China 2012 update #2

Praise the Lord!
5 people have accepted him so far and they are going to get washed
tomorrow. It has been a tough past week and most of the team is
physically and mentally tired. But even in the midst of that He is
really doing a good work here in China. We have two devotional
services each day, one from 6:30-7:30 a.m. and another from 1-2 p.m. I
can definitely see growth in the team, and in their hearts for the
Chinese College Volunteers. We only have 4 more days left for this
trip and I'm sure that much more fruit is going to be reaped. Our
services have grown from 11 to about 20 people.
Continue to lift us up in your words to him, it's crunch time and I
feel that something big is going to happen soon.

P.S. sorry for not updating earlier, the internet has been weird, and
I can't access my regular g-mail so I can't email the list that I had
prepared.

blessings,
YY

Blessed.

As I leave for China in 2 days, I look at how much support I have from my brothers and sisters and it encourages me so much. To be honest I didn't expect to get much support from my college peers, but as I was going down the list I realized most of my support came from friends in college.

on another note...

I can't believe I'm going to China for my 5th time. I still remember back when I graduated high school and decided to go 4 years ago, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. But this year, I'm excited. Like always I know God will be moving greatly in China, and I'm looking forward to being part of it.

Wooh China 2k12

My Roasted Toast (My first Best Man experience)

My best friends wedding day.

Bachelor party - check
Suit fitted - check
Ring handed off smoothly - check
Best man's speech - uh oh.

I remember 45 minutes to the speech and I was still scribbling notes, crossing off things that didn't make sense, and regretting that I didn't start editing and practicing earlier.
Throughout the whole day, as I stood in front of the bathroom mirror at the cabin, people would walk by, laugh at me, and then wish me good luck. I remember wondering why I was so nervous, I've spoken in front of people before, and that never was an issue... but this was my best friends wedding and this would be the first toast, something that mixed in some humor with some deep feelings. 30 minutes to my speech I realized mine had neither.
I don't know what it was, maybe I looked as nervous as I felt, but people would come up to me and encourage me and tell me not to worry. It was weird, I didn't have to mention anything about nervousness. And then Eddie came up to me and gave me advice that I'll never forget.
A nice burning shot of blue label before I walked down to the microphone with my champagne in hand. As I introduced myself, I remember looking at my notes and everything just started to come out. And as I ended with my toast, I couldn't help but feel accomplished.
I wasn't sure how well my toast, or my roast as some called it, faired with the audience, but I know that I enjoyed every single minute I spent up there.

Advice that was given to me by several more experienced brothers:
-Keep it short 5-7 minutes (I think I broke this one)
-Remember that it isn't for myself but rather for Victor
-People might not be looking at you but they'll be listening, so don't feel discouraged
-Have fun up there

It was an awesome experience being the best man. I had the privilege of serving my brother from his last hours of unmarried life and into his first hours of married life. I'm thankful for the opportunity and so blessed to have such awesome brothers (groomsmen) to share it with.

Best Man's speech - check.