you have my axe

"Aragorn: If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword...
Legolas: And you have my bow.
Gimli: And my axe.
Boromir: You carry the fate of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done." 
       - from "Lord of the Ring - Fellowship of the Ring" by Tolkien

This is one my favorite quotes from the Lord of the Ring series (to the point that I almost memorized it). This takes place when the main representatives of each "tribe" (elf, dwarf, hobbit, man, wizard) meets up to decide upon the fate of the one ring. The general consensus is that this should be destroyed, but who is willing to carry the burden to take this ring to the fire of Mordor? So Frodo steps up as the one willing, such powerless creature taking upon a heavy burden. Soon after, powerful allies join in his quest and they form a solid fellowship (of the ring).

Recently, a group of 15-20 people from my university fellowship (CCF) met up for a Christmas gathering. And it was a pretty sweet time as I don't get to see most of them often. It is very nice to catch up with them, to chill with them, and to hear how God is working in them. I vividly remembered how we served together in the CCF in our undergrad times, and definitely the time we spent together serving has really solidify the bonds of friendship into something deeper, a relationship that transcends time and geographical location - no matter how little we see each other, or whether we live in different cities, I know for sure my fellow brother or sister is faithfully standing firm for the work of Christ, and that when we meet up we can easily pick up the relationship from where we left.

This is only possible because we are united under the same faith and love in God, and we are all redeemed by the same Christ, and empowered by the same Spirit, and entrusted for the same gospel, and hence we partner together in this great thing called fellowship.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." - Philippians 1:3-6

the end of Naruto

So the very first Japanese manga that I consistently followed has come to an end recently. And I was hoping the end will come soon because I felt the story in the last year or so was barely progressing and really dragging quite a bit.

Naruto started with a lot of potential, and the first few arcs of the series was pretty spectacular with memorable exciting moments:

• Battle against Zabuza (this is where it really starts to get serious, and also the first time to see the sharingan!)
• Chunin Exam (one of the best arcs ever in terms of character development and battle strategy)
• Sasuke leaving Konoha (many epic battles, specially Gaara vs. Kimimaro)

Unfortunately, it is hard to reach top-ness, but it is even harder to maintain top-ness. After the three year leap, the series of Naruto went through periods of decline in its quality, to the point where plot holes and lack of innovative ideas were obvious.

Regardless, as a committed reader, I continued to follow it.

The ending was not bad, but it was not great. In a way I was looking forward to a great ending that could "fix" the series overall, but that did not happen. 

Now, I will stop about my rant about Naruto (I actually wrote an email to my Naruto co-readers and created a script for my ideal ending).

In a way, the challenge to be consistently good is very hard. I want to draw parallel comparison with our spiritual walk with God. There are times when it is at its "highs", and times when it is at its "lows". There are times that is so easy to stay complacent and avoid doing the right thing.

The cool thing is that God is gracious and it is really because of Him that we can persevere in our daily struggle with our own self. It is because of God that we can recover from our "lows" and walk towards Him, because He is faithful.

As we run this race, we are encouraged by Paul's example to finish the race well, fighting the good fight for the sake of Christ.

"For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." - 2 Timothy 4:6-8

how to decide on job

As we grow older, the magnitude of the decisions we make are also bigger with greater consequences. Life can definitely go into many states of uncertainty.  As a kid, my parents decide on where I should live, what school to go, what to eat, etc. There is no such thing as choosing a course in the school I went, so I didn't really get to make decisions on courses. Probably the first big decision that I had to make is about which university to apply and if got accepted, which one to go to.

I was good in Math and Physics, so I went for Engineering, and by process of elimination, Electrical Engineering became my first choice. Somehow I ended up coming to the University of Waterloo, kind of far from home, with different culture and language, and with very cold winters. So far, this is one of the best decisions made so far.

