31. The One Receiving

I just remembered something from EWR. Annie was teaching us a hymn called "My Sin is Ever Before Me." She shared that it was her son's favorite hymn, Then, she said something along the lines of, "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

With that digression out of the way, thank God for many edifying messages today! I feel that every time I think I'm going to be serving God and giving to God, I am actually the one receiving. What I receive from Him is so much more than I can ever imagine giving.

Earlier today, a woman was talking about the students from different areas coming to SSC. A woman said to me, "Oh, you're representing the California area."

My Aunt: Oh no, he's not going to be a student. He's counseling.
Woman (to me): Whoa. I thought you were in high school.

30. Couldn't Find the Key

Ah too many dreams last night. I can hardly remember now.

One part I remember is when I was doing laundry downstairs in the dorms. Then next door was a dining table and my mom and Shawn's mom were preparing food. Johnson brought a friend over who sat next to me. She was not Asian, but she could speak Chinese, so my aunt (Shawn's mom) was talking to her. My aunt was pretty excited to talk to her. There was another lady talking to her too. My mom was sitting a bit farther, so she wasn't talking to her as much. I forgot what they were talking about.

Later, Shawn, his mom, and I were walking to a restaurant. There was a guy who took off his shirt and walked into the restaurant. Then, they kicked him out. I went and saw that there was a sign that said if you take off your shoes next to the door, you get free mashed potatoes. I think the guy accidently thought it said "shirt" instead of "shoes." We went to sit down (somehow before we sat down we had already taken our orders, but I don't remember actually having our orders taken, I just knew as a fact that it was done). Me and Shawn had ordered the same thing (paste and something on the side) and my aunt ordered something else. Their orders came, but I had mashed potatoes in front of my seat. My entree didn't come yet. The mashed potatoes looked really good (they had some cheese on the top too). But, I didnt take off my shoes yet. I guess they were expecting I would. I went to take my shoes off and put them near the entrance. Then, I was eatin,g and I noticed I was wearing a white dress shirt. I was worried it would get dirty. I felt it was a little yellowish, so I kept checking the light to see if it really was.



Another segment was when I was driving to a storage place. There were a lot of cars, so I was stuck in the line. In the car, I was watching TV. I think it was Dragonball Z. I got really scared because I'm not supposed to watch TV because I have to prepare my heart for SSC. Then, I got to the place, and parked my car. There was a motorcycle parked next to me. I went to the storage and got a key and some metal parts. I went to open the shed. I was looking at stuff in the shed. Later, I saw Brady there. He was talking with Kaleigh. Then, I wanted to leave the storage place. I was looking for the key so that I could to close the storage and put the key and metal parts back to the small locker box area, but I couldn't find the key. I had a feeling I wasn't supposed to officially be able to get into the storage area, so I got more scared because I couldn't find the key.

I'm almost certain there were more dream segments, but I really can't remember.

Lessons learned? Being able to speak people's native languages is a plus in making connections, make sure we get the rules correct before we take action (2 Tim 2:5), and keep your eyes on the key so that you don't lose it when you need it!

29. It was Only a Dream

Last night was filled with dreams. Don't think I can remember them all, but here they come.

In my dream, I was in the BP church dining hall area. We were learning things. It was stuff about Jesus, along the lines of theology. Then, we moved over to another room, which is Ms. Matic's room in my high school. We were seated and began to take a test. The test was on the stuff we just learned. Mrs. Groover was the teacher, telling us the prompts out loud. I was sitting on the ground at the left side of the class writing the exam. Then, there was another prompt. These questions were more based on what we just learned in the BP dining area about Jesus. I was now sitting in one of the desks. The test was really hard. There was a list of things we had to have remembered. I forgot a lot of it and didn't finish the test. The time was up and people were leaving. I was still taking the test. Then, my alarm in real life rang, but I turned it off so I could return to the dream and finish the test. Chris was there. Andrea came and talked about how Chris is planning on going to grad school and works really hard in school right now so he could get in. Later, I realized that it was only a dream, and I didn't really need to finish the test. It was a relieving feeling.

