Taking a break

First I'd like to thank you for all the prayer and support over the last year. Time has flown by and now I have finished my first year of seminary as well as my first summer class (intermediate Greek). The final exams were very manageable, and God has blessed me with diligence to push through with it.

Most of my work as mentioned in the previous post was from my papers, and the final exams themselves weren't so bad. After finishing up my spring semester, I had the opportunity to go home for a week before starting my summer classes. Before I went home, I went on a retreat with the young adult fellowship at CBCGB (CHARIS). We spent the weekend at the retreat site, and I was given the position as one of the small group leaders. The retreat was a time for the young adults to step away from their normal work schedules and rest in the beauty of God's creation as well as to be in fellowship with one another. On the first day of the retreat, we were actually greeted by a rough rainstorm that brought us a little behind schedule. I was worried that we would have to spend the retreat under the constant rain, but God blessed us with beautiful weather the next few days which allowed us to enjoy the nature and not just be stuck indoors. As we continued going throughout the retreat, God blessed me with the opportunity to build deeper relationships with the brothers and sisters there. I had started attending CHARIS for a semester, and had not really built deep friendships, but at this retreat, the opportunity was shown. Not only did leading a small group give me a glimpse into the lives and challenges of my fellow brothers and sisters, I was also able to have some good one on one conversations! This retreat provided a well needed rest from the tough semester that I had just had. Being able to take a step away from working and studying, to just enjoying fellowship and worshiping with others was comforting and rejuvenating for my soul. 

After the retreat, I headed home for a week. Like usual, I took this chance to spend time with my family and friends, to catch up and rest from the tiring week that had just passed. This wasn't really much of a break considering that I had to go right back to school to take intermediate Greek, but I enjoyed spending the week with family and friends. On May 22nd, my Intermediate Greek class

started, and that was one heck of a hard class. Not only was it mentally draining, it was physically draining. Even though I grasped many great insights from the language, the work load was no joke. We spent three hours a day, three days a week in class learning, around 2-3 hours a day on reading up on the material, and another 3-4 hours on each assignment that was due the following class. Each assignment literally required everything that we had previously learned. We also learned new things like many new functions of nouns and verbs and sentence diagramming to understand the flow and structure of the verses. Personally, I suck at grammar... and Intermediate Greek, was all grammar... so you could kind of guess my struggle throughout this session. However, God gave me the strength to pull through it! During the session, I was also able to spend more time with my fellow dorm mates and we kept each other sane. We definitely played more games of Dominion and Settlers of Catan then I have ever done so before. We also had a bit more free time to eat together and watch some basketball as well as play some intense ping pong games. After our class ended, we even took a small ride out to a beach to relax, and it just so happened that we ended up at the very first beach that we were brought to in the beginning of our fall semester. There was something poetic about finishing up at the same place that we all started at. 

Besides the arduous classes and fun that I had during the summer semester, I also got to celebrate with my friend and current English pastor at NYCAC, Cristobal Tong, and his marriage. Shout out to Carla for marrying him and for their future together!! Anyway, I really enjoy weddings because they

are such joyous events where friends and family gather together from all over. I enjoyed spending the time with my friends at church as well as attending my first wedding reception with Visalia. I was also asked to be the MC for the reception, which gave me a little closer connection to everything happening at the wedding. During the wedding, there was a very humbling moment during the exchanging of vows. Instead of the usual exchanging of drinks, Cris and Carla washed each other's feet, symbolizing their willingness to serve one another and reflecting the attitude that Jesus calls us to. After the wedding, I went back up to school, and the following weekend, I was blessed with the chance to lead a prayer night with the joint college and young adult fellowship at CBCGB (CrossGen). I focused on four different booths, each emphasizing a different aspect of the prayer life that God calls us to. The first station focused on praying for the world, our neighbors, and friends. The second station focused on praying in partners, and learning to listen to one another with grace and compassion. The third station focused on thanksgiving, and recognizing the many blessings that God has secretly hidden in our lives. The last station was one of lamentation. This station was a chance for people to come before the Lord and lament, something that doesn't usually happen within a Chinese church. This opened doors to really reflecting on our own lives, and coming before the Lord with all our burdens and struggles. Throughout the night, I could feel the very real presence of the Holy Spirit working in the life of each of the people there. They were challenged to pray in ways they had not thought of before, and given the chance to care for one another. 

After my Summer Session ended, I went home and will be back home for a month. During this last session, I realized that I might have over stressed myself, and noticed that my health had taken a hit from the constant studying. While home, I have been blessed with friends to hang out with and catch up with, as well as family that cares and loves me. I spent most of my days hanging out and relaxing, and more recently, I attended a retreat with GCAC. My initial intentions for going to this retreat was

to get to know the people at Visalia's church, and learn to love the people that she loved and served. God had so much more in store for me. While at the retreat, I found myself constantly being challenged in terms of pride and my selfishness. I had taken a step back away from God and unknowingly taken less time with him. Just because I was at seminary did not mean that I was necessarily spending a lot of time with him. I had been overwhelmed with my work, and had not given God the attention and respect he deserved. The retreat reminded me of the importance of dwelling in God's presence to rest, and not just to play around. I was also once again pulled into a deeper relationship with Christ as I was constantly reminded of our Lord and savior during my prayers. I don't know when, but I had started speaking to God as a friend and a servant, but I had not given him the full respect he deserves as Lord, and I had not been approaching him in humility. During my morning devotions and talks with people, God once again reminded me of the importance of a relationship with Him, and a heart centered around seeking Him. I also realized just how much I missed worshiping Him in song. During my fall semester, I would usually attend a night worship/prayer session at Gordon Conwell, but during the Spring Semester I had not been dedicating as much time in worship as I would have liked. This retreat opened the door to worshiping again with all my heart and in humility. I was able to surrender my heart to Him and come humbly before Him again. At this retreat I was also able to watch as God worked in the lives of different people at GCAC, and it was just so exciting to see God working no matter where it was! During this retreat, I also learned a lot about my relationship with Visalia, and my own selfishness and pride that slips out unknowingly. Taking the time to reflect during this retreat was definitely helpful, and spending time in God's word also reminded me of the importance of dwelling in His word. 

Now I have a few more weeks before I head back to Gordon Conwell for a second Summer class. Within the coming weeks, please pray that I will remain diligent with all that I have learned and continue to pursue God! Please pray for the two Sunday school classes that I will be teaching for two Sundays, and that I remain faithful to the time of rest that God has given me! Also, please hit me up if you want to catch up while I'm back here for a bit :)