Summer '13 with the fam

-- Rebekah Cha

[really sorry! not that many pics :\ ]

[So, I was contemplating on what I should say.. But I feel like of all things that happened to me this summer, this is something I really, really want to share. So here it goes :D]
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My summer vacation started off with the sole idea of going back to my home in the Bay Area and relaxing. I was just really sick of being overwhelmingly busy, stressed, and overloading myself with caffeine. The past year, I found myself running around and not giving any time for God. So hopefully, this summer, I could spend more time with Him. Also, after having attended a few retreats over the year, I gained a goal in mind – for my family to be God-centered. Even if the relationships between all 5 of us isn’t so great, as a Christian family, at least we can have God in common and God alone will suffice.

There were a lot of ups and downs though. It’s been 3 months, and during that time I didn’t see much progress with me + God nor with any of my family relationships. But actually, looking back, God has been really faithful.

Although my older sister and my parents' relationship hasn't been good at all, this summer for once in YEARS, all 5 of us all ate dinner together -- without fighting. (Praise the Lord!) This gave me a lot of hope for the rest of the summer. 

Coming back, I barely saw my mom during the weekdays, so I decided to go to the church she attended, also in an attempt to 'honor my parents'. In return, God gave me much more quality time with her than I had expected!

Hiking in Muir Woods (national park filled with redwoods) with my mom [and my dad]

 As for my dad, a few years back he actually stopped attending church so this summer I really wanted him to go again. My attempts didn’t seem effective, but on my last Sunday he went! God was even more wonderful to have answered some special requests I made about the church service for my dad. :D I don’t think my dad is going to attend church every week, but I’m just glad God opened his heart up to go again even once. And also I'm glad my dad finally took his mind off of his 4 beloved chickens.... =___=

Recently, he's been spending his free time building a shelter for them..

God also brought the summer retreat, Horizon to my attention (It’s a retreat for the Korean youth groups in the Bay Area). The effects it brought to my personal relationship with God is a whole different exciting story I have yet to fully process… But it brought more than that.
For one, for the very first time in our lives, my 2 sisters and I all had fellowship time together! This was something I had struggled to accomplish on my own, but God had made it happen.  <3

In addition, remember, the reason why I stayed at home for 3 months was because I really wanted to rest. That too had its ups and downs. But recently, I find myself just sprawling on the couch spending the day sleeping, watching sunrises and sunsets, and not having any sort of troubling thoughts.. I used to see this as extremely boring, but man I really love this! I’ve also been striking up conversations with God more than I used to. 

God is truly amazing. He has really brought me peace this summer. It wasn’t roller-coaster fun or anything but it was a no-stress zone that I know I will forever miss. I've also learned to turn to Him for help, instead of just doing things without Him. Thanks to Him, every thing I started summer hoping for has basically come true! I may not feel ready for what God might have in mind this coming year, but I do know that ‘I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me’ (Phil 4:13).

Aside from all that, I CANT WAIT TO SEE YOU GUYSSSS AHHHHHH

Love, from Singapore

Dear MIT IV,

Greetings from Singapore! Weather here is 90 degrees (ahem, 30 degrees Celsius) all year round, and the bustling metropolis has really grown on me. Singapore is a beautiful, beautiful place.

(Disclaimer: Picture from the Internet.)

I’m here with MISTI as part of a leadership initiative! SUTD—the Singapore University of Technology and Design—is a new university that opened last year in partnership with MIT. Because it doesn’t have much of a culture yet, it’s importing MIT students to encourage innovation and community!

That’s the general overview. By day I TA chemistry and conduct research; by night I conduct leadership seminars and befriend students.

Though I’ve only been here three weeks, I love it here and have so many stories to tell you! But that would be far too long, so I’ll just stick with a few points.

Fact 1: Singapore has a lot of rules.

You’ve probably heard of Singapore as the country that banned sales of chewing gum. It also imposes the death penalty for drug possession, public caning for graffiti, and a fine for drinking water on the subway. Because of this, we Americans here have been a bit paranoid about the rules – are we allowed to eat food on the sidewalk? Can we drink water in the grocery store? Can I take durian-flavored bread on the subway?

The last question refers to the national fruit of Singapore, the durian. I love it, and have tried every durian-flavored dessert I could find! Unfortunately, I can’t share any durian-flavored things with my roommates – all 8 of them can’t stand it. I’m bringing home some durian-flavored taffies, so please try some and tell me what you think!

Fact 2: Singaporean food is amazing.

It’s super cheap to eat out here! People eat in outdoor food courts called hawker centers, and no one actually cooks. Actually, master chef Gordon Ramsey is competing with local hawker chefs tomorrow, and I’m going to go see the fun! Teehee.

Yum. Aren’t you hungry? The mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and Indonesian influences makes great food. If I come back ten pounds heavier, you know why.

Fact 3: God is good. All the time.

Isn’t this beautiful?

God is good, all the time. He’s blessed me with gorgeous views of sunny Singapore, and with loving people to fellowship with. Have I told you about my first Singaporean church service, which was so beautiful it brought me to tears? Or about the morning prayer and worship group that’s started? Or the testimonies of how my brothers and sisters here have met Jesus and been transformed?

Amazing.

I can’t wait to see you all. But until then, know I am very happily blessed in Singapore!

Love love love,

Lina

* Strictly speaking, from a logician’s point of view, these aren’t facts but subjective opinions. Just a disclaimer!

Hola! (Aventuras en México y Filadelfia)

Dear everyone,

Lina here, just seven hours away from our beloved MIT! If you, like me, can't understand the above Spanish, translation here: I've enjoyed a ten-day adventure in Mexico, and continue on in Philadelphia.

This summer was meant to be a time of learning and growing with my family, since it'll be harder to come back home as I get older. It's been really interesting, since my family only moved to Philadelphia this past year. (And my younger brother's entering Kweku's high school come September - time flies.) But God is good; I've been adjusting and making mistakes and getting through!

An interesting development has been the missions trip. I'd wanted to go to Mexico four years ago, but couldn't make it; but this time, I ended up going with my brother and mother as well!

We teamed up with a church from Mexico - a church that runs children's programs in rural areas every summer. 50 of us spent a week in the beautiful province of Aguascalientes ("hot water"). Long story short, I learned a lot. There were a lot of challenges -- including not being able to speak Spanish, not knowing my teammates, sharing sleeping/bathroom quarters with 20 other females -- but the week was a very rewarding experience regardless. Hallelujah!

The people of Mexico are the warmest people I've ever met. They're so hospitable and friendly, and open to conversation! It was great getting to befriend them; we definitely came back with a lot of memories.

(some of us enjoying Mexico City at night; it was actually supposed to be a girls' group picture)

Back home, I've been doing a lot of writing. I actually found my diary from ten years ago!

Wow. I think the science museum cited here is Boston's Museum of Science; but it's so funny looking back! Seeing my old self is the strangest; these past ten years have been a great growing experience.

Writing letters to God, reading, Bible studies with the brother, studying 5.112 (I'll be a TA next term!), getting acquainted with my parents' church, baking lemon meringue pie with the family -- this summer's quite enriching. Woohoo!

All the same, I can't wait to be back on campus. 24 more days!

Love,
Lina

Hello from the World of Seattle! :)

Hi Everyone!

I'm spending my summer in Seattle, Washington while interning at Boeing as a Mechanical Engineer (Sorry, I don't have pics, that Boeing Proprietary Information :-P). I'm  in the testing group, so I'm pretty much working in a factory the whole time. Almost everyone is 40 and older (which makes for some wise conversations). And I'm learning more about what I ultimately want to do when I leave school.

Seattle is different... it's a whole new world (but it might just be because I've lived on the East Coast my whole life). It a diverse mix of Asian, North African and United States' transplants all simmering in a pot of West Coast chillness and New Age thinking lol. That's my best one-sentence description of the culture. I think I'm starting to like it, and even for a split second thought I could live here permanently. But then I remembered how far it was and that dream was shot down. Also, my Floridian upbringing can't handle a summer where the weather is still in the 50s and 60s.

