William Chong

I’m quite excited. Picked up the race pack yesterday for the 2009 Auckland Marathon – starting bright and early, 6:10 am on Sunday!

Last year I attempted the halfmarathon and didn’t collapse from exhaustion, so I will see how it goes this year with 42 km. I started training all the way back in June, and have run over 500 kilometers during more than 65 hours of training. Despite this, my pace remains pretty slow at between 6.5 to 8 minutes per km. With that in mind, I’ll be happy with finishing the race in one piece. Since it’s my first marathon, setting a personal best time is guaranteed!

Prayers will be much appreciated particularly once it gets towards 10:00 and I really start to miss being at church worshipping with everyone else at Howick Baptist! (Also by that time it’ll probably be over 30 km into the route and I’ll be very tired…)

Also, I just figured out how to email from my phone so hopefully I’ll treat you all to some photos (e.g. from the top of the harbour bridge as I cross over) – you should be able to check them out on facebook or on my twitter page. It really is amazing what we can do with the level of internet and media connectivity we have today.

Anyways I’ll write again after the weekend – take care everyone!

Hebrews 12:1-2: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God…”

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P.S.: Don’t forget to check out my fundraising page for Habitat for Humanity (they’re helping to rebuild houses for victims of the Samoa tsunami) at www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/williamchong! Soli deo gloria!

Check out this awe-inspiring compilation of cloud photos from the Webdesigner Depot:

In this post, we take a look at some amazing photographs of the weirdest cloud formations that you’ll ever see, that are destined to inspire your design work and surely blow your mind.

To read more information about any of the photos, just click on any of the images below to be taken to its source. And don’t forget the next time you go out, to look up…

[more images...]

The Bible’s got a good chunk of cloud-related imagery to match the stunning variety that we see in the world we live in. For example, Psalm 36:5 says that “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” The psalmist also praises the Lord for his provision for clouds and rain from it, in Psalm 147. But for me, the most striking cloud-related imagery is used in Isaiah 44:22:

“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

What a great picture: for those who trust in Christ as Lord and Saviour, our sins have been swept away like passing clouds in the sky…

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This morning I was at a men’s Bible study. We’re currently examining Colossians 2 and what the passage is referring to, and what we can draw out of it into our daily living.

The discussion this morning centered around Col 2:16-17. One person explained that this passage means we shouldn’t therefore judge other Christian’s differences in beliefs and traditions, and seek to promote unity between faith traditions. He gave the example of seeking unity with people who are in the Roman Catholic church.

However, another person in the group countered that purity was more important, and that this verse doesn’t absolve Christians of the responsibility to do things such as “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). He countered that to keep the purity of the church we should separate from other faith traditions that add regulations and rules to what Christ has done, such as the Roman Catholic church.

There were a host of other topics that came out of studying this text together: the sufficiency of Christ, legalism, the role of the Ten Commandments in our life today, Roman Catholics and what they believe, and so on. But we all had to leave and the main question seemed unresolved: what is more important for the Body of Christ, unity or purity? Also, does Colossians 2:16-17 refer to unity/purity or is it in a different context?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Truth and love, thanks!

In preparation for moving out, we did a big clean up over Labour Weekend.

Just thought I’d share this photo of my bed (I sleep on the bottom bunk). We’ve had it since I moved to New Zealand at the age of 9, and I’m about to dismantle it for the last time:

Another chapter in life is about to begin!

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Here’s another thought-provoking write-up by Jamie Brown:

“There are several reasons for opposing it. One, it’s too new. Two, it’s often worldly, even blasphemous. The new Christian music is not as pleasant as the established style. Because there are so many new songs you can’t learn them all. It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than Godly lyrics. This new music creates disturbances; people act indecently and disorderly. The preceding generation got along without it. It’s a money making scene and some of these new music upstarts are lewd and loose.”

The Anglican pastor’s name is William Romaine and his critique was featured in An Essay on Psalmody. It was written in 1723. The “new music” he was referring to? The hymns of Isaac Watts.

It’s really easy to criticize new music, idolize old music, and demonize what you don’t like.

