Chapter 13

I recently started reading my Bible daily.  I thought it would be easy to do, but after I started I realized that it takes a lot out of me to focus and really understand the message that's being conveyed without getting distracted.  With that said, I feel happy when I've finished reading the scheduled chapters for each day.  I'd like to say that I've read the entire Bible before, but I'd be lying.  That's why I decided I would read the Bible in a year.  I've got a plan for every single day, and I'm going to stick to it until I'm done.  I've also gotten into the habit of praying after I've finished reading.  It's comforting and makes me ready to face the next day.  This realization makes me wonder why I've never prayed daily before.  I should have.  I think it was probably a combination of laziness and not knowing what to pray about or for because I didn't pay attention to things that I should have seen.  Or maybe I've just become a more compassionate person towards others, and they make me want to pray for them to do well or be well.  I really don't know.  I'm happy I'm where I am though, and I hope I stay here for a while.  Or grow some more; that would be good too.

Chapter 12

Wow!  It's been a while since I've posted....I don't really remember what happened last Christmas or Spring semester, so I'll just start with where school left off. Let me just say that this past summer has been wonderful!  My oldest brother got married (finally!) and I got the chance to go on a family vacation to California with my mother's entire family (all except for my two brothers and their now-wives).  This totals 19 people, including myself (8 adults, 10 kids).  Whew!  That was a fun carpool of 5 cars to San Francisco..not to mention when we got to Fisherman's Wharf we were all wearing matching t-shirts with the American flag on them!  How patriotic of my grandmother to buy them for us and insist we wear them so none of us get lost from the group...now I know what it feels like to be part of 'that family' who wears the matching t-shirts that everyone makes fun of.  Don't get me wrong, I love my grandma.  And in all honesty the t-shirts were a good idea, considering there were about 10 MILLION people there, but I wish the family vacay irony could have been spared.


Anyway, after the Cali trip, I went to church camp down south (for me, anyway) in Kingman, KS.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that it was probably the most spiritually uplifting week of my life.  It's not something I can explain, it was just plain awesome.  Normally one or two people get baptized during this week, but this year, the total count was somewhere around 15..never underestimate the power of God and His love!  This year, the structure was a bit different.  Instead of having daily classes that two tribes attended together, campers congregated by cabins, with discussions led by their counselors (me being one of them).  It was a wonderful opportunity to step up and be a role model for the young girls.  Normally I would have shied away from being a role model for anybody, but I believe God gave me the courage and the strength to open up to my cabin of amazing girls.  I wasn't the best leader of discussions, by any measure, but the other counselors, mainly one who I had previously had a bad impression of, brought me out of my shell and into the world of deep thinking.  This was also a first, considering how much of a surface thinker I am.  So, in my opinion, this was a great week indeed.


A truly amazing ending to my summer included my middle brother's wedding (yes, two weddings in one summer!).  I had the chance to sing in it and, even though it wasn't my best, I think people enjoyed it.  The wedding was a beautiful spectacle, made even more awesome by the appearance of my grandfather's old (as we like to call it) banana-mobile.  It was the perfect ending, well, to a perfect beginning.


And this, I believe, is where I sign off.  Thanks for reading.

Chapter 11

I really don't have much to say...except that so far, I've aced all of my Japanese exams!!  Woot!  I love learning a new language.  It's fun to use a different set of rules to communicate.  It really requires you to think about what you're saying, what you want to say, and so forth.  I had my oral midterm today, and it went pretty awesomely.  I was super nervous beforehand, but many of my friends assured me I would do well, and I did.  All of this is fine and dandy, but I keep wondering if learning Japanese will be beneficial for me in the long run.  Will I ever even return to Japan?  I hope I do.  I think it would awesome if I could go teach there.  Just imagine: me, teaching little Japanese kids!  I bet all of you are laughing right now just imagining it.  I know I am, because I know how much fun it would be and how much I would gain from it.


I wonder what my life will be like in 5 years.  I have no idea where I'll go once I graduate.  If I don't go to Japan, I would really like to teach in a small town.  I don't know why, but I just really like the idea of knowing every single person in town and having a personal relationship with them.  You are all thinking I'm crazy, I know.  Well, you really already think I'm crazy, right?  Right.  I don't think I've met a weirder person than myself, but that's another story.


Here's to looking to the future!

Chapter 10

So.  It's been over a month since my last post.  And I feel bad for not having kept up with it.  Anyway, I assume I should catch you all up.  My mission trip to Japan was an amazing success, and I plan on returning with the same crew next year.  There are just so many things to write about, I think I'll have to write a separate post...but I'll do that later.  School has now started, and  believe it or not, I love each and every one of my classes!  I never though it possible, but it is in fact true.  I especially love my Japanese class.  I decided it would be a good idea to improve my Japanese before I went back, so I enrolled in Japan 191 aka Japanese 1.  So far, it's absolutely awesome.  The first and beginning of the second week had me struggling, but I think it's going smoother now.  In only 2 weeks, we have learned all of the Hiragana characters, how to introduce ourselves, talk about the weather, ask for others names and phone numbers, and express our likes and dislikes.  I'm starting to understand the general sentence structure of the Japanese language, and it's a lot easier than I had thought.  Maybe that was because I didn't know the essential basics..whatever the case,  I can now carry on a simple conversation in Japanese.  I feel thrilled for having learned so much in such short a time, but that's just how intense this class is!  I'm also happy because I can legitimately speak in sentences in a different language.  Nobody can make fun of me anymore for using single Korean or Japanese words, because I can now speak whole sentences!!  That's right, all you CFC members, no more mocking Kelsey, the crazed Asian-obsessed white girl.  Just kidding.  No seriously.




