Chinaaaaaaaaaaa :-)

as you should know, I've got a heart for China. (yeah, no surprise there) I know a lot of people are praying for China but don't exactly know WHAT to pray for. considering I lived in China for 4 yrs and know a bit about their society/government and I've also been obsessively reading articles about all the events following the earthquake, I thought I'd share the main things that China needs prayer for and also some praise reports about major changes in China.

Prayer Requests:
1) continued protection from aftershocks. there have been several even of this week that have caused more deaths and damage.
2) protection from flooding due to damage from the earthquake.
3) health safety from the diseases being spread through unsanitary conditions and chemical fires.
4) emotional healing for children.
5) emotional healing for parents who lost their children. ESPECIALLY for the parents who lost children in the schools that collapsed in areas that all other surrounding buildings stayed up. and justice as they fight the local government.
6) more changes in government policy.
7) changes in society's mindset.
8) that any people that are still missing but alive will be found quickly.
9) comfort and peace for the whole nation.

Praise Reports:
1) there have been thousands of Chinese people calling in daily offering to be adoptive parents. there will be no need for international adoptions as all children can be provided for within their home country.
2) China allowed Taiwan to help in the midst of the crisis and Taiwan is willing to help China.
3) this past Sun a Chinese newspaper (controlled by the government) reported that people throughout China flocked to churches to pray as a result of the earthquake.
4) China asked Japan for help!!!!!! either a sign of desperation or an absolute miracle.

ok, I just realized how short the praise side appears compared to the prayer side..... BUT the things that have been overcome are major and my heart rejoices in them. if you don't understand why I'm so excited about them or want to ask me more details about ANYTHING regarding China, please ask me. I love to answer those questions. also, if you have a second, please leave me a quick comment with a prayer for China. I've enabled comments from everyone, so you don't need to register for anything. I just want to stand in agreement with you guys on this situation.

thanks~

scissors scissors scissors

(wow... that word looks weird when you type it more than once in a row... scissors scissors scissors)

last night in cell group we broke down into groups of 3 to talk and edify and pray and stuff. so I'm with my lovely group that included myself (duh!), Jose and Allan. we couldn't decide who should start off so we went for the "fair" game of paper, scissors, rock. somehow, we all think the same... because the first round we all did scissors. it was pretty funny! we had to break the tie and 2 of us chose paper. that was the deciding round. so when it came time to choose who was next, we used the game again... and the first round was, once again, all scissors. I don't know if I would call that coincidence or creepy... or prophetic. :) or maybe we're all just so close to each other that we've started thinking alike? whatever it was, it made me laugh. I like laughing! so it's good that it made me laugh.

alrighty, onto another topic. last night when I got home at well past midnight (after an odd conversation with Emily about Wilson talking to his pinky finger... HAHAHAHA) and my cat was attacking me with her affection, I realized something. ever since my heart for China was renewed, my cat has been much, much, much perkier than usual. she's always a goof of a cat and likes to play around... but in the 4 yrs since I've been back from China, she hasn't really purred much. I think it's kind of a sign...... (yes, this is my cat)

mind you, this adorably cute cat of mine is actually Chinese. not because she's a Chinese breed, but because I bought her in China and she lived the first 4 yrs of her life there. she's also more accustomed to hearing Chinese than English... and she doesn't like cheese or milk! on Easter 2001 I went to a pet market (much like the one in the picture below, except that it was mostly on the second floor of an outdoor market) to "just look". actually, I wanted a dog but knew I didn't have the time to take care of one... and besides, I lived on the 5th floor of an apartment building with no elevator. poor dog would NEVER see the light of day! haha so I was at the market just looking at the cute cats and decided to buy a rabbit instead. so I did. wellll, as I was leaving the market, this adorably cute kitten that I'd already stopped to look at twice captured my heart and I bought her too. so I took a ride home on the bus with a kitten in one hand and a bunny in the other. only once did kitten think to pick on the rabbit. I slapped her immediately and she gave up on that. after that moment they were best friends. they'd sleep together, eat each other's food, cause a rucus together... they even played hide and go seek together! (I'm not joking! it was cute) well, come summer time the weather turned way too hot for the poor bunny and it got heat stroke and passed away. poor kitten (by this time they were both fairly big... and you should've seen the way they played! sometimes I was worried the rabbit would hurt the cat! hahaha) was depressed for several months after that. anyhow, I don't know why I just told you all that. all that's important is my cat is now happy again... sometimes annoyingly so. but she's still my "xiao mi mi" (pronounced "sh ow mee mee". it means "little kitty").

