I was a good little communist, so I didn’t believe anything, and then I found Jesus’, Beautiful. Many of them lead their families to Christ and many of their friends. The first night we went till midnight just sharing, teaching, and learning. It was wonderful. The weekend was not long enough but it was definitely fruitful. Everyone learned, everyone was changed; everyone is now prepared to BE the change.
What I learned this weekend: I learned immensely through the kids of what raw desire to learn and grow looks like. It is sheer beauty. Moreover, I learned about myself. So lately, as in the last 2 months ive been praying "God, rid me of myself"' I stole this line from Ashley Studdard's brothers blog. I thought it was deep but God told me this weekend it was stupid. We were talking about butterflies and the whole transformation process; at one point, between caterpillar and butterfly, the buggy-fetuses are completely formless and mushy. When they are mushy, they have no point or purpose. Psalm 103 also helped me come to the conclusion that I am always going to be ME; no matter how hard I try to take on the ideal of loosing myself-(which is ironically a Buddhist ideal) I will always have desires and wants but following Christ means desiring things for his kingdom.
"Because of sin I am self-addicted. I am prone to love things that kill me...when people who follow Jesus love the right things, they help create God's kingdom on earth, and that is something beautiful."- Donald Miller ‘Blue Like Jazz’.
My parentals came last week and spoiled the poo out of me and the boys. I really suffered for jesus by hitting the ski slopes in July; disclaimer- the whole time I was on the mountain, I was spiritually ticked off. I found that most of the people who are crazy enough to snowboard in July are either pot heads or pros. The pots heads are way too far gone to realize where they are and for the pros it was just another day of the year to better themselves. I found myself praying that Jesus would come back so the whole glacier full of people would fall down and worship the Creator. Even on the top of a beautiful mountain, the secularity of this city follows me. It makes me want to vomit.
Enough ranting, my parents visit was wonderful and refreshing. They got meet some of the people I have grown to love and only attempting to describe to them in emails. It was awesome to see God used my parents to talk to the parents of the church that I have a harder time relating to. At one point, I turned around and my mom was surrounded by a crowd of Chinese people who were captivated by her story telling and charisma. It was wonderful. I feel like now in life, my parents are less like dictators and more like cool people I get to hangout with. I guess I like being older, just for that reason alone.
Sixteen days left; (I’m not going to lie, I had to Google image search a calendar just to figure out what day today is-that’s how anti-reality my life has become). With a little more than two weeks to make an impact on this city and the lives of these kids I feel overwhelmed and a little helpless. I know for the next year I will mull over these last two months with regret for not having ‘done enough’. But God’s work isn’t dependant on me. I’m just blessed to be a little part of it. I know it will be painful leaving; it’s funny how fast I can adapt to a new setting, new people, a new life. wheew only 16 more days… Guess its time to get up from this coffee shop and go make them count.

“Praise the Lord O my soul….who redeems life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles’.- Pslam 103:2-6

EDIT//: Right after i got done posting this blog last night at the coffee shop, some druken canadian came in and started yelling about how he's going to stab someone because this was 'his land'. Soon after, he stripped down into his underwear and started speaking in Squamish or some other Native American tongue, and listing his ancestors. While Im not afraid of death, I couldnt imagine that being stabbed or taken hostage would feel too good. Casey came to my rescue and on our walk home another crazed canadian in nothing but underwear came streeking past us. He came up to Casey and started rambling about how that is what he liked to wear in Holland. Oohh Canada.. Thanks God for watching out for me!

