Cirrus clouds

Cirrus clouds are my favourite type of clouds.

They are the highest clouds in the atmosphere.
(I learned that in 5th grade)

Sometimes, I image God doodling in the skies to cheer me up.
(I once saw a heart...true story)

And sometimes when I'm sad, I look up to the skies, and remind myself that life is still beautiful.

An Ode to the stars in heaven (an analogy to unrequited love)

Oh Starlight,
Small and bright,
Shining day and night
through distant skies...
But who knows that up close
There is a stellar explosion at your core,
Shimmering lights in a suspended celestial ore.
How lovely and comely you shine!
You've inspired an inner glow
kindling pleasant dreams within
and a deep sense of wonder...
Yet you're a million light years away
for me to reach the heavens,
and make you mine.

The Moonstone

This passage speaks my mind:

'Suppose you were not in love with me? Suppose you were in love with some other woman?'
'Yes?'
'Suppose you discovered that woman to be utterly unworthy of you? Suppose you were quite convinced that it was a disgrace to you to waste another thought of her? Suppose the bare idea of ever marrying such a person made your face burn, only with thinking of it?'
'Yes?'
'And, suppose, in spite of all that - you couldn't tear her from your heart? Suppose the feeling she had roused in you (in the time when you believed in her) was not a feeling to be hidden? Suppose the love this wretch had inspired in you? Oh, how can I find words to say it in! How can I make a man understand that a feeling which horrifies me at myself, can be a feeling that fascinates me at the same time? It's the breath of life, Godfrey, and it's the poison that kills me- both in one! Go away! I must be out of my mind to talk as I am talking now. No! You mustn't leave me -you mustn't carry away a wrong impression. I must say, what is to be said in my own defence. Mind this! He doesn't know -he never will know, what I have told you. I will never see him - I don't care what happens - I will never, never, never see him again! Don't ask me his name! Don't ask any more! Let's change the subject. Are you doctor enough, Godfrey, to tell me why I feel as if I was stifling for want of breath? Is there a form of hysterics that bursts into words instead of tears? I dare say! What does it matter? You will get over any trouble I have caused you, easily enough now. I have dropped to my right place in your estimation, haven't I? Don't notice me! Don't pity me! For God's sake, go away!'

The Moonstone (pg 242)
Wilkie Collins

I can only imagine [Planet K version]

I can only imagine
the day when I see Your face.
Years of friendship and love
unutterable by words,
will be expressed with ineffable joy.

On that day,
My toes will be hovering over the skies
while Your strong arms support me,
And You will whisper to my ear
That all along You were there for me,
I was and will always be in Your heart.

I will soon realize the beauty of this journey
and how my faith has brought me
finally Home.

It will be the day of gladness of our hearts.


Kandom note: this poem has been in my mind for weeks...
I finally wrote it down in my blog.

"Batter my heart, three person'd God"

BATTER my heart, three person'd God; for, you
As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow mee,'and bend
Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurpt towne, to'another due,
Labour to'admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in mee, mee should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weake or untrue.
Yet dearely'I love you,'and would be loved faine,
But am betroth'd unto your enemie:
Divorce mee,'untie, or breake that knot againe;
Take mee to you, imprison mee, for I
Except you'enthrall mee, never shall be free,
Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee.

John Donne

Summer awesomness

Yay for Summer adventures!

I just booked my ticket to Toronto. I will be flying early June to visit 2 of my close friends. I'm super excited to hang out with them. I can't wait to see them.

Then, I will rush back to write my research paper and prepare for my English final (June 17th). I will then fly to Fiji (June 19th) and stay there for 2 whole months!!

And I also have other fun stuff to do in Vancouver such as BBQs, cookouts, cycling and hanging out at the beach. We use these activities to reach out to new friends. Plus, the weather is amazing.

Summer is the most wonderful time of the year!

Out of Egypt

Egypt = El Salvador (1st stage)
Wilderness = Vancouver (2nd stage)
Promised land = ?????? (3rd and final stage)

Out of Egypt
Across the great divide
I shake the dirt of my sandals
As I run into the wilderness
In search for the Promised land.

YHWH is my rock. Living waters flow into my heart.
He is the cloud of glory that shields me day and night.
Honey and milk flows from His river of delight.

