Bullet Points: Sep 2012-2014

What do you do when you haven't updated a blog in two years? 
Bullet points of randomness!! But my blog title doesn't allow that... bullet points of unmethodological order or topic!!!!!!!

• I graduated from UCL! The arduous thesis journey ended!! 

• I'm beginning my third year of teaching at Guangxi University.  My first year I taught freshman English reading and writing.  My second year I taught sophomore English writing and the History and Archaeology of the Silk Road.  This year I will continue teaching the Silk Road as well as a World History survey course.  I'll also serve as the sophomore writing course coordinator again.
• I've moved into what was Kira's apartment, which is awesome because it's better than the ones I've had, but I wish she were still here this year!  (All teachers are given apartments on campus as part of their contract.)
• I have a much clearer understanding of what distinguishes Canadians vs. Americans.
• I've traveled places I had never been before: Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Mongolia as well as various parts of China and Hong Kong.
• I've discovered that Etihad and Air Seychelles are truly superb.
• I've gained cycling as a hobby and have become a fan of long-distance cycling trips.  Francesca, the one who introduced me to cycling in London, has also been working in China, so we've been able to meet up and do some exploring.  Last summer we cycled from Xi'an to Lanzhou (part of the Silk Road) in central to northwestern China, approximately 700km.  I've also done some cycling in SE Asia and other parts of China and have participated in a few mountain bike races.
  
• My Chinese is way better than it used to be.
• I ran the Singapore Sundown Marathon last year.  Since Singapore is pretty much on the equator it began at 11pm to avoid the heat.  The goal was to "beat the sun", which I and my running buddy Anete from Estonia did.
• I've become a huge fan of passion fruit, dragon fruit, and papaya.
• I presented research at the Sixth Worldwide Conference for the Society of East Asian Archaeology in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia this past June.
• I really like Vietnamese coffee.  And the kind that comes from cat poop is the best.
• I've successfully baked a cheesecake in a toaster oven.
• This past January we said goodbye to Grandmother, my dad's mom, and my last living grandparent.  She was 95!
• I've learned to drive an ebike.
• My weekends this year will be Sunday-Monday.

Summer Adventures 2012: Recap

I have NO idea why I didn't post this two years ago, but it has a nice crazy airport story so I'll post it now for your reading pleasure.  Let me take you back to the summer of 2012..

30 May - 19 June: Virginia, USA

I had three weeks to balance seeing people, dropping winter stuff at home, gathering English camp necessities, and progressing on the dissertation.  I really enjoyed getting to see many of you again!  It was really difficult to balance getting work done though.  I kind of wished I had gone for a shorter amount of time and just purely focused on visiting.  I couldn't do that for three weeks though.  A few highlights in chronological order:

- Seeing my cousin Sharmayne who is a missionary in Mexico for the first time in three years.  Seeing family and friends in general that I hadn't seen in 6 months to a year.

- The look on Kenny's face when I crashed WBC, getting to meet the girls that would soon come over for a UK visit, paying £1 for two cupcakes rather than $1.50, and being introduced as 'from England' - HA.

- Longwood Archaeology Field School Alumni Weekend

- Finding out that I didn't need a new visa for English Camp even though it would expire before I would exit the country.  Apparently you just have to enter the country before the expiry date and then you have your 30 days max stay as usual.  So since camp was earlier than usual I was able to use the year-long multiple entry visa I got last year.

- Seeing the Messersmiths on Facetime from their mother/grandmother's house.  Jake's comment, "Grandma, just so you know... WE WANT HER BACK!"

- Orioles game at Camden Yards with my sister Becky, her friend Emma, my friend Alexa and her nephew Isaiah.  Isaiah is a huge baseball fan and it was his first professional game.  He was super excited and it made it that much more exciting for the rest of us I think.  Oh and the O's won like 7-1.

- Hertzler Pig Roast.  Enough said.



19-20 June: Washington-Dulles International Airport

This deserves its own section.  It's seriously the most ridiculous airport experience ever.  Instead of the usual overnight flight to Europe, I booked an early morning flight that would have me arriving in London around 11pm because I really dislike trying to get a night's sleep sitting up.  This meant getting up super early to plow through the DC rush-hour traffic.  When I got there I went to the self check-in and scanned my passport.  A large exclamation point came up on the screen, so an airline assistant came over to look at it.  She said it was because my middle name was on my passport and not my booking, so she just had to confirm that it was me.  Fine.  She did her thing, punched a bunch of buttons, checked my bag, and handed me my boarding pass.  I head to security.