God took a loofah to my soul

2008-07-07T00:22:00.000-07:00

The new background pic is from fireworks on Canada Day; which was wonderful by the way- I got to hang out with Asami all afternoon and tell her how Jesus is kind of like pancakes; stupid analogy but it communicated the point rather well. Then that night our team met up with youth group kids in Stanley Park and watched fireworks across the bay. Beauuutiful.
For ‘America day”, as the Canadians like to call it, me and Casey got up at 4am and caught a bus to Seattle. After surviving a bus trip with our driver, Yolanda 'yo momma', we reached seattle. Tony, my best friends’ dad, showed me and casey around all day. Hanging out with him made me miss my best friends but it was also an awesome opportunity. Tony shared with us his thoughts on the lostness of Seattle which was widely apparent, much like Vancouver. This last year, Tony has been spiritually and emotionally tested beyond imagination yet he remains a faithful man of God.
Unfortunately, after eating a bowl of the ‘Nations best clam chowder’ on the waterfront, Casey got extremely sick. We took it easy but got to enjoy fireworks that night with Cameron (my besties’ 7 year old half sister). Cameron told me that she recently gave her heart to Jesus. That curly headed bouncy blonde is the definition of Joy. Pray that she will keep growing in faith regardless of circumstances.
One the way home the next morning, we had a couple minutes to spare because our bus was late. I walked around the corner, just across from the space needle, to grab a cup of coffee. After asking my life story, the barista chastised me for being a missionary and ‘brain washing/converting’ people. I got back to the bus station and Casey had witnessed an intense verbal fight between two guys yelling about the existence of Christianity. My impression was ‘what a weird world we live in’. Casey was like ‘I wanna go back to the bible belt’.
As we stood in line, we talking about how we hoped for this next month to be fruitful and how we wished God would use us more. In the midst of our whine session, the lady in front of us started to spark a conversation. To make a long story short; her name is Judy. She lives in Seattle but is from Mexico City. She has a passionate love for the bible and is diligently seeking God but she doesn’t understand ‘church’. About the point in the convo that we all realized we all were on the same ‘loving Jesus’ page; Judy was like ‘see the holy spirit is here with us. That’s why we started talking’. We gave her our contact info and recommended churches to get her connected. She asked to come to our Chinese church, which only preaches in Mandarin. She said she didn’t mind as long as they taught the bible. Ha. So awesome.
Casey and I took our seats on the bus and looked at each other and literally laughed out loud at the irony that God uses. I could feel God laughing too. We headed back and reflected on the lostness of the Pacific Northwest. We began to weep and cry out to God; I have felt my heart become callused after only a month of being constantly surrounded by desperation; God took a loofah to my soul, scratching away at my complacency, my bitterness, my acceptance of the pattern of this world. The four hours back to ‘home’ was a great time of refreshment, renewal, and vision.
Another thought I became aware of on my short trip to the U.S. of A. Soon after crossing the border into the states, we passed outlet stores and high school football stadiums. I bitterly thought to myself “mhh America at its finest”. I told Casey that I would never be okay with living permanently in the states. Over the day I kept thinking why it bothered me so much. I love having the freedom as a citizen of the US, and I also love the fact that marijuana is still illegal but I loathe the self-centered ideals of America. I feel like the ideal of America is ‘how can I better myself.’ To summarize; my finally realization is that I tend to categorize these attitudes as ‘American’ but really they are just my attitudes when I am in America and being complacent, selfish, and materialist. I shouldn’t have to go to another country to escape myself.
Anyway, just some thoughts that I have been pondering. Praise the One who gives life and life abundant.
This week will be glorious; my parents are coming tomorrow!! Yayyyy.
Some things to pray for if you would---
Me and casey have a date with our homeless buddy Jay tonight. Pray for blessed convo and understanding as we share hope with him!
I also have a breakfast date with Asami; pray for guidance from the spirit. That she would accept the TRUTH as the only, not just one of many. She has become really close to my heart. I earn for her to know the love of the Father.
Leadership camp starts on Friday. We will be taking a group of 15 youth and teaching them how to live out their faith for the first time. It should be epic. Prayer is definitely needed!!

‘And the cry of my heart is to bring you praise, from the inside out, Lord. My soul cries out.’

apex

2008-07-01T00:47:00.001-07:00

Camp was wonderful! I don’t know how else to explain the last three days of my life…
A group from Texas came to lead the camp which was such a blessing as it allowed us missionaries to focus entirely on the kids rather than on details and schedules. I feel like I really know the hearts of the kids now; they are wonderful and beautiful and seeking and struggling…

