Tuesday, October 24, 2006
"GREATER WORKS REVIVAL WEEKEND" in Barcelona, Spain
We had an incredible weekend with a church called Holy Ghost Global Harvest. Most of the congregation comes from Africa (80% from Nigeria). We stayed w/two really kind-hearted brothers (Billy and Joel) who did a very good job of taking care of us despite being a bit mystified in their perception of women. :)
This was the third African church we've served at and though each experience has been unique, there is certainly at least one similarity that ties them together-- they really know how to celebrate and rejoice in the Lord. There's so much to learn from Christians all over the world and the different cultures they come from. For the African Christians, claiming God's power/victory is a huge focus. And they are so fervent in their prayer and worship. The service went from 11am- nearly 4 pm! The other African churches we served in were Bride of Christ Fellowship in Madrid last week and Heaven On Earth Prayer Ministries in Leganes (near Madrid). Oh, that one was a pretty wild experience too. We drove 10 hrs from Toulouse, France that day and performed at 2:00am as part of an all-night prayer/worship service!
Last week we were also at a Filipino church (New Life Fellowship, Madrid) after serving in the African church. That was wonderful too. There, I felt the focus was a very fervent desire to just see the Lord and to say thank you. I felt there was such a wonderful spirit of sincerity and humility there. In some ways, I felt very much at home there. There are definitely some similarities between different Asian ethnic groups. (I thought of you, Ricky.)
We also had the opportunity to work w/an international church (Mountainview Int'l Ch) earlier this month in Spain. Here, I was touched by the efforts people go thru to find their way in another country/culture. While most of them were at that church to have a chance to worship in their native language, most of them were still taking huge efforts to reach out to the community.
Ah! We also had a chance to work with the NATO Chaplaincy two weekends ago and that was such a special time. How many people can say they've been able to minister to men and women who have a very real part in keeping peace throughout the world-- literally? By the way, the Commanding Officer of NATO's Navy division-- a woman (!) was Julie's host. Cool, huh? And they really ministered to us too. We had a wonderful time of fellowship.
But back to the Revival Weekend... the guest speaker was James Fleming (originally from Mississippi, now living in Stuttgart, Germany) and both he and the pastor (Jomah Woiwar) were incredible men of God-- so full of the Spirit. Valerie, Julie, and I were really ministered to as well and yes, I do feel revived. I am so inspired. It was wonderful to receive a fresh touch from the Lord, and fresh fire was definitely there. The challenge now is to keep that fervor in our everyday lives.
To that end, I picked up a book at our host home, "The Heavenly Man" and once again, I am extremely inspired. This is the story of Brother Yun in China and the hardships he endured for the sake of the Gospel. But instead of focusing on his suffering, he shares so much about joy in the Lord and there is such an undividedness in his ardor for the Lord and for seeing the Gospel spread to the ends of the earth. I couldn't even get through the first chapter without crying because I was so touched. This is my heritage.
We had an incredible weekend with a church called Holy Ghost Global Harvest. Most of the congregation comes from Africa (80% from Nigeria). We stayed w/two really kind-hearted brothers (Billy and Joel) who did a very good job of taking care of us despite being a bit mystified in their perception of women. :)
This was the third African church we've served at and though each experience has been unique, there is certainly at least one similarity that ties them together-- they really know how to celebrate and rejoice in the Lord. There's so much to learn from Christians all over the world and the different cultures they come from. For the African Christians, claiming God's power/victory is a huge focus. And they are so fervent in their prayer and worship. The service went from 11am- nearly 4 pm! The other African churches we served in were Bride of Christ Fellowship in Madrid last week and Heaven On Earth Prayer Ministries in Leganes (near Madrid). Oh, that one was a pretty wild experience too. We drove 10 hrs from Toulouse, France that day and performed at 2:00am as part of an all-night prayer/worship service!
Last week we were also at a Filipino church (New Life Fellowship, Madrid) after serving in the African church. That was wonderful too. There, I felt the focus was a very fervent desire to just see the Lord and to say thank you. I felt there was such a wonderful spirit of sincerity and humility there. In some ways, I felt very much at home there. There are definitely some similarities between different Asian ethnic groups. (I thought of you, Ricky.)
We also had the opportunity to work w/an international church (Mountainview Int'l Ch) earlier this month in Spain. Here, I was touched by the efforts people go thru to find their way in another country/culture. While most of them were at that church to have a chance to worship in their native language, most of them were still taking huge efforts to reach out to the community.
Ah! We also had a chance to work with the NATO Chaplaincy two weekends ago and that was such a special time. How many people can say they've been able to minister to men and women who have a very real part in keeping peace throughout the world-- literally? By the way, the Commanding Officer of NATO's Navy division-- a woman (!) was Julie's host. Cool, huh? And they really ministered to us too. We had a wonderful time of fellowship.
