God's Special Possession

Lately, I have been "Little Miss Traveler". Two weekends ago, I was in Singapore & Hong Kong. Last weekend, I was in Pingtung, Taiwan {South Taiwan}. I unpacked only to repack again. 

We were required to attend a TESOL retreat in Pingtung. But lately I have been feeling empty. Honestly, I felt so tired that I was rooting for a weekend at the dorm rather than going on another trip. We weren't even sure if we were going to make it. All the flights from Kinmen to Taiwan were fully booked. We had to wait on stand-by for 7 hours at the airport. 

As the last flight to Taiwan was taking off & we were ready to go home, the flight attendant yelled out, "There are 5 seats!" {There's 6 of us}. We were deciding who would stay, when she yelled out again, "There's 1 more seat!" I guess we were all going! 

The way we began this trip shows me just how God had everything under control. He knew that I needed to be filled up again. He knew I need to be reminded of His faithfulness. He wanted us to go to this retreat. 

For one of the sessions, we were given time for quiet time alone. God directed me to Exodus 34. A conversation between God & Moses. I separated this story into categories. This is what I needed to be reminded of:

The Lord is{vs.6}:

• The God of compassion
• The God of mercy
• He is slow to anger
• He is filled with unfailing love {never stops}
• He is filled with unfailing faithfulness
• He forgives our iniquities, our sins, & our rebellion
• He is a Jealous God. His name is Jealous. He is jealous about His relationship with me {vs. 14} 

Moses' petitions {...and my prayer}:

• "Please, forgive our iniquity and our sins"
• "Please, travel with us"
• "Claim us as your own special possession"

The Lord promises:

• ...that He has made a covenant with us
• ...that He will perform miracles that the world has never seen
• ... that all the people around us will see the power of the Lord
• ...He will display His power for us

God commands:

• ...us to listen to His commands
• ...be careful not to make a treaty with the people of the world {for if we do, we will follow their evil ways and be trapped}
• ...we must worship NO other gods {that could also apply to the things that brings us pleasure & consumes most of our time}
• ...we must bring the very best for the Lord
• ...we must always have something to offer our God {vs.20}

Moses spent 40 days in God's presence & the result was a radiant countenance. His face was so bright, that the people couldn't look at Him. When we spend time in God's presence, our countenance will also be radiant. People will know that we are different. 

I want to finish with a quote from a friend, Camellia Chan:

"It is better to be burnt out for God than never been lit at all."

God knew why we needed to be in Pingtung this weekend. God is so wise. 

Singapore- 2012

It all started when my teammate Peter mentioned that he was considering joining our friends on a trip to Singapore. I didn't even think it twice and I had less than a week to book my flight. We booked our tickets just 3 days before leaving Taiwan. We purposely got tickets with a long layover in Hong Kong so we can explore H.K. as well. 

Our adventure started on Thursday. I had gone to the airport early in the morning because Kinmen's airport was not selling anymore tickets since they were all booked. So I got to the airport, thinking that I was going to be on stand-by for a while, at 8:00am. As soon as I got to the airport, I got a ticket and in less than an hour I was in Taipei! BTW, I feel like I should tell you what was on my mind before getting to Singapore. I was so nervous. There was an earthquake in Indonesia of 8.9 & also a tsunami alert in many countries, including Singapore. There was also the missile of North Korea that was going to be launched & was going to pass through Indonesia {we all know how that ended!}. I seriously thought I was flying to my doom! 

So, on Friday at 8:00am, we were on a plane heading to Singapore. We got there at around 3:00pm. It was awesome to find out that the primary language in Singapore is English. {Aahh, finally an Asian country that speaks my language!}We headed to our hostel and got ready for the musical WICKED. It was absolutely awesome! It was my first musical & I loved it. We even got to meet Elphaba after the show.  Friday night was to be our only night of sleep! We shared one sink and one shower room and one bathroom for MANY people in the hostel. It was an interesting experience. 

Saturday morning, we headed to Little India {there are many people from India in Singapore}. Once we got there, at the FIRST shop I fell in love with a hot pink sari & I bought it! The ladies from the shop wrapped it around me and I wore  it all day.   For some reason, everyone was staring at me! haha. But I didn't care. I was in cloud nine!  We also got Henna done. There was a young girl named Rina who was so excited we were there & she brought out a small, jeweled "dot thingy" for my forehead. {At this point, I felt SUPER Indian}. She was really kind! One of those unforgettable people. 

