Visa Blues

if i were a bunny, both my ears will be drooping down covering my eyes.

we were in town submitting our visa applications for outreach. our request was denied. we needed a longer staying permit. now, halfway through our outreach, we will have to get an extension for our visas, which will cost us.

caryl and i went shopping afterwards to take our minds off the unfortunate situation. i bought myself one of the ugliest looking pants for 29hkd. it cant decide if it is red or orange. very strange. i can bring it on outreach and let it be destroyed, OR try tie bleach and paint some art on it to remember this day.

then i realized i will be seeing my "Amsterdam" within the next 24 hrs. i guess i should conclude that my day is redeemed. she is bringing me presents...one of which is her lovely self.

seen my links?? they are ALL functioning now. didnt take me too long to work that out.

www.50days.net

a very important ywam event commences. the whole base was fasting the whole day today. during meal times, we gathered to do devotionals and pray together....on top of our scheduled intercessions.

so for the first time all the staff and students came for 'breakfast'.

now, you can see i had a major revamp on my blog. do you like it better? i do. also, i finally switched to godzilla firefox. had it all nicely customized and color coordinated with my blog. feel really good.

i am trying to put all my ex dtschool mates blogs on my links but alas, it seems like i can link any xangas on my blog. are xangas and google rivalling kingdoms? well, guess what, i m too tired (as of now to find out how to fix it). my goal is to get all the xanga links on my site. maybe after outreach.

speaking of which the exciting adventure is exactly 2 weeks from today. we still havent finalized the cities we are going. tonight we had a major intercession to get our visas and to hear from Him where He wants us to go. other than that, we had our first team meeting. outreach work duties were handed out last week and the persons that are handling intercession were already leading it tonight. packing list was distributed.

we are just busy...getting ready.

caryl cut her hair over the weekend. she couldnt decide if she likes it. i couldnt decide if i even consider her caryl anymore. she looks more like a susan or something. hmm... i was never that undecisive about a person like this ever. so weird.

tina (my beloved kitchen goddess) has been missing in action. she is still down with illness. i was really depressed when she moved out of the Lighthouse. her commitment is almost over. she will be leaving a day after dts leaves on outreach and i never know when or if i will see her again. tamsin, who just known her since december said, she is going to bawl her eyes out!!! will i? probably not... but i will miss her. there's no one like tina. there's no functional substitute for tina.

ok folks. i m spacing out. i think sleep sounds good. weally weally weally good.

peace out!

happy easter

this is unusual. i never stayed past midnight to blog.

i just talked to the boucs on the phone... finally.

i wish geographical barrier is an illusion.

happy easter everyone.

happy almost easter

so i had a great day.

for the first time i made penne with pesto sauce and served nicky and young hae, a dts student from ywam kona, who is passing through the base to go to cxxxx for their outreach.

had the most unusual quiet time. i didnt actually prayed or read and without really trying to listen, He spoke really clear about many things (for one afternoon). i dashed off to kwai fong (i was trying to decide whether to go to sha tin or kwai fong but i believed i should go to kwai fong). i found sandals and slippers i needed for outreach. He took me out for shopping. everything i bought with the price i wanted to pay. it was so fun to spent time with Him like this.

here's a little side story while i was in metroplaza, kwai fong. i saw him. i bet he is some kinda of a celebrity or something because i saw quite a few body guards and some school girls asking him for his autograph. he looked at me and while i showed him a face saying 'sorry, you might be famous but i really dont know you'. he walked away, and i walked away thinking bummer only if i were 10 years younger... i was proficient with all hong kong entertainment hotties. now i m such a nerd. then i took a glance at the banner on the stage (the same stage judy and anna did their dances and drama during christmas outreach recently). i saw his name. and hey, i knew who he is. eric yu. he is the guy that acted in infernal affairs 2. he was tony's character when tony's character was younger. i actually like him a lot!!!! i really like him!!!! now this is special.

i gotta tell rachel. flashback...after christmas outreach ended, the base was closed for about a week. rachel, tina, godwin, me, and tamara watched infernal affair 1, 2, and 3. those nights were really unforgettable. we would watch for 2 minutes, paused, and discussed what happened....none of us were great cantonese listeners. by the time we watched IA 3, we were all confused beyond repair.

back to my day. i accomplished what He told me to do today. i think this is one of the happiest and memorable day in 2005 (even without seeing eric).

it has been an incredible week. dts had joe (our base director) spoke on missions. while a lot of us disagreed with some of the opinions he presented, i have never been so insightful about the drive behind whatever he said. i am actually with him, understanding where he came from. we had something in common this week. joe too, has the pain (that never went away) in his heart for the people, who never had a chance to hear about jesus, had never known that they do not have to be fearful of the evil spirits, had never known there is hope and healing, when their loved ones were sick and dying, but most importantly, his heart for his master, his God. He missed out having a relationship with them, despite loving them and longing for them so much.

so much of debate on whether He is going to send the people who never heard to hell or not. even at this time, they were scrutinizing His justice but failed to see that He came for a relationship. i m sad to say most students heard and thought they had it... but they didnt. they received information, but they failed to receive revelation.

on passion

i m not referring to a music band or the movie. it is just a word on its own and how i relate it.

it has been a year since i came. i realized He has always linked missions (defined as cross cultural endeavors/efforts to make known the gospel of jesus christ and to start a congregation of people from that culture) to something in me that recognizes that as the greatest passion i ever have. i become very vulnerable. as a person who considers herself emotionally stable, i find myself completely baring my soul whenever i am face to face with Him concerning the nations, which are not necessarily geopolitical, just simply the people he created.

