The one during a fireworks show

the 4th of July has nothing on new year's eve... 4th of July = LAME.
In fact, take all of the the 4th of July show's in the states together and it was about as good as what i saw tonight... and what i saw tonight was nothing compared to three years ago... which i am thankful for... Halle didn't wake up, but the dog is scared (there is a phrase that would be perfect here).

Today i am thankful for...

1. KFC & the KFC bucket
- there is just something fun about going to KFC in a foreign country on a holiday... and it tastes good!

2. That Halle slept thru this ridiculous amount of noise tonight. We are quite blessed to have a little girl who sleeps thru the night. She doesn't cry when she falls  - i mean sometimes - but she is amazing. God is amazing to us!

3. Hats & coats & gloves & flannel pants... because it was freezing even with it on. When i took it off my glove for a minute to take a photo i thought i was going to get frostbite... Thank God for warm clothes & protective layers!

4. fireworks.... but i'm not so crazy about firecrackers, which are just loud & annoying. The fireworks are kinda annoying too.

5. My wife. It is technically the 23rd, which means it is our 2 year anniversary!
i thank God for two wonderful years with Soo!
There have been hard times and rough moments. i wouldn't trade a single one.
i thank God for my wife, for the demonstration of His love & kindness. And the gift of marriage.

The whole city is celebrating by throwing a fantastic fireworks show!

Thanks!

My life recently

i haven't written a personal update on the blog in a long time... but i kinda feel like it... i mean our life is kinda crazy and kinda interesting... maybe...

We're in the stretch run, winding down our time in the states. We really could be leaving anytime now.
Tentatively we're planning for the end of this month... but we don't have tickets yet... because we don't have our visa yet... because we haven't got the forms we need yet.

i may be able to reserve tickets now... but i'm not sure if we can change dates or not (though i was informed a friend did it). i would just do it by faith( this is an expression, not an actual step of faith decision)... but we thought we would have had our visa by at least now... originally thinking we would have had it a month ago. We started the process in early January... it's a long complicated story.

Nonetheless, it would be really weird if we were leaving this week... leaving Muncie at the end of this week is hard enough... where did the time go?


Well, February FLEW by. Starting with giving 2 talks in 3 days, and 3 sermons on one day... then 2 weeks in California - which certainly wasn't enough for Soo's family... and a couple quick days in Houston - and the month was gone.

We came back and packed 3 big bags to send overseas with some friends who headed overseas last week. We actually packed one bag in California, that we never unpacked, just sent straight over. So we actually packed 4 suitcases already. The 4th we'll be sending with my parents when they hopefully come in May.

Babies are so SMALL. So, why do they need SO MUCH STUFF?
Seriously. 2 bags are pretty much all her clothes, another 1 is toys, and stuff for her... and we still have a ton for her... oh and a big bag of clothes we'll need when she turns 3...

So, 3 bags already sent, we get 4 more when we go + a big carry-on & our computers... then my parents will bring 2 or 3 more... and i'm not sure if that will be enough!

i hate packing. i hate traveling.
And yet this is what our life is.

some thoughts on packing

• one of the more interesting things is repacking a bag after being gone for a couple weeks. i see all the things we never used at all. i didn't need that extra pair of jeans or a few shirts... and when Soo's parents run a laundromat, we really didn't need much clothes at all
• Even more sad is seeing things we packed and didn't use for 6 months... oh well
• i always hurt my back when i pack
• i roll all the clothes...always... and pack and repack... but pretty much every bag hits right between 47-52lbs!
• i try to pack things together too. Sometimes things have to be split up because of size/weight... but if i can i put items together
• i always try to pack one bag with stuff i might possibly need to get stuff out of... and/or think thru the stuff i want to wear so i can pack it in a bag... when we went to Houston for 3 days we tried to pack one suitcase just for Houston, i thought that would be easy. i picked out the clothes i'd wear. Soo picked out 8 outfits for herself and 12+ for Halle... hm. girls & boys are different

We really do live out of a suitcase

It was also pretty weird to be packing clothes for Halle for when she'll be one... and two... and even three... wow! Will she be that big that soon?

As for life...

