Thursday, January 31, 2008
On the road again...
After a wonderful two weeks of training with all the Covenant Players missioning in Europe, we're back on the road with our individual units again. Some exciting things took place this training. It was a joy to see two of my students in my New Leadership class go out as Unit Leaders this mission. One of them was Jo, one of my super-supportive unit members when I was leading the team in Poland a year ago. (She's pictured in the previous entry.) She'll be leading the Midnight Sun team which covers a huge area: Denmark. Sweden, Finland, and a bit of Estonia. She's got tremendous vision for Sweden (which is where the majority of mission is spent) and she's so capacitous. I'm thrilled about this.
It was a just a wonderful training all around. Yes, we were small in numbers, but great in passion, zeal, and a sense of community. There was such a spirit of vulnerability and openness this training.
And now, here's the "Lo-down" on my current unit:
I'm back w/Russ & Alison Whismore on the Paris Unit missioning in Ile-de-France (around Paris), the western portion of France, and the French-speaking region of Belgium (inc. Brussels). Although part of me really wanted a break from working in a foreign language (--I did have far-off hopes of being back in the U.K. with Debbie and Geoffrey), I'm very happy to be back w/Alison and Russ. They've been tremendous examples of Godly leaders to me and I admire them in many ways. It's also a blessing to go back to many of the same hosts I stayed with last tour and to have a chance to cultivate those relationships some more. Familiarity can be a very rare thing in this ministry, so I'm really grateful for it when I do have it in some fashion.
To the above left, you'll see a picture of our unit. (It's my preferred photo but I don't think it's the one that'll go on the website.) You'll also see two photos from our Unit Showcase performance. The first is a picture from DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAIN which is a children's series where we play bears! (Doesn't Alison look adorable?) The second picture is from a play in French called JUST A LITTLE TALK (Just Un Brin de Causette) where I'm playing a teenager struggling through some relationship problems. (That's why I look so down.) I just realized hardly any of you back home have seen any pictures from performances. I'll try to change that!
More surprises...
As if all those awards mentioned in the previous entry weren't enough, my European supervisors, Pam and Bart, surprised me with some more news on Saturday evening. Bobbi added me to the Order of Mission and Ministry. This was an enormous honor. Here's a description of this order (think induction into a hall of fame type thing, except it's more of a hall of faith):
"Conferred upon a person whose consistent application of Christian principles in action through a considerable period of time covering many fields of endeavor and a wide variety of activities, has thoroughly demonstrated a deep understanding of the Christian doctrine-- Love your neighbor as yourself."
The first time I remember hearing about this Order was at my second banquet when my unit leader, Darek, was inducted into the Order. I remember thinking, "What an honor. If there were ever an award I'd actually love to have, it would be this." To me, it was a mark of impact on people's lives. (Darek, for sure, had a great impact on me and many others who toured with him.) It was a mark of becoming a bit more like Jesus. And although I was incredibly touched by the acting award, this hit me even harder. It was a spiritual marker in growth. And I'm aware that alot of the growth came out of being stripped of dreams and I really needed my community around me (as well as my family and friends back home). I haven't "arrived" at where I want to be. I'm nowhere near there. I'm still full of imperfections and I could point out several other people I think would be more worthy of this. But I'm very grateful for this honor. Although the European campus couldn't formally induct me (-- that only happens in California, through Bobbi), they did lay hands on me. And I was a mess by the time I had to share a few words. They got a picture of me with eye makeup running down my cheek! I'll have to get a hold of that photo!
Anyway, thanks to all of you who see more in me than I see in myself sometimes.
As if all those awards mentioned in the previous entry weren't enough, my European supervisors, Pam and Bart, surprised me with some more news on Saturday evening. Bobbi added me to the Order of Mission and Ministry. This was an enormous honor. Here's a description of this order (think induction into a hall of fame type thing, except it's more of a hall of faith):
"Conferred upon a person whose consistent application of Christian principles in action through a considerable period of time covering many fields of endeavor and a wide variety of activities, has thoroughly demonstrated a deep understanding of the Christian doctrine-- Love your neighbor as yourself."