I'm not quite sure what else to say now. I've actually got 15 min's to kill. 8th grade has gone to Magic Mountain without me so that means I have no class to teach. I wish I enjoyed these breaks more. I get annoyed and bored. that's what I get for being a workaholic, I'm sure. I've gotten better. REALLY!!!

I have blisters on the bottom of two of my toes. they feel weird. I put blister band-aids on them and I don't really notice them now... but without those band-aids they feel funny.

yesterday I was talking with Gwen about my poor, poor finger. she says I probably fractured it as it bruised nearly immediately after the incident. I'm just glad that, for once, I followed my instinct after injuring myself and I immobilized it immediately. I've even been good about asking people to help me with stuff like opening things and carrying stuff. it's a huge hit to my "pride" as even when I fractured my back I'd avoid asking people to help me (I literally had to ask a couple of friends to FORCE me to not do things no matter how much I protested and got mad at them or the situation)... but all in all I'm doing well... too bad I can't find a person to type for me. that's the hardest part. typing is no easy task when you're down a finger... and I'm already "handicapped" with short pinkies that I can't fully use when typing! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA(disclaimer: this is NOT my hand... but that IS how my pinkies look)

alright, I'll explain the whole thing about my pinkies. a few months ago we had a teachers in-service and were in meetings all day. somehow, me and my friends got seperated from everyone else and had nothing to do... so we were looking through magazines with stuff to use in the classroom. there were politically correct dolls of different races so we were teasing Rey (the Filipino) about the typical looking asian dolls with the bowl haircuts. we were trying to match each other up with different dolls. then we came to the handicapped dolls and I randomly said "I'm handicapped! I have a short pinky!" I then showed them my pinky and we couldn't stop laughing for maybe 1/2 hr. and every time someone walked into the room they'd have me show off my handicap.... we determined that I need prosthetic pinkies. HAHAHAHAHA anyhow, I actually do have difficulties using my pinkies typing and one of them moves funny on its joint so I tend to forget it even exists. hahaha wow... I have weird stories~

well, I've got to go now. time for me to go do stuff. hope you enjoyed my blog! =0)

I miss you!!!!!!! >_<

I'm such a dork

yes, I'm always finding new ways to be a dork... this morning before church I was downstairs eating breakfast minding my own business. I saw one of the security guards coming and said "you again?!" cuz I'd seen him several times already throughout the morning. 2 sec's later the guest speaker, Kong Hee, walks out from the hall behind the security guard and says hi to me. I said hi back and then as soon as he walked out of hearing range I started giggling.

that's my short blog for today. maybe more later

*pout pout*

WHY?!?! why do I always get hurt in the most random ways?! really, I do... it's crazy.

ok, so the other day I was moving a tv with a friend and it was too heavy and I lost my grip or something and we ended up dropping it. anyhow, somehow in the process I messed up the middle finger on my left hand. at the time I assumed I smashed it. just the way my finger looked, it looked like it was reacting to being smashed. the middle knuckle was REALLY swollen (as was the rest of the finger, but there especially) and the finger was sore. the middle knuckle was also kinda bruised. so I woke up Fri. ready to stop by Thrifty, I mean Rite Aid, to buy something to keep my finger immobilized cuz it still hurt. when I finally got to work and was ready to put the thing on.. I looked at my finger. it was so weird! now the top knuckle is all purple and my finger isn't really THAT swollen anymore. well, whatever... it's still sore! and purple! I still don't know exactly what happened to my finger. all I remember is catching a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye while worrying about the dropped tv and saying "I think I hurt my finger". haha so, either I smashed it or I bent it weird in the process of dropping the tv.

doing normal every day activities is difficult when trying not to use your middle finger (especially typing!!!!). you just try moving your other fingers without using your middle finger! not as easy as it sounds... what's funny is after it happened it didn't really hurt that bad. but out of habit or something, every time I moved it and it SHOULD have hurt I'd say "OUCH!" and then realize it didn't really hurt much and say "ohhh.. wait, that didn't hurt." but that only happened when people were around! when people weren't around, it ACTUALLY HURT!!! and I'd just whine to myself when it did. I'm so weird... lol

ok, so enough of that story. I was gonna add a pic to emphasize the purpleness of my finger, but for some reason the pic I sent to myself from my cell phone isn't showing the color as much on my computer. maybe I'll try it again.. *hold on a sec* ok, no... it's not really showing it well so whatever.

