tops to august

i had to post once more to top my highest number of posts EVER so
cheers, everybody.

a wife's plea

This is a letter wrote by Yi-Jien's wife, Siu Yin (pronounced Sue-Yen, Yi-Jien pronounced E-Chin). She sent it out to all Yi-Jien's friends, describing her need of prayer and support. Remember when you read this, english is Siu Yin's second language.
Please continue to pray for him and for her, especially.

Dear all,

Thanks for all your love and care through your faithful prayers. I have received many of your mails and they really comfort my heart and put my hope in God through Jesus Christ. (with thankful tears)
I arrived glacier park on Sat afternoon. Thank God I was able to find a fight once I arrived San Francisco to come here. The rangers showed me Yi-Jien's car and we found out that he only brought 2-3 days food and 3-Liter water with him and some water tablets. He planned to stay in two camp sites and then came back to the car and refilled for next 5 days trip. Yet from what we found in the car, he never came back to the car and refilled his food and water. Yi-Jien has lost 15 days and over 90% possibility that he was lost the first day of the trip. Thus the search teams have focused most of their time in the first 2 days trial. The search teams have almost cover 85% of their search in the snow area, yet nothing was found, not even his belongings. I feel the search teams are discouraged and the head of the search team Patrick told me that yesterday was the last day of big search. Today they only send one team with 2 people going to the beginning of his first day trail. Please pray that our Father God continuous to strengthen the search team to hope for the best (Yi-Jien always said). I cry to God everyday for His mercy and help, sustain Yi-Jien and bring him back alive soon. I really cannot handle this by myself, and I lost hope at some point and felt guilty not able to come back earlier to be with Yi-Jien. Yet my mother in law encouraged me to keep hope in God and she came yesterday to be with me. She has been calling friends back come who are praying fervently for Yi-Jien and some intercessors got vision that Yi-Jien is still alive. Pray for God's mercy and love to strengthen our hearts and keep trusting in Him. Please continue to pray unceasingly.

In His mercy
Siu Yin

These are Siu Yin's specific prayer requests:

1) the weather is good to send people to the field to search for Yi-Jien and good to use helicopter
2) the Holy Spirit will guide the search team leaders Patrick and Kyle with decision to make
3) sending the right search team who will search for Yi-Jien with hope and compassion
4) the search team to open their eyes and increase their sensitivity, especially to birds flying and sounds


Please help us continue to pray for Yi-Jien. It means a lot to me to think that the people that care enough about me to read my blog would care enough to pray for my friend.

while watching Olympics EVERY night

Saturday, we got comfy around the house and chilled out with Aunt Pauline. She really misses having someone to talk to. :)
Sunday, we explored Roanoke, manuevered thru downtown, got familiar with the 3 to 4 main roads and stopped at the Crossroads Mall/Towns Square.
Monday, we went to Smith Mountain Lake. It was beautiful, that's all I can say.
We also went to the Westlake shopping area around those parts too.
Tuesday, Anniversary Day!, we looked around the area at different houses for sale, found the house of our dreams, called the real estate agent who said it was under contract- we mourned a little, went shopping at Valley View Mall and had a late dinner at a very mellowed out Red Lobster.
Wednesday, first thing, we went to a mortgage company and our mortgage broker gave us bad unexpected news. We have to have a job in the state of VA first before getting a house loan. How are you supposed to move across state without having a house? You could do it without a job, but not a house. Doesn't make sense. The house should be the #1 priority, not a job. Anywho...
After that, we chilled out again at the house with Aunt Pauline, waiting on her son "Lij" to come and we hung out with him.
Thursday, Lij took us sightseeing around the city, places we wouldn't have thought to explore, like Market Street and the Roanoke Wiener Stand. :) Fun stuff. We saw where Aunt Pauline used to work and that her late husband Uncle Frank worked right across the street. You could literally walk in Aunt Pauline's workplace, take the elevator to the 15th floor, look out the window and see into the 15th floor of Uncle Frank's building. We also got to see the family middle/high school and where they used to live before Uncle Frank found the land to build the current house.
Friday, we woke up late, packed our things, enjoyed one more morning in the Beverly house and waited to Aunt Pauline to get home from the doctor before heading out for North Carolina.