The first time I remember hearing about this Order was at my second banquet when my unit leader, Darek, was inducted into the Order. I remember thinking, "What an honor. If there were ever an award I'd actually love to have, it would be this." To me, it was a mark of impact on people's lives. (Darek, for sure, had a great impact on me and many others who toured with him.) It was a mark of becoming a bit more like Jesus. And although I was incredibly touched by the acting award, this hit me even harder. It was a spiritual marker in growth. And I'm aware that alot of the growth came out of being stripped of dreams and I really needed my community around me (as well as my family and friends back home). I haven't "arrived" at where I want to be. I'm nowhere near there. I'm still full of imperfections and I could point out several other people I think would be more worthy of this. But I'm very grateful for this honor. Although the European campus couldn't formally induct me (-- that only happens in California, through Bobbi), they did lay hands on me. And I was a mess by the time I had to share a few words. They got a picture of me with eye makeup running down my cheek! I'll have to get a hold of that photo!
Anyway, thanks to all of you who see more in me than I see in myself sometimes.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Covenant Players Award Banquet 2008
Last Sunday we had our annual Covenant Players Award Banquet. It's always a really special time of celebrating each other's victories. I guess it was a pretty big year for me. At our Pre-Banquet Dinner which was three nights prior to that, I received medals for 6000 performance credits, 300 roles performed, 75 foreign language roles performed, and an award called "Towards Discipleship" to recognize the cost of discipleship and commitment I've demonstrated. And then at the Banquet, Russ, Alison, and I were given a "Unit Citation" which is quite prestigious. I've never received one in the 8 years I've been in CP. As if all that weren't enough, I was pretty floored by the acting award they blessed me with. They deemed my performance as Mary (mother of Jesus) in a play last summer (ANNOINTED COMMAND) as worthy of the award "Outstanding". This was a huge huge thing I've never even dreamed of receiving -- second only (on our campus) to the "Grand Best" award (which I'm very happy to say was awarded to Russ & Alison)! I'm still pretty shocked when I spot that trophy in my room. I was speechless when I had to go up to say a few words. I literally said "I don't know what I'm doing up here receiving one of these." I still don't know what was so remarkable about my performance when I think back. I know were always our hardest critics but I don't think I ever want to think of my performing as being worthy of such honor. It's a grace that they gave me that and I don't ever want to get a big head.
It's really quite paradoxical. I've often seen as I observed others receive these very prestigious awards that the effect is often humbling rather than puffing up one's ego. Beats me. Explain that. But maybe it's a little bit like God's love. The more we grow in receiving His love, the more we know we're not worthy of it.
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures. The first is one with my former unit members, Jo & Petra (blond). They're very very dear to me still and they've blossomed into fine CPers and very capable and honorable leaders as well. (Petra just finished her commitment and I miss her already.) The other picture is one of Alison & Russ receiving an Honor Award for a Principal of a French school who's been extremely instrumental and champion for CP's work in France's educational system. (Take a look at all those medals on Russ!!!)
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
countdown to departure
in less than 9 hrs, i'll be in the plane again heading back to Germany for our semi-annual Covenant Players training time. as always, time is short and this break has flown by (even though at 3 1/2 wks, it was slightly longer than it's been in the past). it's always such a time of mixed feelings for me. the anticipation of new adventures and reunion with fellow missioners in Europe mixed with the sadness of having to say bye again to my many beloved friends and family here in LA (--at least for the next 6 months). still, i'm blessed to be able return home as often as i do. it really is a luxury for most missionaries.
the past few days have been especially precious as i crammed in the last few opportunities to see friends from many different parts of my life. here's a run-down:
Friday, i saw my friends Joyce Jow and Jennifer Chen Speckman on Friday and though our time together was terribly brief, it was a special time for me, reconnecting w/friends from my UCLA days. The three of us were "little sisters of Alpha Gamma Omega" (a Christian fraternity)-- a very real taste of Christian community at a formative time in my life. Joyce was also my roomate for two years, and as we're both missionaries overseas now, there's so much common ground and the bond remains strong even though we're rarely in communication w/each other.
Saturday was quite full. I had the privilege of going out to lunch w/Christina, who to me, is not just the world music director of Covenant Players, but a very dear friend. Chris is so colorful, I could listen to her recount stories for hours and hours at a time. And her depth and transparency has always been something I've always admired.
