:: Sunday, January 26, 2003 ::

Snowfest... ice sculptures, bureks, international sodas, cheese, 2 Weeks Notice, Ben Than, walking the streets of London... I love this town!!!
Above Left: Justin and Cora posing for the wonderful swan.
Above Right: Gullible Cora in the Cheese Aisle
Below: Me and Ada... and that wonderful swan again.

:: Jesse 10:57 PM

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That's right. The men from ACF. This was a picture taken from our most recent winter retreat. This retreat was very challenging for a lot of us grown up in the church and used to the patterns and typical "feelings" that are associated with that. Roger, our counsellor, challenged us by declaring that God is not "in love" with us and we are not "in love" with God... as many of the worship songs tell so much of. No. That is not the case. In fact, God loves us, he's not in love with us. There is a huge distinction between the two of course. One is associated with more of a sentimental worldly view of love, and the other is more of a genuine true love. Nonetheless, a lot of us left with a big bite into reality... a big good chunk.

I'd also like to share with you about some recent happenings in my room.
This is a story of my wall.

When I first moved into my room 3 years ago, I was so excited to finally make it nice. No cheesy pictures or childish furniture like my room back at home... I wanted my room to be nice, chique, modern, ikea like.

As I visited other people's rooms, there were a few that stood out to me as being extravagant, really cool looking, and really snazzy. I started to obsess about my room. How can I make this room look livable... look enjoyable.

Over the next 2 years, things began to accumulate in my room. 2 guitars, a guitar stand, some weapons, a whole massive collection of nice frames, more shelves to place my acheivements and toys, picture albums, photos on walls, posters... and soon enough I had a whole mess of stuff in my room. A TV found its way into there too, with my chinchilla, my lights, my pictures around my screen...

Every 5 months or so, I'd get kinda bored with it all and I started to move everything around. My room never remained the same, my bed would end up in another corner, a poster would be taken down here, my desk would shift entirely to another part under the window...

And soon enough, I found the ultimate arrangement. It was both space efficient, easy to clean...

But also the most self worshipping setting of all.

See I had this wall, which stood out among the rest as being a momument and an altar unto myself. There were DHS pictures, but arranged in quite away that would draw attention... there were my weapons, my kendo shinais, my gun... and loads of pictures that would worship Jesse Wong.

Recently, since acquiring the Holy Spirit (or understanding the full potential of His power),I've been quite sensitive to some demons and spiritual entities that can harass me. One night, sometime in November, I was trying to go to sleep, and I felt this presence in my room, harassing me and freaking the daylights out of me. I immediately knew... that a demon had found itself a home in my home.

There were a few reasons why he had dominion in my room. My room had all my toys, my materialism, packed in and jammed in there (stuff accumulates like mad). And third, this was a temple to myself, not God.

I realized a lot had to go. I was very tempted to take down that whole wall that had all our pictures (in a weird sense, the DHS pictures have a very worshippy tone to them) and make that wall completely bare, throw away all my materialistic stuff.. etc... but I knew I couldn't act irrationally or immediately. So I began to pray that I would know what to do.

Some things left... my organizer, my TV, some pictures, some keepsakes... and other things are still yet to go, like my 2nd guitar. But that wall of pictures remained...

When I got back to London from the holiday, I finally knew what to do. I wasn't to throw those nice pictures away... no... it was what I viewed them as... what I saw them to be... and how I placed them... how interesting that just location and rearrangement changes everything. I moved some of those frames around, got rid of those weapons... and turned that wall into a prayer wall.

This prayer wall that I have now is pretty cool. God has already spoken to me through it (I will explain a lil lower down). Cuz I like doing graphic design and desktop publishing, I began to design some headings, some simple graphics and font text. This wall included sections like, My Family, Bro's and Sis's overseas, DHS, Men's Group, ACF, Priscilla, and included were pictures that helped remind me about them. The pictures were one thing that I realize have such a double edge to them... they can bring glory to yourself... or bring glory to the Lord. To these pictures I have added sticky notes for prayer items and things I need to remember.

