life updates

life has actually been interesting enough for me to want to consistently update my anonymous blogspot audience about what's been happening. that's a good thing, right? sorry that they're gna be kinda long but.. i dont care!

1) GLMC LOVE BOWL! after finally getting the "ok" from my parents, i've started checking out new potential churches. the three that i'm considering are: sovereign grace, GLMC, and ekko! i already got a good idea of sovereign grace when i planned on switching over this past summer so i figured i'd give GLMC a try first. i was a little hesitant because i didn't like the idea of going to "the KCM church" and because it was so far away but i really love PR and his messages, plus i'd heard so much about it, so i went anyway. &WOW, i am so blown away by the community there, it is amazing. though i felt beyond awkward being new after having grown up at TFPC, people were extremely welcoming and nice and somehow i ended up getting recruited to play love bowl with them (loll). at first i was really excited because 1) i love football 2) i figured it'd be a good way to bond with and get to know the girls and 3) i'd always wanted to do a church "bowl" buut as i thought more about it, i got really anxious because, well-- i'm awkward. all the girls were already friends and here i was, a new person, wanting to get in on their team. plus i am quite anti-social and get ridiculously introverted when i feel uncomfortable so i just kinda sat there quietly pretending my phone was extremely interesting. i ended up only going to one practice and making excuses to get out of other ones and figured i would just not go to love bowl. however, the week before lovebowl, i met some GLMC girls and they greeted me extremely excitedly and asked where i'd been at practice and whether i'd be coming on saturday. i gave them some excuses about how "ive only been to one practice" and "i'm not sure if i have plans on saturday" but they kept encouraging me to come and after a while, the little peoplepleaser in me started thinking, "maybe they want to be your friend! whee~" (wow, that sounds so pathetic). soo as saturday approached and the field trip i was supposed to go to got cancelled, i decided to go and "just watch". i arrived late, hoping nobody would notice me, and stood awkwardly around GLMC people, regretting and wishing i hadn't gone. i had already started thinking of excuses of why i had to leave early and was prepared to just slip away when they started playing. buuut, before i could do sucha thing, one girl grabbed me and asked why i wasn't dressed to play. i started making excuses but she hushed me and said she'd let the coaches know that i'd be joining them. i was a little taken aback but i figured if i'd come that far, i might as well play one game. so i changed and when i came back a grip of girls greeted me and i started feeling a little bit better. thankfully i knew some of the coaches so they put me in a few times and i started really enjoying myself. the amount of camaraderie and edification amongst the girls was so encouraging and i soon found myself playing game two.. eating lunch.. and before long, it was too late for me to escape. i had a really good time and our team did really great buut we barely missed making it to the semis. it was still such an encouragement and such a blessing in the sense that i got to witness true community and "family" with the girls, amazed at how they really cared to get to know me and support me even though i was a total stranger. conclusion(s): 1) i love GLMC and 2) sports is a really great type of fellowship.

2) EILEEN TO INDIA! so today, my sissy from anutha missy, eileen yoon, departed for india!! i feel a mix of emotions: sadness, excitement, jealousy, and worry but ultimately, i KNOW God is going to use her in mighty mighty ways!! she'll be in bangalore for about 3 and a half months by herself working with a korean missionary to teach english/ do administrative tasks at the orphanage there. the part that worries me is that she'll be alone for a good month with nobody but her students, the locals, and her missionary contact but being sovereign, i trust that God's got her back! i admire her so much for her faith in trusting God's will and deciding on going away although the selfish side of me is sad because 3.5 months is a LONG time, and i will miss her like crazy and wish she'll still be crashing at our place all the time. and at the same time, i'm excited/ jealous that she'll be away and soaking in God's presence and loving on those kids for 3.5 months. if you guys could please keep her in your prayers!! some prayer requests: 1) for her health/ safety while she's away 2) that she'd be protected from any thoughts of loneliness, anxiety, or feeling unprepared because she will literally be alone for almost the whole time 3) that she will be able to love like Jesus and be a light to the people she meets and 4) that she would be stretched and blessed beyond belief while she's away!! if anybody's interested in keeping up with her travels/ prayer requests, check out her blog! thankfully she'll have wifi while abroad so she'll still be in contact but IM STILL GOING TO/ ALREADY MISSING HER! :( i took a bunch of pictures of her at the airport for my portrait photo project so hopefully i can share those here as i finish developing/ printing them.

3) RANDOM STORY ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE ON THE METRO TODAY. this part is pretty unnecessary.. but i felt like sharing an interesting occurrence that happened this afternoon loll. soo after seeing eileen off at LAX, i came back to my apartment to get ready for my only class today at 2. i had literally NO gas left and because i finished at 5, i figured i would try taking the metro to school today! confession: i didn't pay my fare and snuck on the train but PTL that i didn't get caught (i was nervous the whole time though) and managed to get on the train with no problem. i was sitting right behind/ diagonal from this one lady who was really chatty about how "she had an audition" and "omg, her nails are a mess and she's usually prepared but she's in a hurry" and she KEPT talking and talking. i just gave her a thin smile and didn't really pay her much attention but at the next stop, a woman with a walker got on the train and tried to sit in the handicap/ disabled area, where the chatty woman was (unknowingly) sitting. the chatty woman was.. still chatting so she didn't bother moving over for the woman with the walker and instead suggested that she "sit over there" and as the woman in the walker struggled to move in the moving train, another woman in the front instead offered her seat and then looked straight at the chatty woman and said "you are RUDE." and then all chaos ensued. the chatty woman started getting defensive and saying she didn't know (which was true.. so i felt bad) but she took it a step further and said "i dont get why you're making such a big deal out of it" to which the second lady kept insisting that she was rude and soon insults were being hurled. another woman sitting two rows behind me chimed in with more.. expletives and eventually the chatty woman stood up and said "that's it, im not gna sit here and get abused by you two" and while being insulted she moved to the back (historical irony?). not that it stopped any arguments though. the fight continued with angry insults being thrown throughout the train and random bystanders pitching in and sharing their opinions. i felt so out of place yet wanted SO bad to burst out in giggles at the sheer ridiculousness of it all (thankfully i didnt or i would've put myself in the crosshairs)..

but i DID manage to record a nice video snippet of the fight, which i attached here (excuse the visuals, thats just my hand and backpack LOL), it may sound crazy but this was the relatively tame end of the argument.. also one thing to take note of is that this is after chatty lady moved to the back. so they are now arguing from one end to the other of the bus. it was like television. but real life.