I get to security, hand the guy my passport and boarding pass.  He says, "Um, this isn't your name."  I say, "If it's the middle name thing we've already been through that."  He says, "No, it's not your name.  Look."  I look and it says Alison something.  While I'm staring blankly at it he's like "I can't let you through with that.  You'll have to go back to checking."  I go back to the check-in counter.

At the check-in counter I hand my passport and boarding pass to the airline guy and ask for my boarding pass because this one isn't mine.  He's confused as to why I have this one.  I tell him one of his co-workers checked me in and I don't know what she did.  He looks me up in the system, prints a new boarding pass, I check the name (it's mine), and I head back to security.

As I approach, the same security guy is there and jokingly he and the others are laughing like "We were expecting you!  Did you get it sorted out?"  I'm like "Yeah" as I look down and start saying "It's the correct name..." Then I notice the destination.  It says Frankfurt.  WHAT??  So security dude says, "I could let you through with that, but you might want to get that fixed..."  Back to check-in.

Long story short:  Airline people are confused because in their system my booking is for Frankfurt even though I'm adamant that I'm going to London.  I explain that I go to school there and that this is the second leg of a round-trip from London Heathrow to Dulles and back.  I have my confirmation e-mail.  They still say I'm booked for Frankfurt.  Eventually, they are finally convinced that I have no intention of getting on that plane so then they have to go rescue my checked bag from it (because even though I was given a London boarding pass with the wrong name the first time, my bag was checked under my name for Frankfurt).

They say I was on a waiting list, so I must have gotten bumped.  That was when I pulled out the confirmation e-mail... which says CONFIRMED in big letters.  Then they say I was initially confirmed, then cancelled, and then tried to rebook twice and that's when I got on the waiting list.  I'm like "Um no, I never tried to rebook because I was never cancelled that anyone told me about.  And I certainly didn't book myself for Frankfurt.  I have never booked a flight for there.  I have no reason to be there."

They play with the computer some more.  They tell me that I'm booked to fly to Frankfurt that morning and then fly from Frankfurt to Paris five days after that.  I'm just baffled at this point.  I wasn't even routed to London through Paris on this schedule.  It just ended there, so I'm like that makes absolutely no sense with the waiting-list-I-got-bumped-to-a-different-flight theory.  My line at this point is, "As much as I would love to visit those cities, it just doesn't work for me right now."

By the time they're convinced I'm supposed to be going to London, it's too late to make the flight.  And that Alison girl whose boarding pass I originally had had the last seat... whatever happened to her, I have no idea.  So then I'm told that I'm being put on the 6pm flight (so much for no red-eye flight).  I waited all day and then that flight was delayed three hours.  Facepalm.  Basically I didn't get to London until lunchtime the next day.  RI-DI-CU-LOUS.


20-30 June: London, UK

Dissertation.  Oh, and I may or may not have assisted the visiting Marylanders in filling all four of the up-stairs bedrooms with balloons before the Messersmiths got back from Spain.

1-26 July: China

This post has gotten really long... I think I'll make a separate post for this one.

27 July - Present: London, UK

I got to see the last leg of the Olympic torch relay on my first day back.  It was being rowed down the Thames under Tower Bridge.  Attempts to get into Olympic events failed.  Had to work on the dissertation anyway.  Did see Lebron James, Yohan Blake, and a variety of athletes/coaches walking around and riding the tube though.

And... dissertation, dissertation, dissertation...

Hello World

Wow, I don't even know what to say.  It's been two years (and remarkably Blogger hasn't changed!).  How do I even begin to describe to you what life has been like?  At first I didn't know what to say, so I didn't post.  Then it got to be so long that it seemed like too much of an ordeal to try to update.  Then I forgot about it all.  And now it's rediscovered.

Have you ever rediscovered a journal that you wrote years ago?  You're like WHOA and sit down to read it, unearthing things you had forgotten about, things that make you laugh, things that make you shake your head, things that make you think 'how silly I was', things you're amazed that you wrote, things that make you miss people, things that still really connect with your life today, things that make you wonder 'was that me?'...

I still don't know what to say, but I hope by posting this I can bring this blog back to life.  Perhaps after this two year hiatus I'll finally find something to say.

Devotion

"And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately.  

Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind.  

For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought.  

If you seek him, you will find him.  

But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.  So take this seriously.  

The LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary.  Be strong, and do the work."

- 1 Chronicles 28:9-10

What has the Lord chosen you to do?  I can think of many things, both 'small' and 'large.'  Yet, while we seem to classify these things as 'small' and 'large,' they are all just as important.  Anything God charges us to do in life is for a reason and disobedience is disobedience, whether it was over a so-called 'small' or 'large' thing.  What if Solomon refused to build the temple?  He would be rejecting God.  He would not be loving him.

