Spring in September

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, 

so that they may see your good works 

and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." 

-Matthew 5:16

So we left off last post talking about cooking for my fellowship. But before that, I had lunch with Aunty Jenny and Vivienne, and she took me to Roma Street Parkland (the park Pink and I stumbled upon before. See post titled “Contagious Generosity”). She took more pictures for me and told me stories about the park and the surrounding area. The garden pictured below is designed with the visually impaired citizens in mind. Even though they can't see the colourful flowers, they can still experience the garden through scent. So thoughtful of Brisbane. And for Aunty Jenny, Brisbane really is her home. She runs into people everywhere we go, lectures me about the history of different buildings, and tells me secrets about various corners of Brisbane. It makes me wonder if I’ll be able to give tours like that of my hometown/university. Do I have experiences to share, or do I just happen to live in Mountain View? 

Roma Street Parklands 2

Anyway, back to cooking. I made ham fried rice for CCM, and I sampled quite a bit while I was cooking hehe. It was so satisfying making so much food and having it all eaten in the same day. Nearing the midpoint of my journey here in Australia also made me realise that I want to spend more time with the fellowship before I leave, so I decided to go to Hope Church again this Sunday.

So Much Fried Rice

There was Disney Trivia Night on Saturday! My cousin Jackie is a HUGE Disney fan, and she invited me (and Keiko) to join her team. It was a dress-up event, so we borrowed some of Jackie's costumes. Since I don’t know much about Disney, I just sat there and looked pretty hahaha. But hey, we won best dressed team (I think I helped a bit) in addition to winning the trivia (we each got a Disney movie on DVD)! We got 71 out of 78 correct, and Jackie answered at least got 60 of them by herself. #TeamJackie

Winners!

Pink visited Hope Church with me on Sunday! I have yet to ask her about her experience (I’m really bad at being vocal about my faith/ I’m afraid to talk about it), but I was very convicted and touched during the service myself. The sermon was on John 12:20-28 (Dying to Live), but before that, one of the students from UQ (University of Queensland) shared what God had taught him in the past eight months. He talked about how he was very blessed — he had a loving family, was in a great relationship, knew what he wanted to do in life, etc. — when God shook everything. He said God wanted him to “voluntarily surrender” it all to Him, which struck me hard. It’s exactly the opposite of what I’m trying to do. My “crisis” happens because I’m holding onto the puzzle pieces in my life I want to fit together. I think they’ll fit, and I get frustrated when I don’t see how they do. If only I could let go and let God. He can see the entire thing (He orchestrated it) when I’m only focused on the few pieces in my hands. Instead of forcing the pieces together, I need to voluntarily surrender them to the Father. Not my will, but Yours be done. 

Today we talked about race in both my Aboriginal Culture and Music lectures. It’s really sad that racism, appropriation, and discrimination are still issues today. In the music lecture, we clarified that there’s only one human race, and races (that leads to racism) is a purely human and artificial construct. While many people say we’re in a post-racism society, the effects of racism linger still (no, it more than lingers. It’s still quite strongly present. Read this). 

It was amusing to watch the same Rock n Roll documentary today as the one I saw in MUSC 137 (African-American Music, Race, and Pop Culture) at SCU Winter Quarter. Actually that music class is probably the most relevant I’ve taken. It shows the power in music to convey political messages, break social barriers, and bring hope. How can I be part of music that is more than just entertainment?

I also emailed my SCU mentee today. Writing the email reminded me that I won’t be here forever *sigh* Gotta treasure every moment I have here (and the three short days I’ll spend in Sydney later this week)! I also realised I haven't shared a picture of South Bank Parklands. This is why hotels near me are so expensive. It's fake, but still very pretty. The weather is starting to warm up here, and so it gets pretty crowded, especially on the weekends. I'll show y'all Sydney soon! 

Streets Beach