Taste and See
Forever
Posted by: leticiacioha | Comment (0)by Hillsong United
I'll live for all my days
To put a smile on Your face
And when we finally meet
It'll be for eternity
When I need Your love
And how far You would come
If ever I was lost
And You said that all You feel for me
Is undying love
That You showed me through the cross
I'll worship You my God
I love You
I love You
Forever I will sing
Forever I will be with You
Be with You
Deep Love
Posted by: leticiacioha | Comment (1)I can't sleep. It could partly be because Living Water just threw a New Day Benefit Concert with Tim Be Told, or I'm so tired I've officially moved past the needing to sleep phase.
Ever felt so deeply loved that it is all you can think about? Ever been so in love that not spending a moment with that person is tearing you up inside? Ever felt so much joy that all you can do is smile and you feel it seeping out of your pores?
I do. I genuinely do.
No, I didn't meet the guy of my dreams and am flying off on a rendezvous wedding. No, no one proposed. This is definitely not about a guy.
I'm talking about the kind of love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.. and never ever fails.
I'm talking about God and His deep love for me. It is changing my soul.. and bringing me to a really awkward phase of just wanting to pour out that love to everyone around me, unconditionally. To be genuinely honest with who I am and love others for who they are.To dwell in community and experience more of who God is through them.
So this is where I am now. I have to work tomorrow Friday, I should really sleep..
I love you, be strong out there. I am praying for you :)
Acts 16:31
Posted by: leticiacioha | Comment (2)My grandma was saved on August 4, 2009.
Ah. What a joyous day. It was also kind of unexpected. It was like any other day, I was visiting the hospital for the second time that evening, yes my brother and uriah were both going to be there, but other than that.. it was like any other day. I didnt enter with the intention that this was going to be THE day, but thankfully God had it all set up.
I saw grandma like I had never seen her before, fully awake and with eyes wide opened. She was answering all our questions by nodding or shaking her head and was very conscious of our conversation. I was surprised and that is when Uriah said, “You have to do it now.”
I hesitated as I stroked grandma’s hair back, but I immediately felt a tug in my heart.. I knew this was it. The words started come slowly but surely in my broken Chinese village dialect (yeah she doesn’t even speak mainstream Cantonese). I asked her if she knew that brother and I went to church and she nodded. I knew that it was beginning..
Then I asked her if she knew about someone named Jesus, but she shook her head. I explained to her that Jesus was God’s only Son and He had died on the cross for our sins. Sins were bad things that we had done and we all had it, she did, my brother, I, my cousin, and just started naming off people in our family. I continued by explaining that these sins were what separated us from God, but God loved us so much that He sent his only Son to die on the cross for us. Now we could be close with God again. I then asked if she had heard of this before, she shook her head.
It was as if those moments that I had gone to the hospital and talked about Jesus in Chinese were simply practices for what was happening now. Even though my grandma was clearly unconscious at the time, God had been preparing me all along. I informed her about the possibility of eternal life in Heaven with our God and Father, because now that Jesus had died on the cross for our sins, we could live forever in Heaven with Him, I then asked if she wanted this, she began to nod her head. I then described the Heavens for her, the streets of gold, the entire city made of pure and transparent glass like the Revelations described it. A place where there would be pure joy, we would be able to talk withour tubes through her mouth, eat dim sum and be together forever. I asked her if she wanted this in her life, she nodded her head once again.
I then moved my hand from her hair to her heart and explained that she needed to accept Jesus Christ into her heart. She needed to believe in a God that loved her more than anything else and that could possibly heal her, but regardless He could give her something greater- eternal life in Heaven. As my grandma nodded, my brother started to break down in tears and my sister in law began to pray. I then explained to grandma that we would pray over her and she could pray with us as well. By then we were all in tears as my grandma peacefully closed her eyes with us as we prayed out loud in our broken Chinese dialect. But at that moment I knew it didnt matter, the unthinkable was happening and God was opening the doors of Heaven for my grandma to enter. I was ecstatic with joy and so overwhelmed by God’s abundant grace that words couldnt even describe how I felt.
