Losing control

Last night was rough.

I felt like my life was completely spinning out of control. It's been something that has been gaining momentum. I know that God has been teaching me about time and priorities this term. I knew that from the onset. But I just felt like I was failing. And flailing.

Try as I might, I could not seem to organize my life in a way that reflected where my heart's priorities lay. I spend copious amounts of time on school work, and am not seeing fruit. In fact, I think I've been working / reading more than I ever have in my Carleton career and I feel as if I'm doing as badly as I ever have here. I have wanted to spend an hour a day with God. Not because it's a formula, not because God can't work otherwise. But for the simple fact that if I can't give God one hour of my day, then what does that say about my priorities? What does that say about where I'm investing my time?

So following a late night conversation with bestestbud, I got real with God. Francis told me before we stopped chatting to "cast your cares on the Lord". So I did. And He responded instantly. INSTANTLY. With one way of reorganizing my time that would free up something like half my afternoons. Talk about an instant answer to prayer.

Today was a turning point, too. A five minute walk became a fifteen minute walk as I talked to God. And He dropped this question into my heart:

Are you going to let your circumstances affect your joy, or your joy affect your circumstances?
It was both humbling and exciting at the same time. There it was. Not a "giddy optimism". But a steadfast knowledge in knowing that the Creator of the Heavens and the earth cared for me. Who am I that You are mindful of me? And still you know me. You know the inner turmoil of this tiny speck of dust.

Tonight Mustard Seed was a blast. It was my first time leading Mustard Seed "proper" - meaning at the Cave - this whole term. But it wasn't because of that that I was excited. It wasn't because we had had great practices, or a new drummer, or that a whole bunch of St Olaf people were there. I was excited because I knew who I was in God. I knew that I had a joy that was not affected by my circumstances. A joy that the world cannot take away and that the world cannot understand.

So, I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to make it through the rest of this term. It's 5th week. I'm about halfway there. It's going to be challenging. And exciting. And I want to be able to truly say that I count it all joy when I fall into various trials because the testing of my faith produces patience. "But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

I don't know what the next five weeks hold. But I do know that God has reached down from eternity and repositioned me so that I am looking at His face and not my own problems.

See, maybe to lose my life is to gain it. And if I'm going to be losing control, who better to lose it to than Jesus?

Hamsters, Fallen Angels and everything in between

If you have ever owned a pet hamster, or seen one in those little tiny cages, you'll know what I mean when I say that I feel like I'm running on the wheel and I can't get off. It's not that I don't want to, but it's almost as if you're driving really fast on the freeway and you keep missing your exits. Okay, so those two analogies don't particularly mesh, but you get what I'm saying, right?

So this is why I am blogging now. At 3:30am. Thursday morning. To get off the wheel, if only for a while, to pause and reflect, and to recalibrate my life with His will!

"He sings for the Lord"

So many awesome things have been happening lately (it's not like I'm being overwhelmed with bad things...), and one of them has been the Rejoice! Benefit Concert last Monday. It was held at the spanking new facilities of the Northfield Middle School. I was blown away with the auditorium - the lighting, the acoustical design... here's a picture:

This was where the singers stood:

The piano I WOULD have played... except it was tuned slightly lower than everyone else. And that would have messed with perfect pitch. Not that I have it. Anyway, all's well that ends well - it would have ended up feeling to "Don Moen-ish". And that's not good. :)

So, instead it was back to the trusty S-90. Yes, that's me. That obscure form in the foreground.

There was even an M-3!! The baby brother of the B-3! (It's an organ...)

And here are my loyal fans who came to support me :) Chieko, Jon and Erica. Oh wait... where did the other one go?

There he is.

The night was amazing. It was just totally music and worship... and prayer... and giving... and most importantly: GOD. It was thrilling to be a part of a "big project" again... I miss that about FGAC at home. So this was definitely a treat. I was blessed to be able to sing "Who Am I" - Casting Crowns, "Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)" - Chris Rice and "Rescue" by the Desperation Band (my favorite!!). This is a picture taken during a prayer time for healing. Powerful huh?

Someone hit the PAUSE button!

Yeah, so other than that. Life's been going on fast-forward. Just as an example, tomorrow's schedule looks like this:
10:10-11:55 Cognitive Science
12:00-1:00 Lunch with Micah
1:15-2:20 Cote Fitness (ooh! so many good stories about this. But we'll save it for another day... but it definitely involves me discovering the sensation of wearing a bra!)
3:00-3:30 Voice make-up lesson
5:00-6:00 Meet Gary
6:00-7:00 Dinner at Hvass's - microwave coming!
7:00-8:00 Mustard Seed practice
8:00- Heave a sigh of relief, and start reading 50 pages of French, and Cross Cultural Studies.

Yeah. That's just ONE day in the life of me. Imagine five days in a row. And imagine that you have a French midterm that you don't know diddly-squat about on Monday. An interview paper, a Cog Sci midterm, oral presentations, etc... okay. Reminder to self. Purpose of this entry was to step OFF the wheel. :)

Just being this overwhelmed drives me to God. I remember all the sermons about building margin into my life. So Saturday, my PDA says: "No Appointments!" What a blessing. Except I probably have to play my tennis match then. But that's okay. That wll be fun.

Seriously though, putting things in perspective...

But I am definitely thankful to be here at this time. Sunday, there will be a leaders meeting... and I know in my spirit, that it is TIME. God is going to start something that will set many wheels and cogs in motion here at Carleton. I pray that we will be willing to pay the price. We all want the fire, but where's the fuel on the altar? Romans 12.

Been very encouraged by an awesome brother in Christ - Sam - too. For the first time in a long time, fellowshipping with him, I felt like I was back in Penang... I was excited about what God has been revealing to Sam. You know, there's nothing more exciting than to talk about, and to experience first-hand what God is doing... his marvelous deeds!

And there's Erica. Who is a constant encouragement and friend. What a terrific listener. And seeing her seek after God's heart and pursue His will for her life and how she is growing into the leader that God has called her to be... blesses me so much!

