living above our means

forbes magazine announced that the world's richest man is carlos slim from mexico. he immigrated to mexico from lebanon, and he grew up very poor. i heard him say in an interview that he raises his 6 children in a two bedroom apartment w/one bathroom. he said that it would make his children better people. what a great example he has set, in a world where so many of us live way above our means.

hosanna youth rally

an estimated 1,200 students gathered for hosanna youth rally. it was a good opportunity to put my 10-20mm wide-angle lens to use.

birth of our daughter

Gabrielle Victory Ha-jin Chu was born on January 21, 2010 at 9:48am. 6lbs 4.7oz & 19.5". More pics can be found at gabriellechu.shutterfly.com

we are so grateful to God for such a precious gift & blessing. unlike gideon, she is very low maintenance. she sleeps w/o crying. even when she's awake, she just looks around w/o crying or asking for anything. she has a lot more hair than gideon ever had & it's very light, almost blond. similar to gideon, her ears are not symmetrical. i guess it's a new family trait.

winter retreat

we had our college & young adult retreat last weekend. our guest speaker (lee king) shared w/us his amazing life story. he is currently the senior pastor of hillside church in armonk, ny. when he was five-years-old, he was found living on the streets of pusan, korea. he lived at an orphanage in pusan from ages five to seven. during that time a couple from pennsylvania supported him $10/month through world vision. when he was eight, the couple from pennsylvania adopted him as their son. he shared many other stories of God's hand intervening in his life.

suicide rates rise among koreans in new york

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/nyregion/31suicides.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=korean%20suicides&st=cse

this is a very sad article about the rise of koreans in new york committing suicide. it also mentions how the rate of suicide is increasing in korea as well, even amongst some well-known political leaders & celebrities.

weekly radio program

my weekly radio program got moved from tuesdays to sundays. it airs every sunday, 3:10-3:40pm on radio station 740am & digital tv station 63.7 (new york city area). includes guest interviews, live music, biblical teaching, etc.

praying for healing

last tuesday our church sent volunteers to serve food at a soup kitchen in harlem. we also prepared christmas gifts & led a brief worship. i gave a sermon on the parable of the sower. after the sermon i invited people to come forward to receive prayer. i prayed for a man named larry, who stood at the very front. after i finished praying, he took off his dark sunglasses to show me that he was missing his right eye. all that was left was a skin-covered scab. after he showed me his eye, he said "pray for me! pray for me!". so i prayed for God's healing upon his eye. then i asked people to come forward to receive prayer specifically for physical healing. a few more people came forward. & some who were already standing, raised their hands to receive prayer specifically for physical healing. as our church members were praying with them individually, i had the opportunity to pray for one more person. carol asked me to pray for her diabetes which was causing her pain in her legs and feet.

i am not a charismatic & i don't have the gift of healing. & i normally don't ask people to come forward to receive prayer for physical healing. but i learned something last tuesday. i learned that people are desperate & they need prayer. & for many people (whether rich or poor), a physical sickness is their number one prayer concern.