Kyoto - heart of Japan

So for the longest time, I wanted to visit the old capital city of Japan, Kyoto. The main reason is because I first heard of this place when I watched the anime series Rurouni Kenshin almost 10 years ago, which is kinda silly of me.

During the anime series (and with certain degree of historical accuracy), many battles occurred in Kyoto between Imperial forces and "Shogunate" during the Japanese civil war. And  in the anime series, the main characters goes back to Kyoto embarking on his most important battle to "open a path" for a better future in Japan. So I felt pumped up to go into Kyoto.

Of course, Kyoto is very famous for many of the cultural sites, especially temples and castles, For sure we cannot visit the hundreds of castles that exist, so we have to choose a few selected one to visit.

The first one, is the "Golden Pavilion" which looks pretty nice.



Also, black sesame soft serve is probably one of my favorite.




Rock garden of "Ryoanyi" was a neat place with artistic appeal.




The large temple of "Kiyomizudera" was nice because we visited on the evening, and they actually have special week of "light-ing"







The bamboo forest in "Arashiyama" felt pretty epic, it's a place that you can imagine 2 samurai fighting to death in a movie (unfortunately I was feeling a under the weather during that time, so did not take any good pictures).





My favorite place is probably the "many red gates" temple of "Fushimi Inari" because it was a very cool hike to a top of a mountain, and this just a symbolic place of Kyoto.



























My friends and I spent about 3 days in Kyoto, taking daily trips from our base in Osaka. Probably good enough time to hit all the major attractions. We also hit other places like "Imperial Palace in Kyoto" with a free English tour (need to book ahead of time) and the "International Manga Museum" which surpassed my expectations on how much fun it was, and the geisha district of "Gion", where you can appreciate the old style looking streets and hallways.

Definitely, it is a place I would like to visit again, maybe on a lower pace schedule, just to appreciate more on the cultural treasures in Japan.

Outside of the fun stuff and the natural appreciation of cultural heritage of a country, I also observed that Japanese people are very traditional and paid much respects to the rituals and beliefs. So it was natural to see them bowing to a temple gate, or at the entrance of the temple, or to participate on getting the good luck charms, etc.  In a way, that is very Asian, but also made me realized that many people do not know the true God of this universe. Even been a very open country, about 1% of the population in Japan are said to be Christians, which is very low and makes me realize the great need of gospel work in there.

On that topic, I visited at least 3 different churches during my stay in Japan, and it was refreshing and encouraging to see fellow Japanese believes worshipping our good God! Probably will share more on that on another day.

Osaka: capital of food

My group decided to start the trip at Osaka. So after I arrived to Tokyo, I took a low-cost carrier (plane) to Osaka.

Osaka is a pretty developed city, though there is not a lot of attractions in comparison to other cities, it does have a reputation of "food capital of Japan". And we decided to stay here for a few days, and do daily trips to the city of Kyoto (15 min train).

One of the first things we wanted to do is to watch live sumo, as there was a tournament during that time. Unfortunately, the reserved seats were sold out very quickly, so we gambled to show up early so that we can get in on the non-reserved seating (there are 100 of them). On our first day, we woke up early at 6am and try to get seats, but by the time we arrived, all 100 seats were taken. It was a bit disappointing, oh well.

Then we visited the iconic Osaka Castle:

As well walked around the city in the Dotonbori area:

As I mentioned before, the city itself does not have too many attractions, but the food is quite exquisite.

4 different "flavours" of takoyaki, this is really good.

Okonomiyaki (kind of a savory pancake), which is a very famous dish in Kansai region (where Osaka is). Many of my friends consider this as one of their favorite foods. I have to admit that I like it, but not "super" like it hehe.

Ramen, yes, I think I found my favorite ramen place, but I shall devote another post just for ramen.

They have matcha soft serve, which was very excellent, but I also tried the black sesame one, and it is equally good.

Other than the excellent food, one of the highlights about my stay in Osaka was to catch up with a good friend of mine. During my undergrad days, we were housemates for 1 or 2 terms.