And there are crazy Cub-Foods runs with Steph and Alex (who goes about in a hoody... and it was pretty cold today! He'll die of frostbite haha). And explorations to the nether regions of Northfield... no really, Quarterback Club is so close by... and yummy. And there are God-opportuned conversations with Ben the voice teacher about ministry opportunities.. in Tanzania no less. And Mustard Seed... I'm leading for the first time this term. And my bed. Oh my bed. It's almost 4! Oh my gosh. Time to go to sleep. Good night, all. Good night, God. He who does not slumber nor sleep. Wow. I should be like that. Think of the time I would not be wasting! Ha. No... time to go to sleep. But not before saying... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! ... and DAD (belated though... don't worry, I called home! - LOVE YOU!)

A la prochaine

I leave you with a picture of my good buddy Steph... Tyler and I sabotaged her. Lured her out of the house on the pretext of taking a picture of Tyler and me... and knocked her into the snow, after which she started flapping her arms and legs like the madwoman she is... to make a beautiful snow angel. So we have snow angels surrounding FISH house. It's great. Except because they're all lying there, it looks like a cemetery of fallen angels.. ha. Morbid. What a wonderful way to end my entry! :) From hamsters to fallen angels. That will be my title. 

Schizophrenic Salmagundi: The Story of Week 3

Salmagundi

Pronunciation: "sal-m&-'g&n-dE
Function: noun
Etymology: French salmigondis
1 : a salad plate of chopped meats, anchovies, eggs, and vegetables arranged in rows for contrast and dressed with a salad dressing
2 : a heterogeneous mixture

My week has been a salmagundi. A mishmash of happenings both trivial and momentous. A heterogenous mixture of milestone-worthy events.

Picking up from last week's blog (yeah, ya know, school work sucks... I've been reading way too much :( no time to blog). But check this out: Christian Unity Week

So here we go. My salmagundical week (yep, you heard that word here first) in a nutshell. It's 2:22am. Nutshell's all you're gonna get. :) And I'm going to go schizophrenic on you...

Things I'm thankful for this week:

• For God's faithfulness through a crazy week. Pulled my first all-nighter (almost). On a stupid French paper. I'm struggling with understanding French at the moment. It's a French literature class, and add to the fact that we have to read 50+ pages of French per night, and that we need to understand it, analyze, and discuss in class. And add that to the fact that my two other classes are reading intensive. One is great! The other is as dry as salted fish. Prayer Point Please pray for increased wisdom and multiplied time!
  
  
• For fruit in relationships with people. I've been so blessed getting to know different people here at Carleton. Many of which I've mentioned already in previous entries. But specifically now, brothers in the Lord, who hold me accountable, pray for me, and who spur me on in my walk with Him. Thanks to AP buddy, Micah, and Sam who have been huge blessings as brothers in Christ to me this past week... in prayer... in challenging me in my walk... and in sharing with my joy... What joy? read on.
  
  
• For being blessed with Erica. She is just the most awesome girl. And I've been so edified and encouraged just by being with her. Thanks for Friday night sledding, and for Saturday afternoon skiing. For salty conversations. For FRAPPUCINOS! *lol* For holding me accountable, for your prayers, for the little notes, scones, noodles :). For anthropomorphizing the love of God to me. Big word -woot!
  
  
• For awesome housemates. Yes, I do live with six women. But they are great women of God. Women of character. Although one doesn't like to do her dishes. But for God-centered conversations that have built me up in my walk with God. And for their grace towards me when I leave the toilet seat up.
  
  
• For emails from Deborah Tan that remind me that our walk with God isn't just about me and God, but that He's called us to a greater purpose, to be the salt and light of the earth. It's kind of weird how sometimes being at Carleton, in the "Carleton Bubble", it's easy to forget about the world. When I'm back home, and living in the "real world", so to speak, it's easy to see how urgent the need is to be bold about our faith, and to not be ashamed of the Gospel. But when you're stuck in the Minnesotan tundra, and your life revolves around school, reading, activities, reading, friends, reading... and more reading... priorities get a little bit skewed.
  
  So that has been my prayer recently (and please pray with me on these too) - for:
  
  TIME: that I would be a faithful steward of the time that God has given me, and that I would have His priorities at heart.
  
  "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom" - Psalm 90:12. And "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." - Ephesians 5:15-16
  
  I know I'm only not even halfway through my 2nd year here, but at the leadership meeting last Sunday, I was reminded that God has placed me here for a purpose. And I want to prepare myself for that, and to have my priorities in check. It wasn't in this context, but Deborah in one of her emails wrote this statement:
  
  Plan to leave, prepare to stay
  
  This is an excerpt from the email:
  ...It means ordering our lives around the fact that any minute now, if God were to ask us to leave our job, our home, our country, etc., we would be ready... Our choices in work, marriage, etc. would be strategically planned around the fact that we belong to God and He has something for us to do. It means being faithful now and being prayerful about the opportunities that arise in work and in church and in the community, because they could be God-given opportunities.
  
  Wow! I just re-read that excerpt as I was editing it for length, and even right now, I know that time is short, and that God is looking for people who would chase after Him, after His purposes. I am reminded that: Where your heart is, there your treasure lies. I guess being in a land that is so incredibly abundant in luxuries and the comforts of life (interestingly, on the phone with my dad today, he spoke at church on "Living a well lived life OR living the good life?"), it's so easy to get sucked into the materialism, the chase for "the American dream", that I think contrary to what people think, COMFORT is the biggest snare the enemy is going to use to snag Christians. I mean, why leave the comforts of our beautiful, well-heated suburban home and go into a disease-ridden third world country to preach the good news? Good heavens, no. We don't live in Paul's time.
  
  Wow... I'm going off on a tangent. But bottomline: TIME. Is short. Belongs to God. God, help me honor you with my time.
  
  
• For YOU. For taking the time to read my random ramblings. And for your thoughts and prayers. Thank you!
  
  
• Some things that you could keep in prayer:
  - Time (refer to the above) and priorities. Honoring God in those two.
  - Musical Benefit Concert tomorrow at Northfield Middle School. I will be singing three songs and playing with the band. It's a benefit for three families at Rejoice! (my home church away from home) who have been hit by cancer. Help defray the cost. Open to ALL. 7:00pm, Monday. Come! Come!
  - School work. You know, if I didn't have to struggle so much with my work, I know I can be more effective in other areas of my life that are more important! Haha. Or maybe I'm meant to push through this struggle?
  - Mustard Seed. I guess after last term, I've kind of taken my foot off the gas pedal, so to speak. Just been going with the flow. But that's the worst thing to do, no? Not coming, not going. I guess pray for renewed enthusiasm, and for a renewed vision, and for renewed relationship as I work on leading the band with the other leader, Eric. It's a different dynamic now because this will be the first time we're working together.
  

