Proof of Life?

Hi everybody:

First of all, sorry for not staying in touch with a lot of you and keeping you in the dark about where I've been since September.  Some thought I was in Edmonton (Esther), others thought I was in Manitoba (Dan - wait, don't u guys live in the same household?), but I'm actually living pretty closeby in Victoria.

Thanks to a textbook example of a Miracle of God, I was able to get into UVic Law School at the last possible minute.  Quite miraculously, I managed to drive to Victoria, find a place to live, buy furniture, arrange my parking, and figure out where UVic actually is, all within TWO days.

How I found a place to live is a crazy story in itself - I was grasping at straws, phoning up the entire classifieds section during dinner, when a couple sitting next to me and my family overheard us and told us that they were actually just talking about renting out their brand new condo to a student.  The condo turned out to be right next to the hotel we were staying at, and within a fair distance from the university.  This all happened on the first night that I was in Victoria (i thought it was a con at first), so I was able to sign all the papers the next day and start moving in.  Talk about an answer to prayer, huh?

As for Law School itself, I still find the whole atmosphere a little surreal, but I am finding most of the classes to be really interesting and thought-provoking.  There is actually no CRU at UVic, but I was pleased to find a small Christian Legal club based in the law school itself.  This will definitely be a really important part of my law school career - as one of my classmates dramatically put it, "I'm already beginning to feel law school trying to drag down my soul".  It is inevitable that all law students will run into many conflicts between Morality and Formalism, and I am praying that I will be able to discuss these issues with fellow students and Christians who are already involved in the practice of law.

I think that's all I have to say for now - I've heard really good things about the First Year student packs and the new feel of the CRU meetings, so I wish you all the best for the fall term, and hope to bump into some of you whenever I manage to go back to Vancouver to visit.

God Speed!

P.S.

Sorry, I can't help myself!  I'm so proud of my new chubby chubby baby cousin, that I just have to post a photo of her (^o^).

Currently Listening The Mission Bell By Delirious? see related

The end of chapter 4 (^__^)

- Roderick Davis

I am very excited for all of you who are going away on projects this summer, and look forward to hearing about your experiences via e-mail or word of mouth .

If anyone is still looking for support at this point of time, please feel free to e-mail me at chuckang@gmail.com.  I'd be more than happy to lend a hand (no, i am not donating my hand for missions, that's called a colloquialism ).

"Winning isn't always finishing first.  Sometimes winning is just finishing."

- Manuel Diotte

Hehe, I thought this was an appropriate quote for those of you who must endure a few more days of exams.  Just keep in mind that the rest of us are praying for you, and I'm sure you'll all do your best until you reach that glorious finish line .  As for a much more asian (actually, oriental - sorry John) piece of advice:  jia you!

Currently Listening Outgrow see related

An exam interlude

I hope domo-kun in the back (the brown monster) isn't messing up anyone's browser .

A couple things to talk about today... but I should get past the bad news first.

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.

- Babe Ruth

Yes, much to the agrin of my Calgary friends, the Canucks will not be making it to the playoffs this year. 

As you would expect, there many 'if only's':  "If only we had ohlund, salo and jovo healthy since the olympic break."  "If only bertuzzi and morrison played more consistently."  "If only our new defensemen played as well as we thought they would." "If only we won against the st.louis blues, the worst team in the league, once the entire season."  Not much you can do about the 'what-ifs', except rebuild around the one very good thing that the Canucks had going for them - the 'brothers' line (sedin twins + anson carter).

Ah well, playoffs will still be good fun.  Time to cheer for every other Canadian team (except maybe the oilers... )

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Here's the simplest answer: Within weeks, the disciples proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that He had been bodily raised from the dead and appeared to them.

- Josh McDowell

Well, this was a very interesting Easter weekend.  I ended up attending 3 different services at 3 different churches . 

Friday morning was the combined congregation service at ECBC, Saturday night was the big Easter concert at Willingdon, and Sunday morning was at Tenth Avenue Church.  They were all quality services (Willingdon obviously had the most bravado!), although I can see why 10th avenue is known as 'the' place for young ppl - it was mostly filled with people around my age. 

All in all, it was nice to see three different congregations celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord .  Willingdon reminded me alot of my church in Calgary though - it will be good to get reconnected with my old pastors and friends in the summer. 

Oh, and as for the painting, it is a famous artist's depiction of Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene.  I guess Jesus is carrying a spade because Mary thought he was a gardener at first .   If you can't tell who the artist is, I'll give you a couple of hints - he was a 17th century Dutch painter, and he's rumored to have suffered from stereo blindness!  If you've ever been to the Louvre, you might have seen his painting of Bathsheba, of all people

....

And that's enough procrastinating for one day .  Go and study everyone !

