Appalachian Mission Trip with World Vision

Philippi, WV.

That's where we went for our 4 days and 3 nights mission trip. Philippi is located in the Appalachian region and with a sparse population of 3,000 residents, we joined World Vision to help this struggling small town.

Admittedly, each of us had different expectation about the town and the community that we would be serving, and what we saw there seems to defy all of our expectations. I guess we were still struggling to reconcile the definition of poor in the US compared to what we have brought up seeing in Indonesia. The family that we were serving seems to possess things that low-income Indonesians would be considered luxury: flat TV, fully stocked refrigerator, electricity, plumbing, and comfy bed.

However, this initial shock did not last long. We had a debrief the first night and took the chance to unite and align our perspective again to the Bible. God is teaching us that He does not discriminate any of the disciples when He washed their feet, including Judas. Thus, regardless of their poverty level, we were called to serve, and serve we will.

Our main goal is to finish painting one living room. First, we started the day getting to know Rosetta and her family (this is the family that we served), and quickly started to work. Before the wall can be painted, we needed to sand and chalk the wall. So majority of our time was spent doing these, while some of us (Eva, Upik, and Maria) were assigned to repaint another room.

During the course of three days, we slowly got to know Rosetta and her family. She shared how she was raised in a church, but hardships and disasters that came later in life pushed her away from believing in God. She could not understand why a loving God would put her in an alcoholic family and allow suffering to happen in her life: bankruptcy, medical bills, and many other calamities.

Despite the disappointment, she also shared how she was touched by the kindness of World Vision and all the volunteers who had come to help her renovating her house. Teared up, she confided that she was not ready to accept Christ yet, but all these gospel-adorning activities by Christians around her definitely softening her heart.

One personal memory with Rosetta was when she invited all of us to watch her son's football match. We were more than thrilled to take part in this family event and quickly agreed to attend. We arrived at the field, her brother insisted on paying all of our tickets (such an act of generosity) and we all sat down together cheering the home team. That game was a special moment because at that point, I believe we were bonded deeper when all of us cheering and shouting together for her son. No label, no presumption, no I-am-the-volunteer, and no I-am-the-poor, just people having fun together over a game.

The last day of service, we started out with a morning devotion from John 13 about Jesus washing the disciples' feet. We meditated on Jesus' servanthood: that He loves in spite of who the disciples are (no discrimination, including Judas), in spite of what He is facing (single focus to serve although He would be crucified the next day), and in spite of who He is (King).

Then, we painted the outside of the house and by the end of the day, we finished painting two sides of it. Quite an accomplishment. For our last dinner, Rosetta and her family came to our campground. It was truly a delight to have her over, and we discovered that she was a very friendly and sociable person. We thanked God that during the course of three days, the ice had melted, the racial and demographic gap had been bridged, and a memorable friendship was built between Rosetta and us.

As I looked back over the experience, I, and I'm sure I'm speaking for the whole team, was truly blessed by this trip. First, it is true what the Bible said that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35) and we experienced that first-hand. Not just the acts of service, but the satisfaction from being a blessing and to do this in the context of friendship and fellowship. Second, it humbled me: that my life is undeservedly blessed, that I complained more than I need, and I give thanks less than I should (we also had a no-complaint rule during the trip :) ). Third, God's unconditional love is far more radical than I imagined. Love views the world in opaque: no cultural, racial, socio-economic black and white and ultimately, demanding no response.

All in all, thanks to World Vision, Kris (the coordinator), and Rosetta and her family for the experience. Hopefully we can come back next year, with a different team!!

The Team, Rosetta (in pink), her husband and children, and Kris (in orange) from World Vision

Little Exciting Things about Atlanta

I visited Atlanta a week ago with two other friends, and during our short visit, I discovered some memorable things about Atlanta, and they are not about the old boring Coca-cola museum, or Aquarium. These were the places that not so much touristy but we decided to visit it anyway, and they easily became my highlight of my trip.

1. Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Shop
Hidden gem, so hidden that we had to figure out how to get into this coffee shop. It is located inside an apartment complex, and you have to buzz the coffee shop and let them open the gate. A twenty minutes drive from downtown, and you'll enter a coffee shop with one of the most beautiful view. You can either enjoy the nice interior decor or go out and sit by the river, sip your cup o Joe and lost in the beauty.

