Join me at "P.S Just a Thought"

I find it ironic that the last post I shared here was to let you all know that I had started a new blog which was more Bible-focused. That was all the way back in 2015. I did start one, but it didn't last past one post.

So now I'm back, to let you know that I started a Substack. What's that, you say? It's an online publication medium, and it's a great community for writers and those who want to read—there's all kinds of topics and substacks you can follow and support.

I'm not sure if any of you, my old readers, are still following blogs on Blogspot. But if you remember, you know I used to write a lot, over 10 years ago. Some of the friends and acquaintances I've made in the last half a decade actually don't know that writing is as much a part of what I love as music. I don't blame them—I haven't written much for years.

My first post on P.S. Just a Thought explores what happened to the writer inside, and why I'm back. Here's a sneak peek:

"The writer in me has lain all but dormant for half a decade. What do I say when I climb out of the hole again? Hello world? Wow, it's bright out here? Because putting pen to paper feels like breathing for the first time in a long time.

I used to keep a blog. It was where I shared a lot of vulnerable thoughts and lessons about life and walking with Jesus. It was a place to write while I harboured secret ambitions about writing books. It was where I felt I could express and fulfil some part of who I am—the part that feels drawn to communicate to a reader in the comfort of their own couch, or be a calming voice in the noise of their commute.

My husband recently asked me what makes me feel alive...."

You can find the post and my new substack here: https://valeriehalvorsen.substack.com/p/breathing-words

If you like, you can subscribe at the bottom or with the button on the top right, and you'll get every new post directly in your inbox. You can also use the Substack app to easily find and follow publications that you find interesting. There you can read both longer articles and shorter notes.

I'd love for you to check it out and join me there. 

If you take time to read it, I hope you will enjoy and be encouraged. 

P.S. In case you noticed, yes, my last name is different now—I got married since I last wrote here!

8 Years Old

Yesterday I turned 8 years old. 

I think back to that day, 8 years ago. It's a moment to remember -- plunging down into that watery grave, coming up in newness of life. It's not I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 

Young and unafraid, I declared to the universe whose soldier I was. My Commander had my heart and my life, and I was willing to enter the thick of battle for Him. It was solemn, yet I was full of joy. With childlike faith I surrendered all to Jesus. 

A lot can happen in 8 years. It's only by the grace of God that I am still His. Along with growing up comes the cares of this life -- first teenage temptations and now more “mature” adult stuff. But though it all my God has remained faithful and unchanging. 

I want to have the love, faith, and fire of that moment when I took my first breath as a newborn in the family of God. I want to once again be like that child of 8 years ago, trusting simply in my Heavenly Father. 

He is calling me, and He is calling you. 

Live like a little child.

Ramblings of a Nomad

My original intent was to write a note letting you all know that I'm not writing a post yet. Indeed, this still is my aim, to point you to the forthcoming post(s). However, as I write, I'm aware that I have an itch to scratch, on my brain somewhere, and I think writing will help. I'm afraid you are all about to fall prey to the ramblings of a nomad.

This nomad is not the kind who lives in tents and herds sheep somewhere in the Middle East (forgive me if anything I write at this hour is politically incorrect). This nomad is a 19-year-old girl, a Filipino born in Australia, living in Canada, though never at home for more than 3 weeks at a time. I seem to spend most of my life packing suitcases and preparing for the next take-off.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all. I love to travel. I love seeing new places and meeting new friends. I love fresh experiences, and growing from them, whether good or bad.

(Now, I can easily say most of that in retrospect. A lot of times when I experience something new, I stress and get worried about everything my imagination can conjure up, and bad experiences are never fun while they're happening. Thankfully, God is teaching me through experience that I can trust Him with every single thing.)

I will leave the details of my recent adventures for future posts. For now, on a more serious note...

Sometimes, I get weary of my nomadic life. Sometimes I wish I could just settle down in one place for a decade or so, and skip all the hopping from place to place, living out of two now very familiar suitcases, trying to drag (or decide whether or not to drag) my violin all around the world, and avoid the pressure of keeping up with transportation schedules. Sometimes I wish I could just stay in an English-speaking country and not have to deal with the confusion and frustration of not being able to communicate, or the risk and embarrassment of trying and saying something weird. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to learn how to act and react in a different culture. Sometimes I wish I could just see and pay for everything in Canadian dollars. Sometimes I wish I knew what the next 5 years' plan for my life is, set in stone. Sometimes I wish I could just have a 'normal' life.

Sometimes.

At other times, or most times, I would not trade this life for any other. My life has been full of unexpected turns and hills, of bright moments and dark moments, of times when God threw doors open wide and times when He closed doors in my face, but He has never failed me. He has been constantly present at my side, guiding me, helping me, comforting me, teaching me, loving me. Looking back at my "solo times" with God in the various places where my travels have taken me, I see a special string of unforgettable moments in communion with Him.

They were mountain-top experiences...

...and often quite literally.

I would not trade these for the world. And looking back, every place where God has led me has proved (or surely will prove) to be an invaluable step in my life.

Though tired of hopping, I gain strength from hopping.

I will cling to the lessons I'm learning from the stories of Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and Joseph. They were nomads too.

Whenever God calls, I will go, even if I don't know where I am going.
I will trust even my very life's blood to the One who never fails to keep His promises.
Though the future is unknown, and past sins and failures are enough to make me weep at the feet of Jesus, I will surely struggle with that Angel and prevail, never relinquishing my desire for the promised blessing.
Even if I found myself thrown into a pit, dragged off as a slave to a foreign land, cast into prison in spite of my innocence...

God is faithful, and I choose to remain faithful

to the end,

knowing that it is His power working in me which actualizes the results of that choice.

If the reason I'm a nomad is because it is fulfilling God's purposes, then I am perfectly content. I can trust Him with my life and with every step.

