joy eats

i feel like such a LA tourist... my friend and i went and bought a $7 star map and drove around the beverley hills area looking for celebrity houses... at first it felt a little silly because everytime we got off the car to take a picture, people who walked by us would look at us funny. But then we saw a lot of other people with the same star maps driving around too. =) who knows if the map was for reals.
we also went to two celebrity hang-outs. one is call Urth cafe which serves all organic food with a very cute ambience. the second one is call nate n' als which is like a diner that serves really good kosher foods. both i would recommend people for going just for the food. anyhow, after two meals we still didn't see any movie stars.. sigh.. such luck.

went to new song LA for worship service today. it took me awhile to adjust to my environment, because it was the other extreme of what i am used to from bread of life or canaan. the age range of the people is around 25-35. people dressed very casually but very trendy. the whole service was very simple and to the point. i love how they stress the importance of "reaching out". the pastor dave gibbon is soon to move to thailand as a missionary, and he encouraged the congregation to live out what we already know, so that we're not just christians with tons of knowledge without a change life. since it's a big church, so there are a lot of opportunities for ministry and missions locally or overseas. it was overall a really good experience for me to be at a church that's different than what i am used to. i think if i ever move down to LA, i would definitely consider it.

i had my first experience with ebay this week. well.. the process of preparation actually started a few weeks ago. since it was my first time, so i had no clue how and what i was doing.. thanks to a friend who i will remain unnamed.. because he said he'll be embarrassed. =p He spend a good amount of time taking pictures for me and editing each one for the web. Then he spend another hour or two trying to write up the perfect description for my item. we looked through hundreds of similar sites to get an idea which information are needed to post. He was trying to put in as many key words as possible to maximize the chances of my item showing up when people do the search. The item was finally ready for bid late last week! yay right?? but the game had just begun...
i had to keep watch the progress once a day. then when people who showed interested started asking me questions. =O "what do i say to ___?" became the most frequent one line email that i've send to my friend during the week.
But before i know it, the week was over and the item was sold! i was a little surprised that the whole transaction was so quick. now i just have to wait for the check to be clear, then ship the item away. today as i packaged the item for shipping, i got a tiny little bit sad.. it's really leaving.. =(

"now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," Ephesians 3:20

have you ever have those days where you expect it to be just an ordinary week, but God has something else in mind and it turned out to be the opposite, but perfect?
just a few hrs after the mexico team send off last sat., i got a phone call from my dad about a family issue. then i was on the next plane to taiwan.
my week there was intense, tiring but a blessing. although i didn't expect this meeting to take place so soon or rather "NOW" but God's timing is always perfect. things came together in meticulous ways where most people may attribute to them as "coincidence". when it's all part of his will, everything falls into place; the right people at the right time and place. relationships were restored, sins confessed, and there is a sense of hope for something new and growing.
i come back with an awe of who my God is...