Fun times.

our lost friend

Us here at the seminary are grieving and praying earnestly for a friend of ours who is missing, lost in Glacier National Park in Montana since August 18.
Yi-Jien Hwa, a fellow Broadhurst-ian, planned to hike in Glacier National Park's backcountry from August 11th to August 18th. His family told the Park that he had contacted them before setting out on his planned hike. He has not been heard from since then.
As of today, the search and rescue operation's Incident Commander, Patrick Suddath, said no new information had emerged from the areas that had been searched that could be used to locate Mr. Hwa or to determine his condition.
So we are still wondering where he is and if he's okay.
If my readers could help us pray for him, this is our community prayer:

We pray for the people involved in the search effort that they will keep hope alive.
We pray that Yi-Jien is able to hear and respond to the rescue teams.
We pray for his wife and mother that God will give them strength and comfort.

I know that Yi-Jien, his family and friends will be grateful for our prayers, everyone's, not just the people who knew him. So please, help us pray for our friend.

life's cruelty

I had the dreaded doctor appointment today, the one that every woman dreads every year.
Maybe I'm still new at this, but does anyone else feel like you're cheating on your husband?
I usually come back a little less innocent and I cry when I see Corey, who holds me for a long time telling me I did nothing wrong, that he loves me.
So the next time a man tells you it's not so different, not so hard to be a woman,

straight up punch him in the face.

gibber gabber

I've decided to wait till we get to VA on Saturday and pick up "Apartment Guide" and "Virgina Jobs" and be able to just look out the window and see places for rent/sell. There's not a lot of places that don't have websites. I'm sure that the only townhomes that we found online are not the only ones available in friggin' Roanoke, one of the largest cities in Virginia. I mean, seriously, if there's townhouses for rent/lease in Wilmore/Nicholasville, KY, there's some for rent/lease in Roanoke. Just getting on the website is frustrating. And not useful at all.
So we've got hooked on the tv show "Heroes". I know, the new season hasn't started yet but we're borrowing the first two seasons from the library and a friend of Corey's. Hopefully, we'll catch up on these before the third season comes out in August.
I always thought it would be a stupid show. I'm not much for super heroes (don't tell my husband), so I was never interested in knowing anything about the show.
But it's good.
I've learned that I can make awesome sweet tea. That was free.
So Hopie gave me a Daffy Duck Chia Pet for my birthday. It's not been fun. Sorry Hopie.
It doesn't seem like a real plant. It doesn't really look like a real plant either. And if that's in your head, that it's not a real plant, it's hard to keep it alive, mainly because there's no motivation to water and care for a fake plant.
The last weeked of our trip to VA we're going to my house in NC (2 hours and 28 minutes from Roanoke, woot woot). Friday night just happens to be the first Husky football game of the season for my old high school. I'm super excited about it. I'm not excited about the purple painted cow bells that the locals bang around each referee call in our favor. Oh well. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I may try that this year. That would be a hoot. Pictures of that would make bangin' that thing worth the embarrassment.
"Who let the dogs out? [who, who, who, who?!]"

so no one cared for the mushy, real life love story, huh? o well.

only 4 days till we leave for Roanoke, Virginia.
speakin' of that, i gotta get back to their city website to check out churches and houses again.
check y'all homies lata.

"kismet"

As a 17 year old girl/young lady, I sat upstairs in my room, leaning over my journal and a picture of the at-the-time boyfriend who I knew wasn't right for me. A heartbreaking situation to be in that situation.

At that point, I started to pray, honestly and humbly. I pray for my perfect guy; blond hair, blue eyes, broad shoulders, strong, the classic American boy. That's what I prayed for. Then I became more personal with my request: I want someone who has respect for me, who would take care of me. I want a man who can be my best friend, who I can share secrets with. I want someone who is not only a Christian but someone I can become a better Christian with. I want someone to make me laugh, someone as silly as me. And with that final request, I start to cry while still talking to God. Humor is important to me; it runs in my family. My dad could always make me smile and laugh by how he acted, things he said. Nothing would be more important to me than for the American boy of my dreams to be able to make me laugh.

I got every thing that I prayed for.

Freak Out 101

Can you imagine looking at yourself, not in a mirror but in person?