Because He leadeth me.

Letter from a Faraway Friend

I started writing this in an email, but soon decided I wanted to share it here. It's a letter to my class, but I pray you will find a blessing in it too.

__________________________________________

Dear Class Family,

I just realized that I haven't talked to bunches of you all in a long time. And bunches of us haven't talked to other bunches of us in a long time. This is not good...but we can make it better! 

Just an update from my side...

I've been here in Germany for an internship with Amazing Facts Europe since April. They started the first AFCOE-Europe here then too, and it's been going well and God has blessed. It's been quite the experience working here while these two organizations are in "creation" phase. I've learned so much, about working in a multicultural setting, starting ministries, and living with all sorts of different people. It's really a blessing and privilege to be here. Personally, I've been able to learn some German, and I've had the opportunity to learn new things like social media, photography (anyone want to sponsor my new interest? lol), coordinating church services, and planning trips around a bit of Europe by myself (which would be much more fun if one of YOU could join me! Anyone want to come over in August?). 

Spiritually, I've learned so much and grown a lot. But I think I can sum it up in a few words:

My identity is not in what I do. Even if it is God's purpose and calling for my life, I should not -- no, cannot -- define or identify myself by what I do. My identity is not who I am, but who God is. Who is God? God is love. Thus, my identity is a covenantal, marriage relationship with God -- "Till death do we part"; and my purpose is to be a disciple of Christ, doing what a disciple of Christ does--making disciples. The way to make disciples is to love, because of my identity. Because God is love.

We can never dwell on that thought too much. "God is love" seems so simple, but I think we make life, and much more our spiritual life, too complicated. It's human. I am very much human, I've realized a lot in the past year. But God is very much God, and He is merciful and patient...by His grace working in me, I can live and love and lead more like Jesus every day. Only by His grace!

Life gets busy, distances expand, and time grows old. But once upon a time, in a land far away, between the mountains, across the river, where little people pick up orange orbs from the ground, a group of those little people once lived together. Prayed together. Laughed together. Cried together. That year was a milestone in our lives -- and I also believe it was in our spiritual lives as well. 

So, I want to appeal to you: Remember your identity in Christ. I know we each discovered our identity in a deep way that year, and I believe God has taught us each more since then. But it's easy to forget. I don't know what it will take to remember, but I encourage you, take some solo time, like the time we had in Kauai our last Sabbath there, and ask God to help you remember your identity in Christ. In the past two years, life has thrown trials at me like a whirlwind, and all I could do was cling to God and my God-given identity. I have a feeling it's been similar for you. Remember your God-given identity, and cling to it. Because God is clinging to you.

Perhaps I'm the only one who misses you all so much right now. But I don't really think so. Someday very soon, we will have a real family reunion. Not in Kauai, not in Europe, not at Fountainview, but in the land that is fairer than day -- with Jesus, who has kept us faithfully.

Since that day we marched with purple and black.

To the Class of Twenty Eleven.

With love in Christ,

A Faraway Friend

Sorry, I couldn't resist :)

A Running Play-By-Play

I have decided to try something I tried when we went to Hawaii with Fountainview. At random moments throughout the day, I will write a short update of what is currently happening, and when it is compiled I will post it for you all to see! It is like a running journal, a play-by-play of my trip here, each day. I will try to leave it as unedited as possible so you can get a feel for the moment as it was, unless there is anything too sensitive or personal to share in public.

I've tried in vain to upload pictures, so they will either have to wait, or you can check out: instagram.com/vjac47 I think to see pictures. For some reason that works sometimes for me, depending where I am.

Enjoy! And praise the Lord for this experience....


Feb 8, 2013 - Iloco Sur Trip: Day 2

9:46 am - Driving in the second van of our trip on our way to Concepcion Adventist Academy. After we picked up Pastor Imai in Manila last night at midnight, we drove another 4 hours. We stayed for the night (4 am-9:15 am) at Northern Luzon Adventist College.

2:02 pm - Just finished lunch at Chow King. Now we have switched vehicles into a rather dusty, rickety van. The door doesn't close, and we are going up on a treacherous road in the mountains with a deep ravine. "It's roller coaster time," says Pastor Jorge. Now we are getting ice cream.

2:34 pm - We are now on the bumpy road. It comes in patches though. Back on the pavement. I wish I had worn shorts.
And now on the bumpy again.

3:05 pm - We've crossed the river 4 times now...back and forth. Now for the final up I think. Soooo bumpy I feel like my vertebrae are going to fall out of my spine...

4:33 pm - We arrived probably almost an hour ago. Luckily I was taking a video of the super steep driveway, because when we reached the top a glockenspiel/drum band was playing on either side of the road! (Just what Val needs to be happy). They were really good. The principal, Ate Marlin, said there are more than 40, and one day this week we will see them play in uniform. After they finished and we took pictures, we put our stuff in our rooms. I am staying in the dorm and two girls will stay with me to keep me company. Then we went to the place where the pastors and other two guys who came are staying, and were welcomed with yet another musical group -- the "Angel Four" I think. They have a lot of musical groups here. We drank coconut water from the coconut, an ate star apples.

Afterwards Ate Marlin showed me her cottage and around the dorm (I think it's not the only building for the girls, because it is quite small). Soon we will have supper, and then later will be vespers, presented by Pastor Jorge.

Now I am resting on my bed with all my dead gadgets charging, thinking about the coming week. It is really exciting to be here. I didn't realize it would be such an adventure too! More in the wilderness than I expected. But more than that, it has been good to meet the people here, even though only briefly so far. I believe it will help me more now as I further prepare for the week of prayer. It's given me a feel for the kids, their life, their worldview, and an ever growing desire to share with them what I have learned and experienced. Along with that comes a familiar feeling of inadequacy (not to mention how blessed I am), accompanied with peace, knowing that God still uses broken vessels, and He is my Sufficiency. The harvest is great, the laborers few, but I say, "Here I am, Lord, send Me."