Once in University, things are still pretty structured, I have courses, then I have to apply for coop jobs, and then so on, until I school is done. Though Engineering was a pretty tough degree, it never crossed my mind to switch. Once undergrad is done, the next big decision is to apply for a full-time job, and here is where I think life gets slightly more complicated because there are so many options and there is no longer a "curriculum".

What type of job to apply? How long should I work in this job? What career options should I pursue? Should I consider other job industries?

I have been working more than 4 years since I graduated, and it has been a very challenging experience. There is less flexibility at work than school, and the magnitude of pressure and stress from work seems to be a couple of notches above school; well the good thing is that there is usually no homework.

I feel that it is easy for years to pass without noticing, and these last couple of years I feel it has been a blur. So, I think it is important to constantly reflect and review on what's going on, and decide whether to keep going at the current job or to consider other options.

Here are a couple of questions or points that I am reflecting upon to help me determine what should I do with my current job situation:

• Finding fulfillment at my job
• Many times people ask me if I enjoy my work, and to be honest I like part of my job, but I cannot say I enjoy it always, because there are bad days and there is no perfect job where we will enjoy every single characteristic of it. Hence I am gravitating toward the word "fulfillment". Do I find satisfaction on what I do at work? Am I using the full extent of my capabilities at work? Am I causing a positive impact? (this is very linked to the next point)
• Glorying God at my job
• The classic example is to be an active witness of Christ at work, to find opportunity to share the gospel, and to make the work place a better place 
• There is also the intrinsic value of doing an excellent work at what you do. This is not for gaining praises to feed our pride, but this is to utilize the gifts God had given to us, and to gain a good reputation so that God can use us to influence our work place.
• How your job affects the other aspects of your life
• Does your job takes away time from you to do other things that are important to you? Does your job affects your health? Does my job hinder my personal growth. Sometimes work can drain you quite a bit, or causes you very high level of stress. It might not be the job itself but lack of a personal balance, and this likely will impact your spiritual health.

John Piper wrote a pretty helpful article about this topic: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/how-to-decide-about-your-next-job

the one true King

Recently I participated at a wedding as a groomsman, and it was truly an honor. On the Thursday before the wedding, I went to pick up another groomsman on my way to the wedding rehearsal. He is a very good friend who lives outside of the country so we don't get to talk a lot. And as he sat into the car, he asked me about my opinion on the protests in Hong Kong, which caught me a bit off guard as I was not expecting a heavy question as our first conversation haha.

This is a topic I have been thinking about for a while, as I want to understand how a Christian should respond to this situation. I lived 2 years in Hong Kong when I was in kindergarten, and my dad and his family lives there right now, so in a way I am connected with this city. To be truly honest, I am not 100% engaged or invested with the situation in Hong Kong as I don't live there and don't have a good understanding of the people's situation to make a stand.

But I do want to learn on how we as Christians should respond because this type of situation could happen in the places where we live in. The question that comes to mind is, whether we Christians should participate in this type of protests. Here are a few points for discussion:

• Submission to authorities, are Christians to always obey authorities?
• Romans 13 is very clear on that we should be subject to authorities, and that God has put these people in power for a reason. We could ask ourselves whether this "command" was only for the people that the letter of Romans was addressed to, or whether it is for everyone. 
• We also know that not everyone in authority in the world will adhere to Christian principles, so we are bound to be in conflict with those in power. I like how Paul speaks about praying for those who are in power, so that the can grow in godliness and holiness (1 Timothy 2:1-2). 
• I think Daniel is a good example on how a Christian should behave when the authorities are imposing something that is not compliance to our faith. He did not revolt or make a big deal out of it. He did disobey the decree (of not praying to any gods other than king Darius), but he readily  accepted this punishment to be thrown to the lion's den, and God saved him!
• How to respond when there is injustice?
• I don't have a good grasp of all the injustices that people in Hong Kong go through, I do know of some like the increasing gap between the rich and the poor, the crazily expensive housing prices (that most common people cannot afford), and since the "governor" of Hong Kong is selected from a list of people chosen by the government in China, then there is little probability that this governor will strongly adhere to the interest of the people in Hong Kong. 
• Is it rightful to protest (and in the process disobeying the authorities) until demands are met? I cannot recall any bible passages where it deemed to be rightful to protest against the authorities. Instead I can think of passages where people in influential positions were able to convince kings to do something good for the Israelites (Nehemiah convinced king Artaxerxes to allow him to go rebuild the walls, similar examples with Ezra and Esther). 
• What is the "right" government system?
• I am not an expert of government systems, but many people in the western world do believe that democracy is the way to go. I know that democracy allows people's interests to be represented instead of giving full power to a central political body (or in some situations to a single person). From a biblical perspective, I think the ideal government is a theocratic one, where a king is selected by God to govern by God's statutes. But then, even the closest godly king, David, did very bad things. This is part of the human sinful nature, when given so much power, we can easily be corrupted.