Although this land is a desert.
I feel like I live in paradise.
I might walk in circles for years...
But YHWH is my Patient Guide.

Fullness of Joy

I'm done with my final exams! Praise the Lord :)

I'll be leaving tomorrow for a vacation trip in Hawaii with my mom.

Please pray for our safety, and that we may have an awesome mother-daughter bonding time.

Anyways...

May you enjoy the presence of the Lord, and live in the fullness of His joy everyday.

Rejoice always!

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11)

Metaphor and Imagery

Here is the first draft of a rather disjointed poem of mine.

A strong wind may shake a tree
but not blow it away.
Snowing petals cover the earth and sky,
Its sweet fragrance spreads at night.
New leaves are budded. Old ones are gone.
All the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Even during the trials of our lives,
Love and joy are found.
Let us all look on the bright side.

Yay

I just wrote 2 finals today. Yep...2 down and 2 more to go!

I walked out of the exam room with a big smile in my face for my first exam because I received an 84% in my research paper! After countless and countless of hours of research, and reading in the University's Rare and Special collection, it finally paid off!

This is indeed something worth celebrating. In the past, I used to get B and B- (that Latin American History essay HURT my feelings). I've also got As for small papers. BUT this is the very first A- for a big research paper.
Yay!

Okey doke. I need to continue studying for my next History final. The professor is pretty intense so I really need to study for it.

The Call

This song summarizes my feelings for the past 3 years



I'm suddenly feeling nostalgic today. All these memories have been flooding my mind like a tsunami...

But the Lord reminded me to live in the present, and in the fullness of His joy.

Ephesians 3:17-19

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Research

I'm chaining myself to a desk so that I can finish writing my Social History paper (3000 words!)

And we (my roommate and I) brought so much food into the library (pasta, sandwiches, snacks) for our survival. It looks like we are going to a picnic.

So far I have 889 words. Meh.

I promised myself to stay off blogger, facebook, youtube and wikipedia (I read their articles for fun...sad)

And look what I'm doing here...updating my blog. Hahaha

OK. I'm OFF.

God's Awesomness in the Earthquake

I recently received an email about a missionary who experienced the tremors of the Chilean earthquake. It's amazing how God gave her peace during such a turbulent time.

Please continue to pray for the people in Chile. May the Lord open their hearts for the gospel.

-------
Well, Saturday morning started with a real shake. I had worked until 8:15 pm on Friday then I went to eat with some friends. I got home around 10:30pm and hit the sack. I was exhausted. However, 3:24 in the morning I was shaken from my bed. I felt the shaking and for some reason realized that this was more than the tremors I had felt previously in Guatemala. I jumped out of bed and thought that I should get a robe on and some shoes. I grabbed my cell phone to see if it worked and of course the service was gone and then I went to stand in the door way between the bedrooms. Yes, they had sent out an article recently explaining that you are to lie down on the floor and wait but all that would go through my mind was what I had heard over and over, stand in the door jam. As I stood in the door jam on the 2nd floor of my 19 floor apartment building I felt the movement of the building and heard things falling and sliding. The thought went through my mind that if this was the real thing the other 19 floors would come donw on me but at the same time I felt the Lord there with me.

Then the shaking stopped and it was a feeling of "what now"!!. I decided it was time to get dressed so that I could get out of the building. I groped around in the dark as all of the electriciy, phones, and cell phones were out of commission. I remembered where my clothes were, it does pay to drop the on the floor sometimes and pick them up later, and my shoes. I headed to my front door. In the movement of the building the door was jammed. I couldn't get out.

I started seeing people leaving our building and gathering out front and in the distance I saw one of our ISC couples coming up the visitor parking lot to see if Jackie B, the other singel missionary in my building, and I were ok. He threw me a flashlight and told me to get the screwdriver and take the dead lock off. He came up the stair well and between the two of us he got the dead bolt of and I headed out the door with my purse. There is a sense of desperation when you can't get out of your front door and you wonder if there will be another tremor or if things may still fall.

We waited around 4 hours to go back into the building because of aftershocks and to make sure there was no gas leaks. Around 7:30 the logistic leaders of our mission came by to make sure we were all ok. Of course we all had to tell our story.