Sunday night was especially amazing. We did cardboard testimonies; One side of a piece of cardboard you write what you used to be, and flip it over to what God has done in you. The kids presented theirs later that night and it was extremely powerful. This one especially angry kid named Marco who liked to hunt wild animals wrote "God hasn’t changed me- show me the truth". It was hard watching lots of these kids acknowledge that they KNOW the truth yet they don’t commit to it. It’s this HUGE trap Satan has them it- They don’t feel like its important or even necessary to commit their lives to it; i believe. So what?
My heart broke for them. I sat down on a log and poured out my heart for them; but as hard as I was trying to cry out; Satan was SCREAMING at me, filling my head with similar lies. Satan had gotten his foot in the door of my mind via theological debates I had had the last two days with Casey and Josh. Raising questions isn’t a bad thing but Satan had used them to spur doubt and disbelief in my heart. I even doubted sincerity of God and the reality of salvation. I cried out to God on behalf of my own disbelief and ignorance as well as for the kids’! The service was over but Derek and John-Mark, two of the boys from the texas team, kept playing there guitars and came and sat in front of me. My heart BROKE for these kids. The truth is right there. I just want them to reach out and grab it. Satan is such a PUNK! Caitlin, also one of the texas team, came and prayed over me. a couple other people came up and kept singing. The truth flooded my mind. I stood up and looked straight up into the clearing in the trees and started to loudly sing 'im alive, im alive, im alive..'. It was awesome----
i looked over and there were my shadows; The two 7th grade girls from my tent. one looked completely freaked out and the other was crying uncontrollably. It cued some very good conversation about God's greatness tho. We kept worshiping via guitar and singing until the park ranger told us to shut up.---glorious.

Sidenote--- After one of Josh and I’s theological convos (aka verbal joust), one of the 6th grade boys overheard Josh talking about my 'theology' and the kid came up to me and said "Josh said you had bad 'Geography’, Do you even know anything about the woods?”

This weekend was definitely the APEX of my summer so far. God is so gracious.

Thank you for your prayers. They are needed. The fact that our team went into the camp with very low energy yet made it through 3 almost sleepless nights is a miracle in itself!

Happy Canada Day Everyone!!!!
"God keep our land glorious and free, Oh canada we stand on guard for thee!"

camp camp camp

2008-06-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

we are going camping!!!!
4 days, 3 nights, 50 asians, 10 caucasians, sleeping in tents, living in the wilderness, and talking about JESUS!!!
Prayer would be grrrrrrr-eat! We need energy, boldness, and opportunites.
Our God is gracious and good!!!
see you on the other side.
peace.

And all the people shouted "Bananas!"

2008-06-22T02:03:00.000-07:00

So Casey and I were sharing the story of Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, and resurrection with our friend Brandon today at Starbucks and as Brandon was reading the story, he couldn’t pronounce Barabbas so the whole time he referred to him as Bananas. “and all the people said ‘give us Bananas!’-Mark 27:21. Brandon says that he believes about 90% of the story but what does it matter- its just another story. He is very proud of his 'cultural beliefs' and hes seen alot of people claim to be 'god'. However, He told Casey that he had friends that needed to hear about Jesus and he wants to bring them to our ‘ESL lesson’ next week. Prayer would be awesome.

So Yesterday morning I got up and went running with Asami and got to tell her the WHOLE story about God/Jesus! From Creation to Resurrection to coming back! It was awesommmme! She had good questions and she said she understood it all. i knew there was nothing i said that made it click in her mind; totally the Holy spirit. Highlights from that:-We started out the convo by saying "well, remember what i told you about Paul the other day, well this is really why he didn’t like Christians. It was because He was confused about what Jesus preached and what Jesus meant by what he said. See Im not done learning either." This question was followed her saying "well, Who is Jesus?" AHHH so good!-when I got to the part about Jesus death she GASP! she was like He DIED?!! and then I explained yeah they put him on the cross. And she was like “Cross?--OH! thats Jesus?!” I was cringed as I wondered what connotation in her mind is associated with the cross vs. what I was just telling her about my savior that I love.-She said she was jealous that I was so passionate about my 'religion' and how i 'owned' it. I pulled the 'its not a religion but a relationship' card. She understood!-Sometimes I would tell her a chunk of the 'story' and she would repeat it back to herself; "so you mean Jesus died because God Loves Me? And God sent Jesus, his only son…" It was so pure and good hearing the TRUTH come from her.-She said she knows there is another world out there. She feels it. I told her that that is how God talks to me. It’s not audible but I FEEL it. -Towards the end of our hour and a half walk, she said that Japanese people have a bad image of Christians so they think their God is the same way. I told her I know Christians have screwed it up often but God is good, and kind, and loving, and compassionate... and I started tearing up a little bit ;)SO GOOD. she told me she wants me to tell her the whole story again so she can take notes. Haha. oh she has such a desire to learn. I would love to have a new sister in Christ! Prayer, please.