And He has.

And He is with me.

The Next 22.5 Weeks: Part 2

"How is the Philippines?"
"Good."
"..."

Well, here is the post you have all been waiting for. Everyone has been asking, and I've been saying "good" for too long now. Here is my real answer; are you ready for this?

*deep breath*

Hot, humid, green, busy, pollution, traffic, jeepnies, flip-flops, Tagalog, family, sunshine, poor, rich, cement houses, food, Catholic, tricycles, canteens (little cafeteria shops), ethnic, Asian, billboards and signs all over (with everyone and their grandma's picture on everything they can get it on), dirty, palm-trees, mountains, loud, music (getting so tired of "Gangnam Style" wherever I go), cellphones, food (did I say that already?), sweet food, salty food, snacks, cheap spas, cheap massages, cheap everything, fruit (sorry, that's food too), mangoes, lack of toilet paper, dirty bathrooms, dogs in cages, "ma'am/sir" echoing from all sides, mangoes.

Yes, I like mangoes.
Especially the Philippine mango, fresh and cheap, every. single. day.
Oh, and rice. Better not forget that.

Can't, really.

But you know what? Some of the above may seem a bit foreign and annoying (no doubt it is) but that almost comprehensive, descriptive list is more than just a list. It's more than just my experience so far, and it's more than what life is for the next 22 weeks.

What makes that list is carving itself into my heart.

What makes that list?

People
in a beautiful place
called the Philippines.

Yes, it is beautiful. In spite of the run down tricycles, the lack of garbage cans (that should have been in the list), the crowded streets and malls and everywhere, the poor houses (shacks), the messy everything...

It's beautiful. Not those things in and of themselves. But those things represent real people and real lives and real souls.

Even I am not sure how the Philippines could be growing in my heart in spite of the foreignness (I didn't know that was a word) and inconvenience of being a North American SDA young woman who looks like and is a Filipina but can't speak Filipino in the Philippines.

But it is. Why?

God wants me here.

Anywhere is beautiful if it's where God wants you to be.

I pray that...

whenever I feel like I don't want to be here,
.........I will remember that God wants me to be here.

whenever I feel small and inexperienced,
.........I will remember that God is big and infinitely experienced (understatement).

whenever I feel tired,
.........I will remember that God "never slumbers."

whenever I make a mistake,
.........I will remember that all things work together for good, for them who love God...

...and who are the called according to His purpose.

So then, what is His purpose for me? That, my friends, is answered on a moment by moment basis (other than the grand, overarching purpose of reconciling the world to God, who is Love, by lifting up the cross).

But, what it looks like might be His purpose for me is something like this. If you'd like more details, don't hesitate to ask.

1. Be a positive influence, encouragement, and help in my family, in many ways. (My lola [great-grandma] lives with us, and my grandma is battling cancer).
2. Be involved at my grandparents' school teaching violin etc.
3. Be involved with an Adventist family whose kids play violin, in their music and health evangelism ministries.
4. Orchestrate music part time for Fountainview Academy.
5. Go on a mission trip with my home church (from Canada) to the mountains of the Philippines.
6. Be involved with the local church and boarding school.
7. Continue reading and studying and memorizing and utilizing what I learned at ARISE.

All in all, I am just waiting to see how God leads each day, so that He can use me to be a blessing in whatever I do. I've been getting over a cold for about a week now, so since my parents left last week, not too much has happened yet. But now, life is about to get rolling...

Dear Father in Heaven,

Help me to remember that these people in this place called the Philippines are beautiful. They are beautiful to You; let them never cease to be beautiful to me. Help me help them. Reveal to them greater and deeper pictures of Your character and love through me. I am a weak and small vessel, but You are strong and great. The vessel is right-side up: please fill me, for You promised. Fill me with Your Spirit and with Your love. Let the next 22 weeks (and beyond) be fully and entirely Yours.

In Jesus' precious name,

Amen.

Arrival

23.5˚C, the voice over the intercom said. Nice, cool December weather—not bad, except for the fact that it was only 6 o'clock in the morning. Upon disembarking the plane, a strange but familiar smell greeted me. Yep, this is the Philippines, alright. We walked quickly with the eager hordes of people to immigration. Surprisingly, the entire process (immigration, baggage claim, and customs) didn't take near as long as we anticipated. Soon we were on our way out, wheeling our carts through the masses, to meet my grandpa and his driver outside.

Some guys helped us load our suitcases into the van and hung around for a tip. I think they were disappointed though—we didn't give them much (they didn't do much) but they probably expected more from foreigners.

As we drove through the streets of Manila, I watched the scenery flow by. Jeepnies. Shacks. Lots of billboards everywhere. Crazy driving. Dirty buildings. Outside the city, it was much prettier, with many palm trees and much greenery. Sort of like Hawaii. After way too many toll booths, we finally made it to Lipa City, where my grandparents live. Even crazier driving. Lots of people. By the way, pedestrians do not have the right of way here. Run-down businesses and huge grand malls, rich and poor living on the same street—the Philippines is full of polar opposites.

Since I was here just over 5 years ago, it's not exactly culture shock, but I guess I forgot exactly how different things are here. There are things here that you wouldn't even imagine seeing in North America. We are so blessed to be some of the most wealthy and healthy people in the world, and we don't even realize it.

We arrived yesterday, on Thursday morning. I will post more later. I think that we are having a family reunion tomorrow afternoon, so I'll have more to write about.

Happy Sabbath everyone!

(This was shot quickly with my iPod while driving through town today)

Headed to the Philippines

I just wanted to let my readers know that I will be off the continent in the Philippines for the next months. No, I don't know exactly how long yet. If you know me and would like more details, and if I haven't already emailed you, please don't hesitate to contact me! I'll try to keep up my blog while I'm there; I don't know yet if the internet will be easily accessible or reliable.