Anyways, after that, we walked {for what seemed like weeks} all over Singapore. We were trying to find a curry place where we were suppose to meet Evangeline Koh but we never found it. We didn't have a phone or internet to reach her but luckily for us, she found us {2 hours later!}. She hung out with us for a while and then were off to a tour around the city. We got to see & learn about some of the buildings by the bay area.  At this point, we were starting to fade. We had walked all day! So we ate dinner at, the one & only, Carl's Jr. {I thought of Andrew!haha}. 

Skipping all the minor details, I'll fast-forward to the flyer. The Singapore flyer is the biggest flyer in the world. Once, you are up there you can see all of Singapore {such a small country} and on a clear, sunny day, you can even see Malaysia. The skyline at night is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Period. Nuff said! 

We headed to the airport & took off to Hong Kong at 1:05am. Goodbye Singapore! Once in H.K. we went straight to a bench & slept there for a couple hours so we could function just a little bit! We were so tired! But jyao! We met up with Peter's friend, Trevor, and then we went to the peak. The peak is a mountain overlooking the whole city of H.K. Such a beautiful city. Even though we were only there for a short 8 hours, they were an unforgettable 8hours. We flew back to Taiwan & got here at 4:30pm. We had only an hour to get to the domestic airport, buy tickets and try to get back to Kinmen so that we can start school Monday morning. BTW, we were pushing it! It takes about an hour from the international airport to the domestic airport by bus, so we got a taxi {paid $1,200 for the ride}. Once we got to Songshan Domestic airport we literally ran to the desk to buy tickets! Thankfully, in a period of 6 minutes, we had bought, & boarded the plane & we were on our way back home!

 It was such an intense weekend but it was an unforgettable one. Tyler, Tina, Amber, & Peter made it such an awesome experience. They are the best traveling buddies anyone can ask for. The whole trip, I was reminded of God's faithfulness when keeping His promises. He promised He was going to protect & love me. He promised that if I repented from my sins & departed from them, He was going to prosper me. I think the most important prosperity in my life was spiritually, but I am very blessed with the life He has given me. My God is such an awesome friend, father, protector & guider. I love my life in Him. He gives me these adventures & I wouldn't trade Him for anything in the world. God is good!

Power of the Cross-復活節快樂

This is my second Easter day that I have spent in Kinmen, Taiwan. I miss my home church and spending this special day with family & friends. But I feel extremely honored being able to serve God with brothers & sisters that have such a passion for Jesus. 

"This, the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us, took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross..." 

"Power of the Cross" is the hymn my team chose to sing on Easter morning.  It is such a beautiful song with a powerful message. 

We have been meditating on the importance of Jesus' death. There really was no other way for mankind to enjoy a relationship with God if it wasn't for Jesus' sacrifice. We watched, Passion of the Christ, on Friday and we were reminded of Jesus' sufferings. We wept. He had the power to just come down that cross, to destroy the Roman soldiers, to prove to the Pharisees that he was God! But of course, we all know he chose to suffer & die for us. 

I thank God that Jesus shed his blood for me. It's because of his sacrifice that we are free, that we can enjoy a life of joyfulness. Verse 3 from the hymn, Power of the Cross, goes like this,  "Oh, to see my name written on the wounds, for by your suffering I am free. Death is crushed to death, life is mine to live, won through your selfless love." 

Life is mine to live. What kind of a life? A careless, selfish, sinful life? No. We are called to a life of service. A life of dedication. A life of passion. A life of growing in Christ. Living for God is not the easiest thing to do! But it is through Jesus' blood that we have the strength to carry on. Carrying our cross. Focusing on Jesus.  

Yep, I am convinced that living for Jesus is the hardest thing to do. I have to deny myself and what my flesh wants to allow Christ's image to be seen in me. Deny myself is something I should do every second of everyday day. 

BUT IT'S SOOOOO HARD!!

I mean, I am completely rejecting the things I love and the things that bring me satisfaction so that I can "carry my cross" and follow Jesus. Sometimes, I end up doing the things I know I shouldn't do. Sometimes, I feel so unworthy of living this life that I am tempted to give up.

{One of my favorite moments
of today was to see two
 little sisters praying earnestly
to God. In love
 with him at a young age.
So, encouraging!}

But,I'm telling you:  it is possible! It is worth it! It is rewarding! To be able to live our life for Jesus & to be able to serve him even in our weaknesses. He glorifies himself in us when we trust him, and when we wholeheartedly surrender ourselves to His feet.  And, "We stand FORGIVEN at the cross".

Little girls praying.

 Ephesians 5 talks about living in the light. It says, 

 "¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.^[a] 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them. ⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Pastor Samuel with the four young girls who got baptized!