2. North Point Community Church (30 min from Atlanta)
I have been listening to Andy Stanley on and off, and I would not miss the opportunity to visit his church personally. I know this is not everybody's cup of tea, but if you like a good and sound biblical teaching, visit this church and your soul will get nourished. One piece of advice: try to come to the morning service since you will be seeing Andy in his flesh, not his video (as in the evening service that we came to)

3. Park 75 Lounge and Terrace
Part of me always and will forever always enjoy the ambiance of a serene lounge - with live music, good drinks, and great friends. Unfortunately, Columbus has little to offer in this area so I have to hunt for a great lounge every time I travel. This one was a wild card; pulled up my Yelp app, looked for a hotel around downtown and found this spot. 95% satisfaction, with the 5% being an absence of live music. But nevertheless, great drinks, sumptuous desserts, and great conversation. What a nice way to end a long day

4. Global Soap
Global Soap is an Atlanta-based non profit organization whose work is to provide millions of people with soap. They recycle partially used soap from hotels into new bars and distribute it to people who need it around the world. Why soap? More and more research have revealed that a simple hand-washing practice could reduce disease-related diseases and school absenteeism significantly. I think we in the developed world tend to underestimate this simple and ordinary practice. Currently, they have distributed their recycled soap to 31 countries - a pretty remarkable achievement for a four years old organization.

It is truly an honor to have this experience. Derreck Kayongo, the founder and also one of 2011's CNN Heroes, was kind enough to refer me to his Executive Director, Sam Stephens, who then agreed to meet and talk with us about Global Soap. I am always thrilled to absorb lessons from experienced people who have gotten their hands dirty in the business of changing the world. Sam is truly an inspirational and visionary person and we really enjoyed our one-hour meeting and tour around the facility.

with Sam Stephens, Executive Director of Global Soap

Vancouver, I Will Be Back

Call me selfish, but some of my best vacations were the one I had with myself. Five minutes, instead of 2 hours wait, for that delicious Ippudo ramen. Roaming freely and pressureless-ly, visiting each and every exhibition at the Library of Congress. And straddling along Las Vegas Boulevard observing the newly wed and the just-bankrupt.

Last month, it was Vancouver's turn. Having heard repeatedly that this is 'one of the most beautiful cities', I was excited to venture what this city has to offer: food, culture, and scenery.

Without a doubt, my first stop had to be Stanley Park. That had dominated my Google search history for days, and I had been eyeing it with pure lust and determination. So, after stuffing my stomach with delicious fresh salmon sashimi, I made my first stop at Stanley Park. With the evening sun glaring softly, ocean breeze blowing gently, together with mountains and oceans witnessing my act of freedom, I put on my running shoes and ran.

View of Vancouver from Stanley Park 

View from Brandywine Falls

It's not a rumor. Vancouver is indeed one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever visited. Not New York because of its reckless and constantly-honking yellow taxis. Not Chicago because it lacks the mountain view. Not Boston because of it mediocre Japanese food. Not San Francisco because of the absence of a park in the middle of its downtown. Vancouver competes in a completely different league - beat them hands down.

View from Granville Island 

A Statue of Ilanaaq, the official logo mascot of Winter Olympic 2010

Skyline from Cypress Bowl 

Whistler was a different beast on its own. There was something mysterious and grandeur on the view before me that I was forced to slow down and observe. It felt like my existence was being challenged by the mountain and was being put in a ring together on a battle of ego. How could I be the center of the world? How could everything revolve around me? I need to take a class on perspective, because definitely my self-centered and narrow view of self cannot contain the vast yet intricate detail of this one snapshot of creation.

Call me selfish, but also call me a mere human. Nature is created to be enjoyed, and some people find its utmost pleasure in solitude. Reflection, I'd argue, is an art slowly missing in this fast paced, LTE data plan culture. So what does it take for a person to get recharged and be energized again? I don't know what works for you, but for me, travelling to Vancouver works just fine.

Short Term Mission Trip to Cambodia

Here is bits and pieces of my two weeks short term mission trip to Cambodia. Although I can't say definitively that there are lots of new discovery (maybe mostly because it is pretty similar to Indonesia), it is still a great learning experience nonetheless.

Just like real missionary, being sent off to the field. 

First day, we went to this floating village. It's amazing how they manage to live in this kind of environment, I get sea-sick easily so this is not a very friendly environment to settle in. Most people stay in one places and depending on the rain level that season, they move to other places. It is basically like a small town of their own, only the roads are water. They have people going around selling produce every day (kinda like a moving market),and they also have schools for the kids. 

I still can't wrap my mind around it. There are not one, or two, but many of these kind of children, wearing a real snake like a necklace and pointing it to all the tourist, while muttering "one dollar, one dollar". Not a really good marketing strategy though, you can't make me grab a dollar and give it to you if you have that creature on your shoulder like it ready to devour me. 

We have the opportunity to have a buffet dinner at this restaurant that also showcases local dances. Some of the dances are pretty boring for me maybe because it is too traditional and we don't really get the meaning behind it. But some of the more modern dances are pretty entertaining. One dance tells the story of rice farming and the love story between the farmers. Now, that is more relate-able! 

