Two and a half years ago, Carol Lee asked me if I could help out with Artesia Outreach. Who would have known that saying YES to that question would ultimately mean saying YES to leading that ministry? It is incredible to see how much this ministry has changed in the past few years. The Lord has brought about much structure, organization, students, servants, and of course, evangelism in Artesia Outreach. Nevertheless, we cannot forget the many discouragements, struggles, and hardships that were endured.

I think Artesia Outreach is one of those ministries that people are turned off by as soon as they hear the words, "sacrifice", "tutoring", and "Saturday mornings." Don't get me wrong. I used to be one of those people as I assumed that there were so many others who were more qualified and passionate about this ministry. At the same time, my encouragement to the Church is to tweak your perspective into an evangelical one. As soon as one sees Artesia Outreach as just a free tutoring program for the community, it will eventually become an unhappy chore. But if you can see this ministry as a participation in the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), your service becomes a privilege and a joy.

God has blessed Artesia Outreach with some wonderful servants who continually bless me. More than the kind words and grateful attitudes that are expressed to me as their leader, I am encouraged by the humility, consistency, and commitment of the members of Outreach. When I am discouraged by the lack of tutors or misbehavior of students, I take great comfort in the fact that I do not face these sufferings alone (2 Cor. 1:3-11). Praise God that He chooses to use the weak things of this world to do great things for His glory!

This past year, we experienced a huge influx of Youth Group volunteers who helped meet our 1:1 teacher/student ratio. We also had a few College Group students join our Saturday task. However, with only Gilmer Yuon faithfully committing to this ministry, my hope is to see more EM volunteers who will respond to the need for more servants. Church of Christ, Artesia Outreach continually prays for your participation in serving the Lord!

Thought of the Day: SUPERMAN!
Song of the Day: Rebecca St. James-Lord Come Quickly

"surreal, but nice."
-Notting Hill

i graduated this past Saturday and celebrated with some faithful friends of mine. i still feel like a student because i have to study for my Math CSET. it's incredible how good i am at finding excuses to put off studying til the next day, and then the next day, and of course the day after that! but after reviewing my test schedules and speaking with my mom, it looks like Korea will be pushed back to around late September. i suppose it'll be nice to leave as soon as the UC's start up again. but besides my eagerness to start my new life abroad, i also want to leave sooner because my Samsung phone finally messed up on me. my screen is completely black so i cannot receive/send text messages, check caller id, or even look up names and digits. i was really hoping that my phone would last til the end of summer, but i guess two years can do a lot to a cell phone. if anyone has an old Verizon phone i can use, please holla at cha boy!

here's some random news that no one really

cares about: i sold my black graphite poolstick along with my brother's crappy excuse for wood. well, i haven't sold them yet, but i just wanted to get rid of my stick cause graphite cues really suck and wasn't doing me much good. so what better place to get rid of crap that you don't feel like packaging and shipping? isolditonebay store! i know i won't get as much for it but really, you're paying for the convenience. but not only did i sell our sticks; i also bought two new ones for $55. nothing special or pretty. just two plain cues that'll please me more than graphite garbage. man, i truly hated that stick. thank goodness it's off my hands.



this past Father's Day, June 18th, marked the one year anniversary since my family moved down to Buena Park. in this past year, i learned that my brother is very very forgetful. he always forgets to put his shoes away. he doesn't put his computer on standby. he doesn't do the dishes when he's supposed to, and my mom ends up doing them for him. yes, folks, my brother is an idiot and i can get very upset with him. the fact that he never corrects his mistakes doesn't help either. i'm sure if you ask him about his forgetfulness, he'll probably exclaim that i am exaggerating or absolutely fallacious. i tell him and tell him, but he doesn't change. today, i was reminded of my sinfulness and forgetfulness of the Gospel. i am no different from those idiot Israelites in 1 and 2 King/Chronicles who always forgot the Lord. i have the Bible, prayer, the church, and even Christian books and music to help me remember to live in obedience to Christ. there will always be people who upset you because of their sinfulness and imperfection. but may we continually be reminded of our humble Lord who incessantly shows us love and grace no matter how much we forget Him (Philippians 2).

Thought of the Day: Natural Numbers.
Song of the Day: Biggie-Juicy

the next time i blog, i will be a

with an

,

,
and a big


see you guys on the other side.