Well. If you've made it to here, thank you for reading. If you've skimmed, you missed the part about winning $1 million. So go back to the top and start again. Kidding. Praying for you all. Agape. Good night.

p.s. Sorry no pics this time. Cold weather = short battery life span.

Unite in the Light (as promised!)

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head... It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore."
Psalm 133

What a week this has been - Christian Unity Week. What a testimony of God's faithfulness, of His plans and purposes coming to pass, and a foretaste of greater things to come at Carleton.

Pre-CUW: 48 hour prayer chain

I guess to say that prayer was the most crucial part of Unity Week would be an understatement. It was simply amazing to see how God was orchestrating things, how he was telling me one thing, and confirming it with other people, and how He had given Ben Faroe the vision of initiating a 48-hour prayer chain to kick off Unity Week.

Beginning 5pm on Friday, people signed up for time slots to pray for Unity Week, the campus, and anything else the Holy Spirit would impress upon them. So from 5pm Friday up until 5pm Sunday (coinciding with the start of the MS-Selah Chapel Service... more on that in a bit) we were in our little room in Upper Sayles... our "upper room" so to speak.

Yours truly was no exception. See, there's this crazy friend of mine, Sam Papai, who decided to sign the both of us up for a 4am-6am shift on Saturday morning. I protested, of course, but was quickly placated by a promise of one of Sam's home-cooked breakfasts.

So it was on the Saturday before Unity Week began that this sleepyhead woke up at 3:45am and dragged himself in freezing weather three blocks to Sayles. To pray. And so it was that Sam wasn't there! I spent a great 45 minutes alone with God, strumming on the guitar, worshipping Him, meditating on His Word, and even expressing His presence through art (there was a sketch pad and crayons and color pencils...) before deciding to call and wake Mr Papai up. He came. And we spent a powerful hour after that in prayer. I was really blessed by Sam's heart and desire to see God move on campus, and it was a blessing to intercede together with another brother in Christ.

And then, of course, there was the wonderful breakfast that followed. Yes, 6:30am. The sun wasn't up, but we were... frying bacon (me), making an oh-so-delicious salad, omelette and apple cinnamon toast (Sam)... and enjoying our breakfast as day began to break. This is Sam: Sam he is.

Bacon, eggs, toast and a wonderful salad concoction.

Day01, Sunday: Mustard Seed-Selah Chapel Service

We kicked off Christian Unity Week with an amazing Chapel Service. Together with the worship band at St. Olaf, Selah (what better way to show an example of unity than coming together with our "rival" school -- although there really isn't a rivalry, when we're indubitably better heh heh), we started off the week with a powerful time of worship in His presence, reminding ourselves of the Ultimate Sacrifice through communion, being reminded that God has called us to "Unite in the Light", His Son, by Will Craig in his message, and joining our hearts to intercede for our campuses and for God's Spirit to move in a mighty way. This is the band: (L-R) Moi, Chrissie, Leslie, Kyle (Ole), Emily, Byron, Tim (Ole), Catherine (Ole), Aaron (hidden Ole), Eric and Andrew (Ole). What awesome people of God... it was an honor to serve together with them!

Day02, Monday: Mustard Seed Karaoke Night

Oh my gosh, I never knew we could have so much fun singing karaoke! :) We were the "live band" complete with backing vocalists (available on requests) and we made a list of songs that people could request to sing... and they would come up and sing the song... which ultimately ended up in worship times, because everyone would join in and sing too. Alex and Steph did an awesome job as emcees for the night! And oh yes, once again, a testimony to God's grace... I had really wanted it to be as authentic an experience as possible so we tried to get a computer monitor so that people could just sing off of it. Of course, logistical-technological problems... but God came through for us! yeah! And yes, I now have the Official MS Chapel Service and Karaoke Night mix. It's hilarious! I love it. Thanks, Will.

Day03, Tuesday: CBSF

Carleton Bible Study Fellowship... I didn't go. Had Exit rehearsal.

Day04, Wednesday: Sola Scriptura

We had over 35 people attend the bible study in that not-too-large lounge in Upper Sayles! It was amazing to see so many new faces and yet-to-be-believers there. We continued our series on the fruit of the Spirit and we talked about joy and what it meant to have true joy. Powerful time. And great fellowship!

Day04, Thursday: FCA.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I'm not an athlete. So I didn't go. Haha. Kidding. It's open to anyone, but I had rehearsal yet again.

Day05, Friday: Coffee House

This was an AMAZING event. Gary and Deb Hvass graciously let us use their home again for this event... and we had easily 50 people that night... filling their house from wall to wall almost! It was just incredibly wonderful to fellowship with people, and we even had Praise Out! perform a dance-drama complete with African drums! And then Priyanka, who is from India, shared a really, really powerful testimony. She had been involved in a car accident, and she had actually DIED but God had revived her!! What a miraculous testimony of His power!

And then of course, there was the superlatively delicious coffee compliments of Sam who brought his espresso machine and gave us all caffeine highs. I had an Irish creme coffee, chai tea and a raspberry-mocha. Oh my gosh! That definitely kept me up that night, which was fine, because Erica and I stayed up writing thank you cards to all the wonderful people who had blessed us as a community during the week... especially our family at Rejoice! who lent us their projector and super-cool screen in our time of need. Pat even came and helped us set up / take down the screen! So anyway, here's Josh and the coffee master. Don't let his hat fool you. He's not an alcoholic. Or is he?

Another picture taken at the Coffee House at the Hvass's. Taken just before we left... so a whole bunch of people had left. It was SO MUCH FUN! This is (top-bottom, L-R): Tyler M, moi, Becky, Micah (A.P.), Ben, Erica, Chrissie, Emily and Cully.

Another great pic: (L-R) Tyler, Steph, Soo Mie and Jason.

Day06, Saturday: Community Service Project and DODGEBALL!

And finally today. We had gone out in sub-zero weather (read: -30 degrees celsius) to hang posters on peoples' doors to tell them that we would be coming around today to collect cans and other non-perishable items for the Northfield Foodshelf. And so today at noon, two carloads of people set off in two different directions on our quest to bring food to the needy. It was a lot of fun... and very cold. We also made a stop at Arbor Street and visited Pat (worship leader at Rejoice!) in his new home... what a blessing!

