Jessica and Spots

3 07 2009

jessica and spotsMeet Spots. My sister’s new dog (taken on my new iPhone). Spots looks sort of like a cross between Bolt (from the movie) and a HUGE white rat. Nonetheless, she’s pretty cute, and my sister spared no detail in telling me all kinds of stuff about her new pet that only an 8 year old would care about. Apparently, she’s only 10 weeks old, but she’s already 90% potty trained and can already play fetch with a ball (but good luck getting the ball back). Also, if you just let her run around in the backyard to go potty she gets lost (probably would get eaten too…), so you always need to walk her out and watch her.  Finally, because she gets lonely at night, she has to sleep in a cage in my sister’s room where she remains quiet through the night and waits eagerly the next morning for Jessica to wake up.

Tonight, I came home. As usual, I’m not particularly excited to be home. But tonight is a rare night. My parents are out of the house, so I got to spend some rare one on one time with my sister. We played DS, watched movies, and played with Spots.  She taught me how to fight with a staff (she’s taking some kind of kung fu performing arts class) and she almost hit me in the nuts and the head with it.  Now as she falls asleep, her head is on my lap and Spots on my other lap. She just smiled at me. I’ve been missed. She’s been waiting for me to come home for awhile now. I’m glad I can make her happy. This is definitely a moment of pure bliss. I’m not sure what the rest of this week will bring, but as for tonight… it was a good night :o).





3rd Culture Kid

3 06 2009

3rd cultureI had my first session with a Christian counselor yesterday. I wanted to do some counseling to just begin learning more about myself and figure out why I act and feel certain things.  I’ve had multiple pastors in the past few months tell me that counseling is a wonderful time of self discovery and healing that every minister should go through in their 20s.  Honestly, after my first session I’m pretty convinced that everyone should probably go through some counseling in their lifetime.

Anyways, one of the things I really want to figure out about myself is why I feel so lonely when I’m alone. I mean I literally dread being alone sometimes. I could be having the most wonderful day and going home to an empty house can just bring me a certain sense of dread.  I mean I definitely have learned to cope with it (watching TV or just not coming home till late)… but I really hope this time in counseling can really help me get to the root of what I’m feeling in those moment.

After sharing parts of my life story, my counselor told me that there were two elements of my story that stuck out as potential contributing factors for that loneliness.  The first one, which I’ve thought about before, is just certain instances of trauma with my parents and past relationships that I don’t really want to talk about here.  The second one was something I’ve never thought about though.  She said that another contributing factor could be the fact that I’m bi-racial (Korean/Chinese).  Bi-racial, tri-cultural (throw American into the mix) in fact. Read the rest of this entry »





InterVarsity’s Multi-Ethnic History

29 04 2009

iv11 am on Sunday still remains the most segregated hour in America, and for most Christians the best way to deal with race is to be colorblind and simply disregard it as not important. With that said I’m really proud to be apart of an organization that has kept ethnic reconciliation and multi-ethnicity as a core value of our movement. Since its conception in the US, InterVarsity has remained a catalyst of racial reconciliation not only in the church, but in the culture as well.  I believe what we have done and what we are going to do is going to continue to bless, challenge, and transform the church’s view on culture and ethnicity for years to come.  It is so exciting to be part of what God is doing!

Here are a few examples of our multi-ethnic legacy from our history that I am particularly proud of (from Multi Ethnic Ministries Website):

  • 1944-1948- Jane Hollingsworth (Haille) in NYC confronted an IV Board member when she refused to permit Black students in her home for the city’s monthly meetings. Jane’s Biblical honesty breaks the Board member’s racism and her home is opened to all students.
  • Read the rest of this entry »





On God’s Presence

28 04 2009

windowpresSome have complained already that my post yesterday was too dark and scary. I still stick to my initial thought that the film presents a reality that we often try to avoid and ignore, but oh well… keep taking that blue pill.

Anyways, on a more hopeful note, I’ve been reflecting on the value of the presence of God. I’ve often said that being in His presence was really important to me.  I’ve led worship for years saying that I want to “experience” or “enter” His presence.  I’ve prayed time and time again for his presence to fall. And how did I know I was in His presence? Well for most of my Christian journey I knew by feeling an emotional connection or a “spiritual high.”  You know the one you get when you go to a fun praise night or a retreat. That emotional feeling of joy, excitement, and conviction. Or perhaps God’s presence means bawling during an intense prayer meeting or feeling “filled with the Spirit” to do ministry.  And so certainly when things are depressing and ministry is failing it means that I’ve somehow run away from Him or that His presence has left me right? I mean there has to be more to it, and God has continually been expanding my view of what it means to abide in Him. Read the rest of this entry »





Sebastian’s Voodoo

27 04 2009

picture-2I rarely watch a film (especially online) that both chills me and moves me at my core as much as this one (video and link at the bottom of the post). This short film by Joaquin Baldwin is about a voodoo doll that sacrifices itself for the sake of the other dolls in the basement. I don’t think this video in any way was intended to be Christian.  In fact, even from the title and the dark sadistic tone it’s pretty obviously not your typical Vegetales CGI film. Despite all this it portrays a reality of Christ’s sacrifice and defeat of Satan (and sin) in a way better than most Christian portrayals I’ve seen. Makes you wonder why it seems like people who don’t even try to talk about Jesus in their films seem to do it better than those who actually try.

