Although i'm quite excited about leaving, i'm also not really wanting to leave at the same time... it feels so strange that so soon i'll be flying over and that i won't be seeing many of you for such a long time.
It's also horrible that final fantasy XIII came out recently, and that i just ordered it, coz now i'm torn! I've been waiting for this game for so long and it HAD to come out so close to my departure! :( Which really means that i probably won't be able to finish it before i leave...unless i completely neglect everything else before i leave perhaps, or if i resolve to finish it real quick haha...i doubt it though. But please pray that i can use my time well and not be caught up in the things that don't matter so much :)
So, just yesterday i caught up with Danny Hung, Ollie Ho and Hanna Cho for dinner, and it was a nice little catch up. I hadn't seen these guys for ages so it was realy nice :) If you guys are reading, i love you all and i'll miss you heaps! (Except for you Hanna coz i'll see you in Japan anyway bahaha). Oh, and i met Hanna Cho's cousin Anna Cho (lol) at the dinner and they were telling me about these twin korean girls that have become quite famous on youtube. So i listened to some of their stuff and omgosh i think i'm in love!! Two beautiful Christian girls who are willing to use their beautiful voices to praise God - love it :D So here is probably their most popular cover to date: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtXr0pIRSg4&feature=related
It made me wanna go and download the original as well, but i think i like this version better :) btw how awesome is the harmony! I've been listening to this over and over for the past day!
Their other stuff is really awesome as well! I love their covers of the Christian songs :) But watching this stuff makes me think - why are koreans such good singers!? It's just not fair! :(
I can't say i did anything really really special in the last few months even though it's been an epically long holiday (almost 5 months?) but i guess there are a few important things that i can mention.
NTE (National Training Event in Canberra) was probably the first and only big thing i did in the holidays as i was away for 10 days in training and on mission. So that was a really awesome experience. Most notably i can say that the mission at West Cessnock Congregational Church was really awesome coz the people there were just so friendly and hospitable! Staying at the Schroders' house was amazing, and talking to the people there really opened my eyes. Hospitality is one of those things God has called us to offer to all people, and i think the guys at this church did that really well :) Also, on the Sunday of that mission, i preached for the very first time in my life, and i quite enjoyed it actually! The pastor there told me that he wanted to see me write more sermons, but i haven't gotten around to writing another sermon yet :( Yeah i know, i guess i've been rather lazy...but perhaps some day i'll be able to write some good sermons and preach better :) Anyways, i guess God has shown me some of my giftings.
One thing i've been doing heaps these holidays is meeting up with people in small groups or one on one and just talking, and catching up. In doing so i've been able to build stronger relationships with the people around me (which was really what i was trying to do before leaving for Japan) and encourage my brothers ands sisters. I feel that although i haven't worked at all these holidays, it's been well spent because i have been able to be around enough to be an encouragement to people. In having all this extra spare time i've had more time to spend with people - and i should do that as much as i can when i do have time. All throughout 2009 i was busy with either uni stuff, church stuff or credo stuff and i never really had much time to catch up with people, and i realised how bad that was. So yeah, i guess it was awesome that i could spend so much more time with the people around me throughout the holidays! I think it'll also be good at this point to note that usually the holidays are a horrible time for me in terms of faith - as the holidays would normally be a time of spiritual dryness for me. On the other hand, these holidays have left me feeling spiritually rejuvenated, and i feel that i am constantly growing in this relationship with God :) So praise God for that!
I can't say i know how i should prepare for the trip ahead, and this would be the first time i'd be living away from home for so long, but i think it's safe to say that i'm not afraid about what's to come. Whatever might come, i know that God will be with me and i know that His grace is enough to keep me going :) But i'll definitely be in need of all your prayers!
Oh yeah, in June/July some of the Credo peeps are going over to Japan for a mission trip! So i decided that it would be awesome to join them while they're there, so that's gonna be EPIC! :D That's one more thing that we'll need heaps of prayer for, and if you're keen on supporting us, i think the account will soon be open for donations, as we'll need heaps of monetary support as well! Stay tuned for that!
For those of you i haven't been able to catch up with that much, i'm sorry :( But keep in touch!
For those of you who wanna help me out with some prayer, here's a summary of points:
- Pray that i use the rest of my time here well, and that i spend my time mainly on the things that are most important
- Pray that i may learn how to sing like a korean (bahahahaha just kidding :D)
- Praise God for NTE and the awesome time i've been able to spend with the people around me these holidays :)
- Pray that i know how to prepare for the trip ahead, and that i may constantly lean on Him and not on my own strength / understanding
- Pray for the Credo mission team heading to Japan (and also the one heading to Indonesia around the same time) - that preparation for these two teams may go well
Thanks so much :) For those who have read this far, i love you all :D For those who didn't, you suck, but you won't know it coz you haven't read this far :P bahahaha! Nah nah i love you anyways :)
I love you tooooo harry lamb. and I'll miss you tooooo.
ReplyDeletethat was totally not gay.
wow those gurls can really sing , loved the cover they did for Katinas :D
ReplyDeleteeye twitch!
ReplyDeleteand how you treat your brothers and sisters in christ is how you're treating christ. =P
remember that brother! ;D