His heart is anxious for them. i m humbled by His urgency and His pain. each of them is the object of his affection and vulnerability. but because they have not heard, they have not known. He is losing them forever. i dont know this pain because i havent loved as He love and i never have to lose anyone i love forever.

i was relecting the other night. i want His pain to be mine. more than that, i actually do not want it to go away. THIS is the passion that drives me on. if my life doesnt make a difference for Him, why should i be living? if living is not for Him, i exist for nothing. i live for Him and i will die in Him.

life without passion is worse than death. my greatest fear would be that i wake up one morning and cannot remember my passion.

where do i go from here? i know for the fact even when i exhaust all the resources that i have, it will never be enough to soothe the pain. i want to give everything i have in this life. i am thinking even if i dont get to see everything done, i will offer my children to continue fulfill the desires of His heart...and if not, my children's children.

i hope you dont misunderstand me. i m devoting myself to a Person, not a cause.

may the Lamb that was slain receives the reward of His suffering.

sincerely,
angeline

i broke a promise. i guess it is ok because i made it to myself. i didnt go to yuen long. i decided to go tomorrow afternoon when the money changer is still opened. but alas. i used up all my change for the mini bus. what was i thinking???

i just want to say something about william. after i had my laptop fixed, i had a big reunion with william. it was like old times again. we get on msn almost everyday and i enjoyed it. coincidentally, william happens to be the name of my laptop.

yawn.

i think i caught a sleeping bug. today is a day when caffeine actually doesnt have any effect on me.

besides that, i have prime time catching up what i missed over the last two months on my ex dschoolmates xangas. itz a pity that i cant leave comments because i am not registered with xanga.

my ankle is getting better now. i got down from my bunk monday morning, all excited that my curfew is over, only to land on my bumm and i whacked my ankle. i promised myself today that i will go to yuen long. first to exchange my usdollars and get whatever cash i need for outreach. and i have all the money i needed for outreach!! praise god for provision.

the students are outraged to find out we have been fooling them about having separate teams. monday night intercession time, all the dts staff were present. after hearing all their funny theories on how the school is divided, caryl had the students individually came up to her so that she can whisper the team number. and when she got everyone, she counted one to three to get on their team and all of them ended on the same line. it was a funny sight.

we are still waiting on where to go.

and intercession is scheduled now. we will see if we get anything new.

hey guys..

my laptop is now up and running.

PTL.

be back later..

amsterdam and faby are online. i just have to chat with them.

Grounded

i was not allowed to go out this weekend. first nancy grounded caryl from going to church. yeah, caryl was suffering last week from back pain, sinus, sore throat, and migraine and because so much were happening on dts, we couldnt rest. i have been exhausted since the trip to cultural village. i was so zombified last week. and so, caryl grounded me as well....from all activities.

so what did i do yesterday? i called tayo finally.

i stayed home and organize my room. i feel more godly. isnt that something...i had tryfina over and she trimmed my brows. i m really tempted to go to yuen long. but i think i better not risk it. today i cleaned the bathroom.

itz only 3 weeks before OR. we havent figured out the locations yet. i m secretly wishing we will go up north...like far far north. tomorrow night we will announce the team situation. the students will be delighted to find out all 14 of them will stay together. this is not a normal situation but cause only 2 staff member are going on OR, there's no way to separate a team. so, itz going to be just caryl and me and all 14 of them. wonderful.

i m back.

between now and then, there was staff meeting and dinner. and i have to go pretty soon as intercession is about to start.

my laptop is finally getting fixed tomorrow afternoon. dell has to ship the battery from malaysia because they dont have parts in hong kong.

anna jane moved out of the lighthouse on tuesday. i never get a chance to announce this.

and i didnt get to eat at yashinoya last night. we couldnt find a single one from kowloon park till the harbor city mall. so we did cafe de coral. i had beef rice noodle. decent but not as nice as the ones in kam tin or yuen long.

ok now i have to leave.

