Answers

It's been very interesting to see how God's been answering things I've been praying about in the past week. Okay--I'll admit it--I'm one of the worst people to ask to pray for things. Usually when I hear a prayer request, I say a quick prayer for the person so that I've "done my task required" but I honestly do it half-heartedly (sorry!).

Well I've been praying all week for the jobless to get interviews and that's what He's been doing for my friends. I praise God becuase I really did pray for Andrew to get a decent job this week! I know it's not about me...it wasn't me that got him that job...but maybe I could've been a better supportive brother in doing what I could and praying is about all I could do.

I've been praying for Robert's dad all week too and praise God that things look pretty clear. It looks as if the chemo has been successful!!! God keep him healthy!

There have been discouragements about the no pastor issue at CPC and it was really sad for me to feel them but it worse to hear them from others. God is so good though because of the prospect of a potential pastor coming on board at CPC soon. I've been praying for that lately too.

There have been other things too but I won't get into details about it all. God is so ready to pour out His blessings on us and that is just so exciting!!! Hmmm..what else to pray for?! We definitely need new and younger leaders and new musicians!!! :P

On another note, today was the first day for a few new leaders in DVBS and I'm glad to have you all on board. I really pray that you guys will become better friends and that everyone will be plugged into the body with each other. I have a real big heart for this one youth who hasn't been plugged into many of our youth and it breaks my heart seeing that person living life like a lonely soldier. I pray that no one has to live life that way....because we're called to be a body and to find strength in each other. Man, I can't believe DVBS is almost over...You guys are great haha!!! Keep up the great work! :)

We also watched episode 2 of Angel Wars today and man it was SO GOOD! Daniel said that they can't watch it at South E. Free becuase it's too violent but really, this cartoon is WAY better than Veggie Tales....more violent..haha...well it's not that bad...it's just a cartoon. :P I mean come on...there was fighting in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and that's a Christian allegory!! I don't think we should limit ourselves by only watching Veggie Tales all the time at church.....:P

Yeet Hey Ah!!!

Mmmmm...oh baby, I love the taste of fresh pineapple!!! Too bad it's full of what asians call "hot air".....and no, that's not gas for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about! If it wasn't for this "hot air," I'd eat endless pineapple! :)

Today at DVBS, we went to Let's Play and let me tell you the place has gotten worse there! They used to be awesome but the ball lounging area is now gone and clossed off, the four square is gone and so are the basketball nets and this makes the whole place smaller. The staff was actually not as friendly as they could've been and the food was still a bit slow....but they've always been that way haven't they?!?! Still, things went by really fast today...especially with the game of "leader tag." Poor Sunny had a fever though...what a trooper.....:)

I had a great talk with Auntie Anita today about topics ranging from ministry and relationships and a lot of other things. I hope Grace makes the choice to become a YAC leader as her mom is very understanding and supportive of it. Looking back from when they were all kids, who'd a thought that some of these would be considering joining YAC leadership?!?! I just pray for them all to make the right choice for them...whatever that may be. I have a feeling at least 2 people might say no to the invitation...but if that's in God's will, that's still the right thing. I have a feeling at least 2 will say yes. The other two, I have no idea but I'm hoping for the "yes." :)

We picked up our new car today and boy do I love the smell of a new car. We have been very faithful to Hondas in this family so I figure when I buy a new car, it should be a Honda as well. I love it! I just hope I will be satisfied driving the old car of ours....heck, I hope I will get lots of opportunities to drive it!!!! :P


Well tommorrow is the Amazing Race so I hope to see you all there! It starts at 6:30pm. Be prpared to get some exercise!!! :) I was going to make it like the reality show but to simplify things, the game has been altered to one giant task full of riddles.....:P That's all for the clues I'll give....and remember your change (nickels, dimes, and quarters), or else you need to bring your fully charged cell phone....:)

Reality Sinks In

So it's been a confusing week. Honestly, the last week has been so frustrating for me and it's funny because Martin talked about how life can be like this at YAC last week. There is so much noise all around us. There's what God tells us, what we tell ourselves, the voices of the world and other noises we hear when we journey in life.

