There's a Chipotle in town!

How exciting! Four Corners looks so much less dreary with a Chipotle rather than a Burger King. Anyway, it's good to be home. I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this post... kind of posting for the sake of it.

Since I've been home, I've been to Boston quite a few times. My favorite trips to Boston have actually been when I was alone. Walked around Downtown Crossing, Park street, and discovered some really neat places, two of them being coffee shops. Ever since college, I've turned into a real coffee junkie. It's seriously burning a hole in my wallet... but anyway, there's a cute little coffee shop across from Ufood in between Downtown Crossing and the Commons named 'Common Coffee'. I've only had their chai latte and it was pretty good. Tasted exactly like how I would imagine a chai latte to taste (as you can probably tell, I'm not a very good judge of these things...) So sometimes I use my Purdue debit card in hopes of striking up a conversation with the cashier at various stores/restaurants and so this one time at Common Coffee, it actually worked! Turns out the barista has a friend who went to Purdue, which led to a 5 minute conversation between us and my friend Christina about where we're from, where we go to school, etc. Then, we find out that Barista girl is from Savannah, Georgia! And without thinking about it, I blurted out, "Heyyyy! We're going to Georgia!" Which then led to a conversation about the Passion Conference :) I really didn't find out much about Barista girl, but being able to tell her about Passion was super neat and definitely not an interaction I would have expected to happen with a stranger in Boston

The other coffee place was called 'The Thinking Cup' that Vernon and I randomly decided to go to just because we were 20 minutes early to the Muppets (which, by the way, is an excellent movie). Don't really have much to say about it except that when you walk in, the first and only thing you see is a huge tan curtain so we were thoroughly confused. My immediate thought was that they wanted us to leave. But, turns out they have some direct trade coffee with some countries in Africa. I supported that.

But my favorite place that I have discovered on my solo adventures thus far, would definitely have to be this book shop that I have always walked past but never had the opportunity to actually look at because none of my friends (ie Sarah and Charles..) actually enjoy reading. But oh boy, it was the COOLEST thing ever! Outside in this alleyway, they had brick walls and along the brick walls were shelves and shelves of super cheap books. There were Bibles, maps, encyclopedias, novels, poem anthologies, Chinese/Japanese  novels, and more. And the craziest part-- some of these books dated back to the 1800s! Inside, they had 3 floors. The first two were about the same as the books outside, but probably more expensive. And on the third floor, they had a 'rare books section', and when I walked upstairs to see and touch books that were at least 200 to 300 years old, that literally took my breath away. I don't even know why, I'm not THAT much of a reader, but I guess I do love history. I also found my way to the math/science section and saw books on thermodynamics, analytical mechanics, E/M physics, linear algebra, differential equations from the late 1800s/early 1900s, which I thought was really neat! There were also old newspaper cut outs, posters, hymnals, and huuuuuge Bibles. So I guess it's not so much my love for reading, but my love for history. I love thinking about the endless possibilities of where these books have been, whose hands they've been in, what kind of shelves they've been on. I love imagining what kind of lives these authors lived, the places they've been, what the world looked like from their eyes. And the Bibles! What they meant to the people of the 1700s and the 1800s. Was it more sacred to people then, than it is to people now?

Anyway, aside from my solo adventures in the streets of Boston, I've been spending a decent amount of time at home. Mostly with my dad, since he has these 2 weeks off as well. Recently, I've been reading Radical by David Platt, and I'm only halfway through it, but I'm loving it so far. It's certainly been giving me a lot to think about and it's been very convicting. One thing that stood out to me was that we ask people to 'accept Jesus into their hearts' as if Jesus needs our acceptance... aren't we the ones that need Him? Platt also talks about how we as Americans have turned the command to 'go into the world' into a calling. There's a very big difference between command and calling. Just as we are commanded to love each other as ourselves, we are also commanded to go into the world and proclaim the good news. Man, we need to read this for scaffolding or something (along with Desiring God). :D

I think this post is long enough. I'm at the point where I'm getting distracted by everything and everyone around me. And, I don't even know if I would have the motivation to reread this for myself. But, only a few more days until Passion! Super excited, especially now that logistics are all worked out! (Now I feel ridiculously silly for stressing about all that. People are so incredibly generous :D) I'm really looking forward to what God has in store for us there :) He is good. He is good.

Later!

"Glory's waiting outside your window..."

Lessons to be learned...

1. You are NOT in control of your life.
2. When you don't let your brothers and sisters in Christ help you out, you are robbing them of a chance to demonstrate Christ's love.
3. There are bigger and better things in life than your grades.
4. It's not about the circumstances, it's about your attitude.
5. Jesus loves us so much that he went through pain we could never fathom.

Apparently it took a broken collarbone to realize this. SOML :)

Basketball and Middle Schoolers

So this morning, I had a really humbling experience. Okay, it's not that big of a deal, but reflecting back on what happened, I can't help but smile.

