im ready for basketball intramurals. it seems i already have a reputation to uphold. roar.

yay my schedule for next semester!

mok says: d/c
Ahonfire: hah
Ahonfire: what i was saying was that "i love you and i wanna marry you"
Ahonfire: and what do you do?????
Ahonfire: you D/C!!
mok says: =-O
Ahonfire: i hate you now
Ahonfire: you dont love me
Ahonfire: hehehe
Ahonfire: actually just sed i was going to shower
Ahonfire: and that im smelly

Urbana 2003

after a busy, spirit-filled 5 days on the university of illinois campus, i am one among 20,000 others who can now proudly say that i was a delegate at urbana 2003. was it fun? sure. was it convicting? definitely. was it eye-opening? no doubt.

this past week has consisted of airplane flights, cold weather, long lines, nice talks, new friends, evening and morning sessions at the assembly hall aka "the giant wok," interesting seminars, late-night dominoes pizza, countless trips to the bookstore, and endless walking.

through it all, ive gained a better understanding of God's call to missions and His love for all people.

there were many amazing speakers at the conference. it was awesome hearing about how God has been working in their lives as they shared testimonies and various messages.

geri rodman taught that "we need to turn from the idols that enslave us, that demonize us, dehumanize us and degrade us, and return to the living God." frankly speaking, i had never considered idolatry as something i struggle with. needless to say, it was quite humbling to realize that idolatry is concerned with more than just material things, and the area in which i struggled with the most was with myself. after listening to her message, i made a decision to give up my idols of self-glory, self-comfort, and self-reliance.

lisa espineli chinn emphasized that "we must learn to say, 'yes your majesty.'" it was through her messages that i came to see how majestic Jesus really is. He truly is the King, so who am i to say "no" to His calling?

nikki toyama revealed a valuable lesson in that "following Jesus is costly, but not following Jesus is more costly." no matter how much we have to give up to follow after Jesus, it is nothing in comparison with how much Jesus sacrificed for us.

jonathan maracle of the native american band, broken walls, commented that "it isn't the drums, but the heart of the drummer" that really matters. it opened my eyes to see that people of every color and background can come together to worship God. God is awesome, no?

david zac niringiye shared that "a fragmented church is not much help to a fragmented world." in order for us Christians to truly share the Good News and reach out to nonbelievers, the church must be united for such a great cause.

nairy ohanian spoke about how "God leads and designes our adventures with him." it's okay to be a scaredy-cat, as long as you don't allow your fears to prevent you from living for Him. in nairy's words, "if we focus on our fears, we'll never get out the front door." so how can we be sure that God will provide for each of our needs? how can we be sure that there is no need to worry? simply put, "God gives us Himself, and that is always enough." plan jesus or nothing.

alex gee stated that "we measure our knowledge of the Lord through how we love our brothers and sisters." i have brothers and sisters all across the globe. everywhere i go, no matter what the people look like or what language they speak, i know that i have family there. what an awesome feeling =)

as if that wasn't enough, i also got a chance to go to a few seminars..

Alive to God: Spiritual Disciplines for the Journey led by Doug & Marilyn Stewart showed me that i need to take some time away from all the noise of this world and simply be alone with God. it's kinda frightening to think that i never hear silence, even when im asleep.

Why We Don't Pray For and Engage Our Unchurched Friends led by Gideon Y. Tsang was a good reminder that i should always keep all my friends in my prayers while being persistent in evangelism.

God's Dream vs. the American Dream led by Scott Bessenecker spoke of the ill-effects of materialism. no man can serve two Gods, right? right.

Understanding Prayer & Spiritual Warfare led by Vicky Porterfield made me realize that there really is a war taking place beyond what my eyes can see. but, rest assured, we're all equipped with the proper weapons to protect ourselves.

putting all this aside, perhaps the most amazing experience i had in urbana was on the first night, when i was walking in circles inside the assembly hall looking for a seat. it was amazing seeing so many people of all different races and backgrounds joining together to worship the King. it felt like a glimpse of heaven =)

prayer requests

hey everyone. i have a quick prayer request if you don't mind. for the past 2 days, i have had an on-and-off fever and an unbelievable series of coughs. my fever disappears for half a day, leaving me with only a sore throat, but then a couple hours later, it comes back full stride. so if you could, please just take a second to pray for me.

also, im not sure how many people have been looking at it, but i do have a page just for prayer requests. i have a link on the left side of this blog and also a link in my AIM profile, so you really have no excuse =P

i think it'd just be awesome if you would check it just maybe a couple times a week to pray for those in need. it truly is amazing what prayer can do, and i think it'd be spectacular if we all witnessed the power of prayer together.

thanks a bunch =)

(oh, and do let me know if you have any prayer requests that i could pray for)

littlecanoe4111 (12:50:17 PM): hey mok
littlecanoe4111 signed off at 12:50:44 PM.
littlecanoe4111 signed on at 12:50:54 PM.
littlecanoe4111 (12:51:02 PM): sorry bout that
littlecanoe4111 signed off at 12:51:21 PM.
littlecanoe4111 signed on at 12:51:27 PM.
littlecanoe4111 (12:51:36 PM): argh
mok says (12:51:40 PM): hahaha

haha i don't know why i found this so funny..

itadakanra: are you still in sugarland?
mok says: im in your house
mok says: right behind you
itadakanra: hah you dork.
mok says: ur mom
itadakanra: ..is this jennifer?
mok says: yea
mok says: is this wendy?
itadakanra: yeah
mok says: cooooooooliosssssss
itadakanra: haha i thought you were jonathan
mok says: i am
mok says: you loser
itadakanra: what?
itadakanra: but you just saud you were jenn..
mok says: you can't tell?
itadakanra: ah im going to eat lunch

how can you mistaken me for my sister? i don't understand.

DarkJediPete: so messed up
mok says: ?
DarkJediPete: britney spears gets married and then divorce the next day
mok says: ....

..what's..going..on..?

carry me, Jesus, for i am too weak to walk

so i woke up today sick. not as sick as yesterday night when i got home, but i could feel yucky icky stuff in my throat and i was pretty sure i still had a slight fever. this was at 10:20. i thought about just skipping church to get some more rest, but after a second of hesitation, i put on my clothes and ran out the door for church service. boy, was it worth it.

i got there as john began giving his message, and it was titled "no trivial pursuit." i could totally relate to the message because it was at urbana that i realized that i had not been pursuing God wholeheartedly.

afterwards, we were loitering as asians usually do, and jon-erik came up to me and gave me a hug. i was confused, and then he said "thanks for helping to bring me to church." he had tears in his eyes, but i had no idea what was going on. so i said "no problem, glad you're coming now." and then he said "no, i really appreciate it."

i didn't think anything of it until later that afternoon, when we were going to go play ball. i asked jon-erik what he thought of john's message, and he said that he accepted Christ today! =) =)

man i was so surprised and happy that i couldn't think of anything better to say than MAN, THAT'S AWESOME!! and to think, i was thinking about missing church because of my fever =P

anyways, i know i promised an urbana post, but i thought this was alot more important. but rest assured, urbana post will be next. er, and new year's resolutions soon.