Where in the World?

My mind seems to be quite out-of-it these days. As I was car-pooling with my parents yesterday, we ended up arguing the whole way home. My mom has mentioned a number of times that I've been very critical at everything and everyone these days...I wasn't normally that way, but lately, I've become it. I don't like being a critical person and I can't quite understand why I'm acting this way. My mom and my sis both think it's because I've been exposed to the work of missionaries (humility, sacrifice, simple lifestyle) that when I come back to my own "world," I get disgusted by materialism surrounding me and feel critical at the luxurious state in which we live here. Since joining OMF, I feel as if I'm in a totally different world. Constantly being challenged by cultural differences and engaging with very different people has left me completely out of my comfort zone. I hate struggling through things, but it seems that I don't learn unless I go through it...God knows me so well...it's rather annoying.

Goodbyes...

I woke up at 5am to pick up Melissa and to drive her to the airport. Mel is one of our short-term workers, who's leaving for Cambodia to do MK care and orphanage work. She was in my team from last summer and it's been encouraging to see her heart for Cambodia increasing. One comment she made during the United Live concert particularly stands out: "I don't know...My preference would be to work in Latin America or Jamaica somewhere...but for some odd reason, I feel drawn to Asia." I'll never forget that comment. It's been neat to hear how God has been moving in her heart and finding the right timing for her to go overseas. Some of the circumstances happening in her life at this very moment need to be sorted out with her not being here (hard to explain...long story). So cool that God has allowed her to go to Cambodia, providing for all of her needs and giving her Peace (notice the capitalization). Pray that God would reveal to her whether she should serve in Cambodia for a longer-term or serve in Canada.

Another goodbye to utter today was Jon's departure. If only I had words to describe the faith and passion this man has for God...Wow! Everytime he gets up to speak (or even in smaller settings), you could sense the power of God. Almost too intense, but you know after a "session" with Jon, your life is and will never be the same. Of course, it's not really Jon changing us, but still...God uses him particularly to speak into the lives of His people. Unexplainable. Jon, Marilyn, Katie, Emily and Bethany will be ministering in Singapore as Jon is taking on the role of International Director of Mobilization. Please pray that they'll feel competent in their new setting and role :)

Day of Prayer

Prayer is a powerful thing. A few of us have been meeting faithfully every Saturdays (we've skipped only four Saturdays...I think) to pray for our church, our city, our country and for NK. We've been doing a 31-week prayer for NK, just finishing out 28th week this past Saturday. Lots of exciting things have been happening and God has been doing amazing things...we're just privilged to be a part of what God is doing :) After that, I headed downtown to join a prayer walk for the city of Toronto. We had a route and took our prayer request papers and just walked around the city, praying and interceding. Funny thing...I didn't want to be there...It wasn't that I didn't want to pray, but I just didn't want to show that I was praying (hope you know what I mean). We were joined by a bunch of people and it just felt like a planned thing that when we finished doing our prayer walk, we were just going to pat ourself on the back and feel good about how "good" we are (I know...I'm so critical!). As I walked, I prayed to God asking him to give me His heart and for the Holy Spirit to intercede as to pray exactly as how He would want me to pray. Amazing thing happened! I started to really pray...not the things that I could think of, but things that I didn't really know of, but felt convicted to pray for...So cool! The prayer walk took nearly 3 hours, but it felt so much shorter than it really was :) 2 Chronicles 7:14

Rockwood

Went with Pastor Samuel to check out the Rockwood Conservation Park for our Youth tenting retreat (August 5-7). There's a couple of kids in our youth group (not going to mention any names...), worried about bathroom conditions, showers, etc. (wait 'til they go to Cambodia!), so we decided to check it out first. I was quite impressed. The site was small, but there seems to be lots of facilities. There's a cave, a hiking trail, a lake, mini-golf course and the best part...the washrooms looked very acceptable I think a certain someone will be pleased!
Preparing to coordinate for this tenting retreat (so many little details to take care of!), and since our church is so small, there's a lack of leaders, which makes it even more difficult for the few leaders existing. Small churches can be a difficult place :( Anyways, there was this gorgeous place that we discovered there. I'm guessing that there used to be a mill there (long time ago), but it's now just a beautiful spot (great place for reflection!)

If you have a chance, please pray for our tenting retreat! Our youth group has soooo much potential, but for some reason, it's been a difficult place for ministry. Pray for Pastor Samuel, Jonathan, Sara and myself who will be leading this retreat. We desperately need prayer!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...

