o no... another rant.

whats the deal with people listing all the books theyve read on facebook or their blog? youve seen this, right? you can even show the book cover right up there on your page.

why do people do this? is it to keep track of what theyve read? davinci code (check)... cat in the hat (check)... is it to share with others what books theyre interested in (and by that you can learn a little bit more about them and their tastes)? is it just to conquer sheer boredom?

i propose it is something else entirely. i believe people do this as some sort of book trophy case. "look everyone! look at all the books ive read! arent i a genius!" i think the motive is that people think they can show their intellect by how many books theyve read. even more, i would guess that people read these books (even if they dont enjoy them) simply to put another notch in their post. they probably plough through book after book so they can outread their friends and show off their superior intellect (like reading a book is the true sign of intellect).

i know i sound judgemental. but i am also guilty of wrong motives so i point the finger at myself also. there are many things i do that at the root are of selfish ambition... probably almost everything i do. i collect flag patches from every country ive been. why? if i were to answer honestly, id hafta say its a way of showing off all the places ive been. (((((while im on the subject, those facebook "where ive been" maps are arrogant too. and further more... STOP SENDING ME ALL OF THOSE FACEBOOK APPLICATIONS. lol)))))

thinking about this only enforces to me that deep down everyones heart has selfish motives. all of us are guilty of this and no one is ammune to pride. we are born into sin. we have nothing good in us at all. but there is hope. we can trade in our guilty, selfish heart for a pure, holy one. God wants our hearts!!!

this post is probably arrogant and selfish. its motive is probably to make me seem clever and smart and witty and funny and worthy of your praise for being all of those things. maybe. probably. but it's also written so hopefully you delete those book titles, maps, etc. so i don't have to scroll for an hour to get to your facebook wall.

nepal

there are many things that really stand out to me from my trip to nepal. i can't disclose all of them simply b/c of time. but God taught me about myself, the people He chooses to use, and about Himself.

first of all... i am not in as good of shape as i thought. those mountains whipped me good.

secondly, God uses all kinds of different people in unimaginable ways. He uses former buddists, children, and sherpa's (to name a few) to tell the people of nepal the Good News.

finally (and most importantly) God taught me that prayer is essential and the most important thing we can do in seeing the light of Christ come to people who have never heard the Truth.

my story

our trekking group split into two seperate teams. one team was going to higher elevations. i was all for the higher trek (destination was approximately 4500m)! i love hiking, mountains, and anything that involves physical activity. i had even began exercising and training for this moment for 2.5 months prior to my arrival to nepal.

however, it is safe to say that out of our group i struggled the most with HAS (High Altitude Sickness). paul let me read his brochure about HAS. It said HAS can be life threatening if elevation is gained too quickly without proper acclimatization. medical doctors advise against ascending more than 400m a day once above a 3000m elevation. we ascended from below 3000m to just above 4000m in one day. that is almost three times more than what doctors say is safe.

symptoms of HAS include headache, dizziness, trouble breathing and sleeping, loss of appetite, nausea, and fatigue. if someone experiences these symptoms they should be brought down the mountain immediately.

well, i experienced all of these symptoms. in fact, i passed out at around 3200m from a combination of leaches sucking my blood, to altitude, to weakness due to lack of energy from lack of food and fluids. when we spent the night at 4100m i couldn't eat (which is rare for me). i was weak and tired and experienced some severe dizzy spells in bed. it was at this point i began to be concerned for my health.

i then began to pray. my team came in to my room and they prayed for me. then i realized that the other trekking team was praying for me, the team in kathmandu was praying for me. people in korea were praying for me. my friends and family in canada were praying for me.

God hears us when we pray. He answers prayer!

He took my dizziness away and the next day our team reached our goal high in the himalayas. we prayed for the people of nepal to see the light of Jesus. and we did it on the steps of a buddist temple looking down on the world below us.

God revealed to me through my physical suffering that prayer works!

i believe prayer will work for the nepali people who are going through suffering we will never know!

i was reading James 5:13-18. it said, "elijah was a man just like us. he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and half years." if God could shut the rain off at the prayer request of one man, wouldn't it be possible that at the prayer requests of many He could be made known in Nepal?

i believe it. it is happening now (slowly and surely) through the work of a former buddist turned pastor. it is happening now through the work of a small percentage of believers. it is happening now through children who were rescued from poverty, sickness, false religion, disease, sexual slavery, and death. it is happening now because people are praying.

i hiked. i learned about the people and culture. i learned about the work in nepal. i learned about myself and my God. i prayed. our mission trip is over.

but our mission is not! there is only a 0.2% population of christians (estimated conservatively) in the himalayas. we need to continue to pray for these unreached people of the himalayas and the believers there now.

i witnessed and heard buddists praying and chanting to buddah at 4:30am most mornings of our trek. they do it every morning like clock work.

can the same be said of christians? are we praying? please pray for the people of nepal.

here are some vids of the trip...





here are some pics of the trip...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57969&l=5ae54&id=845430102

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57973&l=16301&id=845430102

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57988&l=f0847&id=845430102

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57983&l=67b38&id=845430102

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58240&l=1938f&id=845430102

"when are you coming home?"

this question has been asked of me several times as of late. a fair question... but im afraid that my response may not be. the answer invariably is this:
"i don't know"

but to put some of you at ease, i will try to give you an idea of the vision i have and tentative plans for the remainder of the year and the next.