For a while, he has been working in Japan as a teacher, and though I have seen him when he visits Toronto, we rarely do one-on-one catch up. So that was very neat, because we were able to easily "continue" our friendship from where we left, by sharing stories and struggles about our lives, on what God is teaching us. It is encouraging to hear that he is helping at a church by teaching bible study to a group of younger Christians. 

He also shared with me about the "differences" in community he has experienced in Japan. In Canada, it is very common hangout at someone's place for fellowship, and usually a lot of great conversations can potentially happen. But in Japan, houses are not big, so most people hangout outside (like in restaurants), so he feels that it is challenging to grow as a community. So this is an example on how culture, society, and city-lifestyle can affect how members of church community "implement" fellowship. It triggered me to think more about what the core values of fellowship are. But now that I think about it, as I was chatting with him, we were two people with same mind and goal to "catch up" (sharing with each other about our lives,  listening and spurring one another towards love, encouraging each other), so I hope that we were in the right track of doing fellowship.

This reminded me on how grateful I am to have meet great brothers and sisters, and that even if I don't keep up with them regularly, there is the assurance that God is actively working in their lives as they serve the Kingdom, and this is a deep connection that we all share.

quick tips about Japan

Since I spent much time planning on Japan trip, here are some high level tips:

• googlemaps is a great way to find directions as it is well integrated with the schedule of public transit (local trains, subways, bullet trains), 
• but if you want more options (more alternative routes, or avoid certain railways), Hyperdia is very helpful: http://www.hyperdia.com/en/
• bring enough cash, as it is more common to pay in cash on restaurants, convenience stores, and train tickets.
•  Though credit cards are accepted in various restaurants, it is still a good idea to bring cash so that you can eat anywhere (especially Ramen, where you usually have to pay at a "order machine"). For shopping, credit cards are fine.
• get internet, either SIM card or pocket wifi. 
• There are many companies that offer affordable prepaid SIM cards for tourists (e.g. $20 for 8 days). 
• It is almost essential to have internet if you want to find directions or use google translate. Saves time, and it is convenient.
• Note that SIM cards provide only data, and no phone number (you have to be a Japanese resident), so you might want to have a skype account with money on it to make calls for any emergency.
• if you are travelling various cities, consider getting JR (Japan Railways) Pass. The basic pass allows you to travel in JR which owns the bullet trains unlimited within 7 days. I used it to travel Osaka-Hiroshima (with stops at Kobe and Himeji), Osaka-Kyoto various times, Osaka-Tokyo, so it was definitely worth it for me. Plus, you can use it for some local train lines.
• when you are not using the JR pass (e.g. taking a local non-JR train, subway), get an IC card (equivalent of "Octopus Card" in HK) so that you can enter and exit faster (not having to buy a ticket every single time)
• ask for English menu on restaurants. Probably one of the harder things is to order food since English is limited there, but most places have an English menu (eigo no menyu), so ask for one! 
• Tax free shopping, on some larger clothing, electronics, or department stores, you can avoid paying the 8% tax if you show your passport (foreigner). You will usually need to purchase more than 10,000 yen worth of goods, which can be easy for some people, but hard for others. So if you are travelling with others, combine them into one bill.
• Accommodations choice and location are important. Airbnb is usually a good choice in Japan as the places are clean and well maintained. In terms of location, it is good to be closer to a convenient train station, so that you can save time travelling and as well get back to the airport with ease.

reasons for Japan

I just came back from relatively long vacation of about a month to Asia, which included visiting Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. It was a very rewarding vacations, with both good times and challenging times. The trip to Hong Kong was mainly to visit family, while Taiwan was a short trip (mainly because I found cheap tickets) in which I actually visited two cousins who are studying at a college, and Japan was the main "meat". 

One interesting point is that the "service" I received from restaurants got better during the trip... in Hong Kong I felt that I had to rush eating so that I don't get kicked out, Taiwan was a lot more chilled, and Japan I was treated nicer that I deserved (something I blogged about a year ago).