I don't think I am providing any answers as I write, but I am finding more questions without answers.

My current stand is that I would participate in the protest with the aim to express my opinion that I disagree with the injustices people are going through, but I would not incite in violence or have a defiant attitude when engaging with authorities (e.g. police force). I don't think there will be a perfect government system here on earth, and I think there will continue be injustices regarding of the government system, but I think that this is part of God's sovereignty and that there is hope that God will impart justice on His proper timing. As well, I also think that this is a great opportunity to tell others about the gospel, because we have a true King that is just, and He is the savior of our lives. 

During this Thanksgiving, I am really thankful to Christ because:

• Christ is a servant king (Matthew 20:25-28) who came to earth to serve
• Christ is our role model (1 John 2:6) who exemplified how we should live
• Christ is a king who died to saved His people (Matthew 27:42, Jews were mocking Him, but really Christ chose not to save Himself from the cross, to save the world)
• Christ is a victorious king (1 Cor. 15:20-28) who has dominion over enemies and authorities and even death.
• Christ is also a compassionate king and his legacy carries on even now

don't cry for me Argentina

On July 13, my favorite futbol team, Argentina was playing a final match at the World Cup against Germany. It was the first time in 24 years that Argentina was able to get into the finals. I was thrilled to be able to be in the host country and host city for this great occasion.

As I took subway and then walked to the "Fan Zone" (where 2 very large screens were set up to show the game at the famous Copacabana beach), I saw many Argentinans filling up the city of Rio de Janeiro. There were a lot of them that came on the day of the final to support "la albiceleste". Most of them seems to have arrived via a car or road transportation, since not everyone was able to afford a plane ticket.

The "Fan Zone" was packed, really packed, and there were an overwhelming numbers of Argentinans and very few Germans. I was excited to be in this ambient, but also nervous about the game.

The game starts and many Argentinan cheers were heard (some of them a bit insulting against the Germans). The game is very tight defensively. Argentina is careful on the defense (to avoid the 7-1 disaster that Brazil had) and Germany is also paying careful attention towards Messi. As the game goes by, we can see Germany trying but not able to do anything against a well guarded Argentina. Meanwhile, Argentina goes on counter attacks, and is generating much more danger.

And yeah... Higuain misses a clear chance against Germany, and as well Messi has a one-on-one but the shot goes barely out. A offside goal that was annulled. My heart beat skips a couple of seconds during those plays. Still many Argentinan fans continue cheering and believing.

On second half, Germany generates a bit more chance; a corner kicks that hits the post, accelerating heart beats of the Argentinans. As the time goes by, Argentina seems to attack less and less, while Germany was given freedom to take the initiative, but without really causing any imminent danger.

Extra time starts... tough times as this increases the nervousness exponentially, and my legs were starting to give up after standing for more than 2 hours. Mario Goetze goes into the field instead of the record-breaker Klose.