***but please know that these plans are subject to change if it is my Master's will***

my contract at my school is officially over. i worked at Poly School in Korea for one year. but im still enjoying it and saving money to pay off my debts, so i signed on again for another year. however, upon signing on again i managed to negotiate a valuable thing... time off.

first of all i have a week off at the end of september that will allow me to go on a missions trip to nepal with my church in korea. i am eagerly waiting for the 21st of september to arrive.

also i managed to finagle the month of january and february off. i am in desperate need of open spaces and time away from the city. i am planning on going to australia for new years (5 of my friends from windsor are planning on being there). then im headed to new zealand until the end of february.

i'll fly back to korea and finish the duration of my second year. that will take me to the end of october, 2008.

i would then like to take the trans-siberian from beijing to mongolia to moscow and into france. i then want to visit friends in the uk and fly back to canada from there.

it is my hope that i will have most of my debts paid off by then and i will be able to start the rest of my life as a full-time missionary. i may go and get bible/missions training first. i am still praying about this.

if i still have debt, i have no problem going back to korea for another year. i feel i have so many opportunities to serve and be used by God in korea. i believe that God has led me to korea because i have a heart for asia and as pastor jack reid has said "korea is strategically placed by God to reach out to asia." i believe that to be true.

i am praying that this vision i have for the future is not of selfish ambition, but of God's will unfolding before me. i am praying for the Holy Spirit's guidance and direction. i am also praying that my thoughts and efforts aren't consumed on the future, but that i am living for and serving Christ and being content with the work i am given in the present.

so i guess the more i think about the question "when are you coming home?" the more i have to question what is home?

is it where my family and friends are? or is it where my heart is and where i can be best used of God? and although i often yearn for the former, i know that the answer is actually the latter.

My vacation to Vietnam.

Here is a video log of where I went in Vietnam.

I started in Hanoi. The traffic was the worst I've ever seen. Here's just a taste.



The actual city of Hanoi was fun. Lots to do and see around the lake in the Old Quarter.



Perfume Pagoda and Halong were a nice change of pace from the busy city. It was great to be on a boat again!



Finally, my favorite part of the trip was in the Northern Mountains of Vietnam, Sapa. Lots of hiking and a homestay in a tribal village. Some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen! The people were equally beautiful!



I also took some pictures if you don't like music videos I made.

Check out these links...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42241&l=b9c44&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42857&l=68dd1&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43112&l=a786c&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42865&l=159bc&id=845430102

Charlie took some great pictures too. Look at the size of his lense!



Check out the pictures he took with that bad boy.

http://picasaweb.google.com/cviturawong/vietnam

Korean Culture Video - Part 5

Suwon Fortress Wall Walk

Korean Culture Video - Part 4

Namisum Island.

this island is very famous with japanese tourists because a korean soap opera is filmed here. apparently the japanese love their korean soaps! who knew?!



my favorite parts of the trip were not even captured on this video. they were:

i found one of the best icecream cones... called the 'hurricane'. chocolate is swirled throughout the vanilla icecream like a hurricane. since finding this frozen gem, ive eaten several 'hurricanes' since.

jodi and i rode a bicycle-built-for-two into some of the heaviest pedestrian traffic ive seen. i must admit that jodi drove better than i did. our bike had no bell and she had no problem yelling at the koreans to "move outta the way!" actually it was probably more like a bicycle-built-for-one-and-a-half. the back seat was absurdly small.

the ultimate frisbee game. this island actually had a patch of grass that somewhat resembled an open field. a rarity in korea.

missions trip to NEPAL.

im going to be headed to the himalayas in nepal for a missions trip for 9 days in late september with my church.

please pray for the people in the himalayas as they often don't survive past childhood b/c of harsh weather and health/sanitation reasons. their lack of knowledge about sanitation and cleanliness leads to the spread of disease. starvation is also a big problem. the most disturbing thing happening in the region that we are going to is people coming from the cities and rounding up children from the rural mountain areas. they come promising parents that their children will be brought to the cities and educated. they promise families their children will make money and bring it back. this is a lie. almost all of these children never see their family again. they are being sold as sex slaves. some children even as young as 6. this is a people that are in desperate need of salvation. please pray for them.

i am excited to be working with the people at my church. we are taking two teams to this area. team A will be ministering to orphans. this home takes in children (most of which are dying or unwanted), gives them proper medical attention, educates them, presents the gospel to them, and when they are finished they go back to their tribes with the gospel message. team B will go on a prayer journey stopping at villages throughout the region and praying for individual families. medical supplies will be given to these families as well. i will be going with team B.

please pray for everyone going. we need to be ready spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. there are several meetings we are having before we leave. this is so we are all on the same page and coordinated on goals and objectives of the trip. in nepal it is illegal to preach about Jesus. we need much prayer so that this can be a place that is free to worship Christ. i believe God is going to stir us up and break our hearts for these people. i am praying that we will be a blessing to them.