In the afternoon I went to my first basketball game (other than Caleb's that is). My AP, Micah, was playing... and Carleton was playing St. Olaf. Home game! Woot. We won... I think it was 76-50 or something like that. We played well. I cheered hard. And we had a sign that said "We -heart- Micah"

And later at night... was Dodgeball!! Oh wow... it was GREAT FUN! I had a blast... I was kind of clueless at first, but it was sweet after that. If you've seen the movie, you know how to play it! FUN!!!

Okay, one more event to go. Tomorrow. Breakfast at FISH House. Sam is the guest chef. Will be awesome. But now, I need to go to bed. Thank you for reading!! :) This is a picture of West Gym.

And this is my accountability partner, Micah - number 35. Go Knights! Good night. 

This is not the post I promised but...

Hey all. No, this isn't the update I promised... that will come. But I thought this would be a noteworthy update... so you can keep me in your prayers. For warmth! Ah.

Conditions as of 12:18 PM CST January 13th, 2005
Temperature with Windchill: *drumroll* -28.7 degrees celsius.

I'm freezing my butt off. Literally. I was walking to class this morning and it felt like my face froze.

---

And this just in: from the desk of the Director of International Programs:
Dear All,
Today and the next couple of days we will have 30+ below zero temps
with windchill factor. Probably the coldest in a few years. Please
dress warmly, frostbite is a REAL possibility with this weather.
Hat, Scarf, Mittens, long underwear and warm socks, boots and
outerwear!
Stay warm!


Oh Minnesota. Thou uninhabitable tundra.

An hour a day keeps the doctor away

Spending time with God is life and health to my bones! It's amazing how easily we crowd out our day with so many things that God gets left out of the mix! And it's frightening how easily it happens... and how blind we are to see that we NEED God. Desperately. Totally. Every moment, every day.

Working out my resolution of spending an hour with God a day, today I spent time with Him reading a Tommy Tenney devotional my parents got for me for Christmas and meditating on Proverbs 3. And my soul is blessed, my spirit is lifted. God is good and He is worthy of praise!

Some thoughts from the journal of Josh:

• Proverbs 3:27-28
  Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor "Go and come back and tomorrow I will give it" when you have it with you.
  v. 9
  Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the firstfruits of all your increase
  Just as God gave in generosity, my prayer is that God would teach me to be generous in all my ways - to God and to man - in my thoughts, words, material possessions. God, give me opportunities to demonstrate YOUR generosity to others today. Bring glory to your name!
  
• v. 3-4
  Let not MERCY and TRUTH forsake you... find FAVOR and HIGH ESTEEM in the sight of GOD and MAN
  The commentary in my Bible was really cool... talking about truth. What is truth? I remember Pilate asking that. Well it says here:
  "Truth is something upon which a person can confidently stake his life"
  Wow! Truth. What do I stake my life on? What is truth on this earth? Everything changes. Only one thing stays the same: the Word of God! All fades except His word. What am I staking my life on? The infallible word of God. Truth.
  'emet : certainty, stability, rightness, trustworthiness. "to be FIRM, PERMANENT and ESTABLISHED".
  God, make me firm, permanent and established. And help me to show Your mercy to others.
  
• An interesting sidenote. The Hebrew 'emet is spelled with the first, middle and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet - thus, TRUTH upholds the first and last of God's creation and everything in between. Awesome, ain't it?
  
  My day is Yours.
  

Jetlagged

The snow is falling
Gently covering the earth
Morning quietly comes
:a haiku:

I'm back in Carleton. And I'm incredibly jetlagged. I'm not sure if I've ever been jetlagged like this. I went to bed at 11 last night, pretty exhausted, and woke up at 1:45am. Went back to bed and got up at about 7am. So, guess I'll be early getting ready for church today. Or not. We'll see.

New Year's Eve

I spent New Year's Eve in Singapore with Alex, a good friend of mine, and I'm ashamed to admit, a Singaporean. *grin* But he was ever the hospitable host. We ate and hung out with his friends a lot, and later at night, we went to his church for their WatchNight service.

That was quite an experience too. I'd never been to a Methodist church before, and initially the use of liturgy and all the stand-up-sit-down-stand-up-sit-down threw me off a little. But maybe it was the emotions that came with leaving home, or the uncertainty of stepping over the threshold into a new year, or perhaps the long flight ahead - whatever it was, it was amazing to see and feel God move through the liturgy. Through the "And also to you"s and the "Thanks be to God"s. I would be reciting line after line and then suddenly BOOM something would hit me, and I'd be moved to tears. Even with HYMNS! *gasp*

I also liked what the pastor said. I'm sure it's something they normally say. But it was such a good reminder. When they were going to collect the offering he said "Let us now give to God His tithes and our offerings".

All too often people conveniently forget to bring their tithes into the house of God. Yours truly included. And when the Bible says that when we do that we rob God, I'd never really thought about it till I heard that phrase. Tithes BELONG to God. No questions. It's like someone taking your webcam (yep, I just got mine) and not returning it to you. (Ok, not the best analogy. But it's 7:30 in the morning.)

So during the service, I felt in my heart to make a New Year's Resolution. Now, I'm not one to make resolutions for the New Year. The only other time I ever made a resolution, I didn't achieve it. I'm still not Brad Pitt. Ha. Kidding.

But this year, the prompting was strong.

An hour a day
What? One hour?! At Carleton? I don't have that kind of time...
Let us give to God HIS tithes...
Okay, so I tithe my time. That's 2.4 hours a day??
And you can't even tithe ONE hour?
Wow. Time is my most precious commodity at Carleton. And God does deserve the firstfruits and the best of it, doesn't He?

My New Year's resolution: To spend an hour a day with God doing different things - in the Word, worship, writing songs, meditating on Him. I'm telling different people to hold me accountable. But so can you! :)

Happy New Year... again

So when I arrived in Minneapolis, it was HAPPY NEW YEAR all over again because of the time change. I arrived. One of my bags arrived. The other did not. Yeah, yeah, I'm used to it now. But praise God, later that night, I received a phone call telling me that my bag will come some time today between 8-2.

So Erica and her sister, Jaynie, were there to pick me up. I came in on the same flight as Tyler, but us economy class people don't get to mingle with the snooty business class people who sit up there and smoke their cuban cigars. Hehe. Anyway, I went to the Leung house for lunch and had the privilege of meeting all the Leungs. Well, the one other Leung I hadn't met already, Erica's brother Justin.

