The D is Silent

I had been waiting for Django Unchained for so long that the hype and excitement for the movie died within my heart, especially after the much later release in Korea. But that only made me enjoy the movie so much today that I currently consider it even better than Inglorious Basterds. "I'm curious what makes you so curious." Joe and I were the only ones in the theater laughing throughout the movie. Loved it!

Happy Birthday, Terrance.

Thought of the Day: Exhausted
Song of the Day: De La Soul-My Writes

This week's persecuted church: Mali

This month, Christians from a church in Diabaly gathered for worship amongst bullets on the ground and graffiti on the church wall that reads "Allah is the only one." A few days before that, the church was doubling as a military base after Islamist rebels had been ousted, following a period of violent occupation.

After the occupation was overthrown, Christians returned to their homes. But one pastor believes that the Islamist groups had been tipped off about the church by local support. As a result, neighbors who once lived together in harmony are now suspicious of each other.

Thought of the Day: 17!
Song of the Day: Fun-We Are Young

This week's persecuted church: Nepal

About 30,000 people live in the city where Bilal’s family live, but there are only four or five Christian families. When Bilal died, radical Hindus tried to take his body for cremation, according to Hindu custom. Death, along with birth and marriage, is one of three significant milestones in Hindu culture. By cremating Bilal’s body, the Hindus hoped to erase his Christian testimony. Cremation would be a message in their culture that Bilal hadn’t really been a Christian, that in death he’d returned to Hinduism. Conversely, a grave would be a permanent testimony that this man had died a Christian.

Bilal’s family refused to turn the body over to the Hindus; they wanted a Christian funeral and burial. The family was at home making funeral arrangements with their church’s pastor, Pastor “Sabal,” when they heard shouting outside the house. A large Hindu mob had gathered, shouting threats and demanding the body in order to perform Hindu last rights and cremation.

Sabal told the Hindus that Bilal was a Christian and that his family wanted a Christian funeral. The mob then became enraged, grabbing Sabal and two other Christians and beating them with sticks and their fists. The Christians tried to flee on their bicycles, but the mob continued to attack.

Thought of the Day: Bag
Song of the Day: Jewel-Pieces of You

B-girl

I've seen a lot of breaking in my day, but I've never seen anyone so...

small girl.

I've never seen anyone so small girl!

Thought of the Day: Bitterness
Song of the Day: Jewel-You Were Meant For Me

This week's persecuted church: Somalia

Two masked men killed Ahmed Ali Jimale, a 42-year-old father of four, on Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. as he stood outside his house in Alanley village, near a police station, they said. The killers were suspected to be members of the Islamic extremist Al Shabaab, a rebel militia ousted from the area four months ago but still engaging in hit-and-run tactics. A few of the four rival clans in Kismayo, 328 miles southwest of Mogadishu, are said to be housing members of Al Shabaab.

A businessman, teacher and medical consultant well-known in the area, Jimale ran a pharmacy in Kismayo. He would give private lessons on medicine and first aid, and as an underground Christian – as are all Christians in Somalia – he highlighted the teaching with discussions comparing the Bible and the Koran, sources said.

The students would share these lessons with other children, and this teaching, along with his close work with a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that provides aid, appeared to have caught the attention of the Al Shabaab extremists, said a source who worked with Jimale but is no longer in the area.

Thought of the Day: 삼겹살 Day
Song of the Day: Be Still My Soul

Busy Vacation

House searching.
Tax filing.
Application submitting.
Money ordering.

It's all finally done. It's been a busy vacation. Let's start March already.

Thought of the Day: Registration Number
Song of the Day: Deli Spice-고백

Ned Flanders = Walter White

I search through hundreds of pictures whenever I make a powerpoint lesson. Sometimes, I find some pretty interesting and unexpected pictures.