I wish information didn't circulate so easily. It's not that I'm a private person...haha...far from! I love telling everyone what's on my mind any given moment! However, sometimes the less people around me know about things, the easier it is for me to make a decision. There's just so many people pulling me in different directions. One thing I remember is that I only need to take information in account when it's from a CREDIBLE source. Also, though I take into account all that is spoken, I must remember that it is ME/I/KINGSTON that makes the final decision. It's my life; I'll have to deal with the consequences of my decisions. Still, I'm loving every moment of all of this I'm frustrated with. I'm really showing my true colours to myself. I think I'm a bigger coward than I thought. I think I don't honestly know what it is to be a true man....(though I'm learning!!!). Please be patient with me--I'm a work in progress!!! :)

Super Trooper feeling Grey.....METALLIC GREY!!!

Today was SUPER FUN at Riley Park but let me tell you, I was EXHAUSTED today. Everything about me is tired.....but then aren't we all just super tired? What makes me any different than anyone else? I want to ask for help but how can I ask for help from someone who's already drained as much as I am? :P

GOOD NEWS ALERT: As of the end of the week, we will have a brand new 2006 4 door Honda Civic (in metallic grey)!!!! My bro said I can start driving our old car probably Saturday....I'm scared but supe excited!!!!! :) Thank You JESUS!!!! :)

So since my blog is about Runaways I guess I should mention that I picked up the latest issue and they killed off a character from the cast and this was quite a good issue. I won't say who the character is since a lot of my closest CPC friends follow this series with me. All I can say is I was deeply moved!! I can't believe this series has been out for 3 years now...crazy!!! And I just picked it up last year too! :P I love Runaways!!!!!!

Neglect part 2

I know I just blogged on Friday, but I feel like I've been neglecting blogging for so long. I've just been busy.

The wedding was awesome on Saturday. Congrats to AC and Flora....I seriously had a blast (despite the hot weather!).

Sunday was Joshua's 1st birthday party and even though it rained hard and we were all hiding under a rain filled tarp with freezing water dripping down my arm and into my armpit, I'm glad we did it together as a family! Good times and good memories! :)

Today: I can tell I am getting a bit crankier these days. At least I'm not taking it out on the kids. Sorry if you all thing I'm just a bit of a pain to be with right now...please bare with me! :)

It was also Tim Ng's last day in Cowtown with us so I wish you a safe trip back to Dallas, TX. It was fun playing pool today. I wish bowling worked out though haha.....man, I'm itching for some 10 pin baby!!! :P

Continuing the Chain

Gracious God,

Have Your hand upon James and may he find comfort in you during this time on need. Father you are the God of restoration and so we pray you would restore James completely in the name of Jesus. You are the maker of all things and we know that everything that happens in this world must submit to You and so we pray God that You would heal and restore your faithful servant James Chan. God you are so Holy and worthy of all praise. Help James and His family duirng this time. Tony said maybe things just haven't been happening for awhile and that we're due for a miracle. Let there be a miracle Lord. Thank you.

In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Neglect

Sorry blog for neglecting you; it's been quite busy for me lately! :)

It's cool reading about everyone making efforts to become healthier. My prayer is that we can all have a healthier lifestyle. Diets and attempts to lose weight fail, but if we encorporate healthy decision making in everyday life, perhaps we can live as healthy people for the long run.

The summer is really bad for health for me because I actaully eat worse because at DVBS, lunch is provided and I am no longer as in control of what food I partake in. Also, the trips to the ice cream places have been increasing as of late so I actually get worse in the summer.

Looks like I'll have to wait until DVBS is over to become healthier. I hear of plans to buy another car for this family...maybe used. This will be for me to get to Marion Carson in the upcoming school year and I'm hoping to drive myself to the gym or something after school to get healthy. We'll see what happens though. God, I hope you can get this car for me.....:)

I Honestly Had No Idea

Today's trip to The Adventure Zone with the DVBS kids was super fun! I'm tired...but I just had to blog about it before hitting the sack. The highlight of the day was the conversations we oldies had with the youth about who they hang out with. I was quite shocked to find out that a lot of them hang out with each other without us even knowing. Some of the kiddies hang out before YAC (like Jiffany and Tanya) and hey check out this group that went to The Stampede together yesterday: Leon, Livy, Priscilla, Joey and Nathan Banh! Crazy!!! I'm glad you guys are hanging out and I pray for the friendships to grow stronger amongst you brothers and sisters. Now...if only Nathan Banh came back to YAC...man I have that guy on my heart.....

