I stayed in for Halloween last night. It was my first Halloween here and I wanted to experience it but for some reason felt like staying in. My mom and uncle even called to encourage me to go out for a bit. A lot of people ask if China celebrates Halloween and they do. It is not as big as the US but every club had a Halloween theme and I heard the parties were pretty crazy.
Last night, my buddy emailed me and asked if I wanted to go to Church tomorrow and I replied, YES I DO. Strangely enough, when I was checking my email the next morning, my other friend from SF emailed me to check out a popular foreigners only Church called Shanghai Community Fellowship. They were both talking about the same one. That was confirmation to me to check it out.
No words can explain what happened next. When I got to the Church, I found a seat in the last row on the left. As I saw down and looked up, I started crying uncontrollably for 30 minutes. I was slightly embarrassed as I was not sure what was going on. It seemed every song I heard and everything I saw made me cry. My buddy was not there yet as he was running late. I told him what happened afterwards and he said, “It means you found home.”
When thinking back on the situation, it did feel like I found home. I felt a sense of accomplishment bigger than anything else I felt in a long time. I did not have this feeling when I attended fellowship in SF or LA. I questioned myself; did God really bring me halfway across the world to experience this? And why Shanghai?
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
World Series, GIANTS vs. Rangers!
Today was Game One of the World Series and my friend found a bar that airs it at 730am. There was surprisingly a good amount of Giants fan there. My friend works at Expo and I met a couple of her co-workers. I was planning on going to Expo at night and one of them agreed to get me into USA Pavilion without waiting in line. The normal wait time is three plus hours.
Unfortunately, I left my phone at home so too bad for me. It was the last week of Expo already and I did not want to come back. There is probably going to be more people than usual and I was so done with walking Expo. I am glad I went at night because it is so different from the daytime. Even though I did not go into the USA Pavilion, I took more than enough pictures as souvenirs.
Giants Won so same routine tomorrow.
Unfortunately, I left my phone at home so too bad for me. It was the last week of Expo already and I did not want to come back. There is probably going to be more people than usual and I was so done with walking Expo. I am glad I went at night because it is so different from the daytime. Even though I did not go into the USA Pavilion, I took more than enough pictures as souvenirs.
Giants Won so same routine tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Everyday life of Shanghai
Exploring Shanghai has been an adventure so far. Learning their Metro system, our Bart, has been a struggle. People here do not follow the rules and pushing and shoving is normal. A couple times during rush hour, I literally had to bum rush my way out. I felt bad in the beginning but now I am getting used to it. Cars have the right of way here and red lights do not mean anything. There are bikes and mopeds everywhere and they also have the right of way. So if you decide to be nice and let everyone go, you will be standing there for the whole day.
I expected more from their food. I had oily food the whole time on my tour and was hoping to get away from it. The food here is just as oily and salty. If you are on a tight budget, you can definitely find cheap foods anywhere. I am still in search for a simple cobb salad. I think I need to head towards the western part of town. I did manage to find Subway sandwiches but their six inch cost just as much as our footlong. Even though it is the same sandwich, the veggies are not quite the same. Fast food restaurants like KFC and McDonalds are spreading like wildfire. We will see the popularity of obesity in this country in a couple years.
I expected more from their food. I had oily food the whole time on my tour and was hoping to get away from it. The food here is just as oily and salty. If you are on a tight budget, you can definitely find cheap foods anywhere. I am still in search for a simple cobb salad. I think I need to head towards the western part of town. I did manage to find Subway sandwiches but their six inch cost just as much as our footlong. Even though it is the same sandwich, the veggies are not quite the same. Fast food restaurants like KFC and McDonalds are spreading like wildfire. We will see the popularity of obesity in this country in a couple years.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Shanghai Expo 2010
I finally went to the Shanghai Expo today. I have been waiting and trying to find someone to go with me but no one wanted to go. They said I would find out why after I go there myself. I was afraid of the crowd and was hoping the rain scared some of them away but it did not stop them. Getting to the Expo was rather easy but it was a far walk.
