Sunday for Sunshine...

Highlight of the day:
thank West Church for the worship & sermon, V for hosting, M for the tour, G&T for the baptism gd news! the youth for all the sharing, Jerry for everything:)) (esp. the sacrifice at the end) ♥. God, Your consistency gives me hope!!! Please keep opening our hearts~~~ :)

Today was honestly an exhausting day, but my physical exhaustion was incomparable to what I did today. I went to bed very late last night b/c 1) I was excited to visit my youth today. 2) I was up spending quiet time with my dear Heavenly Father and God led me to pray for a dear friend.

Last night, I also reflected a bit over my BP experience this summer. I cherished the times when I used to sleep really late and still willingly wake up extra early, just to prepare breakfast for the youth. I considered all that worthy. Every morning, I simply felt overwhelmed by God's love and was eager to share it with others. That was the kind of exciting that I long for everyday... for the rest of my life. 

Since I didn't get a chance to take photos with anyone today. I decided to borrow Jerry's photo and use it for my blog. I chose T's photo to be on top b/c I understood exactly what he meant when he wrote: "I <3 Jesus because he helped me opened my heart." I was blessed to be a witness of T when he was still in the process of seeking God and allowing God to open His heart. Monday night, he shared one of the most encouraging stories I've ever heard this summer. It was the healing of his childhood. (God, I praise You so much for being our HEALER!) Wednesday night, God prepared special time for the boys to encounter Him. That same night while doing Rose & Thorn, T told us his unforgettable experience during the unexpected praying meeting. The expression on his face made me literally want to cry out in joy! I could see freedom in his smiling eyes. I secretly voted him the best smile of the week. :)

OKAY. Back to today.
When I was taking the T to alewife this morning, I met someone from Cornerstone Baptist Church. Matthew was passing out note card that caught my attention. We then started a conversation about God and our personal testimonies. He reminded me of the times in the Boston Summer Mission last year, when my teammates and I went on the T to share gospel with Asian passengers. I almost forgot about that experience!!! :) God is indeed so good, He reminded me of hidden treasures that I forgot and allowed me to start the day by praising Him (with a 'stranger'/bro in Christ). Matthew was actually asking me questions to make sure that I go to a church with same doctrine as him. "By faith alone?" he asked. "Yes, by faith alone" I was surprised by the fact that he would actually care to figure out if we believe in the same doctrine. He was sharing with me about the advantage of being bilingual and how he wishes he can speak another language other than English. God immediately reminded me to tell him that we are all responsible for certain group of people. There are only certain group of people in the world that only we can reach out to. For me, I am able to reach out to the Chinese community that he might not be able to. However, he is able to reach out to the English/American community that I might not have the chance to interact. That is called TEAMWORK for God's kingdom. When we depart, we encouraged each other to keep working for Him, because He is worth it. :)*
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The ride to West Church was... adventurous, too adventurous... (90mph?)
Thank God for the safe ride! haha. *
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Seeing most of my beloved youth was really a blast! I didn't expect to see them so soon after the Boston Project. God had His timing indeed, we ended up bumping into one of the youth's annual cookout and got to spend even more time with them. Playing basketball,  frisbee, pingpong, seeing C giving out presents as the receiving ends joyfully opened them, hearing G's confession as he laid down his burden, finding out that some of them were baptized over the weekend, joking with the youth just like old time (last week), and simply to listening to the youth's sharing about their BP experience were all SO ENCOURAGING to me! I can not ask for a better "closure" to my 2012 BP experience!!! Towards the end, time was running out. But I really appreciated how J was willing to stay even though his heart probably already flew to wherever he was supposed to be a long time ago. Love is putting other's desire before yours, even if it means you have to lay down your own and make it extra inconvenient for yourself. Whether if it is intentional or not, I felt loved! :) Thank you my dear friend. I learned so much from interacting with J because he truly challenged me. Though I might not always agree with him (which is ALL-THE-TIME!!!), I do respect his continuous challenges/insights. They made me ponder and help me become more sure myself. Tough love, tough love, tough love... :)

It's getting late and I shall head to bed soon! In a couple of hours I will be heading back to BC to help out BOSS TOM early in the morning, maybe lunch-dating with Jemima dear and then having my brief WA family renion in the late afternoon~ :D Hopefully quality time well spend!