When there was less than 10 minutes remaining, the only mistake made by the Argentinan defense allowed Goetze to be free in the inside area and deliver a very nice finish that shattered the Argentinan dream. The mood changed completely at the beach, from cheerfulness to gloominess. I felt that a bucket of cold water was poured into me. It was killer.

We realized that at the point, Argentina was lacking strength to make a comeback.

In a matter of a few minutes, we had to leave the beach because many people just started running and leaving (probably some Argentinan people got rowdy). As I saw from a afar that Germans were celebrating, I knew the score was set.

Technical (futbolistic) thoughts about the game:

• Messi: 
• Many people heavily criticized Messi after the game because he barely showed up in the final. I agree partly that he could have been more influential, but what affected him the most was the Argentinan tactical system. Messi usually enjoys partnering with forwards to generate danger, but Argentina moved to a more defensive formation, so Messi was left pretty much alone, while everyone in the world is expecting him to do great magic.
• Defensive formation: 
• Many people wondered why Argentina has to play so defensively when they have an arsenal of offensive players at their disposal. I think it is a strategy chosen to approach this very short tournament, where if one small mistake is made, it can cost the entire tournament. So Argentina aimed to play it safe, which allowed them to get in the finals. But the main issue is that this system depended too much on Angel Di Maria (since he is fast, can dribble, can shoot) but he got injured on Quarterfinals.
• Germany: 
• Germany is the fair winner of the tournament mainly due to its regularity. But in the final match they had much difficulty to deal with Argentina.

Insights:

I was pretty sad after the game, and it took me like a month to come to accept that Argentina lost the match (I am a fan after all). 

Argentina has always been my favorite team since I start following futbol. It started all the way back in 1994, when the World Cup was held in the US, and the second game that I watched in TV was Argentina vs. Greece. And the game ended 4-0 in favor of the Argentinans with a great offensive display. This is when I "feel in love" with Argentina.

Since that time, I have been an Argentinan fan and to the point that I almost consider it as my 2nd or 3rd nationality haha.

I was able to speak with several Argentinans during the trip, especially since most of the people from the hostel in Rio were from Argentina. It's really cool to see a group of people who cheer for the same team, but also that they are really loyal supports of the national team. Despite any criticism or shortcomings on the national team, these fans really taught me how to be loyal in the good times and in the bad times (there were times when I was not very sure that Argentina will made it to the finals because they were kind of sloppy in the first round, and also depended too much on Messi). 

Changing gears, I have been Christians for almost 15 years, and it has been a great journey of joy and growth. But also there has been rough times when there is a lack of motivation to live as a follow of Christ. There have been disappointments, defeats, and struggles, and to be honest sometimes it is so easy to want to give up.

Definitely, Christianity is not about always been happy and be problem-free, but actually it is a road that will be marked with suffering, since our master Christ also suffered. There will be "good" times and "bad" times, but the joy for the Lord should not be dependent on these external factors. We should remember that the earth is our temporal home, and that there is an eternal dwelling waiting for us. Let us persevere in Him, because we know He is faithful even when we are not.

"If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

    if we endure, we will also reign with him;

  if we deny him, he also will deny us; 

    if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

  for he cannot deny himself." - 2 Timothy 2:11-13

over-nerdy

Recently in a conservation in small group, we were talking about how nerdy the conversations are within our Waterloo friends. As a graduate of Electrical Engineering, these conversations can be quite enjoyable, sometimes a bit too funny (4 dimension pie, hyper-cube, black holes, white holds, rail-gun harpoon). It's always cool to pull a nerdy analogy to explain a concept.

But then one member of my small group mentioned that sometimes he thinks that our conversations can be "over-nerdy". At that moment, everyone's eyes fixed on this member and we asked him if he could explain what is this threshold for "over-nerdiness" and if he could give some real life examples. Like, is this some sort of a subjective thing? Of course, my friend was a bit reserved and probably did not want offend anymore so he tried to change the topic of the conversation. 

