What's on Joe C.'s Mind

It's July Already

2007-07-05T23:35:00.000+08:00

I've been so lazy to blog anything. Facebook has replace so much of blogger with its "Note" Feature. I'll be back after my 26th birthday.

Short Update

2007-03-18T14:42:00.000+08:00

Just don't have time to do a big update yet. My latest update is on my video page. My Video Page Some news videos. Enjoy.

Swim,Tan, Eat, Play, Swim Part 1

2006-11-06T02:13:00.000+08:00

Day 1

Woke up at 5:00am so I can get to the airport by 6:30. Everything went smooth and got on the plane. One thing crazy happened. We saw the flight attendant that served Eddie and I one year ago when we went to Pattaya. How do we remember her? I don't know. Her face was recognizable I guess.

Got to Phuket at like 10:30, took the taxi, and got to our resort at Karon Beach. The place was so nice. We first greeted the reception with some cold drinks and towels. We asked for seaview rooms and got them.

We were so hungry and had first Phuket meal.
Pad Thai and Tom Yum Gong soups rules. After lunch, we went out to walk around to area and found out that there was a street market very near by. Walked in there and chat out some stuff. The stuff are sooooo cheap before bargaining, but we decided to shop later. We got some snack and suntan lotion in a mini mart. It was like a 3pm already. Got back to the hotel, put the sun tan lotion on and went to the pool.

The water was soo nice and sun was perfect for tanning. I laid there like there is no tomorrow. Swam, had some drinks at the pool side bar, and ate some food. The sun started setting around 6. We back to the room, took the shower, and got ready to go outside for dinner.

We went to Patong beach on Tuk Tuk Taxi. Man, that place is soo busy. comparable to Ladies Market in Mong Kok. Walked around a bit and decided to eat at this seafood grill house restaurant. They are very common in Thailand. The food is not that cheap but who cares. I'm on vacation. All 4 of course ordered a surf and turf and a lobster to share. It was a okay meal. After dinner, we found this massage place. The place looked the least dodgy than any other one. Well, if they are on ground level with big windows, they are the non dodgy ones. The place was sooo cheap. 250 baht(around $50 HKD) for 1 hour Thai massage. Ok, I never had Thai Massage before. It hurts!!! The highlight was twisting you body at the end and stretch you. Anyhow, it was fun. After that, we were hungry again. We ate some snacks and drink some soup in a restaurant and went back to the resort and had a nice sleep!! That was only day one.

Day 2
Woke up at 9:30 am and ate the breakfast. The food was ok. Mix of Thai food and western style breakfast. I went straight to the pool after that. The sun was soo nice. I just laid down on the beach chair and just tan. As it get close to 11:30, man, the sun was so strong but not strong enough to burn me. I just have to put on more of that SPF 4 Banana boat oil. It's too hot. Went into the pool and cool down. Had some tropical shakes with my friends. Such a nice tan.

Went back the room and got change. We decided to use the afternoon to shop at the street market. Well, we gotta fill out stomach first. We found this Thai restaurant near the market. I ordered some fried rice dish and Tom Yum Gong. The Tom Yum Gong was soooooo good. Not too spicy, just the right amount of sourness. I love the shrimp in Thailand. Lime soda water is like the ultimate default drink in Thailand. We were so stuffed after the meal.

So we walked around this street market which is kinda indoor under some sort of large tarp. Man, the surfing. swimming shorts were so cheap. It was like 20-30 max. So many selections and "brands" Got some handbag and bracelets for friends. Nothing really interest me. Tried to get some Tee's but they don't have the fitted style ones. Some how we were able to spend like an hour in there. I was almost like 3:30 already. We went back to the hotel and got changed and ready to get some tanning again.

However, our plan had changed. We decided to go snorkeling. So we hired a Taxi and got to this beach. This beach is really remote. There are like nothing there but some cars and this hut. A few "equipments" stands. However, this is not like the best beach I think. So we rented some snorkeling gear and went went for it. Among the four of us, I was the only person that snorkeling before. Only one rule, just breathe with your mouth. My friends had some difficulty as first but they picked it pretty fast. However, I was quite disappointed. We are in phuket, and this is a major damage zone during the Tsunami. All the coral reef are dead. I could image that before the incident this beach had to be like really beautiful. Well, I get to see some fishes which is kinda cool. My friend bought this under water camera, and I tried to take some pictures. The water wasn't clear enough. I wanted to swim out further but it was getting late. We spend like 2 hours there without know it. Time to go back.

With our hungry stomach, we quickly took showers and ready to go out. We went to Patong Beach again. We walked to the more inner street in Patong Beach, away from the beach. We found this section where there are few out door local/family style Thai Restaurant. I was craving for the Thai Noodle Soup for ages. I had to order it.