This week ended with a boom. I convinced Casey to go running with me late tonight. And as we passed the baseball stadium, fireworks were booming and they were singing ‘Oh Canada’. It was glorious. The announcer dude was like ‘happy first day of Summer’. AMEN. This week was marvelous: started out with sharing Jesus on a beach, then playing in the snow and seeing a bear, some serious spiritual growth and stretching was also done this week. Oh how GREAT is our God. I’m giddy thinking of all He has planned!

radical vs. ridiculous

2008-06-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

So my job this summer (in a nut shell) is to teach the youth groups of the three churches to live radically for Christ. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what ‘radical’ means in my own life. Its hard to consider this thought when living in a city filled with desperation and need. How do I live radically in regard to the homeless man on the corner of my street? Do I give him another PB&J and tell him to have a blessed night? That doesn’t seem very RADICAL. What would Christ have done? He probably would have invited him to his house (don’t freak out dad, Im not inviting strangers to live with me) But how does living radically fit into that? When does it just become ridiculous??

Along those lines:: Jackie, a kid from one of the youth groups, was talking to Andy a weekish ago and confessed that he doesn’t believe in the miracles of Jesus. Jackie’s father has had internal bleeding in his eyes and yesterday, the doctor diagnosed him legally blind. Tonight, I found myself praying that God would restore his father’s sight- that Jackie would know that the Jesus of 2,000 years ago is just as powerful and miraculous today. Ridiculous or Radical??? I don’t know. But I know my God has the power. On a small scale I feel like Elijah; whenev everyone else was like “Yay Baal!” and Elijah was like ‘rain down some fire so they will know that You are God alone’ I mean, minus the whole slaughtering after that; and not that I am worthy to compare myself to Elijah--- But we trust and worshiped the same Almighty God.

Pray for Jackie’s dad. “-that the work of God might be displayed in his life” John 9:3; ironically from the passage about Jesus healing the blind man.

Also, continue to pray for Asami. That He might speak through me to show her Truth!

We serve an ALMIGHTY God!! amen? aaaaaaamen.

mhhh, yeah!

2008-06-17T00:23:00.000-07:00

So this past week was discouraging to say the least. Stomach virus plagued half our team while boredom overcame the other two. I felt like nothing was accomplished for the Kingdom and at least once all of us questioned why we were here in the first place- but God just smiled and said ‘hold on to your butts kids’---line from Jurassic Park; may need to be edited if viewed by my grandmother.
Oh these last two days have been INCREDIBLE. Sunday services went wonderfully. The youth group and our team is really connecting which is really encouraging. As we get to know each of them more personally, it becomes clearer as to why each of us is here. God has definitely given each of us on the team distinctly different personalities but now it’s making sense. Me and the boys got back to our apartment after a full day of teaching and church hopping to find out there was a festival on our street!!- I love this place.
Canadians have a random love for festivals. Say anything and put Fest behind it --and you have yourself a reason to party. So we danced to some fabulous ska music in the street to end our very marvelous day.
Then today, I was oh so lovely awakened by the sound of jackhammers breaking tile, so decided to go running. I ran into my friend Asami on the way and we made plans to hangout. Asami took me and the boys to this fabulous beach all afternoon. Sitting in the sand getting slightly sun burnt while looking at mountains capped with snow…mhh heaven. Coincidentally, Asami and I were talking about heaven. (this conversation was prompted by the questions ball—thank you Vern, Tony, and countless hours spent wasting our lives in Montgomery Hall) Anyway, Asami was trying to reconcile the idea of heaven and reincarnation. She concluded by saying ‘you know, japanese people don’t care about religion. So I don’t really know what I think. You know some people seek Buddha. Some jesus. Maybe I should seek Jesus’. Yeah! No Joke, I peed my pants too.
(Note this was said more as a ‘I want to learn more’ not a ‘I am giving my whole life to Christ at this very moment')
Regardless, it was awesome. Later me, casey, and asami were headed back to our street and she started asking me about the logistics of our lesson plans. I was kinda confused about where this was going but then she was like “well maybe one day, I could come over and you could teach me about Jesus”. LEGIT, like this came out of this woman’s mouth who I (and you) have prayed for! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
So now, I have this AWESOME opportunity. Satan keeps taunting me that I’m going to blow it. Psh, lame satan. If God can talk through a mule, he can talk through me right?
yup, Today was definitely one of the best days of my life thus far—the birth of my child will have to be pretty fab to beat this!
PRaYeR would be wonderful; Boldness, Unity, Humility, Timing, etc.

discouraged..

