summer adventures...

REDDING



bug juice. yuck.




the sundial bridge. this was our "late night" hang out spot.




mary!




trying to pose! haha




like family...

whenever i talk about this trip i always tell ppl that it feels like i left a part of my heart in redding. nearly everyday i think about my time spent up there and the wonderful ppl i met. i can't wait to go back to visit in the fall.


NASHVILLE



the repentence walk on church st into titan stadium




a night at BB King's




the oh-so-fabulous waffle house!




the mystery of trying to get SEVEN suitcases to fit in our trunk




maximizing time while the boys were trying to pack the trunk =)

nashville was a big surprise in the sense that God really struck me deep, so much that it hurt ever fiber of my heart. i've had to deal w/ friendship issues before, but never to this depth. He really tested me, and asked if i would choose to love Him in the midst of pain, heartache, rejection, jealousy, anger, and insecurity.  it was the hardest lesson but it was also the best lesson to learn. thank You for teaching me how to love again.

HAWAII




rainbow falls!




at a black sand beach w/ my sis




the best helicopter tour EVER!!




a volcano spewing carbon dioxide. eeeeeeeew.




~ 1mi-long lava flow. cuuhhhhrazy...and amazing.

i loved this trip b/c i got to relax and enjoy the "island life". it was a reality check coming back to crowded LA, although i did miss home. =( it was def. some good family time...

for more pics go to my facebook!

anyway, i'm also in the midst of summer school madness. i'm taking a class called "on-site studies in art education" which means i get to team teach w/ fellow art ed majors and help facilitate a young artists' camp for elementary, jr high and freshman kids. monday was our first day and it was a lot of fun. we had the youngest group and they were freakin adorable. we're teaching the drawing & painting portion (the other groups are ceramics and printmaking) and these kids are incredibly talented for their age. we were all soooo impressed. i can't wait to post some pics of them if i get the chance. i think i already have my "favorites". haha. =) ps. pleeeaaaase pray for favor w/ my professor. i had some summer school "drama" b/c i left for a week vacation, and i'm believing God's gonna provide a miracle!

 i am His daughter

it's been a rough road since january. He has been so faithful even when i was so faithless. His love is so constant and enduring and patient and gracious and merciful and kind and forgiving. and beyond that. =)

here's a few of the countless blessings He's shared w/ me...

my sister's 17th bday. she's getting up there...

surprise attack!

celebrating her bday w/ a fraction of our cousins

surprising mary on her 22nd bday at the melting pot

the FLAMING TURTLE! ...otherwise known as a pot of deliciousness =)

my girls!

he's such a natural.

 glad i got to see both of you in one place =)

some of the bunch from my 22nd bday at crepe vine

i'm so behind w/ this but...A HUGE THANK YOU to all those who called, text msg'd, emailed, IMed, facebooked, myspaced, snail mailed, and came out to eat for my bday. your friendship is invaluable and i'm incredibly grateful to have you in my life!!! =) i love you guys.

it's been one heck of a ride up to this point, and i feel that my season is shifting once again. thank you JESUS for NEW seasons! i am dreaming big and believing for the impossible. i am pursuing His heart and desiring to only do what i see the Father doing. i am still a work in progress, yet i know that i belong wholly to Him. ---> when i was in jr. high my camp counselor (anita's cousin! haha) gave me a verse at the end of the week to encourage me. i was so excited to receive this little artsy handcrafted card, and i couldn't wait to read whatever verse she chose for me. the card said: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." i was REALLY young in the faith and i didn't understand this verse whatsoever. remove my heart of stone?? give me a heart of flesh??? QUE?!?! finally, a couple years later the Lord began to illuminate this verse to me and now it's a verse i hold dear to my heart. =) the Lord performed "open heart surgery" on me this past Sunday at the gathering w/ heidi baker at Azusa St, and i believe He began a transformation from deep w/in my heart. i love getting TOASTED!! haha.

as MHuntwork put it, "He uses holy laughter as the 'anesthesia' and intense crying as the 'surgery'."

 HE IS SO GOOD TO ME...

gabe's bday/ broomball extravaganza

ABC studios-- it's not a wax model...it's really Dallas Raines!

perhaps the next connie chung?

can you believe how old we've gotten? yet we still look the same! praise God for our asian genes.

oh boy...HRC women's retreat. what happens in the mountains STAYS in the mountains!

 

FOBALICIOUS!! haha...yeeeoowzers

my mom's 50th =)

my lovely sis-who's-sixteen-but-is-as-tall-as-her-twenty-one-year-old-sister. yikes. she kind've looks white huh? i know...we adopted her. haha jk. but my dad's white.

see...i told you! haha. ok, fine. i'm jk again.