On the side, when we got there, we saw this really beautiful Japanese girl. My buddy Eddie had the guts to buy her a drink and took a picture with her. Yes, after dinner, we went to Thai massage again!! They are like so happy that we went back. Seriously, 250 baht for a one hour massage. What else can we ask for. That was only Day 2

To be continued

365 plus 8

2006-10-25T17:14:00.000+08:00

One year can go by so fast. I've been back to Hong Kong a year already. From October to Feburary, it was a very very slow two months. With no jobs, sitting at home the whole time was quite boring. Starting in January, as I started to get involved with more things, time flew by so quick. Cleansing Stream, Beijing mission trip, album recording, the summer, album release and working at The Vine. The past 10 months was like the most meaningful and life changing of my life. I'm not going to blah blah blah about how I changed over the year anymore because I did a lot of that with my previous posts.

I'm looking forward for what God will be doing in my life. I want to be a better video editor. I want to be more skillful as a Media Assitant. I want to make a short film about the homeless people in HK. I want to impact more of my friends around me so they know what it likes to have a close relationship with God. Yes, I want all these to happen, but only if that's what He wants too. I have to seek more of His will and visions. Another 365 days.

Ok picture times. October was like the month of events, events, and events. There were birthdays, weddings, dinner parties, etc. Last monday, I went to Ocean Park with a bunch of good looking people to celebrate Gabby's birthday. I haven't been to the OP for almost 15 years. The whole adventure was so fun. The scariest part was when Derek tried to shake the cable car. I almost pee in my pants. I still think it was crazy that we looked at all the cute fishes during the day, and we went to eat seafood at nite time. We are so chinese.

This past Monday was Ben and Suki's wedding. The wedding went so smooth, and we were so happy for them that night. Ben look so handsome, and Suki looked so Beautiful.

That's it for this UPDATE. Going to Phuket tomorrow. I will update sooner this time.

Summer's Gone. Autume's Coming

2006-09-18T00:31:00.000+08:00

This summer had been like the craziest summer ever in my life. If you have been reading my past posts, you will known what had happened. From editing the Beijing Mission Trip video to editing the Who May Ascend? DVD. From travelling back to Toronto to finding Hong Kong is my real home. From expecting something new to happen to ended up having not what I was expected. From being unemployed for 11 months to finally becoming a staff at the Vine. Too many thing had happened.

God mold me so much this past summer. In my editing skills, I went from an amateur/home video editor into a professional editor. I went from still being childish with my thoughts in relationship to finally knowing what's being a man of God is all about. I went from a participant in fellowship in HK to a leader in Flight 852.

2006 summer was like an huge turning point in my life. The most significant part is that I turned 25 this year. In a life time of a person, I think, 25 is a signicant point. A quarter of a century, heading toward 30's and knowing this is point where I have to become a real adult and prepare to have a family. This is the year, for me personally, to step up as a man of God in any issue: relationship, leadership, social responsibilty, finance and spiritual life.

Sept 16 was a signicant night for the Vine for sure. It was the Who May Ascend CD/DVD launch party. For me personally, it was a giant step in my career as an editor. Less than 12 months, from knowing nothing about editing into doing the biggest video project for the Vine. The most important thing is this CD/DVD will be seen and heard all around the world, and many will be blessed by it. The Lord is Amazing

What's next? A lot of exciting confirmed and potential projects. Righ now, I just want to take it easy for a few weeks. I need to recharge my brain pretty bad. I was on a 60 plus no sleeping all-nighter pull. I think I fried my brain a little bit.

"Lord, I thank you for bringing me back to Hong Kong on October 16, 2005. Thank you for molding me for the past 11 months. Thank you for all the discplining and lessons you've put my through. Thank you for giving me a creative mind especially for video. Lord, I ask that you will continue to use me in spreading your love to other. Give me wisdom and strength to become a leader that will help the youth in Hong Kong to look for and to you. Lord, I will patiently wait what you have prepared for me. Teach me more Lord. Teach me more. Amen."

I Can't See What I'm Stepping On

2006-08-29T00:06:00.000+08:00

What an adventure!!! I was supposed to meet up a bunch of friends for Mandy Lee's birthday dinner at south side of Lamma Island at 18:30. When I get to the pier at 18:00, realizing the next ferry leaves at 18:45. I can't wait that long. I didn't know what to do, I just hopped on the ferry that goes to the North side of Lamma Island and figure out a way later to get to the south side. When I hopped on the ferry and called Mandy. She told me that there is only one way: Hike. It takes 45 min. I was like it should be ok. I get to hike and do some exercing and plus I've walking like half of that path before. So I started walking and enjoying some Lamma Island culture. As I was walking further into the Island and suddenly realizing it's getting dark and should have got a torch(flash light). Well it wasn't that bad; I can still see the path. After I past the beach and start walking up into the mountain, it was getting little bit scary. It wasn't really dark yet, but that tone of the surrounding it's just give me little chill. You know that sky tone right after sunset. Anyway, I kept walking fastly (just want to get there). When I get to this part with more trees covering the path..man it was dark!!!! It was good it wasnt that long. So i kept hiking and still manage to see the path. It was actually a good walk smelling the nature and looking at the sea view. I only bumped into two people on the path.

