Apology Accepted?

I recently learned something new from one of my clients at work. Apparently, since 1969 the government of Berlin has been inviting Jews who were born in Berlin and "were persecuted or forced to emigrate during the National Socialist period" to come back and visit the city as guests of the government (free trip). My client, who recently came back from the trip, said it was really amazing - the guests were treated royally and everything was extremely well planned. Some of the guests went through a tremendous amount of suffering because of the Holocaust and were actually very nervous about going back to Berlin to visit. However, it seems that most people who go end up really enjoying the experience and come back with some closure or at least a better appreciation of what the Germans are doing to rectify the past. Apparently, there is a huge memorial and historical landmarks throughout the city so that you can't miss the fact that the Holocaust happened.

I thought this was really interesting - that the government is openly apologizing for what happened in the past and doing what they can to make things better for those who were affected. They didn't have to extend these invitations, but the fact that they did shows humility and responsibility and I think that is very respectable. It also reminded me of the Biblical principle of confessing our sins. When we openly admit that we're wrong, Satan has nothing over us. He cannot accuse us of anything because we've already confessed our sins and been forgiven.

For those interested in reading more, here's an article written by someone who was invited to Berlin as a guest.

www.jewishjournal.com/wandering_jew/article/happy_birthday_from_berlin_20060901/

Day at the Zoo

It was an interesting end to the work day today. Around 6pm when we're supposed to be able to leave the office, my boss's entire class showed up at the office. My boss teaches a class in the city and he likes to give them some perspective of the 'real' world by inviting them in to the office and show them around. So I'm trying to leave at 6pm, and see a mob of people in the lobby where the door to the elevator is. Great, I guess I can't leave just yet, it'd look bad for my boss. So I go back to my office and wait until the coast is clear to make a dash for the door. The office is a square so once they start to move towards one direction, I can go in the other direction and miss them. Then as they started to come around the offices, I realized that he was literally introducing all of the employees to the students as they were passing by the offices. Great, I guess I should stay until he introduces me. I hear him introduce the intern to his students by asking him to tell them what his SAT score in math was - of course, he said 800 (he's Chinese). Great, am I the only Chinese person who didn't get a perfect score in math? My office mate scrambles to clear off his desk a little as he finds a packet of paper and starts reading. I quickly open a book that was already in my bag and put my head down, looking engrossed in what was on the page, just as my boss walked by. He introduced the two of us and a few of the students smiled at us, I smiled back out of politeness. After he leaves, the rest of the class trails behind and one by one they glance in the office. It was like we were a bunch of monkeys at the zoo, and they were observing us in our natural habitats, hahaha. Except I don't think the monkeys have to pretend to look busy when people walk by. And as they headed into another office, I went around the other way and out the front door. I was home free!

Yum .... steak ....

One week my parents were in Phoenix, Jackson made me steak for dinner - a sure way to win any girl's heart :) Especially one who LOVES meat, haha.

More Cookies!!!

Another cookie baking (and decorating) adventure with the girls!

Gospel Gamp Labor Day Weekend

My first bouquet of flowers from Jackson when I was home sick. They were so pretty :)






































I had the opportunity to be a part of Gospel Camp for several Chinese Christian churches in the area - it was held in southern Jersey on a beach. It's mostly for adults but they needed a few leaders for the youth group so that parents don't have to leave them at home for the weekend. It was a challenging and humbling experience to lead a weekend long program for the group, especially since the group turned out to be twice as large as we expected! The program consisted of worship, lessons about God's Word, testimonies, discussions, and lots and lots of games! At the end of the weekend I was absolutely exhausted. It was quite draining but very rewarding at the same time.


Eating crab that were caught just a few hours prior - so fresh and yummy!
































Sea of Chinese people in the cafeteria - I think we exceeded the max occupancy of this place .... the funniest thing is that cold water is nowhere to be found during meals - only hot water is available, that's when you KNOW you're surrounded by Chinese adults
















The campground was beautiful































Leaders debriefing after lunch
































We played a lot of crazy games, hahaha





















Rita's Ice!
















Crabbing - we didn't catch much















































Leaders' table - not sure who came up with this ...

Girls' Fellowship Group Song Offering

So it's been a little over a year now since I started the girls fellowship group at the church I've been going to. I'm amazed at how God has given me the grace to be able to connect with them on some level even though I am so old compared to them, haha. I've actually been pleasantly surprised at the maturity level of teenage girls - sometimes the things they say catch me by surprise. And I think, did I think this way when I was 13? They're a lot of fun to be around, and it keeps me young at heart in a way. I love being a big sister - it's such a joy to see them grow and be an encouragement to them. Not to mention how fun it is to see their faces light up with the smallest things like decorating a cake or making hot chocolate :)

This was the first time that we sang together at church as a group

Lisa's Bachelorette Dinner @ Mercat

We sat at the bar waiting for the limo to show up at the restaurant with Lisa and the bridal party.

















I loved this dish - it's potatoes with this mayo like sauce - I couldn't get enough!
















Tapas are the best!