Made it!

We've made it. After a two-day long car drive, we've finally made it. Thank you, Lord! At about midnight, we arrived at the Countryman's house. Yes, I can't believe it! We're in Minnesota.

However, the journey here was long and arduous. We started all the way from Abilene on the 8th. We were supposed to leave around 9 am, but in the end, we left closer to 1 pm later in the afternoon, and it was unbearably hot by then. Thank goodness we covered our Oldsmobile 98 so carefully with every kind of sun shades we could find in Wal-Mart. If we did not do so, we would have been burned to a crisp.

After saying our elongated goodbyes to Jo's sister, Stephanie, we drove off to the uncharted territories of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota.

First in the list was Oklahoma, the Native American State. Just bordering Texas to the north, we crossed into Oklahoma through the bordering Texas city of Wichita Falls. Not so different from Texas as I thought it would be... Like Texas, the immediate fields we passed through from Texas were filled with those horrendously ugly brownish spiky weeds. Even after we stopped at a Wal-Mart after some 3 hours of driving, we noticed that the air still smells the same, with the frequent hot gust of wind brushing through our hair like a natural hair dryer. Feeling quite exhausted, I decided to rest and allow Soo Li to take over the driving.

After some 3 hours later, we arrived in Oklahoma City, the capital of Oklahoma. It was already 6 pm ish by then, and all we wanted to do was to rest and eat some. So, we used our convenient little GPS machine to find the directions to an Asian restaurant to stop by. With a little difficulty, we finally decided to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant, called Pho Cuong. I thought the food was quite tasty, but apparently, Soo Li and Jo thought it was just OK. Well, can't blame them for being honest. After all, I needed to save face for choosing this restaurant.

We continued our journey after dinner. With a stomach too stuffed with beef noodles, I immediately was knocked out into slumberland, only to be woken up violently after an hour or so, when Soo Li became too tired to drive. Too groggy to put up any argument, I relented. So, the next 2 or so hours, I drove all the way to Kansas into the border city of Wichita (not to be confused with Wichita Falls).

At about 10.30 pm, we reached an inn at Wichita. We were so thankful that we finished our first day of driving. After all, the last 2 hours of driving up to Kansas was rather dangerous, the roads being almost completely dark, not to mention it thundering and drizzling by the time I took over the driving.

The next morning, we left at about 10 am, after eating a hearty breakfast. The next 3 hours were pleasant. The scenery had changed by the time we reached Kansas. It was, without doubt, GREEN. Soft, almost hair-like, rolling grass covered the meadows that was spread across the land. Just gorgeous.

However, by the next hour or so after crossing from Kansas into Missouri, things began to become dull (well, at least to me). The so-called "Show Me State," was not too beautiful, as I thought it should be. Well, maybe downtown Kansas City was alright... but the rest is pretty dull.

There, we struggled in our search for a decent eatery. Using our convenient, yet old and outdated GPS tracker, we tried in vain as we searched for an authentic Asian restaurant to rest and eat. After a whole hour running through the list, and finding no hope (all the restaurants went to were those Americanized buffet eateries), we settled with Hwang's. I picked this restaurant up because it bore part of my name. Although it was the usual run-of-the-mill American Chinese restaurant, the owners were extremely nice to us. We were the only Chinese they've seen for the last who knows when (and also the only customers they've got at that time), and so they were very happy to welcome us. Of course, their hospitality also came from their joy in serving the Lord, as they later revealed to us that they were Christians even before they left Taiwan for American some 35 years ago. The food was decent, and although Americanized, what we've ordered truly showed that the owners, a bubbly husband-and-wife team, really care about the quality of their food.

Having had a full stomach, we left for Iowa, where after some 3 hours of driving, we stopped by Des Moines for dinner. This place, Kwang Tung, was totally devoid of the "joy of the LORD". The waiter served us so unpassionately and so robotic, that one would mistake him for Frankenstein. The food was also barely passable. Well, can't complain here. Whatever God gave us, we humbly accept it from Him.

Later, we left for St. Paul. It was already night, and yes, it was dark. We had to drive for some 4 hours before reaching our destination. I drove the first two hours, before Soo Li took over from me. We reached Steve's house at about 12.30 am, and too tired to have any conversation, we just slept as soon as we got there.

Now that we are here, please thank God for us! It was an incredible journey up here, and it would not have been possible without the Lord, especially during the last leg of the race where it was not only dark, but also raining heavily. Praise the Lord that we've made it safe and sound.

Road Trip

Just as we reached Abilene, we're off once again to explore uncharted waters. And by God's grace, we were able to get our car insurance on time, too! So, please pray for us as we take a long, long drive off to Minnesota.

Time for a nap... zzz

If you know me well enough, you'd probably know that I act like a Duracell-powered bunny. Well, I'm quite a sociable person (my need for being around people is almost obsessive... I get paranoid when you place me in a sterile room, asking me to be quite for a period of time). As such, I fill most of my time with people. This week has been nothing but PEOPLE. Seriously. When you're put in a situation whereby you realize you've only got a week left in your country, before going away for a whole year abroad, what would you have done? Wouldn't you want to spend bulk of the time with the people you love, the people you'd probably won't see in another few years, and, least I forget, your bestest best chums?