Actually I have been planning the Japan trip for like 10 months, since I got very excited after I visited Tokyo for 5 days last year, and wanted to travel again and get to know the country more. Even when I I arrived Japan, I still felt very surreal that the trip was actually happening.

Why would I be excited about Japan? Here are some reasons:

• food is excellent (this is good enough reason for me to go back again)
• interest in culture
• this is mainly due to my interest in reading manga and watching anime, as it's kind of neat to see in real life the cultural aspects portrayed from manga in real life (both old and modern culture)
• also, I think the extreme politeness from Japanese people is something that interests me,
• cherry blossoms 
• it's actually cooler and prettier than I thought
• "technology and efficiency"
• it is the country that builds very reliable cars and also builds a huge array of consumer electronics
• public transportation (really enjoyed taking many forms of trains)
• toilet with bidet 
• final fantasy games

Moreover, I have many friends who share in these common interests, so I am grateful to travel with these friends (in total, there are 9 other people who traveled with me, in different stages of the trip).

I am very grateful to God, who has blessed me with opportunity to travel, including finances and flexibility from workplace, as well for the smoothness during the trip. It is a real blessing to be able to travel, and though most of the focus is on enjoying the vacation, I also think travelling is an opportunity to learn. I really appreciate observing how people from other countries behave and work, how their society works, and learn from the good and bad things. Sometimes it can be a mind-opening experience, and sometimes it can be a source of inspiration.

On a more personal level, I decided to go on such trip as a "small sabbatical". In a way, it is a break from work, that has driven me to some mental exhaustion. But also, a break to reflect. I think that the busyness and routine of work has made me too comfortable and detracted me to think more about my "vocation".  So really, the main goal was to get away, and spend time to reflect about my life and my future pursuits. By talking to family, spending leisure time, and learning about new culture, have given me some thoughts, and I hope to refine and consolidate them in the next few weeks. 

It is always challenging to discern what God has next for me, I feel that a clear answer might not be given, but might be a journey of searching and having faith in midst of uncertainty.

i am gundam

This is a Gundam.

It refers to a very famous mecha (huge robots) series in the Japanese anime universe. It's such a huge symbol, that there is a mall on Tokyo located at Odaiba (a bit far from the main area) that have a gigantic 1-to-1 model of the Gundam RX78 of the original series (late 70s).

Yes, on my travel in Tokyo, I took the public transportation (subway + some over-the-sea electric train) for 45 minutes to go there just to see the gundam (the mall was average). And yes, I did buy a gundam model (1/144 scale).

There are many Gundam series (I am definitely not a subject matter expert), and a gundam is a big deal. Gundam refers to the specific robot model that is usually faster and powerful that the average robot. In some cases, it has some sort of a special weapon or ability, and the people chosen to pilot it are usually an enhanced human being that has special mental and psychological abilities.

Gundams can easily determine the fate of wars, and it often represents as a symbol of overwhelming power (Gundam Seed), a symbol of peace (Gundam Unicorn), a symbol of  hope, symbol of insanity y (G Gundam)....regardless, it is a big deal.

On a show Gundam 00, there is was a discussion among gundam pilots (they were a group that "enforces" peacekeeping) about what gundam meant to them, and the main character said the famous "I am gundam". That guy is a bit crazy, but I think he meant that his identify and sense of fulfillment is based on the gundam.

So the topic of fulfillment is an interesting one... I don't have much answers regarding this topic, so I am merely writing my current thoughts.

God has blessed me and many of my friends with the opportunity to choose what to study and what career to pursue. This can be daunting too because with more options, I find it hard to figure out which brings more fulfillment. My parents did not have the luxury to choose this, as none of them have an undergraduate degree, and their options were limited. My grandparents had even more limited options. So I wonder if they even had the idea of fulfillment when they were at work.

I am not saying that fulfillment has to come from work directly, but it is a place where we spend 40+ hours  a week, and I have experienced (both negatively and positively) how a day of work can affect my mood for the week. I understand that for my parents, it is likely the fulfillment came from been able to provide and have fun with the family.