He is so good to me because He has provided a loving family and a wonderful group of friends to surround me. It has been a rough couple of months since Sept (2006)...esp. adjusting to a new role taking over our high school group at HRC. i'm leading w/ a fellow brother who just joined our leadership and i have to be honest...I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE MALE SPECIES! haha. i'm sure women are just as perplexing to men, but seriously...MEN are just as confusing!! haha. i'm probably going to be punched for that one. however, the adjustment to this new role has presented other challenges beyond what i'd imagined. i am facing the reality of the spiritual and emotional condition of our high school group, which is not in good shape, and also the dynamic of the new group of leaders. i feel like i'm in the "fiery furnace" and someone turned the flame up hotter!! however, it's as if i don't know i'm going to come out as gold, all i know is that i'm being put through the fire. at least that's what it feels like. He constantly reminds me that just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, i will also come out of the fiery furnace untouched and unharmed. thank you Jesus.

something i'm trying to work on, though i'm pretty bad at it, is to learn how to "dwell in the shelter of the Most High, and rest in the shadow of the Almighty." w/ upper div. classes + a new job + high school group + procrastination i found myself getting buried under the weight of all my responsibilities, which resulted in lack of sleep and less time w/ God. He used extreme measures to get my attention and awaken me out of my lifestyle of independence. He met me in the cerritos mall a couple days ago w/ a divine appt. which i THOUGHT was for the purpose of blessing someone else, but instead  i was the one who received the blessing. oddly enough, it came through an 84-yr old woman named Millie. she was the sweetest thing. she is forever engrained in my heart because her "theme song/phrase" is: "HE IS SO GOOD TO ME". her life is a testimony of His love and faithfulness to her all these years. in all circumstances--being a widow, declining health, loss of energy--she STILL chooses to praise Him and thank Him. His gentle rebuke reminded me that I need to learn how to have a grateful heart in ALL circumstances.

i miss Korea

it's been a little over a week since i've returned from Korea, and i am FINALLY over my jet lag. hallelujah!

but i miss Korea like crazy...the food, the shopping, the people, the sights and sounds...

we are so tired but SO happy to finally be in Korea after hours and hours of traveling! check out the bag i'm holding: i already started shopping while we had a layover in Tokyo. not a good sign ;)

our first meal on our first full day. apparently that day was "chicken day" or some special holiday where they serve chicken. i forget the Korean name for it. the chicken was delicious...

speaking of food...a HUGE homecooked Korean meal. drrroooool...

gabe about to attack the shaved ice

my partner in crime =)

close up shot of what else? MORE food. it's like you can almost smell it...

sad but true...almost every other picture is of us eating...

like i said...we like to eat. a nice little Italian place...cuz we needed a break from Korean food

HIM conference: the first night Lou Engle called up any young person (up to age 25) who wanted to wholeheartedly lay down their lives to see revival come to Korea and to see the prayer movement of past generations (morning prayer, fasting, etc) be rebirthed in their generation...

sweet potato pizza. we paid ~$70 for a large and medium pizza and four drinks...ouch

the beautiful ladies i got to pray w/. after we took pictures together they said to me, "whenever you see our picture could you please remember to pray for us?" i'm so humbled by their hunger for more of God. everyone there was SO INTENSE. they appeared timid on the outside but when they started praying they went nuts. it was as if their lives depended on it. i love their passion. i love it.

if i had more money and more time, i would go back to Korea in a heartbeat. i absolutely LOVED their hospitality. wherever we went, whether it be in someone's house or at a public place, the people were so hospitable to us. the best part was that they always wanted to feed us. haha 

i do miss the shopping. haha. we would always find random shoe vendors on the way to catch our subway. so cheap! we found this one vendor that was selling every pair for $9, so i bought two. =) and then the street vendors at night had GREAT clothing deals too. $5, $8, $10...i couldn't believe my eyes. i had to borrow a carry-on from my friend's mom in order to bring back all the stuff i bought. hehehe

the one thing i don't miss is the crazy monsoon weather. the humidity wasn't too bad, but the rain was so unpredictable. the cab drivers are insane over there, too. unpredictable rain + insane cab drivers = praying for the blood of Jesus to cover you.

i miss Korea. but it's good to be back home. He did so many things over there that i'm still trying to process...

finally...

one more day of school and it's play time! i will be living out the definition of what it means to rest:

1. to cease motion, work, or activity.

2. to lie down, especially to sleep.

3. to be at peace or ease; to be tranquil.

i'm looking forward to some quality time w/ Jesus away from all the noise.

 

and in about one more month i will be perusing the streets of seoul, korea!!!! i prayed, "Lord, if you want me to go to korea then You have to pave the way." welllllll...the Lord hath paveth! haha PRAISE GOD! everyone else seemed to be headed on their way to korea except for myself and a couple others. then BAM! He always makes a way when there seems to be no way. He is so faithful and opened so many doors for this trip to be possible.

one of my partners in crime joining me on this "adventure"...

ok ok, we're going there for more important reasons than shopping and eating all day everyday, but isn't it true that sometimes...GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN?!