As we opened our eyes with our last “Amen” I stroked grandma’s hair and explained that we would all be meeting in Heaven one day. I asked her to believe in great God that could hopefully save our entire family: my uncles, cousin, mom, dad.. Grandma nodded and widely stared into my eyes without closing them.
Thank You Daddy for Your faithfulness.
Trusting What I Cannot See
Posted by: leticiacioha | Comment (1)We are going to Nicaragua for 12 days! I wrestled with the decision as God said wait in going to Honduras & San Salvador.. and realized He was leading us back to Nicaragua. I want to stop pursuing greatness for the sake of greatness, and simply pursue God's will.
We will be exploring 4 new villages, going to orphanages, the cancer hospital, psychiatric hospital, prison, parks, many many churches, and searching for a mission's home for Living Water in Nicaragua :) I'm excited.. there is so much more to be done.
This is right after our dinner at 99 Ranch :) 24 hour fast after this. We are leaving Monday night! Will be back July 18th.
THE Team & Children's Ministry Prep
Posted by: leticiacioha | Comment (1)ANDREW. AMAZING actor/drama skills. Heart for the poor. Learning Spanish conjugation through Rosetta Jones. Second year Public Health & Global Poverty minor. Master square maker of over 300 frames for children crafts.
JOANNE. Songwriter. Heart for the suffering. Loves Japanese and History. Likes to fantasize about living in Narnia. Senior at UC Berkeley. Eternally patient. Loves the Lord and worships from her soul. Master cross maker of over 100 crosses.
JOEY. Manly man. Devoted teacher. Heart for the lost. Uses sign language while speaking Spanish. MDiV student at Fuller Theological Seminary. Master preacher, organizer, and packer. Oh and ribbon cutting.
LETTY. Heart for the broken. I translate & lead & plan & lead & plan. I dare you to describe more of me. Oh yeah, I love packaging the crafts.
For the children so far, we have:
600 frames for (many of them their first) pictures of themselves, 500 prism crowns as heirs of the kingdom, & 600 origami houses to remind them of their castle in Heaven. Over 150 care packages: pencils, erases, pens, toothbrushes, paste & soap. Boxes of donated clothes & shoes. Messages, worship & dances.
You know how Jesus says in Matthew, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these" ? The children in Central America long to be held and loved. There is something deep within my heart that breaks when I embrace them, knowing in my heart that I can't take their sorrow away. However at that moment I cling on the truth that Jesus loves them more that I ever could.
So I welcome them into my arms, braid the little girls' hair, kick a soccer ball around with the boys, and dance with them. I pray that as they watch this Mexican Chinese girl approach them in my faltering human love, it would simply be a shadow of God's immense love over them.
*Sigh*:) I can't wait.
Unconditional Love
Posted by: leticiacioha | Comment (0)Family is the closest I will come to understanding God's unconditional love. It's almost like in their presence I could do no wrong, they will always love me no matter what. I didn't realize how much I missed my family until I got a piece of them come to visit me over this weekend. I was so happy.. words couldn't explain. I LOVE and ADORE my big brother & sister in law. Amidst the stress of having to work & lead missions, it was comforting and relaxing having them around. Also it was my first time seeing the baby bump :) I still can't believe I'm going to be an aunt..
Check back for mission trip updates :) I will try to be better at keeping the blog updated.
The Buzz at Living Water
Posted by: leticiacioha | Comment (0)Alright let me from the start admit that I'm not good at keeping the blog updated. It is a hard task, so for those that do this regularly- I bow to you.
Now I'm going to give you an update of our church and the amazing things that God is doing through the lens of me, the Chinexican. Feel welcomed to add your viewpoint, but again.. this is all through my eyes ;)
TIM BE TOLD in concert! can I get a "WOOOHOOOO"?! I knew they were going to be a solid band: meaningful lyrics and catchy melodies.. but I wasn't expecting to meet such down to earth and humble guys. It makes the late night posting, chalking up the UC Berkeley boards, and fliering up Asian Guetto worth it. So for those that made it, you are all awesome. It was truly a memorable night where our church just got a chance to be refreshed through the sincerity of their music. For those that missed it, just check out their music through myspace.com/timbetold.
