Adventure

People wonder why I am not pursuing after money or settling down with marriage and kids. Truth is, beneath my quiet exterior I have a crazy adventurous soul who has preached the Gospel in gas stations in Fiji, helped out in a AIDS stricken slum in South Africa, taught and loved street children in Madagascar, organized a camp in Costa Rica, lead a missionary team to an orphanage in Honduras, played the violin at a Christian Symphony, hiked the mountains in Totonicapan, Guatemala to an indigenous village and now I am teaching at an International School in hopes of empowering young people, educating about social justice and having more crazy adventures with God. Someone today asked me if I wanted to volunteer today at a soup kitchen that helps prostitutes to dignity. My heart leapt. But then I remembered that I had a ton of planning to do...

I am not perfect. Far from it. Yet from my youth I learned the true value of compassion and service for the broken and those who Jesus love. I try my best to love.

The past few years I have experienced grave disappointments with religious leaders. I have been squandered for money while being sick after a missionary trip to Madagascar (which of course I refused and then she asked me to delete the email and not share it with others!), witnessed unjust acts of excommunicating members and abuses of power. Yet they won't stop me. Jesus warned us about the Pharisees and corrupt religious leaders during the latter days. I am thankful that I am out of that place and free to be myself.

The Gospel of Matthew and books by Brennan Manning have inspired me to this day. I hope that God may continue to use me wherever I go and that one day I may write spiritual books to heal and inspire others.

Nota

Aléjate de las personas que te hacen daño.

Postscript

My Summer trip has come to an end. Within 48 hours, it will be the start of a new page of my life. I am moving to Costa Rica for a full-time teaching position. And I am planning to stay there for three years or so. But before that happens, a candid reflection as of lately---

This trip ranged from taking a 5-hour road trip to Tofino talking about preaching styles amongst Evangelicals in El Salvador, discussing about representations of hyper feminity and hyper masculinity in our culture, kayaking in one of the pristine lakes in the Pacific Northwest, seeing one of my high school best friend after 3 years, touristing around Lamma Island, getting lost in the middle of the night in Hong Kong while drinking Black Sesame VitaSoy, getting a Lymphatic massage out of a groupon deal, rushing to the airport with my BFF, flying back to Vancouver, staying at a sketchy Air BnB place (which included Spiders, yikes!), bumping into YouTubers at the Richmond Night Market and catching up with a group of friends that were my support group during my post-college years while drinking a variety of Pale Ales and Hipster Beers in Olympic Village, Vancouver.

At some point, this trip reminded me of Pedro Paramo -a book we read back in the good ol' IB days. The book accounts of a character who revisits his past through his encounter of people from his past in Comala. The book is not written in chronological order, and it's like a puzzle for the reader to decipher Juan Preciado's life. And like this book, during this trip I revisited places and people from key moments of my past -a highschool friend, a college friend, an orchestra friend, church friends, etc. It was interesting to see how much I have changed, how people have change and how things have changed. There were moments when God spoke to my heart that helped me heal and let go of demons from the past. This trip provided closure.

And this trip also made me also reflect about the crazy multicultural life I have, the awesome friendships God has given me over the years, my love for rich and deep intellectual conversations and the things I want out of life. And this is what I want - an open mind, a thirst for knowledge and newness, good relationships, an adventurous spirit and a zest for growth and life. 

A rebirth.

Viva la Vida.

Tofino

There is something healing about spending time in nature in the company of a close friend.

Tofino was bliss.