The scariest part finally arrive. I had to walk thru another forest again. By this time, it's dark out there. I can barely see my feet, my hands and the path. I think my eyes had adjust to the darkness already, so that;s why I can still see some thing, but it's actually pretty dark. All the objects in front of me is like a black blob. There is bench that looks like some one standing there. There was this huge white garbage bag that looks like some one dressed in white. When I past by it, i heard noises(I think there is actually person there, u know I.I. from China). I didn't know what I will be stepping on(dog poo, snail, insect and dead animal; i was wearing flip-flops). At that point I was praying, singing worship songs and asking God for protection. There could be like animals jumping out from the forest. I was so close calling them to tell someone to pick me up. This last like about 10 min. Finally, I get to see some light as I get near my destination. However, there are still some part that is still complete darkness. by this time, I'm so tired but still in this jogging mode. Finally, I got there at the seafood restaurant and enjoy some great time.

Was it worth it? Yeah!! Beside the seafood and great time with my friends, the adventure was so meaningful. I never walked alone in dark, by myself without a torch. At least, in Blair Witch Project, the three people had flash lights. Thank the Lord for His protection, guidance and strength. To be honest, I was really freaked out at that part when I wasnt sure what I was seeing. One good part was the whole path was paved.

So remember, wait for the next ferry.

Just Excited

2006-08-21T02:11:00.000+08:00

After the previous long blog, just wanted to do a short one tonight. I'm just very excited with Who May Ascend Live Album CD/DVD of The Vine. Making the music videos for the DVD is the my first and biggest editing project ever. For the last 3 weeks, I had so little sleep but it was just so great to see the video comes "alive". I'm happy that so many people liked the lastest rough cut of one of the video, some even say it looks pro. Just thinking back of almost 11 months ago, editing the 1st video for 180 and looking at the "Lift" video now, I thank God for just pushing me so much to learn how to edit to this level in such a short period of time. I;m excited because this is the first work of mine that will be sold part of a CD/DVD. Beside that, I;m excited that I can really use my skill to glorify His name. That was my dream and calling when I came to HK to start my multimedia career.

This week is going to be another crazy one. "Who May Ascend?" video in progress. Alrite, pretty late now, need to sleep.

One more thing to be excited about, worshipping with my of my closet friend again tonite gave me so much joy. Welcome back, Bro.

A Car, a Destination and a Mountain

2006-08-17T00:44:00.000+08:00

There is a destination that I always wanted to go to. This place is not easy to get to. I had tried in the past years to get there. I thought I have the right directions or the right transportation to get there. So many times God told me that you are not ready to go there yet, but I didn't listen. I tried to get there with the fastest way. Took the fastest cars to get there but got in few accidents. I was so scared of accidents that I didn't want to go there anymore and just stayed home.

Recently, God told me that "Joe, you can start your journey to there, but it's going to take a while". When I heard this, I was full with joy because this is like the first time ever that God told me to start this journey.

"If you want to get there, you really really have to listen to my instruction,' God said.
"Sure, Lord, I will," joyfully I replied.
"I'm giving you this car to go. This car is ugly but the safest car out there. I will not give you the complete directions. You will need to stop at the certain gas stations to get new directions and petro in order to go on. The most important thing to remember its that you can't drive above 50km/h. Yes, Joe, it's so slow but you will get there, I promise. People will honk at you or tell you to go faster or yourself might want to go faster. Ignor all that, just drive under 50km/h. There will be some bumps, hills, several winding turns, but it's ok, as long as you drive slow and it will be ok. You will get there, I promised. Don't use no GPS system, this car will block all the signal. Accomodation and food are no problems. I prepared all that for you already. Rooms are booked and reservation are made. You will get there, I promised. Now go and remember, drive under 50." God said.

Wow, so much instructions. Can I handle all these? Ok the instruction was pretty simple, drive slow and stop at gas station whenever I need to.

So I started driving. Seriously, the journey was so smooth. Stopping at the gas station really helps me to recollect some snack for the travel and petro for my car. Oh, I feel so much joy whenever I get the instruction envelopes. Another few km closer. Driving slow was good. You get to see a better view and more time to enjoy the journey. Over all the road are not that bad except some crazy winding roads and rocky roads up and down hills. However, I drove slow, it was ok.

After a few days, I had the curiousity to drive above 50km/h. It's not that I'm impatient, but 1 or 2 km above makes no harm. I tried. Wooo, it felt pretty good. However, I had to slow down immediately. I really don't want the same old accident to happen. That 2 km/h over was in my mind the whole time. At the same time , God didn't really told me to slow down or tell me to stop. So as the journey kept on going, I tried little bit faster and faster. I really wanted to slow down at times, but the speed was too fun. Well, I still goes to the pit and get my instructions. However, as soon as I get the instructions, i fastly read them and just trying to get to the next gas station.
Faster, faster, faster. 59km/h!!