Any prayers for whatever ministry I will be involved in while there would be much appreciated. I pray that God will help me put into practice what I learned at ARISE, and that He would shine through me, with nothing obstructing anyone's view of Jesus. It's not me that I want people to see and recognize; it's Jesus.

I pray that this will become reality as I seek to minister and bless others in the Philippines:

"Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising." ~ Isaiah 60:1-3

Time That is Left

Laptop on the floor, plugged into the wall under my window. Behind me, empty room except for a few messy suitcases. Beside me, a bunk bed—one mattress bare.

Messy dorm.
Quiet halls.
Vacant rooms.

Empty,

yet full

hearts.

3.75 months is quicker than you think. It amazes me how a group of 45, plus staff, can become so close in so little time. This will be my second class family now.

May we never forget the times...


when we partied at Jeffery's and David's till the night was long gone.

when we laughed at Cody in class because of a new epiphany he discovered.

when we struggled to understand the mysteries of theodicy and other serious subjects—and through God's grace, we prevailed.

when we laid prayer requests before the Lord in James' class.

when we met with our friends in the community, amazed at how God could use broken vessels like us.

when we sat, spellbound, drinking in Ty's words as he expounded on the deepest facets of God's infinite love.

when we cried
by ourselves in the secret place,
during communion,
at the commissioning ceremony,
in our midnight prayer meeting—our last night together.

Though we are not together in body any more, may we never be apart—
in mind,
in heart,
in purpose.

As Jimmy says, let this be the last ARISE class to graduate. We want to go home.

We need to go home.

What will you do with the time that’s left 

Will you live it all with no regret? 

Will they say that you loved till your final breath? 

What will you do with the time that’s left?

Oh, Hallelujah! 

Oh, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 

Amen

- Mark Schultz

What will you do with the time that's left? 

"Enter into the joy of the Lord."

"Count the cost."

"Take courage."

Matthew 28:18-20.

ARISE and shine.

The Best Class...for the Umpteenth Time!

Yes. For the umpteenth time. If you were to ask me what my favourite class has been so far at ARISE, I'm afraid I'd have to give you a list. It would look something like this (in chronological order):

Who is God?
Abiding in Christ
Does God Exist? (Apologetics/Faith and Reason)
Sabbath
Dos and Don'ts of Evangelism
Marriage, Family, and Relationships
Music
Origin of Evil
Theodicy
Understanding Homosexuality
Building Community
Sanctuary
Nature of Inspiration

And for today's best class ever: Nature of Christ.

No, the list above is not a list of all the classes we have had (but it does contain the majority). I've especially enjoyed these, and it would be really hard to pick my favourite from the list. So I thought I would let you have it all, as it also gives a bird's-eye view of the kinds of classes we are taking.

But back to today's best class! Awesome insights poured into my mind and created a fountain into my heart, as the beautiful truth of Christ as our High Priest who can ultimately "sympathize with our weaknesses," and was in "all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15), became clear for the first time (along with Romans 8:3 which says God sent His Son "in the likeness of sinful flesh"). After being informed on the controversy over the subject and the two extreme views, we learned that truth is found in the tension between two extremes—like having a string on an instrument perfectly tuned by finding just the right tension (not too tight, not too loose).

It took us about 4 hours to explore just one aspect of the subject, so this won't do it justice, but I'll try to summarize in a few paragraphs.

THE ISSUE: Did Jesus have our pre-Fall human nature or our post-Fall human nature? That is, was He like Adam before the fall—able to form a righteous character by obedience to God's law? Or was He like Adam after the fall—with all the same sinful propensities and inclinations as we have? The two extremes take sides on opposite sides of a huge chasm, using SOP and Scripture to defend and disprove. But the conclusion we came to was simple, Bible-based, SOP-confirmed, true gospel, and life-changing.

First, we studied Jesus in the wilderness and discovered that He was tempted in the three leading temptations found in 1 John 2:15-17: lust of the flesh, pride of life, and lust of the eyes. (All other forms of temptation come from these three leading temptations.) Not only that, but He was tempted to the most ultimate extreme at His weakest and loneliest moment, facing temptations a hundred times greater than anything we will ever have to face.

This surely was eye-opening, but before we could move on we had to overcome the hurdle in our minds that Jesus was not exactly the same as we are. He was God. He actually hated and recoiled from sin and sinful things. We love and run to sin and sinful things. However, when tempted, His human will longed to do something good (like turning stones into bread) both to satisfy His hunger (lust of the flesh), and to answer the devil's "if you are the Son of God" challenge. If He did this, He would have relied on His own divine power, and this was not His Father's will; thus, it would have been sin, because anything that is not God's will is sin.

In summary, I wrote in class:

Christ's human will was His human nature, which is the same as our human will. Our human will is inclined to rely on our human self; Jesus' human will was inclined to rely on His divine self. Thus He meets us at the ROOT of our fallen human nature: SELF.

Then, He took that fallen human will/nature to the cross and left it crushed through the second death—rising only with His glorified human body and divine nature. And in Christ, we can have the same experience. "Christ took our fallen human nature so that He could overcome in our nature in our behalf, and give us perfect obedience as a gift" (James Rafferty, our instructor today). Nothing we do can add to what Christ did in our behalf. This is the true message of righteousness by faith, clearly seen in the truth about the human nature of Christ! And now I understand both truths more clearly. Today's class was truly life-changing, paradigm-shifting, and heart-filling.

This was the best class ever. 

