Support me in my short term mission trip to Haiti 2010!

Friends, family, lovers, and whoever.
So guys, I am going to Haiti once again for the third time this Summer.
I am going to Haiti on a short term missions trip.
I have to raise all the money by myself in order to go on this trip that I have committed to.
I have committed my summers to go to Haiti and 2010 is no different.
As you all know, Haiti has suffered a huge earthquake so this summer will be a slightly adjusted agenda for my team and I.
We will be rebuilding Haiti physically, emotionally, and most importantly spiritually.
Last year I asked many of you guys to donate to me. To donate as much as you can and want.
I sort of felt bad asking for money, but it had to be done for me to go on last year's trip.
I also thought maybe next year I can do something else.
So the time has come and I need to raise money once again to go to Haiti.
This year I have decided to give you guys something in return for your donations.
I have created this shirt and I am asking for donations from you guys.
The cost of each shirt is roughly $20.
I am asking that you guys could donate at the minimum $25 or more at your own will.
I will not be making that much from this fund event, so I probably will have to do something else as well.
But, if you guys would like to donate to me and receive a shirt, please tell me how many shirts you would like, sizes, and how much money you guys will be willing to give me.
I really need you guys on this and I'm asking for support.
If you guys cannot support me financially, please support me by praying for my team and I.

Thanks guys for your love,
Charles Chung

Check out the videos here and the rest of the info. Thanks.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104434552923669&ref=ts

Brabes is coming down!

YES! BRABES IS COMING DOWN!

He gets one whole post for him.

That's all folks.

Happy birthday, Annie Li!

Here's a video for you. Hope you enjoy it.

ONE WHOLE POST FOR YOU ANNIE LI!

Happy birthday, Jungmin Choi!

Currently I am on the Q train going home. I'm about to reach Dekalb Avenue to be exact and I just wanted to post. Half boredom half inspiration lol. It was my homie, Jungmin's birthday yesterday. March 2nd. I didn't get to do anything with him yesterday but we're gonna go eat at Brennan and Carr's in about an hour. His friendship is really something to me.

Without Jungmin in my life I don't know where I would be. Not saying he saved my life from death or anything but I'm here where I am because he was the invitation to the life I have now, and the friends I have now. I know God has his way with everything an has everything worked out for us beforehand. He knows the best for us and he proceeds by puttin us in certain places at exact times. There's a verse in Scripture that says that almost exactly but I forgot where it is haha. But I used to be a goon and I'm still a goon. I'm sneaky and I'm a little snake inside. I'm a trickster and I could probably steal whatever I want if it wasn't for my obedience to Christ.

Jungmin has been one my closest friends since 4th/5th grade. We went to P.S. 255 together and that's where a great friendship started. We graduated from elementary and went across the street to Cunningham together. This is where we really got close and hung out all the time. Then Brandon came into the picture in our 7th grade but that's another post haha. We have so many memories together and experiences that it's ridiculous. From having the same girlfriend to beating up a deaf kid that was humongous haha. Sorta mean but it happened. I'm here now and the person I am because he invited me to FKCB in 7th grade and from there on my life was flipped. I didn't accept Christ right there and then but I made the friends, brothersand sisters I have now. Without them, who knows where I'd be. Maybe I'd be out smoking up every hour of the day. Maybe I'd be having sex with every girl I'd encounter. Or maybe I'd be locked up? Who knows, but I'm grateful to Jungmin's friendship. Without his friendship and invitation to where I am now, I'd be stranded.

Happy birthday nigga and I'll see you in a few minutes.

P.s. Jungmin and I used to have a huge addiction to hoodies in JHS. We used to buy and collect like every Ecko hoody that was out there. Every color, every design. I got him a hoody from uniqlo that reminded me of the good old days. It was cheap but it would be useful for balling in or comfy chilling. Bringing back the hoody era haha. Watch out NY!

Love,
Charles, your brother.

Renovation.

So I just finished renovating/moving my room around. I went to Staples today to buy a computer desk because the table i was using were one of those huge plastic church table thangs and it was bugging me out. It took up a lot of room and it just wasn't convenient. So I bought a nice little computer cart/desk for $40 today and I assembled it like the man I am. Haha. Change my room around and now it looks cooler than before.

Here are some really bad pictures of my room from different angles. It's small, but I like it. It's very personal feeling.

Peace.

It has been 2 days since I came back from Gloria Retreat 2010 and it's been great. I'm not saying that I'm like spiritually high or like I'm so hype for GOD right now or anything because of the retreat, but the retreat let me experience God in a very solitude way once again. Just to meet God away from everything else. It's really sad that it was only 2 days and 1 night long, but I definitely got the most I possibly can out of it. It was good, real good.

So from this retreat, I got many new insights on the way my life and how my mind should work. The sermons from Pastor Ken were not some philosophical, intellectual, well-thought out sermons, but they definitely hit home for me and most likely for everyone else. The series of questions. The way the words and everything just had to do with my current situation. My stress. My problems. How do they get solved? Where is God in the midst? How can there be PEACE when there is NO peace?

For the past year I have been living from home and going to school in Manhattan. The reason being is because I felt like i needed to stay home and solve issues going on with my family and such. It has held me back from doing what I really want and possibly what God is leading me to. It has been a huge distraction and beyond that, it has been my stress/idol. Many people know where my heart is and what I want to do after I graduate. I want to be involved with the less fortunate and homeless within cities. Going to school in Pennsylvania and being 40 minutes away from Philadelphia just made everything so accessible, but now I'm home and I began to get really involved within my church and it's ministries since the beginning of this school year, but it's not what i planned.