"JOE!!! What are you doing." I slammed on my break and stopped. "God!!?" I cried out.
" I didn't stop you because I thought you will slow down and go back to 50 km/h. I didn't want to stop you because you are really enjoying the journey. But I have to stop you because I LOVE you,"God said.
" Why did you stop me i want to get THERE!!!," yelling back at God but in my heart I know that I screw myself over again.
"Hey, I tell you the truth. You don't drive all over the place anymore. That' s good. You improved a lot, but you drove too fast!! This car cannot handle more than 60km/h. I don't want the car to suddenly die down and you get into some accident again. Joe why didn't you listen to me. Also, those instructions, you are reading them so fast. You miss out some short cut hints that was in fine print. Joe, you are not ready to drive." God replied.
"What do you mean, don't tell me I have to go back home again or get stuck here", I questioned God with so much anger.
"No, you are not going back home. Right now, you don't get to drive. Get out of the car."
I really didn't want to but learning from experiences, forcing to start the car will just not work.
"Then what, God?," I said
"Look that way."
All I saw was this big huge mountain. I didn't know why I never saw it before. some how it just appeared.
"My son, you need to walk now. Walk to the mountain and climb it. You won't know what's behind it until you climb to the top. This time no other instruction, but just walk toward it. I'm still promising you food and shelter. You will get there, but you just have to walk. OH yeah, there is only one path. It's narrow but it will lead you there. so walk now"

Did I walk immediately? No. I sat on the ground for few hours and think, think and think. Ok, so this is new. Before God always tell me to go home. This time I'm still able to get to the destination. I just have to walk. But those mountains, they are huge. This is sooo hard. After much pondering, I decided I will walk. A second chance from God, why not?!! Now I start.

A Short story by Joseph Chow.

Update on Video Page

2006-08-15T02:54:00.000+08:00

New promo for Who May Ascend and Beijing Mission Trip 06. My Video Page

It Sucks, but it's GOOD

2006-08-14T11:18:00.000+08:00

Only the last few years as a Christians, I slowly really grasp the concept of God knowing the "bigger picture." The phrase " for the greater good" is a always been like a connection with my faith toward the Father. Lately, I've been challenge by God to really really believe in the "greater good". What do I mean? I guess before when I face challenges, my spiritually side knows that those challenges are there to make me grow and mature, but physically and emotionally, I don't want to overcome those challenges. I rather just fall some times or I was so spiritually that I overcame them so easily by His help. Lately, I finally had the strongest internal battle between the physical and the spiritual. Recently, God has given me a great test and took something away from me. Spiritually, I really really know that it will make me become a better Christian, but physically, it really sucks. Things are going so well, and suddenly God just took it away. It sucks. It just feel like enjoying a great movie in a theater, and it suddenly, the movie just stopped and I was told to leave. I was in the beginning of a movie and thought I will get to see the climax. No, I can't yet. I know I will get to see teh movie again but don't know when.

Anyway, the last few days, the battle was so strong that I had to cry out to God every day to help me not to fall. I don't want the Enemy to take a foothold of me. At the same time, I wanted to cry out all my emotion pain. I never worshipped and pray so hard in my life. Friends, I wanted to tell you that I won the battle. Yes, it really sucks that it has been taken away from me, but He is so good. I realized that there are so much in front of me that I need to focus, and all those things are glorifying Him in every aspect. One more thing that I learn that we enjoy the blessing so much that we sometimes forget to thank the Blesser or return something to Him in respond for His love. I praised the blessing more than the Blesser. I learned a great leason. So, yeah, it suck, but it's good.

"Lord, I thank you for pulling me out from the pit again. So many time I just want to fall back into it, but you keep on reminding me that I just can't. Forgive me for not listening to you. I didn't mediate on the prayer that I first prayed two months ago. Lord, thanks for reminding me that prayer. I need to wait upon you. Lord, I pray that today it's going to be another new start again. Thanks for Your love, care, and discipline. Amen"

Just His Words

2006-08-08T01:02:00.000+08:00

"How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word."
~Psalm 119:9

"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
~ James 1:4

After 3 days.

2006-08-04T10:54:00.000+08:00

The last blog was full of anger and frustration. I was in the worse mood ever. After trying to be rebellious and angry at the Father for the last 3 days, it wasn't successful. I was stuck in the the situation where I wanted to just let my feelings hold me back or focus on the Father again. Praise the Lord that He brought me back once again. I want to apologize for agreeing with the statement "Get out of Hong Kong". Where was my forgiveness? I don't know. Now I got it back, wait, I was given back by Him. I had no smile and no joy for the past 3 days. This morning I work up with the biggest smile because I went back to His arms. After 3 days, Jesus had victory over death. After 3 days, with the power of the Holy Spirit and His Love, I was once again a new person. There are so much more for me to do in terms of seeking and hearing His will again.

Last night, like for the longest, I listened to worship music before going to sleep. I turn off all the light and played I Will Be Still by Tom Read. What a good rest I had, and it was this song that really told me to wake up and go back to Him.

"Lord, I thank you for bringing me back to you again. I'm sorry for being angry at you. Thank you for freeing me from being the prisoner of my own mind. Now I trusted that things is going to be better than before and ever. You taught me a good lesson. I will to be still for You. Thanks Daddy."

LINE UP PLEASE!!!!!!

2006-08-02T01:10:00.000+08:00

Before I get into my title. Just need to update.