Currently Listening Arriving By Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman see related

The End of the 4th Quarter

Cicero

The term is finally wrapping up, and I'd probably be a lot more nostalgic or reflective if I didn't have exams and essays to finish up (-___-). 

Actually, on Friday (last day of classes) I was acting pretty nostalgic - I was making a list of things that have changed on UBC campus since I've been here.  I was peppering Hannah about it too, like:

         ""You remember what the SUB used to look like when the arcade took up most of the basement?"  or " You remember that Mr. Tubesteak hot dog vendor that used to be outside of Koerner?  Those hotdogs were really good !"  

Hahaha, I might as well label myself as a teary-eyed alumnus right now.  Either way, I know that I have a lot more schooling left, so this is merely a transition period in my life.  Still, I hope you guys will have equally fond memories of UBC campus .
 

The CRU end-year banquet was good fun as always, although I had no idea the grads were going to have to say something.  I suffer from 'microphoneaphobia', so I was kind of taken aback when Corey asked us to give some words of advice.   I really have no idea what I said... I think I called myself an albino for some reason ?!?  sigh... curse my poor public speaking skills...

Anyway, here's some of the photos I took on Friday.  A few of them aren't very sharp because of my camera's weak flash, so I tried to boost up the color in photoshop.  If anyone has other photos (especially the photos with the guys... want a copy of those) please lemme know so we can arrange a trade .

• Our UBC director sending off the new UofA director
• The servant team girls...and dave
• This year's graduates: are there no other guys graduating ??? 

• He looks like he's going to try and sell us a car 
• The new leaders: a mixture of decisiveness and congeniality?
  
• Passing on the proverbial torch
  

• The birthday boy!  Personally, I think Caleb outdressed the rest of the guys
  
• Good ol' Chris and Johnny Boy
  
• Uh, I think this is next year's servant team?  I'm not sure, but everyone is enjoying themselves either way...
  

• A blurry photo of a lame 'thumbs-up' pose!  sweet.
  
• I think this photo came out really well
  
• Yang & Ang - on cordial terms just for this photo....
  

• The Cru.com dynamic duo - Chris and Dave
  
• Summer projects! "The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time" -- Carl F. H. Henry 
• I don't even know what this photo is about, and I took the picture!
  

• I managed to get a photo with miss paparazzi and smiley-eyes
  
• Sepia = Nostalgia.  "Oh where has the time gone?"
  
• Greyscale = Cool?  Chris wanted a GQ shot...
  

Retrospection - Short and Long

The weeks seem to get busier and busier as the winter term comes to an end, so it's good to take some time and reflect on what's been happening in my life, even if it's in blog form .

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.

C. S. Lewis

I went out sharing with Chris last week, and as I told the guys in my discovery study on Tuesday, I really didn't feel like going.   Physically I was sick with a cold, and Mentally I was brooding in a discouraged state because of a lot of things that had happened the week before.  Now that I think back on it, those feelings are completely trivial in light of what happened during that sharing time with Chris.  The second guy we met was willing to talk with us and go through the S.I.Q., and although I won't divulge his name or his backstory, it was clear that he was passionately seeking after God. 

We went through the 4 Spiritual Laws, and the coolest part was when we reached the prayer of acceptance.  At first, the guy told us that he felt he wasn't ready to take this step, so Chris (being Chris) asked him why he thought this was so.  The guy kind of pondered aloud for about 5 minutes, and then said something similar to this:

"You know what? I do want to say the prayer now.  I don't know what I was waiting for!"

He said the prayer, and Chris and I have met with him a couple times since, along with the guy's (Christian) girlfriend, who has also been helping him understand the foundations of Christianity.   I feel so privileged that I am able to be a part of this, even at this late point in the school year, and I can't think of a better experience to leave UBC with.

Don't be surprised if you find my new brother and his girlfriend hanging out with Campus Crusade next year

"Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors!"

Louisa May Alcott

When I'm not thinking about the essays I still have to do or the reading that I have to catch up on, the thought of graduation begins to slowly sink into my consciousness.   The last couple of weeks have been really weird - I've been seeing all these people I knew from 1st and 2nd year suddenly show up infront of me.  Quite literally, reminders of my early university career have tapped me on my shoulder and asked me how I've been and what I plan to do after I graduate. 


Despite the fact that I've heard the question a nauseating amount of times now, I still don't know the answer to it - it's really out of my hands at this point.  It is unlikely that I will still be in UBC the next year though, not because I don't like it here or anything, but because my chances of getting into the UBC law school are lower because they won't consider my 4th year marks. 

I still remember the very first day I came to UBC for 'Imagine UBC' in 2002, but when I see some of the first years talk about finals or about registration for next year, man do I feel old!