2015 Messenger

Volume 22 Issue 1 2015

We hope to find you, our dear family and friends, in good health and in good spirits. Seeing the daily headlines, it's easy to feel the burden of a broken world lay heavy on our heart. We look around our lives and see broken relationships and broken bodies. We yearn for peace and hope for a better world. There is a certain hope that brings peace, and it is why we celebrate this season: that our Lord Jesus came into this world. He has promised redemption and healing for all who believe, so that we would be filled with joy and peace. Our hope and prayer is that you would experience God's goodness and love during this Christmas season.

Matt, Cezanne, Emily & Hannah

At the Dome of the Rock, Temple Mount

EMILY (15 yrs)
We have a high schooler in the house!

Emily giving her salutatorian address.

After 11 years at the same school from Preschool to 8th grade, Emily has finally left the building! But not without leaving with a BANG! She celebrated 5 years playing clarinet in the Advanced Band; received MVP Defense trophy for Girl's Basketball; was part of the Girls Volleyball team for the first time; and gave the Salutatorian address at her 8th grade graduation.

Meeting Lady Liberty

She also celebrated with her 8th grade class by going on a whirlwind one week tour of Washington DC and New York. It was a memorable experience for me to spend time with my first born and her friends seeing our great country's beginnings.

All dressed up on our Dinner Cruise on the Potomac River

Emily hasn't had time to care for her backyard birdies this year but she still loves to see wild birds whenever we are away.

Feeding the sandhill cranes in Canada...again

She also loves to make art whenever she has free time from homework, reading and sleeping. She created this entry for the PTA Reflections Contest this year in high school.

High school has been a big transition for Emily. Coming from a small private Christian school to a very large public high school, she realized that she is just one tiny fish in the big big sea. She was frustrated with the chaos, disorganization and rushed feeling of it all in the beginning but is getting the hang of it now a few weeks in. My daughter is all about order, clarity and calmness. (Hey that sounds like me!) We are thankful that she has plugged into her high school youth group at church which is led by a great couple, the Ingbretsons, of which Mrs. Ingebretson was Emily's bible teacher and one of her favorite teachers at KHA. (She is also one of my favorite friends who I am privileged to meet weekly with and work with at church.) Emily is also learning to receive help from others when needed and it is much needed in her Honors Geometry class. This particular class has been quite a challenge for her and for her parents. It's way over my head and some problems even stump Matthew. We are thankful for her tutor Kyle to help her through those head-aching proofs and theorems.

HANNAH (12 yrs)
Our "baby" has entered middle school and transitioned very smoothly with a sweet group of friends and some very nurturing and patient teachers. Her anxiety for the most part seems to be self-controlled. She still worries often about what tomorrow may bring, and she constantly asks for prayer for her tummy aches. We did name her well. She was named after Hannah in the Bible who fervently prayed to God.

A fancy squishy store

She spent most of the year creating squishies and her own DIY squishy videos but now her attention has been focused on blind bags: purchasing them, making them, and watching blind bag videos and of course making her own blind bag videos. She also loves collecting Tsum Tsum stuffed animals.

Racing like her daddy!

Celebrating her 12th birthday with the Woo's

For her birthday this year she wanted to go to Disneyland. It was her vacation so she planned out all the rides!

With Coconut Yee

Both girls do love hanging out at home especially if we are bunnysitting, which happens at least once a year when our friends go on vacation.

And of course they love spending time with their cousins, Marissa and Timothy, who are both at the same school as Hannah.

MATT
Matthew says that he is feeling old, struggling with knee pain and back pain that comes and goes (usually when he plays basketball). He enjoys being physically active so it is very frustrating for him. He was also disappointed that there wasn't much snow last winter. Hopefully it will be different this winter!

With Owen and Michael

Matthew celebrated 20 years at his work this year! But there have been some changes. Same building, same co-workers, same boss, just a different name. Their division split off from Legacy Partners and is now is called Steelwave. So different right? We are thankful that he works family friendly hours and is able to be home for dinner every night.

Matthew was a tad bit short to fit into Darth Vader's suit but the kids didn't care. He was so hot in that costume!

After work, he is usually busy helping Emily with her Geometry homework, watching Warriors or NFL, or playing one of his numerous iPad games with his 'clans'. He has a servant's heart and is thankful for the opportunities to serve at church: audio/graphics, worship band in English and Spanish services, and teaching Hannah's Sunday school class (5th-6th grade). He also partnered with two friends to start up a men's small group to pray for and encourage each other in their faith journey.