2 weeks went by, what did I do? I finally finished the Beijing Mission Trip Video. I'll post it up on my video page asap. I joined Flight 852 and unofficially became a leader there. I'm looking forward for September once the summer holiday is over and all the kids are back. Last week, I started counting my ministries. SIX!!! Yeah, I was on SIX ministry teams. God told me that I really to have to leave some of them before I get burn out again. I will miss dancing in Revolve the most.(I;m going behind the scene to work on their music). F&B @ 180 had tick my interest in cooking again. Not able to play to much bass anymore at 180. Now I have to focus on the media, Flight and worship team.

In terms of media, August is going to be the most challenging month ever since I came to HK. I will have to spend the entire month working on the Who May Ascend DVD. This is like the biggest project I've ever done. This is my first project that will be view by thousands of people(yes, I believe thousands of the CD are going to be sold). The release date is Mid September. I needed finish everything by early September. PRESSURE'S ON!!! Not only this, God has started giving me a bunch of test and challenges for me, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. To be honest, I'm so weak on all of these as I'm writing this. The first test had been already a hard test for me already. Can I deal with them? Wait, I shouldn't be dealing with them, God should. Wait, again, can I surrender to Him? At these moment, I can't even confirm. So friends, if I ever get little frustrated, pls forgive me.

Ok, can people learn to line up? After dinner at the New Century Plaza in Mong Kok, my brother, sis-in-law and I decided to get some Mrs Fields' cookies. Buy 3 get 3 free. As we were lining up, these two foreign guys, with a bunch of foreign girls(I'm not mentioning race to avoid any thing sense of racism here), decided to bud in the line. Hong Kong people are soo shy or afraid to stand up for anything. No one said anything. So I decided to stand up for the people. "Hey buddy, you are budding." "He was like 'It's ok, I know I know'" WHAT THE!! I then continue to ask him to go to the back of the line. He explained he's not buying the special deal, so he can just go. I was like "yo, what the heck are u talking about, u still have to line up" THose cookie girls at the counter are just useless. How can they let him bud? I know why, because he was a foreigner and they were afraid to ask him to line up. The worse part was the other guy was like "yo I didn't stick a knife to the sales girl to let us buy it, she was willing to let us in." Man, that was so "inch". Today I was not in a good mood already, and with that I could really explode!! Luckily, some local in the line was backing me up. This guy at the front was funny as he was using his broken English to yelled at the guys. At the end, they got there cookies. As they leave, one of those girl that were with them told us to SHUT UP and gave us the FINGER!! I was like...man I was so close to go up and yell at them too. Then the local guy in front said "Get out of HK, we don't welcome you!" I was laughing so hard.. Where is my brother? It's he was backing me up as my blood brother already. Aiya, anyone film the whole thing? Put it on youtube.

Well, what do I think? It was bad hospitality, I guess, telling tourist they are not welcome to HK and asking them to leave. But for these people, it's the right thing to say. Forgot to tell u that, the two foreign guy can speak Cantonese too. They are showing the worse HK manner themselves..
Anyway, yeah, I stand up for HK people once more....sooo buy 3 get 3 free at Mrs Fields before closing.

Too much stress almost became Uncle bus.

Back to my Home

2006-07-17T15:52:00.000+08:00

Feel so great to be back here in Hong Kong. Yes, the air is like 10 times dirtier here, the people are much rude, the temperature and humidity is ridiculous; however, I still love this place. This is where the place where God gave me the most challenges and made me growth so much. This is the place where I got supported the most spiritually and physically. This is where I was BORN. This is my root. Half of my family is here. Where else should I go? This is my base now, but I'm still ready for God to send me out to places He wants me to go.

July 14th was the quietest birthday ever in my life, but the best, yes the BEST and the happiest. This is the only year I've never organize anything for my birthday. I've never got any surprise birthday that's why I have to organize my won birthday party for my entire life. I told God that it's actually be great this year because it's going to be so quiet and peaceful. This year 90% of my birthday was spend on the plane with my dear spiritual sis Cece. I thought this birthday is going to slip away very very quietly, which isn't bad. No drinking, no cake, no big party, no trying to get all the attention. It was good enough already. However, toward the end of the night, some one gave me the best surprise ever. THANK YOU! :)

Alright, I'm ready to jump back into the HK life and take up all these up coming projects.

Oh, Congratulation again for Ephraim and Brooke, the newly wedded couple. You both gave us so much smile, laughter and tears on Saturday. Thank you.

Coming up. Black Eye Peas Concert

Leaving Toronto

2006-07-13T19:22:00.000+08:00

To sum it all up...read all my previous posts. Just excited to go back to the Eastern Pearl. Hong Kong, here I come.

Video Page

2006-07-12T04:35:00.000+08:00

Visit my new video page.

God is Amazing

2006-07-11T22:52:00.000+08:00

So after the all the preparation for my sharing, I was ready to share what I needed to share in 15 mins. After my dear sis in Christ, Cece shared, it was my turn. When I looked at the clock I actually only 5 mins to shared. The roundown was very tight that morning. I don't think I ever talk so fast and loud in front of the brothers and sister in my home church before. At that moment, I had to totally rely on God to guide me what to say. 15 min into 5 mins! Seriously, I didnt really had one main point but to remind the brothers and sister STRONGLY what is being a living sacrifice is about.I used Roman 12:1-2. Three things: worship, offering, and His will. To sum it up: worship with passion; offer everything to Him with our heart; and surrender before we seek His will. Then I encourage them with four things: Pray and Read His words with boldness; Fix on Him 24/7, Endure hardships and Pray for spiritual breakthrough. At that moment as I shared, my mind was not my own any more; it was really Him speak thru my mouth. Whether they received it or not, I don't know. For those that had received, I prayed that those words will not be taken away by thorns in their hearts.