2008-06-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

..i am. (excuse me while i have a brief pity party) I woke up early this morning with the intent of having a productive day; casey and i were going to hit the streets again. Instead, my stomach decided to reject me. There is no place like home when you are throwing up. I found myself praying for the rapture. Guess it was my turn to get sick. I ended up sleeping through a beautiful and sunny day. I'm really discouraged.

Sorry this is not a post filled with rainbows and productivity like the norm.. but such is a life of a missionary eh?

prayer would be good; I want more than anything to be affect and fruitful this summer. Its hard to do that when confined to an apartment. But i mean Paul was confined to a jail cell.. Man, im a pansy. okay, Im done.

love you guys.

first week in China-anada

2008-06-10T00:55:00.000-07:00

I forget that I am in Canada. In the midst of Asians is where my heart lies. ohh and my heart is so FULL here. This week was fruitful to say the least. God is moving through this city.

YAY our first sunday! Our team is focusing on three different churches in the area. We go to the suburb of Burnaby on Sunday mornings; Singlehandedly teaching Sunday school for a group of 12 Chinese kids is roughly equivalent to handling 2 Good Shepherd kids. This group makes two months not seem long enough.
Sunday evenings is church in Richmond- Leading youth with Casey. We’re going through 40 days of Purpose with them which I think will inspire some good convos as well as I’m excited for a refresher. Rick Warren is a beast.

Today, I went job hunting with my friend Asami (*mentioned in previous post). After passing out her resumes and walking in the record low frigid rain (I loathe Vancouver right now), we sat down for a cup of coffee and God blessed some really good conversation. Asami was asking me why I chose to come to Vancouver; I told her through much stammering and nervousness that I believe that God has given me passions for things for a reason (ie. Asians, Canada, etc.) and He had told me to come here and He had also told the 3 other boys to come here this summer. I asked her if she knew what a coincidence was; She said ‘Yeah, like it was a coincidence that we met at the coffee shop the other day’. I told her that I don’t believe in coincidences but instead I believe its God’s planning. She looked me straight in the face and said ‘I completely understand’. I asked her what she thought and she said “I believe everything happens for a reason. When I meet someone, I think maybe there is a reason. Maybe I have something to learn from you”. We both got Goosebumps.
As we passed out more resumes, I kept praying that God would make Himself real to Asami through this job search experience. Later, Asami and I were hanging out at my apartment playing monopoly with the boys and she got a phone call from an employer that hired her right then without an interview!
Oh God, that she would see you. You are not coincidence, you are the REASON. Awaken her heart for a need for you.

I might be the worst ESL teacher of all time: “No Elim. Its past tense so it would be ‘The poo was smelly’, not IS smelly”. Before this momentary lapse into vulgarity, we were studying the passage of sowing the seed and when we got to the part about the thorns, one girl was like I think that’s me. Which inspired an interesting 3rd grade level discussion of grace vs. works and Christ’s redeeming love. AWESOME.

Went running the other night; glorious. I found this awesome park. Its like a hill in the middle of the city; 5560 feet above the city which was murder to run up but awesome view. I was standing there; drenched in sweat, the wind blowing, looking out at mountains, ocean, and city- and God was like ‘How's that for a hug, my daughter?” ohhh so awesome. I find this city full of irony. This city is surrounded by His beautiful creations which scream of His greatness while so many of His human creations are apathetic towards His very existence.

As far as the team goes, we are connecting more spiritually as we are figuring out our strengths and weaknesses. The honeymoon phase is definitely over tho- Patience is in high demand. Prayer would be awesome, unity is needed.

Blogging is really the time suck but i will try to update at least weekly.
thank you thank you thank you thank you for the prayers.

Ephesians 3:20- "To Him who is able to do immesurably more than all we ask or imagine... to Him be the Glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! amen."

not coincidence; God.