I'll explain how this prayer wall has already spoken to me. Well first, as I pray for my brothers and sisters, I see them with my eyes. This helps me remember some things or pray more specifically... kinda like visual aid. 2nd, pictures seem to capture emotions, personalities, moments... that bring upon such things like thanksgiving, and rememberance... I remember two nights ago, I was praying by myself, and looking at my roommates on my wall, I began to weep. Weep in both joy and saddness... joy for what they had always done and been there for me... and sadness that time had passed and recently we had grown so apart... and soon my prayer changed, for new horizons and for new things... almost like God spoke to me through the wall.

My buddy is planning on removing his website, because it was just the same thing for him, except for the fact that it was online... I encouraged him that unless God tells him otherwise, the website can be used to glorify God... and he already has 800 hits a month... why not use what is effective for the Lord?

What actually sparked my endeavour to finally take down that wall that had remained over the holidays, was something I took back from Hamilton. I remember talking to Tony (from ETCBC) at CCF, and he asked me if I had seen Albert's room... I hadn't yet... but what he replied was, "It's a chillaxing room". And when I saw it, I knew exactly what he meant. That room had an ambience to share in it... that room in which it was lit, in which it was set up... was designed for some intimate sharing. He had pictures up... mainly from Matthew House. I was very encouraged to see my brother have a room that glorified the Lord. (I almost destroyed a suspended shelf full of CD's... I banged into it when getting up and all these CD's came bashing down onto my head and all over the floor... alot of them were broken.. SORRY ALBERT!).

This makes me already wonder what my house in the future will be like. Many people immediately want to buy that nice big screen television and situate all the couches to face it. But was is the purpose of a family room anyways? If we are to all face the freaking TV and not another, there is no atmosphere for sharing!

That's maybe why I like my living room so much. When my parents wanted hard wood floor, I totally objected. I knew that once they would install hard wood, no one would be comfortable sitting on the carpet. The piano is there so we can jam and sing praises around it. The couches are situated to face one another so hours of chess, Balderdash, or sharing and talking can happen there. There's a room in my house back in Markham that glorified the Lord.

:: Jesse 11:50 PM

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Ahhh... the wonders of a simulation clinic. Those things on my eyes are called Loupes, which help me see closer to the patient without having to bend my back and mess up my spine. Yeah... and that's Mr.Man. He drools alot.

There's SO MUCH that happened this weekend... our retreat was this weekend and there's just too much to write down now. I think I'm gonna sleep on it first. Yeah Yeah... a meaningful update will soon come! I promise!

:: Jesse 10:36 PM

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here's a picture from our simulation clinic... I stole this from Billy's site. If I had a digi cam I'd take a few more. There are tons on his site, I don't wanna steal his pictures. That's it for now...

:: Jesse 11:13 PM

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Victor left for Australia.

If I had a picture now, I'd post it... but Victor Fung is hard to get a picture of. Victor was a brother to me. When I first came here to London on a short term mission trip back 6 years ago, he was the first I met and the one to leave a long lasting impression as a man that would have so much potential for the work of God.

In first year, I ended up in London, and I remember when he took me out for my first ever Chinese food experience at Western. He doesn't know this but I was so excited that someone cared enough to drive me out of town just for some good hard to find grub. Already I called him Yee Goh (second brother) because he was exactly that for me here at Western.

Victor never ceased to be my brother. In second year, he showed me Grand Bend, a wonderful hour drive away place with the most beautiful beach I've seen in Ontario. Victor often came to my house and brought me cooked pasta and food when I was sick, or when I was extremely stressed at work. He never ceased to drive me around, bring me to see movies, take me to the cooler places of London and really showed me that London could be my home.

Victor never ceased to show me that I was important. In my third year, Victor gave me the most wonderful birthday gift ever. I was extremely down at that time of the year (near end of exams) and he planned a surprise event all along... Vic knew what I delighted in and he did his best to bless me with these things... after dinner he brought over loads of glow sticks and a football, and all of us found ourselves on the field playing under my favourite setting... a clear, star lit night sky... and not only that, brought me to my favourite place in London... Dawson's Creek, a lil quaint deck that looks onto the Thames River... there were many times he did that, complete with trips to Burger King for Whoppers, or trips to McDonalds with the LCAC kids...

