A Warm Weekend

This picture is at Rushcutters Bay Park with the sun setting. I visited it for the first time on Saturday, enjoying the great weather we've been having recently. I love the Sydney sky right before the sun sets ... the colors the past few days have been amazing.

For Sunday, after a nice brunch at a nearby cafe, we had another presentation at Sun Gyul Church. God provided abundantly for some key projects we're working on right now overseas. Some people's lives are going to receive some major healing through the generosity of His people, and a few people's lives are going to change forever big time as a result of God's provision this weekend. I was so blessed to see the huge hearts within this church.

And the smaller photo above is a historic picture showing the translating debut of Mike. He was nervious, but did a good job ... taking one for the team. And I'm sure they understood more since they didn't have to listen to my Korean =P It was a nice weekend ... I sensed the "warmth" of God in so many places and through so many people. Thanks God ... and thank you to those who partnered with us through prayer.

Currently Listening Galore By The Cure Pictures of You

They'll Be Back

After giving me a bit of a scare, U2 has finally announced their new concert dates for Sydney: November 10-11! =) And maybe to make the Australian fans feel better, they also announced that their previous Sydney Tour from 1993 will hit DVD's in September. I've been patiently waiting for all their pevious videos to come out on DVD for quite awhile too.

And for those who may not know, the video above (and very cleverly made I might add) is a cool edit job of George W. Bush singing one of U2's older songs (Sunday Bloody Sunday). It's one of their many political songs seeking to be a voice for the weak and oppressed. For a more detailed story behind "Bloody Sunday" (an event that happened in Ireland back in 1972), click here.

And I'll be doing another presentation this Sunday at Sun Gyul Church for the 2pm service. Please keep it in prayer, thanks! :) Well, hope you all have a great weekend ... in His presence.

Currently Listening War Sunday Bloody Sunday see related

Tiger

Wow, did anyone watch the Britsh Open this past weekend? I was so touched by Tiger's win. It was his first win since his father died. Throughout the tournament, he was so calm and quiet ... and then after his final putt, a burst of emotion started overflowing out of him. I was deeply moved when he started weeping heavily as he hugged his caddy.

Is it just me or did anyone else think the caddy should have let Tiger keep crying on his shoulder instead of trying to push him off so they could walk off the course (?) Everytime I watched the reply of it, I kept thinking the caddy should have just let Tiger get it all out of his system before walking off. Anyways ....

The video clip above was made as a tribute to Tiger's father, Earl. The end is pretty cool (well, actually the whole thing is amazing) when the Superman quotes start coming in. And if you missed Tiger's win over the weekend, you can watch it again here ... and also his comments afterwards. He's pretty cool ... and amazingly gifted - the Michael Jordan of golf for sure.

Currently Listening Achtung Baby Even Better Than the Real Thing see related

Promises Promises

"It's important to note what God does promise and what He doesn't. He promises we can be certain about who He is and we can be certain about our relationship in Him, but how the journey plays out is full of uncertainties." Erwin McManus, Seizing Your Divine Moment

Faith and prayer is not about ultimately getting what I want ... it's about trusting that no matter what the outcome, it will be God's will that will ultimately be done ... and to rejoice in that. A true test of whether faith is maturing is seen in our response to God when our prayers aren't answered. Do I still trust Him? Do I still believe that He is always good and that His ways are always best (even if it's not the way I wanted it to be)?

Just something that's been on my mind recently ...

PS. The picture above is the view from our living room. There was a double rainbow the other day ... God's reminder that He is faithful to His promises ... always. =)

Currently Reading Seizing Your Divine Moment: Dare to Live a Life of Adventure By Erwin Raphael McManus

Psycho Fishing

This video is amazing (wait till the end). People from Brazil have said that it's an event that happens once a year and they don't know why! As we're called to "fishers" of men, if only evangelism was this easy! :P Have a fun Friday and an awesome weekend! :)

Currently Listening Galore By The Cure Pictures of You

Where We Now Call Home

Here are some pictures of our new neighborhood. I love walking out of our new place and being able to see Sydney tower (pictured above) and the city skyline. It's a pretty cool view both day and night. And no, we don't get these views from our actual apartment (too bad). But we're happy, esp. since it's walking distance to work for Hyun :)

Korea's Martyr Museum

A hidden treasure in Korea. A place not too many people know about ... but definately worth visiting is the Martyr's Museum in Korea. The first few taxi driver's I asked didn't even know what I was talking about (I'm not sure if it was my Korean or the destination they couldn't figure out), but eventually, after a much animated description, I found one who knew the place I had in mind.