Later, it was time for my first day of school in the new semester. My class was far away, so I sat in a small red wagon, which automatically drives itself and can take me to class. My class was in the "F" section. I think it was in room 259F. The wagon however turned right into the sections for A, B, and C because it just passes through all of them. I should have pressed the "F" button so it would just go straight there. By the time I got to the F section, my class was over. And it was night. I went out of the wagon to check the classrooms to see where mine is located. They were locked. I went around to the other side of the building to try to get in. It was dark so I was using a flashlight. I saw Helena, and she was helping me. Then, we decided to leave and go back to campus/dorm area. She had one of those plastic cars kids can ride in. She offered me a ride. I was still looking for my wagon, but I decided to just go with her. Then, we were in the middle of a street area, and it was day time now. I was getting into the toy car thing. I got in the drivers seat and tried to make room so Helena could sit on my right. Then, we drove off.



We passed a lot of nature scenes and were getting close to school. I think we were hungry. We were turning and saw a house on the hill to our left. I don't think we knew them, but I waved toward the house and said, "Ahma!" There was a lady, and she invited us in. She invited us to some food too. She had bread and these disks of bacon. They looked really good. I tried eating it, but I had my retainers on. I tried taking my retainers off, but even though I took it off in my dream, I could still feel it in my mouth, so I kept trying to take it off. Then, I actually took off the bottom one with my tongue in reality--and I woke up a bit. Then, I went back to sleep. The person with me wasn't Helena anymore. It was a guy. He went to the lady's son's room to change clothes because his clothes got wet. He borrowed the son's clothes. I think it was raining that night when we were in the classrooms. There was another guy in the house who went to Princeton (he told me this, but I don't know him). I was talking to him. I think his mom was there too.

Later, I was in a boat or a vehicle of some sort. There was water that filled the vehicle up to my knees. There were others in the vehicle. We were driving. I was sitting in the back middle seat. Someone in the middle row (it was like a van) got a call. He said that the person who called said there was a traitor in the vehicle. The traitor was in the bottom floor (under our floor level of the vehicle). I was thinking who it could be. Then, I got paranoid and thought that they suspected it was me. It was quiet and nervous. Then, I had a feeling that they were going to kill me because they thought it was me, so I ran out of the vehicle. It was a really dizzy moment. I couldn't see anything really--just flashes and brightness. I kept running, not knowing where I was going. I knew I was doomed. Even though I wasn't the traitor, he probably thought I was, especially because of how I dashed out of the car. He was probably going to shoot me.

That's all I remember.

Lessons learned? Many times the worries in life (things that seem important to us) are like that exam that actually doesn't matter in reality/the long run, know how long it takes to go somewhere (like getting to class) and leave extra time in case of unexpected detours, sometimes in the middle of our journey we need to rest and eat and change our clothes, and don't dash out of the boat like that, especially if you have no plan of what to do once you run out.

28. Remember

I was just reading through a document called "Counselor Guidelines Supplements" for SSC, and many things stood out to me. One was: "Remember we’re not here as babysitters, but here to develop relationships with our students."

To some people, it may seem surprising to see this as a reminder because it seems obvious that we are fighting a spiritual battle side-by-side with the students and trying to help them in their spiritual life. However, sometimes we might need this reminder. We might be influenced by others who think that RE is babysitting. We might be influenced by people who say that events like MVP are for youth who have nothing to do in the summer.

Behind what we can superficially see lies something spiritual. Sometimes we need a reminder to look toward the spiritual, so we are not blinded by the superficial.

