Jesus's whole ministry is made up of interruptions. He was "interrupted" by people wanting to be healed from sickness/disease, teaching and ministering to all who go to meet him, answering the protests of religious leaders and so on. If He wasn't willing to "be interrupted" by those he would eventually die for..... I guess there wouldn't be a ministry, would it?

So my prayer and hope is for all of us christians to look forward to daily "interruptions" by all peoples, lost or not, and begin to do what Jesus did, and grow more into the likeness of Him
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A few days ago, when I had no intention/motivation to update on this "blog", a certain unique message popped up in my tagboard. It was a fresh breeze, (of interruption) compared to the "english n grammar corrections" i keep getting... (no offense josh) *But seriously, sometimes it’s good to affirm/build up/encourage someone*

Anyway, jesusboy’s journal is pretty “freaky” because almost every entry had something to do with “religion.” That caused me to think, am I so enclosed in my own bubble, that unbelievers find it hard to relate to me??…..

I hope not. How am I to fulfill the great commission if I’m like that?

Fellow believers, don’t get me wrong. Being in a relationship with Jesus Christ is an all-surpassing wonder. There is NOTHING better than loving and trusting the Lord. Like Paul said, in Philippians 3:8
”What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”

It’s so easy to be swept away by the truth of God. But we have an eternity to be in that place. For now, in this life, which is no longer ours, Christians have been saved for good works. We are a city on a hill. We are reflectors of His glory. We are to direct the lost to Him…

Whadya know? No one month wait after all

What is "god" to you?
A convenient pill ..........or.......... infinite creator of the universe?

Person 1 says:
"What can this god do for me? Am I still having trouble with my money? Am I more popular now? Why do I still fall sick? How could this god allow my sister to have cancer? This can't be happening... I go to church, I go to the mosque, I go to the temple! *&$*& Most of the time i pay that dumb tithe too!! When is god going to send me a wife(or husband)? Hurry up, darn it! I've still got a life to live!! Alrite. Finally you heard me, "god".... Next time, hurry up with the new car!!Could you now stay away ?Just for a little while? I ...I have got my life settled now.. YOu don't have to bother me for a few years,k? IF i get in trouble, i'll give ya a ring... .................oh no.. NOW! I need more money NOW!*@$& Don't you know I still have this car and house loan to pay off?? GOsh, i shouldn't have paid that 10% to the church! Don't you know? Aren't you the creator, you're supposed to know when I AM in need... Why do you think I converted to this "religion" of yours, huh?? man oh man... oh, when you're handling my house mortgage, just go ahead and give me some relief from all this stress, alrite? u got that? good. *phew. crappy life, if this god gives me just one more trouble, i'll leave that dumb church.... you heard that ?!?! YOu heard that?!?! Don't make me do it. You know I'm serious....$#%..$%@#"

The trouble is in humans assuming God as a creation: Once they put Him into this imaginary "box", humans try to understand and measure this God by human standards. And what are human standards? It's all about ME. As long as I get what i want, as long as I get the benefits, I'll play along. I hope you're not treating religion as medicine; somethin to take out when you need it, and store it in a cupboard when you don't.

Stop. THink. Think about wat you're actually saying. the word "God". God is not your pet, is not your pill, is not your program... He is your creator.

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Just this last Tuesday night, on my last day of working at Sodexho for the semester, I had the opportunity to "talk Jesus" with a Turkish friend. The experience was awesome. The conversation started when our boss asked me about working extra on Monday. Told him I was leaving for Argentina on Sunday, so that's not possible. My friend heard that statement, and asked me why. Why are you going there? Is my girlfriend Argentinian? Am I going there for a holiday? How long will I be there? etc...

So i told my friend that it was a short-term mission trip. "Mission?" he said, "what mission?" A Christian mission trip was my answer.

His reply wasn't an "Oh I see.." or "wow.."...

It was an "Aaarhhh". Something a typical malaysian would do when they don't want to hear no more. When their hearts close up in the middle of a sentence to signify that they already know what's going to come out of our mouths. THAT sound.

Amazingly, our god-talk did not stop just there. In fact, he told me he has never talked so much about God in America before. Praise God!! =)It continued right through the evening... This friend is not an atheist. He believes that there is a God. But he claims that religion is the cause of wars, from back then until now... "Maybe God put wars to see humans fight, u noe..." he quipped. Being a Muslim, he explained the 5 pillars of Islam to me, explained why he thought there wasn't a need to fulfill all of it, eventho it is a requirement in islam, his mom's experiences with god, what needed to be done to get to heaven, why he thought murderers cannot go to heaven, no matter how much they repent, how there are different levels of good works, how there are different levels of sin, why he is against fundamentalism, and etc....

Hopefully, that encounter got him thinking. Because it certainly got ME thinking.... =]


p/s: These things are just so hard to put into writing...sigh..

Trip To Cordoba!

When: may 9th- may20th
How long: 10 days
Cost: 1200 dollar
How???: God's providence !! woo hhoooo!!!!
With who: Anders & Jessica Snyder, Tyler, Brian, Sarah, Amy, Luke, Carson and I.
What feeling?: So nervous, exciting@!!
Needs: Prayer, of course!!

Tank-yew very much!!
Trip To Cordoba!