In the afternoon, we had the concerts of prayer. It was suppose to be 2 hr long but it ended up being 4 hrs. I just have to say breakthrough was happening during the whole prayer and worship time. I've never seen the uncle and aunties from the chinese congregation breakdown during prayers in my life. This is the first time ever I felt the Holy Spirit's presence at this church. Confession were made to the Father with tears. We cried out to God together in unity to ask for unity.

Father, I thank you for letting me to be part of this amazing time at Hosanna. I believe this family of yours will revive because they have finally made the decision to rely more on the power of the Holy Spirit. They believe only through the love of The Father, the blood of the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit can unite the brothers and sister at Hosanna. Lord, thank you for kicking the enemy out from this family so we can love you freely again. Amen

As I was driving on the highway during some crazy weather in Toronto, I took this picture. I've never seen a rainbow that big and clearly in my life.

I Can't Abort the Mission

2006-07-04T23:04:00.000+08:00

This coming sunday morning, I will be sharing with my church here about what has God done for me in my life. From the very first day when God told me to share, I knew He wanted me not just simply give out a testimony. He told me to speak a word of encouragement and teaching along with personal experience. I never really "preach" before in front of anybody. I trust that God will give me the confidence I need on that morning. What about the word? I don't want to sound like I;m preaching a sermon,but God had clearly told me that "Joe, just speak the my Word in spirit and in truth. They need to hear it". Praise God for that insight. As I'm preparing my heart for this sharing, I'm getting more and more spirtual attacks and temptations. It had been a huge struggle for me. The whole time I'm thinking that I just can't share about how amazing God is but at the same time I'm falling spirtually. THere are moment in my heart that I just want to leave Canada go back to Hong Kong and forget about all this. Thanks God that He reminded me that He had given me a mission that needed to be finished. Also, I got reminded that God never called us to be perfect, but obedient. I cried out for God's restoration last night and healing ande rebuke any lies from the enemy. I need to press on. I know it's going to be tougher for the next few days, but with the Father's love, Christ's blood and the power of the Holy Spirit, I know I can finish this mission.

Lord I thank you for loving, forgiving, and training me. Thanks for your restoration and healing. Amen

Moses Versus Superman

2006-06-30T11:30:00.000+08:00

Superman Returns was so good; it was way better than the older one. They actually put a lot of real science fact into it. Watch the documentry The Science of Superman. I think it's the best film of the year so far.(I'm not a crazy comic fan, but it was really good!) I'm not going to spoil it. Okay, Moses vs Superman. After my friend and I watched Superman Returns, we were discussing how good the movie is, and it made Superman more real, etc. Then suddenly, my friend asked me "if Moses and Superman ever get into a battle, who will win?" I did not say Moses right way; i actually had to think it through "why?" Superman, the strongest guy on earth. He can freeze things, heat things up, blow away thing(might able to split open the Red Sea), carry heavy things, even a planet. Moses probably can do all the things Superman does too; cuz he has God's power with him. Let just say somehow, during the battle between the two, Moses doubted God for a bit and lost the power(u know like Peter hesitated when he walked on water). Can superman actually beat him up? Or will God actually just strike Superman down? Well, for me the answer will stay the same. God will beat Superman.

Deeper Thought

2006-06-22T00:05:00.000+08:00

After being at the house for more than a week, I finally realize why I feel so weird to be in this house. This the house where failed the most spiritually. This is where my faith got so weak because I was too focus on things that are not glorifying to God. This is place where I feel most comfortable and too content about my spiritual life. In this house, I cried out for God to bring me back to him. The basement of this house is where I spent the least of time with God but most amount of time watching things I should not look at. Living this this house for 7 years had been a roller coaster ride for me.

In Hong Kong, God had trained me and made me grown so much in just a 8 months, and it has been continuing uphill. Coming back to house, I felt like my spiritual life is back track to where I was 8 months ago. When I stepped into this house, I was really scare as first. I did walk around the house and prayed over every room that I was in. I felt a good sense of peace after that. This past week I just keep going forward without any thought of bad memories in this house. Everyday I have to remind myself that I'm not the same anymore. HK is where my roots are. All I should do here is to bring my blessing from God to the brothers and sisters in Christ here and my family here.

I guess things in Toronto don't change too much. When I'm back here, everything feel the same. That's why I felt like I was here like yesterday.

Food is Good Part 2

2006-06-21T09:53:00.000+08:00

While I was living in Toronto, our friends and I like to go to eat Vietnamese Beef Soup Noodle aka PHO. We usually eat these noodles like at least once a week. They are soo good. So when I moved to HK, I thought they would also have cheap and tasty PHO. However, I was wrong. They are either very expensive or taste really bad. Also, there are soo much less selections. All you have is beef with noodles. In Toronto, there are like 20 plus choices such as beef and brisket, beef and tripe, beef and beef balls, etc. So this time when I got back I wanted PHO so badly. We went to this new place. The noodle was sooo good. The key is the soup: hot and beefy. I order an XL!!! $6 Cdn. It was huge. It taste so delicious with hot sauce, sweet sauce, been sprout and mint leaves.