Basically, before camp starts, we let some of the kids just hang around outside or inside. The kids outside were playing basketball and they were all really big 8th graders who are just really good at basketball. There was a decent amount of people outside too. I just happened to be standing off to the side when a kid named Denny says, "Ms. Wong! Take a shot!" (kids call their senior counselors by Ms. or Mr. here). And because I am HORRIBLE at basketball, I said, "Yeah ok.. only if everyone outside closes their eyes" Of course, Denny's friend Shihua overheard and he wanted me to take a shot as well. Soon enough, Macklin joins in and he says, "Everyone freeze! Ms. Wong is going to shoot a basketball!" And of course, Charles joins in and next thing I know, EVERYONE is standing there watching me nervously hold a basketball. (Story of my life?) Tammy even offered to compete against me, but really I think she was trying to encourage me. And, because I have zero confidence, I miss the first two shots and then Tammy shoves me under the hoop pretty much and tells me that there's no way I can miss from there. And she was right, I finally got it in! Everyone was clapping and laughing (with or at me, I couldn't tell). Then, I facepalmed my way out of the basketball court. Haha I couldn't believe that happened, but then I thought about it further. Why was I so bothered by it? I think it was because I went into camp today thinking "I'm the counselor. I have something to offer to these kids." Which, I mean I guess I do. But I never really thought that they could teach me anything or force me to really step outside of my comfort zone. Looking back, it was really cool and encouraging to me that these kids would cheer me on and believe in me! It took something so simple yet so .. uncomfortable to make me feel vulnerable. And it was so humbling! I think from that I learned that my identity shouldn't be in how well I can shoot hoops or what people think of me when I miss. I also learned that middle schoolers can be just as encouraging, if not more than their counselors! Mostly, I realized that we all have something to learn from each other.

Anyway, gotta go. Last day of camp tomorrow!

Project Destiny Update... and More

You can think of this post as two separate halves. Here's the first half:

The first thing I need to do is to write my PD mid-camp update. Steve (director) sent us a template to let us copy and paste, so here it is:

                It has been an exciting camp so far. To recap some of what we’ve done: In the first week, we met our campers and got to know them better. One of the first things that helped small groups bond was the Chinatown Scavenger Hunt field trip, where we looked for frequently unnoticed “landmarks” in the neighborhood and took pictures as a group. On that Friday, we also went to George’s Island in the Boston Harbor Islands to explore the fort, skip some rocks, and enjoy the seaside. In our morning Charting lessons, we put on skits about the life of Abraham and learned about how God has a plan for people, but we sin and want to do things our own way. While it had only been a few days, by the end of that week, it felt like we had been going for a long time.

                The second week went by quickly too. We took a trip to the USS Constitution to see how the navy ran its ships more than 200 years ago. We also went to the New England Aquarium and got to visit a shark and ray touch-tank. That Friday, we took a full day field trip to Overlook Farm, where we got to milk goats and make yarn while learning about sustainable agriculture. During this week for charting, through more Abraham skits and sermons from Genesis,  we learned that even though we turn away from God and leave messes in our lives because of sin, God has mercy on us and comes to rescue us—that is what salvation means.

                By the third week, campers are really comfortable with us. We’ve been continuing to bond over field trips like the Institute of Contemporary Art and whale-watching. It was a little tough on everyone this week because of some of our staff got sick (perhaps a little sicker from being on a boat!) and because of the heat wave that hit us. We tried to stay cool while dealing with new challenges that came from campers being more comfortable with us and planning for big events. Just yesterday, after that whale-watch, some of the counselors from TWR and PD came together to put on an “All Around the World” event where kids built replicas of famous world monuments. We were hoping and praying that this would provide an opportunity for PD kids to integrate into TWR. Please pray for this important continuing goal of our camp.

 So for my own personal updates on Project Destiny. I've certainly been learning a lot through spending time with the girls in my small group and with the team as a whole. The girls in my group are great and there are times where it's harder to be patient, but God's been teaching me some really valuable lessons for community groups next year. He's showing me what it really means to be available and how to just listen and be there for someone.

Another major theme that God has been showing me is discipline. (And here begins the second half). How God allows us to go through really tough times because He loves us. For some reason, Hebrews 12 has been popping up so much it's on the verge of freaky.

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:7-11

Sometimes, I feel as though this entire summer has been one huge discipline (hm for some reason what sounds really awkward, but I hope you're catching my drift). I think I came into this summer thinking it was going to be somewhat easy, especially since I did PD last year. But I was so so so wrong. This has been the hardest summer ever.

I don't know exactly how your summer's been. (Actually, this goes beyond summer too!) Whether tough times are happening now, or if they are to come, we have to realize that God is disciplining us, and not because He just feels like it, but because it's for our good. That we may share in his holiness. He's making us holy and more like Him through these tough times. Isn't that something to look forward to? Like the light at the end of the tunnel? And the thing that should give us hope and perseverance in tough times is that God knows what we are going through-- He knows it's not easy. After all, the writer of Hebrews says that no discipline is pleasant at the time, but painful. But God allows for this because only through discipline will we produce the fruit of righteousness and peace.

Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm at the place right now where I am at peace with everything that's going on this summer. In fact, I'm still dealing with painful experiences (emotionally and physically), weariness, a horrible attitude (referring to my own), and severe nostalgia. But if I really sit down and reflect (especially on this passage), I have hope and I know that God's letting all of this happen for my good. I can't wait to see how He's changing me and everyone else this summer through not only the good times, but also the really really really hard times as well.

Pastor Enoch always says this thing that I really like. He says that there's a difference between a 'memorable' summer and a 'life-changing' summer. A memorable summer is filled with fun times, good memories that make your heart feel warm and fuzzy. But a life changing summer is one filled not only with the good times, but also with heart ache and painful experiences, but you come out of the summer with more perseverance, peace, and more like Jesus. Which one would you rather have?

Anyway, sorry that was so long! I've been meaning to blog about something for a while. 2.5 more weeks of Project Destiny, 3 weeks until I leave Massachusetts, 3.5 weeks until I arrive back in Indiana, and 4 (?) more weeks until classes start! Time is moving by so fast.

And here is a picture of whales from our whale watching trip on Friday :)