When I got to the Expo, all I could see were people. People everywhere lining up to go into pavilions and bathrooms. My main purpose there was to take pictures and check out the exterior of the pavilions. I knew it was going to be a long wait for the ones I wanted to see. The USA pavilion alone was a three hours wait. Saudi Arabia and Japan were at least six hours, crazy.
Before the night-lights turned on, my camera died and I was forced to leave. It was good timing because my knees were about to give out again like The Great Wall. That means I have to go back at night or just be satisfied with what I have. I heard it is completely different at night so I knew one way or another I would be back.
When I got to the Expo, all I could see were people. People everywhere lining up to go into pavilions and bathrooms. My main purpose there was to take pictures and check out the exterior of the pavilions. I knew it was going to be a long wait for the ones I wanted to see. The USA pavilion alone was a three hours wait. Saudi Arabia and Japan were at least six hours, crazy.
Before the night-lights turned on, my camera died and I was forced to leave. It was good timing because my knees were about to give out again like The Great Wall. That means I have to go back at night or just be satisfied with what I have. I heard it is completely different at night so I knew one way or another I would be back.
Friday, October 22, 2010
United Nations Gala Event
My friend flies in from New York and invites me a United Nations Gala Event. FYI, I had no clue what kind of event this was going to be. Anyways, during the layover from Hong Kong, she sat next to ANDY LAU to Shanghai. For those that do not know, he is like the Michael Jackson of Hong Kong. He is one of the best performers and respected idol in Asia. He will perform at the closing ceremony for the Shanghai Expo.
Back to the UN event, I have never seen so many leaders and power in one room. The main table, which took up about 1/3 room, had 22 seats. The event was huge and held at a five star new hotel in Shanghai. This hotel was nicer than a lot of hotels in Vegas. Dinner was served and also a couple great performances by local artists.
When the event was over, we changed and went to club called Muse 2. It was jam packed with an event going on downstairs next to the ginormous Cartier store neat XinTianDi. A couple Hong Kong celebrities were there including ANDY LAU, Edison Chen, and Shawn Yue. Of course I did not see any of them but would have been cool to.
Back to the UN event, I have never seen so many leaders and power in one room. The main table, which took up about 1/3 room, had 22 seats. The event was huge and held at a five star new hotel in Shanghai. This hotel was nicer than a lot of hotels in Vegas. Dinner was served and also a couple great performances by local artists.
When the event was over, we changed and went to club called Muse 2. It was jam packed with an event going on downstairs next to the ginormous Cartier store neat XinTianDi. A couple Hong Kong celebrities were there including ANDY LAU, Edison Chen, and Shawn Yue. Of course I did not see any of them but would have been cool to.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Finale of Tour de China!
10-20-10
Made a pit stop to Shanghai last night and took a cruise of HuangPu River to see the night lights of the big city. My tour guide quoted a comment about Shanghai from Time magazine. It stated past, present, and future and it referenced it to Paris, New York, and Shanghai. I understand why now.
Our last destination was Hangzhou, three hours away from Shanghai. Our first stop was a tea garden where they showed us how their green tea was made. I tried their green tea leaf as a chip for the first time and it was not bad. I did not think much of this city and started to wonder why I came so far to see a tea garden. I should have stayed in Shanghai.
When we were driving to downtown for dinner, I realized why this city was so popular. I saw my first Rolls Royce dealership and alongside was Lambo, Porsche, Maserati, and Mercedes. Wowsers! Dinner was usual, but the mask/face changing show afterwards was dope.
And for the grand finale, we saw a show on water called Impression West Lake. They turned parts of the West Lake into a huge stage. I was not going to attend in the beginning but luckily the tour guide convinced me to go and it was totally worth it. The director also directed the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the music was by Kitaro. Everything about the show was absolutely amazing, from the cast, plot, music, and decoration. I would see it again in a heart beat.