"While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Cor 4:18)

27. You Look Like a Ghost!

Friday night before the closing Bible study on Saturday morning, I had a dream. This is only part of it:

I was in a house. In the inner living room, I was with about 3 other people. We were about to leave, and they were coming with me. We walked to the outer living room to get to the door. People were praying there. Allen C was laying hands on them. Then, we went outside to the car. I was riding with Yolanda. Her family got in the car, and we realized there was only one seat left. I think she didn't know other people were coming. Then, I was in the car. I was looking at Yolanda's eyes. There was a dial I could adjust to make her pupils disappear. I was playing with this dial. Then, things zoomed out, and I realized they were now owls eyes that I was playing with. Things zoomed out some more, and I realized I was in a chapel. I let the owl fly forward. It landed on a pew in the front next to a lady. The owl was orange with white fur on it's eye/face area. The woman said to the owl in a friendly tone, "You look like a ghost!" The owl replied, "You look like a ghost too!"

What a weird dream. Anyway, after I woke up, I told some EWR participants about this dream that morning. Later, Esther and I flew back to Socal. We went to her house and I was talking with Yolanda at the dinner table. Then, there was a mug on the table wrapped in cellophane. On the cellophane, there was a sticker of an owl with flowers for eyes. Whoa.

Sometimes my dreams have a prophetic touch to them.

Good night!

26. Ferrero Rocher

I think I had too many dreams last night than I can remember.

I was out with friends in some sort of department store. We were all looking for a bathroom. People were making calls on the phone to look for a bathroom. At first I was looking with Shawn. Then, I saw Danny and told him that we should just walk around to look for one instead of making phone calls to find out. Nearby, we found a bathroom and went in. After using the bathroom, we walked out and went upstairs. Upstairs was a large arcade, but people were in a line to go up the stairs to the next floor. The arcade was pretty empty. Shawn was in line too. I think he saw someone he knew, so he was able to cut some people. I went up to see what was going on. It was some sort of game. Then, I think I started to grow wings, spread out my wings, and fly because I was thinking of how I was going to get past all the people in the line just to see what was at the end of the line.

Later, a group of us were outside looking for a place to play soccer. There was a place with many floors of just soccer fields. We went to the top floor where the sun shone really brightly on us. I was thinking why we didn't just go to the floor right below the top one because the sun was too bright. We were sort of chilling before we started. Then, some other people came to the soccer field, so we didn't play there. We looked over behind us and there was a tennis court, but we didn't bring any tennis equipment. Other people were playing there already too.

Later, stuff happened that I don't remember anymore. Then, we were in a room with a large mat. There was a big scary guy with super powers. He was dark-colored, muscular, and veiny. He challenged Scott, so Scott went to the mat to fight him. (Scott, the one with the laser eyes). The big scary guy was winning. Then, he looked into Scott's eyes and shot laser. Scott and him were both shooting the lasers into each other's eyes. Suddenly, they bounced away from each other. Scott took on another form. He was a bit darker because it's as if the big dark guy's genes went into him. He was losing his balance and wandered off the mat. Then, he popped back to his own form. His face was pinkish and raw because lasers had just been blasted in his face. Jean was trying to help him. The big guy became a white spider and went to the room next door by going through the wall. He was trying to go back to the original room and his giant spider legs could go through the wall. Then, there was a hole in the floor in his room. There was a stream flowing under the hole. In his spider form, he took a drink. I think it had radiation so his head became enlarged.

Later, the spider guy was in the sewers and heard something like a voice. He went to a room in a hotel where he suspected was the source of the voice. The room was like a part of a scary mansion. It was dark and had books along the walls. He heard low bass notes of an organ and echoed laughter. The spider guy was just a normal guy now. Then, there was someone standing among the books talking to him. It was Beast (the blue one from X-men). Beast was wearing a detective outfit. The spider guy was asking him questions. Beast was being eloquent, smooth, and mysterious. Beast gave him some advice. Then, the spider guy was about to leave, but i think he hit the wall. Then, he realized that just hitting parts of the wall (or if there is noise from the sewer) can activate the low ambient sound and the echoed laughter. He was disappointed and left. Then, Beast had to change into a suit. I think I was Beast now. Someone knocked on my door. It was a woman who was on my side. I told her I still needed 10 minutes to change. Later, someone else was knocking, and I said I needed more time. Then, it happened again, but I think it was my enemies now. They were trying to get into my room. Behind me was an indoor balcony, so I just jumped off. I think I could somewhat fly too, so I just went out the large hotel window/screen at the entrance, breaking the window.