I wanted to visit here for quite awhile after finding out that my grandmother's older brother is in the museum. He was one of the first Korean martyr's in our country's Christian history. I thought that was super cool that I had a martyr in my family line :) I used to have a booklet with pictures and names of everyone who died in that time period, but can't find it anymore :(

But after finally arriving there, to my sadness the museum was closed that day! :( So I just hung out at the missionary graveyard next door. It was cool to see how many missionaries came to Korea and died there in the early part of the century. I felt like I was walking on such sacred ground as I read the tombstones of these people who gave their lives to bring the Gospel to Korea.

And it was because of their obedience and sacrifice many years ago that my family and I were able to hear the Gospel that gave us life eternal. I felt like I was standing in the midst of so many "saints" ... I couldn't help but pray that my life would be counted worthy of being used by God like these men and women.

So check it out next time your in Korea. Read what was said about their lives and I know your heart will be pumped again to make Christ your everything. For Christ and His Kingdom ... that's why we're here. :)

At the Border

Well, my trip overview in pictures concludes with this and tomorrow's post. Today I just wanted to show some more pix of N*K from China's border. A nice surprise on my trip was to be able to see a very old and good friend that I grew up with in China. Even though it was only for a couple of days, it was nice to catch up and meet her husband too :)

We took a van-ride out to the border, ate "nangmyun" by the river and some of us even went for a quick swim too. Some parts of the river that divide these two countries were very shallow which made it a popular spot for some to "visit" from one country to the other (even though you're not supposed to, if you know what I mean).

So as you get a rare view into N*K, please lift up prayers for this nation and its people to find true freedom in Christ. And please pray for those who are serving these people in China that God would protect them, provide for them and give them wisdom to build these special people for Kingdom work effectively.

On a final note for today, we had a presentation at a local church yesterday and we were so blessed by all the prayers and support that was raised through the service. So for all those who prayed for us and for SFG, thank you for your generous hearts. And big thank you also goes out for the small groups at NLW who helped package over 3000 crosses for us as well! :) God will not forget the works of your hands as you help His people.

Oh, and if you use Xanga and want presentation/announcement updates, you can subscribe here. And for the final leg of my trip, I stopped by the Martyrs Museum in S. Korea which I shall share about tomorrow. Until then, have a great Monday :)

Simply Awesome ...

With the NFL training camp starting soon ... a tribute to some of the best who ever played the game :)

God Loves N*K*

My N*K trip was a real-eye opener for me. Each visitor is assigned a government "helper" who basically is with you for the whole duration of your stay there. My guy was just out of college (there's a major for this kind of work in the universities there) and the neat thing is that if I ever go back, he'll always be the guy who meets me at the border. By the end of the trip, we build a pretty cool "friendship" together ... sharing a lot about our different lives to each other.

I really enjoyed my time there, being able to see Korea like it was 40+ years ago. I felt like time froze for decades in the area I was at. "Old school" Korea was still a present-day reality over there ... and I felt like I went back in time and was able to see with my own eyes what Korea was like when my parents were children.

And for those at New Life, I put a picture of the beds at the orphanage we sponsored in the slide below. Due to various reasons, I limited what pictures I put in the slideshow (as well as what to mention here). But I was honored to be able to walk, pray and praise within a land that is going through a long drought (both physically and spiritually).

N*K was a beautiful place though, and my heart was going out to every person that I met there, both young and old ... praying for their freedom and for God to do His healing in that land. Each morning God woke me up early to fill the air of N*K with His praises. Each moment is a precious memory as I look back ... and I look forward to the day I can meet my "helper" again, Lord willing in this life, but especially in the next. Let's continue to intercede for this nation and for God to restore the former "Jerusalem of Asia" to be a place that honors Him again.

Baekdusan

Well, the next stage of my journey was to "Baekdusan". Besides being the highest mountain in Korea, if anyone knows a "deeper" significance for this mountain, please let me know :) As I mentioned in an earlier post, a lot of people who go up this mountain don't get a good view (or clear view) of the water on top of this mountain (which is technically a volcano!) the first time around. I was glad I got to see my first time. I wouldn't want to go through that again any time soon.

You can read about my Moses-type experience here. But I was thankful for the few minutes of clear-viewing that God gave us. The weather up there changes so quickly (even more than Melbourne's weather! Believe it or not!) and rains so often (more than Vancouver! Believe it or not!) that we were totally soaked by the end of this tour ... well, at least I was totally soaked. My raincoat was the only one that tore right in the middle :(

But I was willing to endure the weather, the cold and the hike ... all for my family and relatives. I knew it would hold a special significance for them, so I was more than happy to go and take a bunch of pictures .... for *them* :) Enjoy!

Uzbek BBQ

Yes, another food post =) But I just had to show you some pix (and videos) of this pretty cool style of BBQ that these great Uzbek people have in their culture. They are so resourceful in terms of being able to get this going anywhere, anytime, using anything! And the meat was so flavorful! They balanced it out with the bread and this onion type salad (like Kimchee). Even if you were super-full, the burst of flavor with each bite kept making you eat more(!) Mmmmmm ... and I have a video just of the meat linked here.

