mission blog :D

http://daikondiaries.blogspot.com/

blog for mission! :)

please keep Japan and the teams in your prayers + check back for updates + please comment :D

THANK YOU!!

2 weeks to go!

Haven't blogged for a while.. haha how has everyone been?


There's only 2 weeks to go until mission.
Wait, I lie. 2 weeks and 2 days, 3 exams, 3 21sts, 1 20th and 1 more Mission Team meeting to go.
:(

See what I mean when I say that it feels like a lot but not a lot at the same time?


Am pretty excited though; stayed up until 3am setting up and blogging on the new mission blog & making a powerpoint to share about the Omagari mission @ FCG on Friday night... kinda scared but after Euge's sermon on Sunday.. I think I have to remember that God tells us that He has a harvest ready and no matter how hard it seems in the mission field, don't be discouraged because God is faithful :) Reading the Manders' newsletter (missionaries at the church we're going to) it's made me realise how impatient I am to see fruit in ministries - they talk about a lady who has shown no interest in Christianity despite coming to worship services for years despite other Christian women sharing their faith with her consistently... until really recently when she asked another sister to read the bible with her! Praise God so so much :) It's really made me repent and see that God has His perfect timing for everything that isn't the same as the time we see..

Will update with the link soon. :)

At the moment, preparing for exams (1 at a time!) is quite draining :( and realising that I do need to take better care of people around me + myself by resting more and being more alert! Major shoutout to John for the notes and I hope you get that position with LSS :)

Really praise God this week by guiding me through changing my major from Int Business to Finance :) I think He really made me realise (read something on Prov 31) how blessed I am to be given the chance to study Business (that I've always whined about and hated) and to be equipped with valuable skills to serve my family, my future family (yay!), church family + others who don't know Christ :) From now on I shall no longer hate but study with joy +; thankfulness! If I'm complaining, someone please remind me! =P I also realise how precious it is to have older sisters in Christ I can ask for wise and godly advice :) many thanks to the brothers + sisters who reminded me that God can be using whatever we're doing to serve and glorify Him.

On another note, am so so excited that Gracepoint Burwood will be so close to Westfield's (and so close to my old house!), and am currently praying and thinking about whether I should go to the Lidcombe Evening service plant next year. God has been so gracious in the mission opportunities He has provided even though our church was having a lot of stress with having nowhere to meet for service, and just a whole lot of uncertainty but God uses these things to make us realise that we only need to rely on Him in prayer, be willing to go wherever He tells us to, and to be ready to hold out the gospel to everyone and anyone :) Please be praying for the ministry God has given to the church to be reaching out and training international students in Cumbo & even (maybe) starting a Christian youth group @ Homebush Boys! :D

I have decided to stay at Burwood Extreme for another year to encourage + support to my lovely little sisters who are starting Year 12! :D It is my prayer that these youth will be serving and loving and growing in Him even when the stress hits! I'm really looking forward to making support packs for you girls + shouting you guys de-stressing cafe adventures + iced chocolates/coffees :)
 - I shouldn't forget my brother in all this.. okay I'll be nicer to you from now on :D

Also, am thinking of going to KYLC and doing Children's Ministry Strand 1 next year, and really praying that many of the Extremers will come and be equipped with how to read + lead with His word :) Seriously, I thank God so much for the way He has been growing you guys this year to step up to lead! So so encouraged!


It is now 12.32am and time for me to sleep so I can make the last 10AM Constitutional lecture tomorrow morning. For once :) Love you all :D


Another thought I had today was that I should really stop fangirling over groups like Big Bang, etc etc. :( I admit I get infatuated/obsessed with things and constantly just maul over it. Approaching the age of 20, time to grow up, further understand my identity in + mature in Christ :)

1 Corinthians 13:11

¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 

Came back with some photos!

FBF!!!! I accidentally thought my cheatsheet was scrap paper so ran over it with my chair a few times. :(

the mission team to Omagari/Sapporo :)

haha white radishes are roots - like ROOTEd in Christ, get it? ;D also, vegetables can't plant or grow themselves, they have to be planted and grown by Christ :)

it's also because we were thinking of what to cook for the Australian Outreach Nights and we realised that we needed a lot of vegetables, but apparently it's really expensive in Japan, so we were (jokingly) going to bring 25kg of potatoes, carrots, apples etc from Australia) :P

How to be Content

I found this Recipe For Contentment in SMH this morning.. what do you guys think of it? I wonder what the reactions would be if added to that list was "Have a partner who considered his glory above all else"..

RECIPE FOR CONTENTMENT

Have a happy partner

Don't be overworked or underworked

Prioritise family and community, and have a partner who does so as well

Don't be materialistic

Don't be obese

On other notes, I am super sick and have had to miss out on everything this week - though I had a very fun midsem break, where I did crazy things like...

