well, well, what do we have here, obviously not 2010...
Welcome 2011!
So today is the fourth day of the new year and I finally have time to sit at one of the new furnishings in my house(the dinner table), and write a reflection of how my time in Vancouver and WC went.
I want to say time flies, but it actually didn't. Everything felt right during my ten days in Vancouver. It was lots of fun catching up with friendships across the border and seeing faces I haven't seen in a while. Spending time with my three other SICs and bringing them around to some of the hot spots of Vancouver was an experience in itself as well. Sometimes I would get sick of being with so and so, I guess being and living with someone for twenty-four hours or more is different than just seeing so and so once a week. I definitely found myself get frustrated over minor circumstances, but thank God for just keeping the peace and being the center of our interactions.
So I did mention in my last post that I wouldn't mind taking in the view God has painted as I endeavored my long Greyhound ride. Yes, God always paints a beautiful view but... the ride was over night so I didn't catch much view of the Mountains, and by the time we arrived in Kamploops, it was already raining. The first few days in Vancouver did consist of a lot of rain. We were smart to have brought our umbrella, well, one of us didn't, but Daiso saved her life. In fact, Daiso brought so much JOY to us! If you know me... I always, always leave with more than I expected going into that store. We went two days in a row too, and on the second day, Christmas day (practically the whole Richmond was opened (guess Asians love to make money, or else they just don't celebrate Christmas a whole lot)). We also bumped into some NEAC faces who were in Vancouver for Christmas-speak of a small world!
Christmas was a quieter one than usual, since we didn't spend it with family, but we did have a nice Christmas Eve service at a friend's church, and had a meal that was on the lighter side! Instant noodles and lots and lots of fruits (we were all not doing well on #2 due to the abundance of carbs and protein consumption).
Okay, so the long awaited WC. Boy do I have lots to say. So I knew when I was registering it took me a while to decide if I wanted to join the Teens or English Adult Category. I knew I would probably get more out of the EA, but Teens is always more enthusiastic and "funner." I had forgotten which one I ended up signing up for until I got my registration package at the hotel, and according to one friend, I had "betrayed my age," since I had signed up for Teens. I thought it was no big deal, I went to the first morning talk and the pastor was interesting (for those of you that went to 1040, he's so like JAESON MAH, but "less Black" as many have said). The speaker was also very hip and stylish for a dad with two young kids. So it wasn't like he had a bad talk or whatever, but throughout it, I just kept feeling that God was telling me to go to the EA side. My friend had also posed this to me: "Are you coming here to have 'fun' or to get something out of it?" The Teens always starts off with break the ice games and meeting people from other places, and that was when it hit me I'm not a teen no more. Yes, games are fun and do make people interact, but I really don't need to play a game in order to meet people. Speaking of which, the guy I met beside me said he was in gr.9, I didn't say how old I was (I wasn't ashamed or anything, it just didn't feel right). Even during Teens program in the afternoon (a more slack, easy going, entertaining & games time for teens), I felt out of place. I just felt like I really would gain more knowledge if I went to the EA side. So guessed what? That night I did attend the EA talk and I liked it! The speaker was older, his English was sometimes hard to understand, but I gained a few important pointers that night and the rest of the talks during the conference.
I just realized that God will go out of his way to make things clear to you if it is His plan for you. I even went to one of the EA symposiums which has a reputation of being boring and just a panel of speakers with a subject to debate on. The one I went to focused on being "single in the (chinese) church." I thought it be about how to go about meeting people God's way and how to approach dating and marriage through a Christ-like perspective, but it was totally different. It was more focused on being single in your late adulthood (late 30s, 40s?), being single and the PROs to being single or if you ever felt lonely/ponder on is there a soul mate for me? sort of thing. So this symposium wasn't very applicable to me but I know that no knowledge is bad knowledge.
I think the best workshop I went to was the DRIME WORKSHOP! I always thought the word 'Drime' was made by combining drama + mime, and it is in an unintended way. The origin of 'drime' actually stands for 'Disciples Ready In Mobile Evangelism,' and started by a young women in Langley, BC in the 90s I believe. She had a dream to spread the word through the use of drimes and look how far she has come. Cool EH? The reason this movement spread so fast, is because as the popularity of drimes grew and more people were interested with this means of evangelizing (seeing that there is no language barrier with body language)it branched out to other countries and this group now does mission trips to Asia, South America, Europe, etc. to set bases each year. Guess where they plan to set up a base next in Canada? EDMONTON!!! I'm so stoked (even if it will take a few years)! Their workshop was really inspiring and I bought one of their DVDs which consisted of three basic drimes. I know from the feedback of our last two drimes, they have gone downhill for lack of a better word, so I hope to learn from this group and improve to present a more meaningful message. Churches can also 'rent' one of their drimers to have a two hours training session for their drime teams. In two hours they can teach three drimes! I was truly amazed since it usually takes like 5-7weeks for us to organize a drime, get people to meet once a week and practice together.
Well that is all I have to say for now, there will definitely be more. Its only the beginning of a great year!
Cheers to 2011.
Sounds like you were intensely busy!
ReplyDelete