**If you want a more detailed version, or some texts and quotes, just ask, and I'll try to get them to you. For more "Best Class" synopses, stay tuned! Eventually, I will get to that list...or I hope to, at least :)

Random Conglomerate Post

It's been a long time since I last updated with a real post, and I thought I better let you all know what's going on here at ARISE. We just got back from outreach and I am very tired. But I also just ate supper, so I can't really go to bed right away. So, here goes. Sorry if it is slightly scatterbrained.

Allie and I arrived at Eugene Airport on September 2. I can't believe that was nearly a month ago. We got picked up at the airport by one of the ARISE interns (student from last year who stayed for the rest of the year), named Nick. After a rather long stop at Safeway, we pulled onto the campus which would be our home for the next three and a half months. To be honest, it felt very weird. Weird to be a student again. Weird to be on a campus again. Weird to live in a dorm again. Weird to have deans again (and not be one!). But it was good and exciting. We put our food away and lugged our things to our room, and settled in. I finished up my summer job of music orchestrating as well.

The next day was Orientation day. After breakfast and worship, all 45 of us students gathered in the classroom with the interns and staff. We introduced ourselves and were introduced to each of the instructors (David, Ty, James, Jeffery, Jay, etc.) and other staff as well. Lunch came after orientation (it was awesome!) and then, our first class! It was a great class to start the program with: Devotions, taught by James Rafferty.

Oh, I forgot one thing. To those who would be interested in knowing this, ARISE completely revamped their curriculum this year. We are their 10th class, and also the second class after ARISE and Lightbearers Ministry merged, and every year they try to make it even better. But they've been calling this year's program the best yet. The classes follow "The Story," or in other words, "Pre-Creation, Creation, Fall, Covenant, Messiah, Church, Re-Creation." Now, rather than having a class on Daniel then on Church History, on the Sabbath then on Apologetics, each class falls consecutively in the storyline of "The Story." The more practical classes (such as Door-to-Door, Overcoming, Dos and Don'ts of Evangelism, Abiding in Christ—to name a few we've had already) fall under a category called "The Telling," which is the counterpart to "The Story." It has been really good so far, and "The Story" is helping formulate the big picture in my mind as the classes progress (which is the whole point). I am really glad that I came to ARISE for this program, and I believe that God worked it out for me to be here this year.

-------------------------------------------------

That was part 1. I started writing this post almost a week ago. Goes to show how busy it is around here...

This is part 2.

So what does a normal day look like at ARISE? Here's a bird's-eye view:

Mon-Wed:
7:45 Breakfast (I'm always late unless I'm on meal prep—then I'm early)
8:45-9:15 Worship
9:30 Class (with breaks)
1:30 Lunch (Recently, I've been playing soccer with a few other students and David Asscherick's kids after lunch)
3:30-5:30 Class (with breaks)

Thursday looks the same, except that we go on outreach (usually door-to-door, sometimes doing something on the University of Oregon campus) instead of having classes in the afternoon. On Sunday, we leave at 2:00 and we always come back by 8:00 to share testimonies.

Whew. Enough of the general mumbo-jumbo. Oh, I forgot one thing. On Sabbath, we all go to church in Springfield (neighbouring city), and usually if we stay for pot-luck we bring food. Every year ARISE picks a different church to work with. Sometimes a hike up a nearby mountain is offered in the afternoon.

Now for the exciting stuff! This past Monday one of the interns taught an optional self-defence class. It was a lot of fun; I loved how practical and helpful it was, especially for girls who might find themselves in a city environment in the future (it was good for the guys too). We learned what to do when someone starts choking you from behind, if someone grabs your wrist to pull you somewhere, and other general things too.

Last Saturday night Jeffery Rosario invited us all to his house (he is the only instructor who lives on campus) for a board game/bon-fire party. It was so much fun! We had smores for the second time (the first was at a previous party). Jeffery had told a few of us earlier about a Bible quiz game, and he said that it was extremely difficult and anyone would "get thrashed" on it (especially people like him, who didn't grow up as an Adventist but rather came into the church later). Him and I got in the lead and went head to head, but he won by just one question. And he was right! The questions were really hard.

Well, I'll save the rest for another post. I can tell my writing is degenerating in the effort to get so much information down. Toodle-doo.

Revolutionary Preoccupation

We interrupt the usual programming (i.e., the next post about David) to bring you this update:

It all started on the evening of May 14, 2012. I was preoccupied with fixing and organizing small details in my iTunes library (it was probably a waste of time...thankfully God made something good come of it). In the process of finding missing album artwork, I found myself on the GYC website. As I browsed, a blog post caught my attention...

Revolution Underway: Memorizing Acts

It started so small. Just two women and one idea so radical I pinched myself wondering if I was brave enough to own it too.

In the simplest terms, The book of Acts: 28 chapters, 1,007 verses, 24,308 words—in 300 days.
It didn’t take long before the ripple of excitement had extended from Alonna and my sister Natasha to the rest of my family and a few other friends.

And then something came over us, and we ventured to dare....

Interest sparked.

I read the rest of the post, and then another, and another. I clicked on links to other websites and blogs. I joined a group. I downloaded an iPod app. I prayed. I told other friends about it. And now I'm telling you.

The verdict:

By God's grace, I will
saturate myself in scripture,
hide [His]tory in my heart,
and get preoccupied with the Word.

And why not start with the Book of Acts?

To say the least, I have already tried to memorize other books of the NT, but I have not yet been successful at sticking to it until completion. But this Memorizing Acts Challenge is helping me set definite goals to reach. It helps to have a friend living in the same house doing it too. And there are over 80 of us around the world...

So why Acts?

First of all, the Book of Acts is the theme for this next GYC (Acts: The Revolution Continues).

Secondly, instead of, "The Acts of the Apostles," the title really should be, "The Acts of the Holy Spirit."
The experience of the early church, fresh and filled with the Holy Spirit, is to parallel ours in these last days.

And frankly, we're not keeping up with those early apostles and missionaries.

Not yet...