Outreach was a bit weird.

first we forgot the cds for the dramas and dances!!!! but no one freaked out. so craig went back to the base to pick up the cd. we only did one OR. also because of that we did not do one of the dramas, "The family", which i havent seen. not sure if anna kristine just made that up or it is a new ywam drama, which again, can be old because the dramas we do here are pretty outdated.

for jojo holland, the dances were "talk about it" and "via dolorosa". i wasnt in talk because caryl forgot that i was in it during feet so she didnt ask me. and as you know, in such case, i m very good with keeping quiet about it. and via was the COR version, with chris and tamsin only. and tamsin did a lot ams part with her own improvisation. looks pretty good, but of course i still prefer our FEET version. and then we did 'redeemer'. and i was not in it too. chris was still the 'man'. he gets to do it the whole year since he is doing a year in asia.

and then we had a little drama with hong kong police. i guess between COR and now, the law changed. the police insisted that we needed a permit to do outreach in kowloon park. our translator and caryl got to keep them talking while the students were doing redeemer. and guess what we did the whole drama but then couldnt preach at the end.

nevertheless, it was a great outreach. the students just went for it and talked to people. everyone learnt something and was encouraged.

i need to go. caryl needs orange juice.

gosh...it's wednesday already.

so i went to the immigration office early monday morning. lined up for 2 hrs before the office opened and got my temporary hong kong id...finally. it will be like the malaysian smartcard...i only get pick it up end of the month. it is useful to get a lot of things in hk...ie bank account, phone services, blahs, and plus, i get to line up on the residents' line whenever i come in to hong kong. faster than showing them my passport.

and i called dell. seems like they are helping me to fix my battery for 800hkd or something. i need to check the quotation they faxed me this morning, which of course i havent because i havent been to the office.

it is an eventful week for dts. in an hour or so, we are leaving for street outreach at kowloon park. peoples' lives going to change through our ministry. AMEN!

meanwhile, i m really excited to go to TST again..even though ive just been there on sunday. tonight i am eating at Yashinoya (japanese fast food)and so many people want to come along. FUN!!!

and so neek, kah kheng and other malaysians, malaysia culture night is two weeks after friday. remember the prayer points. thanks in advance for helping.

this is my third attempt since the last time i blog.

tomoro morning, i will go into immigration with tamsin to get our hk id card. i begin to feel like a real hong kong resident.

about kristy...remember when i said i wondered what would be her choice...to live paralyzed or to go home. she is all conscious now and can communicate. she told us, a few minutes after the accident, the lord visited her and asked her of her choice, she chose to live on knowing that she will be paralyzed. so she is..and she is in good spirit. the first few things she communicated after she regain her consciousness were to thank the police and the ambulance driver that took good care of her. she is totally kristy. i m so proud of her.

my life hasnt been moving since the last blog. laptop is still down. still havent called tayo. but i m resolving to email my newsletter tonight. that's why i m staying here at the staff lounge at 10pm. the internet was down earlier this evening. i went into yuen long (nearest town) to check out the location of the immigration office. i got a bottle of revlon green tea body shampoo for hk$5 (rm 2.5, usd 0.60) and thought it would be great for outreach...(i got the same one for FEET), and i left it on the bus...bummer..

speaking of which...dts will be on outreach a month from today. in fact they are going on an outreach this wednesday at kowloon park at tsim sha tsui...doing exactly what christmas outreach people did..oh well, what FEET people did. dances, drama, testimonies, preaching...street style. fun, eh?

i realised a lot of students on dts have been receiving death news from home. at least 3 in the last week. but they are all coping well...cause all their relatives that died are born again.

i m only getting busier. staff development last week had resulted in me getting involved in writing base job description and it is scheduled to be completed progressively in 30 days. well minus two days because i m going on outreach before 30 days expires.

which is cool...i think by nature, i m a workaholic. i comfortabilize stress very well. i wrote my thesis in a month binging on MASH, while having a part time job, and packing to leave nebraska.

and i watched 8 episodes of MASH yesterday.

i called it a cool weekend.

love joy and peace

i never get to call tayo. i was way too busy and the week went by just too fast for me to catch a breath.

i couldnt find the reserve battery for my laptop motherboard. i have to call dell like yesterday but i was in china all my waking moments.

i m supposed to organize my financial report and write a newsletter. i have been saying that the whole month, and it never happened.

my hong kong employment visa was activated last night. i m getting a hong kong id soon.

altogether i have knitted 10 scarves this winter. i have more yarn ( i got some because they are sooooo cheap now).

dts had their DiSC profile (personality) assessed last week. fun for them. ive done it twice last year. next week the speaker is going to do staff development with the staff. looking forward to a really busy week.

kristy is doing better...all conscious, not able to move feet but one toe can feel. as william said to liz(kristy best buddy from dts) "now let's pray till our guts fall out for kristy!!!!"

peace love and joy

ps: neek, could you compile some prayer points for malaysia. i m going to read that out during our malaysian culture night. thanks. ideas for dinner menu also welcomed. ketos (thanks in finnish).

HOPE

kristy is definitely going to live.

we had intercession last night for a few miracles, including kristy's.

this morning we received an update from canada. apparently kristy is conscious. she made it through the surgery. she could speak with her eyes, nod and shake her head. she even moved her arms, despite the doctors prediction that she would be paralyzed. her conditions will be reassess in the next few hours. hope is so amazing. we are believing for a complete recovery for kristy.

we (dts) are going to shenzhen's cultural village on friday. the americans on the school had some problems getting the chinese visa yesterday. this has always been a recurring problem with dts. so last night we had our knocked down dragged out intercession time. today we resent the visa application and they all went! glory to god.

last week, the dts were inteceeding for everyone that is still short of outreach money. since then, i have received money from anonymous people on the base. this is really encouraging.

intercession is always been the turning point.

it is great to serve the god who is above all things.

blessings