ahh crap i gotta type this out again cuz i got timed outta blog so it deleted wut i had typed! Soooo lame! oh wellz. i'll try it again… type it in word and paste it in. =P I AM SMERT! Feel free to poke holes into wut ive said and correct me if u feel im wrong about anything.

Something someone once told me about Tommy Dyo, the AACF director, struck me hard when i heard it. (this is mad paraphrased) He said that He will work until all his friends know Christ and when that's accomplished, he'll go out and make more friends.
Jesus went out in the midst the sinners to minister to them. He was hangin out with prostitutes and tax collectors. I dun see how u can fault a person for goin out into the "real world" (well as real as the whole pageant world is) as long as he doesn't have the wrong motives. Now, i dun claim to be anywhere near worthy to carry Jesus's jock strap, but i think there is a validity in us goin out to them to meet them in their own environments as opposed to them coming to us in the church environment. I think both have their place. Are we supposed to wait until they come to church? or is goin out only supposed to happen in 3rd world situations? This makes me think of matt 28:19, the great commission where the "go" is best interpreted as "as you are going" according to SCBC pastors.
Personally, i dun feel that escorting is a gray area for me. I do not try to hide my participation in escorting, I also dun announce it to everyone either. If Im talking with someone and they ask me wut I been doin, I tell them. I've told non-Christians and I've told Christians, both inside and outside of the church. I would tell pastor jeff, jerry or jon that I've been escorting, (if I talked to them that is). I dun feel that they could question my original motives or intent for doing this. 1 cor 11:29 says "For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience." I think the balance for the "Believer's Freedom" is "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak" bcuz when you "wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ" (1 cor 8:9, 12) i do think that if a person thinks that its gray then that person is rite in not doin it. But i dun feel others should be condemning or questioning the motives/intent of the ones who feel it isn't gray. (james 4:12) I try to respect the other escort's privacy/wish for privacy regarding the escort matter. And I feel the others should too instead of hunting around and trying to figure out who did it.
I did not do escorting with the primary focus of ministry, that was definitely secondary to me, I did it for the fellowship with the brothers. The girls were not a large factor for me in my decision. God really did use us in the pageant. Part of wut tempered my frustration and disappointment at one incidient of discipline was cuz I felt so blessed bcuz that was the day LC asked me to pray for her. That really made my day, it made my week! So the result of the discipline applied to me paled in comparison to the blessing God had given me that day. So even though things had not worked out the way I wanted, all i could do was praise God for the opportunity that he had given me, even if it was cut short.

another reason for me previously keeping on the d/l the lumps escort roster is cuz i know some of you might come under scrutiny for how much time you're putting into escorting...in comparison to other lumps stuff, church stuff, or hang out stuff. i know it could've been an awkward situation for me to full out explain my other commitments when i decline invitations, particularly with the variety of opinions about it.

i think i will blog about the pagaent experience (somewhat directly) when i have some time...maybe on the lumps blog and not on my own, since i'm expecting some pagaent people to read my blog. or maybe i'll invite people to ask me questions. dunno...we'll see.

an im conversation i had with my bud today...