They turned the world upside down in a single generation.
The gospel literally went out to all the known world.
They were with one accord.
They were filled with the Spirit...overflowing, in fact.

But we're still here.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be here any longer than necessary—here, in this sin-sick world.
And I am very much a sick one...

But I have been saved by grace,
bought with blood,
and prayed for by the King of the universe.

I love Him. You probably do too. The question is, how much?

Enough to seek to turn the world upside down...in a single generation?
To take the gospel to the whole world?
To live with one accord?
To be filled with the Spirit...and overflowing?

Enough to be preoccupied with His Word?

Yes.

No? If you have been preoccupied with other things (and I assure you, I have too, very much...), "now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Today is the day.

It's time for change—

in my life,
in yours,
in the church,
and in the world.

Won't you join us?



"Thy word have I hid in mine heart..." 

Acts: The Revolution
Join our Group online

scripturetyper.com

PS We've just started on Chapter 8, which is where I started. I'll do the first 7 chapters afterwards. Feel free to dive right in!

Surprise!

Well, today I am 18 years old...and 39 days. It's a little late, but here we go....

My family and friends threw me a big surprise party for my 18th birthday.

The end.

Just kidding! That would have been a pretty lame blog post.

First, I want to say kudos to my family for actually pulling it off... I usually find things out pretty fast (not always accidentally), but this time, I had no clue! I mean, I knew 18 was a big birthday (especially for Filipinos) and I figured we would do something a little more special. But I was so busy right before Spring Break and I barely even had time to think about it. I thought we would celebrate it at my grandparent's house, maybe with some friends. Boy was I wrong...

The first of many times that someone almost gave it away was at a friend's house the first night. His grandma was there, and when she greeted me she said, "So I hear you have a big birthday coming up, right?" I wondered how she knew.

When we went to my grandparents' place the next day, my dad asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. He mentioned that the Old Spaghetti Factory (one of my favourite restaurants) had just opened in Kelowna. My mom said there was go-karts too. All very good decoys, of course.

The next day was Sabbath, and instead of going to my grandparents' church we went to another area church to be with some friends we hadn't seen in a while. We went to their house afterwards for lunch. Though I suspected we might do something special there, we just had a very nice visit. Before we left the father said something about seeing me later in the week (I think he was supposed to), and everyone kind of looked at him funny (because he didn't say it quite right), but I didn't think twice (I did think once, however). Afterwards, I wanted to drop off a gift for an old friend who lived close by. I knew my friend wasn't home, but when we asked where her mom was, her dad said, "Oh, she went into Armstrong to see you and give you a card from Claire. I think she's going to the church...or to your grandparents' house." I didn't know until later that he almost gave it away without realizing it.

My family had to change their plan from plan 1 to plan 2 to plan 3 each time something like this happened. Finally, this is how it turned out...it was quite elaborate.

When we came back to my grandparents' place, they told us they had to go to a "church planning meeting." My mom had to go too because there was a practice right after (for the Filipino ladies, I assumed). I wanted to see one of those ladies, and I also needed to deliver some Help in Daily Living DVDs to her. So, my dad and I waited at the house until my grandparents called to let us know that the meeting was almost over. It was almost 7 o'clock, and as we waited I asked my dad when we were going to eat. He responded, "I'm sure Grandma's making something."

Finally the call came. My dad mentioned something on the phone about eating at A&W. When we got to the church, I was not surprised to see all the cars in the parking lot. It was quiet because the meeting wasn't over yet, and we headed downstairs. When I turned the corner, in the distance I could see some people sitting against the back wall in the dim light, and I thought, "Who are they?" I didn't even notice all the balloons and the tables of food. As I got closer, someone struck a chord on the piano, and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" as I came in. I didn't know what to do; I just stood there, awkwardly holding the DVDs and my purse. As I scanned across the fellowship room, full of around 80 people, I saw many friends I hadn't seen in a long time and thought I wouldn't have the chance to see. I cried. As soon as the song was over, Susan and Denis (my violin teachers) played a wonderful Happy Birthday duet. Then we dived into the food: pansit (Filipino noodles), pansit, and more pansit, plus some other goodies (my mom had asked a bunch of ladies to make my favourite food).

When everyone was mostly done eating (except me), the program started. My mom went up front and explained how big someone's 18th birthday is in the Philippines. For hers, she had to dress in a big ball gown and dance with 18 girls (in ball gowns) and 18 boys (not in ball gowns), who all gave her roses. We did the "tamed down" version. 18 instrumental family or friends in my life got up front to say a few words to me, and then they gave me a rose. Some were letters sent by family and friends who could not come, and my dad picked appropriate people to read them to me. There were special music numbers scattered throughout, as well.

Afterwards, my dad led out in the slideshow. It was more like a game show. He started at the "beginning" with pictures of himself when he was a little boy...and then went into random pictures of myself growing up, and the audience had to guess what my "career choice" was based on what I was doing in the picture, and then the "real career choice" would be displayed on the screen. All good guesses were rewarded with a chocolate bar. If you know my dad, you can imagine what sort of "real career choices" he came up with. The second half of the slideshow was entitled "Love." Again, if you know my dad, you can only imagine what that was like. Basically, there were a bunch of pictures of me and some guy friends throughout my life, starting with a little friend I had when I was 4 or 5 in Australia, who he deemed my "first love." One section of these pictures were with guys who had been "picked out" by others for me, and as we went through them, my dad told everyone to cheer for the one they thought was the best. It was all very hilarious (and a big joke, too, mind you).

My parents had asked everyone in the invitations not to bring gifts, but instead to bring a donation towards ARISE costs, where I will be attending this fall. God really blessed, and we raised a good amount. I still have quite a ways to go, however. Please pray that I will be able to raise the amount that is left, in God's time. Your prayers and support are appreciated!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this long epistle about my birthday party. Thank you, friends and family, for coming and making it a blast!