At night, it was Father's Day dinner. Our family went to this Japanese restaurant for all-you-can-eat. When it comes to a.y.c.e, the image of so-so quality food. This time is little different. This Japanese steakhouse usually serve nice a la cart sushi, sashimi and other hot items. It was it's 8th anniversary celebration, so they are serving high quality food but all you can eat. The food was sooo good. We order soo much so much food. We ate with some aunties as well, so the night was all jokes when those auntie order all these food but couldn't finish them. My dad was so tired, he felt asleep.

Why do raw stuff taste so good? Raw food is pure. Raw food is created by God. God is Pure.

Food is Good Part 1

2006-06-19T12:38:00.000+08:00

Before you start reading my post. I just want to warn you that if you are a vegetarian, a vegan or on a diet or fasting, plz don't stop reading because I want you to enjoy food more.

On Friday, I went to my friends house for lunch. He's a GREAT GREAT cook. He made me this sandwich that taste so good which I can tell Pret Manger "you can close down your store" It was the best home made sandwich I ever had. He put some pork on a pan and cooked it with some cheddar cheese and thyme. As he was cooking, the whole kitchen was filled with the nice Canadian cheddar cheese smell. After the meat were cooked, he put them between two bread and grill the "art" with a sandwich maker. OMG, the bread was toasted just the right texture and the meat was like superb. This is homemade. We had some fresh watermelon and pineapple as well.

After our fellowship at night, we went to this place call St. Louis for wings. I haven't had cheap but tasty buffalo wings for 8 months. The wings was sooo good with the ripple fries and Heinz Ketchup. Should have order suicide instead of hot.

On Sat night we went to this friend house for BBQ!! North American BBQ is all about the steak and grill veg. We had this salmon wrapped in aluminum foil with apricots. It taste soo good. Canada salmon rules. Ok, instead of steak, the chef(the same one that made me the sandwich) bought some nice pork chop/loins. Man, it was done till medium. It was the softest pork chop ever. The potato salad and the grill veggies were always good. BBQ rules..

How can people loose weight in Canada with all these good.

God created food, food is good. God is good!

to be continue...Vietnamese Pho noodles and All You can eat Japanese food.

Finally Some Nice Pasta

2006-06-16T13:26:00.000+08:00

Before I get into the pasta part, I just wanted to say I had such a wonderful day. Today, one of my buddy from school is having his convocation. I'm like one of the few friends that can make it. I was so happy to be part of it. I was nice to be back at my school today. Driving the same highway, with the same 40 min drive, and looking at grass and cement. It was nice. I didn't get the chance to take many pictures of the campus in such a nice weather.

For lunch, we went to this all you can eat Japanese restuarant for lunch. We order soooo much food. like 30 items for 6 people. I was stuffed.

At night time, I finally get the chance to see all the old friends from church. We went to eat at this Italian restaurant.

OHH the food was soo good. The Salad was soo soo delicious. Yeah, so the pasta. I never had good pasta since I left Toronto. It was seafood spaghetti. Al denti pasta. Not Cafe de Coral spaghetti.

Very very good conversations; catching up with everybody. We then went to this dessert place. Oh man, the cakes, pies and tea was good there. The place was so chilling. It reminds me of Vine Centre/ Lava Lounge. :) We had such a good time there. I'm suppose to loose weight here, but the food is sooo good. So hard to resist.

Question for the day: Who is this boy?

Driving on the Road

2006-06-14T22:03:00.000+08:00

I was so excited to get to drive again since I left Toronto 8 months ago. As I hop onto my car, I thought I will be so nervous or get little rusty with my driving. However, it was completely opposite. I felt so normal turning those wheels and stepping on those pedals. I actually remember how to drive after relying on Hong Kong public transportation for so long. I wasn't really excited, but it felt good to travel around without the restriction of using an Octopus or the bus schedule.

Oh, I told myself I gotta have a nice piece of prime rib when I get back. So my family went to this chop house called the Canyon Creek. I ordered a 12 oz prime rib. It WAS SOO GOOD...for the first few bits. After that, I felt little full already. I guess I still needed time to enjoy the nice Canadian beef after eating Hong Kong beef for so long.

The weather is just too good. The fresh air is too good.

"Home"

2006-06-14T00:12:00.000+08:00

It's weird to be back.
Ok, the plane ride was very very good. Had some trouble at the beginning of the trip. Suitcase overweight, wrong names on the tickets. However, it was good cuz the Lord was with us the whole time. The best part was the stop at Tokyo. It was nice to be in Japan. So the 11 hr flight to Detroit was really good. Did some good devotion and prayer with Cece. The custom at the Detroit Airport was surprisingly nice. We got thru so smooth.

Anyway, it was little weird to be in Toronto. The air is different, more space, and all the old memories. It's like yesterday I left this place.