PIZZA HUT BUFFET with the girls from uni,

go fabric shopping @ cabramatta + parramatta (!),

go to EXTREME CAMP!!!!! (which was the best camp EVER) where we learnt a lot about growth, bonded a lot with each other, served each other in wacky ways and just had an awesome time,

watch Despicable Me, had Korean food at this restaurant in this alleyway in the city which was really good & went to the Lindt Cafe all in the same day,

went on a walk with Focus from Bondi to Bronte to Coogee + had hotpot afterwards @ the summerhill manor,

went to the Maculty BBQ @ Kat's & had a seminar @ credo about relationships which was quite practical + useful, then had a japan mission meeting,

watched the final episode of MY GIRLFRIEND IS A GUMIHO with viv @ church, visited studylounge where heaps of year 12s were studying & had dinner with some FCG people @ darling harbour, followed by some awesome hat game fun :),

went to Brendan Wong's 21st dressed as villains (I went as the wolf who ate the grandma from little red riding hood.. Ninja still couldn't guess after very obvious clues!! =P )

and yeah.. going out everyday is probably how I got sick. :(

BUT IT WAS AWESOME :) okay, back to bed!

quite a rebuke :)

Ministering When It's Inconvenient

Posted on 02.19.10 by Erin Davis
Topics: Impacting your world, Relationships with Others

In Matthew 15:29, we find Jesus trying to rest on a mountainside. He barely sat down when a crowd of people came to Him looking to be healed. How did He respond? He healed them.

When Jesus received word that His cousin, John the Baptist, had been killed, He tried to grieve alone. But crowds of people followed Him and begged for His attention. Scripture tells us that instead of hiding in His grief, He had compassion and healed the sick in the crowd (Matthew 14:13–14).

On the night before Jesus was betrayed, He didn't hide out. He didn't run away. He spent the evening with His disciples. He even took the time to serve them by washing the mud from their feet (John 13:1–17).

If we look closely, we find an interesting pattern. We know that Jesus spent His time on earth serving others. But have you ever considered how often He ministered when it was inconvenient?

He served others when He was tired.
He served others when He'd have rather been alone.
He served others when He was sad.
He served others when He'd been serving non-stop for days and days.
He served others when things went terribly wrong in His own life.
He even served others when He knew His own death was right around the corner.

I am deeply challenged by this truth. You see, I don't mind serving others when it's convenient for me. I like to help out when it works into my schedule or fits into my agenda for the day. But there are lots of times when ministry is inconvenient. I'm tired. I'm stressed. I've got more important things to do than to meet the needs of those around me. Under those circumstances, I feel justified in giving priority to my own needs and temporarily ignoring the needs of others.

But this isn't how Jesus lived. It isn't how Jesus served. And it isn't what He wants from you and me.

The reality is, serving others requires sacrifice. If we only do it when it's convenient, we're missing the point.

What's keeping you from serving like Jesus? Will you let Him inconvenience you today?

The creeping up of Spring

Heavy sunshine and cool breezes.

Spring and Summer, how I have missed thee.

It didn't seem too long ago that I wore my black thongs everyday in the summer, running around. Yet as I tried them on again, it made me feel like I was meeting my cousins again after a few years; cousins who I could be very close with, yet every time we meet for the first time, there's an awkward shyness, a foreign feeling and sometimes some discomfort when we don't fit together as well as we used to.

Nowadays it doesn't feel like I'm stopping.. there's always something to be done after something else. I'm longing for that time where I'll get to sit around and gaze at insignificant things; the things I never get time to pay attention to.

I've actually been spending a lot of time on sewing and just simple craft design blogs lately. Among my favourites is A Little Red Ribbon - I've realised that a lot of these ladies who run these blogs are mothers who want to express their creativity whilst loving the people around them, and they're a wonderful read.

Bizarrely, the fact that there's only 2 and a half months to go until Japan startles me. So little time.. yet I can feel that God is still teaching me day to day, whether I realise it or not.

Yesterday while on the bus, the gusty winds swung the whole vehicle from side to side - it was quite scary, really. Lately I've been quite unsettled and unsure about some things, and my bookmark that I was quite sure was randomly placed, brought me to Psalm 13 in the bible.

How Long, O LORD?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
²How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
⁴ lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him,"
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

⁵But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Euge has been telling us to do this thing for ages: pondering on the words the psalmist uses, why they use that word, where else in the bible it's used...

Trying that yesterday, it takes a long time to ponder over a single psalm - I can see how someone could be thinking about this for a whole day, or even a whole week!

What does the word steadfast mean? Why does David trust so much in this steadfast love? Should we be trusting in it? What does it mean to be trusting in it? Why does he use the word steadfast and not anything else, for surely God's love is not just steadfast? Is God the only place/one we can find steadfast love in?

Why does David rejoice? Why does it find joy, when the rest of his psalm is in such a longing tone? What does it mean for us to be rejoicing even when we're asking God for answers?

What is the salvation that David speaks of? If the salvation as we know it comes from Jesus, is David referring to Jesus, the one who was promised by God? Or is it another type of salvation, such as from war?

Because. It's a big word. BECAUSE of what He's done already, I'll sing to him - David doesn't say, I'll sing to him so He'll deal with me bountifully... and what does bountifully mean anyway?


Hmm...

Praise God also for Credo mission on campus :) I liked John Smuts' talk on 'If I were God I'd end the Suffering' especially, and the Muslim & Christian debate was especially eye opening -I realise that I have a lot of reading up to do. Be sure to check out the video/audio recordings on the Credo website!