Officially Canadian, Eh? Yea!

Hello world! Within the past two hours, I officially became a Canadian citizen!

The ceremony was good, serious, with a bit of humour, and full of import. I thought that I would cry when I finally became officially Canadian, after waiting for 13 years, but I suppose it was too "surreal" as my dad put it.  I've noticed that when I participate in something that signifies a great change (such as graduation), my emotions don't come out until after the fact. I just felt somber, even nervous for some reason. But as I write this, the excitement is catching up to me :)

We got there quite early to check in and turn in our permanent residency cards. Good bye PR card! Hello citizenship certificate! After waiting for a long while and taking pictures, the ceremony finally got under way. The MC (I'm not sure what office she was) explained everything to us, and then the presiding judge and officers and representatives of government officials came in and took their seats. The RCMP constable, who stood behind the judge the entire time, opened the ceremony, and then the judge had a nice speech about Canada and what it means to become Canadian, etc. She repeated some phrases in French as well. Afterwards, the 60-some of us who were soon to be Canadians each stood and raised our right hands and said our full name. Then, repeating phrase by phrase after the judge, we took the Oath of Citizenship:

I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.

Then we lined up to receive our certificates, shake hands, and receive a bunch of pins and flags and books etc. The representatives of the government officials gave speeches to congratulate us, and then we sang (or tried to sing) the national anthem. (When we stood up to say our names, I couldn't understand half of them...there were 18 countries represented at the ceremony). Afterwards, we lined up to take pictures with the Mountie and the judge.

I am officially Canadian, eh? Yea!

Birthday Cake

Here are some pictures of my birthday cake. Thank you to the one who made it! :) I'm not a photographer nor do I claim to be able to edit pictures...I was just playing around. They were taken with a Sony SLT, an iPod, and a Canon Powershot. Click on the pictures for a larger view, and see what you think!

Oh, and everything was edible except the strings...but we didn't eat the fingerboard, pegs, scroll, chin rest, or bridge :)

Edited on Pixlr.com (and Lightroom 4). The rest are edited on Lightroom 4.

I didn't take this iPod picture...I hadn't arrived yet to the surprise party (post about that coming soon).

Word of...Yesterday's Moment

dis·cov·er
verb (used with object)

1. to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gainsight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown): to discover America; to discover electricity.

2. to notice or realize: I discovered I didn't have my credit card with me when I went to pay my bill.

3. Archaic . to make known; reveal; disclose.

For the Love of Egg Rolls

Imagine standing in line at the cafeteria (at Fountainview). Straining your neck to see what's being served, past the curving line of hungry young people, you see that it's is absolutely the best thing that ever happened. At least, that's what you think at this moment. Egg rolls! Excitement and hunger rumble in your stomach. You are just itching to take the first luscious bite, because you know it will be good. You've tasted it before. But as you keep a sharp lookout on the progress of the line and the diminishing number of egg rolls, your rumbling stomach begins to sink. Anxiously you crowd the person in front of you in a futile effort to make the line go faster. You forget that this won't do you any good; the egg rolls will only disappear sooner. Finally, you make it to the table, only to find that there are no egg rolls left. Turning away in sorrow, you come face to face with a cafeteria worker carrying a deck-pan full of fresh egg rolls, straight out of the oven. They're the best egg rolls you've ever had.

You forgot the most important thing: there will always be enough. The cafeteria is well known for providing an abundance of food. There was nothing to worry about. They had everything under control.

Sometimes I feel like I'm standing in the line of life. I'm waiting, and when I catch glimpses of God's plan for me, my hunger for it grows. The fulfilment of God's plan for me is like an egg roll. I know it's going to be good. I've tasted it before. I can't wait to get my teeth into it and take that luscious bite. So, I try to make the line go faster. I want God to fulfil His plan for me right now, or at least reveal His plan right now. Can't He hand me an egg roll (reveal His plan) and give me concrete evidence that I will get to eat it?

But I don't run the cafeteria. I forget that there will always be enough. No matter how long God takes to fully work out His will in my life, the supply of egg rolls will never fail. God will supply me with everything I need at just the right time; He has everything under control, and I don't have to worry that I won't get any egg rolls. Sometimes, He leaves me waiting at the table, confused by the empty deck-pan, until I come face to face with Him. Then He'll give me the best egg rolls I've ever had.

"So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help." - Isaiah 30:18 NLT

A Future and a Hope

Consider the experience of Moses. - Ministry of Healing, pg.474

I've been reading a lot about Moses lately. God worked miracle after miracle for the Israelites, but shortly after they would forget and murmur (complain) about present difficulties. It was a constant roller-coaster going from, "Praise the Lord, He is so good and has led us thus far," to, "Bitter water!? Come on Moses, did you bring us out here to die of thirst?" What a stupid question! God didn't bring them out to die in the desert. How could they forget all the wonders God worked in Egypt? How could they possibly forget crossing the Red Sea on dry ground? Just think, Moses had to deal with this stubborn bunch of whiners for more than 40 years! And that only because they were a stubborn bunch of whiners!

What prepared him for such a great and difficult work? Well of course, everything about him shouted, "LEADER." He had been trained in the royal schools of the most powerful nation on earth. Everything from diplomacy to strategy to governing was included in his training. All of Egypt, including his royal grandfather, once looked to him as the next Pharaoh. Surely this is what qualified him to lead the multitude of God's people. Right?

Not so.

The education he received in Egypt as the king’s grandson and the prospective heir to the throne was very thorough. Nothing was neglected that was calculated to make him a wise man, as the Egyptians understood wisdom. He received the highest civil and military training. He felt that he was fully prepared for the work of delivering Israel from bondage. But God judged otherwise. His providence appointed Moses forty years of training in the wilderness as a keeper of sheep (MH 474).