Many of my friends and I are struggling with this question, because up to to finishing undergrad, the path of life was very scripted for most of us. We are told to finish high school, then choose a decent undergrad program, finish school, and then get a stable job. But from there on, it is harder to find clear answers that dictate the choices of life.

After many talks, I have got to known a few options that I could pursue the sense of fulfillment:

1. Work itself is fulfilling
• The work you do is something you enjoy, and you find satisfaction in been excellent at your job
2. Work is a means to fulfillment
• The work you do is fairly neutral, but work allows you to be an active witness of Christ, and as well allows you to provide for your family. Also, it enables you to support missionaries or charity organizations. These are very noble pursuits in life.
3. Fulfillment outside of work
• Work can be a life-sucking entity. You try to find fulfillment on activities after work. This could include leaning a new skill, further studying, volunteering, church ministry.

They are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

I personally think option 1 is very challenging. It is probably my goal to understand how option 1 will look in my life. I know about that God has created us in His image, and He did work during creation and that He entrusted us with the earth, so this should include the aspect of working, cultivating the environment positively, and doing it with excellent as this brings glory to God. In trying to apply this, I  struggle.

I can definitely relate to options 2 and 3.

So what then?

I am still figuring out answers. But there are 2 things I need to keep in mind:

• Don't waste your life, gotta live it as much as possible to glorify God, so if I am on the wrong track, I need to redirect
• Worship God. I am currently reading a book about apologetics, and one encouragement I found is to focus on worshiping God. Paul writes a wonderful book called "Romans" with great exposition on what the gospel is, and on chapter 12, the "therefore" signals how we should respond in light of great theology from previous chapters, and the first thing is to offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, as an act of worship. 

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." - Romans 12:1

the best service

In the middle of my trip to Hong Kong, I took a side trip to Tokyo with my dad. At first I really didn't feel like going to a country that did not speak a language I am comfortable with, as I just wanted to chill comfortably without having to plan much. But discussing it with my dad, we decided that Japan was a good option due to the fact that its currency value is low now. So I spent quite a bit of time planning and ensuring I could get around despite the language barrier. It was kinda stressful actually.

But this trip to Tokyo was actually much more fun that I expected, and now I wish I could spent more time there. There are many fascinating things there, like this is the place where anime is originated from, this is also the place of consumer electronics, and the food is really amazing, like intensely amazing (it seems that every restaurant you go to, you are guaranteed to get good food). One thing that caught my eye was how clean the streets were, especially since I did not see trash cans on the streets (so people would just carry his/her own trash and dump it after).

One thing that I actually enjoyed was to take subway trains because it is very convenient to go from one place to another. At first I was quite intimidated by the subway system as the map looks pretty chaotic, but once I understood the system it was actually pretty easy. I really appreciate the "efficiency" of the system.

Perhaps one of the things that amazed me the most was the service that I received in Japan. It's just outrageous, people are super nice and polite, There was a lot of bowing, I was pretty overwhelmed. 

The quality of service was just spectacular. I took the train from airport to the hotel, and I decided to order coffee (bit expensive) during the train ride. And when the train hostess was giving me the cup of coffee, she gently said with a smile (with very decent English) "be careful, it is hot", and then she bowed. I never been treat as nice in Tim Hortons or McDonald's.

This type of good service is very common in Japan as it is part of their culture, they are brought up and taught to treat customers like this.

Two thoughts came in mind when I think about this.

One is, are they genuinely bowing to you out of gratitude, or they just do it because they get paid and it is so ingrained in their culture? This is hard to tell, but I do think some do this genuinely. This does makes me reflect on how my attitude should be when I serve at the church. Sometimes, it is easy to get caught by the "routine" of things, and do things mechanically instead of genuinely wanting to serve out of gratitude to God.