For those who don’t know, Isaac Watts was a prolific writer of such hymnal standards as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”, “Alas! and did my Saviour bleed”, and “Joy to the world!”. He was also known as the Father of English Hymnody.

I guess it goes to show that the conflicts over the style of worship music in churches today are not new ones.

You can read the full article here: The Problem with Postulating « Worthily Magnify.

Held by the Taliban – A Times Reporter’s Account. A Five-Part Series by David Rohde. – Series – NYTimes.com.

A fantastic insight into the Taliban world. Seasoned New York Times reporter David Rohde was kidnapped and held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan for seven months, and escaped to tell a riveting tale. Definitely worth a read.

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By the time you read this I’ll be over the Pacific ocean winging my way back to Auckland. But just thought I’d share a bit about my visit into the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and out to the Panmunjom Joint Security Area (that’s the place you see in photos where South Korean soldiers guard one side and North Korean ones guard the other).

The Korean situation seem to me like a contemporary parallel to the Biblical civil warring between Israel and Judah. Families on either side continue to struggle as they wait in hope that one day the country would be reunified.

Freedom Bridge

Located at Imjingak, this railroad bridge crosses the Paju River and is heavily guarded by Republic of Korea (ROK) troops. It was used to exchange prisoners following the Korean War (1950-1953). As the northernmost point that South Korean civilians are able to reach, there’s a monument and shrine that those with displaced families come to each year to pray for reunification, and that the rail line will connect both parts of Korea again. There’s a plaque there that says, “the iron horse wants to run” – summing up the fervent hopes of those separated from their loved ones in the North.

The 3rd Tunnel

Although a cease-fire armistice agreement was signed by North and South Korea to end hostilities, since then there have been numerous flashpoints and small battles. In particular North Korea made a concerted effort to dig numerous subterranean passages towards Seoul, designed for a sneak attack. So far four tunnels (out of an estimated 20) have been found – the 3rd Tunnel was discovered in October 1978.

It was sobering to hear that The 3rd Tunnel goes 435 m south of the Military Demarcation Line (i.e. in South Korean territory), and ended up just 55km from Seoul. My guidebook tells me that the Emperor at the time chose Seoul as the capital of Korea based on geomancy (feng shui) – though one wonders if his feng shui would have predicted Seoul to now be less than an hour’s drive from the most heavily fortified border in the world.

Anyways we got to walk along the South Korean side of the tunnel. You can only walk along 150m of the tunnel: when discovered it was quickly sealed off in three places, including a 5m thick portion of concrete, chemical gas and landmines. Needless to say we listened to the tourguide and didn’t go past the given boundary.

Dorasan Observatory

A hilltop observatory, guarded by troops – it gives a very expansive view of the DMZ. We got to see villages on either side of the Military Demarcation Line – Daeseong on the South side (called “Freedom Village”), and Kijong on the North side (called “Propaganda Village”).

This is a poor picture but you can see the North Korean flag flown from the top of a 160m tower that dwarfs everything else in Kijong village – the flag itself weighs 300kg! There’s a flag tower and flag on the South Korean side too in Daeseong, but it’s not as big. Keeping up with the Joneses never seemed more dramatic…

Panmunjeom

This is the neutral Joint Security Area – all important UN meetings regarding North-South Korea are held here. When we were there, elite ROK soldiers were on guard. They stand in a taekwondo pose, with half their bodies behind the Conference Room walls, the other half shown towards the North Koreans on the other side of the JSA. Our military escort, US Specialist Andrew Pollack (he previously served in Iraq) told us that the ROK soldiers do this to present a smaller shooting target, and also so that their hidden hand can be used to signal anything out of the ordinary. The guards here all hold black belts in taekwondo and are hand-selected by the government to serve in the JSA.

Conference Room

This building sits on either side of the Military Demarcation Line. The MDL runs down the middle of the conference table inside, and on either side’s windows you can see the simple concrete strip that’s divided Korea for over 50 years.

It’s also an eerie feeling to step across to the other side of the room into North Korea. In fact overall, there’s a certain tension in the air when you’re in the DMZ. Everything is more serious, the military buildup and precautions are sobering, and it causes you to reflect on the futility of war.

