kai

I woke up this morning at around 5:30 am after getting about 4 hours of sleep; I made up my mind a few days ago that I wanted to see the sunrise for the first time in my life. It was still pitch black outside, so I get in my car and started driving to Jiwan's "secret spot." I arrived there around 6 and immediately took my camera out to capture this magical moment. There was a great view to see the lights of San Antonio at night, and the gentle wind blowing through my hair was truly refreshing. I wait patiently for the sun to rise, I wait and wait... and wait, only to realize that the sky was getting brighter, but the sun was no where to be found. Turned out to be a really cloudy day. I left the place feeling refreshed, but also somewhat disappointed that I didn't fulfill my craving for good pictures; I've come to realize that taking a good picture really makes me happy.

I decided to head toward La Cantera to maybe find something to shoot. As I'm driving, I see a huge parking garage up ahead of the road, and had the great idea of driving up there to see the view. Turns out this garage I had drove up to was the parking garage for some big company, and was for employees only... whatever, I parked my car in guest parking and went up. The view up there was pretty amazing. I was able to see the entire La Cantera Mall, Fiesta Texas, and also UTSA. I took a few shots of the view in this cloudy weather, then got caught by a cop, who told me pictures were illegal up here... okay.

I got back to UTSA at around 9 am, parked my car, and realized that I was actually up early enough to grab some breakfast at the Roadrunner Cafe; I have yet to eat breakfast at the cafe, so I was pretty excited. I go to the cafe only to find the doors LOCKED. "The Roadrunner Cafe operates from 7am-8pm from Monday-Friday, 10am-7pm Saturday-Sunday." Today was Saturday. I left and took a short nap.

So pretty much, this entire morning was epic fail. Story of my life.


If you were wondering why I woke up so early just to see the sunrise randomly, good job!

Today, May 2nd 2009, is the 10th year anniversary of when my family and I came to America!
HAHAHA don't judge me.

I got up early this morning and took time to reflect these past 10 years of my life, and to give God the glory he deserved a long time ago.

When my family and I moved to America, I was still a baby-Christian, having not yet discover this faith for myself and going to church for all the wrong reasons. God presented me with many obstacles to face in the first 2-3 years, such as the frustrating language barrier, feeling a sense of belonging amongst my peers, and feeling like a complete alien in this new world. I didn't really knew who God was yet, but He knew me and knew exactly what he had in store for me.
Once I entered middle school, I found friends :) (I had a friend back in colony meadows elementary, Mike- a white guy, my first friend was a white guy, but I had to transfer to got Colony Bend Elementary) Joining band led me to discover the world of music, and now I thank God for blessing me with different talents in music; it's one of the things I'm most thankful for. Joining band also led me to meeting Sean, Lawrence, Michael, and Darren- also known as, Team Asian. Looking back now, we were so childish and idiotic, but I had one of the best times of my life during Team Asian. Even though high school separated us and we're not as close anymore, I still thank God for bringing you guys into my life.
In middle school, I encountered a brand new type of obstacle called girls. After a while, I started to notice that girls were really cute, and secretly tried to spend extra time with this interesting new breed. I don't know how, but I guess God gave me the confidence to ask a white girl out, and I had never been more scared during the process. We didn't last too long, but it was a good learning experience. Girls have begun to invade my life.
In 8th grade, I went on a short term missions trip to Orange, TX. I only went because my mom forced me, but this probably turned out to the best decision I have ever made. God revealed his love to me through the unexpected and the impossible, and I committed to live a life alongside with Christ.
Enter High School. I went to Clements High School for a year and a half and had the time of my life. I met my best friend, Marco, and other friends whom I can truly rely on, and I praised God for my great life. I was comfortable, I was satisfied, I was happy, and God decides to change everything.
My parents decided to sell the house and buy a smaller one because we were extremely tight with money. So with this new home comes a new school district, and I got transferred to Dulles High School, home of the Vikings. I knew a few people from church, but I was so scared. I rejected the idea of having to start over again, and I once again went back to the life I had back in elementary: a pointless life, or so I thought. God once again challenged me to find new friends and to fit in, and I was pretty epic fail the first year. I turned into a shy little Asian boy who didn't give a care for anyone or anything, especially God. But during junior and senior year, God revealed to me my identity, the type of person I was, my strengths and weaknesses, and began to use me. I believe God's plan that moved me to Dulles was a training field for the things he has in store for me, and being back at Clements living a comfortable life was not going to help me learn anything.
In 2005, I participated in a missions trip to Matamoros, Mexico on my own will, and was once again renewed. I am Chinese/Taiwanese, not Hispanic. I speak mandarin, not Spanish. I did not know how I was going to be able to communicate with the people of Matamoros, but God said that "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13. I relied on Him, prayed to Him, and God's love never fails. I found happiness and love toward strangers, and was able to lead a guy to Christ through God's power. I forgot his name, but I pray for him right now and hope that he is living a life honoring God.
Before the summer of my senior year, FBCC hosted its annual Camp Challenge summer camp, and through the speaker and the counselors, God led me to start a prayer group amongst my friends from church. So all the way from August 2008 to August 2009, us group of guys met up once every week, and kept each other accountable. I am so thankful for you guys for following through with this commitment and am so proud of how each of us have grown and matured. I can't wait to see you all this summer!
I successfully graduated high school while almost missing my own graduation because of traffic, and was on my way to University of Texas at San Antonio! When I got rejected by UT Austin and was capped, I was SHOCKED, not. Haha, I didn't have the best grades in high school. But still, there was nobody at UTSA, I knew nothing about it, and I seriously considered going to UH to save money. God knew though, God had already planned for me to go there because of the things and people he had in store for me.
Entering UTSA was hard at first. I had some close friends with me, but college was nothing like high school, I didn't have my mom to feed me delicious Chinese food. I once again started living that "pointless life" back in elementary and part of high school, and thought that this was going to be a long, gruesome year. But soon, God started bringing new people into my life, and used a few of us to liftoff the Epic Movement ministry on campus. We began the year with about 8 consistent members every week, and God amplified that number into 30 students by the end of the year; it was all God. I have learned a lot about myself during my freshmen year, such as my spiritual gifts and how to use them. God has truly blessed me with the friends I've made this year, and each one of them has affected in multiple ways. I am so thankful for every single of of you guys, and girls, and I hope that your love for Christ will never fade. My prayer for everyone is for us to digest everything that we've learned this year, and use it for the kingdom of God. We are more than just a group of friends, we are a body of Christ. Don't waste the gifts God has blessed you with. "God comforts us not to make us comfortable but to make us comforters"- John Henry Jowett. I love you guys, remember to always be in prayer for one another.

As I was reflecting on all these this morning, this song came to my mind:

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior

My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was, my God He is
My God is always gonna be

- My Savior My God, Aaron Shust

Father God, I am not capable of understanding everything that has happened in the past 10 years. you have my life planned and have the will to control my life. The only thing that I do understand is this: You loves me, You live in my life, You are always there for me, You are my Savior, and my God. I am blessed with everything you have given me, whether it be good or bad in my eyes, it is all for a greater purpose and all for your glory. I love you God. In your Son's name I pray, Amen.