So from Monday through Thursday, I have been dictated by my people-oriented schedule. DIED. Come Friday, I felt like a cicak kering, squashed in between the spaces of a closed door. God save(d) me. Thank goodness the CG got canceled today. But wait... Things did not seem right. After a weeklong of living in the speed of a-tad-bit-slower-than-light, breaking so suddenly sent me lunging forward in discontent and, I'm afraid, paranoia (go away from me, you bearded old man! Don't poke my eyes out with your cane!). In desperation, I walked into my car, locked the doors, and then prayed. Uh, well, to be honest, I didn't really prayed, but merely thought out a conversation with God. Yeah, yeah, that's what I did. But, as I stopped altogether thinking and feeling, I began to start slouching deeper into the car seat. By the time I knew it, I had already lowered the car seat, and fell into a slumber.

I woke up an hour later feeling so refreshed. Perhaps, without even uttering a single word, God probably knew what I needed most: some time alone and, of course, a good nap. No wonder some people who are stressed with lots of stuffs choose to pray, hoping that they might be so tired to talk to God that they just drop down fast asleep. I remembered some wise words from Kah Wan. According to him, it's a discipline to rest just as much as it is a discipline in doing work. No wonder God established the Sabbath. So rest up! Time for bedtime.

Pre-programmed Ungratefulness

Before I decided to come back to Malaysia, I prayed hard for a place to live in. Now, it seems that my answered prayers sound almost like a cosmic joke. I've been over more than 5 different houses, taking turns doing the oh-you're-back-for-the-summer "house-keeping" chore for the residents of those houses. Well, at least I've been rewarded with some privileges, such as driving a pastor's car and playing Street Fighter IV on a 50" TV till the ungodly hours of the night (owh, wasn't it already the morning that we finished playing Gears of War 2?).

Yet, I could still find it hard to wake up in the morning, and go like, "I don't want to wake up". There's just an abundance of things I could potentially thank God for, but I guess, the feeling of what's-the-point-of-it-all wins us over most of the time. And worse of all, we probably had gone through this several times already, only to again fall back into the same ditch.

Thank God that He knows our inherent disease. I actually woke up this morning in that appalling state, and usually, whenever I get into such a condition, I'd go into this automatic response: sulk, get depressed, avoid people, and run away, as far as possible, from God. Was about to leave my bedroom to live out the rituals of life before I decided to fall down on my knees, and tell God, "Lord, I need you". I was glad that I did so. I would normally just skip the part about going to God, but, somehow, today, by God's grace, I was pulled out of my pre-programmed stiff-neck attitude. I could have lived the day with a dark cloud hovering over me, thundering guilt with no hope of forgiveness for nudging off God because of my bad mood.... But, a quick, and right response rewarded me with so much joy that even my dear Soo Li could not help but to feel infected with it.

I mean, after all, we have a God, of whom we can go to during all seasons of our lives. Just look at the Psalms. They are full of raw emotions, even of anger and rage. We often chide away our feelings and opt for a clean, professional way of approaching God. We'd often make the biggest error by only going to God when we feel peppy and smiling widely. When all hell breaks loose, we do our best to run away from His presence. Well, going to God in times when we're emo will not necessarily make us less emo, but it helps put things in perspective. One, it reminds us that we're not in control. Secondly, it also helps us to remember what God had done for us in the past, besides the giving of His Son. And I believe this was how God removed my chains and burdens this morning.

So, instead of going to God as a last resort, go to Him NOW. We have too awesome a God that we should bow down to our fears and anxieties.

Uncle See Huang

In Malaysia, we fondly address our friend's parents and other respectable senior persons as either uncles and aunties, even though we may not be necessarily related to them. This Sunday, a certain little girl has broken history... Thus, I was called "Uncle See Huang". Is this supposed to be a foreshadowing of my eminent, if not inevitable "unclehood"? At such a raw age of 21. Gosh.

Unecessary, but Obligated Update

Well, after having to suffer yet another semester of school, I feel reluctant, if not lazy, at least grumpy to write anything out of this tiny little head of mine. However, now that I've somewhat regained my life (yes, I'm back for the Summer, and no, I don't have swine flu), I should write something, no? OK, for updates, I'm done with my third semester in Abilene, and back for 1.5 months before going back for my internship in Minnesota. And for a bigger news, I'm currently dating a certain girl I met in Abilene, who's actually a Kelana Jaya local -- Ms. Elena Kua. Yup, that's what's going on. Signing out and back to sleep!

ドイツから来た友達

先セメ、一人本当のドイツ人友達に会った。はじめに、あの人が静か見たいな人から、僕は彼女が英語で話せないと思います。もちろ、彼女が英語でしゃべれるよ！八ヶ月だけ彼女を知るのに、彼女が僕の妹になた。だったら、今主彼女がドイツに帰るときに、悲しくなりちゃいます。はい、彼女が帰ってから、永遠にアビリンに帰るかもしれない。僕の背が高い妹、どうして帰らなきゃいけないの？あなたと食べ損なうよ！レナちゃん、ドイツでお大事に根！あなたに会えてうれしかった。

Hope to see you again, ne!