Second thought is, I felt very welcome on the establishments I went to due to this warm service. Often I find it hard to feel welcomed when I visit a church. Many times I have seen that people who already know each other will congregate in their own, making it hard for newcomers to feel welcomed. But I also  have seen churches where the welcoming is quite good, like even the pastor will spend some time with the newcomers, and that is nice. My thought here is that, if a worldly establishment can make someone feel so welcomed, shouldn't a church make people feel even more welcomed as we are broken people coming together with joy to worship our gracious God. 

These thoughts seems slightly random, but yeah.

best cha chaan teng

There is a type of restaurant that are common in Hong Kong named "cha chaan teng" (usually known as HK cafe) that offers a variety of Hong Kong style western food and other pearls at a very affordable price. The Hong Kong style milk tea is one of the staple drinks. The egg-sandwich with the milk tea is one affordable and excellent breakfast that it is offered.

There is a very famous restaurant in Hong Kong called "Australian Dairy Company" and it is famous for the superb smoothness of its eggs dishes: scrambled eggs, egg-sandwich, steam eggs.

There are probably many (a couple of thousands of them) that serves this type of food in Hong Kong (most of them probably pretty decent) but this restaurant is considered by many the best in Hong Kong. During peak hours, there is usually a line to get in.

Though the food is intensely good, the service is bad and sometimes rude. Though this is a typical characteristic of Hong Kong cha chaan tengs, this restaurant seems to have worse service overall.

The reason for such bad service is because its workers are very efficient and focused on getting work done. Since the lines are long, and environment is chaotic, all the workers (waiters and kitchen staff) are non-stop working to ensure food is made and served fast, and that people are eating (no idle waiting).  So they have no reason to provide good service. There is definitely an atmosphere of pressure to eat fast and order more food or leave right away before getting scolded haha. Despite this, people go eat there and it is a great experience.

In my small group, we have been studying the book of Nehemiah, one great book about Christian leadership! And recently we covered Nehemiah 5, where we see him dealing with some serious internal affairs. Many of the Israelites during that time were poor and had to mortgaged their property and even sell their children for food. It was pretty tough times, and to make it worse some rich Israelites were taking advantage of them by charging them interest in loans. Nehemiah was angry and had to rebuked them, and led by example by caring for the needy. This is on top of his main responsibility, which was to lead the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

What I learned from that chapter is that Nehemiah truly a leader who cares for those under him, despite having to deal with many other issues (external enemies) and logistics (takes a lot of planning to coordinate effort to rebuild the walls, to put guards, etc). I am often in charge of planning activities because I like logistical work, and like being efficient at it. But one of the struggles I have is that when I am very submerged in my planning mode, I tend to not care about the people (who are part of the event I am planning) causing leadership to be planning-focused and not people-focused, very similar to the restaurant above.

Definitely, the book of Nehemiah challenges me to know that leadership involves impacting people to challenge them to move towards the direction of Christ.

the best "char siu bao" in the world

I came back from a trip to Hong Kong and Tokyo not too long ago. It was a great time of relaxation (much needed) and good food! There were many great moments, and as well insights that came into mind. I hope I can share some of those here in the blog.

Almost without noticing, the first month of 2015 is gone! Definitely looking forward on the exciting adventures and challenges that 2015 will present.

So most people I know love to eat "char siu bao" (Chinese BBQ pork bun) which is served on Chinese dim sum restaurants. I have been liking it a lot since I was a kid.

I went for lunch with an old friend from Waterloo at a pretty good Shanghainese restaurant, and after lunch he took me downstairs (it was on a mall) to a dim sum restaurant to buy a pack of "char siu bao" to go. He basically said this is the best "char siu bao". Of course I was very skeptical. After we got the box, he opened it and gave one to me. To my surprise, this "char siu bao" looked different from the traditional ones, as the outer layer looks like a baked Mexican bun (instead of the typical steamed Chinese white buns). Excited, I took a bite and I could not help but to submit to the great sensation of biting into a perfectly baked crispy bun combined with the tenderness and sweetness of the BBQ pork. Oh man, this is good, it's excellent. Definitely I agree that this is the best "char siu bao" in the world.