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Here’s the full facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=118187&id=579606378&l=2ee394fce8

Meet Dongdaemun, one of the city gates of 14th-century Seoul still standing today. I would imagine that to keep foreign nations and hostile invaders out, watchmen would be posted at these gates and other watchtowers along the city walls, on the lookout for any sign of enemy activity. The watchmen would need to be on the lookout particularly at night, when there’s more cover in the darkness. No doubt as the night goes on the job would be a tiring, sleep-depriving one. Dawn and the morning it brings can’t come soon enough, and so the watchmen would be waiting expectantly, with great longing for the morning, with great longing for the certainty of the sunrise.

The psalmist in Psalm 130:1-6 uses this same comparison to illustrate the depths of his faith in the Lord:

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

Can you agree with the psalmist? None of us can stand with the weight of our iniquities. With Him there is forgiveness. In His Word is our hope. And a life with Him spurs a faithfulness and patience, and we can be as Christian watchmen on a night shift waiting for the Son to reappear.

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A full day of walking around, sightseeing and shopping. In the morning I checked out the Gyeongbukgung Palace, the National Palace from the Joseon era. I was there in time to catch some of the guards in full costume changing around.

In the afternoon I walked down to Namdaemun Market – it’s filled to the brim with shops ready to fleece tourists like me of our money! The old brick-based market buildings remind me of Kuching, with its narrow alleyways and a bustling atmosphere. They sell everything from genuine (and fake) designer clothing, traditional wear, shoes, toys, souvenirs and so on. I must admit that I’m terrible at haggling and probably paid too much for the things I bought!

It’s been a great day of relaxed wandering, and exploring. I’ve definitely had lots of Brooke Fraser/”Deciphering Me” moments just standing in the middle of a massive intersection, neon lights everywhere – just missing the see-through umbrella!

Next on the itinerary, I’ll be off on a guided tour to the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ), which should be a fascinating experience.

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So yesterday I left the Anglophilic bubble of the Grand Hyatt, where our conference was, and stepped out into the authentic streets of Seoul for three days of sightseeing.

I had my Googlemaps directions at the ready, and it told me to get to 9beonji Jongno2-ga, Jongno-gu by using two different subway lines. However when I got off at the directed stop (Euljiro4-ga), the hotel was nowhere to be found. The mental image to have here is of a lost-looking dude wheeling an oversize green suitcase up and down the pothole-filled lanes of a neighbourhood market, bemused stall owners looking on. After asking a few shop owners in fractured Korean (thanks, Collins phrase book and Farm Cove Intermediate Korean class), I realised that Googlemaps lied and the YMCA Hotel was actually 1.5 km further.

Lessons to learn here: Korean streets are divided into numbered sections. The same stretch of Jongno, which means Bell Road, gets divided into Jongno1-ga, Jongno2-ga, Jongno3-ga and so on. The main intersection signs tell you what division of the road lies ahead, rather than what road you’re actually on (that’s on a separate sign on top). And you have to be careful as well as an intersection sign before the intersection gives different road names to a sign that’s after the intersection.

Monday night: a quick walk around the area

This is the “Street of Youth”, off Jongno2-ga, across the road from the YMCA building. It links up with a warren of alleyways that run parallel to Jongno Road itself – my guidebook notes that these alleyways were once used by the peasant class so they wouldn’t have to keep bowing to the aristocrats that traversed on the main road.

In any case, it was a bevy of sights and smells.

Out here, it’s a fascinating mix of Korean pop music and the street vendors plying their wares. I popped into a small restaurant and ordered something familiar – deep fried pork on rice (kassudon in Korean). I think I’ll be content to have more of a shop round tomorrow, and inject some Korean won (the local currency) into the Seoul economy.

One thing I noticed was the faint smell of sewage on the streets. Seoul, like most Asian cities, must have a different method of moving water and sewage through the city that makes the smell more prevalent. Another thing here that’s different to NZ is that smoking is a lot more prevalent around here. Most restaurants have a large smoking section and so if you’re not used to it you may have to hold your breath when walking between shops. It’s definitely a good thing that the previous Government legislated against smoking inside restaurants and many public areas have smoking bans in NZ. We’re quite fortunate in that respect.

My internet connection here is quite patchy – but will promise more photos soon!

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