MUSIC MISSIONS is full on this year! We are going to be touring Southern California, Arizona and Texas the entire month of August. We are sending a team of about 20 people to do retreats for the youth and revivals for the churches. We are taking the entire worship band and using the arts to touch people's life. This is also the first time that DANCE will be a part of worship, so I am so stoked! I will be spending the entire month of June teaching 3 girls how to incorporate dance into worship. Please keep me in prayer that God will grant supernatural creativity. We are so dancing our way into freedom :)
CENTRAL AMERICA MISSIONS! wow, words can't even express how exciting this is. We will be visiting Nicaragua (for the 6th time) and then scouting two new countries: Honduras and El Salvador. Four of us will be locating new places where we can come back and do ministry, build wells, and build churches. The sky is the limit, so I'm praying that God will continue to expand this vision. I see God eventually taking Living Water and His Gospel all over Central America and I'm excited to be a part of it :) If you are interested in coming in Spring Break to these new localities, you are more than welcomed to sign up! Please pray for our safety as we will be going to new places. Also pray that each person that we approach will be a moment of ministry and sharing God's truth. Thank God that Joey, Andrew, and Joanne are pretty much proficient in Spanish :) I'm not too worried.
Overwhelmed yet? :)
Our Young Adults will be having their first mid-week service this Friday! Please join us at 7PM at our lovely church. It's been a blessing seeing the YA ministry grow and to be amidst other 23 year olds :) We know how to have fun.
Senior Banquet is this Saturday, May 9th! So let's come and celebrate together for these Superheroes that will soon be hitting the real world. Also the overwhelming number of commencements :) let's shower with hugs (oh careful with the flower purchase.. it can so get out of hand). I think when I graduated you could barely see my face through the flowers :)
To finish off, study HARD for finals everyone :) Let's finish strong this semester, yeah?
Why do I keep going?
Posted by: leticiacioha | Comment (1)I have to take time off work, put school on hold and miss a chance to see my family in Mexico. With my busy schedule, time is so precious. So why do I keep going?
Today I pondered on this question as I thought of Nicaragua. Every time before I left from Berkeley to Nicaragua in the past, I thought to myself, “this is the very last time I will be prepping to go to this place”. But at the end of each trip, God reminds me there is so much more to be done.
I still remember that hot day in August that I returned to Nicaragua for the third time and saw the well. I was by myself and simply stared at the beautifully constructed wheel that now provided clean water for a village, at this place a year ago had been a stagnant dirty pool of water. I realized that I had been a part of something great in someone else’s life. Tears started to stream down my face as I realized I had done something significant that changed the Ventarron community forever.
I wonder what these people think of strangers coming from so far to bring them water. Today I have faith that the well stands as a testimony that God sees and loves them, and will provide for them; yes even through strangers as foolish as me.
If there is something I want to live for is to make a difference. I want to leave a legacy, as cliche as that sounds. I believe with all my heart that God will continue to use me to do great things and I'm open and ready. This message is not to persuade you to come, but simply an invitation to be a part of something great. If you would like to come to Nicaragua this Spring Break, get in touch with me. I promise your life will change, just like mine has never ever been the same again :)
So the question isn't "Why do I keep going?".. but "Why not?"
Dependence
Posted by: leticiacioha | Comment (1)It has been humbling being sick.. it reminds me of what a dependent creature I am.. on medicine.. on cough drops.. on friends.. on family.. and more than anything on God..
I started to read Cloud and Townsend's How People Grow and this statement really hit home for me.. "the Body of Christ is a big part of the delivery system of healing and growth that God has in store for people"..
I realized how dependent we need to be in each other for true healing and growth to take place.. growth can't be done independent of God's Body, the Church.. but that takes the willingness of me to be vulnerable and your loving grace.. so what do you say?
**For all those that are sick in this season.. my prayers and thoughts are with you.. get lots of sleep.. for there is so much more to be done :)
I can hardly believe it..
Posted by: leticiacioha | Comment (1)You heard it first... I'M MOVING!
Goodbye Berkeley, Hello Alameda!