DAN Shinn: so you don't like that reference on my blog huh
GKWsf: ha ha
DAN Shinn: escort thang
GKWsf: thanks for cloaking it
GKWsf: altho i caught it kinda late
GKWsf: so i'm sure everyone read it anyways
GKWsf: :P
DAN Shinn: yeah
DAN Shinn: some
DAN Shinn: i think i got the team (escort folks) all figured out
GKWsf: ha ha
GKWsf: shoot
GKWsf: your whole list
DAN Shinn: though i haven't directly asked them about it
GKWsf: i'll confirm or deny
GKWsf: the numbers
DAN Shinn: for sures:
GKWsf: i'll tell you how much you have correct
DAN Shinn: donny
DAN Shinn: johnny
DAN Shinn: winchell
DAN Shinn: jason chang
DAN Shinn: andy pan
DAN Shinn: frank
DAN Shinn: not sures: charles
DAN Shinn: eli? probably not.
DAN Shinn: that's it
DAN Shinn: john ho maybe i guess
GKWsf: you're pretty good...not completely right
DAN Shinn: my for sures are right
DAN Shinn: right?
GKWsf: did you collaberate with anyone else?
GKWsf: in figuring out the list?
GKWsf: =)
GKWsf: you're right
DAN Shinn: i have sources
GKWsf: still not completely right tho
GKWsf: ;-)
DAN Shinn: meaning i'm missing a few people
DAN Shinn: i know i dont have the complete list
GKWsf: yep
GKWsf: i'll fill in some gaps for you later
GKWsf: too hard to do over im
DAN Shinn: i guess so
DAN Shinn: not like you're gonna blog about it
GKWsf: i'll tell you about the two weeks
GKWsf: interesting experience
GKWsf: i will blog some
GKWsf: but not everything
DAN Shinn: heck
DAN Shinn: just blog it all
DAN Shinn: easier
GKWsf: ha ha
GKWsf: some things i cant blog about
GKWsf: i wasnt home for a few nites
GKWsf: and wasnt online
GKWsf: that's why my blog postings have been scarce
GKWsf: slept over nite at the chinatown hotel a bunch of nites
GKWsf: and running around like crazy
GKWsf: i dont care too much about disclosure now...but before i knew it would be tough with everyone asking what i was up to, how the girls are, if they're pretty, if they'
GKWsf: re nice
GKWsf: (they're not all that)
GKWsf: but the experience really is andwas more about the guys
GKWsf: and the things we did together
DAN Shinn: ok
GKWsf: i also dunno if they people i will be bringing to lumps church
GKWsf: would want ppl to know that about them
GKWsf: before meeting them
DAN Shinn: people will find out one way or another
DAN Shinn: lumpers i mean
GKWsf: b/c i know a lot of peoeple have certain notions about pagaent girls
DAN Shinn: well
GKWsf: oh yeah totally
DAN Shinn: it's bound to happen
DAN Shinn: why not prep the lumps folks?
GKWsf: most regs know that i've done it
DAN Shinn: rather...
DAN Shinn: oh
DAN Shinn: didn't know gw or so and so did that
DAN Shinn: etc.
GKWsf: you saw the prayer request i put out right?
DAN Shinn: ya know?
DAN Shinn: yes
GKWsf: mostpeople here from a year ago know
DAN Shinn: saw prayer request
GKWsf: something i and some of the lumps guys were praying for dialy
GKWsf: daily
GKWsf: i brought 4 girls to church on sunday
GKWsf: early service
GKWsf: two were christian
GKWsf: two werent
GKWsf: one hasnt been in church since 2nd grade
GKWsf: a lot of people were curiousabout church and lump[s
GKWsf: after meeting up
GKWsf: us
GKWsf: that
GKWsf: was my goal
GKWsf: and still a primary reason why i got some lumps guys to do it
DAN Shinn: dunno
DAN Shinn: majority of the guys in lumps......
DAN Shinn: they didn't do the prayer thing
GKWsf: to develop a community to let ppl get to know lumps guys
DAN Shinn: that you and and a couple others did
GKWsf: we prayed all together
DAN Shinn: all?
GKWsf: talked about it a lot
GKWsf: shared prayer requests
GKWsf: we prayed after lumps too
DAN Shinn: wasn't it just 3 of you that prayed?
GKWsf: some of us
GKWsf: prayed some other times with others
GKWsf: shared requests too
DAN Shinn: majority probably don't see this as "ministry" as you do
DAN Shinn: i would still label it "gray"
DAN Shinn: and you know this too
DAN Shinn: that's why no lumpstalk this year
DAN Shinn: right?
DAN Shinn: or letting others know about it
GKWsf: i think the new guys that i brought in were pretty good and solid
GKWsf: compared to last year
GKWsf: and i had to be more discerning on who i invte
GKWsf: after last year
GKWsf: s experience
GKWsf: i'm not saying that anyone did this primarillly for evangelism
GKWsf: but i believe that most of them understood the opportunities we had with people.
GKWsf: most of all...it was a fun experience to do with guys...bonding with the bros...meet new people...get out in the real world
GKWsf: the things that will last from this...
DAN Shinn: hmmm
GKWsf: is the brotherhood that was fostered
DAN Shinn: would scbc or pastor jeff deem this the same way?
GKWsf: i'm NOT saying that it's a missions tri
GKWsf: p
DAN Shinn: see, if you can but upfront with this "ministry" then i think it's "gray"
DAN Shinn: i'm not saying it's "missions" either
GKWsf: i'm not calling it a pure ministry either
GKWsf: not on the level as thailand
GKWsf: or anything else
GKWsf: you know...