It was a good time of fellowship and food. A true Penangnite's two favorite F's. Mrs Leung made pot stickers - kind of like gyoza / wantan - and we had noodles and pailla? or something like that - and fruitcake. :) Spent the afternoon there. And had a blast.

We left late in the afternoon. It had started to snow a bit. But praise God for a safe journey, salty conversations... even in my semi-aware state of jetlagness... and Carleton.

Back at Carleton

Celebrated Tyler's birthday. Back in my room. All is well.

Praise God for his protection. Psalm 91. Praise God for His grace that's sufficient for me and his steadfast mercies that are new every morning.

The sleepy world stirs
It looks so different now
A new year begins

It doesn't get easier...

or "Eve of New Year's Eve Ramblings"

No matter how many times I do it, it doesn't get easier. Leaving home that is. Some people say that I'm fortunate to be able to come home every so often. I know it really is a blessing. But sometimes the silver lining comes with a tiny cloud: see, it gets kind of confusing sometimes living in two different worlds.

On the one hand there is Northfield - and all the independence, new experiences, different people... friends... brothers and sisters in Christ from all over the world, and growth as a young adult. And on the other hand is Penang - with all its familiarity (which does NOT breed contempt in this case) and charm, the comforts of being at home, the dependence :), and of course family and friends I've grown up with.

Life is like a tectonic plate. Kind of like the one that moved and caused a 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunamis. One moment everything is calm and normal, and the next, something changes and the after effects are monumental. A 1000km long faultline, a more than 1000km long journey to travel. Literally, the world changes.

But unlike the devastating effects of the recent earthquake, I think life does not necessarily have to result in a mud-covered Gurney Drive. Change. Change is good. Change is inevitable. I suppose it's what you make of it that really matters.

What am I going to make of the changes that are happening and are going to happen?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path

He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him

Walk by faith, not by sight

Even when the fig tree does not blossom... I will bless You Lord

For I know the plans You have for me... to give me a hope and a future

And, the "I Have Decided" of the 21st century (Imho):
Your Word is a light unto my path
Your love guides me through my darkest night
And even though sometimes Your ways I cannot understand
I'll never walk away because my future's in Your hands
I don't care what people will say, I'm running after You
It's You I'm following today, I'm running after You
I will run to You

Yes, it doesn't get easier. But it sure gets better.

Goodbye 2004. Hello 2005.

Jesus, my year is yours.

Breaking News

Dear all, just so you know, we're all fine. But please be in prayer. These are dreadful but exciting times we're living in. Maranatha. Come Lord Jesus.

Tidal waves death toll climbs to 15 in Malaysia

News Update by The Star Newsdesk

PENANG: At least 10 people have been confirmed drowned by three Penang hospitals as a result of tidal waves which hit the island from 10am Sunday.

According to the Fire and Rescue Department officials involved in rescue operations along the beaches near Batu Ferringhi, Mar Vista, Boon Siew Villa and Miami Beach, seven people have been reported drowned and eight others missing.

The Penang Hospital recorded three deaths, including a two-year-old girl, as of 4.05pm, while 31 people were seeking treatment at the hospital for injuries.

At the Balik Pulau Hospital, there were six fatalities and 21 injured while a check with the private hospitals found one died and 13 injured.

In Kota Kuala Muda, some 20km from Sungai Petani, at least five people have dead on Sunday as a result of tidal waves that hit the area.

According to Kampung Kuala Tepi Sungai village development and security committee chairman Mat Som Osman, 58, three 3m high tidal waves hit the area from around 1.30pm.

He said the tidal waves had affected an estimated 5,000 people from nine villages

Earthquake hits Indonesia, tremors in Malaysia, Singapore, Bangkok

News update by the Star's Susan Tam

PETALING JAYA: A massive earthquake hit the Aceh area Sunday and tremors were reported as far away as Malaysia, Singapore and Bangkok.

Residents of several highrise buildings in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia were evacuated at around 9am (0100gmt) Sunday due to tremors following a strong earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra.

Highrise apartment and hotel residents in Penang and the Klang Valley were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Residents of Danau Impian Condominium in Taman Desa, Jalan Klang Lama gathering on the ground floor while waiting for Fire and Rescue Department and City Hall to inspect the building structure following a minor tremor on Sunday.-STARpic

Tremors were also felt in Alor Star and Pangkor.

A Meteorological Services Department official confirmed the incident.

An online update on the website of the Meteorological Services Division of Singapore National Environment Agency said the tremor was also felt in the republic.

It said the earthquake measured 8.1 on the Richter Scale.

Its epicentre was located off the coast of western Sumatra at latitude 3.4 north and 9.5 east.

The AP meanwhile reported from Jakarta:

A massive earthquake on Sunday rocked the northwestern part of Indonesia's Sumatra Island, causing dozens of buildings to collapse and triggering large waves along the northern coast, witnesses and officials said.

Nine people were killed as a result of the quake on the island's northwestern province of Aceh, where most of the damage was reported, el-Shinta radio station quoted a witness as saying.

It was not possible to immediately confirm the report. Electricity and telephone networks in parts of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, were knocked out.

The quake was also felt in neighbouring Thailand and Malaysia.

The U.S. Geological Survey's Web site recorded a magnitude 8.1 earthquake off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, 1,620 kilometers (1,000 miles) northwest of Jakarta.

It was centered 40 kilometers (25 miles) below the seabed, the Web site reported.

A local seismologist put the quake at 6.4.

The cause of the discrepancy between the two figures was not clear.

Residents in the towns of Lhokseumawe and Banda Aceh in the northwestern province of Aceh reported large waves had hit coastal regions.

An Associated Press reporter in Lhokseumawe several houses had been damaged.

At least one had been swept away, he said.

In the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, dozens of shops and buildings collapsed, witnesses el-Shinta.

"The ground was shaking for a long time,'' Yayan Zamzani told the station.

"It must be the strongest earthquake in the last 15 years.''

Indonesia, a country of 17,000 islands, is prone to seismic upheaval because of its location on the margins of tectonic plates that make up the so-called the "Ring of Fire'' around the Pacific Ocean basin.