• i feel like i wish i woulda done more stuff here with people and taken more advantage of my time here... but also feel like there was not much more we coulda done
• i think i may be ready to go back to East Asia... but not really. i don't miss the food. i don't miss the language. i miss the work. i miss the routine. i miss being part of a team. i get excited about seeing people again and going certain places. But i don't really miss Asia
• Soo is doing a bit better... she just seems to go from one problem to the next. Bad Morning Sickness --> Labor-->Post-labor pain-->Terrible Stomach troubles --> bug bite on finger. She has been avoiding a lot of food, which means i don't eat it either...
• been trying to read and write a lot, as well as enjoy time with friends and get ready to go

i have several blogs now
http://mookball.blogspot.com
for sports
http://mookiesmooviesandmoosic.blogspot.com
for other entertainment stuff
i want to start one for books, called mook's books
and i may even update my devo site from time to time
xanga.com/mookieslildevo

i should update that one the most, but really, i'm just writing about sports all the time

Well, that is a snapshot.

the one with things i don't like about living in East Asia

It is so freaking hot... and there is no cold water in the shower... i feel uncomfortable, and i've been a lil sick recently... so i haven't been in the best mood... so here comes an angry, frustrated post

i don't like living here b/c

1. The shower: today no cold water, so i was more sweaty after the shower than before... sometimes it is so hot it is scalding... of course other days there is no hot water - there were a couple days like that a couple weeks ago, which means no shower... and of course there is no water at all

2. Slow/intermittent internet: It takes a while to load page, watching youtube is frustrating... and phone calls cut out every 5 minutes...

3. being away from friends: and when the internet makes it hard to talk to people, it is all the worse.

4. people who cheat me: of course this is the worst of all - b/c it is all about the people isn't it? Landlords don't return deposits. Vendors charge more money b/c i'm a foreigner.

5. electricty going out: Yes this still happens. And if we need to pay for more electricty it always seems to go out on the weekends, which means we have to wait 2 days... then all the food goes bad in the fridge...

6. We miss food: Sure there are some western restaurants now, but i still miss food

7. Conversations: The Asians don't talk about sports... and don't really talk about themselves either. And when giving a talk, no one responds. There is no head-nodding, no smiles, no reactions at all...

8. Foreign language: i have been here 5 years, but i still can't follow things... and sometimes it is b/c my language is actually better than theirs... most of time it is just b/c i'm stupid though

9. Nowhere to go: Everything closes early... no place has A/C... and we don't have cars to get places anyway

10. people come & go: i'm ok with it most of the time, i enjoy people while they are here, but it does get tiring.


i have to remind myself that every place i'd live would have some problems. There are sinful, fallen people everywhere who try to take advantage of you. People walk in & out of our lives everywhere... we'll get bored... different problems in different places... and it'd be more expensive... and the little things wouldn't seem as great...

So what am i thankful for?

1. My wife. It's not always easy, but she loves mes and i love her

2. our baby on the way: i still call her baby, though we have a name picked out... pregnancy is hard, but she is worth it

3. our puppy: she sometimes ignores us, but she loves us and cuddles with us and runs to us... it's great

4. A baomu(maid): What is going to be like when we have to wash all the dishes and clean all the time?

5. Good friends back in the states who give good advice and encouragement: we need you guys. You don't know how much one small word, one small act can breathe life into us. And your prayers are powerful!

6. Friends here who are like family: What would we do without you?

7. books & my kindle: the Lord speaks to me and challenges me

8. The western restaurants & import stores: we probably eat better here than in the states

9. The internet: 10 years ago i was here, and there was no communication with people for a year. We had no idea what was going on in the world, a whole year of my life is missing. People talk about things and i have no idea what they're talking about. But now we can keep up with things

10. The Gospel: i need it every day! The Holy Spirit continues to work in my life. And God continues to pour out grace.

There are plenty more things i can be thankful for. God is good. And He has blessed us tremendously.

Thanks for all your prayers

my lists of food

i made Soo this dish last night.

but with only 3 weeks left, we still have a lot of food to eat.
See we bring all this stuff from America, and buy a lot from the import store and we save it... but now we're leaving for 8 months. Do we eat the local food we won't get for a while, or eat the food we alredy spent money on and often crave?

Here's what we still have to eat
1. Pepperoni pizza x3
2. Chicken parmesan
3. Tacos x2
4. Stuffed chicken
5. Cincinnati chilli
6. Chicken chilli
7. Lasagna
8. Buffalo chicken
9. Pulled pork
10. plenty of salad dressing
11. a lot of marinades

Plus one of the western restaurants just introduced a mexican wrap- which is just like a burrito: salsa, sour cream... and LOTS of meat! Yes, this is a big deal when you live in the middle of nowhere Asia!

Meanwhile, still craving American food. Where should we eat first?

things we want
1. Mediteranean food
2. jamba juice
3. Weber Grrill
4. In N Out & Father's Office
5. CPK... or any pizza delivered
6. fast food like McDonalds
7. sit down in a panera
8. Peruvian Food
9. KFC double down and biscuits
10. Angelo's deep fried french toast
11. Chipotle... mexican food
12. ice cream

Is it strange when we think of going to America we think of food all sorts of other countries?
3 weeks...