There are definitely many holes in how the film parallels the actual death of Jesus (for one Jesus didn’t kill Himself). So just get past that. What it does marvelously though is paint the absolute bleak and ugly reality of the evil that ensnares and ultimately kills us. It is a dark, sadistic, absolutely scary type of evil. It is an evil that is just set out to torture and destroy us.  One that just sees us, the image bearers of God, as faceless dolls to abuse, to use, to defile, to kill. One that just leaves us with no hope, hanging on a sharp hook waiting for our disgraceful end. This is the true face of evil in this world.  It is oppressive, deceitful, and ugly.  It is absolutely terrifying and chilling. Read the rest of this entry »





SD InterVarsity Video

26 04 2009

Check out our new San Diego InterVarsity promo video. I’m pretty sure this is the best piece of publicity we’ve ever created. It paints a really compelling picture of why we need InterVarsity on our campuses in SD!





Spring Newsletter 2009

25 04 2009

spring-newsletter-imageI know, I know… I skipped the winter. Sorry for the delay. This newsletter has been a long time in the making, and God is certainly on the move in San Diego. I hope you enjoy it!

In this issue:

  • Winter Quarter Recap:  Stories of Transformation
  • 2 Student Testimonies from Spring Camp
  • Prayer points for the end of the school year
  • (Click the image to download .pdf)





    My Modeling Career Begins…

    19 03 2009

    picture-3So apparently I’m a model now.  My picture has just been featured on the InterVarsity National website on the front page  (You can also click the image on the left to get a closer look after its taken down from the website).  The picture was used in this article about InterVarsity’s role of spiritual formation to becoming a witness in student’s lives.  (It was also used earlier this year in a brochure for donors).  The funny thing is that this picture had nothing to do with this.  The article opens with a story about Jamie from Johns Hopkins University, but there is no Jamie in the picture and I certainly wasn’t in Baltimore in the last few months.  In fact, in case you’re wondering, this picture was taken at my New Staff Orientation this past summer.  We were recruited to take pictures that would be used in future InterVarsity publications.  And so my modeling career began… Read the rest of this entry »





    Blogging

    2 03 2009

    blog_logoI’ve always had a love-hate relationship with blogging. I love blogging because quite frankly (not to sound cocky) I just love seeing my thoughts come onto paper in some form that I could actually reference back to in the future. I have so many thoughts floating up there (often forcing me to stay up till 5 am… yes you don’t want to see the mess they call my brain) that it’s just nice to see them come onto the screen in some actual coherent form. Also, I usually go through the day with 5 random, sometimes cool, mostly random thoughts where in the moment I think, “man I need to remember that one.”   And what better way to file away the next ground breaking idea than in a blog!  Yet I never get to it, and my brilliant nugget of truth (which could someday turn into my life changing thesis) is lost in the chaos of the next 5 thoughts. The other reason I love blogging is I just love sharing my thoughts with people. Granted at this point my audience is quite limited, I would someday love to blog and be part of a blogging community that just exchanges ideas and discourses on thoughts. Finally, I love preaching. HAHA. (I know, you’re like what’s that have to do with anything?). I love preaching, but unfortunately with my current stage of life and ministry I don’t get to do it much. So in my mind blogging could be a great medium to get my voice out there.

    With all that said. I hate blogging. Read the rest of this entry »





    I envision a church…

    30 01 2009

    visionIf you don’t know, I actually have a secret desire to church plant someday (well maybe not that secret). I know I know. It’s a ridiculous dream, and most of you think I’m crazy for dreaming it. Anyways, last night I was looking at the Vineyard Movement’s new publishing of their “Core Values” and I was quite inspired. I read them and was like, “Man that’s the kind of church I want to plant,” and I stayed up to 5 am dreaming of what that church would look like. I penned my first draft of a vision for the kind of church that I would want to be apart of, and I wanted to share it all with you.

    I guess one could say that this is kind of like my personal statement of faith. It is definietly incomplete, and is probably more of a product of reckless passion (or possibly the movement of the Spirit) than any thoughtful discernment of what God is calling me to do. Either way, I had a blast writing it and would love to hear your thoughts.

    I envision a church that is…

    • Diverse through reconciliation
    I envision a church that is a place of reconciliation, believing that in Christ all walls of hostility fall. I envision a church that is diverse in ethnicity, in culture, and in tradition, but singular in purpose. I envision a church that doesn’t just transcend Read the rest of this entry »