CEZANNE
This year went by so fast I can't believe I actually survived. I keep telling myself that I would do less each year but that is not the case. Even though I am not fundraising for a child's school trip this school year, I am still overseeing the parent group at KHA, teaching the Yearbook elective in the middle school, being involved in Women's Ministries at church, and co-leading a Bible study. I still love to read (I borrowed over 100 books from the library this year!) and continue to write and document my thoughts and adventures on this blog.

As I approach the half century mark next year, I do feel that the more I do, the more I need time alone. To recoup. To rest. To read. My true introvert nature at it's best! I also feel that I can't have any regrets. Life is too short for regrets and I don't want to reflect back on my life thinking, "I should have.. ". So am I taking risks and going skydiving? No way! But I am doing things out of my comfort zone like getting baptized in the Jordan River. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but I am terrified of being in the water! I still don't know how to swim and my face doesn't even get wet when I take a shower.

Being baptized in the Jordan River by Pastor Sherman with Matthew assisting.

FAMILY HIGHLIGHTS:
We had many memorable family highlights this year. Matthew and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary by going on a 16-day trip to the Holy Land with our church family. It was a once in a lifetime trip, one that I will never forget and will always refer to whenever I am reading God's word or listening to a sermon. We visited 69 locations in three countries: Israel, Switzerland and Greece. One of my favorite things about this trip was traveling with friends and deepening our relationships with them. 16 days 24/7 can be a very long time together!

On the Sea of Galilee

Riding camels in Jericho

At the Acropolis in Athens

We also celebrated some wonderful milestones in our family:

Our nephew, Daniel, graduated high school from The King's Academy and is now attending Santa Clara University.

Our godson, Kyle, graduated from Valley Christian High School and is now attending Cal Poly SLO.

 We attended two weddings of cousins..

In Vancouver BC, we celebrated the wedding of Matthews' cousin, Sherman to Elaine.

And in SF, we celebrated the wedding of my cousin, Tiffany to Roy.

We stayed in a house in Monterey for a few days with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law part of the time and also with our friends part time. I didn't realize how special and important these opportunities were to my parents. My mom and dad turned 80 and 75 respectively, and thankfully they are still in good health and enjoy traveling with us where ever we want to go. My brother, Park and his wife Hilda moved to a new house just 11 miles from us. We get together more often now since they are much closer than their old house in SF. Family time is so precious.

It was a great time for my parents. They cherish vacation time with the family.

It's always great to spend time with our friends, the Ngs, too.

And of course we have to get together with my girls group. We celebrated our first kids heading off to college. Susana & Dave's daughter, Caris May is at UC Irvine and Hanford & Marj's son, Isaiah is at Westmont. I can't wait to grow old with these wonderful people. We are already talking about building a 'village' to house us all when our kids are all grown and out of the house.

Yes we will grow old together.

At Fremont Community Church we have been privileged to get to know and be cared for by some wonderful pastors: Pastor Sherman & Marti, Pastor Daniel & Valerie, and Pastor Kevin & Pauline. For almost 2 years we have been praying for a new lead pastor and God answered in his perfect timing. We are so excited and thankful for Pastor Dave and Helen Chae coming to FCC. We look forward to this new season of worshiping and serving our Lord Jesus!

26 years together; 20 years of marriage

Life continues to go not as we planned. This year we have seen too much pain and suffering from those who are close to our hearts: death; broken marriages: separation and divorce; serious illnesses: cancer, Alzheimer's, kidney disease, depression; teenage self-abuse: cutting, anorexia; and job discontentment. Life is not fair. Life can be hard at times.

The question is: How do you make it through the difficult times? When the going gets rough?

Jesus is our certain hope. He loves me unconditionally, despite all my shortcomings and failures. Despite my disobedience. His love envelopes me and sustains me in this broken world we live in. Our wish is that you would also experience this. May you have a hope-filled Christmas.

Last Stops

My final post for this L-O-N-G trip.

We started off to Greece at 12:30AM! Our luggage had to be outside our hotel room door by 1:00am and we needed to be loaded onto the bus at 1:30AM to be at the Tel Aviv airport by 3:30AM in order to catch our flight to Athens at 5:30AM! Talk about an early start! You can't get any earlier than this!