2008-06-06T01:22:00.000-07:00

I feel lame updating so often. But God is working in a big way already and I want to fill you in--
So today, Casey and I set off towards Chinatown in the pouring rain-Gross, i miss the sun.
We found ourselves back in the same spot where we had met Sunny the day before yesterday. Across the street was a Buddhist temple gated with iron bars. (Isaiah 45:2 baby!!) Our curiosity got the best of us and we rang the doorbell. (Yes, temples have doorbells?) A really happy looking man named Shawn answered the door. We shed our shoes and climbed up the stairs to face a room full of golden idols. Shawn got to share a lot about his faith with us and we got to do the same. As we were talking, two monks walked up the stairs behind us- ‘we’re so not in Canada anymore’. As we were standing there, I pictured myself ultimate-punching Buddha in the face; entertaining thought but I don’t think it would coincide with the whole ‘show Christ love approach’ so I refrained.
Shawn is very educated about his beliefs. He told us he has been to a church and Sunday school in the States before when he was doing research in order to find the best religion. Later I pondered the idea: What if he walked in to my church and I failed to show him love because I was too self-absorbed; he then went on to submit himself to the teachings of Buddhism, run a Buddhist temple, and work for a Buddhist newspaper. It hurts my insides.
Shawn seems to have his mind set that all religions end with the same result; there are just different ways of getting there. If nothing else, we got to pray and speak truth inside a very dark Buddhist temple. Shawn invited us back to talk to him some more. He seems so full of joy and optimism for submitting his life to such a dark religion-
O God, That you would break these bars of iron and set the captives free.
Later on, Casey and I came across Granola Mecca. [as in granola people, not granola the food]. We thought it would be a good idea to try to chill like a local at a coffee house, even tho we totally were rockin the tourist vibe. I remember thinking when I entered- ‘I wonder if I picked the right coffee house, is this where you want me to be God?’ We got our scrumptious mochas and plopped down at a table. The girl next to us was busily studying. I asked her about her studies and about 5 minutes later we realized that she lived only a few houses away from our apartment. Coincidence? I think not. Her name is Asami and she just moved here from Japan. She exchanged numbers and made plans to cook Japanese food together and play tennis. Asami seems very open to the Truth; Pray for that.
Our meeting with King tonight went extremely well. Clarification was received and we are all really pumped to start interacting with the youth from the Chinese Churches.
Thanks for your ‘partnership in the spread of the gospel’--(from the lips of your bro Paul; Phil 1:3-5)

sunny

2008-06-04T02:40:00.000-07:00

The title of this is dripping with irony. It has been pouring all day, but that is beside the point. keep reading.....
So the last couple days we have spent ‘take our time’ as Pastor King likes to say, and figuring out the dynamics of our team. Last night we had dinner with King and his wife discussing summer plans. King has given lots of room for the Spirit to lead… as in, he really hasn’t given us anything concrete to do as of yet, being that the high school students don’t get out of school till next week. Psalm 27:14 has helped me.
This afternoon, after returning to our apartment soaking wet, I checked my email and had a message from Pastor Lo saying ‘Go to China [meaning Chinatown] and listen to the heartbeat of Vancouver. God will guide and lead you’. I took this as a kind of clandestine code for something of the superheroic nature and I remarked with much excitement “Lets go hug some Asians!” the boys groaned at my over-enthusiasm.
As we got downtown, Casey and I went right while CT and Andy took a left. Casey and I walked, prayed, and had some funny conversations with random shop owners. As we walked, Casey pointed out a church, on the doorstep there were over ten homeless people taking cover from the rain. I thought silently of the irony. As we rounded the corner, there were hundreds of homeless people. There was no room to walk on the sidewalks. Drugs were everywhere. The heartbeat of Vancouver was loud.
We walked past one very gloomy looking lady and about a block after I got the nerve to tell Casey that I knew I needed to talk to her; I didn’t know what I would say but I know I needed to. As we took the walk back to where she was sitting, I was praying and about to pee my pants. I walked up, shook her hand, and sat down. She remarked ‘Do you often go up and introduce yourself to homeless people?’ I was like ‘yeah, its what I do’.
Another guy walked up and as we made conversation with him she literally RAN away. The guy, however, was apparently why we were there.

His name is Sunny. He had some trouble with the law and had driven to Canada the day before in an attempt to avoid the state penitentiary. He said he was running from the system. He used our cells to call his girlfriend and mother. Over a cheeseburger, He told us all about his girlfriend and her 8 year old daughter he was helping raise. He told us about his background and his family life. He said that his mom had taken him to be baptized many time but he ‘never did his part’. He told us about his strong will to resist drugs even when surrounded by it on the streets. He confessed his problem with obeying authority which hindered him to submitting to the Christian lifestyle. He told us of his hope he has, how he realizes God is good, and how His will will be done; he just ‘has to find his groove’.

