learning to breathe

had an interesting day at work. while i was on break in between shifts, i was talking to one of my other co-workers, who happened to be catholic and “really believe in God”. we were talking about relationships and i asked him if he was planning on marrying the girl he’s currently dating…since they’ve been dating for 2 years and seemed pretty serious. after i asked that, he gave me the whole “are you insane?” look. and then was like “no wayy…you get married, you won’t live happily ever after…and don’t you want to live happily ever after?” and then he said “and anyway, my girlfriend will think the only reason i marry her is to get her to sign papers…cuz i’m an illegal immigrant.”

it just got me thinking about how incredibly blessed i am that i actually have something to live for/look forward to in the end…whereas these other people just purely live very worldly lives where they can’t seem to see past wat’s put in front of them. and then when i was telling him that i go to church on sundays and teach sunday school, he goes “why do you go to church? i don’t go to church and i believe in God! there’s no need!” not only thaaaaat, but then when he saw me kinda annoyed about not making as much money as i should’ve tonight, he goes “well you shouldn’t be annoyed about it that much…just thank God that you have a job, and be happy and praise God!” which is completely true, but sometimes, i feel like he’s just saying it just because. then again, i’m not one to judge.

it’s just silly how sometimes i get caught up in the whole money making business that it ends up being my complete focus and attention just like it is with mostly everyone else…which shouldn’t ever happen cuz all the money i make, it’s ultimately the Lord’s. without Him, i’d be completely nothing.

this is why i usually always support my friends financially if they’re planning on going on a missions trip. it’s all for the Lord…and plus, i want to bless them like they’ve all blessed me =).

haven’t posted here in awhile. wellll, stay tuned for what may be a looong update sometime this week! the Lord’s been teaching me so so much and blessing me even moreso than i can even comprehend!

but for now, i am really getting old. haha. my lower back hasn’t been in thiiiis much pain in awhile…and today i just noticed that the vision in my right eye is reallllllly blurry! haha. good thing i have an eye exam next week! and i thought it was impossible to be any MORE blind than i am now =P.

my name is angie wu, and i’m madly in love with my Maker <3 .

i still can’t get over the fact that the Lord blessed me with a full time job within two days. blows my mind!

i start a week’s worth of training all day (8am-5pm) tomorrow morning…meaning i start having an income tomorrow =). and then work’ll start next week.

see, my help with the servers the last year at bible college DID pay off in the end! that’s where i got the most experience from.

so after getting some devastating news earlier this week, yesterday, i had a crazy idea of looking for jobs…not just cuz of that, but also cuz i currently don’t have anything to do. so i randomly decided to call a few places to see if they were hiring. i mostly got the whole “we already have all our summer hires, but check back in the fall”. i had my hopes up. that was, until i decided to call CPK…aka california pizza kitchen.

when i called, the manager said to go in tomorrow (meaning today) to fill out an application, and then i’d also have an interview too. so after getting my sister to revise my resume, and figuring out what the heck to wear, i was on my way. when i got there, the interviewer was very intrigued with all my answers and seeing how i was definitely a people person, and that i’ve had many experiences with serving others, he said i was hired…that was, after having a talk with the general manager. i must’ve sounded very confident, cuz he said that they generally have a 3 step process, where the interviewee would get interviewed 3 different times, the last of which would be with the general manager. but he said i didn’t need to do that! instead, i’ll be going into server class training which is all week starting next week from 8am-5pm…and the very end of the week, we’ll have to do a role play where we have to actually serve drinks to the manager and see how comfortable we really are.

i would’ve never thought i’d get hired so fast. i thought it’d take them at least a week to get back to me. this is all so very exciting! haha. but this also changes my plans for the fall. i was originally planning on going to taiwan for a year. but with everything going on now, i’m planning on staying put and just working.

this honestly couldn’t have come at a better time =). thank you SO MUCH for all of you who have been praying for me and my family. i go in again tomorrow to fill out the official paperwork, then a week of training, and then i’ll be starting work the following week.

thank you Jesus!! <3 .

okay, more like sit…but same difference.

the longer i sit here pondering what exactly went through these last 3 weeks in New York, the more i fall in love with the Lord. these 3 weeks felt like 3 months! SO much has happened. from me thinking “eh…this isn’t as great as i expected” in the beginning, to getting my mind blown SO much! then getting frustrated with some people…to not wanting to leave..at all.

i can’t even begin to describe everything that’s happened. just like the whole “how was Israel” question. you have to come here to really experience everything.

so i already mentioned what happened my first week here, when i got to work with Project Genesis. but i didn’t really metion anything that i did afterwards. well i worked alongside Anna Marie these last two weeks. it was a very different experience, so to speak. i learned the real statement that Papa Chuck says…”blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken.”, made 142 phone calls, left 59 messages, got hung up on 5 times, did lots of secretarial work, and had some follow-up appointments in the Bronx with a few families of the campers.

i honestly enjoyed every single bit of being here. with PG, i got to interact with kids…which is my absolute passion. i had the opportunity to dress up in a clown costume and sing and dance with them all week. sure, it got really hot, but that didn’t matter to me. the fact that i was doing it all for His glory made it worth the sweat. and then seeing the kids’ reactions was priceless. this one little 5 year old girl, Alexis, came up to me and hugged my legs yesterday! made my entire week! and then hearing about how much the kids really enjoyed camp during the follow up meetings was just amazing. puts a huge smile not only on my face but especially on my heart.

