Cruisin' up the Coast

As some of you may know, as soon as I got home from my recent trip to Korea, my friend Christine came in from London! I met her last summer during my trip to Europe. She has never been to California before so we had to show her around the right way! So today we took her up to Santa Barbara! I love shopping on State St. We had lunch at a cute little Italian restaurant Pascucci which- was the bomb! 

After some shopping, and lunch we went to the pier. It was such a perfect and beautiful day for the beach! Not a cloud in the sunny sky, and a nice cool sea breeze. We put our toes in the water and sat in sand for a long time and just talked. It was such a nice relaxing day with the girls! When we were practically being attacked by baby sand crabs we decided to go find some ice cream. We lingered through some touristy gift shops and browsed little candy stores as well. We took our time returning to the pier and once the sun had finally set we decided to go back to State St. And maybe do just a little bit more shopping. Well... Everything except this weird costume store was closed so we had no choice but to try on ridiculous hats and outfits! It was so fun! I even ended up getting an adorable vintage looking ring for $2. Can't beat that! 

So it was getting late, and I had work in the morning so we grabbed a quick dinner to eat on the road and began the 2 hour trek back home. 

I love days like this. It was so last minute. So spur of the moment. And so enjoyable! Did I have other errands to run today- of course. However, I know what it's like to be the tourist/ guest/ visitor; and it's nice when others make time to show you around plus, when you take care of people you just feel good! I love hosting friends from out of the country. So to all of my friends in Korea, Hong Kong, Germany, England, Italy, Switzerland, or France out there reading this... COME TO CALIFORNIA! Like.... Now! 

Xoxoxoxoxo 

Typhoon Warning: Hong Kong!

Saying goodbye to Korea and all my new friends and family there was so hard! But it was time for our next adventure... Hong Kong! Now, let me just say in all honesty, I was not excited for Hong Kong. I did not want to leave Korea and I had no idea what to expect in China. But, the airfare was so cheap we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go. My besty, Brittany Crisp, was metropolitan witnessing in LA with some friends from the Chinese congregation and hooked me up with a newlywed couple to stay with in Hong Kong. THEY WERE AMAZING!!! Vincent & Sandy were the best. They took such good care of us! Vincent picked us up from the airport and even held up a sign with our names, ever so professionally. So we took the 1 hr bus ride to there home, dropped off our bags, grabbed a quick snack then went straight to their meeting... Their Cantonese meeting. It was sooo hard to stay awake! It was crazy hot and humid outside but they were blasting the AC in the Kingdom Hall so it was so refreshing. We had been so busy in Korea with jam packed schedules so to sit still and not understand what was going on at the meeting made it so hard to stay awake. So I got up to wash my hands and hopefully wake up a little, and when I walked into the restroom that's exactly what happened! As soon as I walked in I saw the BIGGEST cockroach I've ever seen in my life!!! Sandy was walking in behind me and just stomped on it and I literally had to cover my mouth so that I wouldn't scream out loud! It was so gross! After meeting a large group of us went out to dinner, where I learned how to peel and eat head on shrimp. It was an interesting day to say the least. 

The next day we woke up early to go in service. We met with the group and while our hosts went on bible studies, we went and did cart witnessing in the park. I was determined to witness in English and after hours of greeting people in English and offering English literature with no success I finally tried greeting people in Cantonese, and finally placed some magazines!! It was nice, but it was HOT and crazy humid so we were ready for a lunch break. The entire service group, and more came and met us and we crammed like 15 people at one circular table but it was fun. Afterwards, two of the young girls, Wendy & Erica, in our group took us shopping. Later we met up with some friends of Erica's for dinner. We had a blast! 

Monday we toured Bethel which was so different from any other Bethel facility I've ever visited. As you can imagine, real estate is very expensive in Hong Kong and everything is industrial. So instead of a large property with residential building and dining halls, in Hong Kong they have 2 floors in a high rise building. Which was really exciting. They had just opened the 2nd floor just 10 days prior to our visit! We learned of the growth for Hong Kong Bethel over the years. Once upon a time, they operated out of multiple tiny locations. Then a few years back they consolidated into a high rise building sharing a floor with another company. Then, in 2011 they expanded yet again to their own full floor. The 19th floor to be exact and now, we also occupy the 22nd floor! We were so excited to hear and even more excited to be some of the first to tour the new facility. Yet, everyone was so excited to meet us! Sandy, our host, is a part-time Bethel commuter and told them we were delegates at the International Convention in Seoul. They gathered around us and wanted to see photos, videos, and wanted to hear all about the program. Which was funny to me because we were so excited to meet them and wanted to hear about what they do. I even got to meet the hair dresser! She really encouraged me to strive for my goals of working at Bethel! She joked and said she wished she would've known I was coming so that I could've done her hair. That would've been the coolest experience!!! After our tour we walked across the street into this weird building to have lunch. We went up some stairs and into the Bethel Guest Dining Hall. It was so different from anything else. A few subway stations away was the residential building which we planned on seeing but I ended up getting sick. Which ruined our plans for the rest of the day :/ We had planned on visiting some of the major tourist spots and doing more shopping but I was miserably nauseous. We finally got home around 5pm and I was out for the night. I was super dizzy, kept throwing up and just needed some rest. Our hosts took Krystal to dinner and shopping but I was out! 

That night a typhoon came in! It was kind of scary, the extreme winds, rain, thunder, and lightening along with the extreme heat was crazy! This, also ruined some plans! The next day we planned on visiting Dinseyland Hong Kong so we hoped the weather would calm down. When we woke up, the typhoon had actually gotten worse. To the extent that we couldn't leave the house, all stores were closed and all public transportation was shut down. All we could do now was... Nothing. We laid around our tiny room and watched (my favorite) Korean dramas! By 10:30 the typhoon warning had been lowered from a level 8 to a level 3 so we were able to leave and transportation was back on! We got there  in the late afternoon and the weather was still terrible but it was our only day to go and we had already paid so we went! 