What? A shepherd? What happened to the great military leader, the heir to the throne of the most powerful kingdom in Egypt? Wasn't that the kind of training that would prepare Moses to lead his people? Doubtless it aided him greatly when the time came. But God knew that he wasn't ready yet. He had much to unlearn from his life as an honoured grandson of the Pharaoh, surrounded by heathen worship and glorified man-made structures. Here in the majestic mountains of the wilderness God revealed His power and greatness. Moses was alone with God, and he learned lessons of service, humility, tender care, patience, faithfulness, and meekness. He came to know God as a mighty but personal friend.

And then, the call came. Now God knew he was ready. Now, after he had let go of his own self-sufficiency, was he prepared to lead God's people from Egypt. In fact, he had become so humble and distrustful of himself that he shrank from the mission. It seemed impossible to him. God was patient, however, and provided everything he needed. And that encounter at the burning bush would be one of many near face-to-face meetings with God.

So what does this ancient familiar Bible story have to do with us today? Plenty. We are just as stubborn and whiny as those Israelites. We easily forget the ways God has led us in the past, and we complain and murmur about the smallest things.

Sometimes God leads you into the wilderness to teach you valuable lessons. This has to happen before He can really use you for the work He has called you to. You think that you are all prepared to do your lifework, or you think that you need education and power and honour in order to really do a work for God. But this is not reality. It may not make sense to the world, to your friends, to your family, or even to you, but God may place you in the most uncomfortable, uncanny, and unconventional circumstances to work out His greater purpose in your life.

And one day, you'll be ready.

One day, God will say to me, "Now you are ready. Go unto Pharaoh..." Whatever the work will be, I know that God is making me ready. He is using every experience and circumstance. And He is guiding every step. I may not meet a burning bush, or part the waters of a sea, but I KNOW, without a shadow of a doubt, that God has a plan for me.

And He has a plan for you.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV).

Letter to Friends

I started writing this little note to my class, and soon decided that I wanted to share it with everyone. It is still addressed to and personalized for my class, but I hope that it will speak to you in some way.


To My Dear Class Family,

I was listening to our class song this morning, and something is just sinking in. I think we are facing it: most of us are separate from each other. I praise God that there are a few of us together in certain places, such as Fountainview, Southern, and CUC. But it definitely is not the same. Others of us are going overseas, staying home, or following God's leading in other places. Even now I can't help but blink back tears as I think of all of you. And I'm serious. But the point of this is not to have a pity party wherever you may read this.

Take a little journey with me, back a couple of months, to Sunday, June 19, 2011. The Graduation ceremony is complete, and we kneel together on stage while the staff pray for us. Scott prayed, then Mrs. Roque, and then Mr. Corrigan finished with this:

"Our Lord and our God, it is with rejoicing, and yet that earthly experience of a sadness of separation, that we gather now before You, and present these young people, Lord, Your children -- young men and women prepared to go forth in Your service. Father, not prepared because of anything we've done, but prepared because Your Spirit has been upon them, because You have led them to this place and are leading them forth from here. Father, our prayer is that You will anoint each one with Your Holy Spirit; that You will touch their lips with a coal from off of Your altar; that You will cover them with the righteousness of Jesus Christ; that all who view them, who hear them, who are impacted by their lives, from here forward will know the presence of Jesus. Lord, I ask that, for those who are uncertain of what road You lead from here, that You will make that way plain. For their only desire is to follow Your will. Father, I ask that you would guard and shield each one. For the enemy will surely target his attacks at them, because the work that they can do for You is great, and he does not want to see that happen. And Lord, I ask, that just as they have learned to be close to You and close to one another, that they will play a part in Your plan now, of uniting Your people, just as this class has been united, and that they will indeed bring the gospel to all the world, because of Your greatness that You've evidenced in them. Father, we thank you because we have seen that this is Your will for them. We know You have heard and already answered this prayer, and we praise Your name. Amen."

Hearing and reading this over again has touched me in a way nothing else can. Do you remember huddling under that bush in Kauai, grasping a piece of twine between your fingers, gazing around at a bunch of teenagers who once were just a class, but now are a family? Do you remember sitting in Mr. Lemon's class as one of our classmates shared a personal struggle, asking us to pray for them? Do you remember "Family Time," which was dramatically different from the old awkward, strained class meetings? Do you remember praying together as a class, singing together as a class? I sure do, and I have a feeling none of us really will ever forget. God worked a pure miracle in our class, and we didn't deserve it. Now we have the blessed benefit of this network of friends all over the world, and the compelling hope of seeing each other soon in heaven, where we'll be separate no more.

"They will know us by our love." "Seek to serve, serve to save." "To let the world see that life with Him is no failure." Let these not just be simple, cliché sayings. Let them not be just a thing of the past. Mr. Corrigan's prayer is mine as well: "And Lord, I ask, that just as they have learned to be close to You and close to one another, that they will play a part in Your plan now, of uniting Your people, just as this class has been united, and that they will indeed bring the gospel to all the world, because of Your greatness that You've evidenced in them." We have received too huge a blessing, too great an experience, to keep it to ourselves. Everything God does is for a purpose, and no less the uniting of our class. Please, from one classmate to another, from one member of the Family to the rest of you, do not let the fire die. Keep on praying for each other. Realize that God wants us to take our experiences as a class and individually, and share them, spread them, show others how to have a similar experience. God is eager to do a great work through us. Are we just as willing?

Your Friend and Classmate,

Val

And so I ask the rest of you who are not in my class, "Are you just as willing?" God is eager to do a great work in you. No matter if you have had little experience with God, He still desires to use you. What God did in our class may seem like a little thing to others, but it changed our lives. Let God work through you; let Him use your experience, even if it is a little thing, to change the lives of those around you, and a change your own as well.