aw man, i just got back from my winter retreat! right now, i am at smelly ol' riverside at terrance's place b/c he's not willing to take me and dykas home. but goodness, so much has happened in the past few days! my very first college retreat = awesome! i seriously loved it...i think making it my favorite retreat of all time but there's many reasons for that.

so originally, i really didn't feel like going b/c i didn't know too many people from cpc and i just didn't feel like going to a retreat anyways. i'm sure alot of it has to do with the fact that my spiritual life was in the pits too. but i knew what was best for me and i made myself go. the first day, i got to meet alotta people. i rode in p. dennis's car which consisted of Malice Alice, Lisa Crawford Z(no, she's not white), and good ol' Albert. good times at Del Taco and a car ride full of riddles and Albert's groans about taking a crap. the retreat site was at Big Bear which was surprisingly really close to Riverside. omg, i almost forgot. when we got to church, it was REALLY hot in the afternoon. i started worrying that there was going to be no snow b/c it was seriously that hot! i really don't understand how weather can change so much in just a matter of a few 100 miles. i mean, it's still winter for crying out loud and it was blasted 70-80 degrees in Cerrittos!

fortunately, there was still plenty of snow up in those high mountains and the sky was incredibly clear...quite a beautiful thing. my first day, i felt a bit awkward trying to talk to people b/c everyone was just kinda having their own conversations and i was trying to get to know people. but whenever people were just walking around or playing in the snow alone, i took advantage of the time and bothered them. i found out two people from kcpc were at the retreat, Jack something (3rd year) and Tommy Lee from berkeley! i mean, i had already met alotta people but i didn't really know who they were and they didn't know who i was either. anyways, the speaker for our retreat was pastor paul!!! this guy used to be our pastor back when i was in 7th grade! homeboy hasn't changed too much except for the fact that he now has a kid named Micah. i wasn't quite sure what to expect from p. paul but his first sermon was great! nice and simple. straight to the point. and believe me, not too long at all...kinda like how he was before. we all went to bed at 12 but i felt like i only got 1 hour of sleep b/c i couldn't fall asleep until like 5 or 6 in the morning due to my irregular sleeping hours.

the next day, we had alotta group activities. lots of tug-of-war, ultimate football, and just regular football. and as we all know, snowball fights are inevitable. it really occurred to me that p. dennis was still a really young guy...

dennis: alrite everyone! no more snowballs!
(chucks a snowball at someone).
everyone: ahahahahahhahahaha.

you would NEVER see PJ do something like that right?

after i took a shower, i was looking for a comb or a brush and Elisa happened to have this awesome brush that i could use. Elisa is a first year at SD and has a sister named Mariela who is a third year at USC. they both have a really unique style of talking, too good to sound fobby but umm....i can't explain it. you have to hear it for yourself. oh yeah, and they look like they're half-white or something. don't look too korean to me. i still find it quite fascinating. haha. anyways, i got to know her a little better b/c we ended up playing Truth with Rebecca aka Billy and Jinwoo. after this frustrating game, we all went to go practice our skits. in college retreats, all skits are grouped by what year you are. so the freshmen class got together and we prepared a skit. i think this and the discussion groups were the most bonding moments for us. i got to know Lori aka Connie (aka Leprachaun), Janet, Rachel, and Jessica better. we all seemed a bit exclusive to the college group but i think we did a better job of mingling and getting to know each other better.

oh yeah, we usually have a couple of discussion groups after each service. it's REALLY cool b/c it's so chill! you sit with a group and have like 2 discussion leaders and everyone just discusses the sermon. it's really different from yg b/c practically everyone participates. everyone's mature. everyone's funny. and at the same time, you learn so much from each other! it is quite a bonding moment. it's so relaxed but in a sense, intimate. and my goodness, i never knew Priscilla was so theologically smart! she had like these dope analogies of all kinds of things that related to the sermons. freakin' "holy huddles" and the mountain thing. oh yeah, and eddie brought up the whole "baby toy thing that doesn't fit." awesome people.

and yes, our skit turned out to be the best one.

janet: i know! let's just smoke weed!
everyone: ahahahahahahah.

dinko & albert: raaaaaaaaar!!!
everyone: ahahahahhaahah.

seriously, i think skits can really unite people!

gosh, worship at this retreat was just awesome. songs were really good. sermons were absolutely bomb. literally every sermon was a very NEW thing for me! in yg, you tend to hear the same stuff over and over. i'm not saying that's bad cause it's good to review or be reminded of many different ideas. however, i think it's really important to learn stuff you have never touched upon in your life! every sermon was a blessing. i'm quite glad that i took notes for every single sermon. and yes, prayer was definitely good.

after the last night service, i became really cool with dinko, our freshmen class representative. it was quite unexpected but i think God really wanted me to talk to him. it was really good b/c we shared alotta personal things with each other and promised to keep each other accountable. homeboy can definitely relate to me and i can relate to him. the whole getting to know people at church, it's getting alot better...but it didn't stop there.

at night, i taught some people how to play Gumpch! lol. man, they had so much fun! i played with Lori and we seriously killed everyone! i think i got really cool with her after that. Lori is a very interesting girl. she grew up in a community where white people were the majority. the only time she hangs out with asian/korean people is at church. you know how most asian people were hoping that they got an asian roommate when they moved in to college? well, she was actually hoping that she did NOT get an asian person. interesting no? she doesn't know crap about korean music even though she seems like the type who is really into the korean dramas and movies (i don't know, that's how i perceived her). anyways, she's a cool person to just chill with. i really enjoy hearing her laugh cause she has like one of those contagious laughs you know?

as it was getting late, Jinwoo started talking to me about how this retreat was considered to be one of the strictest retreats he's been to. my jaw just dropped. this retreat was the most chiiiiiiill retreat i've been on!

i absolutely love college retreats b/c...

1. sooooo much freetime! haha.
2. college students are sooooo theologically educated.
3. worship services were approximately 1 hour.
4. we had many good discussion times.
5. praise wasn't too long OR short but it sounded REALLY good.
6. the people who actually come to these retreats are people who really wanna be there.
7. you are never forced to do anything. everyone does their devotionals and goes to service automatically. everyone is responsible.
8. i feel very comfortable with the age group that i'm with. no boring awkward conversations.

there's just so much more i wanna write but i know i have to stop at one point. this retreat was really a blessing to me. i feel like my life's changed and i'm really going to follow through with my commitment. i REALLY hope this is not just a temporary spiritual high. but gosh, it was such a good retreat. i REALLY needed it!

me: oh, so you must know chang!
tommy: omg. chang!!! that guy is sooo hardcore! he just knows so much!
me: haha. then you must also know darren!
tommy: dude! those guys are seriously crazy!!!
me: ahahahahahahha.
tommy: oh, you know david right? 4th year?
me: yeah! daybear!
tommy: dude, whenever you're having a serious conversation with him, doesn't he ALWAYS say, "well, it depends..."
me: dude, he DOES say that! ahahahahahhahah.
tommy: ahahahhaahhaha.

Thought of the Day: Won by 1.
Song of the Day: David Crowder-Our Love Is Loud