.. and then there's reading for the Constitutional law essay.

6 Items or Less

While surfing Soompi last night and throughout today, armed with a sewing machine, looking for ideas on what to make for a 21st present (which I found heaps of ideas on in the Show Me Your Creations! thread (everything is awesomely cute), I came across the thread Six Items of Clothing where some Soompiers were discussing whether it would be possible to wear the same 6 items of clothing for a whole month, not including underwear and accessories.

Upon a bit of reflection, many of Mum's lectures and nags about how I don't wear most of the things in my wardrobe, come to mind. PeiChi told me about her workmate who clears her wardrobe and only shops for 10 items of clothing per season, and when that season is over, she donates/throws the clothes away and starts new with 10 new ones. Pretty revolutionary when I first heard it.

However, the thread linked to a site called Six Items or Less, which is where the original, and actual project started worldwide. About 100+ people joined in the challenge of selecting and committing to wearing 6 items of clothing, and wearing it indifferent combinations; one woman claimed her husband didn't even notice, and another girl, her parents. Pretty amazing right? Day in and day out, many around the world blogged about their adventure/journey/plight/nightmare or whatever it was, and it's amazing reading about them getting to the finish line and reflecting on the change they have gone through in their lives, whether it be moving out of home and into college, or travelling on a trip overseas.

I've always had an issue with overpacking on camp; I think it's the Asian inside me... or my mum constantly reminding me that I could do no wrong by carrying extra, whether it be camp in Year 2, camp in Year 7, Duke of Ed in Year 9 and 10, travelling overseas to HK (where my parents tell me that I'm going to buy lots of clothes anyway), or even law camp last year, where the bus driver smirked/laughed at me asking, "So how many days are you going for?" as I loaded by bag on the bus. I didn't answer and just smiled embarrassedly, running away - wait, make that half running away, because of the shell on my back, which was in reality the huge Duke of Ed-style backpack my mum encouraged me to bring.

So the thought of travelling for almost two months at the end of the year scares me a bit, because I know I will be packing sooo much, despite advice to pack lightly as we'll be moving around and travelling alot. That, and because I doubt and in fact do not wish for my arms to be fully built after a semester of studying Constituitional and Contracts - after all, as Cheryl says, we're law students and not bodybuilders.

Hey, while we're talking about textbooks, really praising God for the people he's put around me and the facilities he's placed to help me not buy my textbooks this sem (because I'm cheap...) and a major shoutout to Jonolee for always being so awesome and lending me his business textbooks, even when there is such a high demand for the finance textbook :D you're the best!!! & hopefully borrowing and renewing the law textbooks at the library will get me through!

Anyway, so about packing for holidays, let me link you to a fantastic blog entry on 6 items or less by this girl who travelled a whole month overseas with 6 items of clothing, taking 5 minutes to pack (it usually takes me at least a few hours.. and perhaps a week for a 3 day hike! There's always something I manage to forget as well..).

I'll post some extracts of her entry:

My 6 included a pair of leggings, a skirt, 3 tops, and a knit jacket and let’s face it skirts aren’t really travel friendly clothing. Desperately needed another pair of leggings but was determined not to buy another one. As a result of which I think I’ve extracted as much value as I could out of that $10 I spent buying them...
..
By the way, my parents didn’t notice that I was wearing the same 6 day in and day out. A few years back I’d have gotten a good listening for not being well turned out, etc. Guess I managed decently with the 6. Also, a few of the guys I know have been swearing they live in 6 pieces (4 shirts + 2 trousers) of clothing any way. They just get a new set of the same every 6 months. Hmmm… (my note: word!)
..

All in all here’s what I got from my 1 month:

– No need for spares. Be it clothing or stationery or anything else.

+ Leggings are awesomely comfortable. And they hang-dry way quicker than jeans

+ Check for longer lasting clothes. And bang for buck.

+ What doesn’t fit you anymore will surely fit someone else. Give it away

+ People aren’t always watching you and noting what you wear.

+ If you’re comfortable and okay, it’s all okay

+ it’s not difficult to stick to a routine,

especially when you’ve got a 100 other people doing the same thing :)

It brought a smile to my face the joyfulness and just enthusiasm these ladies (and gentlemen!) had on the blog, and I could tell they learnt a lot about being less.. wasteful (?) with their wardrobes... and there's ANOTHER amazing project this girl did called The Uniform Project where she (and others now!) committed to wearing this one particular black dress for 365 days a year with different accessories and items and stuff, to raise awareness for children who couldn't afford education, and she donated the money that she got donated to these children, and ended up raising $103,374 = 287 kids in school! Her outfits are quite amazing though, and you could hardly notice them at all :)

Sooooo, yes. I'm sitting at the library now waiting for Credo Public Meeting to start, and was going to do some law readings when I came across this! Hope you guys enjoyed reading and I'll keep sharing interesting things I find with you guys :D

Something I spotted in a signature =)

Question:
If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who already had 8 kids -- three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Answer: If you said YES, you just killed Beethoven.