MiSURA

wow. I went 11days without posting! I don't know if I should be proud of that or not.


I won't say that I haven't been doing anything, because I have. It's just that I haven't been going out much and having "fun". But I've really been learning a lot as I've been planning for Koinonia next year, preparing for missions, and reading my two novels of the summer:

1. Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger
2. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I've also watched a number of foreign films:

1. La Vie en Rose (2007)
2. Tsotsi (2005)
3. L'enfant (2005)

So far, my summer break has been quite productive.

I suppose I'll talk about the books and movies ... later.

Yesterday, I hung out with none other than Catherine! woOt-wOot. We made plans to see Canton Jones in downtown Chicago at Millennium Park.. but it was SUPER humid and raining on and off so we decided to throw that plan out the window and instead went shopping at Woodfield and had a delicious, stomach-filling to the top dinner at Red Robin's. I can't get enough of that strawberry lemonade! Then we watched the Simpson's Movie back at her new house. I felt like I was in 6th grade because I did the exact same kind of stuff. But I really enjoyed it. Simple fun. None of this throwing around $50-75 on drinks, food, entertainment.. but just a simple night with a close friend. Money has been a huuuuge deal so far this summer break, too. So maybe that's why I'm more conscious of what I'm spending on. In any case, the simple things are better anyway. =)

if you're anything like me, once i feel regret, i start to wallow in my self-pity. especially when i know i've done wrong. usually, i can tell when i've done wrong and right since my parents have sharply and harshly disciplined me in that manner. but today, i did something that showed the ugly side of me and i wanted to take it back. and at the right moment, i read this post today on desiring God's blog about how regret leads to grief.. but that godly grief leads to repentance and forgiveness. whereas godless (worldly) will lead to destruction and depression and ultimately death in the case of Judas Iscariot. i quickly left my self-pity and got on my knees and prayed. after all, we are redeemed through God's love and neverending mercy, even though we are dirty, undeserving, and sinners. it's amazing. He filled me up and i felt restored.

amen. thank You, Lord.

**Chapter Focus Week pictures and reflection will be coming very soon**

right now, i should've arrived in seoul, south korea and on my way to my daddy's place and trying to recover from jetlag.

however, i am still @ home and somewhat disappointed in myself.
in the midst of finals, papers, chapter focus week, deadlines.. i forgot that i needed a passport for korea! have you ever felt that? you are ssoo bogged down with things to do that you forget the slightest details? well, that happened to me. i had to send in my passport and some other things by may 15th so i send it around may 9th so that it would arrive on time. i was so busy thinking about the deadline that nothing else mattered. i didn't even notice that it was gone until two nights ago.. a mere 11hrs before my departure.

i've disappointed my family in korea and myself. mistakes like these never happen to me. but through this experience, i've been extremely humbled because wow, i'm really not perfect. and i will be able to do a lot of things that i wouldn't be able to do while i'm in korea: helping my mom with cleaning up the house and insurance stuff (another long story), reading the textbook for missions, catch up with my brother before he goes to missions too, and a lot more.

i've made plans to see my family in korea this winter, so hopefully this will work out.

so, i will be in chicago until june 19th or so. and like the introvert i am, i don't really feel like going out much. i realize how much money i'd be spending, which i'd rather give to my donations for missions (or for others), the ridiculous gas prices, but moreover, i just wanna stay spiritually disciplined and prepare myself for missions. i still don't know what to expect so i'm just praying for a lot of things. here are a few prayer requests:

• the book i'm reading for missions is called "from nyet to da: understanding the russians".. and that's exactly what i wanna be able to do. i'm only going to be there for a month so i wanna have a heart that is accepting and loving and understanding from the get-go. so i don't waste any time
• strength against redundancy. after 2-3wks of being on a disciplined schedule and things, i get tired of it. and i don't know what my schedule will look like. Pray that i will wake up to His mecies every morning.
• "be strong and courageous". i'm no expert at evangelism and i dunno the best ways to approach people, but God tells his people over and over to be strong and courageous. and i know i need that when i go to russia

so even though korea didn't work out, i know that God still has a plan for me while i'm here in Chicago. thank goodness He knows what He's doing all the time. =)

So due to Chapter Focus Week and South Korea until June 5th.. I will have limited internet access and won't be able to return emails as fast as I usually do. =) Nor will I be able to post as often. I know, take your time to breathe right now. Maybe Sunday night after I drive home to Chicago I can upload pictures and do a quick post.....or sleep. Which one? So hard to choose.

In either case, it's best to call me. I dunno what the reception is like at CFW, so who knows about that either. I probably shouldn't be contacting people outside of CFW anyway, so you'd only be a distraction. Okay, so don't call me. =)

okay i gotta stop and seriously get to moving out. i have soooooo much junks and we also have our suitemates (who abandoned us..haha) kitchen stuff, too. okay, now. bye!

i love the kids in our youth group @ han madang. it's so different than what i experienced in my junior high days.. and still different from my calvary youth group days, too. they were all good experiences, but this by far, is my favorite. =)

song playing: relient k - the best thing





i wasn't quite ready for the picture.. i wasn't ready for the other 4..3812718247 pictures david took, either.



=) this kid is seriously weird. but so on fire for God. that's what's more important.



beautiful! missing some people but beautiful nevertheless.

gotta keep studying for them finals!!

Our last feminar was quite touching. Courtney shared some life lessons she's learned during college and afterwards. It's encouraging to hear from her not just in a one-on-one setting but also in a group setting with all the ladies in Koinonia. I hope they can all see how much they love and care for us. =)