Need

Why is it so easy to become self-dependent? Pride.
Why is it so easy to get distracted by things that don't matter and to lose sight of things that do? Priorities.
Why is it so easy to get sucked in to routine but so difficult to center it on God? Hmm.
Why is it so easy to read Angels & Demons from cover to cover but a chore to pore over the Word of Life? Idiocy. Sheesh.
Why is it so easy to play the part but not be the part? Hypocrisy.
Why is it hard to surrender every part of me to God? Fear.
Why is it hard to trust... no questions asked? Doubt.
Why does it feel so strange? Unfamiliarity.
Why has it been so long? Who ever said absence makes the heart grow fonder?
God where are you?

I need you. Be the center. Be my source.

I need your love
I need your grace
I need to learn to need you everyday
I need to soar more than before
I need to need you more

Pre-Christmas Post

Christmas break in a nutshell

So here it is. The long awaited update. *grin* It's been such a blessing to be home for the holidays. And here's my attempt at chronicling what has happened the past three and a half weeks.

What Josh has been doing this Christmas break:

• Catching up with old friends in true Penang fashion over (what else?) ... FOOD. Here's Mace, Jami, Gabes and Noel who is kind of hidden. Yum. Japanese buffet. Mmm.
  
  
• Spending a lot of quality time with my family. Mom and Dad and Caleb and Mama are all doing great. So is Karsimah. And Niki! :) Isn't she the prettiest?
  
  
• Going to the first-ever Planetshakers conference in KL. This was just an amazing time. God rocks my world!
  
  Went down to KL with some people from my youth group. Eunice, Varsha, me, Hui Jen, Gary - in the picture - and Praeme, Ben, and a couple others were there too. I just wish more people could have gone. Just to get a glimpse of what church can be like! woohoo.
  
  I ran into an old friend of mine too, Jolyn. We were classmates since Standard One! It was a real treat to catch up with her... and I'm so encouraged that she is going on strong for the Lord. It was pretty cool too how we met up. She had prayed: Lord, please bring someone I know before I go in there. And then Josh came walking out of the bathroom! :) Talk about divine appointments eh?
  
  
• Seeing Batman, Catwoman and Robin at Sunway Pyramid. Ok, so it wasn't really a highlight. But I have the photos, so I thought what the heck.. :) It was pretty cool though. Heh heh. I'm just a big comic geek at heart I guess. I'd rather watch Spidey navigate the streets of Manhattan than... Catherine Zeta-Jones try to nab Ocean's 11. Well, actually,... Catherine... hmm. :)
  
  
• Yeah, it's been great being home. So many more things that I've been doing, am doing, and am looking forward to doing in the next couple of weeks before I head back to Carleton. But, yer Carleton folk, you guys are on my heart always! :) Miss you all. So, here's a pic from Laurie and Flo's to wrap this update up. Speaking of wrapping things up, I'm 98% done with my Christmas gifts! Woohoo!!! Until the next one, which I promise will be soon... Love you all.

 

As the term draws to a close

It is now 2 a.m. In less than 12 hours, I will be on the plane heading back to the land I came from: Malaysia. *selah*
It's amazing isn't it? My friend Rashika has a blog called "Between Three Worlds" and while I can only lay claim to having two worlds at the moment - Northfield, MN and Penang, Malaysia - it's amazing that I can spend two different parts of my life in two very different places. The more I think about it, the more I realize how blessed I am to be here at Carleton, how Jehovah Jireh - the Lord our Provider - has given me more than I could ever ask for or imagine.

Cooking up a storm

The day before finals. Friday night. A bunch of friends came over to, essentially, get rid of our leftovers... and boy, did we cook up a storm! We had Sri Lankan styled fried rice, green curry chicken, black pepper chicken, Indonesian curry chicken (can you guess what ingredient we had a lot left over?), vegetable soup, beef broccoli noodles... and wonderful fellowship. Amazing! :)

That thing called work

Finals went well. For the most part. And I was so thrilled to finally turn in my very first psychology paper. I researched the "model minority myth" - very interesting topic. I'd be more than happy to talk to anyone about it, if you're interested :)

Birthdays

It was one week after Cheryl's 5th birthday on Sunday. Her Christian birthday, that is. She invited Christ into her life 5 years ago, and she decided to get baptized at Rejoice! And what a blessing it was - she invited a lot of people - and a lot of people showed up. And she gave her testimony - powerful testimony - that moved people to tears. Praise God for Cheryl. :)

Sunday was also another special person's birthday: Alex Lim. My good friend from Singapore. So anyway, Steph and I masterminded a surprise "party" for Alex... and while we intended to buy a cake, Steph somehow made it so that *I* had to bake a cake instead! me! Bake! gosh... see what living in a house with 6 girls does? So I learned how to bake a cake... all on my own... with Steph grinning from ear to ear as I tried to decipher the instructions: put 3 eggs? do I break them open first? hehe. Anyway, this is the cake I made for Alex. The cake is triple chocolate, the frosting is triple chocolate... and so I name it the Chocolate Sex(tuple) Cake! haha. Ok, that wasn't the smartest name... but I baked the cake. So there!

So a whole group of us showed up at Alex's room at 11:59... just to celebrate the end of his birthday with a big bang. Brought non-alcoholic wine and the cake... it was a blast! :) This is us, crammed into Alex's tiny Musser room. :)

Well, that is it for now. I am coming home! I am so excited. This holiday is going to be very much needed. I'm going to the Planetshakers Conference in KL from Dec 1 - 4, going to be kept busy with the Fasollado Singers, and going to spend quality time with family and friends. What more could I ask for?

All praise and glory be to God. He really is the Faithful One who never changes, the rock on which I stand. And it's His infinite grace that brought me through this term. Phew. I leave you with a pic fresh off the ... camera... taken in Rashika's beautiful Sevy suite.

Goodbye, my Carleton world - I will miss you, but I will be back. Hello, my Penang world... did ya miss me? :) 

Count your blessings, name them one by one

In one of my "oh my gosh I'm turning into my dad" moments, the words of this old hymn came into my mind. Wait. On second thought, I don't think it was an "oh my gosh I'm turning into my dad" moment - more of a "I've heard my dad preach so many times" moment, because the funny thing is I don't even KNOW this song, but I remembered the lyrics to it. And... oh my gosh, I'm rambling. Stop. Josh. Stop. Okay. So these are the words:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

And at the end of the term, 10th week, I thought that this would be a great thing to do. While I will certainly not be able to remember everything that happened, I'm going to chronicle whatever does come into my mind, beginning with this past week I suppose.