It has been a long tour and it was coming to an end. I do not think I can take another ten days of traveling like this. I had so much fun touring China and it was definitely an eye opener. I will miss everybody on the tour and the history I learned about this great country. I take away something new every time I travel, even if it is a domestic trip. This was a humbling experience and I am realizing why China is going to be the next land of opportunities.
Made a pit stop to Shanghai last night and took a cruise of HuangPu River to see the night lights of the big city. My tour guide quoted a comment about Shanghai from Time magazine. It stated past, present, and future and it referenced it to Paris, New York, and Shanghai. I understand why now.
Our last destination was Hangzhou, three hours away from Shanghai. Our first stop was a tea garden where they showed us how their green tea was made. I tried their green tea leaf as a chip for the first time and it was not bad. I did not think much of this city and started to wonder why I came so far to see a tea garden. I should have stayed in Shanghai.
When we were driving to downtown for dinner, I realized why this city was so popular. I saw my first Rolls Royce dealership and alongside was Lambo, Porsche, Maserati, and Mercedes. Wowsers! Dinner was usual, but the mask/face changing show afterwards was dope.
And for the grand finale, we saw a show on water called Impression West Lake. They turned parts of the West Lake into a huge stage. I was not going to attend in the beginning but luckily the tour guide convinced me to go and it was totally worth it. The director also directed the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the music was by Kitaro. Everything about the show was absolutely amazing, from the cast, plot, music, and decoration. I would see it again in a heart beat.
It has been a long tour and it was coming to an end. I do not think I can take another ten days of traveling like this. I had so much fun touring China and it was definitely an eye opener. I will miss everybody on the tour and the history I learned about this great country. I take away something new every time I travel, even if it is a domestic trip. This was a humbling experience and I am realizing why China is going to be the next land of opportunities.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Beautiful Suzhou
We left WuXi for Suzhou today. The ride was about 90 minutes and we stopped by a pearl factory on the way. They sold everything from pearl jewelry, tea, to lotion. Pearl is like fine wine, the older it is the more expensive.
Then it was off to another garden and temple. There were so many other tours at the places we were at today. You can tell China is coming up fast as people are traveling from all over the world to visit. The Expo in Shanghai and the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 definitely helped their popularity and economy.
Suzhou is my favorite place so far as they have unique activities and the people are great. We went on a boat ride across a small river and the scene was beautiful. There were old houses on both sides with people still living in them. My thought was it would be great to live here but it turns out to be the complete opposite. Regardless, I enjoyed the ride and took many great pictures.
We ended the night visiting the most modern place in the city, the Suzhou Science and Culture Arts Center, also SSCAC. This place is 150,000 sq meters with performance halls, IMAX theaters, and a huge garden. I also found my first cup of “real” coffee from Dreyers here and I was so excited. My camera died as I was inside but managed to get a couple good shots.
As I am washing up, I noticed the bug bit has gotten worse and my ankle is the size of a baseball now. It is sore but I can still walk on it. Hopefully it will get better tomorrow or I will need some serious medicine to take the swelling down.
Then it was off to another garden and temple. There were so many other tours at the places we were at today. You can tell China is coming up fast as people are traveling from all over the world to visit. The Expo in Shanghai and the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 definitely helped their popularity and economy.
Suzhou is my favorite place so far as they have unique activities and the people are great. We went on a boat ride across a small river and the scene was beautiful. There were old houses on both sides with people still living in them. My thought was it would be great to live here but it turns out to be the complete opposite. Regardless, I enjoyed the ride and took many great pictures.
We ended the night visiting the most modern place in the city, the Suzhou Science and Culture Arts Center, also SSCAC. This place is 150,000 sq meters with performance halls, IMAX theaters, and a huge garden. I also found my first cup of “real” coffee from Dreyers here and I was so excited. My camera died as I was inside but managed to get a couple good shots.
