An Exciting Weekend...

among the many new experiences over the weekend.. the Lord has brought a lot of encouragement and rejuvenation through the Christians I met...

Auntie B (one of the leading staff of Intervarsity) mentioned how "it is almost as if we knew each other for a long time". It has been only 2 days and it is amazing how comfortable we are with each other. The link is Christ and our love for Him. Our lives centered around Him so when we shared our thoughts, passions, concerns, prayer requests, we understood where each other is coming from. It is this unity and like-mindedness in Christ that I treasure so much. My relationship with this amazing staffworker is in a way deeper compared to the other exchange friends that I have made. perhaps it was that there wasn't any language barrier but i believe it is the maturity in Christ that we share.

I also talked to another guy from intervarsity called Brennan. He is from the big island and the hawaiian identity runs deep in his soul. Had quite a few conversations with him and I am really excited about the Spring Break! intervarsity is going to Big Island for a retreat and part of their program involves teaching kids and helping the homeless, etc. He told me that's when you really see Hawai'i, not about Waikiki or North Shore... It was all that I could ask for - being immersed in the very heart of the culture rather than just being a tourist.

the buildings here along Waikiki beach isn't really the complete picture of Hawai'i (we were talking with our feet in the water.. it was so nice!)

The Martin Luther King Junior Parade was really an eye-opening experience. I got involved in marching and being part of the parade by supporting the "Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery" (PASS). Background: Hawai'i is one of the few states that does not have laws against human trafficking so this group is going to march in the parade to raise awareness. I shall not discuss the details of my opinions on how a Christian should view this but in short I agreed it was Social Justice so I joined them. you never get to do this kind of thing in SG.. and i got to walk down the whole Waikiki (equivalent to walking down the whole of Orchard Road).

Thanks to all who had been praying. I think blogging doesn't really convey the actual reality of things. Maybe the post sounded worse that the situation actually was, maybe not. But all in all the Lord has many surprises installed for me here in Hawai'i. School lessons are picking up. Time to do my homework! (and oh, i have just signed up for Scuba Class!)

One prayer request i have been telling people is that I may find the discipline to set aside time each day to pray. It is nice when people ask "how's it going?" and replying "great. because I started the day right." starting the day right with God reminds me who am I living through each day for =)