Another friend came later, and we offered her a bite of this "char siu bao", and told her that this is the best "char siu bao" ever. She skeptically asked, "how can you be sure that this is the best, if you have not tried all the 'char siu bao' in the world". After she took a bite, she just nodded and was convinced, hehe.

This is very similar to the question, "how do you know Christianity is the true religion, if you have not tried all other religions?" It seems a very daunting question, and I find it difficult to answer it when talking to non-believers.

A famous apologist Ravi Zacharias explains that Christianity is the only religion that can coherently answer these four questions:

• Origin
• Meaning of life
• Morality
• Destinity

Something interesting to dig into more.

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.

travelling - Rio de Janeiro

After visiting Peru, the next place I visited is Brazil, mainly to the city of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is actually a very big country so it is really hard to travel the entire country on a single trip (limiting factor on time and money). There are many cool things to do like the Amazon forest, natural parks, and beaches. But on my trip, I only visited Rio, since it has several famous touristic attractions and a very famous soccer stadium.

Intro
Rio de Janeiro has very nice beaches, nice mountains and scenery, and warm weather. But the city was dirty. Actually, I felt part of the city was like Hong Kong, not very clean, smelly, sketch alleys, but with less people density. There were a lot of tourists during the World Cup, so most touristic attractions have long lineups but the ambient is great and it is neat to see people from different parts of the world.

Language
Portuguese (Brazil was a colony of Portugal). Felt that English was not too helpful. Brazilians might understand a good portion of Spanish if you speak slowly.

Transportation
Public bus and subway are pretty good. Google map has its schedule integrated so it was easy to figure out the way around.

Food
In general very good. The food on the plane was very good, we ate Portuguese chicken. There are many restaurants that are buffet style, and charge by weight. Food includes grilled meat, stews, bean, rice, salad.

Safety
There was one police patrol car with 4 policemen on every major street intersection and subway station (because of the World Cup), so it felt safe. But I guess it is usually not that safe, hence they need such force to be put in place.

Things to do

There are kilometers and kilometers of beaches in Rio, Copacabana is a very famous beach but it is usually very packed with people. It is on that place where FIFA set up the Fan-fest where they put a couple of large screens for people to watch the game. But I enjoyed more the Ipanema beach which is less crowded. It's a great place to get together with people to play beach volleyball or beach soccer.

There is beautiful scenery on the Sugar Loaf Mountain:

As well the famous Christ Redeemer statue:

Insights

There are many influence from the World Cup into the city. Brazil is one of the countries that expresses a real passion for futbol, and so this event seems to bring a great joy to the country. McDonald's even have burgers with "country theme" from the World Cup:

There is also a macaroon store that also have country theme. Merchandises like the Havaiana flip flops also have country theme designs from the World Cup.

Though the city has many nice places, it is known that there are many slums (called favelas). Actually, the hostel I was staying is in a slum. People with financial limitation live there, and drug lords tend to control these places. But recently many of the favelas were cleaned up so it is a lot safer now.

But speaking to the hostel's owner, I learned that the government did a lot of cleaning and make things look nice for the World Cup, but there are many deeper issues that they are not addressing; so the changes they made were mainly for appearance's sake. Actually, there is a great discontent from sectors of the population because large amount of money were spent for the event, but more important needs were neglected. (Hence when Brazil lost the semifinal game, many feared riots).

As part of my Christian small group, we have regular sharing and prayer time in same-gendered groups. The goal is to share about how God has been working in each of our lives, and about the struggles we face. It is usually not too easy to go into sharing the deeper struggles that we face.

It is much easier to just show that everything is going alright from the outside, and kind of not care of the deeper things that is affecting our lives. So it is important to emphasize the aspect of authenticity (or genuineness) within these sharing and prayer groups, and realize that this is a safe environment to share and entrust these deeper things into fellow brothers or sisters. This is not just for accountability but as well to gain conviction to "deal" with a sinful pattern of our lives and to walk towards holiness as God commanded us to do so.

travelling - Machu Pichu

So Machu Pichu is the best place I visited during my trip. Mainly because I really enjoy visiting archaeological sites and learning from old civilization and history.