last night at church we had our Draw Near event. I knew that an old friend, Jonathan Baird, (along with his band West Coast Revival) that I haven't seen in a while was going to be leading worship. I was excited. so it's before the event and I see Jonathan and ask him how his brothers are doing... and he points to the other two guys with him and says "they're here". holy crackers!!! (yes, I actually reacted like that) I literally haven't seen Aaron and Ryan since maybe 1993! I never would have recognized them. Jonathan looks the same... and also, I see him around about once a year so it's not like I've had 15 yrs to forget what he looked like. I had a great time talking with them. I also forced them to remember their first earthquake experience (yeah, I was with them when it happened. and I laughed!) the same week that they moved here from AZ.

well, my finger has been working overtime trying not to move this whole time I've been typing and now it's achy... so I'm gonna stop typing now. pray for my finger to heal quickly. I don't have time for injuries (well, never have had time for them... and yet I still get them... and never let them heal properly cuz I don't have the patience to let them heal...).

a breaking heart (no, not cuz of a guy!)

so, these past few months I kinda desensitized myself to the prospect of going back to China. I tried to make myself think it wasn't important to me and that maybe I am just meant to go to China for short term trips from now on. I got tired of waiting and it was hurting too much and all the pieces necessary for me to go back for a long term thing just weren't falling into place. I forced myself to stop caring.... about China pretty much in general. tried to avoid thinking about it. and when I did, I didn't think about it long enough to process it.

people have been lovely with the recent earthquake in China, asking if I'm ok and all that. honestly, I was ok... (I mean, I would love to go there to help out but I know I can't at this time) although I was following all the news about it with a deep obsession. seriously, I can't stop looking at ANY article about all that's going on there and looking at the pictures. it's an obsession...

anyhow, last night at our prayer meeting (once before the actual meeting and once during) we started praying for China... and my heart broke. I couldn't stop crying (and even now just thinking about China I tear up). God restored that passion in me. I love it and hate it (because it's like unrequited love... I love China so much but I can't be there). I can't even begin to think I understand why God does things the way He does, but I trust Him.

my heart is still there... yet I'm here. I know that He has me here for a purpose and that my time here isn't going to waste (and I don't hate being here). but when will the tide change and things fall into place so that I can go back?!

so yeah, right now I'm trying not to think about China cuz it brings me to tears... but at the same time I'm obsessively thinking about it and reading everything I can get my hands on about the quake. please be praying for China. even in the past week I've seen so much change in their society and government. "foreigners" may not see it, but it's so evident to me! God is allowing this quake to literally shake their nation to the foundation. pray that He be glorified in it all and that these changes in society and government aren't temporary but that they'll look at current laws in place and they'll desire to change them.

while you're at it, pray for me... for patience in waiting... and also for the pieces to fall into place SOON so that I can go back to China. (don't ask me what those pieces are... they're between me and God and the few people I've felt released to share with. just pray.)

cute food

I haven't blogged in a while... hope you enjoy these random food pix I found online... I had more, but this computer went insane and deleted all I was doing. GRRRR

this and that

it's been too long since I last wrote. I wish I had internet access 24/7. that would make my life so much easier. well, we'll see... I think we're gonna try to get that at the house. it'll cost a couple extra $$$ a month, but seriously worth it rather than taking the bus and walking out here and blah blah blah. just too much work. although (wow! HOT LAMBORGHINI! sorry, a yellow one just drove by... distracted me), it does get me out of the house. I definitely appreciate that. I don't like sitting in my room all the time. I annoy myself... haha

so, right now I'm watching the revival going on in Lakeland. which is a miracle that I'm even able to do that. internet at the cafe is down... but they helped me out and told me where to sit to steal someone else's wireless... it's a really bad connection and cuts out every once in a while. but it's better than nothing. and I just realized I missed ALL OF THE WORSHIP... :( oh well. I was listening to worship on itunes before turning this on. I've watched this several nights the past few weeks... it's interesting. I mean, it seems so hyped up and what not... and even watching some stuff, I can see how people could be totally turned off by it. but I can feel God's presence in it and I know He's doing a lot and is up to a lot of stuff that we can't even begin to imagine. ultimately, all that matters is that it leads to people receiving Christ and falling in love with Him. that is the ULTIMATE sign that He is in it. I can't wait to see churches overflowing with new believers. although, churches do need to be equipped to love those who are not easily loved. why do I feel like I'm preaching? haha ok, subject change...