As I am washing up, I noticed the bug bit has gotten worse and my ankle is the size of a baseball now. It is sore but I can still walk on it. Hopefully it will get better tomorrow or I will need some serious medicine to take the swelling down.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Farewell to Nanjing
We started the morning at a jade factory then left the city of Nanjing for WuXi three hours away. Our first stop was Wuxi Xihui Garden. This is another place that covers acres and acres of land. The story is, the emperor used to come down to this Garden to play and pick up the pretty girls. The inside was very nice and everything was maintained in great shape. I did not have much left in the tank but I had to suck it up and finish the day. I got a bug bit last night and it is starting to swell up. So far it does not look so good. We got back to the hotel early and everyone went downstairs for $68RMB, $8USD, foot massage. It was definitely worth it, even without the happy ending.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Destination two, Nanjing
My legs were terribly sore in the morning and I knew we were in for another day of
walking. From 30 people, only 14 of us went to Nanjing. Other people ended their
tour or they went somewhere else.
Nothing surprises me anymore on this trip. When we landed in Nanjing, we waited
for an hour for our luggage then to find out the cabin door would not open. Our
luggage was stuck inside the aircraft. They would have to fly back to Beijing and find a specialist to open the gate. W.T.H… They told us they could not guarantee that our luggage would get back tonight and will be delivered to us tomorrow night.
We had no choice but to leave as other passengers were screaming their heads off. Poor China Air!!! Today was all bus rides and walking up 392 flights of stairs at another temple. I finally got hold of a cup of coffee called Blue Mountain. It is supposedly premium stuff but it taste like water. I do not think they change theirs filters, yuck. The hotel we stayed at was another five star and it was great, especially their breakfast.
walking. From 30 people, only 14 of us went to Nanjing. Other people ended their
tour or they went somewhere else.
Nothing surprises me anymore on this trip. When we landed in Nanjing, we waited
for an hour for our luggage then to find out the cabin door would not open. Our
luggage was stuck inside the aircraft. They would have to fly back to Beijing and find a specialist to open the gate. W.T.H… They told us they could not guarantee that our luggage would get back tonight and will be delivered to us tomorrow night.
We had no choice but to leave as other passengers were screaming their heads off. Poor China Air!!! Today was all bus rides and walking up 392 flights of stairs at another temple. I finally got hold of a cup of coffee called Blue Mountain. It is supposedly premium stuff but it taste like water. I do not think they change theirs filters, yuck. The hotel we stayed at was another five star and it was great, especially their breakfast.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Great Wall of China
We started our day at the Jade Museum. Everything looked so clean and expensive.
They taught us how to differentiate real and fake jade by the color, sound, and density. It was a short stop but the main attraction today was the Great Wall.
As we arrive in the parking lot, we can see the Great Wall running on two sides
with stairs going all the way up. One side for beginners and the other side for
more advanced. I went for the advanced side and I was in for an adventure. What
I thought was the top of the mountain, was not even close. I started out running
for some reason and tired out after 10mins. I was running short on time but I was
persistent I would get to the top. The worse part about climbing the steep stairs
was the wind blowing against you.
After a couple tower stops, pictures, and 45 minutes later, I was at the top. It was great accomplishment and the view was breath taking. There were a lot of people up there and it was great to share the experience with them. Now for the tough part, getting back down. My legs were giving out and shaking as I was hugging the rail like a stripper pole all the way down. My legs were still shaking at night.
We called it a night early because we had to wake up at 4am to catch a flight out to Nanjing.
They taught us how to differentiate real and fake jade by the color, sound, and density. It was a short stop but the main attraction today was the Great Wall.