Intro
Machu Pichu is like a city from the Inca civilization. Nobody really knows the purpose of its existence, but some historians say that this is likely a city for the Inca elites. This city built around 1500 A.D., and abandoned very shortly after. And it was discovered on the early 1900s by an American explorer.

To get there, you can either walk for 4 days via the Inca trail or take the train from one of the small towns near the city of Cusco. People will have to stay at the town of "Agua Calientes" which is the town closest to Machu Pichu site. That town offers restaurants, hotels and hostels, bars, places for massage, etc.

Language
Spanish. Since it is a touristic spot, English is more than enough.

Transportation
The town of Aguas Calientes is very small, and everything is within walking distance. To get to Machu Pichu site, there is a daily bus that go every 15-20 min to the site.

Food
Same as Lima, I think it's kind of boring.

Safety
Safe.

Things to do
The town of Aguas Calientes have places for massage and also thermal baths, and I was not interested in either haha, but I did play football (soccer) for a bit.

On the actual site of Machu Pichu, you can spend 1-2 days walking around. There is also the option to hike a mountain in the site called "Huayna Pichu", which my group of friends and I did, this allowed us to get to see a great view of Machu Pichu from high up. I would personally recommend hiking the mountain (you have to pay more on the entrance fee, but it is worth it). The hike is a bit demanding (~1.5 hour of walking on steep "staircases"), so ensure you are used to the elevation and enough water. My group just spent one day at the site, but I recommend 2 days so that you can take your time and appreciate its beauty.

There will be many tourist guides that will offer you a guide (I don't remember the cost), but since there is so much mystery around the history of Machu Pichu that I think most of the guides will probably just bluff about stuff, so I chose not to get a guide and just do a self-guide by looking at the map. I can always wikipedia stuff later to learn!

Insights

When entering and walking in the Machu Pichu site, one cannot help to be feel amazement and being in awe of it. The surrounding landscape is gorgeous with beautiful mountains "covered" with clouds on the top, and the mystery that sounds the stone-made city. Many questions come out of it: How did the Inca managed to build all the stone structures on the mountain? What was the purpose of this "city"? Why did the Inca abandoned it?

Such a mystery.

Sometimes I ponder about the word "mystery" itself, and ask myself about the "mystery" of our faith. Like for example:

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." - Colossians 1:24 - 2:3

I find it hard to fathom why there is mystery in God's plan of salvation, perhaps because the plan of salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ is clearly made known to us. But for those in the early church and with a deep knowledge on the Old Testament, this was a very new "concept". How will the prophecies from the Old Testament be fulfilled? How will the Messiah rule the people of Israel? How will God bring salvation to His people?

God sent His son Jesus to be the Savior of His people, dying for our sins on the cross and conquering death so that through faith in Him we can live with God in eternity. This salvation is not just limited to Israel, but as well to the Gentiles. It is a glorious mystery, because it is full of God's grace, that He chooses to save sinful people like us, by providing the payment for the transgressions that we have committed. Though I don't really fathom the sense of mystery, I cannot help but to be in awe and in wonder of the grace that God has bestowed upon a sinful man like me.

travelling - Cusco and Sacred Valley

It's not unknown that the main attraction of Peru is the Inca city of Machu Pichu. In order to get there, one has to fly to the Cusco (less than 2 hours flight from Lima), and then from there you can walk for 4 days in the Inca Trail or take an expensive train from small towns located near Cusco.

Intro
Cusco is a small city that has many of the colonial architecture on it, including churches, buildings, and streets that are made of rocks. It is situated at an elevation of ~2900 m above see level, so some people do encounter issues acclimatizing with the thinner air and colder temperature. So it is recommended to spend at least a day taking it easy.

There are a lot of street vendors that want to sell things to tourists, so just be aware of them.

Language
Spanish. Since it is a city with many tourists, one can survive with English.