Had some Broken Plate food action with Crys, Geo, Karen and Tim Ng today and as usual, the food was AWESOME! Made a dent to the plastic today....but it was well worth it! Flaming Cheese, Mousaka, lamb, chicken, steak, rice, baby corn, carrots, bean sprouts and Tzaziki sauce baby!!! And of course, to top off the night, we had some Marble Slab....we even saw Brian Yan and wife--ee Michelle there too!! :) Mmmmm...two times in a week!!! I love having Marble Slab by my house!!! :)

Well that's it for tonight. I'm heading off! See ya'll at YAC!

PAYCE!!!

P.S. How ironic...I actually got the closing "payce" from Runaways and hence, my blog has become a Runaways themed blog...man, have I forgot to mention how much I love this title? One more week until we find out with one of our merry heroes bites the dust! Please don't let it be Nico or Molly! :)

Okay...now I can say it for real:

PAYCE!!!

Hooray for Change! :)

Welcome to the Runaways Street Team!!! I defnitely felt a need for change and after seeing Alicia's new layout, I finally had the inspiration I needed to do something about the longing I had! :)

I hope this doesn't feel like my new layout is forcing you to check out what the heck Runaways are...but then again, maybe I am trying to promote the book. :) It's the only graphic novel EVER recommended in the top 10 American Young Adult Library Services Association. Sweetness....I can't wait to be a teacher and promote this series to my students! :)

This is my favorite series right now....I love it more than X-Men!!! :) ...well, I love the cocept the best...the characters...maybe X-Men still rank #1 :)....However, this series is fresh, exciting and definitely one of the best kept secrets out there right now!

So spread the word...the Street Team is here to stay baby!! :) Be checkin' us out! :)

Return of the Mack!!

...well not exactly...but it was the return of William and Benny this week at DVBS. Haven't seen William since 2002 and Benny since 2000 or 2001!! Wow, is Benny tall now! And and as for William...he's still short as ever!!! :)

I was so excited at first that I was going to call Crystal on Monday morning but I didn't want to wake her up so I didn't end up doing that. However, Crys stopped by MOnday morning and I just pointed at the kids as she walked in and said, "You were right--it is them!!!" Haha...I had made a prediction that they would return because I received some registrations with Chinese names on them and I had no idea who they were. They were late registrants so I had to "pre-approve them" as our program is technically full right now. All I knew at the time was that one of the kid's names was Benny and that both had been here before...so hence the precition!! :)

Crystal brought her photo album today to show pictures to William of all of us when he was younger as he doesn't remember any of us! Man, what a bad memory that kid has. The only thing that could've made the whole event much cooler was if Philip came to church to see the kid....well guess what?!?! He stopped by today to pick Karen up!! You should've seen how happy Phil was to see this kid...haha....what a reunion! :)

Words from Plumb

I can’t do this
I can’t do this
I can’t do this by myself
I can’t do this
I can’t do this
Oh God I need Your help

P-Up-His-Nose

WANTED: Mandarin speaking Volunteers needed for DVBS. Only requirement is that you speak Mandarin! COME ONE; COME ALL!!!

Hmmm so DVBS stories to tell:

1) Some kid got a pea stuck up his nose. He or a friend inserted it up there. It started to bleed but he didn't tell anyone what was wrong for two hours. AD (Auntie Daisy) successfully fishes out for it. He was warned not to put anything up there again.

2) The same kid with the pea up his nose turned on his only friend at DVBS today. The friend is a cute kid and he ended up befriending "Ho-Ho" and they were going to play chess. Pea-up-his-nose kid knocks all the pieces over while they two friends play chess. He tells his now "ex-friend" that his mom doesn't want to pick up cute kid anymore and only pea-up-his-nose kid.