It's nice to be home.

Going "Home"

2006-06-11T23:03:00.000+08:00

So I will be on the plane back to Toronto in like 8-9 hours. I have one thing in mind right now. Bringing the fire back to my home. God had ignite this fire in me, and He had called me to bring it back home and revive that fire at my home church. I have nothing to expect, but I feel God is gonna use Cece and I to show His love and passion to my home church. I'm really excited, but on the other hands, I'm gonna miss few of the amazing things that are going to happen at the Vine during the next 5 weeks. Everyone from the Vine, thanks you for your prayers today. I'm gonna miss all of you. See ya in 5 weeks.

Global Day of Prayer

2006-06-06T02:51:00.000+08:00

Wooooow Wooow Woow. 30, 000 plus Christians, praying, same place, HK Stadium. More update later. Here's a preview.

I am an Oakley Model

2006-06-04T09:09:00.000+08:00

You Are Cyclops

Dedicated and responsible, you will always remain loyal to your cause.
You are a commanding leader - after all, you can kill someone just by looking at them.

Power: force beams from your eyes

Which of the X-Men Are You?

EiGhT hOuRs

2006-06-01T00:58:00.000+08:00

10pm-6-am, 10pm-6am . Yeah 10pm-6am!! That was the time interval for the Vine All Night Prayer on Tuesday night. When I heard about this, I was like "Is that a typo?" I'm not going to go over the details because some stuff are just indescribable. The best part for me was experiencing true free worship with the Holy Spirit. There was one part, where we were encouraged to receive a melody from the Lord. Wow, God gave me the words and melody, and I just started singing from my heart. I've done free worship before but it was during a song that I know. This time God gave me a completely fresh melody!(God knows how to freestyle man) The lyrics goes like this: "King of the Heaven, we worship you alone in spirit and in truth." That was it. I was singing it over and over again. The Lord is so AWESOME.

The night was fun, spiritual, tiring and happy. There were laughs and tears. There were prayers of thanksgiving and forgiving. If we can have this once a month. I wouldn't mind. My feet are sore from dancing without shoes.

Earlier that day I wasn't in a good mood because of finding myself hard to say No to people. After EiGhT hOuRs, I felt so much better.

fOuR dAyS until the Global Day of Prayer.

Who Is She?

2006-05-28T23:47:00.000+08:00

Who is this girl? This little girl is someone I met at the Langfang Chilldren's Village in China during my mission trip in Beijing. As we were waiting for our "amazing & healthy" McDonald lunches to arrived, we were playing with these adorable kids. I was filming and taking pictures, doing my "media" stuff, this girl came up to me and wanted me to hold her. The very second I held her, I felt this close connection with her. I can't describe the feeling.(You can look at the picture from my previous post.) I didn't want to let her go. I felt like she's my daughter. She didn't want to get back on the floor either. During lunch, I sat with her the whole time. She's like 4, but she has mind of a 7 years old. She was sneaky at sometimes. I caught her stealing fries from her friends.

She was too cute. Too bad I forgot her name.

These kids are so lovely and smart too. God taught me two things from this visit. We can ask why do parents abandon their chidlren when they only have very small defects in them or why can't the parents love them eventhough they are not "perfect"? Before we can judge or question them, look at ourselves. Do we ignor or abandon some people esp some friends because they look or act little different from the group? Stop saying people have no grace or love when you done even show love or grace to people around you.

The second thing was the idea of being simple and innocent. Of course we need to mature mentally, physically, emotionally, and spirtually. I'm talking about the simple and innocent hearts of children when they trust us. They don't ask questions but follow. They can say no sometimes, but when they say yes, they say it out of trust. We should have that simple and innocent heart with the Father. He called us to be obedient. I think is hard to dothat when we try to level with God instead of being a children of Him and trust and obey Him. The little girl put trust in me that I won't drop her when I hold her. Father, I want you to hold me like a child.

After two years of not eating McDonald, that one cheese burger...still tasted like crap. Were those Happy Meals toys made in China as well?

This Little Girl from Beijing

2006-05-25T01:26:00.001+08:00

I just want to post this picture of this little girl and I. I'll explain it later. I wanted to adopt her if I could.

Being Angry Makes You Famous

2006-05-24T01:19:00.000+08:00

Some of you might have heard a lot about this angry man yelling at a young guy on a bus because his shoulder was tabbed. The background was that the older guy was talking really loud on this mobile, and the younger try to tell him to talk softer.

So check out this video. (This is the no swearing version, but the language is pretty rude. View Discretion is Adviced

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Here are some parodies/remixes of it.

Man, Hong Kong people have so much stress that they sometime have to take it on a stranger. However, if he doesn't take it on a stranger then he might have to take it on his family or whoever was on the phone. If I were the younger guy, i would just ignor the old man. If I ignor him, will he force me to look at him?

Stress leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to ....stupidity. Now more than a million people know about you because you are angry. So Angry can make us famous. Cool.

I'm gonna try!

2006-05-23T04:08:00.000+08:00

Ok, this is like my 4th time trying to start a blog. This time I will try to update it or at least post something here. So come back and check out what's on my mind.