As we arrive in the parking lot, we can see the Great Wall running on two sides
with stairs going all the way up. One side for beginners and the other side for
more advanced. I went for the advanced side and I was in for an adventure. What
I thought was the top of the mountain, was not even close. I started out running
for some reason and tired out after 10mins. I was running short on time but I was
persistent I would get to the top. The worse part about climbing the steep stairs
was the wind blowing against you.
After a couple tower stops, pictures, and 45 minutes later, I was at the top. It was great accomplishment and the view was breath taking. There were a lot of people up there and it was great to share the experience with them. Now for the tough part, getting back down. My legs were giving out and shaking as I was hugging the rail like a stripper pole all the way down. My legs were still shaking at night.
We called it a night early because we had to wake up at 4am to catch a flight out to Nanjing.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
And the tour begins...
My flight to Beijing was smooth and the on flight movie was even better. I am now a
huge fan of Toy Story 3 haha. I was worried I would not find my luggage as I missed
my flight last night. Luckily I did and now it was time to find my tour guy.
I was expecting to see a big colorful sign with my name over it but I could not find it. Using my moderate Mandarin, I was able to purchase a phone card to call him.
Everything was also in English so that made it easy. In seconds, I saw my name from
afar and breathed a sigh of relief. After a chaotic night, I was finally back on track.
My tour guy had someone else pick me up but he was not the driver. We stood
around for an hour, as the driver was nowhere to be found. Right before we were
leaving, my tour guy told me over the phone to give the guy who picked me up and
the driver $50 for their services. I was like, sure no problem that is $6USD. It turns out he wanted $50USD, which is about $400RMB. Oh hell no, I just landed and I am getting ripped off already. He said, if I do not pay, the driver will not come. FML…
After a 40-minute drive, I finally meet my tour guy, Forest. I ran up to him and
punched him in the face, or at least I wanted to. He turned out to be a funny guy and
he named himself after Forest Gump haha. I was the last of 30 people on my tour all
from different walks of like, from VanCity to NYC to SF.
We went to the Forbidden City and it was amazing to say the least. This is my second
time to Beijing and I do not remember it being this beautiful. The amount of land it covers would take me days to check out everything. The only thing that sucks when traveling alone, is no one taking pictures for you .
As night falls, we went to see an acrobatic show that took my breath away. It
was definitely top three acrobatic shows that I have seen. I am always on the edge of my seat and this one takes the cake. I was able to sneak in a couple pictures before my camera ran out of batteries too.
huge fan of Toy Story 3 haha. I was worried I would not find my luggage as I missed
my flight last night. Luckily I did and now it was time to find my tour guy.
I was expecting to see a big colorful sign with my name over it but I could not find it. Using my moderate Mandarin, I was able to purchase a phone card to call him.
Everything was also in English so that made it easy. In seconds, I saw my name from
afar and breathed a sigh of relief. After a chaotic night, I was finally back on track.
My tour guy had someone else pick me up but he was not the driver. We stood
around for an hour, as the driver was nowhere to be found. Right before we were
leaving, my tour guy told me over the phone to give the guy who picked me up and
the driver $50 for their services. I was like, sure no problem that is $6USD. It turns out he wanted $50USD, which is about $400RMB. Oh hell no, I just landed and I am getting ripped off already. He said, if I do not pay, the driver will not come. FML…
After a 40-minute drive, I finally meet my tour guy, Forest. I ran up to him and
punched him in the face, or at least I wanted to. He turned out to be a funny guy and
he named himself after Forest Gump haha. I was the last of 30 people on my tour all
from different walks of like, from VanCity to NYC to SF.
We went to the Forbidden City and it was amazing to say the least. This is my second
time to Beijing and I do not remember it being this beautiful. The amount of land it covers would take me days to check out everything. The only thing that sucks when traveling alone, is no one taking pictures for you .
