a new arrival October 2, 2008

the day arrived a bit premature but He is sovereign. our first baby, nicolas ong arrived on monday, september 29th in unexpected joy. read more about it on our family blog here.

A Quote I Found on the Blogosphere September 5, 2008

“…someone needs to remind Sarah Palin that Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor.”

cardboard testimonies June 25, 2008

my good friend kenny sent this to me and i wondered if the Asian American church could survive this kind of authenticity.

disguising the “inner life.” June 9, 2008

i walked out of the apartment at 5:30 am and it was already 80 degrees as I got into the car. the heat was unbearable as i approached philly and made the turn into Westminster. it was hot. hot. hot. but to my delight, the classrooms are well air conditioned.

my first few hours at Westminster has already made me feel uneasy (not just the environmental heat but an internal friction) and it is not necessarily a bad thing. dr. ortiz stirred us to think that sometimes we are very happy in “darkness” because light jolts us and i reflected on my ongoing struggle with spending time in the mirror…here is my conclusion…

i have been in retreats of silence, i have spent focused time of meditation, i have been stilled on both walks on pavements as well as mountain stones, i have been guided retreats where doxology dances into solitude and focused listening. yet, somehow, i always remain with vacancy. i have been told that this time of solitude is one of great intimacy but i find that it is in conversation that i feel a deeper sense of god’s presence. it is not that i don’t like solitude with God. it is a discipline that i cherish each morning, each evening that i have a devoted of affection and seeking truth in knowing God but this depth of my inner life seems tragically shallow when i compare it to others. yet, i feel that i have plumed the depths yet i arise with no new missing treasure.

as i have conversations about “emotionally healthy spirituality” i wonder how much is this unpeeling has been upgraded to level of unnecessary complexity. is there something wrong with me if i can’t find shards of my brokenness. i feel that sometimes, i create these chronic paranoias about if i am not really going deeper. but how deep do i have to go? don’t get me wrong, i take caution and diligence in my pursuance of my depravity and my need for redemption but how deep do i need to go? how much is this a luxury of western christianity to create layers and layers of diagnosis.

so here i am…the first day of a week long intensive of seminary and already, i am confronted with a prick of discomfort and i wonder if the heat outside is somewhat a better alternative.

tragedy of earthquake in China May 13, 2008

There are few times I am left speechless and with great heaviness. due to the earthquake in China that registered a 7.9 (some estimates say 7.8) magnitude hit China. It is the worst earthquake to hit China since 1976 which took the lives of 200,000 people in Tangshan.

Initial estimates say it is 10,000 people who have died because of the earthquakes. The most troubling story for me was about the 900 students who were trapped in the wreckage of Juyuan Middle School in China’s Sichuan province after Monday’s earthquake. Most are now presumed dead. Workers have recovered dozens of bodies and a few survivors from the rubble – but hundreds remain buried. The image of hundreds of parents standing to await news of their children is heartbreaking . Some could hear their children’s cry for help.

in Please consider giving to the relief efforts who are on the ground already doing work in China.

World Vision

Samaritan’s Purse

This is why I pray for those who serve in the war March 17, 2008

for more complete footage look here.

prayers in the midst of absence… December 11, 2007

A few days after giving a talk at Youth With A Mission, I got an email from my good friend Chris about this shooting and it has brought me to share in their tears and loss of those lost in this senseless shooting. Please pray for the community and the family…this echoes so much these past years as we hear more and more deaths from shootings…

Here is the New York Times article about this.