the one with an old friend

This afternoon was rough. We had a long conversation with our landlord that didn't go over too well.

But God was good to us, and allowed us to connect with an old friend, and it was so encouraging

Today i am thankful for...

1. To be able to see my old friend after 2 years
2. To be able to call this guy friend
3. for his encouaging words & affirmation to me tonight
4. for his faith in Christ & love for others and hope in God
5. God's faithfulness in drawing all nations to Himself (this friend is one of maybe 10 in his people group to believe in Jesus).
6. That God has given him a burden for his people
7. That God has gifted him & equipped him to take the Gospel to his people
8. That God has faithfully provided a girlfriend - from the same people group, also a christian
9. That there are people in this city who really do care for us & love us
10. for our other friend who tried to help us in communicating with our landlord
11. for all those who have been translators for us
12. for my friendship with this other guy also
13. And his faith
14. God's timing
15. that we can trust God even when things don't go as we hope or expect


God is good.
God is faithful.
God is working.
God is worthy.

the one with the last meeting

Today i led my last meeting here... well, kinda... but for the most part yes.

i enjoyed my role as a leader here. But it was certainly tiresome sometimes.
i do feel like God used me here and shaped me for the role.
He brought me thru certain experiences and my background helped so i could shepherd a team well and guide us.
In some ways i excelled at the job.
But i am ready for a change.
i'm not really a natural leader. God used me- which shows His power.

Looking back on the year there was a lot to be thankful for too.

Today, i am thankful for...
1. Not having to lead a team anymore
2. no more classes in the morning
3. The opportunity to lead
4. How God taught me thru leading
5. Learning how to resolve conflicts
6. Our Team
7. God's faithfulness towards our faith goals
8. God working despite having less staff, and distracted staff
9. 37 New believers (more decisions in one semester than all of last year).
10. Young students with passion & vision, beginning to multiply themselves and a new servant Team
11. Changed lives
12. God using students we didn't expect


i'm sure the next stage will carry new responsibilities that will be overwhelming sometimes.
And i suppose there could be worse things than class in the morning - but i am sure glad to not have them anymore... and here's hoping Halle continues sleeping in until 8...

Thank You Jesus for giving me Life

35 years in the books... Thank You Jesus for giving me life.

35 years is significant... my sister didn't make it to 30, Jesus died when he was 33... i have lived 5 years more than my sister did and have had more than a year than Jesus did too.

Life would be so different if my sister were around... i could imagine her being a great aunt, loving Halle & Soo well... sending a package every month... then again, i wonder if she hadn't gone through what she did, if i hadn't seen her faith, if i hadn't experienced disappointment, if i hadn't experienced death... would i be where i am now?

God gave me life. He created all peoples. God Almighty, Creator of the Universe, Author of all things.

But He not only gave a physical life, He gave me real life, everlasting life, the abundant life.

i may have had a physical body and lived life on earth... but my spirit was dead. My sin brought death. i was enslaved to sin and on path to eternal destruction... Jesus came to rescue me from death & give me life.

Looking back, my life was empty. i went to school, i played sports, i watched tv- but life had no meaning. i felt insecure, unimportant, useless, worthless. i didn't like life- at least my life. i had buddies i guess, but no friends. i could do some things, but i was nothing spectacular. There was no hope... i was just looking forward to death.

Christ established hope, brought me joy, poured out love, changed my life... gave me life!

If you know me, you know i am a sinful person. You know i am selfish. You know i can be impatient & anxious and certainly full of pride. i needed a Savior. God saw my need and sent His Son to die for my sin.
Now, i have life, life everlasting!


Looking back, i can see God's hand on my life. All over the place.
I am Indian.
Born to parents who were arranged in marriage
Indian parents who were Christian
Born in America... in Indiana
in Septmeber... so i'd be younger/smaller than everyone in my class
born ten years after my sister and eight years after my brother.
Born to parents who loved God, loved us, were giving to others.

i went to Purdue
lived in an all-guys dorm
there was a Bible study on my floor
lived on the same floor as Brian Bettag
at the last second he asked me to live with him sophomore year
met his brother Kevin, Kevin's best friend Andy, their co-worker Brack
i got involved in a Christian group i tried to avoid
i joined a Bible study i didn't want to be in, but didn't have the guts to say no on the phone
i made friends who changed my lfie

My sister got cancer.
My prayers weren't answered
i felt forgotten by God... when a friend told me he was praying for me... when my dad told me to keep faith...
i went to a conference around the same time, and learned about surrender
2 weeks later my sister died... i was far away from home with a lot of time to think...
Somehow i wasn't angry or scared... but hopeful... and given new perspective
... and i began praying more

i got convicted about going to the world... i hoped my parents wouldn't like the idea, but they were excited... until i told them i was going - they forgot all about that conversation... then i went... and i went again... had hard times... but God was still leading.