Likewise, my old friend Emily (Ko Wang) always blesses me w/her transparency and depth and faithfulness to the Lord and though it's rare that we meet together, it's always a great encouragement to me.
Sunday started w/a quick breakfast w/Daryl, who's been a huge help to me in computer-land and also a great support to many missionaries for many years. Coming back home to CEFC (Chinese Evang. Free Ch) is always a warm homecoming. I was especially thrilled to take part in Kevin McClure's Sun. school on Morality/Ethics. What I really love is that we're not only encouraged to, but expected to really dig deep. We're not spoon-fed there. We have to take a stand and defend it and find our reasons for why we believe what we believe.
Sunday evening was capped off w/dinner at Pho 79 (--yea for Vietnamese food!), Fosselman's ice-cream in Pasadena, and Starbucks with great company. Suzanne, Ricky, Janet Poon, and I were very privileged to spend time w/Greg Go who we love dearly but see only once or twice a year. The conversation was especially thought-provoking and genuine and just plain-old important, I think.
And today (--well, yesterday, technically) I squeezed in one more lunch w/Danette who is one of my dearest friends and a soul sister in many ways.
My last dinner was spent w/my family. Over the years we've just drawn closer and closer to each other. My four-yr-old nephew, Aaron, is always entertainment for us all. And his new sister, Keilah (whose 6 months old) is like a little doll. They're always a great excuse to get together. We "celebrated" my dad's birthday (which was actually one month ago). Really, these "birthday celebrations" are just more excuses for us to get together which is just fine w/me! I was very touched by the prayers they said for me as we ended the night. Aaron's a trip. I think he has potential as a rapper. He went kind of crazy and made up some sort of non-sensical but very rhythmic and very entertaining prayer/dance for me. I enjoyed it very much.
Here are some photos from tonight as Aaron is especially fond of "Photo Booth" (a very cool perk of my new MacBook). Enjoy!
in less than 9 hrs, i'll be in the plane again heading back to Germany for our semi-annual Covenant Players training time. as always, time is short and this break has flown by (even though at 3 1/2 wks, it was slightly longer than it's been in the past). it's always such a time of mixed feelings for me. the anticipation of new adventures and reunion with fellow missioners in Europe mixed with the sadness of having to say bye again to my many beloved friends and family here in LA (--at least for the next 6 months). still, i'm blessed to be able return home as often as i do. it really is a luxury for most missionaries.
the past few days have been especially precious as i crammed in the last few opportunities to see friends from many different parts of my life. here's a run-down:
Friday, i saw my friends Joyce Jow and Jennifer Chen Speckman on Friday and though our time together was terribly brief, it was a special time for me, reconnecting w/friends from my UCLA days. The three of us were "little sisters of Alpha Gamma Omega" (a Christian fraternity)-- a very real taste of Christian community at a formative time in my life. Joyce was also my roomate for two years, and as we're both missionaries overseas now, there's so much common ground and the bond remains strong even though we're rarely in communication w/each other.
Saturday was quite full. I had the privilege of going out to lunch w/Christina, who to me, is not just the world music director of Covenant Players, but a very dear friend. Chris is so colorful, I could listen to her recount stories for hours and hours at a time. And her depth and transparency has always been something I've always admired.
Likewise, my old friend Emily (Ko Wang) always blesses me w/her transparency and depth and faithfulness to the Lord and though it's rare that we meet together, it's always a great encouragement to me.
Sunday started w/a quick breakfast w/Daryl, who's been a huge help to me in computer-land and also a great support to many missionaries for many years. Coming back home to CEFC (Chinese Evang. Free Ch) is always a warm homecoming. I was especially thrilled to take part in Kevin McClure's Sun. school on Morality/Ethics. What I really love is that we're not only encouraged to, but expected to really dig deep. We're not spoon-fed there. We have to take a stand and defend it and find our reasons for why we believe what we believe.