So a large Cats for Christ group this year seems very promising.  We've had many newcomers that have returned, which doesn't normally happen...I've always wondered why, while at the same not needing to wonder why..but that's for another post.  Welcome Week was highly successful, and we have recruited a large (between 5-15) cluster of newcomers.  This has everyone excited for the semester, including myself.  I am overjoyed with the opportunity to reach out to our newcomers, and possibly build lasting relationships.  That's about all I've got say this post.  Hopefully I'll write an entire post about my Japan mission trip soon.  We'll see.  Later gater!

Chapter 9

So.  I'm traveling to Japan in three days.  I feel the anxiousness, but I don't think reality has hit me quite yet. I'm very excited to meet the Japanese people we'll be working with as well as the children and middle school - college age students.  The one part about this trip that has me worried is the initial interaction between myself and the Japanese.  I'm normally not the person to approach someone I don't know first.  I've always waited until they have come to me.  On this trip, I will have to be starting the conversation.  I think in my head, what am I supposed to talk about?  Should I ask them about the weather?  Or maybe what their favorite color is?  I asked my aunt how I should start conversations, break the ice, etc.  It was then that she told me I would probably have something in common with the older students.  I asked what she meant, and she explained that I could very simply break the ice by asking them if they watch dramas and if they've ever heard of my favorite one.  This particular drama (I won't go into detail here) has been so popular in Asia that it has been made not only into more than 1 version, but 5 versions!  I'm glad I now have a topic in mind to talk to them about, considering how worried I have been.  That said, even though I feel a little more comfortable, I'm still very nervous about it.  I'm also worried about the one-on-one English lessons.  I'm worried that I either won't be able to explain something well or I'll use the wrong words and therefore end up confusing the student.  I know the passing of these worries will only come with prayer to God, and I ask that anybody who reads this will pray for God to speak through me.  If I have access to internet, I'll update you all as the trip progresses.  Thank you all for your prayers and continued support.


In Him,

Chapter 8

You know what's phenomenal?  The talent of composing music.  I was reading my favorite book series while listening to movie soundtracks, and noticed that in Avatar, there are multiple other soundtracks combined to make it what it is.  Intertwined in Avatar are EPIC compositions from the following movies:

• Braveheart
• Glory
• Zorro
• Titanic
• The Perfect Storm
• Field of Dreams

If you listen closely, you can hear a theme from each of the above movies in Avatar.  These soundtracks were also all composed by the same person--James Horner.  He is among my favorite composers, which include but aren't limited to:

• Michael Giacchino
• James Newton Howard
• Mark Mancina
• Thomas Newman
• John Williams
• John Barry
• Steve Jablonsky
• Nick Glennie-Smith
• Rupert Gregson-Williams

I am constantly downright baffled at the pure genius of these men.  How do they create the essence of emotion?  Sadly, I'm not one who has this mind-boggling gift.  To be able to create emotion the way they do...it's high on my list of wishes.  I wish I were like August Rush; a musical genius.  And only 10 years old so I would have my whole life ahead of me to create movie soundtrack masterpieces.  Maybe I'll be reincarnated as a music prodigy.

Chapter 7

If you're reading this and do not like listening to my obsession with Korea, stop reading NOW.  It will only cause displeasure to you, the reader.  Don't get mad and don't make fun; you've been forewarned.  What follows is something that makes me smile just thinking about it. :-)


Ack!  I so dearly wish I knew how to dance.  And I'm not talking about ballet, tap, jazz, swing here - although that would be nice - I'm talking about hip hop.  And to be more specific, Korean Hip Hop.  I'm not sure why I'm so drawn to it; I don't believe it's just because of my love for the Korean culture.  I think it's because as each band tries to out-do one another, their dances get more and more complex, and this just fascinates me.  A lot of times, a dance move that looks super cool will be pretty simple, in terms of the individual moves that make up the whole.  What makes it so cool and difficult is being able to execute every part so well that it flows together and looks like something ridiculously complicated.  I started learning 3 dances recently, and hopefully I will be able to pull them off after A LOT of practicing.


 I consider two of these dances to be very cool, and even though the third looks cheesy, I feel compelled to say, "Bring on the cheese!!"  Now I know most of you are not on board with me about this, but I could really care less.  Different cultures are my passion, and if you dare to make fun of me for it, I will say (as is so common in Korean dramas, "You shouldn't live your life like that".  It's not your passion and it's NOT you, so don't worry about it!  On the other side of things, if you happen to secretly think I'm the cool one with all of my amazing knowledge, don't worry about 'losing face'.  You should get some courage.  I think I've gotten my point across, so with that said, I will withdraw.  Thank You for indulging the essence that is Kelsey.