like i said before, New York has made a huge impact on me…physically, spiritually, emotionally…every which way you look at it. i have never had such a heart for the lost…and for people in general. even with complete strangers. i now know what it really means to love your neighbor as yourself…and to love one another as He loved us.

as crazy as it may sound, leaving New York tomorrow is going to be a lot harder for me then when i moved back home after graduating. i know i’m only 2 hours away from here, but it’s still not going to be the same. but as sad as i may be about leaving, i’m also excited to see how He wants to use me during vbs on monday, and then with the youth at my church, and possibly be on the worship team too.

one prayer request i have is to just continue to pray for the people of New York…especially in the Bronx. they’re so lost. the NEED Jesus more than ever. and just pray that i can plant more seeds and just live out what i learned out here…and for taiwan. i’ll be calling the director the week of august 7th to see where i’ll be going from there.

the Lord is definitely stretching me. i mean who knew i’d have a heart to voluntarily ask about helping out with the youth? and who would’ve thought i’d volunteer to sing worship at Pastor Jeff’s church? i still think i have a horrible voice and can’t sing for beans, but i love to sing and i do it for Jesus.

be blessed, my friends…and another (random) important thing i learned: don’t take water for granted! haha =P.

i still can’t get over the fact that i’ll be home in 6 days. where the heck has the time gone?

i honestly feel like new york is home for me now. not talking about the typical manhattan city life ordeal. sure, i love visiting the city and walking around times square and doing all the touristy stuff. but i’m talking about the bronx being home. i never thought i’d love it here as much as i do. it’s SUCH an incredible place! but it breaks my heart that there are so many lost people here. they NEED Jesus. that’s why i’m so glad that anna marie and i are able to do follow ups with the family of the campers so that we could get them plugged into a church, and just see where they’re at now.

y’know, when they say home is where the heart is, i couldn’t agree more. it’s sad that it’s taken me THIS long to realize it. but better late than never, right?

can’t thank you all enough for praying for me while i’ve been out here. even after i go back home, pray that this doesn’t die down…this high that i have and feeling of contentness. and please continue to pray for taiwan. i’m really hoping i can go! not only that, but i’m probs gonna be helping out with the youth at my church when i get back home…along with VBS being the first week of august. whew! the Lord’s been keeping me busy!! haha =). couldn’t do it without all of your prayers. i love you all lots and am praying for you too, whether i tell you or not!

i am so ready to upgrade my stupid phone to an iphone. almost 99.9% of the time, my texts are delayed by like 10 minutes, and when someone calls me, my phone doesn’t ring on my end…even though they’re getting a dial tone.

so…sorry if any of the above has impacted you.

is it april yet?

if all goes as planned, i should be really plugged into my church/ministry life when i get home. i mean i’ve got my nursery/toddler kids i take care of during the monthly rotation (my turn just so happens to be next week, the day after i get home), then there’s VBS the following monday…and then i’m probably gonna be helping out with our youth kids…not to mention most likely going to taiwan in the fall.

the Lord’s definitely preparing me to be out on the mission field…whether spiritually speaking, or even physically. it’s so great!

one huge thing i learned while being here is definitely to be open and flexible. like papa chuck says “blessed are the flexible for they won’t be broken”. SO true!

God’s doing some amazing things out here =).

real update about this week will happen sometime within these next two days. stay tuned.

aaaaand i just got bit by something on my leg. dunno what it was but it was not a mosquito.

now that i’ve gotten a REAL taste of the east coast, i honestly can’t imagine living anywhere else. sure, i LOVE california with all my heart and everything, but now that i look back, there’s something about it that i just don’t quite fit into…maybe it’s cuz i love having seasons…or maybe cuz it’s so much greener here and there’s tons more oxygen. i dunno.

but i don’t have to think about any of that, cuz i’m a jersey girl, and proud of it…finally! haha. it only took 23 years =P.

in other news, i started a whole different week this week. yesterday, i did some secretarial work…and let’s just say, that’s on the list of jobs that i should never ever have…with librarian being the first on the list! haha. i got to use white out and make phone calls to the parents of the campers that already left. we we planning a meet up to go over how their kids enjoyed camp and stuff. of the 15 calls i made, i must’ve gotten hung up on like 5 times! hahaha =P.

then today we went out into the bronx to meet up with this one dad. we originally had him scheduled at 3pm but since we were 4 hours early, we decided to see if he could meet at 11. it just so happened that he was bringing his group of campers (he teaches martial arts and has a summer camp) to the park, so we followed him and his kiddos over. turns out that he went to a catholic school, but isn’t really a believer…but he brings his daughter to his sister’s church. and then he lives with his girlfriend and has two kids together, but aren’t married. but after talking to us, he said “things are gonna change” =). he basically just wants his kids to “do good” when they grow up…like do what’s right and be good examples. cuz “what goes around comes around”. overall, it was a very good meet.

 as far as pray requests go, just pray for strength and health. even though we’ve begun a new week here, my body’s still exhausted from last week, and then it’s insanely hot, along with having bad allergies. so basically, my body wants to shut down by the afternoon. i want to be able to do everything with my all, but i also need to be really careful i don’t get completely burnt out.

it’s crazy to think my stay is half over. when i get back, i literally have 1 day to rest, then it’s full on VBS the first week of august. and then i have a phone interview with the people from the taiwan missions, and then it’s off to boston that weekend =).

i am so in love with the Lord, it’s pretty crazy =D.