What if you or I reject God by refusing to love our neighbor?  By telling a "white" lie?  By lusting after someone in our flesh, in our heart, or with our eyes?  By being selfish with our time or money?  They are all equal in that they go against what God has charged us to do, just as equal as the 'large' thing Solomon was chosen to do.  Just as equal as being chosen to bring the Gospel to an unreached people and refusing to.  Just as equal as murder.  Just as equal as hate.  Just as equal as theft.  Just as equal as cursing.  Just as equal as being unkind.  We would be rejecting God.  We would not be loving him.

"Then David continued, 'Be strong and courageous, and do the work.  

Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you.  

He will not fail you or forsake you.  

He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly."

- 1 Chronicles 28:10

If God chooses you to do something, he has a reason and he will provide a way to do it.  If he chooses you to lead a Bible study, be a missionary, take care of children, coach a team, teach a class, study a subject, encourage believers, give to a ministry, etc. etc. etc., he will walk with you and lead the way.  And not just see that it is done but see that it is done CORRECTLY.  Not doing something correctly, when you know what and how correctly is, is disobedience.  And disobedience is sin.  And sin separates us from God.

What are some things we are ALL 'chosen' to do?  Love God.  Love people.  Tell the truth.  Be pure in thought, speech, and action.  Spread the Gospel.  Gather together in fellowship to worship.  Serve one another.  Give our lives and everything in it to the Lord.  Folks, how many times have we failed in one or all of these regards?  Too many times.  But that is not an excuse to continue to do so.  Like David said, "Take this seriously.  The Lord has chosen you... BE STRONG, AND DO THE WORK."  Or else one would have to ask, do you even really know God?

"And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, 

I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction... 

Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the LORD today?"

- 1 Chronicles 29:3, 5

"Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!"

- 1 Chronicles 29:14

There is nothing on this earth that is truly ours.  It all belongs to God and he has allocated it to us for his purposes.  Doing what God asks requires giving to God what is his: our money, our time, our lives.

I love how David specifies not just to know God but to know him INTIMATELY.  Don't just have him as an acquaintance; know him better than you know anybody else.  With "your whole heart and a willing mind" get to know him.  Everyday.  Lead by example like David and give yourself fully to whatever he asks you to do.  Allocate your resources to follow his lead.  God will help you complete whatever he asks you to do.  All you have to do is obey.

Devotion: "love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause" (from the dictionary app on my Mac).

Would others describe you as being devoted to God?  Or are you devoted to something else?  Based on your speech and actions people will identify you.  How about a self-evaluation: What preoccupies your thoughts?  What preoccupies your heart?

Are you just toting God around in the backseat?  Give him the wheel.  It's where he belongs.  Trust him to take you the right way, in the right time, to the right place and don't try to do it yourself.  Because his activities are the best activities.  And his cause is the best cause.  And because he first loved us.

Go

"When you make a promise to God, 

don't delay in following through, 

for God takes no pleasure in fools.  

Keep all the promises you make to him.  

It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it."

-Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

Six years ago, over the 2005-06 New Year, at the first World Missions Summit in Louisville, KY, I and hundreds of other college students were challenged to 'give a year and pray about a lifetime' in missions.  The premise being, what's a year in the grand scheme of your whole life?  Can't we all take a year and give it to God and allow him to work through us and in us?  Can't we all take a year to leave our comfort zone, get over ourselves, and go to those who have not yet heard?  Because, as the slogan went that year, "It's not about me."

Three years ago I intended to give that year but ended up coming home after six months due to a medical issue (which has since been resolved... after an unnecessary appendectomy... yeah ask me about that another time if you don't know).  Ever since then I have struggled with whether or not I still had a promise to fulfill.  I intended to stay a year.  It wasn't my fault I had to go back early.  Does that count?  Do I only owe half a year?  Can the year be cumulative?  If I add all the English camps and stuff to that half a year does that count?  These questions have swum around in my brain for the past three years, along with an aversion to thinking about going again for more than short-term work because it is hard.

Fast forward to 2012.  I'm in London, about to finish my masters degree, needing a job.  I go to English camp for the month of July as usual (It really has become a habit).  The first night there, a missionary I've known now for 5 years corners me about a job she has for me.  She says the local university needs English teachers and she's trying to build the local missionary 'cluster.'  So essentially, a job fell into my lap.  And not just any job.  This job would give me teaching experience, a chance to continue language study, and a salary to enable me to make payments on my student loan.  And I would be serving on the field.  (Seriously, how many missionaries get a salary??)  It's everything I wanted/needed and I got that tingly 'this-is-it' feeling, yet, part of my heart held me back.  My heart had been looking forward to coming home.  I'm not really sure how to articulate it, but part of me was/is grieved and I can't really say it all here.