House of Love

Hope you all had a great weekend. Hyun and I have been mainly attending Hillsong Church (City Campus), since it's only about 5 minutes away from our place now :) And with the end of their annual conference last week, there were still some great guest speakers from the US through whom God used to really bless and encourage me yesterday. For that, I am truly thankful to God.

As for the next phase of China/N**K update, I wanted to give a plug for an amazing orphanage ministry called "House of Sarang (Love)". This is the orphanage that Eunice and Hae-in mainly spent time at the past few months.

They have a pretty cool campus (as you can see in the photos below), but my main hope is to get all those who have a connection in the medical field out there when they can. They are the only government approved "free" medical center in all of China, which is a great thing to boast of. Also, they have some great dental and medical facilities available for the orphans and the surrounding community.

BUT ... the sad part about this is that these medical offices are not being used because short-term medical teams stopped coming for one reason or another. So if you or anyone you know have medical services to offer, let me know and I'd be more than happy to hook you up with this orphanage and ministry in China. It's a great way to serve both the Chinese and the Koreans in that area.

Food for Your Friday

Here's a pic of me and the wonderful Gomez family. I was so happy to reconnect with them, for they were such a blessing to me while I was in Korea. Well due to various reasons, food was one of the safest things for me to photograph while I was overseas so here's one set of food pix that I'll be sending your way. But seriously though, I think I was told that everyone who visits that area gains some serious weight ... (but don't let that stop you from going!).

So a brief overview: 1. Me and Mike at a local university as we wait for the international students to come and play some football :) 2. Real "jajangmyun" from a Korean-Chinese place, how much more authentic can you get?? 3. Some of that extra-beefy-extra-chunky "tangsuyuk" kinda dish they call "gobaro" ... extra sweet and sour too ... mmmm ... mmmm good! 4. Me and Rebecca (from Handong) 5. Yanbyan Nangmyun 6. One of my favorites: Kangpao Chicken 7. Rachel (Rebecca's sweet sister) 8. Funky mandu! 9. Funky fried "gen-neep" 10. An Uzbek student @ Yanbyan 11. Nangmyun again, but N**K style 12 & 13. That shishkebab with amazing spices, 14. N**K water :P 15. I'm not sure ... :)

Beginning in Korea

Well, this will be the first of several posts that give a brief overview of my past few weeks in S. Korea, China, and N*Korea. I started off in Korea and did a presentation in Onnuri Church (the EM @ Yangjae). I also visited my grandfather (pictured above with my oldest aunt on my dad's side), which I try to do everytime I'm in Korea. Timing worked out great as I was able to celebrate his 88th birthday together =)

The slideshow below are some other highlights from my first leg of my Korea trip: 1. Onnuri's presentation 2. group shot with John Kim, his wife and Mike. 3. Dinner with some friends from Sydney and the US. 4. Running into that Korean movie star (which I still don't know the name of!) 5. Dinner with my aunt and uncle. 6. Mr. Pizza with Mike before heading off to China.

Independence Day

Well, I'm back in Sydney ... safe and sound. Thanks for all your prayers throughout the past several weeks. It was an amazing trip filled with surprises, new life lessons, and abundant grace each day. I arrived this morning and it felt good not having government officials watching over me anymore (well, hopefully) =P

And a happy 4th of July to all those in the US. You know, I've come to appreciate the whole concept of national freedom more through my trip to Ch*na and N*K*, and it's cool how I can arrive back here on this date. The 4th of July holds some cool significance for me on various levels. First, of course, is the birthday of America. Secondly, it's the day that my family and I immigrated to the US back in 1976 (America's 200th birthday), and it's also the day (several years ago now), that I first met Hyun =) My how time flies.

I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of updating my blog with pictures and lessons from my trip ... but for now, I just wanted to put a picture of a place that holds significance for Korea - Baekdusan.

It's a mountain that borders Ch*na and N*K*, and it's also the highest point in Korea (and mentioned in the Korean national anthem).

Supposedly it's pretty rare to go up this mountain and get a good view of the lake, but God was good and gave our group a few minutes to take pictures before the clouds came back to cover the whole place =) I felt like Moses when he assended up the mountain and God revealed His glory to him. The strong winds, the thinkness of the clouds everywhere ... then suddenly the clouds lifted and the winds were calm ... for a moment. [Then we took pictures like crazy] ... and the winds and the clouds (and rain) came back. It was definately a memorable experience! Looking forward to posting some more pix in the coming days. But for now ... some rest! =)

Currently Listening Under a Blood Red Sky By U2 40