Sunday evening was capped off w/dinner at Pho 79 (--yea for Vietnamese food!), Fosselman's ice-cream in Pasadena, and Starbucks with great company. Suzanne, Ricky, Janet Poon, and I were very privileged to spend time w/Greg Go who we love dearly but see only once or twice a year. The conversation was especially thought-provoking and genuine and just plain-old important, I think.
And today (--well, yesterday, technically) I squeezed in one more lunch w/Danette who is one of my dearest friends and a soul sister in many ways.
My last dinner was spent w/my family. Over the years we've just drawn closer and closer to each other. My four-yr-old nephew, Aaron, is always entertainment for us all. And his new sister, Keilah (whose 6 months old) is like a little doll. They're always a great excuse to get together. We "celebrated" my dad's birthday (which was actually one month ago). Really, these "birthday celebrations" are just more excuses for us to get together which is just fine w/me! I was very touched by the prayers they said for me as we ended the night. Aaron's a trip. I think he has potential as a rapper. He went kind of crazy and made up some sort of non-sensical but very rhythmic and very entertaining prayer/dance for me. I enjoyed it very much.
Here are some photos from tonight as Aaron is especially fond of "Photo Booth" (a very cool perk of my new MacBook). Enjoy!
Saturday, January 05, 2008
a day in my dog's life...
"why am i in this cold horrible place waiting and waiting?... why is amy putting me on this cold metal table? ouch! what is she doing??? why is that man sticking something in there?!??? oww!!! oooowwwww!!! what are they doing to my ear now? oh-ow!!! who the heck does she think she is, lifting up my lip to look in my mouth? and why is she making a horrible face? leave me alone! you leave my tummy alone! i've had about enough of this! take me down, amy." (whimper, whimper, cry, cry) "i wanna go home" (whimper, whimper, cry, cry)
"are we done yet? why are we still here?"... "where are they sending me now???..."
5 minutes later) "where were you, amy? why did you leave me w/them? they stuck a needle in me-- twice. i wanna go home. can we just go home, now?"
back in the car with Bonnie while Amy's still in there for a long long time) "let me go home!" (whimper, whimper, cry, cry) "bonnie, i wanna go home. please take me home. please take me home. i wanna get out of here. i want to be free to run around again. i want to be back in our warm home with my warm blankets." (a long long time later) "it's about time, amy! please, let's go." (whimper, whimper, cry, cry all the way home)
in case it wasn't clear, i had to take my poor dog, Boldy/Bobo/Baby* to the vet yesterday and i'm pretty sure it was quite a traumatic experience for him. shame on us for not taking him in for a check-up in the last 8 years we've had him. i felt so horrible -- horribly guilty for my negligence and just really really bad for what he had to go through. can you imagine not having a language you can communicate in? (i guess i have a tiny bit of an idea as a missionary in countries overseas.) but really, imagine for a second, going through a physical without any explanation-- at least not in anyway you could understand. i'd be so terrified and traumatized.
and that's not the end of it. turns out my poor dog has an extremely bad tooth/mouth infection so the shots were penicillin shots and he's now on antibiotics. he'll need a serious dental cleaning and tooth extraction(s) in the next few weeks. imagine how terrifying that's going to be. poor dog. he's getting old. poor us. the cleaning/anesthesia is going to cost $240 and the extraction will be another $150-200. turns out he has a heart murmur too (from a valve that's not closing properly). not much we can do w/that. just hope and pray it doesn't get worse.
* I originally named him "Baby" because he was so innocent and trusting and sweet when I found him as a stray. My family could never get themselves to call him "Baby" (especially if you're out in public walking down the street) so they came up w/various names. My older sis still calls him "rat dog" or "bat dog". My dad decided to rename him "Boldy" (--I'll leave out the story to that one for now) and that's officially what they registered him as after I left for Covenant Players 8years ago. However, they really call him "Bobo" or "Bo". I don't think he actually knows his name-- he just responds to the tone.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Last blog of the year... (Yeah, I know it says January 1st, 2008 but it's actually still December 31st, 2007 here in L.A. It's now 9:03pm)
Sorry I haven't updated this blog for the last two months. It's been hecka busy and my Mac wasn't working so that didn't really help things either. With Bonnie and Daryl's help yesterday, I finally settled on a MacBook yesterday. The choice between the MacBook and MacBook Pro was quite a grueling one for me -- a battle between "would likes" and "it would be really helpful..." versus what was really essential. in the end, i went w/the MacBook. i guess my mentality as a missionary has affected me in a lot of ways and i felt guilty enough as it was for spending so much money.