I said I wasn't ready to say yes and needed some time.  Then day after day, in my early morning quiet time by the light of a phone, while my roomie was still asleep, until the first rays of dawn crept into the room, before running down the dusty streets early enough to beat the craze of Oriental traffic and see the sunrise over some of those funky-shaped karst mountains, God showed me over and over again why I needed to go.

He first reminded me of the promise.  I found myself convicted by Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 (as you see above).  But he also reminded me why.  It's not simply a matter of a promise.  It's not simply being there for a year to say I was there.  It's about God's heart for the lost.  It's about his redemptive plan for the world.  It's about his glory.

"Then,  calling the crowd to join his disciples, [Jesus] said,

'If any of you wants to be my follower, 

you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.  

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  

But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.  

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?  

Is anything worth more than your soul?'"

-Mark 8:34-37

"If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; 

or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.   

If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.  

If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it."

-Matthew 10:37-39

"The harvest is great, but the workers are few.  

So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; 

ask him to send more workers into his fields."

-Luke 10:2

 "Wake up and look around.  The fields are already ripe for harvest.  

The harvesters are paid good wages, 

and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life.  

What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!"

-John 4:35-36

Jesus calls all of his followers to be missional wherever we are.  Each and every one of us is called to be salt and light to everyone we find around us.  Wherever God puts us, we are meant to be sharing the Gospel.  Some places have more workers than others, so God shuffles us around to get the job done.  How are 'all nations' supposed to hear if we all stay in one place?  If God asks you to do something, then you better do it.  I was very bluntly asked to go and I didn't really have a good reason to say no.  "Turn from your selfish ways..."  Could I trust God to take care of it?  Yes.

To those I saw in the States back in June, I'm glad I got to see you.  To those I didn't get to see, I'll see you next year.  To those who looked forward to me coming home, I'm sorry.  God had other plans for 2012-13.  Apparently they involve a subtropical, Asian city.

"Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect.  

They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him.  

For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.'

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him?

And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him?

And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?

And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?

That is why the Scriptures say,

'How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!'"

-Romans 10:12-15

------------------------------
And it's really funny that my last post two months ago was titled "Come" based off of the quote "Jesus cannot say 'Go' without first saying 'Come.'"  And now this one is titled "Go."  I promise I just now realized this after I wrote it! hahaha

Come

O Lord, I give my life to you.

I trust in you, my God!

Do not let me be disgraced...

No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced...

Show me the right path, O Lord;

point out the road for me to follow.

Lead me by your truth and teach me,

for you are the God who saves me.

All day long I put my hope in you...

He leads the humble in doing right,

teaching them his way...

Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge.

May integrity and honesty protect me,

for I put my hope in you...

-Psalm 25:1-5, 9, 20-21

I love your sanctuary, Lord,

the place where your glorious presence dwells...

Now I stand on solid ground,

and I will publicly praise the Lord.

-Psalm 26:8, 12

The Lord is my light and my salvation -

so why should I be afraid?

The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,

so why should I tremble?...

The one thing I ask of the Lord -

the thing I seek most -

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life...

My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me."

And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."...

the Lord will hold me close.

Teach me how to live, O Lord.

Lead me along the right path...

Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness

while I am here in the land of the living.

Wait patiently for the Lord.

Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

-Psalm 27:1, 4, 8, 10-11, 13-14

I pray to you, O Lord, my rock.

Do not turn a deaf ear to me...

as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary."

 -Psalm 28:1-2

I've been on that page in my Bible over and over again recently.  These words are David crying out to God for guidance, protection, and favor.  He wants to know what to do next; he wants to know how to proceed.  He knows God is there and that God has the answers, that God is in control, that God looks favorably on those who are humble before him.  He's seeking and praising the Lord in the same breath.  He's saying, "I don't know what to do here, but I know you do and I know you'll guide me. And even though I'm not getting an answer yet, I am trusting you.  I am praising you.  I am waiting on you because you are the Lord and you care more about me going the right way even more than I do.  So surely I can be brave and courageous, walking in integrity and honesty, obeying you, as I hope in you and trust you with my life and reputation."

I once heard someone say, "Jesus cannot say 'Go' without first saying 'Come.'"  I like Psalm 27:8: My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me."  And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."  Really, how else do we expect to hear from God and know his will for our lives if we don't spend time with him, talking with him, and learning from him?  How else can I expect to know what to do next?  Sure, talking to wise friends helps.  It can help flush some things out.  Sometimes God does speak to us through other people, or confirms things through them, but ultimately he is the source.  It's like doing research for school.  How much more credible is a primary document rather than a secondary one that makes reference to it?  Or, even worse, a tertiary source which quotes the secondary which quotes the primary?  Very much so.  Anyone who's done academic research will tell you that.  It's the same with God.