tomorrow's Sunday. Winkie Pratney is speaking at church tomorrow. I'm excited. he hasn't spoken in a long time. he's a great speaker and REALLY SMART! I keep telling people to bring their "smart" friends tomorrow. haha that could be interesting. I had a dream about him about a year ago. well, it wasn't just about him. he just happened to be in it sorta kinda but not really. it was a kinda odd dream. but all my dreams tend to be a bit odd. lol

I was in a giggly mood yesterday. everything was funny to me. especially the fact that I was asked to be the correspondent with guest speakers at church coming July. I just want to laugh when I think about that. why? I really don't know. lots of factors together make it funny. I'm actually excited to do it. that way there will be less communication issues between all people involved. sorry man (you know who you are), you did a great job and your heart was there... but you didn't understand all the aspects of what needed to be communicated and to whom. somehow I have a file folder in my brain that keeps tracking of random things about each guest speaker that has come and I know what needs to be communicated to whom and what needs to be found out prior to the speaker speaking/arriving. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that everyone tells me everything in the first place, especially when they're frustrated about something, so I already know who needs to know what. and, obviously, I know what I need and why but you only know what I need but not the why. it just makes it easier for everyone if I'm to do it. only prob is... do I REALLY want such a crazy high phone bill?! haha maybe I'll ask for a seperate phone just for work. a nice phone that receives e-mail... yeah, that's what I want. lol I can't imagine walking around with 2 phones... but I'd rather have that than use my personal cell and have sky high bills. I think it makes perfectly good sense. what's your opinion?

I still can't believe it's May. times has flown way too quickly! I feel like I haven't done even half of what I would have liked to this year. but it's been a good year. gone through difficult times... but it's all good. best to get all that junk taken care of now instead of carrying it with me throughout my life and have it drag me down. that would suck big time! never said taking care of it now was easy... but I'm glad it's happened. God's been so gracious bringing it to the forefront, even these past few weeks, and pretty much FORCING me to take care of it. my life is gonna be so much better once I work through it all. although, sometimes I wish He would quit having my "best friend" (quotes are there on purpose... he's just my friend... really... really? yeah, I guess...) tell me stuff that i wanted to bring up first! LOL seriously, how would you like it when every time you went to your best friend to tell them something that means a lot to you and before you could say anything they told you pretty much exactly what you were gonna say? and it's not like he had any reason to be thinking about any of the things I was going to tell him. just totally random thoughts. oh well. it's good.

I want that orange Corvette I posted the other day. it hasn't been back since that day. seriously, that was so random. if it comes back I'm definitely putting a note on it suggesting that the person would like to give it away to me. haha :) heck, I'd pay up to $1,000 for it. HAHAHAHA could you imagine that conversation?! "excuse me... ummm... would you like to give me your Corvette?" "uhhh.......?????" "yeah, I'd really like it! I want it! I'd be willing to pay up to $1,000 for it. so, what do you think?!" "ummmm............??????!!!!!!!!!!!" LOL

ok, let me try to think of something else to write about... I have lots of other thoughts, but most of them lead to dead ends or you thinking "huh?! I don't get it..." so I won't go there. just not worth the confusion. haha ok, it's already 6:00. I mostly finished the homework assignment I was working on. I think I'll finish that tonight while watching the movie I'm borrowng from Rey (seriously, how can something be so ridiculous?! I couldn't stop laughing at the effects... if someone had asked me if I wanted to borrow it without showing me a sample of the effects, I would have said "no thanks". I'm glad he forced me to watch some of it. too too funny)

definitely run out of things to say. I guess I should stop trying to force the words out if they're not there. hmmm... random thought. I wanna start on writing a book. what should I write about? I don't think I'll start with fiction, unless God gives me something to write about, cuz right now I don't think I could come up with anything. yeah, I definitely want to write a book. your task: give me a subject, style of book, character w/characteristics or setting. once I have at least one of those things, it'd be SOOOOO much easier for me to come up with something to write about.