Thought of the Day: 생활 규정
Song of the Day: Eric Satie-Gymnopodie No. 1

This week's persecuted church: Pakistan

On February 17th, when Saba BiBi was working in fields of Landlord, there appeared one Muslim man namely Muhammad Akram (also known as Amar) armed with Pistol and forced her to take some secret place with intention of rape and she started to weeping and crying loudly. The culprit also torn her clothes and made her naked, “told Naziran Bibi her mother".

The plight of Christian girls and women who have been forced for conversion to Islam, kidnap, abduction,rape and sexual assault in Pakistan has been on large number published and confined to run-of-the mill articles in the local and international press, sluggish cases in the courts, and common expelled charges due to bribes and personal influence, threats of further violence and family pressure on the victims to avoid at a great distance ‘remorse’.

Thought of the Day: 대동

Poor Ankles

I didn't know he made another one.


Thought of the Day: Productive
Song of the Day: Living Sisters-How Are You Doing?

This week's persecuted church: Indonesia

CCTV footage obtained by the Jakarta Globe shows details of the attack where a gang of about 50 members from the hard-line organization scaled the gates of the religious facility, caused havoc and destruction within the place of worship and physically threatened the minister — at one point using Bernhard’s necktie to strangle him.

Bernhard was arrested by officials from the Sumedang Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) two days later for continuing to hold services without a valid permit, which breaks a 2005 local government law.

The minister is currently serving a three-month sentence at the Sumedang prison as he could not pay the Rp 25 million ($2,600) fine ordered by the district court.

Corry said this is the third major act of violence the FPI has inflicted upon them in the past two years.

The grandmother explained that the latest attack on the church, which has been running for 26 years, had significantly traumatized the 400-member congregation, many of whom are now too afraid to return.

Thought of the Day:  Great Morning
Song of the Day:  Eric Satie-Gnossienne No. 2

Mr. Sick Chap Stick

There are seven essential things I always take with me whenever I go out:  glasses, watch, keys, wallet, cell phone, ear phones, and chap stick. I don't consider myself a forgetful person, but I accidentally leave the house without one of those necessities from time to time. Today was one of those days.  The chap stick.

It's not the end of the world or anything, but I feel like I'm missing a part of myself if I don't have everything with me.  I guess it has something to do with routine and security or something.  BUT! out of my seven necessities and out of all the days I could have forgotten one of them, I'm glad it happened to be the chap stick and I'm glad it happened to be today.

I've been coming in to school these days while most of the teachers have been enjoying their last few weeks of vacation. But there are always a handful of teachers coming in for random duties or supplementary classes. One of the teachers that came in today was this sick guy who coughs, snorts, and spits loudly into the garbage can, almost like he's making it a point to make sure we can all hear his nastiness. We'll call him Mr. Sick.

Anyway, most of the teachers don't really bother to talk to me, let alone make conversation with me. But Mr. Sick decided to have his loud morning coffee next to my desk and make small talk with me.  "Did you go anywhere during the winter vacation? Do you know so-and-so?  I used to be his homeroom teacher." Stuff like that. He eventually went back to his desk, and I got back to work. But after a few noisy coughs here and there, Mr. Sick returned and asked me if I happened to have any chap stick for his dry lips. Disgusted and relieved, I told him I did not. And he went back to his desk.

Nasty Mr. Sick. And that's my Valentine's Day morning for ya. Hope yours is better than mine!

Thought of the Day: Double Down
Song of the Day: Eric Satie-Gnossienne No. 1

This week's persecuted church: China

Cao Nan, a 39-year-old charity worker from the southeastern city of Shenzhen, was detained on December 15 last year after meeting with other Christians in the city's Lizhi Park to sing hymns and preach.

Mr Cao, who worships at an unofficial local 'house-church', said he had been accused of "falsely using the name of Christianity to harm social order" – charges he rejects.

"I am indeed a Christian," he told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, a day after filing a lawsuit against police. "I did not pretend to be one or use the name of Christianity [falsely]. We were just singing the gospel and preaching Christian principles. I think they just found an excuse to detain people, to warn and to threaten." Mr Cao blamed much of the persecution he claimed to suffer on "national security" agents.