This stress, this storm, this idol, in my life was really just killing me inside. Only a limited few know of this issue fully and it kills me inside because it's holding me back from living. I know I'm a silly, energetic guy, but deep down inside and behind the smile and the laughs, I have a lot of pain stored up. A lot.

So we learned about peace and false peace. The difference and how we can replace one for the other in our lives. Is peace the absence of stress? The answer is no. The passage that Pastor Ken was preaching from the for the first message was Jeremiah 6:13-19 and I also used it for my Bible Study yesterday as I tried to bring the same message to my students.

¹³"For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.

¹⁴They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,'when there is no peace.

¹⁵Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,"
says the LORD.

¹⁶Thus says the LORD:"Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'

¹⁷I set watchmen over you, saying,'Pay attention tothe sound of the trumpet!'But they said,'We will not pay attention.'

¹⁸Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.

¹⁹Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.

So this passage is Jeremiah speaking to the people of Israel that are in exile in Babylon. They've rejected the Word. They rejected the Law. They rejected God. God is saying, "Look to the ancient paths. Look, people have gone before you. That is the road. You have read and seen the great guidance of God. Why do you not take the road? Open your eyes." But, they did not look, nor did they walk on the road that God has shown. We do this all that time, but if we just took a step of faith. If we just listened to God when He tells us the truth, we would have peace.

Peace is not the absence of stress. No it isn't. Peace is in Christ. Peace is when Christ is overflowing from you, so that NOTHING else matters. All the stress, the sins, the problems that you are dealing with becomes so minor compared to Christ. Christ is always on your mind and because of that everything else has less worry. We worry about being Christ-like, we worry about being holy, and being obedient to the calling. Peace comes to us when we just give it to God and we are so indulged in the life of God. Peace comes to us because Christ covers all.

Christ is called the Prince of Peace.

Now how has this began to shape me for the past 2 days? I've been thinking about all the people that I love, the people that I hate, and the people that I don't even know. As I said with my family problem and all, I'm starting to let go. I'm letting God have His way. I do have an influence on it, but if it is putting a hold on my life to glorify God then it must not be right. I love my family and all, but I think my family in Heaven must come before all things and it has begun to give me peace. Not that I don't care, but I'm letting go. Also, I'm starting to think about the friendships and relationships with people I have and had. The friends that I have are so dear to me and I don't wanna lose them. I don't wanna fight with them. I was talking with Jessica yesterday on oovoo and we were just talking about relationships, marriage, and FRIENDSHIPS. Half of my conversations were about Ben, but it made me realize the "niggas" that I have in my life. How much they mean to me. Because when I'm 80 years old, Ben, Mark, Jungmin, Will, and Jason will be smoking a nice fat pipe with me on rocking chairs on one of our front porch. It's gonna be amazing. And our wives are gonna be hanging out together and we're gonna grow old together. Just the thought of that gives me peace because right now I feel like I'm growing too fast and I wanna be a kid again. The friendships and relationships that I've lost or are on pause need to be mended and I've begun to sew. A few minutes ago, I confronted a friend about how we're not friends anymore and it's awkward and all that and now we're straight again haha. So praise God because I've missed that person. There's still a few more I must get to as well, but I will get to them. Trust me.

Life is peaceful because Christ is within me. It's how i feel. That's truth.

So all in all, retreat was great and I've learned a lot and took away a lot. Thanks Pastor Ken and Phil for teaching me and revitalizing me. Now pray that I won't fall away and that I'd be like this from here on out.

The boy with the smelly feet and the dirty stache,

Charles Chung

Fashion.

Shalom peeps. I'm in my sociology class right now and as you can see, I'm very bored. This class is so bad and it definetely is not a class that I expected when I chose it. A friend of mine dropped it after the first class and I shouldve done the same haha. But I'm sticking around so we'll see how this goes. After this class I have to go to work, but I'm thinking about stopping by soho to buy some stuff.

Clothes and the such are such a drug. Just like alcohol can consume, just like weed can be addicting, or even gambling and betting can be a problem. Shopping an spending money on material things are a drug in itself. We all know but to what degree. Don't we all have enough clothes, enough shoes, enough bags? I know I do and I don't even shop or buy as much as some other people I know. On top of that, I'm a super cheap dude so I probably spend a lot less money than others, but I still have way enough. And you do too.

A problem of mines last year while I was attending PBU was always trying to look good and making sure I had attractive clothes on. People would walk by me and say, "Hey Cheech. You're looking spiffy today!" or "Looking good Cheech." It goes on and on, but towards the end of the spring semester my closest friends and I had an intervention. It was called "Hot Seat." We told each oher everything that bothered us about the person in the hot seat. The problems, the sins, and the things that that person most likely did not want to hear but needed to hear. When I was in the hot seat, I got hit hard too as the rest did. One of the issues about me was how I try to look good too much with clothes and accessories. Very true, but it hurt a lot because I didn't think about it back then.

It still hasn't fully gone or even gone a bit at all. I'm still trying to look good. I'm still tring to impress eveyone that I encounter. Maybe it's a NYC thing but it's something that I still struggle with.

What if we all just went back to the days where we could just walk around naked. No shame. No clothes. Just leaves. Haha. That would be crazy.

Well I'm about to go on break now so imma go eat some Subway because they got any regular footlong for $5 baby. Now I can get something else besides oven roasted chicken breast. Lol. And after class I might go to soho and buy something or I might not. There's a lot that might go through my mind within an hour and a half so who knows. We'll see what happens people.

Hope you enjoyed me being vulnerable haha. Food for thought my hungry brothers and sisters.

Later gators,
Cheech.