Thought of the Day: Happy Birthday, Snugs.
Song of the Day: Code Of Ethics-Well Done

a couple of weeks ago, i randomly started thinking about J and wondered whatever happened to her. then last week, we were equally surprised to find ourselves sitting next to each other in my psych class! J is an old dorm friend that i used to hang out with just about everyday since she was good friends with my roommate. i hadn't seen or heard about her since freshmen year. last night, we studied together and did some catching up. man, freshmen year was truly a fun year. lots and lots of playing with other students who don't feel like studying.

it's amazing to think of all the things that have happened since then. there's just so much that happens in your college years. so many bad times but so many MORE good times. i've read thousands of pages, attended hundreds of lectures, and taken too many tests. those i will not miss. eating in n' out every friday, doing biola every saturday, and having clusters every tuesday. those i will miss. it just seems like yesterday when priscilla was sitting across from me and dykas to keep us company before the cafe nite. it was just yesterday when i first met dinko and wondered why he talked SO much during bible study. it was just yesterday when i had long, yellow hair and everyone thought i was the coolest guy at CPC. amazing.

times and people will change but the Lord is steadfast forever. the God who loved Abraham, protected David, sent Jesus, and turned Saul into Paul is the same God who has "providenced" me in my college years. in response to Dinko's KCM song: YES, I LOVE MY JESUS!

the girl sitting next to me is struggling to stay awake. haha!

Thought of the Day: Czech Republic is #2 in the world.
Song of the Day: You Are God Alone

i've been having alotta trouble with my students lately. all the bad things from drawing while i'm talking to lying straight to my face. sometimes, i get so mad at them that i start acting really immature on their own level. i feel really low afterwards. i can't tell you how many times i've desired to resort to violence. if they only knew, right?

i know people who are crazy stingy. i see people who spend so much money on trivial things for themselves yet can't spare a few bucks to buy me a meal. i know people who talk so much crap and complain about everything while the whole world can see that person's hypocrisy. i know complete jerks who act ridiculously different whenever people of the opposite gender walk into the room. i see stupid idiots who think the real smart people are stupid idiots. you can imagine how much judgement goes on in my mind and heart. if they only knew, right?

i can see so many of your mistakes. i take pity on your stupid jokes and comments. your contradictory words/actions are deafeningly loud and clear to my ears/eyes. you are so unattractive and awkward that i have no hope in y0u. you are a terrible person. if you only knew, right?

earlier today, a sister asked me what i do when my heart is hardened. i just told her that it's really hard for me or some dumb answer like that. i didn't really answer her question. i later realized that i just have to go back to the Gospel. while i was so despicable and detestable to Christ, He still showed (and continues to show) me a love greater than any parent or friend can show. if i have been shown so much undeserving love, how much more ought i love those who sin against me? if your heart is ever hard as stone, it must be softened with the humility of Christ.

Philippians 2:5-8-
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death�
even death on a cross!

just like we sang today, TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS.

Thought of the Day: Lady Luck.
Song of the Day: Heavenly Sunlight

today, my professor told us that if we want to scare away Jehovah's Witnesses, we should start taking off our clothes in front of them. i thought it was pretty funny.

i was daydreaming today and remembered a time in third grade when we had a gift exchange around Christmas time. i don't know if my mom was crazy stingy or my family was really poor, but my mom had the brilliant idea of using one of my old, naked Ninja Turtles as my gift. it was poorly wrapped and very unattractive to the other students. i don't remember the details, but i remember getting my own gift back for the gift exchange. i was so disappointed and embarrassed that i cried when i opened it. i wonder what my mom was thinking.

for my hiphop class, our final is to do a group presentation of a hiphop element or artist. my group chose to do Nas. out of the 7 members, i am the only Asian. but the crazy thing that gets to me is that i am the unofficial group leader. i came up with all of the ideas for the project. i delegated all of the responsibilities to everyone. everyone asks me if i think their ideas are cool. it's so weird. i am never the group project leader EVER. i really dislike working on group projects though. there's always one or two people who just don't do their jobs right. they give the whackiest ideas or don't show up on time. i learned in my psych. class that while group projects are meant to encourage teamwork and cooperation, our society has emphasized success and individuality so much that we don't care about the groupwork because we are so focused on our own grades. very very true.

lately, i've been wearing the same clothes over and over again. the main reason is because i'm always sleeping over someone's house/apt. i remember i used to care so much about what people thought of my clothes in high school. it probably has something to do with being teased for wearing tight jeans in middle school. man, those were some terrible times. i remember i had the most uncomfortable time trying to sag my oh so tight jeans. sometimes it didn't work out either because you'd be able to see my underwear through my white shirt. thank goodness college doesn't give a crap about how you dress. as long as i don't smell, i can keep wearing the same pants over and over again.

Thought of the Day: Encino Man.
Song of the Day: Nas-One Time 4 Your Mind