"They are worried that if they allow Christianity to grow, its influence will surpass that of the Communist Party, win the public's favor and challenge the governance of the ruling party. They also have worries that it might be used by anti-China parties or countries," he said.

Thought of the Day:  Lint
Song of the Day:  Jay-Z-La La La

It's a Doozy

It snowed like five inches last night.  On the way to work this morning, I totally stepped into this huge black pool of ice water.  Six seconds after my feet jumped out of that cold nastiness, I heard a woman scream her own icy surprise.  That doozy is deceivingly deep!

Thought of the Day:  Niners!
Song of the Day:  Beyonce-Halo

What a Wonderful World

Thought of the Day:  Word
Song of the Day:  He's Got the Whole World

This week's persecuted church: Syria

Opposition fighters had “deliberately destroyed religious sites” and that the attacks had been carried out after the areas had fallen to opposition control and government forces had left. Churches were raided by armed gunmen after they seized control of the Christian villages of Jdeideh and Ghasaniyeh in Latakia.

They took control of the former on 11 December and, once the government troops had fled, broke into the village church; they stole items and fired numerous shots inside, causing structural damage. The rebels also used the minister’s quarters next to the church to fire at a neighbouring village, where government troops were present.

One resident told Human Rights Watch that opposition fighters stole medicine from a church-run clinic, looted homes and kidnapped civilians. Events in Ghasaniyeh followed a similar pattern. Rebels entered the village in late November, broke into the local church and stole petrol and diesel fuel. They looted homes and kidnapped one resident. The violence and dire humanitarian conditions in Jdeideh and Ghasaniyeh drove Christians to flee the villages in large numbers.

Thought of the Day:  Study
Song of the Day:  Yang Dong Gun-골목길

This week's persecuted church: Pakistan

The young daughter of a Pakistani evangelist remained in hiding Wednesday, January 23, after Muslim extremists allegedly threatened to kill her.

"My 10-year-old daughter Shifa Gill is not going to school," said Reverend Kamran Gill, who survived an assassination attempt while evangelizing in Pakistan's Punjab province.

"She is hidden in a secure place right now," he added.

Gill, who lived in provincial capital Lahore before fleeing to the United States this month, told BosNewsLife that the troubles began in June last year when he attempted to preach among those suffering in some of Punjab's notorious brick kilns.

Thought of the Day:  Future

7 Billion

My next speaking class topic is World Population.  Here's a cool video I found for my students:


Thought of the Day:  Taxes
Song of the Day:  6kies-확인

Super

Bowl!

Thought of the Day:  Dinner
Song of the Day:  Sandra McCracken-Rock of Ages When the Day Seems Long

This week's persecuted church: Myanmar

Catholic and Protestant leaders in Myanmar have issued a rare statement calling for an end to conflict in northern Kachin state where three civilians including an elderly deacon were killed by artillery fire on Monday.

Bishop John Hsane Hgyi, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, and Yin Yin Maw, president of the Myanmar Council of Churches (MCC), yesterday urged an end to recent aerial bombing and artillery fire by government forces and called for international monitors to be permitted access.

The government this month admitted for the first time that it was carrying out air strikes.

The three civilian fatalities on Monday were the first for some time in Laiza, the stronghold of the rebel Kachin Independence Army on the border with China.

Following the attacks, about 200 residents fled to take shelter in two churches in Laiza.

Thought of the Day:  Bingo
Song of the Day:  DC Talk-Colored People

What do we say to the god of death?

Not today.

I thought the show was slow in the beginning, but I'm really enjoying it now.  After this, I'm gonna move on to Boardwalk Empire or Homeland.  Those should keep me busy enough until Mr. White returns.

Thought of the Day:  Game of Thrones
Song of the Day:  Angus & Julia Stone-Big Jet Plane