This chapter basically sums up the life we should be living! God brought me to this chapter today. I really needed to be reminded what God's standards are for me to follow. 

With Helen Cheng!

So, these are some of the things that I learned this weekend. Today on Easter day, we celebrated the baptism of 4 young girls who decided they wanted to carry their cross & follow Jesus. Helen Cheng is one of the young people that go to the NQU Bible Study and that got baptize today! After we celebrated the baptisms, we headed out to the streets of Kinmen to give out gospel tracts to everyone who would accept them! We were all so happy to be able to yell out to the world that Jesus is alive! [call me holyroly- I get so excited that I can be forgiven from my failures!].  

So, this is how I spent 復活節快樂 [Fùhuó jié kuàilè]!

He is risen!

The Journey is not over yet!

A work in progress.

"Jesus will keep you strong until the end so that there will be no wrong in you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again." 1 Corinthians 1:8

Something I love to do on my spare time is draw. I have a roll of paper on my desk, ready for me to sketch when I'm sitting in front of it. But I also have in handy an eraser, because I am no Picasso! 


The other evening as I was sketching [and erasing a ton!]- I was reminded of something true in my life; I am a creation of the most High God. 


And as I go through life, most certainly making mistakes, my life is on the canvas of His hands, and His blood is erasing my imperfections and "re-sketching" me to perfection; only so that I can be like-Christ. 


When we dedicate our lives to the Lord, we think that we will change overnight. That all those temptations and struggles we had before, we will no longer have in our new life with Christ. But the truth is that those issues are still there. Only now, that we have God's grace, we can face our deficiencies and imperfections and let God work on our character.


I know in my own life, each time I fall short of the glory of God, I feel ashamed to come to Him & ask for mercy {time after time/over & over}. I always feel as if though God is rolling His eyes and thinking, "AGAIN!?". 
Maybe we begin to believe that we can't be perfect in Christ. That we don't have what it takes to be complete in Him. Or, maybe we think there's a limit to God's mercy; that He will rip us to little pieces and move on to someone "better". 


But, what a lie Satan has us believing sometimes! Philippians 1:6 says, "God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again."


See, what's going on here, is that God is doing a good work in you. Did you see when he will be finished? It clearly states, that he will be finished when Jesus comes again!


So, whenever you are feeling discouraged or worthless, be reminded that God is not finished with you yet. You are a work in progress. He loves you so much that he refuses to leave you in confusion; he wants you to be like Jesus. Don't get the idea that you can't change. That you do things because "that's your nature". But Jesus has the answer to change our hearts; to heal, comfort, renew our hearts. Only he can understand his masterpiece. 

One of my favorite Max Lucado quotes,

"I want to know how God feels about me when I snap at anything that moves, when my thoughts are gutter-level, when my tongue is sharp enough to slice a rock. How does He feel about me then...? God answered our question before we asked it. So we'd see his answer, he lit the sky with a star. So we'd hear it, he filled the night with a choir; and so we'd believe it, He did what no man had ever dreamed. He became flesh and dwelt among us. He placed His hand on the shoulder of humanity and said, You're something special!. " 
"We are like clay, and you are the potter; your hands made us all." Isaiah 64:8


Keep in mind: Nothing...in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God!

Seasons Change and So Do We...

{Well, this is my first blog post. I've been wanting to start a blog ever since I started my traveling adventures in Asia a year ago. I guess now is the perfect time to start one.}


On December 5, 2010, I was given an opportunity to work in Taiwan as an English teacher. Something that I had never expected to happen. But God in His divine plans knew would. As I sat on that airplane, I remember wondering what Taiwan had in store for me. I really had no idea of how things were going to work out. 


It was a huge transition in my life. I had been working night shift at a hospital for 2 years and I just felt drained. I felt like a Zombie. I was ready for change in my life. 


So this is how the adventure started:


As soon as I heard I was moving to Taiwan, I put in my 2 weeks notice at work. I had been told I was coming by the end of September [2010]. But it was not until December that I was sitting on that plane. Three of the longest months EVER. But as I look back, I think it was a good three months of faith increasing experiences, learning to trust the Lord with my future, and an increase of passion to go out and spread the Gospel. 


I wanted to go to Taiwan because I wanted to obey God's calling. I didn't know how things would be once here but I knew God was opening doors in Asia & closing them for me in California.


After heartbreaking goodbyes & a couple tears, I was finally on the air. Excited to start this adventure. Excited to see how God was going to work things out in my life. And when I finally got to this tiny island, Kinmen, I had the pleasure of meeting young people with a passion [a great love] for the people of Taiwan. These young people whose lives were completely dedicated to Jesus {who lived for & breathe Jesus} were an amazing encouragement in my life. They were an awesome example of Christ's love{I knew I fell short}. 


