Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I've just been trying to get on top of things with life, wedding, and church work.  Whewww...we had a wonderful weekend at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Church.  I know that a lot of people understood Kx. Tswj Xeem's teachings.  Why was it a success?  Because so many people prayed and really gave it up to God to help bless the weekend and God answers prayers.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Hmong Shamanistic faith.  I was talking with my fiancee about her father's side of the family.  Her mom's side of the family believes in God and are Christians.  Her father is also a very strong and devout Christian but all his relatives aren't.  Sigh, I could learn everything about Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism from books...but when it comes to Hmong Shamanism I'm at a standstill.  I used to think that Hmong Shamanism was all the same.  If one Shaman teaches you everything he knows then you know everything about Hmong Animism.  Wrong.  Each Shaman of the many branches of families out there has his own style of shamanism.  That means that you can literally spend all of your life studying from all the Hmong Shaman's in the world and you still wouldn't understand the Hmong Shaman religion fully.  Plus Hmong people don't really like to share their knowledge.  When I was a senior in high school I wanted to do a paper on Hmong medicine but I was told that Hmong people keep their medicine in their families to the grave.  There might be a nice Shaman guy out there who is willing to teach other's all that he knows but there are some who will refuse to teach people, like Christians, what they know.  I guess it's my task to find the nicer Shamans who are willing to teach a youth pastor like me all that he knows.  He'll respect me a lot more if he knows that I've been doing my research.

Wow, I had a wonderful time in Michigan!  I got back home on Monday day but I've been working like a dog since for our leadership retreat this weekend.  Sigh, wedding planning has it's ups and downs.  I just hope See and can get things done quicker so that we don't freak out by the time of the wedding.  Well, I'll be counting the days to the wedding.

As for the leadership retreat, thanks to all who have been helping out.  Of course thank you to all who are willing to sacrifice the time and money to join.  Let's keep on praying that this weekend will be a wonderful weekend for all of us enjoy and really change how we see the youth and church ministry. 

February - the month of love....

Okay, let me clear something up...I love all of my youth group members.  You guys rock!  You're groovey!  You're the cat's pajamas!

It's 1:16am and guess what I'm doing?  I'm watching the Olympics.  Dang, it's like the older I get the more Olympics I end up watching.

Sigh, me and some of the youth were working hard at the Oxford West place.  It's all worth it though.

Yawn...I'm tired.  Have a good night everyone. 

P.S.

I got a Gorilla with boxing gloves from See for Valentine's Day.  Wow, did any of you think that Gorilla's would ever come with boxing gloves?  Thanks, See.