In many group conversations in my small group or during church, often there will be some individuals that are left out... either they are not interested in the topic or have little to no knowledge about it. So the conversation will carry one with a sub-group of people very engaged and attentive, while other individuals start swiping (either seriously or just feinting) their smart phones. It a way it creates some sort of a fissure in the act of socializing. 

We can attribute part of this "issue" that some people have a narrow variety of topics that they are interested in. So when they hear people engaging on other topic, they will just evaporate from the socializing act. I think each of us can make more effort in increasing our interest in other topics and in being curious about it. Perhaps it is not about the topic itself that matter, but about getting to know people more and enjoy a good conversation.

At the same time, for those who are very engaged in conversation, it is good that there are topics that we have a fast heartbeat toward them. But it is also important to be mindful and sensitive to the people around us, and if I get to carried on and lose half of the group's interest when I talk about the art of futbol, I should consider changing topic or steering the conversation to get others engaged.

I feel this is important because nowadays there is a lot of socializing that occurs online, and it is easy to forget how to talk and deal with people in a real way. And that is not easy of course because we will have different interest, different opinions, and there could be arguments, but that's ok. Loving is a hard thing :), but it is the debt that we owe to one another. 

So let's not be over-nerdy all the time.

travelling - Maracana Stadium

Photos Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro for the Quarterfinals game between Germany and France:

 

Watching a live futbol game on a World Cup is one of my life goals. And it was an unforgettable experience. The only way to arrive to the stadium was taking the subway. So my friends and I decided to arrive there a couple of hours early. As we entered the subway train, we could sense the festive ambient as several groups of fans were present wearing their respective team jerseys (more Germans than French).

As we arrived to the Maracana Stadium, there was a huge police force presence, so I felt safe haha.

As we talk around the stadium, we saw people from many countries (especially Colombians whose team was playing later on the day) and it was great to see different cultural groups joining for the same passion towards futbol.

Since we arrived like 3 hours before the game, the stadium was almost empty. So we took our time taking pictures, appreciating the newly renovated stadium, and just enjoying the moment.

The seats we got were pretty good and we could watch the game without any problem. Also, there is a huge screen available to see replays.

There were a group of rowdy and young German fans who were sitting on the next row and were standing, so they were blocking the view for some of the people on my row. So there was some confrontation, and finally the German group just moved to another place.

The game itself was slightly boring. Most people would expect a great game between two historical nations. But the game was won by Germany 1-0 by an early goal, and from there on the game was very slow. Regardless, the overall experience was excellent.

It was very nice to see people cheering unceasingly for their team, and to see a variety of people united by same love towards futbol. And after the game ended, there was no confrontation between German and French fans, which is cool.

Futbol is one of the most influential sports in the world. It leads to many good things, like uniting people with differences together. For example, I read once that during a civil war in an African country, a truce will be held when its national team is playing a game. In many poor countries, there are futbol "clubs" that invest on the poor kids to teach them how to play so that they don't have to become delinquents to earn a living.

Since there is such love for futbol, there is power to influence people to do good. But it is also true, that there is power to influence people to do evil. There is a particular war that was triggered after a futbol game. There has been riots (some resulting in unfortunate tragedy) incited due to game outcomes.

Someone told me once that Christians are one of the greatest venues at which the gospel is preached because God uses Christian servants as vessels for His work. As well, Christians are one of the greatest obstacles for the gospel because if our behavior shows obvious sinful patterns, people will be deterred from believing in the gospel.

Christians have a very big influence as we represent one of the major religions of the world, so our behavior will be closely examined so we ought to walk with wisdom and self-discipline for the advancement of the gospel. As well, there is a realization that we as humans are quite weak, and we will sin. So we are not necessarily morally better than non-believers, but the difference is that when we fall in sin, we get picked up by God's grace, and it is our hope that we fall less into sin. That is a bit of the beauty of the gospel we believe in.