I was on cloud nine. I was soaking in the culture and loving Kinmen's amazing beauty. 
{Kinmen is an island that belongs to Taiwan but that is in the outskirts of China. On a clear day you can see Xiamen, China.}
I constantly had to pinch myself to see if all this was not just a beautiful dream. 
One of my favorite things God did when I got here was giving me a desire for ministry.The Lord began opening doors for ministry at Kinmen's university, National Quemoy University. It was there that I met many amazing university students that became very important part of my life.


God had given, Bethany Williams, a burden for the university students and after much prayer, a Bible study was started at the university, allowing students to practice speaking/listening English by hearing/discussing the Word of God. 

What an honor to spread the Gospel to these people I now called friends. It was an exciting thing to see how God was touching the hearts of these students and provoking them to have questions. God was there with ALL THE ANSWERS. 


Our Visa-renewal trips:
For winter vacation, King Kar [the company we work for] paid for our visa- renewal trip to the Philippines. 
This trip changed my life. I mean, my outlook on life had already changed drastically when I moved to Kinmen. This trip to the Philippines fuel a passion that was once in my heart but that I no longer thought existed. It was a passion to serve those less fortunate. A passion to dedicate my life to spreading hope, love & faith to those people whose lives were hopeless. 

I suddenly was confronted with the realities of a third world country. 


While we were in Mandaluyong City, we volunteered at a daycare and we "taught" about 200 children whose families lived in poverty. The experience was incredible. The lessons I learned were so valuable. A vision was born. Their tiny hands holding mine, their tiny arms reaching out for mine- spread a love in my heart for those filipino children like a wildfire! 

I never wanted to let go. They were just adorable.

The children saying their goodbyes. One of my favorite moments of my life. 

 Matthew 18:3 says, “And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 When I got back from the Philippines, I had changed. I was different. You cannot see suffering, poverty, hunger and not be moved. There was a bigger passion. 


On our second visa-renewal trip we went to Thailand [2012]. Thailand was also an life changing experience. We got to visit amazing places there. It's so rich in culture and the people are very friendly. This time, I didn't spend much time with children, instead I had the honor of teaching a class of 12th graders. 


A week of getting to know these special group of people. All very different yet all very special. 

While we were in Thailand we had the opportunity of visiting some  of Northern Thailand's mountain schools. Oh, it was the most amazing time getting to know all these children. Seeing their smiles as Johnny and some of the others, played with the children, was priceless. I remember feeling as if time had slowed down and all I could see was happiness all around me. 

While we were in Thailand we go the chance to explore the Golden Triangle, and also to learn about Thailand's past. We ate some very delicious food and also some very interesting food [like GRUBS! eeek]. 

And ACTION!

    We had heard for so long about human trafficking & sex slavery in Thailand but it was until we were there, seeing these little children, that the Lord gave our team a burden to do something to stop slavery. 
We got back from Thailand with a burden. We began to raise awareness in our school about this world problem. Our students were amazed and couldn't believe that there were more than 27 million slaves in our world today. 
We have had 2 fundraisers so far. Johnny & Christina have organized a Swing dance fundraiser, in which, our teachers, friends & students can come and have fun but also learn about slavery and donate for a good cause. All the funds we collect go to destinyrescue.org. [Destiny Rescue is a christian organization that rescues children, women & men in Thailand from Sex slavery. They have safe houses for these victims.]


Not the same girl...
So here I am, after a year & 3 months of living in Asia, I have seen things & learned so much; I am no longer that girl on the plane unsure of her future. 
I am now the girl with a passion & a vision to help better my world, to spread the Gospel, and to bring glory to God. A girl focused on Jesus. A girl working on her relationship with God. A girl struggling but trusting Jesus. A girl desiring to achieve perfection through Jesus. I am no longer confused, scared, ashamed, guilty, unsure, among other things. 
I plan on staying in Kinmen for another year. I'm excited about future adventures with God. Life is so mysterious when you live with God as your  Guider. You never know what exciting adventures God has for you! 
I will soon start studying a midwifery course, and plan on moving  to the Philippines to do an apprenticeship there. 


I've changed- He doesn't.
What has been comforting to me is that God never changes. He remains faithful, loving, trustworthy, & merciful. What an honor to  trust in such a mighty friend, father & lover!


The ultimate answer is Jesus' presence. That sounds sappy, I know. But just wait- when your world is rocked, you don't want philosophy or theology as much as you want the reality of Christ. He was the answer for me♥ M.H