Once we arrived into Athens we immediately hopped onto another plane to fly to Thessaloniki to visit the Berean Synagogue. Paul, Silas, and Timothy ministered to the Bereans here, after Paul fled persecution in Thessalonica (Acts 17).

The marble steps of the synagogue are said to be the original ones from Paul's time.

We stopped in Philippi.

It was a very beautiful church.

This church was built in honor of Lydia, the first Christian convert in Europe. The stream (below)  is the traditional site where Lydia and her family were baptized (Acts 16, Philippians 1).

We also visited the Ruins of the Roman forum and where Paul and Silas were imprisoned.

The cell where Paul was imprisoned.

In Athens, we saw the Panathenaic Stadium which held the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

In front of the Parliament is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Standing guard with the guard. Their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is so different from ours back home in DC.

In Corinth, Paul spent significant time here, along with Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18). He often preached about the judgement seat, or bema seat, which has been reconstructed (Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Pastor was sharing on the importance of the bema seat indicating that we will all be judged when we meet God.

The Acropolis in Athens was probably the most crowded place of all the places we visited in Greece.

A lot of this area was being retrofitted and worked on.

On going restoration at the Parthenon

The ruins of Corinth

Personally this whole trip was the most meaningful of all the vacations I have ever taken. It really deepened my belief in Jesus and my personal relationship with our Lord and Savior. To have visited the same places where He lived and walked was remarkable. So again, I urge those of you who have a personal relationship with Jesus to GO! You won't regret it!

Thanks for reading!

Holy Sepulchre vs Garden Tomb

The Holy Sepulchre...

The Roman Catholic altar

This massive church supposedly marks the location of the crucifixion and the tomb of Jesus (Mark 15, John 19). It was built by Constantine and his mother in 326AD. There are many altars and shrines inside, each placed by a different denomination, making it difficult to see or imagine where Jesus would have been crucified and buried.

The Greek Orthodox Altar

The glass encased piece of rock is supposed to be the top of Calvary, also known as Golgotha.

The above shrine is supposedly where Jesus was buried.

This church is located in the Christian Quarter within the current walls of the Old City.

Outside the Old City walls, is the Garden Tomb, an alternate location for Jesus' crucifixion and burial. It is a very serene and beautiful location to remember our Lord's death and Resurrection (Matthew 27-28). Calvary or Golgotha (skull hill) can be clearly seen. Pastor shared with us and we partook communion before exploring the tomb.

Nearby is a cistern and wine press, indicating a wealthy owner such as Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43). There is a rocky cliff that is skull like in appearance. Criminals were crucified on crosses mounted on the ground, not at the top of the hill. This is so passersby can clearly read the sign listing the crime and view the punishment.

Most tombs from this time and area are arranged with the burial chamber located straight ahead when you enter. This particular tomb has the burial chamber on the right side.

When Mary found the empty tomb, the angel was sitting on the right side (Mark 16:5)

There are disagreements as to which site is the actual place of Jesus' crucifixion and burial. We may never know while on this Earth. Nonetheless, no matter where Jesus was buried, we do know he is not there, for He has risen.

NEXT UP: Greece

Via Dolorosa

The Via Dolorosa is the traditional path that Jesus walked, on the way to his crucifixion.

Walking through the Muslim Quarter

Catholic tradition commemorates 14 events of Jesus' crucifixion, known as the Stations of the Cross. The first 9 are along a path starting in the Muslim Quarter and ending in the Christian Quarter

Station 2 was where he was condemned (Church of Condemnation).

As you can see at each station, there is a shrine or church to denote the importance of the place.

Station 3 was where Jesus falls for the first time carrying the cross.

Station 4 was where Jesus meets his mother Mary.

The last 5 stations are at the end point of the Via Dolorosa, within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Station 5 was where Simon helps him carry the cross.

In summary the Stations of the Cross 1-9 were:

1. Praetorium (Mark 15:15) Where he was flogged (Church of Flagellation)
2. Where he was condemned (Church of Condemnation)
3. Jesus falls the first time
4. Jesus meets his mother, Mary
5. Simon helps him carry the cross (Mark 15:21)
6. Noble woman of Jerusalem wipes sweat from Jesus brow (Luke 23:27-30)
7. Jesus falls second time
8. Jesus comforts the women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls the third time

NEXT UP: Holy Sepulchre vs Garden Tomb