Victor never ceased to show me that he didn't want anything in return. This past summer, we found ourselves on many golf courses, especially this one that shoots off into a pond. He never ceases to be creative. During this year, when Pris came up to visit, Victor let me use his car to drive around and take Pris around, even to my first Drive-In ever. Even at his farewell party, he came with all the food prepared for US... brought a movie for US... and drove US home after... Victor never wanted much in return.

Victor was my Yee Goh because he helped me grow, he was there for many of my "first experiences" (he had many planned but there was no time left for us to do it together... like Motorbiking and skydiving and snowboarding!!!) and he was also there to encourage me and show me that I was worthwhile and important. Victor showed me how to care for others and show them that they are appreciated. He leaves for Australia today to pursue a career in Law... and it doesn't surprise me that he's going (since he looks like Keanu and Keanu did that in Point Break). For all that I am and am sure of, I love this brother with all my heart and grieve for the distance that will be between us. But if God wills, our friendship will survive and our brotherhood will never cease.

Cheers, Victor.

:: Jesse 2:12 AM

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This is a shot taken from my buddy Howard Chui off his cellphone! Pretty cool... his website is dedicated to reviews and info about the latest and coolest cell phones on the market. Pretty sick stuff I must add.

The Christmas holidays are coming to an end. It's been a while since I last blogged, but since then I've managed to get really sick and miss my outing with my boyz from the Dragon Hand Society. I was pretty peaved at how things just happened that way, but there was some redemption at Mike's holiday party, where we had a wonderful chance to kinda sneak away from the mob and seclude ourselves in the unlit master bedroom for some really meaningful prayer and sharing. These guys are the bread and butter in my life and I really miss them alot.

It's been about 10 days since Priscilla's surgery and she still is swollen. Her left side of her jaw is kinda buldging like an hard abcesce (sp?) and in our extra-oral examinations, would be described as being indurated (rigid, hard due to calcification but softer than bony-hard). She still looks absolutely fine to me. New Year's ended up being very memorable despite our original plans of skiing at Horseshoe Valley were cancelled the day before. We ended up going downtown to El Rancho's for some Latin Dancing with Richard, Julie, my sis Serena and Dennis.

Prior to our trip downtown, Pris and I ended up at Rani's house for a New Year's dinner. There were only a few of us there, but by coincidence I met Tammy's boytoy Joe, who was friends with my classmate Yang, and also a key person in Yang's journey to Jesus. It's amazing how small this world is, that God really has his way in letting us meet some really cool people who have made a large impact in other's lives. Tammy and Joe are one of the cutest couples I have met. That night we were entertained with their "He Said She Said" stories about how the Lord brought them together. Awwww....

El Rancho was quite crappy looking on the outside... I was tempted to call the place "El Cheapo" or "El Ghetto" based on its single wooden door and cruddy lights compared to "Plaza Flamingo" on the other side of the street. But once we got in, it was a pretty happening place. For those who live in London, "Old Chicago's" is a much better place, with a live band and really talented true latinos ripping up the dance floor. We had a blast! Thank goodness I had some crash lessons in the summer to keep up with Priscilla!

Looking back on this holiday, though originally sucky because of my sickness (just 3 weeks ago I got that Norwalk Virus), I am really blessed to realize I have a wonderful family, a wonderful loving sister, a wonderful and loving gal, a group of unseparable "hing-duy", and much more that I am always ignorant of. As for my New Year's resolutions:

1. Do my devos every morning, and attempt to read the bible in a year (that's 3-4 chapters a day), or perhaps fall back in reading it over 3 years (by the time I graduate).
2. Ungratefulness has to go... solution? Be thankful everyday for the things God has blessed me with... that means being actively thankful.
3. Fitness... Derek and Jesh will laugh at me, since they work out so much and I only worked out in the first week of school. I really need to keep a healthy lifestyle, or I'll turn into a hunchback dentist who will have to retire at the age of 45. That means once a week Kendo, 2 times a week weights and 1 time a week Racquetball. Accountability anyone?
4. Keeping in touch with my Dragon Hand Society... after a few years, we've come to realize that we need to actively keep in touch with one another, or all our times together will be "catching up".
5. WORK LESS HARD THIS SEMESTER! That means I get a chance to cook more often too.

Hmmm... let's see how well I hold to these resolutions... er....

:: Jesse 7:12 PM

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