well, some of you may already know that i'm no longer in lima, peru. why am i no longer there? why Lord did you take me there and allow me to step away from there, especially in such a brief period of time? the original plan wasn't 1 year and 2 months, what happened? was i really supposed to leave? mysteries. when i went back to los angeles for christmas and new years, i met with the investor of my company. we spent some time discussing how business was, and that she wanted to close the office in peru and wants me in beijing with a few month lay over in hong kong to learn operations.
whoa… whoa… whoa!
i just started getting used to lima. i've been learning spanish and i'm just getting into it. i've developed a network of friends. i decided on where i wanted to serve in church and out. my life was just getting on track. more importantly, i just spent a 2-3 day retreat, preparing my heart for the upcoming year. que paso?! :'(
left turn or right turn? was i to follow after this new endeavor to leave lima? or was i to stay in lima and work things out?
by no means was this an easy decision. i toiled over this decision for weeks. fasted for clear direction. asked others to petition on my behalf. heated discussions w/ family members. the final decision was to leave my comfort zone (again), to say good bye to my network of friends & family and uproot my life… again. i had no peace in my heart with this decision. i did not want to leave. i did not want to uproot again. i did not want to find new friends.
since then, 3 months have passed. i've been in asia for roughly 3 weeks. and the Lord has given me the peace that i so much sought after. the last 2 months in peru were so delightful. without the stress of work and language study, it was such a blessing (sad, yes, but blessings nonetheless). there was still work to be done, which bound me to stay within the city of lima. but that resulted in a good time of enjoy the city during the summer months. my mom visited. i travelled a little (machu picchu -- check). ate way too much ceviche. hehe. and i'm determined to return (of course Lord willing) for the long haul after i get better at spanish and a bit more stable financially. i want my children to be fluently trilingual (english, spanish and mandarin)! but mainly, there are so many opportunities and so many friends there. may you pray that this becomes reality one day?
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| Huacachina sandboarding despedida! |
the past 3 weeks in hong kong have been a whirlwind. a good brother of mine continuously reminds me how blessed i am - to live in hk on someone else's dime. i am indeed blessed. the first 1-2 wks, were really hard adjusting both culturally and professionally. through the comfort of the Lord, week 3 & 3+ have been a whole lot better. :D however, i still got some prayer requests that i'd like to send out.
1. hong kong is just a transition, so this time here is a bit awkward. what do i mean? i love spending time in fellowship, but because of this 2 month transition, its just an awkward time frame. i may meet someone and then i'm gone the next month. do you want to be friends with someone like that? haha. more importantly however, when i move to beijing, i'll need to find a church. i'll need fellowship.
2. work. being human and foolish, i rely on my own strength way more than i'd like and i don't turn to the Lord enough. pray that although the stress level is way lower, that i'd be able to continuously draw my strength from Him. and that i may be a light at work. (ps 127)
3. to hold onto the convictions that were born in peru and continue to lift up the missionaries and friends in prayer.
4. to walk in integrity and character, especially when i move to beijing and deal with local mainlanders. they have a very different culture and i hear a lot of their shadiness. that God will give me the strength and boldness to be different and upright (as much as a sinner can).
5. my wife. nope, not yet married, but to be so would be nice. it gets lonely in all these cities.
6. that i may be aware of the work that the Lord is preparing me for after my stint here in asia. and that i may continue to walk and grow in that relationship with Him. (no brainer! hehe)
7. shine bright here in hk, especially at my work place.
8. lastly, to stay as connected as possible with friends from all over. if you're reading this and we haven't connected in some time and you'd want to catch up in person, drop me a line email or fb and we'll try to work something out! and i apologize for the lack of correspondence. the older i get, the more introverted i get. thanks for understanding.
thanks for reading and praying!
- kc
Keep going in obedience, Kenny! :)
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