GKWsf: howd you know about us praying?
GKWsf: three of us
GKWsf: there was a time when three of us prayed
DAN Shinn: i know stuff
GKWsf: and there was a nother time when 5 of us prayed
GKWsf: ha
DAN Shinn: people know stuff
DAN Shinn: so that's why
DAN Shinn: why hide?
GKWsf: ookay
DAN Shinn: when it's all bound to come out
DAN Shinn: sooner or later
GKWsf: it'll all come out now
DAN Shinn: yeah?
GKWsf: yeah
DAN Shinn: gonna lumpstalk your experience??
GKWsf: no
GKWsf: this is not something for everyone
GKWsf: and this is NOT something that everyone would be invited to do
GKWsf: for various reasons
GKWsf: not a character thing
DAN Shinn: hmmm
GKWsf: but a personality thing
GKWsf: more so
DAN Shinn: sortaa like a missions trip huh
GKWsf: and how that affects your witness
DAN Shinn: not right for everyone
GKWsf: so much like a missions trip
GKWsf: i did not invite xxx
GKWsf: i did last year
GKWsf: did not this year
GKWsf: i think we would put some people off
GKWsf: and affect our witness

pls don't share withanyone about this post or talk about it offline.

i have no idea how he knew some of that info..like three of us praying. i know ppl know about me doing it. and my expressed motivations for doing it the past couple of years.

i've been talking to some lumps ppl, and they have a variety of reactions...ranging from "wow, that sounds really cool and fun"...to the skeptical "why the heck did you do that again?" and "i dunno about some of the motivations of the other guys that you brought in." so that's just what you gotta be aware of and sensitive too.

for new people we bring to church/lumps, we may not want to publicize for their sake how we met them, b/c of certain conceptions people might have about pagaent girls and escorts.

if people ask why some did it some didnt, i only really asked people who had the time to do it or i thought would really wanna do it. i didnt ask dan (who's like my closest bud), cuz i already knew his impression of it and how he had no free time from work. except for johnny, i didnt ask anyone who said no last year.

man...i've been away from blogging for too long. you guys know it's cuz i've been staying overnite at pagaent central in chinatwon thur nite, fri nite, and sat nite.

it's over now

congrats on a job well done. you guys made it thru an intense two weeks. i think it's been a growing experience for everyone...as a christian witness, as a gentleman, and as a christian brother. i think it'll be sorta interesting for the outsider in lumps to notice how a previously random group of guys are now visibly bonded together because of this experience.

disclosure?

i stopped by church after late late service last nite. flew, jana, dchi and dshinn knew. dchi knew that i had done it...and he guessed that johnny and jaborne did it too. i highly doubt that a lot of people know about the rest of you. how public you want to be with it is totally up to you. you still should not ever share any knowledge or hints about this chinatown blog. if you end up talking about it with people, it's ok to tell them that i did it and brought you in.

andy, i would still avoid listing for anyone exactly which guys did it. if you want to blog about it...don't mention initials or real names. i think saying something like "jingle" or "sprinkles" might be ok...i dunno. i'm still keeping it vague for people who ask me who did it. the reason i tell them is that i want to prevent superficial judgements and misconceptions by others (not necessarily the one who asks me) on the people who were involved in it. you guys and also new visitors which we hope to bring to lumps/church. i think most people can understand and respect that.

being aware

i think that there's a good chance that your public blogs will be discovered and read by pagaent people. particularly if they're linked to mine.

keep on praying

over the past few days i've been praying a lot for people. even tho we couldn't have our prayer meeting with all the guys after lumps, some of us were able to pray together on the car ride. that was really great. i'm totally for a reunion debrief/prayer meeting for the guys on this blog or everyone else if you want.

some stuff to pray for still...

- our continued character witness with the guys and the girls in the pagaent.

- i heard thru the grapevine that bing, was unhappy or upset with how i brought people to church on sunday. (heard last nite over im from anna from last year. see how fast news travels here! to texas and back!) evidently something about how i pushed it too much. i really don't know. a suprise to me. but i know if someone has an impression like that, it could be bad if i'm trying to be a good witness of character. so i dropped him a note first thanking him for all of his help, appreciating him, and secondarily apologizing for any frustrations or problems from miscommunication or lack of information. supposedly he told anna that he was turned off by something and won't be doing it again. definitely pray for good relationshsps with him.

- pray for the non-christian girls who came out to church with us, that they may draw closer to god. for god to reveal himself in their lives. pray for peple's schedules to be free to have time to check out lumps/church.

- pray for the healing of tensions among the escorts and a continued strong witness. i know for a fact that sprinkles throwing a fun snap at stacey's balloon was a mistake and a not a good decision. sprinkles had a really tense moment with peter. peter was right too, not pulling rack or being overly strict or anything too. it was something that shouldn't have been done.

would love to hear your impressions (on anything) here. i know we ought ta have our christian brother wrap up sometime soon.

me:

it feels sorta weird, almost lonely to not be there. you get accustomed to the company and hanging out with you guys. i went for a drive with brian, dan ong, and martin to newark to drop off the vans. nice chat with brian about spirtuality and the other s. good stuff.