3) The kids were building machines out of K'nex and had to present their machine to the class at Spaceport. One of the groups builds a small snowplow device to which Jackie (this is one of the eldest kids who likes to make himself feel better by either bringing his ego up or deflating other people's egos), publically asks, "why is your device so small?" He probably asks this because his model is bigger. One of the group members of the snowplow device who happens to be 6 years old just simply says, "because it's not real" with a look on his face which gives the impression that he wants to add, "you stupid idiot! It's just a model..of course it's small!" This was right in front of everyone and all the leaders laughed because Jackie got burned. Haha...despite that, I still love Jackie. You know I have a sore spot for the meaner kids! :)

4) Mandarin kids prove that they're from mainland China. Some of them are the nicest kids but they have shown their true colors already in the span of a few days. During a craft, a few kids went and stole some glitter for a "non-glitter craft." We told them they had to ask....it's called politeness and manners people!!! Next day, during quiet time, we usually offer coloring sheets to kids while they wait but these kids decide to take one of every page and fold them up and take them home. NO OTHER KID HAS EVER DONE THAT IN THE YEARS OF DVBSes I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN. Haha...Still....the pages have scripture on it so let's hope that will plant seeds in them lol!

5) And then there's the Mandarin kid who doesn't speak at all. On his registration, his name is listed as "Yuexuang." However, he does have an English name and my class and I on the first day were trying to get him to tell us his name. He said it so softly, I asked him to repeat it over and over. The class kept thinking his name was "Kermi." Jon Chu and Eva and I thought it was "Hermi." We called him that and all the students called him that for the first 3 days. When we did a craft though, he wrote his name as "Heming." LOL..we've been calling him Hermi lol....how terrible is that?!?! :P


I simply have to ask, David/Calvin, are you sure you handle this? What have you gotten yourself into!??! WAHAHHAHA!!!! :) We only had 28 kids this week...we will have about 43 kids in week 5!! So these youth ain't seen nothing yet! :P DVBS is going to be a blast/tiring haha.....


In unrelated news....I'm so into this one song right now..it's a year or two old but it's really ministering to me so I think I will introduce it soon. I can see longevity in it. The tune is Tim Hughe's/ Newsboys' "When the tears Fall." I usually listen to the Newsboys version 'cause that's the CD I gots. :)

In other news, I know after the trip to Orlando, I said I didn't want kids. That was practically true even though I said it in a joking manner. I'm started to like them again but you know, I'm not ready to have kids. I'm not ready to get married. And yet, those are two things I want the most in my life haha. I think I'm obsessed with the idea of commitment...but I'll be caught off guard if ANY WOMAN can make me her slave!!! :P

"What it Feels Like When Doves Cry"

Man I love that song. I actually like a lot of Prince's music...despite him looking/being a freak lol. Gotta love "Diamonds and Pearls," "Purple Rain" and "Kiss" too!!

I have no idea why I blogged about the above--it was completely random. I was trying to come up with a title to my blog entry this week and that's what came to mind so I just blogged about the artist known as Prince! :P Maybe "What it feels like whn doves cry" comes from the fact that DVBS started today and unsurprisingly, I'm mad tired! Haha...good job everyone who volunteered today! You did a GREAT JOB!! Now let's see if you can keep up the hard work and excitment! :)

I was really worried about DVBS yesterday because I felt unprepared. I was really distracted during "Superman Returns." However, after coming home from the movie and Tony Romas, I managed to get my act together and do some planning before it all began today and surprisingly, that put me at ease and I was able to sleep without any problems. I know a lot of the youth couldn't sleep last night but I'll bet they'll be sleeping tonight! :P

Most of the kids are really well behaved this week. A few ESL kids to deal with too. Any suggestions on how to help quiet/shy ESL kids? All they do is stare and watch and that's not just at lesson times, it's during lunch and when they are hanging out with friends too. :P The least they could do is smile and nodd. :)

Oh one last thing, one of the most annoying kids is back again this year and there is the possibility that he will be here for 6 weeks. God give me patience and love....it's funny how the most annoying people can bring out the truly ugly side of us....:P I find myself seeing myself for who I actually am through these types of people....:P