Anyway, at the moment, I'm not working off of it. I'm on my dad's desktop so there will be no pictures at this time.
Here's a quick recap of the last few months of mission:
1)Mission Area: "Paris Unit" -- Ile de France, Western portion of France, and French-speaking Belgium (primarily Brussels).
2)Tour Dates: mid-August to mid-December 2006
3)Team leaders: Russ & Alison Whismore (a wonderful wonderful couple, long-time CP-ers who've missioned in France for about 15 years)
4)Ministry Highlights: really enjoyable & humorous performances at nursing homes (not always a favorite of most CP-ers); being prayed over as a team and individually at a church we were serving in Paris; God's faithfulness in enabling me to learn loads of French plays; performing a fun Thanksgiving play in English at an International church in Brussels; working w/an on-fire youth group; hearing a woman being delivered of demons (I was out on the patio as a small team of pastors and their wives were praying for her inside a house); meeting numerous kind, loving, and very warm hosts.
5)Personal Highlights: one-on-one time w/God while staying at a Catholic community (like a convent) called "Verbe de Vie" in Waterloo (Belgium) and what came out of that time-- a newfound hunger for God's Word and His affirmation that "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." (Ps. 126:5-6)
6)Mission Word: "DIVE". It was a real challenge from the Lord for me to just completely immerse myself in Him, in the people He placed me with, in the country He placed me in (despite my own desires/burdens). Risk -- when you don't feel completely prepared. That's where Faith gets kicked up a notch. Trust the Lord to come through for you.
There you have it. My year-end summary of these past few months of missioning in Europe. At some point before I go back to Europe, I promise a blog on what I've been doing since I've been back in L.A.
Happy New Year everyone! God bless!
Sorry I haven't updated this blog for the last two months. It's been hecka busy and my Mac wasn't working so that didn't really help things either. With Bonnie and Daryl's help yesterday, I finally settled on a MacBook yesterday. The choice between the MacBook and MacBook Pro was quite a grueling one for me -- a battle between "would likes" and "it would be really helpful..." versus what was really essential. in the end, i went w/the MacBook. i guess my mentality as a missionary has affected me in a lot of ways and i felt guilty enough as it was for spending so much money.
Anyway, at the moment, I'm not working off of it. I'm on my dad's desktop so there will be no pictures at this time.
Here's a quick recap of the last few months of mission:
1)Mission Area: "Paris Unit" -- Ile de France, Western portion of France, and French-speaking Belgium (primarily Brussels).
2)Tour Dates: mid-August to mid-December 2006
3)Team leaders: Russ & Alison Whismore (a wonderful wonderful couple, long-time CP-ers who've missioned in France for about 15 years)
4)Ministry Highlights: really enjoyable & humorous performances at nursing homes (not always a favorite of most CP-ers); being prayed over as a team and individually at a church we were serving in Paris; God's faithfulness in enabling me to learn loads of French plays; performing a fun Thanksgiving play in English at an International church in Brussels; working w/an on-fire youth group; hearing a woman being delivered of demons (I was out on the patio as a small team of pastors and their wives were praying for her inside a house); meeting numerous kind, loving, and very warm hosts.
5)Personal Highlights: one-on-one time w/God while staying at a Catholic community (like a convent) called "Verbe de Vie" in Waterloo (Belgium) and what came out of that time-- a newfound hunger for God's Word and His affirmation that "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." (Ps. 126:5-6)
6)Mission Word: "DIVE". It was a real challenge from the Lord for me to just completely immerse myself in Him, in the people He placed me with, in the country He placed me in (despite my own desires/burdens). Risk -- when you don't feel completely prepared. That's where Faith gets kicked up a notch. Trust the Lord to come through for you.
There you have it. My year-end summary of these past few months of missioning in Europe. At some point before I go back to Europe, I promise a blog on what I've been doing since I've been back in L.A.
Happy New Year everyone! God bless!