Caedmon's Call

Yeah! Caedmon's Call came to Lakeville, MN!! I know! And a big group of us went up to see them live in concert. BUT. I didn't get to go. I stayed back for Sola Scriptura, and also because I felt that I didn't necessarily have to jump at everything... and I thought I would prefer an easy night rather than driving up to Lakeville and back. So okay, not exactly stellar excuses. But where's the blessing in this, you may ask. And I will tell you.

Well, when they got back, a couple of us were hanging out in the basement of Parish. And guess what Erica got me? Well, don't guess. I'll show you!  
Yes, it's a 100% original AUTOGRAPHED (by Cliff Young) copy of Caedmon's Call latest album... with MY NAME ON IT! :) Heh heh. Thanks, Erica, you're awesome!

Thanksgiving: Why should it only be on the last Thursday of November?

Last Saturday, Will and Cully Craig (some of you have seen the picture with me and the two boys - those are their sons, James and Liam - I love them!! :)) invited a bunch of international students from the Christian community to their place to share in a thanksgiving meal with them.

At the Craig's for thanksgiving.

Crazy naga attacking bread

Will attacking the turkey

Besides the scrumptilicious food and edifying time of fellowship around the table, it reminded me of the importance of being thankful - not just for the BIG things that happen, but for the little things that we take for granted every day. Like getting up for class, being late, and running outside, and while unlocking your bike, suddenly pausing to see what was rustling the fallen leaves... and to find the plumpest squirrel scampering about in the last days of fall. Or walking home on a brisk night, and looking up and stopping to witness the wonder of God in the stars and the night sky... regardless of the Northern Lights. Or for the very fact that there I was halfway around the planet, thousands of miles from home, and yet I felt at home in the midst of people who loved God and showed the love of God to me.

Exit 69: The Fall Concert

And on that note, a big thank you to my legion of "fans" who came to the concert to show their support and love. I was immensely blessed. My "entourage" as Tyler put it made up probably more than three rows in the concert hall. And all the notes and messages of encouragement and excitement - Ming Mei sent me an email with six CONTINUOUS lines of "Josh's concert! Josh's concert! Josh's concert!" on the day of my concert. And for the embarassing shout outs... "You're hot, Josh" "Yeah he is" "Yeah Josh" *grin*

Exit in concert

But thank you for doing that. And for being there. I love you all.

And for the friendships that I have made here that I am so undeserving of. For the love shown to me and the acceptance and encouragement given to me. Thank you all.

And for the ma po to fu, Tyler. :)

Truly, count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

The One I Love

I thought I would share this song with you all. Throughout the course of this term, in addition to the stresses and strains of a crazy fall term, I've been struggling with the question of love and relationships in particular. And over and over, the Holy Spirit keeps reminding me of this verse:

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you
Matthew 6:33

Many times it's difficult to wait. It's painful to wait. But when we hold on to the promises of God for our lives, that He has plans to "give you a future and a hope" or as the Message bible puts it:

"...plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for..."
Jeremiah 29:11

... then we begin to realize that when we place ALL our trust (not some of it, not areas where you feel "safe" about giving to God... but ALL our trust) in Him, it's the safest and most exciting place to be at. Only HE knows the plans He has for us. Only He has the perfect master plan for our lives. And with that realization, I wrote this song... to the One I Love, the One who has all of my days in His hands: Jesus.

I pray this song will bless you.

The One I Love

You are the One who knows me
You spoke the word and my life began
You are the One I love

You are the One who holds me
All of my days are in Your hands
You are the One I love

And I could live all of my days
Searching for endless ways to say
I thank You, I need You
I love You my Jesus
And still it would not be enough
For all You've done and all You are
You are all this heart beats for
My dearest friend
My beginning and end
You are the One I love

You are the One who never changes
Your mercy and truth have bound my heart
You are the One I love

You are the One who is faithful
I'm falling into Your arms of grace
You are the One I love

(c)2004 Joshua Yeoh

Also, true story. :)

Friend: Can we sing the one I love?
Me: Which one is that?
Friend: The one i love, you know...
Me: Which is that?
Friend: by Joshua Yeoh.


Ok so it's funnier when you actually hear it being said.

Father of Lights

Sunday was (is - it's only 7:08pm now) a glorious day. Church was great. We celebrated All Saints Sunday. And I lighted a candle for my great grandma, my Chor Chor! :)

It was a pretty uneventful day - but an extremely beautiful one. The sun was out, the sky was clear, and if it were a little warmer, it would have been perfect. But that's not why I'm excited. Why am I excited you ask?

For the first time in my life, I saw the northern lights!. Yeah, just a couple of minutes ago, I ran into one of my housemates, Pam, and she was very excited. So we both stood outside our house, tried to turn off as many lights as we could, and just contemplate God's awesome creation. Being in Minnesota, I am beginning to understand why people say they encounter God in the splendor of nature. I mean, not that I dislike living in Penang, or in a big city (I still consider myself very much a city boy), but with all the hustle and bustle and buildings and lights, it's easy to miss out on the splendor and grandeur of His majestic creations.

It was magnificent! At first it wasn't very bright, but then it was like green lights being shot up into the sky. Almost like Batman's signal, you know? But prettier. And it was like a magical display of lights. Like you would go to the Musical Fountain in Singapore, only this was a million times more beautiful, and NATURAL. It was AMAZING.

I tried taking photographs, but ran low on battery. And it's kind of hard to take photos of it anyway, so the Nordlys Northern Lights website will have to suffice, for those of you who live in Malaysia, or anyway below the artic circle. :)

The Northern Lights

What causes them?

Northern lights originate from our sun. During large explosions and flares, huge quantities of solar particles are thrown out of the sun and into deep space. These plasma clouds travel through space with speeds varying from 300 to 1000 kilometers per second.

But even with such speeds (over a million kilometer per hour), it takes these plasma clouds two to three days to reach our planet. When they are closing in on Earth, they are captured by Earth's magnetic field (the magnetosphere) and guided towards Earth's two magnetic poles; the geomagnetic south pole and the geomagnetic north pole.

On their way down towards the geomagnetic poles, the solar particles are stopped by Earth's atmosphere, which acts as an effective shield against these deadly particles.