It was my friend, Janet's b-day (July 5th) and since I couldn't celebrate with her on her real b-day, decided to take her out today for some delish Thai and gelato. We had a great time talking, joking, sharing together while eating out yummy food (I ordered the crispy beef, while Janet got the classic Pad Thai). We took pictures (which I was going to use for my blog), but as we were clicking away, people were staring at us like we were sooooo self-absorbed (which we probably looked like). If ever you want some good and affordable Thai food, check out Green Papaya:


That part of the night was good...

We decided to grab some fresh and very tasty gelato at this place around Eglinton and Bayview called, Hollywood Gelato (I highly recommend!). We were supposed to meet our friend Julie there, so we headed there right after dinner. Both of us were in good spirits, laughing and making fun of eachother like we usually do. Knowing that we were going to sit out on the patio, I decided to park at the side street, where I could keep my eye on my car (just in case anything happens). It didn't say anywhere on the road that I couldn't park there, so I did. Julie, Janet and I (hey, our names all start with "J" !!!), it started to get dark. My back was facing my car and at one point, I felt lots of lights behind me flashing and blinking. Curious...I turned around to see my car being lifted up by a tow truck and a policeman directing the whole thing...

That was the bad part...

I ran like mad to stop them from towing away my car. I yelled and waved my hands, bolting out of the patio like a crazy woman (got lots of stares). I reasoned with the cop and hoped he would extend some mercy on me. He said that there was a "no standing" sign (which was blocked by a "do not enter" sign) and said that there wasn't anything he could do. He said that if I pay the tow truck on the spot, I won't have my car towed. So, by the end of the night, I had to pay the tow truck and I got a city parking ticket (I'm gonna fight it!) on top of everything else. The worst part of it...the cop was extremely rude to me. He yelled at me and talked to me in the most condescending way. I was frustrated, because this totally wrecked my friends' b-day celeb. We were grateful, however, to not have the car towed away...(that would've been the worst disaster!). Ugly...just ugly...

A Day in the Life of a Quickplacer

Ian flew in from the UK to set up Quickplace for us. Quickplace is like an online forum where people can post comments, be informed about upcoming events, chat, reminders, etc...the options and the benefits of this program seem to be endless! The best thing about Quickplace is that it's completely secure (unlike many web stuff these days...). So, people can post things about certain countries...ahem...I'm not going to mention which ones...and others can look and pray about some of the existing ministries that are going on in these "closed" places. It also allows the Serve Asia Workers to be connected to others that have had similar eye-opening experiences and be able to fuel the flame for Missions :) I was reading an article the other day about short-term missions and whether it induces lasting change in people. Here is what the article had to say:

"Students come down to Honduras for four months and we do our best, with God's help, to share our passion for creating a Honduras and a world more pleasing to God--more just, less poor, and filled with more people truly knowing and serving Him. We have seen many students change their majors and career goals based on their experience. I think the time here is very powerful for all of them. But then they return to the United States, to their busy life with friends, family, studies, a consumerist culture, and churches that do not often emphasize these issues. Their experiences have lent support to my belief that we all need and encouragement and accountability if we're to turn powerful experiences into lasting change. Two students may leave Honduras equally motivated and "changed," but the ones who returns to their old group of friends without staying in touch with their Honduras friends or joining a group with similar interests is unlikely to see much difference after a few months. The ones who stay in touch and get involved in a social justice or mission group on campus will often end up making even more radical changes than they talked about in Honduras. So I think the young person who does a short-term mission trip for only one or two weeks would need even more support in making sure those weaker impulses translate into action."

I know that this is a long article to read, but the content seems to ring so true in the world we are living in today. As an Alumni Coordinator for those returning back from the missions field, I feel that this online community that Quickplace will provide will be so crucial in developing encouragement and accountability to make their Serve Asia Trip lasting. It's very difficult, especially in this generation, for one to grow alone. There needs to be a sense of community, more importantly, a Christian community (online one will do!), in which there's honest discussions, prayer, joint focus on our Lord and a passion to serve His people in East Asia. What potential!

Praise and Prayer...

There are lots of praise items to mention, but I don't want to bore you too much, so I'll just stick to a couple:

- We sent a Serve Asia Worker (Andy) to the urban poor community in the Philippines. He felt a burden for Christian and Christopher (not yet Christians), and asked us to pray on the homeside. God moved my heart to share Andy's burden in a conference in Ottawa, where over 100 Godly people prayed for Andy, Christian and Christopher. Three weeks later, Christian and Christopher accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour! Too cool for words...

- 9 people were approved to serve as full-time OMF missionaries on July 10 and July 14. They will be working in Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonnesia, China. They had rigorous cross-cultural training (2 weeks straight at Tyndale) and 1 week at OMF Candidate Course. Listening to each of their testimonies and how God has been leading and calling them to full-time missions has been a privilege to be a part of. Praise God for allowing the Candidate Council to display discernment in approving these workers.