I had a great time, and there is lots to share, but I have a question for you all. How much can I blog on my own journal about this? How much detail can I go into without compromising the confidentiality of the participants? I know half of Lumps probably knows what we're up to, which was confirmed by Eli when I saw him for a training session for an English Camp in East Asia Sat. morning. It's your call, I'll go with the consensus. But definitely it was a fun experience, though it was a lot of work too. I suggested to Greg to organize a debriefing for the guys, maybe when the pics and footage are edited.

too bad there wasn't a prayer meeting tonight after lumps. hey i wanna thank you guys for keeping me accountable, and that i take your criticisms to heart. i know that sometimes my jokes can get out of hand. for that i'm a chump. i also apologize for dropping the kids in the escort room instead of in the restrooms in the lobby. i don't know what i was thinking. that was rude. i guess i thought that my crap don't stink.

the mr chinatown pagaent was off the hook. a really great time. i decided to go all out and had a great time.

hey, i just found out at lunch today that J (#4 girl) is christian! go and talk to her about it. she goes to church regularly and used to sing in the choir. (hmm...i guess that's why she sounded ok during karaoke.) so far i think pw (the old queen...she's christian but i didn't really know it last year...wasn't obvious to me...sorta strange...but i talked to her some about it today), ak and ac will probably try to go to church with us sunday, if it all works out. i'll still have to clear it tho but should be ok. 8:30 service at sunset.

had a good chat with L (#3 girl). she said that the christian guys i brought in seem all really cool and really nice. i shared with her a little about christians getting out of the bubble and getting to know other people. i think we are giving a good impression of church guys. ptl. keep it up!

one thing for everyone to keep in mind. please do your best to be respectable and *not*so*loud*. in the housemothers suite, in the hotel lobbies, and in public appearances. i continue to get feedback from other people that some of the newer escorts who i brought in need to improve in that area.

i'm praying for all of you guys individually that you can be good witnesses as we hang out with everyone, and that we can really allow our character and faith show thru in out times with them.

way to go gdub and afu at yesterday's mr. chinatown pageant! whatcha gonna do with all of your winnings? :)

i've been hearing about some grumblings about the pageant from some of the losers. i told them that i can't say anything about it, but that i can listen to what they have to say. i think they know that all of the escorts have to keep their mouths shuts and respect that fact.

oh btw, i'm missing out this afternoon's activities cuz i have to pick up erica c. from the airport. can't put the pageant girls before the lumpers, you know.

word.

hung bao check

pay day today. i picked up $57 in li see. (one guy gave me double, even tho i tried to refuse it.) i also picked up $5 last week on chinese new year at new asia. i wonder if i can break 130.

handling the truth appropriately

please do not share with any outsiders that f had to be cut. i know stories can easily spread and be distorted, hurting a person's character or rep. if there are questions, you can direct em to me.

we're still keeping our community service on the d/l tip. pretty good job so far on being discrete. however, please *do not lie* in order to keep things secret. it will eventually just hurt our witness and rep as christian escorts. inevitably it will probably get out and skeptical christian people will question the type of activity you're involved in that makes you lie. that exact same thing gets reflected on to me...what am i doing recruiting guys into an activity that will make guy lie? i'm extremely sensitive towards how we need to be above reproach and how our actions, positive and negative, paint a picture of our character. i would rather you disclose stuff and make things public, than to lie.

i mentioned before how i handle the truth...sharing with people that i have chinese new year stuff, meeting up with out of town people, community service, etc. i know it's a fine line, but from my personal moral standard, i'd rather evasively disclose a little than saying something completely false.

the axe

things are definitely ramped up since our last meeting. all of this stuff being thrown at us. you'll see that on my own blog, i shared a little about the role that i'm being called to step up to. i know i can be tougher. well it ultimately came down tonite that we had to let escort f go. (no, he's not on this blog.)

to put it positively, he was a little too encouraging, affirming and helpful with the girls. offered too many helpful insights and probably got a little too involved. he was in a tough position since a few of the girls would go to him...and ask him for his advice. a few of the older guys gave him instructions to cut it out...yet it still persisted. a bunch of the veteran guys were ticked off. i'm sorry it came down to it, but it had to be done. especially now things are getting a little crazier from here on out. from the position of all of the head escorts, it's nothing personal against him at all. we do really appreciate all of his hard work, his arriving early, and his hustling to help the girls out. but in the end, the decision was that we cannot have someone who crosses the line that was repeatedly crossed. he had warnings a few times today, and we had to dismiss him because it persisted. he did so much work, we're offering him comp tix to attend the pagaent. not sure yet if he'll come. we'll see...

i really hope that all of you guys make it thru to the end. if you're alert and pay attention to instructions and the older guys, you'll be fine.

recap from our long escort meeting tonite...