When the solar particles are stopped by the atmosphere, they collide with the atmospheric gases present, and the collision energy between the solar particle and the gas molecule is emitted as a photon - a light particle. And when you have many such collisions, you have an aurora - lights that may seem to move across the sky.

In order for an observer to actually see the aurora with the naked eye, about a 100 million photons are required.

Enjoy! I'm off to the Accidentals' Concert. Chieko is singing. So is Andrea and Sophia (who are also in Exit). And then to the Bridge service at St Olaf. It's going to be a good night. Except for the studying part afterwards. *grin*

See you guys real soon.

NATS pretty cool

NATSing

Date: Friday, November 5, 2004
Venue: St John's University, Collegeville, MN

I took part in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Competition. This competition saw the best of the midwest region converging to compete in this audition-styled process of a competition. I was in Division 6 (we're categorized according to age) and scheduled to sing at 4:30pm.

9 Carls in total went to this competition, and a bunch of them left at the ungodly hour of 6 in the morning. I was more fortunate. One of my housemates, Pam, was taking part too and she was going to drive up later. So we left at noon. Which is a big improvement on 6am, no?

Anyway, after a 2 1/2 hour journey, we arrived at St John's. We registered. Waited. Warmed up. Waited. And finally 4:30pm came about.

I sang in the Alumni Lounge. It was kind of a big room, and there were three adjudicators sitting in front of me. Just as I was about to start, one judge interrupted and voiced her concern over the length of my first piece - which she claimed would last 5 minutes if sung in its entirety. We only had 10 minutes. So I had to make last minute edit of my song. Only sang half of the first song.

So I sang "Pietà, Signore!" by Alessandro something or other, "Was Ist Sylvia?" by Franz Schubert and "The Roadside Fire" by Ralph Vaughn Williams. I thought they went well. Other than my throat feeling kind of strained - a combination of incessant coughing and nerves I think.

So later on, after everyone was done, we headed off to the hotel where some of us would be staying should we advance to the semifinals. Then we went for dinner, on Ben and Rick (two of the voice faculty from Carleton), at Old Chicago. I ordered deep dish pizza, foolishly thinking it would be like the one I had at Chicago. Nah, no such luck.

Anyway, it was a good dinner, and good company. And although I didn't make it into the semifinals, it was a good eye-opener in a lot of ways. It was definitely a good experience for me, and while I can't say I am looking forward to the next NATS competition, this would be something that I can look back on and say: Hey that was a milestone for me.

I am a life blogger

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And make it as entertaining as possible.

What kind of blogger are you?

Purpose-Driven Procrastination

Yes, I am procrastinating. I made it through about 30 of the 80 some pages I have to read tonight. But it's been a great night. Sola was great - we had discussions about everyone's favorite topic: RELATIONSHIPS. Especially in relation to dating. It was a lot of fun. And then great conversations followed on the way home... plus I got to eat one and a half mooncakes! Yum. Hey, when IS mooncake festival? Oh and on when I arrive in Singapore, we're all going for supper!! Yeah, Fran, we will come pick you up! 1 am? :D

Anyway, purpose-driven procrastination? I thought I would share a song with you guys (since it's been a while) and because I pray it will be a blessing. This was written spring term last year when I was going through a low time. And this is the first time something like this has happened, but the song kind of wrote itself in 2nd person. Like someone was writing to me. Or should I say Someone was writing. It was as if God Himself was speaking to me through my song! And writing this song was a huge turning point for me that term...

So if anyone of you is going through a rough patch in your life, imagine that this song was written for you. Click here to listen to it.

Song For Joshua
When you're walking through the valley
Only shadows light each day
When it seems that Hope's deserted you
You're left alone to find your way
When all the things that once surrounded you
Have all but lost their gold and shine
And you're trapped here with the pieces
Of a grey and broken night

Do not fear or be worried
He has promised to be with you
Even when you cannot feel Him near
Know He's here
So be strong, have good courage
Let His promise bring you strength
Though the night is full of sorrow
Know His joy will come tomorrow
And his love for you will never change
And his love for you will never change

May every day you walk with Jesus
Be a glimpse of who you'll be
Though this earthly life will falter
Look toward eternity
Let the peace that passes understanding
Guard your heart and soul
For the God who clothes the lilies
Is the One who makes you whole

(c)2004 Joshua Yeoh

One more pic - this is me and Rashika. Oh wait... Zorro and Madame Zorra! :) 

Sunday Funday

Thanksgiving at the Cabin

Sunday was excellent. After a great service at Rejoice!, we (the 10 some Carls who attend Rejoice!) were invited to Flo and Laurie's for lunch. Flo is a 60-something year old lady and Laurie is her attendant. We went to Flo's cabin outside of Northfield - and it was gorgeous. More pics to come later - Ming-Mei took photos. But it was BEAUTIFUL. And the company was excellent! And the food? They spared no expense. It was an all out thanksgiving lunch - we had turkey, vegetables (different kinds - baked, etc), cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy, pumpkin cake and apple pie,... ooh yum... and they even gave us favors - caramel popcorn - to take home! God bless them. It was a very welcome reprieve and escape from the doldrums of seventh week.

Happy Halloween

This year I was prepared. Well kinda. I was still fixing my costume 15 minutes after the FISH House Halloween party started. I was.... ZORRO! :) Yeah. Here I am with the Incredible Hulk (Dave Derksen), Indiana Jones (Bryan) and the... japanese monk (tyler)? :)

At midnight, we all went to the chapel for the annual Halloween Concert. The orchestra, all decked in Halloween costumes, played some music and there was a contest for best costume too... which went to "the solar system"... haha. Anyway, it was a lot of fun... except I quickly found out that trash bags and perspiration don't mix very well. :)

Chance meeting or divine appointment?

Later that night, at about 1:30am Erica remembered that she had met Imran at the CMC and told me... so I biked over to the CMC and met up with Imran! It was an edifying 1/2 hour just catching up with my brother-in-the-Lord. He's a GREAT guy!! But that made my day, anyway.... So today, I have a NATS preview at 5. I just spent much of today trying to memorize my words... God help! Please pray for me. :) But it'll be good. It'll be fine... because I'm going home soon! Yeay! This pic is of the President of the college, Rob Oden, who was Indiana Jones. It was funny. 

Oh and one more thing: I'M GOING TO PARIS!!! I turned in my commitment form today. So I'M GOING TO PARIS! Spring 2005.