Now for my personal prayer items...

- Listening ear for those returning back home from the field. They need proper debriefing from someone willing to listen and to ready to challenge. Please pray that I would be the person to help short-termers returning "home" to figure out what's next.

- Quickplace will be a crucial resource in providing encouragement and accountability for Serve Asia Alumni, as it will act as an online community. Pray that the set-up of this will go smoothly.

- I don't quite know where this desire to study the Bible has come from (ok, I have an inkling...), but I've decided to apply part-time to study at Tyndale. Since serving with OMF, I feel inadequate in my knowledge of the Word. Want to go, but don't have the funds...please pray that God would provide (if it is His will).

- Shannon and I will be leading a seminar on crossing cultures and culture-shock for the India mission team at Milal Church. Please pray that this would be a great time in preparing workers to cope with various culture-clashes.

- Serve Asia Alumni Retreat will be held in our Toronto Mission Home at Avenue Road from September 9~11, 2005. We will be covering sections on re-entry, coping mechanisms, accountability partnerships, intro to Quickplace, how to share your story, module presentations and much more. Please pray that I will be filled with the Spirit when I lead the many returning home.

If you want to get involved in Missions to East Asia (whether it be praying, sending, going, donating), don't hesitate in contacting me: jess.han@gmail.com

Mountain Clouds

Reflections from Vancouver...

Shannon and I spent a week (June 29~July 6) in the beautiful city of Vancouver, to lead the Serve Asia Training for our workers departing to the field. We had a proposed schedule("structured spontaneity" as Shannon would say) for our time there: 1 day of preparation, 3 days of training, 1 day of meetings and 1 day of free-time. It was cool to finally meet up with Nick, Joel, Queenie, Simon, Lesley and Pamela (Serve Asia Workers) departing from the BC area. Getting to meet them after all that e-mail correspondence was a true blessing.

Meeting up with Lesley at Guu was an interesting experience. Being that it was a busy restaurant, we put our names down and waited at the Starbucks across the street. The guy in charge of seating came (40 minutes later) running to where we were sitting (patio of Starbucks), shouting my name across Robson! Anyways, we finally got our seats and listened as we ate our Beef Carpaggio (thanks for the suggestion, Esther!) to Lesley's journey with Serve Asia. She mentioned a Christian author...I forget his name now...who donated his signed books for her to take on her missions trip to distribute to her students in her country of service. The people over there apparently love his writings, so Lesley was pretty psyched about getting these to them.

Training was also a blessed time for both Shannon and I. It was cool, 'cause at one point, we were all in the kitchen doing the dishes (Shannon stacking the dirty dishes, Simon soaping, Queenie rinsing, Joel and Nick drying) and Nick turns to us and says, "Whoah, it's like we're family, eh?!" We looked at him and smiled. He then says, "it's so cool, because it feels like I've known you guys forever and it's only been 2 days." Cool. It's definitely the result of prayer :)

We dropped off the guys at the airport on the 3rd and they set off for their ministry in Thailand. I felt like a mom sending off their kids...All of them are so unique and precious. God is so cool that He gives us the amazing privilege of working with beautiful people. I sensed leadership and initiative in Nick; in Joel, I found creative media talent; and Simon had the playful heart to serve. What a good mix :) We then set off to have lunch with Queenie, who was a bit "under the weather," because her extension to study in Canada wasn't approved.

We met Pamela the next day at a local restaurant, White Spot in Abbotsford. We took care of some admin details and chatted for an hour about her passion for libraries and her missions to the Philippines. Looked at her scrapbook and prayed with her. Please pray for her younger sister.

The more memorable accomplishment was that Shannon and I finished...finished the Grous Grind. It took us approximately 2 hours (we took lots of breaks), but we finished it. Did I mention, we finished the Grous Grind? Man! It was pretty brutal, but definitely worthwhile. Felt like shouting: "I'm on top of the world!"

Look at how steep it was...

We took the cable car on the way down, because we were advised that it's far more dangerous to go downhill than going up.

We went home, washed up and went to Aberdeen Mall (picked up a gift for Dennis' family) and went over to have dinner with DK's fam. They were so cute...When Shannon and I got there, they were all peering out the window waiting to see if I arrived. We had dinner (huge plate of sashimi and steamed crab) and some white sparkly wine. It was delish. Shannon ate too much sashmi, which resulted in her moaning and groaning all night long :(

Set off early the next day to visit Granville Island (thanks again Esther!) for a couple of hours before heading to the airport back to T.O. Saw the Emily Carr Institute, visited cute shops and ate at the marketplace.

Whew! What a week!

One last pic of Vancouver...the Mountain Clouds: