b_yimmm's Xanga

Friday, October 26, 2007

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 02:11:58 GMT

could it be?
brandon taking up blogging again?
stay tuned...

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 04:23:21 GMT

so its pretty darn late but im still up. maybe its cuz i took a four hour nap earlier this afternoon to catch up on some sleep.
being back in toronto for the second day has been a really good time of rest and reflection about the past two weeks or so.

first off...i am truly thankful that i was able to go down with the team to Bolivia. after much and much prayer God provided me the opportunity to go down despite a huge conflict.
and boy, did He ever wait till the last minute to give me the go-ahead.

basically, the trip for me was in limbo because due to the untimely deadth of my uncle, i deferred my exam, not knowing the date of the new exam. once i did that, i found out that it was to be held on May 31st...smack-dab in the middle of the missions trip. at first i was quite discouraged and thought that this was God's way of telling me it wasn't time for me to go yet and i at first told myself...maybe next year.
but soon i refused to accept that. deep inside i knew i had to go...that i had been called onto this team to minister to the children (especially to the fatherless) in boliva this time.
initally the school kept telling me that they could do nothing for me. my prof had told me that the date is set and he was firm by that. my petition i submitted for review by the university board would not be reviewed in time for my trip. everything seemed like it wasnt going to work out.

but again, i refused to accept that.
so i kept going to training sessions...got my vaccinations...emailed my prof one last time explaining every single detail about where i was going, what i would be doing, what this trip meant to me, attached my prayer letter...i held nothing back from him.
and most of all i kept praying CONFIDENTLY that i was going. and other were praying in FAITH that i would be going.
one day before departure...the prof emails me back saying...you can write it on august 21st.
PTL PTL PTL!!! can i get a PTL!!!

oh man! i now see that He was seeing if i would be faithful despite the little bump in the road...if i would keep going to training or drop out...if i would (and it was mighty expensive) go get my vaccinations or simply save my money...if i would keep trying to hound the university and ask my prof to allow me to go or give up...if i would keep pressing on.
and i did...
and God said...okay! GO!

THANK YOU!

the time spent down there was remarkable.
we got hooked up with a really great missionary down there. (hi Marcee if you happen to read this) and as a team we travelled and visited many homes and interacted with and got to know many children who have been abandoned by their parents, have been forced onto the streets, forced into prostitution, been abused, and of the sort.
probably one of the most amazing things i felt while down there was just the joy that they all had. despite all that these kids as young as 5 years old or so have gone through, they still find joy and happiness. and their love for God is evident in the way they speak, share, and pray. that is truly amazing and encouraging to me.
it reminded me of Romans 5: 2-4...through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but wealso rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

if any of you want to know in more detail about my trip, msg me sometime and i'll tell you. it's way to much to try to type up at 2am.

missin' all the chicos and chikas back in bolivia.
thx for such an amazing time!
i think we all left a little piece of our hearts down there.

here's just one of many pix we took.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 12:39:50 GMT

1 more week
back to the library i go.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:50:59 GMT

(my attempt to be poetic)

wednesday night at 10
jazzy music in the background
sitting in a coffee shop, pen and pad waiting for inspiration
or as some might call it...another form of procrastination

in front of me sits my cell, tea, ipod and the Word
a sip here, a glance there
watching the time go by

a tall cup of green tea with its steam floating into thin air
burnt my tongue cuz its contents are hot
sitting here with so much on my heart to share

cell phone laying ever so silently with no vibration
wondering if, when someone would call
hello. goodbye. some sort of communication

ipod tuned to Tim Hughes
hearing the words, 'day after day i'll search to find You'
asking myself...
is that what i really do?

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 16:10:33 GMT

Walking in the Light

so last week after my thursday classes i was on the 53E bus going home when i decided that instead of getting off at keddedy and going home, that i would stay on for another 3 stops and get off at midland and do some studying at the timmies there.

so there i sat...pen in one hand and a large steeped tea in the other. racking my brain about physiology and the amount of catching up i had to do. i sat there for a good hour until i couldn't take it anymore. i packed it up and decided to go home.

instead of hopping back on the 53 steeles bus i decided to walk home.

for those who haven't done it, walking along steeles around 9pm, you're pretty much the only one. its not like downtown where at any time of day there are people walking around (i miss living downtown!)

i cut across the parking lot of my favorite shopping centre in the world...P-MALL (im joking...really i am...)

closer and closer i get to my house and think about how dinner would probably be on the counter and how i could watch some tv before calling it a night.

here's where the plans change...

as i walked along clayton avenue...my house getting closer and closer in my view, i decided because it was such a nice night that i would go get the mail and walk around my block a lil bit.

throughout the duration from my walk from timmies until now, i was thinking once again about the past year and just everything and where i am now.

and as these thoughts were running through my mind i walk pass my house.

i look down at my shadow in front of me.

if you read my previous post i wrote about the past year and how i feel that i have somewhat learned and grown both as a leader and as a man.

what do i see? (this is totally a sermon illustration)

with these thoughts going on in my mind while walking under the lights that line my street, i look down to see my shadow as i take step after step. and with every step that i took my shadow got bigger and bigger. this was so fitting for what i was thinking and just my overall life over the past year.

that as you walk in the Light you are continually growing...in maturity...in love...in understanding...

God truly revealed Himself to me that night.

when i saw that, i was like wow.

so clear the message :)

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:00:21 GMT

Learning, Growing, Going

I guess since I have some time before fellowship tonight I’ll update you in a bit more detail about what’s been going/will be going on…well…more detail than my last post anyways.

This summer will be pretty insane I must say…

Academically speaking, I’m taking two courses during the summer…piano for non-majors (don’t laff) as well as athletic therapy. I really didn’t want to take anything this summer, as I have taken summer school both first and second year summers, however because I dropped a load of courses this year, I need to make it up somehow, and that somehow is SUMMER SCHOOL!!! Oh happy day!

There are officially four more days of classes left here at good ol’ York University…and I can’t be happier. The thought of being done classes…not exams uhhh…is such an amazing feeling. It’s like I’m standing here and I see the finish line for third year right in front of me. Third year…wow. How fast the time goes. If only I came to York my graduating year from high school instead of taking an extra semester, i would finish this year…but ah wells. I’m happy with how things worked out.

Getting back to finishing up third year…this past year, as I shared with CCF last week, has been both one of the happiest periods of time but at the same time toughest one as well.
I don’t think I have ever felt as tired, depressed, stressed out, worried, hard on myself as I did this past year. A lot of that stems from serving this past year at fellowship at York. Feelings of total inadequacy and self defeat were what bombarded me for the most part. The thoughts whether or not people were growing, feeling loved, etc etc etc crossed my mind every night before and after programs. I blogged about this a while back I think.

However, through this past year serving it has also been quite an amazing experience. To be able to lead in a way that I had never ever imagined or planned on, and to now see the fruit of it all is just amazing. I totally feel that serving this year has helped mold me and mature me in ways that I may not have if I sat back and did nothing. I have experienced first hand not just the struggles of serving but the awesome growth one experiences when in such a position.

Besides serving at fellowship many other things occurred this year. Things that have really opened my eyes and yes, had been challenging but at the same were blessings. For me now it’s using what I learned from all this and going on from here.

I can honestly say that this past year I have really grown and come to learn a lot about leadership and really about myself.

For the first time I have committed on going on a missions trip. From May 25^th until June 5^th I will be going down to Bolivia with a team from my church. While down there we will be working with mainly children, but also elderly, in hopes of building relationships and sharing the Good News with them. While talking to people about short term missions trips, I have realized that although it would be amazing if everyone we encountered accepted, that just isn’t how it’s going to work really on a 10 day trip. The reality is that short term missions are more for the team going….for their eyes to be opened on a global perspective to the lost and the need for us out there.

One thing I have really been learning and thinking about is that each team member brings something unique to the group, whether it be previous experience with missions, a background in the country/language, experience with children, or what have it. For me lately I have been really feeling a burden in my heart for the orphaned. Signing up for the trip I didn’t exactly know who we were going down to witness to, but when I found out that there may be orphaned children, that really struck a chord with me. I really feel that that is what I bring to the table. The experience of not having a father, I pray will be a blessing to someone in Bolivia. To tell them that there is a Heavenly Father who loves and cares for them soooo much. My heart is burdened.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:24:07 GMT

mini short update...

coming up...
-april 6th: Curling with Oasis
-april 7th: Easter Outreach
-april 18th - Coaching Exam
april 20th - Physiology Exam
april 23rd - Biomechanics Exam
-may 3rd - june 18th: summer school for athletic therapy and piano for non-majors
-may 25th - june 5th: Bolivia
-june 8th - 11th: Oasis Summer Retreat

besides all that...
-learning how to preach is fun.
-playing guitar is fun.
-going in and hanging out with scott and david is fun
-writing songs is fun...but hard.
-not getting the UofT job is NOT fun.

overall things are good.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:42:47 GMT

as promised...here are some vids we took on saturday...

pre-game prayer...listen very carefully...we still don't know who's the culprit...AND...i like how francis fully opened his eyes during the prayer.

pre-game stretching.

jordan dancing...usher aint got nothing on this.

sam booty shakin while getting strapped into goalie gear.

bball warm-up

dodgeball

Monday, March 19, 2007

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 02:20:27 GMT

so here are some of the pix i promised from this past weekend. if u have no idea wut im talking about read mu post prior to this one...
i'll try to get some vids up as well...
enjoy!

WARM-UPS

pre-game stretching

more stretching...don't want any of those injuries :)

sam doing his dance-stretch

ben stretching those quads

me stretching my quads and my tongue...very close to ray's ear.

gabe stretching his ???

josh (not noticing) about to get purple nirpled.

HOCKEY

sam getting strapped into goalie gear.

sam all strapped into goalie gear.

why is ray's chest all bumpy? :S

gotta love that UA shirt.

and here we go...

gabe: "hey you suck!"
francis: "yeah i know."

air-on waiting for the pass.

DODGEBALL

team 1 vs team 2

someone's about to get nailed!

francis hogging the balls.

score-board man!!!

BASKETBALL

lay-up lines

he shoots...he misses!!!

surprisingly i didn't break my knee *thumbs up*

i think i got it in?

AND...i will end with this pic...
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i really don't know why we had those there and why they were out!!!

Friday, March 16, 2007

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:49:13 GMT

1ST ANNUAL TCAC MEN'S GROUP SPORTS DAY SHOWDOWN.
SATURDAY, MARCH 17TH, 2007
10:00AM - 5:00PM.
YONGE STREET MISSION

4 SPORTS...3 TEAMS...1 CHAMPION!

EUROPEAN HANDBALL...FLOOR HOCKEY...DODGEBALL...BASKETBALL

BIGGEST THING TO HIT ***insert something epic*** SINCE ***once again...Insert something epic***

PIX AND MIXTAPE COMING SOON!

if you guys have time come and check it out.