But back to the Revival Weekend... the guest speaker was James Fleming (originally from Mississippi, now living in Stuttgart, Germany) and both he and the pastor (Jomah Woiwar) were incredible men of God-- so full of the Spirit. Valerie, Julie, and I were really ministered to as well and yes, I do feel revived. I am so inspired. It was wonderful to receive a fresh touch from the Lord, and fresh fire was definitely there. The challenge now is to keep that fervor in our everyday lives.
To that end, I picked up a book at our host home, "The Heavenly Man" and once again, I am extremely inspired. This is the story of Brother Yun in China and the hardships he endured for the sake of the Gospel. But instead of focusing on his suffering, he shares so much about joy in the Lord and there is such an undividedness in his ardor for the Lord and for seeing the Gospel spread to the ends of the earth. I couldn't even get through the first chapter without crying because I was so touched. This is my heritage.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
"the devil wears prada"...
yeah. thought that would get your attention. actually, it's just the name of a movie i went to go see in madrid today. i really liked it. first good movie i've seen in a while that didn't have foul language ever 2 minutes. it had that actress Anne Hathaway who was in "Princess Diaries". i really like her. and Meryl Streep was brilliant in it.
i took the train/metro on my own today to meet my teammates in the city. that was pretty brave of me, i thought! i don't think i've ever used public transport on my own. i've always had someone w/me when I've had to use it cuz it's kinda scary. oh wait. i did use it once on my own to get from one side of poland to the other to catch my plane. but still, i don't really know my way around and i don't speak the language here. (where's bonnie when i need her? speaking of bonbon, it's her birthday tomorrow! actually over here in spain, it's already the 12th..12:23am..but i guess it's still not her birthday since she wasn't born on this side of the world.)
it was a nice day. and i just got off of skype w/my big sis. that was nice. i miss my little nephew. it's nice that i can still be part of his life a bit thru skype. (skype should start paying me for being their PR person.)
i should go. still got some work to do...actually side work. in addition to my crazy busy life as a Covenant Player, i took on a proofing project for a translation of a really cool Polish photography project/book that will be published in the winter. more on that some other time.
ah. i have a prayer request for those of you Christians reading...pray for my skin. it's really bad right now. some of you know that my sisters and i (--courtesy of dad--) have eczema and all kinds of skin sensitivities that aren't always so easy to diagnose. anyway, it's been pretty bad for me this tour. i don't know if it's the water or the climate or my skin products or what, but my skin is very unhappy right now. it's been really red and dry and raw and peeling on the left side of my jaw, my neck, my forehead, and above my lip. that just sounds gross, huh? well, it is. and it's very uncomfortable and i've spent tons--ok, not tons but easily over 100 Euros this tour on special skin creams/treatments to deal with it and it's still horrible. ok. i shall stop before the sharing of my prayer request morphs into grumbling, complaining, and whining.
plus, i've gotta get back to this proofing project. good night!
yeah. thought that would get your attention. actually, it's just the name of a movie i went to go see in madrid today. i really liked it. first good movie i've seen in a while that didn't have foul language ever 2 minutes. it had that actress Anne Hathaway who was in "Princess Diaries". i really like her. and Meryl Streep was brilliant in it.
i took the train/metro on my own today to meet my teammates in the city. that was pretty brave of me, i thought! i don't think i've ever used public transport on my own. i've always had someone w/me when I've had to use it cuz it's kinda scary. oh wait. i did use it once on my own to get from one side of poland to the other to catch my plane. but still, i don't really know my way around and i don't speak the language here. (where's bonnie when i need her? speaking of bonbon, it's her birthday tomorrow! actually over here in spain, it's already the 12th..12:23am..but i guess it's still not her birthday since she wasn't born on this side of the world.)
it was a nice day. and i just got off of skype w/my big sis. that was nice. i miss my little nephew. it's nice that i can still be part of his life a bit thru skype. (skype should start paying me for being their PR person.)
i should go. still got some work to do...actually side work. in addition to my crazy busy life as a Covenant Player, i took on a proofing project for a translation of a really cool Polish photography project/book that will be published in the winter. more on that some other time.
ah. i have a prayer request for those of you Christians reading...pray for my skin. it's really bad right now. some of you know that my sisters and i (--courtesy of dad--) have eczema and all kinds of skin sensitivities that aren't always so easy to diagnose. anyway, it's been pretty bad for me this tour. i don't know if it's the water or the climate or my skin products or what, but my skin is very unhappy right now. it's been really red and dry and raw and peeling on the left side of my jaw, my neck, my forehead, and above my lip. that just sounds gross, huh? well, it is. and it's very uncomfortable and i've spent tons--ok, not tons but easily over 100 Euros this tour on special skin creams/treatments to deal with it and it's still horrible. ok. i shall stop before the sharing of my prayer request morphs into grumbling, complaining, and whining.