Hungry, I come to You for I know You satisfy
I am empty, but I know Your love does not run dry
And so I wait for You
So I wait for You

I'm falling on my knees
Offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for

Broken, I run to You, for Your arms are open wide
I am weary, but I know your touch restores my life


FATHER, YOUR WILL BE DONE!
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Cordoba Mission Trip 2004
King-Pui’s perspective

Team: Anders, Jessica, Luke, Carson, Sarah, Tyler, Amy, Brian, King
Dates: May 9-May 21 2004

We were set to leave Warrensburg on Sunday. The dorms close on Friday evening. The leaders of our team, Anders and Jessica Snyder offered to let me stay at their “casa” (home) for Friday and Saturday. During our dinner get-together that night, I had my first taste of “mate”. (ma-tay) This drink is a big aspect of Argentinean culture. Sarah taught us the various customs associated with the consumption of this strong tea. Basically, everyone around the room had to take turns drinking out of the same metal straw/filter thinge. =] Some of us were a little uncomfortable, of course. But we’re ready to step out of our own comfort zones to do ministry. Comments about “mate” range from “Yum, taste really unique…” to “tastes like a barn…” That night I had trouble getting to sleep because of the caffeine (I suspect) “mate” brought into my system. Those 2 days I spent learning some basic Spanish greetings and essential phrases. What “essential” phrases? Well, first one is “donde esta el bano?” and the second one is “cuando comemos? They mean “where is the bathroom?” and “when do we eat?” respectively. ;-]

Here’s a question for you. Guess what is between Chile and Argentina.
It’s the Andes. And I got to see it. We flew over it in the warm morning light when the sky was clear. Cannot believe I almost missed it. I remember suddenly waking up from my sleep, without any interruptions or turbulences. Opened my eyes and saw Carson and Luke napping soundly with their mouths wide open. Having the window seat, I naturally glanced outside… and… *whoa*… Right below were spectacular snowcapped mountain ranges that never seemed to end! I could not help but marvel at our Lord’s creation. A picture says a thousand words. But alas, I do not have a picture. Trust me, I’m trying my best here. =] It was so beautiful that I just HAD to share it with my napping friends… I pushed, I nudged, I called their names… But no use, they were fast asleep. And so I stared at and admired the glorious Andes till the passing clouds would not let me anymore.

• Tuesday
It was “tourist-day” for the team that day. No jumping in the deep end immediately to “do the mighty works of ministry!” for us. One step at a time. To minister to the people, you gotta know the country. To know the country, you gotta be a tourist first. =] We visited the Plaza San Martin and around it were historical buildings such as the old town-hall, cathedral, monastery and other stuff. All in all, we visited about 3 absolutely beautiful ancient cathedrals of Jesuit priests. Walking in, we saw 4-5 people sitting/kneeling on the pews, facing the elaborately decorated altars.
Outside, this is one hectic city. Believe it or not, there are about 2 million people hustling and bustling in only 8 blocks of city! As Sasha pointed out, logically the chances of bumping into people are pretty slim (considering the population), but it DOES happen because it is just SO dense! It truly is a huge harvest field.

In the afternoon, our group went instrument-shopping. During the planning of the trip, our team was contemplating buying a drum set and bass guitar for the church if God provided us with enough resources. Well, He did. And so, we walked around the bustling city with Sasha leading the way. We checked out about 3-4 stores selling all kinds of modern instruments. In the end, we decided to go with a small, moderately-priced, lightweight bass guitar, some new cymbals, some Aquarian drums, and an extra monitor for the stage. It is so true what the Lord Jesus said in Acts 20:35 about 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' Knowing that we could contribute to the physical needs of the church was an incredible feeling. The church we were working with, called Centro Crecer, was once located in the second floor of a shopping mall. Now, they have their own building on Lima Street.

• Wednesday
I remember telling myself, “what a crazy day today …” when I got back home that evening. According to the schedule, the whole team was going to attend English classes at a local university that morning. Well, we weren’t there to learn English. We wanted to talk to students, build relationships, and share a little about American culture. Hopefully, some students will want to meet up with us again, and THEN we could invite them to church activities. You see, any talk about religion, spirituality or politics is prohibited on university grounds.
That was our plan.
At about 9-10am, we met up in Centro Crecer. Marcelo shared with the team something God revealed to him that very morning. It was based on:
Matthew 17:20
He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."Marcelo wanted us to know that if we have faith in God, nothing will stand in our way of accomplishing our goals.

Not the efforts of the devil.

Not our own weaknesses.

Not even mountains…

Mountain 1: As soon as we set out, the rain started coming down. Traffic slowed down and seemed to increase two-fold. Car horns blared randomly. Then…

Mountain 2: We found out that some major streets have been closed off. It turned out to be a strike. Strikes and rallies are pretty common since the economic downturn. This particular strike prevented us from driving straight to the university. So we got off our vehicle, and trudged through the pouring rain… And my shoes weren’t water-proof. By the time we reached our destination, my socks were all wet. But, I had the opportunity to witness my first Argentinean strike, close –up!

Mountain 3: Guess what. You will never believe what happened. Neither did we. It turned out that the strike we witnessed earlier was a TEACHER strike. What? A TEACHER strike!?! As a result, all the classes were cancelled, including the ones we were supposed to be in! What are the odds of THAT happening?!?

So, did we walk for so long, and in the rain for NOTHING???

The answer to that question could not be a more definite “NO.” Check this out: Romans 8:
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Allow me to paraphrase some of what my team members said.

“Do not fret. All things work for the glory of God…”- Jessica
“Are you discouraged? You shouldn’t be. All that is happening PROVES that our efforts are NOT going unnoticed. And that’s cool.”- Sasha (referring to spiritual battles)

Anyway, that eliminated our possibilities of being indoors in classrooms that day. I didn’t stay still in my already-wet squishy shoes anyway. So, the whole team went outside. And suddenly, it stopped raining. Isn’t that crazy? People began coming out. Walking around the surrounding streets, we were able to meet and practice our “Spanglish” with the Argentineans! We passed out flyers and invited people to a soccer game and weekend activities and church services. In that few hours alone, God worked numerous mini-miracles for us. That’s another story though. Praise God. For any of you guys facing a “mountain” right now, have faith and trust Him to use it for His own glory!