Transportation
Very small city, so there is no developed bus system, so the best way to get around is to take the taxi or walk around.

Food
No difference with Lima, actually every restaurant seem to serve the same type of food so it became boring.

Safety
Feels safe.

Things to do
Cusco itself has several Inca settlements you can visit within 1-2 days. Also, on your way to Machu Pichu, other Inca settlements can be visited while travelling through the Sacred Valley like Pisac, Ollantaytambo.

If you have time, then taking the Inca Trail for 4 days might be worthwhile, as the scenery from Sacred Valley is quite nice (just make sure to not go on the rainy season). If time is limited, you can consider taking a tour (either group or private), either arranging with agents at the airport or at the hotel or hostel you're staying at.

My friends and I went on a private tour taking us to both Pisac and Ollantaytambo, which were pretty nice Inca settlements to visit (though they do pale in comparison with Machu Pichu, but it is worth the visit).

Insights

On our private tour to the Sacred Valley, the driver was telling us about their tradition to perform a ritual of a symbolically offering to gods of harvest so that they will be blessed with fertile lands and rain, and so on. It is probably very common in small cities that traditions from old native religions are still practiced today.

I find it interesting that the concept of offering something to a god to appease them and gain its favor is kind of a common theme in many religions. You can look at the Greek mythology to look for many examples!

Our faith is similar, that God requires a sacrifice to satisfy His wrath towards sins of mankind. And there is nothing that we can do or offer to appease God. So God Himself provided the sacrifice, Jesus, to die as an act of propitiation so that God's wrath is satisfied and now we receive favor from God. It is just "scandalous" that God Himself did this, and our works are not what save us but by sheer grace from God. This is one of the major characteristics that makes Christianity so distinct and glorious.

traveling - Lima, Peru

I recently came back from a 3 weeks trip to South America. It was a great trip, and I hope to share some of the highlights, practicalities, and insights regarding the places I visited on my next blog spots. I am very thankful to God for the opportunity and ability to be able to go and explore these places.

The first place I visited is Lima.

Intro
Capital city of Peru. Probably the reason why people goes to Peru is to visit places like Machu Pichu and part of the Amazon, but Lima will be the first port of entry. So people are bound to visit Lima. Other than the nicer area (where most tourists stay) called Miraflores, the rest of the city feels like a big town with old buildings and streets.

Language
Spanish. English might be ok on places like museums or parks.

Transportation
Taxi is the main way to get around. There is no "meter" to know how much a taxi will charge you, so you have to bargain the price first before getting in. The bus schedule does not seem accessible on the internet, so not easily used by foreigners.

Food
Ceviche which is a dish with raw seafood and vegetable is pretty good. They also have lots of fried meat like chicken and seafood. Other than that, I did not find it too special.

Safety
It feels safe hanging out on the touristic area (Miraflores).

Things to do
I was there for 2 days, but I feel that 1 day will probably do for me. I would recommend:

• Taking the touristic bus for city tour for 2.5 hours that takes you to some of the government buildings, historical site, and a walk to the monastery of St Francis that has catacombs
• Visit Larco Museum which have pre-Inca civilization stuff

There are also beaches, but the weather is usually cloudy so I did not go. There are also some small Inca settlements but if you are going to Machu Pichu then there is really no need to look at the small stuff.

Insights

While visiting the monastery of St Francis, there is an old library inside with many old books (relics), but unfortunately they are all exposed to sunlight and there is no initiative to attempt to preserve them. My friend was pretty upset about the lack of effort to preserve artifacts of cultural significance. So I explained that Peru is probably more focused on addressing areas that are more important like the economy, education, and other social needs.

Living in Canada is quite comfortable, and it is easy to take for granted the things that are easily accessible to us: good education, safety, health care, good work opportunities, etc. Many people on other countries struggle with getting some of these "basic" stuff. So we have to be really thankful to God for all the "basic" stuff that we already have (like food on the table every day, a roof to stay under) and be mindful for those who don't have it.