He led me through the book of Acts as i was considering my future... and He led me to Asia...
while in Asia, He laid the University of Michigan on my mind... and when i joined... that was the 1st option they mentioned...

But soon time at Michigan would be up too... and i left the country, just when everything was starting to go well
And though times were difficult, He convicted me to stay... then we started seeing some incredible things happen...
And i committed to 3 more years... with no wife... and after rejection after rejection after rejection... i met Soo... we got married, got pregnant, had a baby(notice no pauses)...

Been reading Exodus...
...without Esau hating Jacob, he would have never met Rachel
...without Rachel having difficulty conceiving, Joseph wouldn't have been favored so much, causing him to be hated
... without Jacobs brothers hating him and selling him into slavery, and Potiphor's wife slandering his name, Joseph would have never had the opportunity to advance as far he did
... without Joseph's power, Israel would have never been in Egypt and become slaves
... without being slaves, Israel would have never been delivered and gone to the promise land
And
without Jesus being wrongly accused, wrongly put to death... we would never be able to receive the blessing of eternal life with God



God's hand has been upon me.
He has led me.
He has been with me.
He has been with me during the hard times and the pleasant times.
He has been with me in America, Asia, Turkey, all my travels.
He has been with me when i was a Jesus freak, when i was apathetic, when i doubted, all the time

He is the source of joy.
He is the source of peace.
He is the source of love.
HE is the source of LIFE!

Where would i be without Him? i don't know.

But i am thankful for all the people He has put in my life.
i am thankful for all the places He has taken me.
i am thankful for the challenges and changes He brought to me.
i am thankful for the trials & difficulties & disappointments.
i am thankful He has changed my heart and changed my life.
i am thankful He has saved me.

John 15:5
Psalm 16
Acts 20:22-24


Thank You Jesus for giving me life!

Our Hong Kong experience

Soon after pregnancy, Soo started experiencing some sharp pains in her stomach accompanied by chills & aches. I took her & Halle to the emergency room, and soon after we checked in, all the pain and everything went away.

The doctor attributed it to gastritis and our doctor furthermore gave her nexium for heart-burn.

The attacks would come every couple weeks… we began to assume it was something she ate… as we cut certain items out she seemed better… she cut out all tomato-sauce based items & all spicy food… then all citrus & acidic fruits & foods… and coffee… basically, she couldn’t eat anything except rice & grilled chicken…

The problems never seemed to go away… and after some other concerns we went to the local doctor here.

We have been blessed to find an American doctor at the Red cross hospital. We knew of the OBGYN last year, but didn’t know about the regular doctor until this year. He is great.

And it is so cheap here!

Doctor’s visit: $3

Blood Tests: $3

Cat Scan, X-rays: $5

Prescription medicine: $3

Even an overnight hospital stay is only like $17

After checking out Soo, he thought gallstones… but we had to do a few more tests… there is another foreign surgeon here who could have removed the gallbladder, but some of the other tests we needed to go somewhere else.

This is part of the experience of living here… leaving the city or country to go to the hospital

so we got in contact with a hospital, set an appointment… and made plans to go to Hong Kong…

The doctor there seemed to know what he was talking about and insightful.

The scariest part for Soo was the fact she would be put under… she had a gastropacy done here with no medicine. Usually in the states they’ll at least give a local anisthetic… here they could prescribe a pill… but that was too much… so she did the gastropacy w/o anything…. But hey, she gave birth without any medicine either!

So, we went to HK and Soo got knocked out. The doctor put 4 keyholes in her, removed the stones & sucked out her gallbladder… they gave us a DVD of the surgery… but we haven’t watched it... Movie night anyone?

They brought a jar of the stones to the room… we weren’t like Joey when he got his kidney stones… but we did look at it… I counted the stones: 81!

81 stones!

That’s a lot.

Soo was also scared about Halle. How would I be able to take care of Halle & her? And what if Halle won’t eat? She doesn’t really take a bottle, and doesn’t sleep well away from home…

However, God was gracious!

We fed Halle formula for the first time & she loved it! She took the bottle without any problems.

Actually, if Soo was around, she wouldn’t want the bottle, but if not, she wanted the bottle all the time.

We were also blessed by Joy Ford. A person we didn’t know; And a person my parents had never met, only corresponded with thru email.

That is the body of Christ!

We really felt God’s hand upon us & the blessing of the body of Christ thru her.

Even though some family were not willing to help because it may be too much trouble, someone we didn’t know went out of her way to come help us & went the extra mile to bring us food & stuff we didn’t ask for, but knew would bless us.

