Hong Kong Reunion

Valerie & Isaac were in town this weekend and we had the opportunity to meet up for lunch in Pasadena. It was so good seeing two friends from Hong Kong and being able to catch up with each other.

BBQ, Future Trips, and more

Since the weather started getting nice and the longer days, we've started bbqing a lot at the house. We've made bbq chicken, salmon, steak, grilled squash, corn, some majorly good stuff. I've definitely come to appreciate a good steak now whereas before I didn't care much for it. Many times I'll voluntarily be in front of the grill cooking stuff up. Maybe it's something about men wanting to tend to the fire or something? Whatever it is, it's fun but the only down side to it is I come away from the barbecue smelling like smoke.

I've got pretty cool trips lined up this year. The first one will be to the Midwest, specifically Chicago and Indiana. My cousin's getting married out there in August so me and Allison will be heading out there and spending some time in Chicago visiting people and hanging out in the Windy City. That should be a very fun trip with spending time with the family and doing some touristy stuff. Apparently there's some seriously good Greek food in Chicago to be eaten. Yummy!

The second trip is back to Hong Kong for Christmas. I'm heading back with my family plus Allison. I'm very excited about the trip and am hoping to see some familiar faces while I'm back. I also can't wait to show Allison my favorite city and the introduce her to the many people I talk about.

I've also changed my major to the Master of Divinity program. With this change I will now have to study Greek, Hebrew, and take a few more classes, which all adds up to an additional year at Fuller. I hope to graduate in Spring 2008. This decision comes with much advice from many around me. Their arguments is since I'm in school I might as well do the whole thing and they're right. I just hope I'll be able to make it.

One-Time Shot

I'm learning in my hospital internship that our first encounter with a patient could be our last encounter with them because they may be discharged that same afternoon or even die unexpectedly a few days later.

We're also learning how to listen to people and to hone in key words and from those few words go deeper and straight into usually dark and difficult times in their lives. One example could be when we encounter the adult child of a patient who is in a coma and the child mentions their parent was a good person but occasionally got violent with others including themselves. We have to, in that moment decide if we're going to pursue those memories of possibly violent abuse of that child or let it go. I'm realizing that it's hard for me to do that. How can I, a stranger, ask about such a difficult thing in their lives? We're learning that our culture just doesn't want to go to those places but for us chaplains, it's our job to go to those places with people and try to help them find healing. Or else, that moment is gone and our ways instantly part. It sounds like a heavy burden, and it is, but my supervisor said that in that one moment we can hold that broken person for a moment of comfort, healing and maybe even redemption. I'm needing to learn new words to go these hard places in peoples' lives.

This past week, I learned one of the first patients I visited at the hospital died. The news was a complete shock because the death was unexpected. She had her illnesses but I don't believe anyone thought she'd die. It's a mystery why such things happen. It just baffles me.

Major Pains

Over the last week I've been stricken with some nasty allergic reactions. I recently used some soap I don't normally used and as a result, my hands are now covered in blisters and it's kind of painful to touch anything. Blisters have also formed on the bottom of my feet making walking a bit painful as well. In addition, I have this nagging wound on my left ankle that's not healing very well. I've finally gone to the doctor to get checked out and some meds so I'm hoping I'll get better soon. I've been really discouraged and little depressed over the severity and extent of my ailments. I really just want to get better and get back to enjoying sports and such. I'm afraid these things won't heal and I'll have to deal with it long-term like I have with similar ailments when I was a kid. Sigh. Please do pray for me if you remember.

Hospital Internship Progress

So far I've completed two weeks of actual visiting hospital patients. It's been pretty intense stuff. I've been learning being chaplain means getting down to the heart of the subject. It means getting down to the roots of peoples' grief, pain, loss, and sadness rather than avoiding those topics. It's been a real challenge for me to go straight for the source of pain in complete strangers but I guess that's my job as a chaplain because the people I talk to could very well be discharged from the hospital that same afternoon. But at the same time, it's great because we do just that and that's getting down to the roots. I've found it so satisfying to engage with people on such a deep level with them. There's a surge of energy that shoots through me whenever I'm in a conversation with someone and I know they are accessing a broken part of their lives because I believe they're being healed by sharing their pain.

I've met many different people. I've met a patient who just found out they've been diagnosed with HIV, comforted a grieving family who had just lost their father and husband, talked to families whose children were in the hospital, and much more. The variations in stories amazes me. Each person has such a unique experience in their life. It's just astounding.

I'm going to try and visit with the psych patients in the coming weeks. I'm a little apprehensive about that because of the stereotypes attached to those with mental illnesses. My supervisor keeps telling us they are people who are hurting badly and really need love and someone to listen to them. I pray that I will one of those people.