I walked in Chick-fil-A today and saw myself.
"I" was sitting at the table alone in the far corner along the wall of the entrance. "I" was looking down at the food in front of "me", listening to the person on the other line of "my" cell phone.

Her hair was the same color, same texture, same style. her face was the same structure, same shape; Her posture and conduct was the same.

She was me.

My parents were just a couple yards away.

Pedestrian steps in front of dump truck
Published:
Monday, August 4, 2008 12:03 PM CDT

A 44-year- West Jefferson man died Saturday morning after apparently running into the path of a dump truck Friday.

Eric Mark Coffey had been airlifted to N.C. Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, for treatment of injuries after he was hit by the front right bumper of the truck driven and owned by Lee Roy Gilbert of Ferguson, according to Police Chief Brian Grogan.

The chief expected no charges against Gilbert.

Shortly before the 10 a.m. incident, Coffey had checked himself out of Willow Place, the chief said. Willow Place is described as an assisted living facility on Long Street.

Gilbert was traveling toward downtown in the left lane along South Jefferson Avenue near Smoky Mountain Barbecue, and Coffey was crossing the road from east to west, the chief said. According to eyewitness accounts, Coffey stepped into the right-hand lane on Gilbert’s approach.

Shortly before the truck passed in front of Coffey, “maybe 10 feet,” the pedestrian seemed to run into the left lane, Grogan said, quoting witnesses. There is no indication of why he stepped into the path of the truck, Grogan said.

“He was in very bad condition at the scene and I was unable to talk to him. No one knows. We may never know,” Grogan said.

An autopsy is planned, including toxicology tests to determine whether Coffey had any substances in his system that may have contributed to the incident, the chief said.

Authorities said the victim was unresponsive at the scene. They initially had difficulty identifying him. Grogan said at the scene Coffey had suffered head injuries and had open fractures.

A police report estimated speed of the truck at 35 mph prior to the impact. Speed limit along that section of road is 35, Grogan said.

The Highway Patrol assisted in the investigation, the chief said. “We spent several hours on the scene. There are a lot of measurements to do in such an investigation,” he said.

The chief thanked the West Jefferson Volunteer Fire Department. “They were a great help with traffic control, “ he said.

A dump truck owned by Lee Roy Gilbert

sits in the spot near where it struck a

pedestrian on Friday.

(Post Photo/Jesse Campbell)

Copyright © 2008 - Jefferson Post

for real?

Something's been buggin me. I figured I'd share.

There's a car that sits in front of Alumni, I think I know who's it is, but this is the license plate:

I'm sorry, but shouldn't God be your freakin' pilot?

Stand in awe of God

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.
Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
Do not be quick with your mouth,
Do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

As a dream comes when there are many cares,
so the speech of a fool when there are many words.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it.
He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.
It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.
Do not let your mouth lead you into sin.
And do not protest to the messenger, "My vow was a mistake."
Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?
Much dreaming and many works are meaningless.

Therefore stand in awe of God.

ah, the future

We bought a bed set (full size boxspring, mattress (like new), base, baseboards, headboard) from Asbury Inn for $50. You can't even buy a sheet set for $50.
With that and the dresser from my mama, we have our guest room for our new place pretty much set up, minus the more fun stuff like decorating and accessorizing, hehe.
Hmm, I could put a framed mirror over the bed, have an accent wall with one of my pieces hanging up, and match the bedding to the piece. Wow, so many things going through my head. And depending on the natural light coming in the room... plants, lots of plants. :)
And of course they'll have their own febreze noticeable air freshner. Us Barker's love those. I'll have to break into those Better Home and Gardens mags again. It's so exciting.
So we're dreamin' up a three bedroom town house. It doesn't sound like much, but that's what we're aiming for next. It'll be a mansion to us. With stairs and everything. A kitchen (without a hallway going thru it), a family room, a couple closets, our bedroom, the guest room, a nursery. Maybe a couple bathrooms, one of which will be a rubber duckie theme. I'm so excited to have a new place to have fun with.
And to make it even more like home, Barkley Hope/WallE/Barker.

Just for Laura

I have an awesome update for you:
I got stuck at the red light at Clucker's once yesterday and once today. Completely stopped.
And I didn't kill it! Either time.
I so wanted you to be the one I told.