As night falls, we went to see an acrobatic show that took my breath away. It
was definitely top three acrobatic shows that I have seen. I am always on the edge of my seat and this one takes the cake. I was able to sneak in a couple pictures before my camera ran out of batteries too.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Being patient in Hong Kong
A safe and quick flight to Hong Kong turned into a test of patient as I missed my connecting flight to Beijing. I ended up staying overnight at the airport hotel without my luggage and I was worried it was going to be in never never land. I had to contact my tour guy in Beijing to let him know I was not going to show up till tomorrow. Thankfully, the airline comped me a room, dinner, and breakfast so they are forgiven.
But when I got to the hotel, it was another battle with the front desk. I was getting the run around going up and down to the front desk. I did not sleep much on the plane and was getting irritated. Apparently I was not the only one who missed their flight so there were a bunch of people trying to use the broken pay phone. I ended up putting a deposit for my room just to make local calls argh...
This morning, I purposely got to the airport two hours early to ensure I was not going to miss my flight again. After an hour of waiting, I am finally ready to board to Beijing. What a way to start my trip...
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Journey to the Lord through the City of Angels. My testimony...
Often times we move to a new place in hopes our situation will change for the better. It gives us a chance to walk away from the things that weigh us down and enter into new opportunities and relationships that will lift our spirits. Sometimes we walk away worse off, unchanged, or if we’re fortunate like our friend, Warren, we end up better than when we started the journey.
Intro from WitnessLA.org
My name is Warren Yip and I was born and raised in San Francisco. I grew up going to a Catholic middle school and Christian church every Sunday. My sister was baptized at an early age and I did not understand why. I recited the Lord’s Prayer daily at school but never once broke the words down to understand what it means. Most of the time I was slurring over my words, sometimes not even completing the prayer. After middle school, I went through a phase of Buddhism then eventually stuck between the two religions. I went on through college and my late 20s not thinking about both at all.
A couple years ago, I encountered God again. I was going through tough times in my life with finance, relationship, and career. I started to attend fellowship, pray, and focused on starting up my journey to the Lord again. Someone had said, ‘God loves you and has a plan for you.” That verse stuck with me for a long time and I slowly started to see signs of miracles. It was still difficult for me as I was still trying to understand why my life was taking this drastic turn.
I decided to relocate to Los Angeles about a year ago with no job and no place to live. It was one of those situations where I knew everything was going to work out on its own. Luckily, with the support of my friends and family, it did. Leaving San Francisco was not easy because it was a place full of happy but at times painful memories for me. I decided it was time to make a move and I never looked back. At first, LA to me was the same as it was for a lot people. Big dreams, parties every weekend, and fake friends. But I did not want to have any of that. My main purpose was to work and to find my next destination in life.
As I sat in the Plan C office a month later for work, I ran into Jaeson Ma again. I met him in San Jose a couple months prior for an event. He was leaving the conference room and I kindly asked him to come back before he leaves. He took one step out, came back in and asked me out of nowhere if I had a bible study that I go to. It took me a second to answer him because I was in shock. I was going to ask him the same question when he came back in. It was almost like he read my mind. A couple days later, I was at GBS Sunday where it all started for me.
GBS Sunday was my go to bible study for a couple months then I switched to Tuesday prayer meetings. Tuesdays was not as popular then and I had more one on one time with the handful of people that were there. I met countless wonderful and helpful people through GBS. I was getting excited because I knew I was getting closer to God and also having all my questions answered.
Through GBS, I heard about LTG. I asked my wonderful sister Christina Chou about it and she connected me with Ed Huang. That was the turning point of my life in LA and my ticket to getting closer to the Lord. Ed and I met once a week outside of GBS and I would have plenty of questions for him. Slowly he asked about getting baptized and slowly I was thinking about it. For a couple weeks, I kept telling him that I was still missing something before I felt complete for baptism.
One night at Tuesday prayer meeting, I was telling Daniel Ra about my story and he said that I was there already. That I was not missing anything else and I was complete and ready for baptism as long as I believed Jesus Christ is my Savior. And I do. The following week on August 3, 2010, I was baptized by Ed at Jaeson’s house. Most of the people that I wanted to be there happened to show up that night and it was epic. I have not felt so much love in awhile and it has not stopped.