Our true family is our family in Christ

Unfortunately because of the procedures, the day before the surgery Soo couldn’t eat anything, and the first few days after she didn’t have much of an appetite… too bad, b/c going to Hong Kong means a lot of good food…

Before we went, Soo was convinced after the surgery she’d be able to move around and do whatever she wanted… I kept on telling her we probably won’t be able to do much…. After the surgery, Soo vented she just had surgery and I was planning too much…

Still, Soo loved HK. She called it one of her favorite places.

I hated it. I would never want to go back

Hong Kong is expensive.

Hong Kong is hot.

Hong Kong is big & busy.

We were at the mid-levels, which means it was just a series of hills…. The places we were going were supposed to be walking distance… but it was all uphill, thru tons of traffic, and winding roads… and it was hot.

I never sweated so much in my life.

The taxis charged for baggage.

I don’t like big cities.

Still, Soo got to go to H&M and we bought some toys for Halle at Toys R Us.

We got Bubba Gump’s Shrimp (Amazing!), pizza, salad, Fo, Dimsum, Italian & Steak… and of course McDonalds.

The favorite though may have been going to the grocery store and getting deli meat… and of course, my favorite: Tim-Tams!

We got to go to the Peak for a little bit… though I don’t like it so much, Hong Kong is a beautiful place.

We also went to one of the small islands before the surgery as it  was much cheaper there…

Anyway… the HK trip has made me think of a lot of memories… and thoughts

1.     I miss riding mopeds in Chiangmai with Billy Van Elk

2.     I miss going to mid-year conferences in Thailand… last year we were in the states having a baby… year before we got married… and the year before it was in Malaysia…

3.     We should have planned better… or what if we got married in June, had the baby in May… at the very least I could have gone to Mid-year last year and been there when Ken came… been there for Asian friends leaving EA… and then been back this summer for CSU to hear Francis Chan & go see David crowder and Tenth Ave North… and we would have been around in the fall & I could have led the team, wouldn’t have start all over…

4.     The ferry reminded me of Turkey… could you imagine us living there.. taking the ferry every day… hm…

5.     Cold showers reminded me of WW02… taking showers outside… cool showers on hot days & warm showers on cool days outside… it was pretty sweet

6.     Of course I’m in HK, so I got to think of Kelvin Ng

7.     With all that, how about Ghandi’s 5…

8.     And I thought about the fun with Adam Anderson when I went back in 05… the girls were fun too and the students… but Adam & I bonded… got cheesesteaks and hung out weekly… joked around a lot…

9.     This place is a lot like Macinac Island in Michigan… no cars, bikes, lots of small shops… no fudge though

10. Ah, Traverse city was a fun summer… and then today Soo gave me & hug after getting out of the water… reminded me of when Chris Woods said he would accept a hug after being out in the rain and Matt Sfura jumped at the chance… what a memory…

11. This place is like a retreat center… retreats used to be so much fun!

12. Also reminded of the dream I had a few weeks ago: I was on a summer project in India… but hald the students were Americans, the other half were Indians… but we were on one summer project, but like a state-side project… students didn’t realize how lucky they were… Mitch Sheehan was the project cook… Soo & I were there- no baby I think.. Christine Major… not sure who else

13. I don’t think I’ve ever sweated so much in my life… my goodness it is hot here! And the uphill climb didn’t help.

14. Nutella tastes good when it is fresh

15. Saw Ring-tailed lemurs, which of course reminded me of Steve Tanzek & the TC project again… 15 years later & I still remember

16. I really like sitting in starbucks, drinking a frappacino & writing & reading…

17. Whenever I feel like I’m going to get a lot of reading done, I read nothing at all

18. Wow, I miss deli meats, seeing the case was like walking into heaven

19. I don’t like big cities

20. Can’t wait to get home… where at least we know where things are, and feel more freedom to be normal

Well, that’s me processing our trip…

Thankful for…

1.     Soo getting the surgery and hopefully can eat now and won’t have much pain

2.     There were no complications with the surgery or big problems created by the kidney stones

3.     Experiencing God’s grace & kindness thru the body of Christ as Joy, a complete stranger, but sister in Christ- came to help

4.     God taking care of us, getting us where we needed to go

5.     Everyone’s prayers and concerns for Soo & us

6.     God providing for all our financial needs, that even with all these expenses, we have what we need

7.     Halle taking the bottle & sleeping well while there

8.     Being able to bond with the baby more – as I got to feed Halle, helped me feel closer

9.     God using this to build Soo & I’s marriage

10. Tim-Tams

11. Good food

12. Being able to communicate with all of you!

My 2010 in review

,Our 2010 was crazy!
i guess you could say it was a year of transition, learning and adventure.

If i could only use one word: BLESSING

Month by month 2010

Jan

·      Preparing a wedding in LA on a 10K budget in 3 weeks (maybe 3 mo)

·      Got married!

·      Honeymoon in Prague

Feb

·      Finished honeymoon in Paris

·      2^nd reception in the 2^nd city

·      returned to EA

Mar

·      reconnected with team

·      found out we were pregnant

·      Robbie Hummel injured.