plus, i've gotta get back to this proofing project. good night!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
smiling in spain...
whoo hoo! yet another new country for me this tour: SPAIN!!! i like it here. actually, it reminds me a bit of L.A.-- the warm climate, this outdoor plaza we visited, and all the wonderful Hispanic people. it all made me feel very much at home. :)
we drove for about 10hrs on friday (not counting stops). we started our journey in southern France at 8am and arrived in Madrid at 7pm. we got lost a bit before finding the hotel we were being put up in for that night (--a nice change). and then we got to the African church we were performing at for an all-night worship/prayer vigil they hold the last Friday-Saturday of each month. they started at midnight and we performed at 2am! now normally that would not be that bad for me (for those of you who know my natural nocturnal tendencies) but after such an exhausting trip, it was a real test of stamina/strength/concentration. thank God we have His power and strength and don't need to rely on our own! it was a great experience and they were so appreciative that they took up another offering in addition to the flat honorarium they had already given us. their offering (from a group of 80 people) came out to 450 Euro! We were so blessed by that.
we always see incredible miracles and acts of generosity/grace during this time-- it's our "Miracle Missions Week". a time we have each mission where we set aside a larger portion of the donations that come in from performances to help raise funds for retreat/training time.
today we performed in English for an international church and it's just been really nice to work in English again. i enjoy talking w/people afterwards and you don't have the awkwardness of the language barrier. plus, i just love being in really international environments and seeing how people integrate their original cultures with a second, third, or fourth culture. i loved seeing internationally mixed marriages and listening to the kids who can flip back and forth from one language to another without any problem. it's really cool to watch.
and working in these environments always gives me a greater appreciation for the blessing of my own bi-cultural upbringing. i love that mom and dad insisted that we go to chinese school and kept the language alive in our house. and though my sisters and i are not fluent and we have a funny mix of Chinese and English back home ("Chenglish"), i'm very grateful for the little that we do know. language and culture are so closely tied together. i suppose growing up bi-culturally has always made it easier for me to adjust to a whole array of cultures as a missionary.
anyway, i'm blabbing now and i really should go. ah! one last bit of wonderful news: i've already booked some programs in Poland for next mission-- even for May-- which was a wonderful encouragement to me. (while missioning in southern France, Switzerland, and Spain, i'm still doing PR work for Poland as we expect to reopen a team there next mission.) ok. now i'm really signing off! :)
whoo hoo! yet another new country for me this tour: SPAIN!!! i like it here. actually, it reminds me a bit of L.A.-- the warm climate, this outdoor plaza we visited, and all the wonderful Hispanic people. it all made me feel very much at home. :)
we drove for about 10hrs on friday (not counting stops). we started our journey in southern France at 8am and arrived in Madrid at 7pm. we got lost a bit before finding the hotel we were being put up in for that night (--a nice change). and then we got to the African church we were performing at for an all-night worship/prayer vigil they hold the last Friday-Saturday of each month. they started at midnight and we performed at 2am! now normally that would not be that bad for me (for those of you who know my natural nocturnal tendencies) but after such an exhausting trip, it was a real test of stamina/strength/concentration. thank God we have His power and strength and don't need to rely on our own! it was a great experience and they were so appreciative that they took up another offering in addition to the flat honorarium they had already given us. their offering (from a group of 80 people) came out to 450 Euro! We were so blessed by that.
we always see incredible miracles and acts of generosity/grace during this time-- it's our "Miracle Missions Week". a time we have each mission where we set aside a larger portion of the donations that come in from performances to help raise funds for retreat/training time.
today we performed in English for an international church and it's just been really nice to work in English again. i enjoy talking w/people afterwards and you don't have the awkwardness of the language barrier. plus, i just love being in really international environments and seeing how people integrate their original cultures with a second, third, or fourth culture. i loved seeing internationally mixed marriages and listening to the kids who can flip back and forth from one language to another without any problem. it's really cool to watch.
and working in these environments always gives me a greater appreciation for the blessing of my own bi-cultural upbringing. i love that mom and dad insisted that we go to chinese school and kept the language alive in our house. and though my sisters and i are not fluent and we have a funny mix of Chinese and English back home ("Chenglish"), i'm very grateful for the little that we do know. language and culture are so closely tied together. i suppose growing up bi-culturally has always made it easier for me to adjust to a whole array of cultures as a missionary.
anyway, i'm blabbing now and i really should go. ah! one last bit of wonderful news: i've already booked some programs in Poland for next mission-- even for May-- which was a wonderful encouragement to me. (while missioning in southern France, Switzerland, and Spain, i'm still doing PR work for Poland as we expect to reopen a team there next mission.) ok. now i'm really signing off! :)