We had a blast! It was actually a really cool way to end our trip. It felt like home walking down Main Street, USA. It looks exactly like the Main Street at Disneyland in California. The rides were awesome, and I think the attractions and shows are better in Hong Kong. With the exception of the fireworks show. California's is WAAAY better. Yet, as I stood there watching the fireworks I couldn't help but smile as I reflected on the entire trip. It was such a great way to finish this adventure. I learned so much about life, and myself, and my goals on this trip. It was the best experience of my life. And while Hong Kong had more things go wrong, then right. It was still an experience and I still learned from it. That's what traveling is all about I think. You're not going to fall in love with every place, and culture that you come across as you travel. But how else would you know, if you never went and experienced it first hand? 

So now I'm home, back in California. Tired, no. Devastated, maybe. Sick of sitting, yes! But one thing I know for sure is that this trip has forever changed me. It built me up. It broke me down. It helped me see what really matters- serving Jehovah whole souled no matter where you are or what you do- give it all you got! 

Xoxo

Goodbye Korea

My heart is breaking. I have grown so attached to these people, and this love, that I can't help but sob every time I think of saying goodbye, getting on that plane and not knowing when- if ever, we will see each other again. I know we say we'll see each other in paradise but I hope I don't have to wait that long. I would do anything to stay a little longer but then I would only grow closer so I don't think there is anyway to ease the pain of this farewell. 

The friends here have taught me what self sacrifice is, what hospitality is, what genuine love is. How can I leave that? 

When we went to bethel, I felt like I had stepped off the buss and into Paradise. The sun was bright, there was a big green open field with contrasting clear blue skies. Crowds of brothers and sisters waved, held signs and cheered as we stepped off. In the distant background I heard music, and when I looked down at the field, there were 3 men on a stage that was draped in flowers, they were wearing leis and playing kingdom melodies on their ukuleles. Children were running and playing in the grass giving out gifts to the new commers. People were laughing, embracing and it brought a year to my eye. Is this real life? Later that day they had a musical performance for us. We were in the woods, we all sat on the floor, friends were fanning each other, though it wasn't hot. And in that moment, I knew nothing could ever be more perfect. I will never forget how I felt in that exact moment. How the sun felt on my hair, the refreshing air from a dear friends fan hitting my cheeks, smiling from ear to ear and being more content than I've ever felt in my life. All I could do was cry. And I did. And we all did. Because this was a taste. I seriously forgot in that moment that we weren't there yet. How my heart yearns for the day, when that is just like any other day. A knot swells in my throat as I choke back the tears even writing this now. As we sang song 134 together it was hard to keep my composer. 

So our tours came to an end. The lobby that was once bustling with people, and signs of love and paradise were no longer waving about. The desks full of helpful brothers waiting to assist in any way possible had been folded and put away. There were no more badges, no more pictures, no more "so where are you guys from?" Elevators came rapidly, and you didn't need to worry about the buzzing of being over capacity. No, the convention was over. But we were not gone yet. 

Our last day was a thing of beauty. It was slow, I scheduled. Still busy, but in a different way. We woke up early and our friends picked us up to visit the prison. This brother, Jo SungChol, has been in this very prison a few years ago. It was very difficult to go back, but he did. These brothers have such a positive outlook on things. The place was old, and cold. Despite all the heat, it was chilly and overcast that day. We finally met the young brother in prison and- he was all smiles. He said he was actually having fun. Though it is hard, at times. A great weight was lifted off my chest. As the four of us huddled around the microphone in a small room, with glass and bars in between, we drew together in love and friendship. 

After visiting the prison we went and ate ramen with our friends. Then we spent a relaxing day hanging out by the Han River. We walked along the water, laid in the grass, ate ice cream, gave life advice to each other, encouraged one another. I have made the best friends possible here. 

Later we went back to out hotel to meet another dear friend, Gihan. His family invited us over for dinner and the boys that took us to the prison were going to come as well. But, when Gihan got there, David and Jo said goodbye. I was not ready for that. Jo was our guide for all three days of the convention so we were on the same bus and had the same schedule through out the entire trip. David was our translator and felt like my baby brother, he's 18 and I grew so close to both of them! Jo, then pulled out 2 photos and handed one to each of us. It was a picture of him in prison. My eyes immediately welled up in tears. He said, through David's translation, I want you to keep this. And when you look at this, notice one thing, I am smiling. I am happy, I'm ok. I did it, because I had hope. We serve Jehovah and I don't want you to cry because now we have one more reason to make sure that we endure through this system and make it to paradise. I could not agree more. But, it still hurt my heart to say goodbye for the last time. 

We traveled te long ride to Gihan's house where his family had been preparing. They put so much work into this meal and the children even prepared performances for us! It was hilarious!! Gihan and Yihan, his brother, performed songs on their acoustic guitar as well! Then... They wanted us to go up. So I joking went up and sang a children's Korean song and they died laughing. But then Krystal and I sang "We thank you Jehovah" and after the first verse, his parents came up and sang with us in Korean, then the children, then all of us were singing together. It was so beautiful. But Krystal and I had one more thing up our sleeve, so we surprised them by playing and dancing to GANGNAM STYLE! They loved it and all joined in as well! Then.... We had to go. 

Our bags had yet to be packed and the early morning bus that would take us to the airport would come quickly. 

So here I am, on my way to the airport. About to go to another country with friends waiting, meetings to attend, and sights to see. However I know one thing is certain. Nothing will ever come close to  Seoul, South Korea. International Convention 2014. The best days of my life by far. I will treasure these memories...  until paradise. 

Xoxo