Winter Quarter Highlights

Wow!  Again, I have waited much too long to update you all on what I’ve been up to!  Here are five highlights, not completely in chronological order, but close.

  

            1.  Rose Parade and Bowl:  For those of you who don’t know, my apartment is one block from Colorado Blvd., which is the Rose Parade route.   The streets surrounding my building were blocked off more than 24hrs. before the parade and people started camping for their spot around that same time.  On the corner closest to my apartment they set up a large bleacher section, which was for reserved seating only, but we were lucky to find spots standing in front of them.  The parade was long and it was in the upper 80s that morning (which was crazy for January 2^nd!).  It reminded me a lot of the Portland Rose Parade, but was longer and had slightly more elaborate floats.  

Following the parade, Christina and I hosted a brunch for any of our friends that wanted to stop by afterward. At least 20 people stopped by for egg and veggie scrambles, pancakes, fruit, bacon and sausage, and all kinds of other kinds of delicious breakfast food that our friends brought.  When the brunch quieted down, we did a quick clean up and then a few friends joined me to root for the Ducks at a pub a few blocks away (I don’t have cable or TV, which was fine because we were able to see it on the big screen).  What a fun day!

Sporting my Duck gear at the Rose Parade.

One of my favorite floats.

Michael, Eric, Cynthia, me, Marianne, and Blane cheering for the Ducks!

      2.  Visitors!  During Winter quarter I was blessed with so many friends coming to visit.  My friend Diana (from Willamette) and her boyfriend Aaron stopped by during their trip to California in early January.  I took them hiking, on a tour of campus, and on a short tour of Pasadena.  It was also fun for Diana to meet up with a friend of hers from high school, who also goes to Fuller, who was able to join us for the hike.

A few weeks later, Mike came to visit (from Salem), he was able to see a hockey game in LA, we went exploring in Hollywood (the walk of stars, Grauman’s Chinese Theater where the hand prints and shoe prints are, and we drove up Mulholland Drive to see the Hollywood sign), I gave him a tour of Pasadena and campus, and we spent a day at Disneyland.  We found out a few days later that they were investigating near the Hollywood sign because body parts were found by some ladies walking their dogs just a couple of days before we were there.  Thankfully I didn’t know about that until afterward…creepy!   Christina, her boyfriend Jared, Mike and I had some laughs watching Ground Hog Day a little early.  If you’ve never seen it, you must!

About a week after my birthday Joanie flew down to visit for a few days.  The day that she arrived, I hosted a belated birthday party for myself, which allowed Joanie to meet all of my friends down here and for them to meet her.  It was a great way to celebrate!  I was able to do more exploring with Joanie.  We went to Little Tokyo with Eric and Michael (friends that I know from Fuller) in Downtown LA and had Japanese ramen, we explored Pasadena a little, and spent two days at Disneyland one of which happened to be Valentine’s Day.  We were expecting Disneyland to be decked out in Valentine’s decorations, but were surprised that they only added a few hearts to their flower beds and pots.  Michael joined us at Disneyland one day.  Joanie also went to class with me, which she enjoyed but three hours was a little long for her.

Me and Diana at Eaton Canyon Waterfall

Me and Mike at the Hollywood sign

Gregory Peck

Denise, Ryan Naomi, Eric, Cynthia, Sarah, Michael, Jeanine, Christina, me, Joanie, and Andrea

Michael, me, and Joanie on the Winnie the Pooh ride

Me, Eric, and Joanie in front of a mural in Little Tokyo

Mike and me on the Peter Pan ride (for some reason I can't get this one back in order, so you'll have to imagine it's somewhere in the middle of all of these pictures)

      3.   I decided to take three classes during Winter quarter, rather than four like I did in the fall.  This ended up being a great idea because they were all required classes and the work load ended up being similar to that of the previous quarter.  I took Spiritual Traditions and Practices, Doing Theology in a Global Context, and Church and Mission in a Global Context.  I have to say that there was some overlap, but overall it was a great quarter.  For my final papers I was able to research Toyohiko Kagawa (who has been called the Mother Teresa of Japan), do an analysis of Salem Alliance Church offering suggestions based on what I learned from the various church traditions (e.g. Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Pentecostalism, Evangelical, etc.), and contribute to a group paper on justification and sanctification – my part involved researching Gnosticism (a heresy in the 3^rd century).  Although it was a lot of work, I feel like I learned a lot!

      4. Mission Week:  Since the middle of fall, I served as a member of the Mission Week planning committee.  Fuller dedicated the last week in January – first week in February to exploring and engaging students in conversations about mission.  The theme of the week was “Your passions in God’s mission” based on Isaiah 61:1-4 which reads:

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

to bind up the broken-hearted,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;

to provide for those who mourn in Zion –

to give them a garland instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the mantel of praise instead of a faint spirit.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.

They shall build up the ancient ruins,

they shall raise up the former devastations,

they shall repair the ruined cities,

the devastations of many generations.

The week was filled with lectures, workshops, discussions, and time for conversations about the things that we students from all three schools (Psychology, Theology and Intercultural Studies), faculty, and staff are passionate about (e.g. anti-human trafficking, church planting, counseling in the missions field, interfaith dialogue, self-care, etc.).  It was a really amazing week, but also very busy for me and the planning team!

       5. Spring Break:  Over spring break I was able to come home for a few days.   I got to visit my former co-workers at TIUA and catch up with them.  Joanie and I ate lunch at Kaneko Café with some of them.  I must admit it was strange not knowing any of the new students that arrived in February!  I had some time to hang out with Joanie, Shoki, Jenna, Mike, Rey (one of the Willamette student workers that I supervised last summer), and my family.  Unfortunately, I had one final still to finish.  In approximately 24hrs. I wrote 10-11 pages and read an entire book.  Needless to say, I was exhausted afterward!  I took naps when I could.  

My parents and I met my grandparents to celebrate my Grandma’s birthday on St. Patrick’s Day.  It was so nice to see them for a few hours!  We also celebrated my Dad’s birthday a few days later by heading up to Victoria Canada.  One of the highlights was taking my parents to a Vietnamese restaurant (which they had never tried before).  My Dad even used chopsticks, successfully, for half of his meal!  Taylor and Alia met us that weekend.

My last day of Spring Break was spent traveling.  I took a ferry boat from Victoria to Port Angeles, WA, then rode in a car from there to Portland Airport, met up with Mike for dinner, and then flew in to Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, where Christina graciously picked me up.  I was in three states and two different countries in one day.  That’s the most traveling I’ve done in a while!

Mom likes buttons

In front of the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC

Dad got roped into helping with a street performance

Proof that he used chopsticks

Oh!  I forgot to mention that Andrea and I went to see Mat Kearney in LA!!  That was definitely a highlight!

Mat Kearney.  Great performance!