Shot of Downtown Seattle from high rise building

I think the biggest blessing to me this summer would be my new church. It's about 130 people and a little more than a year old and meets in a movie theater. Almost everyone is around the age of mid 20s - mid 30s. I don't think I've ever met more amazing people in my life. And it's only been 4 weeks and they already know how to deal with my craziness (that's a huge feat). I went camping with them the second week I was here.

A couple of us around a makeshift fire

The river next to the campsite. I did a lot of quiet time here :)

Other than work and church, I spend a lot of time with my roommates (I live in a house of 6 other girls) or meeting new interns. BTW I saw Spiderman with them yesterday, and it was AWESOME! And I was skeptical the whole time leading up to the movie. Also, I've been reading A LOT. I think I'm on my 5th book so far, and I keep buying more (I might have a problem).

I miss you all, and I hope to see you all soon!

Chelsie

Etis3n from Ghana!!!

Hey y'all!!!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer so far! I'm really looking forward to hearing about all the adventures and shenanigans you guys are having :)

I'm in Ghana for the summer, and I have been having a great time so far. I'm working at Genser Power Ghana, which is an entirely Ghanaian-owned independent power producer, which builds power plants (of 3MW - 25MW of power capacity) for heavy industry, like the factories and the mines in Ghana. I'm an engineering/business intern, so I'm learning a lot! I actually have been keeping a blog on my personal website - you can check it out at: http://ebenjami.scripts.mit.edu/home/?page_id=242

(Sometimes the posts are kinda wordy, but the photos are fun. :))

Its been a really exciting time in Ghana - I'm learning about a new culture, and trying to pick up a new language (etis3n is Twi for "how are you?" - its pronounced "eh-ti-Seine" like the river Seine). I'm also learning a lot about myself in the process, which I'm really grateful for. I have been going to a local church, too - I gotta tell you, the praise and worship is something else here - the music is awesome, and everyone gets up and starts dancing around!

Also, for those of you who went on KRUP 2012 - do you remember green lining and red lining? Well, it has to be one of the most useful concepts ever!!! Thankfully I haven't been in any serious problems (touch wood!) but keeping the red line/green line concept in mind makes it a lot easier to deal with situations that otherwise would have me freaking out!

Shooting from the hip, I tried to catch a picture of Makola Market last Saturday. 

I'm in Tema, Ghana, right now (its just outside Accra, the capital) but tomorrow I'm shipping out to Kumasi, which is northwest of Accra. (See map!) I'll be there for about 5 weeks working on a project for Genser. But I'll still have internet, so please keep posting!

Best wishes to all, and happy 4th! - Emma

MIT-IV summer 2012!

Hey all! Sorry this is so late in coming, but please feel free to post on this blog anytime! We want to hear what you're up to! What has God been doing in your life? What fun adventures have you had so far? What new food have you tried? :D

It's hard to stay in touch over the summer when everyone's in different parts of the world, but let's live vicariously by posting pictures, describing adventures, and having fun together!

Sincerely,
Victoria

Fun in the Sun

Howdy y'all!!! It's been a while, how's everyone doing?

I'm in California for an internship this summer, and Cali's been a lot of fun. I've been exploring and taking in everything San Diego has to offer. I've taken a lot of pictures, so I'm going to give a brief description and links to the albums.

I went to the zoo early into my internship because everyone told me that SD has the best zoo in the country. I made sure to take lots of pictures. There were pandas, lemurs, birds, giraffes, KOALAS, and pandas.The zoo was more fun than I thought it would be.

I also visited LA for a weekend, so I got to see the Hollywood sign. It was cool. I also went to Six Flags while up in LA.

I got to have a surfing lesson. It's a lot harder than it looks and surprisingly tiring. But it was still fun. How could surfing not be fun?

And the créme de la créme: SKYDIVING!!!!!!!!!!!! So much fun! I think everyone should do it.

Check out the albums to see more. I hope you guys have been having a good summer. See you soon,
Kweku

PS. Anyone want a Google+ invite?