Sunny was thankful for our friendship but not as thankful as I was for his. He gave me one of those awkward man-hugs (you know where you go for the handshake and they go for the hug) at the end our meeting before we went out to busy street to pray together. The block and a half on the way back to the bus stop I spent in pure rejoicing. Dancing and singing. I got to hug a homeless person today. It wasn’t written in our job description but I have a feeling we are going to do a lot more of that same thing! I definately felt the heartbeat of Vancouver today.
The personalities of our team have really connected, yet we are struggling connecting spiritually. It is really discouraging but God has reassured me this is definitely a trap from Satan. Last summer in Asia, Satan could work through the government to quiet us. Here, It is free but Satan is trying to quiet us from the inside out. It wont work tho- God is bigger. Prayer would be GREAT; keep Sunny in them too.

sitting on the balcony, stealing some wifi, and soaking it all in...

2008-06-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

Mhh Canadian breeze.
I’m here nearly 12 hours after leaving Tulsa.. but it is wonderful.
So I’ve had this unconditional love for Canada and I have recently discovered that my love is unrequited. I first realized this when they almost refused to let me into the country.
In fairness, my responses at the first customs check point were probably pretty vague as I was flustered and sleep deprived. But I had the chance to gather my thoughts while sitting in a very long line for my second customs visit. However, the second customs lady also refused to believe me. (She definitely sent the guy in front of me back to England.)
Our conversation went something along these lines:
Lady: “So what are you going to be daily while in Canada?”
Me: “Working with the children and youth group of Richmond Chinese Christian Gospel Church and teaching ESL”
Lady: “Are you going to be a missionary 24/7? What about weekends? Do you have days off?”
Me: “I’m not exactly sure about the details”
Lady: “So you came all the way to Canada and you’re still not sure of the details.”
Me: “Um, Yup. That’s where I’m trusting God; He’ll reveal details to me”.
Lady: “oh that’s very trusting”—as she turns around to call the pastor as she believed I totally made him up; being that his first name really is King.
Ohhhhh, Canada.
Over a steamy bowl of oxen stomach soup, Gary, a member from the church, shared a glimpse of his heart about moving from China, his family, and his baptism last year. It was awesome!!
Right now, I’m sitting on the balcony of our whimsically-colored yellow apartment, waiting for the boys to arrive.
The pastor and his wife just came over and pelted me with pillows on the balcony. He is a witty little Malaysian man.

I feel like everything I love, God scooped up in his arms and dumped in Vancouver.

It can only get better from here.
Thank you for your prayers,
I couldnt have gotten through customs without them;)

peace&love,
disch

I am small.

2008-05-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

I'd rather write about the woes of packing rather than actually do it.
So here it goes, as i start preparing my heart and luggage to go, I realize how small I am and how GREAT our God is. Isaiah 45:2 says 'I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.' My God is a warrior; all-powerful and all-knowing. How should i fear or question his awesome plan which He generously lets me be a small part of.
I am not hesitant; I am ready to go. I am confident that God knows what He is doing; and He told me to go. 'Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion (or Vancouver); to you our vows will be fullfilled.' I am going to join a community of worshippers, to rejoice, to dance, to sing, to delight in the light of our LORD. I am going to share the LOVE of Christ which is sweeter than life itself. Why wouldnt I boast?!

I pray...
..that God would give us a vision. While it is unclear now of exactly what we are supost to be doing with the youth groups this summer, I'm sure being there will bring more clarity as the Lord reveals His will.
..that God would prepare the hearts of the youth of the churches to experience God richly this summer.
..that The Father would unite our team. As I meet and work with Charles, Andy, and Casey, I pray that God would give us a team unity that is unbreakable. From experience, Ive seen Satan attack from the inside. I pray that God would overthrow the Enemy, first starting with us.
..that The Lord would grant us endurance, patience, and faithfulness. Its becoming a reality that two months is along time. That we would strive for faithfulness above all else.
..that God would rid me of selfish pride. That I would leave ME at home, and only take the face of Jesus to Canada.

for the glory of it all..

2008-05-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

"Missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions; God is ultimate, not man."-john piper