We headed back to my apartment around 7:30 to wait and see about water, electricity and TV. We wanted to get the news of what had happened. We knew it was big but never thought it was THAT big. We were just amazed that we had survived in these high rise aparments with the magnitude of the quake. Yes, they do follow the building codes down here.

Saturday I was able to get a hold of family, Guatemala missionaries and Guatemalan friends. We had to go to the office and use a line that was not connected to any cell phones, cable phones, or internet phones. Thank god for that phone. We headed back to my apartment Saturday night and the four of us, the couple from the apartment next door, Jackie B, and I stayed in my apartment. We felt better together since we didn't have lights and the building was still swaying. You feel it a lot more the higher up you are. The couple lives on the 9th floor and Jackie B lives on the 8th floor.

Was I scared, I really can't remember all that went through my mind. I knew it was really different than the tremors in Guatemala. I had seen the sites from Haiti. I don't want to do it again, but I felt a peace that I think God gives us when we are alone.

Sunday we got electricity back and I helped Jackie B clean up her apartment. It looked like a gang and gone through with a base ball bat. It was just amazing the things that broke and the things that were left.

Yesterday I got my tv and internet back, so I also have my internet phone. You can call me if you desire after I get home.

By the way we had another pretty good tremor today, Wednesday the 3rd. Mother earth is not finished shifting.

Thanks for your prayers. God's hand was upon me and all of the other missionaries.

Unusual instruments

I have a natural attraction towards any kind of instruments. Here is a list of unusual instruments that has recently caught my interest:

Musical Saw - Playing music from a saw? Seriously? You either hate it or love it.

Handbell - Never heard of one until I saw this video. Sounds beautiful.

Bowed guitar - Sounds like the cello. I might try it one day.

Olympic hype

I've been out all day.

As in 8:30 am to 12:00 am.

I worked from 9:30am to 2:00 pm. Then I hung out with my English classmates in Richmond, which was pretty cool. We had bubble tea, rode a ferris wheel and hung out in the olympic tents. So asian...lol

Okay. It's late and I just wanted to drop a quick update to remember this day :)

1 Corinthians 13 (Planet K version)

If I could speak all the languages of the world
and if I had all the money to give to the poor
but have not love...
It would mean nothing.

If I had all the knowledge and faith to move continents
and if I possessed the skills and talents to attract masses
But if I did not love You...
It would all be in vain.

If I was to be the best member in the church
and attended all the meetings
and spoke great things about Your name
But if I did not love my brethren
It would all go to waste.

Love suffers. Love forgives and forgets.
Love is unconditional. Sincere. From the heart.
Love is patient and kind. It does not provoke anger.
Does not envy. Does not think/do evil.
Love rejoices in all things. Bears all things with joy,
Hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

Regocijaos!

You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken,"
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate";
But you will be called, "My delight is in her,"
And your land, "Married";
For the LORD delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;

And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you.

Isaiah 62:3-5

Alzando manos caidas

Alzando manos caidas,
cuando la situación no da esperanzas
cuando la desesperación entra al alma
e inunde el cuerpo y el pensamiento
y apaga la alabanza.

Pero la fe es un grano de mostaza
que lucha, crece y vence.
Con el amor de Cristo
Sí se puede!
No pierdas aliento.
No temas.
No dejes que el enemigo te robe
el gozo, el amor y la esperanza.
La noche es corta, se acerca el Día.
Alza tus manos caidas y confía nuevamente
En el Autor y Consumador de nuestra fe,
Cristo Jesús.
Amen.

I tend to write poems when I'm sad. Let's say that I've been very sad lately :(

Bendita la hora

Bendita la hora en que te conocí
Bendita la estación en me enamore de Tí
Bendito el segundo, el momento en que entregue a Tí.

Tantos años, pero Tu amor hacia mí sigue siendo
tan nuevo, tan fuerte, tan apasionado...
como aquel primer momento en que nuestras almas se unieron.

Te adoro Señor!
Tu eres mi ser, mi vida, mi todo.


---Inspired after breaking the bread and drinking the cup.
In loving memory of Your glorious death and resurrection.