April

·      Morning sickness

·      Morning sickness

·      Morning sickness

May

·      Saw students grow and take steps of faith – yay!

·      Disappointed by the end of “Lost” – boo!

·      More Morning sickness…

June

·      We’re having a girl!

·      Friends leave

·      Soo’s still sick

July

·      Elah Summer project

·      Soo spends night in the dirty hospital

·      Read a lot of books

August

·      Have ten days to pack, find new place, move and get new place set up

·      Puppy lost at airport… then found!

·      Back in America

Sept

·      Moved to Muncie

·      See friends & work on support

·      Football! (baseball too)

Oct

·      More mpd & Facebook rekindles friendships (oh and the facebook movie)

·      Fall in Indiana

·      Waiting… when will this baby get here?!... and much sadness

Nov

·      Hallelujah! baby is born!

·      Our first Thanksgiving

·      Brr… it’s cold outside… wow, it’s warm outside… now it’s cold…

Dec

·      We love our baby girl!

·      Sleepless nights & frustrating days

·      Reading the Bible in 60 days, memorizing verses, praying for the nations

We were blessed with marriage, blessed with a baby, blessed with great friends, blessed with so many donations and support, blessd thru trials, blessed by God.

Read a lot of books, watched some shows, saw a bunch of movies, did some ministry.

It was our first year of marriage.

First time back in America for a long time in a long time...

And Halle

All in all... best year of my life. And i'm sure it's only gonna get better

My 2010 soundtrack

My top movies & shows of 2010

The thing about raising support

i don't really like raising support. It's awkward.
i tend to avoid awkwardness at all costs.
i mean, a lot of us do. That is why guys don't ask their friends out on dates and girls usually don't say yes. It's why we avoid dating in the office-place. It's why guy's don't initiate with other guys. It's why we avoid eye-contact while singing worship songs. It's why we use the bathroom at home and not at a friend's place. It's why we're careful about what subjects we talk about.

And everything about support-raising is awkward. The phone is always awkward. Talking about money is always awkward. Asking people for help is awkward. Let alone, talking to someone you haven't talked to in a long time or a complete stranger.

Most of the time i see support-raising (or MPD) as a necessary nuisance.
It's important.
i need people to pray for me.
And i need people to support us financially - or i don't eat, i don't have a place to live and i can't fly overseas.
We need partners, because we need the body of Christ and we need community.

Still, i wish there was a better way.


Well, that's not true. What i wish for is: An easier way.


Having people support us is a good way, it is God's way.
The body of Christ is supposed to support one another. We give to others also. And we partner with those who give.

Talking with people about what God is doing, sharing our needs, communicating - that's great. People need to know. People can be encouraged. People can be challenged.


So, when i say a better way, what i mean is an easier way. And my way wouldn't be better. It may feel easier, but it probably wouldn't be as effective- and certainly wouldn't be as good.


The time of support-raising feels useless. i would rather be out doing ministry.
But the reality is: this is a ministry. We get to challenge people to give: to give to God's work, to give to needy nations, to give sacrificially, to give joyfully, to give for God's sake and not for themselves, to give for the glory of God.
(i really need to learn how to convey this again and have this attitude).
It is a ministry because we challenge people out of their comfort zones. And we challenege them to follow God and to give to God.
It is also a ministry because we can make people aware of God's work in the nations and what God is doing and exalt God.
It is also a ministry because we can encourage people of God's faithfulness and power and provision.
It is also a ministry because we can make people aware of the needs of the lost and challenege them to reach out to others

This is an important ministry we have. i need to learn to embrace it. i need to learn to challenge.


It is also a blessing. A blessing to me and a blessing to the people i share with.
i was encouraged yesterday by a response of a friend who responded with "Thanks for asking about support!"
During my initial support-raising process i actually did have a few people thank me for the opportunity to give and support me.
This is a blessing for them. This is an opportunity for them to give to the Lord. It is an opportunity for them to be part of God's work. It's an opportunity to use their gifts. It blesses them as it does us.

And it is a blessing for us to be encouraged by how God uses people in our lives. It is a blessing to see God provide. A blessing to see God's faithfulness, sovereignty and power. And we are blessed by the kind words of encouragement, the love, the prayers and the faithfulness of people behind us. What a blessing indeed!

And it is a blessing because this is where God us right now! He knows exactly what we need. (to help us grow, to help us see Him). He is using everything to work in our lives. He is sovereign & He is taking care of us.

He certainly is teaching me, renewing me & reminding me of things i forogot. i am learning dependence and faith and seeing God even more.

Thank God for His blessing & leading on our lives.

It shows us the Gospel doesn't it? People give up, so we can go out. People sacrifice, so we can live.


MPD is a blessing, a ministry, an opportunity!