In order to say like David: 

But I am trusting you, O Lord,

saying, "You are my God!"

My future is in your hands.

-Psalm 31:14-15

There has to be a conscious decision to wait on God and listen to him.  There has to be deliberate time spent with him, allowing him to teach.

The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.

I will advise you and watch over you."

-Psalm 32:8

That is a promise we can live in if we seek the Lord.  If we come to him.  Just like a parent, boss or professor, you don't know what job to do or how they want it done until you ask them and listen to what they have to say.  That is why the Lord says, "Come."  He says, "For I know the plans I have for you... They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  In those days when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.  I will be found by you" (Jeremiah 29:11-13).  He's not hiding.  We are the ones who like to go our own way and ignore his calls so to speak.  Yet he says, "Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come" (Jeremiah 33:3).

There are a lot of questions in my life right now.  I'm confused about a lot of things.  Some of these things I want to be angry about, yet I know there is a bigger picture that I don't understand.  It seems that most things don't turn out as I expect.  I've stopped making plans.  They're just me fooling myself.  One step at a time, one moment at a time, is better.  One decision at a time asking, "Is this glorifying to God?"  Responding to God's call, "Come," with "Speak, your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10), "confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13) and not be disgraced as I wait in his presence.

April/May Adventures!

Right.  So let's play catch up!

I posted the Scotland trip I took at the beginning of April.  It was awesome.  Check it out.

Spent Easter in London and even received an Easter basket! I haven't had one of those in years!  And apparently the UK does chocolate Easter eggs rather than chocolate bunnies.

The next weekend I was in Paris for four days to run the Paris Marathon!  It was my first full marathon (26.2 miles) and the first time I ran more than 16 miles.  I had missed a good month of real training due to on and off colds/flu-like something or others during March so I was nervous, but I still managed my goal which was to be around 4 hours (finished in 4:03).  I was so close to a sub-four I guess I'm going to have to run another one!  Thank you to Paula who came with me to be support and for getting me a fresh French baguette to much on afterwards!  It was really cool see the sites of Paris as we ran.  Fortunately though Paula and I were able to spend a couple days actually going to the sites, too.  These included the Effel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre Dame.

Start and finish at the Arc de Triomphe!

Then I had to hit the books again to finish my final Silk Road essay and take exams. (The UK had a month-long break from classes for Easter.  That's why I was able to travel.)  The week after I finished exams I had some visitors for a couple days!

It was a nice treat to see the Hertzlers!

One more place I visited was Windsor and Windsor Castle with the Messersmiths.  As you can see we had fun with the camera...

Then I finalized my dissertation proposal, presented it, got approved, and have commenced working on it ever since!  I'm researching how Animal Style art from the Northern Steppes got to Yunnan province (southwest China), how it was adapted to their culture, and what this can tell us about them (they left no written documents).  If that meant anything to you - bravo!  It's 15,000 words due September 15th.

Last Thursday and Friday I went to York and hiked eight miles of Hadrian's Wall near Newcastle with a classmate.  We got perfect weather!  The UK finally got a bit of summer!  (Which would only be in the 70s haha however it felt really warm to us.)

York Minster's flying buttresses!

Above: Looking back on what we had already hiked.

Below: We ran into lots of sheep and cattle along the way.

Then on Saturday (got back the night before from Hadrian's Wall) I played hockey and went to tea at Fortnum and Mason with ladies from my church.  You know it was a proper tea when it's where the Queen does her grocery shopping!  Yum!  We got to take home a few extra scones and jams to extend the yumminess until morning.

Speaking of church, I've become part of the rotation for teaching Junior Church.  Emily and I tag team it.  She knows all the little kid songs.  I do the lesson.  And I try to learn the little kid songs.  There are a bazillion of them I never knew about!  Their favorite though is one I know - Father Abraham.  I think it's just because they get to march around and be silly.  Sometimes I make up new moves to it just to keep them on their toes!

That particular Sunday was Jake's birthday.  At our church, birthdays are just excuses for the Filipinos to cook a feast!  Seriously, if you've never had Filipino food, you're missing out!  Here's a photo of me with the Messersmiths, my adopted American family in London.

And now I'm Stateside until June 19th.  If you want to see me hit me up!  I can use my American phone now! :)

Warning: I do have to finish writing my first chapter by the time I leave so it's not all fun and games! :P