2nd day: Temple Hopping - we visited four temple, all of which have distinct and unique characteristic of their own. We took a group picture with the renown Angkor Wat as the background. 

I just thought this is pretty awesome. Imagine having no sophisticated tools at that time, and using your hand to carve this statue. The precision level (and frustration level too) must be very high. 

After done with all the temple hopping - we took a 7 hour bus drive to Pnom Penh where we will start our work week.  I am with the construction team and our big task is to build a wall around the church's compound. This is one of the sites - digging dirt, building a gutter, putting solid foundation. Next couple of days later: mixing cement, pouring the cement, and building the poles. 

Look at their expression, really adorable. The kid on the left is my favorite, he is pretty playful although a bit spoilt. Well, what can you do, he is a kid. He forces me to put him on the wheelbarrow and push him around.  Our VBS (Vacation Bible Study) team play with them, teach the Bible, do some craft work. We are so grateful for the four kids who accept Christ. 

We also get the chance to visit two historical sites: Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and The Killing Field. These were where the Khmer Rouge, led by Pot Pal tortured the Cambodia people back in 1975 - 1979 and then all the bodies were being dumped in what they called 'The Killing Field'. It is a very gruesome and bizarre pictures of human's cruelty and we all are very overwhelmed by what we've seen there. 

We all miss the good old American ice cream so we don't waste our time during our free day and quickly go to DQ to satisfy our craving. They have a green tea blizzard, so in the name of being adventurous, I try it and not regret it. 

Once we're done with our work week, we spend two wonderful days in Kep at this wonderful resort. I get to sleep on this outdoor bed complete with mosquito net, a pretty wonderful experience I should say. Back to nature!

Dinner by the beach, waiting for the sunset. The picture does not do the view justice though, the view is much more stunning if you see it by yourself. 

On our last day, we go to one of the provinces where World Vision do its work. This is a puppet play educating the children the importance of washing hands and staying healthy. We also got the chance to hear the testimony of one HIV positive patient, how she got the disease, how Jesus gave her hope again, and how the support group has been very helpful in helping her go through her struggle. Pretty impactful. 

My last picture - in front of World Relief Cambodia office. Very grateful to have these guys working for the cause of the Lord there.  

Las Vegas in Snapshots

Rare view of the Bellagio Fountain - was eating at this Japanese restaurant, Yellowtail. 

 I know buddy, life in Vegas can be pretty rough. 

Double rainbow, lol. These people have a sense of humor. 

Looking for great yet cheap meal in Vegas? Pretty tough mission to accomplish.
But this sandwich nails it. Find them at Planet Hollywood. 

One of the greatest dessert place ever: Jean-Philippe. They have this largest chocolate fountain.

Assortment of cakes - mouth watering. 

Banana foster crepe. I wish my friends were with me to
try the rest of the dessert. 

That's why we have online check in buddy. Smart move,
I skipped all those lines. 

Positive Note on Traveling

Traveling has always been one of my favorite things to do, be it a leisure travel or work travel. Why? Simply because you can get out from your routine and experience something new - place, food, people, culture, politics, and  local movements. Of course the last three are a complete bull, but I do like to venture into new things and it is always been a comfort to walk around and to let all my five senses absorb all the sensation they can take.

With such long winded introduction, I'm actually only getting at this point, that these past couple of weeks I have been travelling quite often for work. Our company is having all these trade shows around the country to promote our products to local garden centers. A brief tangent: the show is enjoyable, here is the picture of our booth.

The display is great and I think we are one of the best, if not the best booth in all the shows, but great things come with a great price. It takes us six hours to set that up, and please pardon me for complaining, but keep in mind that those black furniture need to be transported from the van to the booth which is first, not a short walk, and second, let just say that they are not light, they are wrought iron-ly heavy. And yes, they don't look very pretty inside the van. Clutter clutter clutter.

So, what do I really like from all these traveling? First, you stay in a hotel which equals to no making up bed, no guilt feeling when you use five different sets of towels for different purposes (then toss them on the floor), no cleaning dishes and complete freedom to roll to any direction on the king size bed (and the liberty to pick your favorite pillows out of the six available).

Secondly, you received an eye-opening revelation, that even if human race is on its way to extinction, Chinese would probably be the last one standing. Go to the most remote, unseen county, just down at the corner of that corn farm and east of that valley and river and you would see some Lim or Chin or Lee family own a Dragon-something Chinese restaurants. Of course, all have a special and unique General Tso's chicken just like they proudly proclaim. They rule and reign and populate the US.

But of course, there is always one of them who go off on a tangent and open a law firm. Heaven and Dragon forbid, and look at the destiny of those who violate the law of nature.

They "Suk"