I was fighting crime now. I jumped/flied around toward a large mall tower. And it was night. The tower was lit with yellow lights. I broke in through the windows. I was throwing stuff up. They were the small chocolate balls in the golden foil wrapper with a little piece of black paper on the bottom. There were bombs in them, so when I threw them up, they would explode in the air. I saved the building from these bombs. I jumped outside, breaking another window. Outside, there was a guy talking. He looked scared. He was explaining why he put these bombs there. He had wanted to quit his job at this mall so he could go back to Taiwan, and he felt the only way was to blow up the mall. Then, there was one of the chocolates in his mouth, and it exploded in his face, but he was fine. There were some more bombs I had to throw up into the air. I left the arrest to some of the police officers there and jumped away into the night for my next assignment.



I was jumping/flying toward a cluster of buildings. It was still night. I had hawk/x-ray/super vision. I was zooming in from afar. I could see into the building. There was an extravagant party going on. It was someone's birthday. She was making a toast. She had white hair and her hair was so long, it was used to make a chandelier. She was under the chandelier. The party was very decorated. However, her hair was beginning to tear on the chandelier. She was also pretty drunk. As she made a toast, the chandelier ripped and fell on her. She was pretty knocked out. Then, a girl that looked like Candace F went under the hair and put it on her like a wig. Nobody noticed and thought the girl that looked like Candace was the birthday girl. It was disappointing and not really believable. By now, I was just watching this like a movie. So, the Candace girl walked off and the entourage followed her, still thinking she was the birthday girl because the Candace girl stole her hair. (Candace girl has brown hair in reality). She was all arrogant as she walked and she called for Steven, saying "Steven!" arrogantly. Steven was her butler. They walked to a theatre because it was time for a play. The scene was fencing. She was fencing with a guy. She was narrating it too, saying stuff like, "Hi, I am _____. And I have real white hair." Then, the guy pulled off her fencing mask and the white hair and everybody saw that it was actually the Candace-looking girl. They were shocked.

Then, we were in the car (a group of us). We were talking about how much that movie sucked because a lot of it was not believable. I was sitting in the back right seat. The driver was a girl. She said, "I can't find my keys!" Then, Daniel Y (or Sean K. I dont remember) said, "Now you should actually consider it, when we tell you to pray." I think she was a truthseeker or something. She was also holding a square holographic thing. You can see Garadose on it and other pokemon scenes.

That's all I can remember.
Oh, I just looked it up and the chocolate balls are called Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls. lol.

Lessons learned? We need to transcend the things of the earth by spreading our wings and flying like eagles, we have to start playing and filling the soccer court so that other things cannot come and fill it, don't listen to the big dark guy when he challenges to fight you, if you drink radiated water you're head will grow bigger, when someone comes to your scary mansion don't let them play around with your stuff, beware of the Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls because they are bombs, don't try to be someone you aren't and don't be proud, encourage truthseekers to pray.

25. EWR Happenings 7

So Olivia was just showing us how to put away our sleeping materials. She did a demo and took the pillow out of the pillowcase to show us where to put the pillowcases. The pillow had a yellowish splotch on it in the middle.

Someone: Why is it yellow??
Olivia: Oh that's gross.
Lois: Maybe it's drool.
Albert: Maybe someone was eating jello.
Someone: Why is it yellow? Ewww
Esther: Maybe it's conditioner.
Stephen: Let's not play detective now.

---

Then, we went downstairs where Olivia showed us where to put the sleeping bags.

Olivia: Put the sleeping bags in these boxes. Each box can only fit three sleeping bags.
Charlene: That sucks.

---

Yesterday, we were talking about how Caroline used to intern for Apple, but is interning with Microsoft now.

Tiffany: I would never work for Microsoft. The only reason I would work for them is to destroy them and send Apple all their secrets.