As I leave the City of Angels to get ready for Asia, I feel spiritually aligned. My head is clear, faith in position, and LOVE is strong for God. I believe God is miraculous and only HE can perform miracles. I want to take this time to thank everyone in LA, PCA, and GBS who made my year memorable, full of happiness, and special thanks the ones who took time out to listen to my heart. If there is one thing I take away from this experience, it is LOVE. LOVE yourself, LOVE all, and LOVE God.
Amen…
Intro from WitnessLA.org
My name is Warren Yip and I was born and raised in San Francisco. I grew up going to a Catholic middle school and Christian church every Sunday. My sister was baptized at an early age and I did not understand why. I recited the Lord’s Prayer daily at school but never once broke the words down to understand what it means. Most of the time I was slurring over my words, sometimes not even completing the prayer. After middle school, I went through a phase of Buddhism then eventually stuck between the two religions. I went on through college and my late 20s not thinking about both at all.
A couple years ago, I encountered God again. I was going through tough times in my life with finance, relationship, and career. I started to attend fellowship, pray, and focused on starting up my journey to the Lord again. Someone had said, ‘God loves you and has a plan for you.” That verse stuck with me for a long time and I slowly started to see signs of miracles. It was still difficult for me as I was still trying to understand why my life was taking this drastic turn.
I decided to relocate to Los Angeles about a year ago with no job and no place to live. It was one of those situations where I knew everything was going to work out on its own. Luckily, with the support of my friends and family, it did. Leaving San Francisco was not easy because it was a place full of happy but at times painful memories for me. I decided it was time to make a move and I never looked back. At first, LA to me was the same as it was for a lot people. Big dreams, parties every weekend, and fake friends. But I did not want to have any of that. My main purpose was to work and to find my next destination in life.
As I sat in the Plan C office a month later for work, I ran into Jaeson Ma again. I met him in San Jose a couple months prior for an event. He was leaving the conference room and I kindly asked him to come back before he leaves. He took one step out, came back in and asked me out of nowhere if I had a bible study that I go to. It took me a second to answer him because I was in shock. I was going to ask him the same question when he came back in. It was almost like he read my mind. A couple days later, I was at GBS Sunday where it all started for me.
GBS Sunday was my go to bible study for a couple months then I switched to Tuesday prayer meetings. Tuesdays was not as popular then and I had more one on one time with the handful of people that were there. I met countless wonderful and helpful people through GBS. I was getting excited because I knew I was getting closer to God and also having all my questions answered.
Through GBS, I heard about LTG. I asked my wonderful sister Christina Chou about it and she connected me with Ed Huang. That was the turning point of my life in LA and my ticket to getting closer to the Lord. Ed and I met once a week outside of GBS and I would have plenty of questions for him. Slowly he asked about getting baptized and slowly I was thinking about it. For a couple weeks, I kept telling him that I was still missing something before I felt complete for baptism.
One night at Tuesday prayer meeting, I was telling Daniel Ra about my story and he said that I was there already. That I was not missing anything else and I was complete and ready for baptism as long as I believed Jesus Christ is my Savior. And I do. The following week on August 3, 2010, I was baptized by Ed at Jaeson’s house. Most of the people that I wanted to be there happened to show up that night and it was epic. I have not felt so much love in awhile and it has not stopped.
As I leave the City of Angels to get ready for Asia, I feel spiritually aligned. My head is clear, faith in position, and LOVE is strong for God. I believe God is miraculous and only HE can perform miracles. I want to take this time to thank everyone in LA, PCA, and GBS who made my year memorable, full of happiness, and special thanks the ones who took time out to listen to my heart. If there is one thing I take away from this experience, it is LOVE. LOVE yourself, LOVE all, and LOVE God.
Amen…
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