* be curteous, quiet and reserved in the housemother's room, during rehearsals, and out in public. professional gentlemen.

* stick to the program and be firm with the girls. no detour trips without clearance.

* the head escort needs to be in the know at all times for everything.

* don't show favoritism. spread yourself out to all the girls. (it's better to get to know girls before the pagaent, too. everything will change after that.)

* watch what you say about a girl's talent or outfit, particularly in front of other girls. ("you did well.") no constructive criticism or super-high praise.

* we need to be johnny-be-quick and more buttonned up. can't be lagging. everything gets turned up a few notches in terms of expectations and pressure from people around us.

* help out your fellow escorts as much as possible.

ugh...i think i'm almost brain fried now. i'll be off duty most of the day tomorrow to work on my school portfolio stuff (due tomorrow)!

recap today...

- please, please be very dilligent in watching the time when it comes to taking the girls out. don't let them pull you away at all to make you a minute late. in know it happened a lot with the sfcenter trip. please be firm and don't give in!

- on the way down to foothill college, today...my van talked about dating. heard a lot about lw and any houston trading stories. ac thru out the question again if i am a lot pickier now that i've done these pagaents for a few years. i gave my generic diplomatic response again how you get a better sense of knowing what you're looking for in a girl, as you interact with a lot of girls. got asked by someone else if i have a gf out of curiosity. i also shared that i don't enter the pagaent with extremely low expectations of finding a girl i would consider dating, primarily b/c i'm looking for a strong, active christian. someone who's faith is important to her and would be central to her life. not to say that it discounts all pageant girls, but that the probability of finding someone like that is extremely low. (particularly based on my experiences.) i think that was pretty interesting to the girls in my car. i've brought up that personal perspective in past years with others. after sharing that, amy houston asked me if i knew that she was christian. (no, it wasn't at all like she was sending me a message or anything.) btw, i recall on sunday that she looked very stiff an uncomfortable when it came to bowing to the ancester altar. noticing that did make me wonder if she was christian for a moment. i think i probably recorded that moment on tape.

- i learned that ak is christian. she's been a christian for less than a year i think. goes to navigators at school. was very happy and suprised to hear that. just when i was thinking that there aren't really any christians in here among the girls. she goes to some korean church. she asked me if it's possible to go to church on sunday. (glad to hear that.)_i really doubt that it's possible this sunday. unless she goes to a super early service and can be ready all dressed at about 9:45 or so for the press conference. i think the second sunday may be very doable. i'm praying for her continued growth and stability in this high pressure environment.

- gave f and a a ride tonite. before i dropped them off, the three of us prayed together. it was a really great time. being aware of the spritual battle around us as well as people opportunities all around us. we prayed for people by name and prayed for each other and all the lumps guys. i pray that people can see our true character and love which makes us christian, something different than just buddy comaraderie. i pray for opportunities of transparent sharing to help build influential relationships. my hope is that we can all glofy god in all that we do everyday and drawpeople closet to him.

i think it'd be really great if we could pray together sometime. maybe whenever we find time that two or three of us could get away. probably during rehearsal times. i think if possible, it'd be really great to do so in the morning when we're just kicking back, to start off the time right. andy pan mentioned that he'd like to do it...possibly next week friday, but i think that would be a little too late. we should be praying as much as possible. i'd be subtle about it, and be very careful not to alienate any of the other escorts who may be around tho.

my friend cathy had shared something interesting with me about last year which i didn't know then. apparantly right before the pagaent, the choreographer (who was a christian) gathered all of the girls around together and prayed for them. i can't remember what she said he prayed for, but i thought that was pretty cool, altho i think it would be sorta different coming from the escorts. it could be pretty powerful, esp since now the majority of the regular escorts (us) are christian, and it'd be a real way we can support them. i really dunno. what do you guys think of that?

this year is pretty different in terms of the spiritual composition/environment of the pagaent people from previous years:

my first year - 99 (rabbit)
i felt like i was the sole active christian in the midst of the very secular real world. (in case you didn't know, i entered this world all alone, not bringing in any friends and not knowing a single person...remind me to share the full story with you later.) among the escorts, it seemed that there was a huge void in terms of faith. there seemed to be a world of difference. the whole environment was so much different than the isolationist christian bubble that i was in. i did meet one christian girl in the pagaent and got to talk to her some, which was cool. became cool with a few people, but didn't stay in active touch with a lot of em.

my second year - 00 (dragon)
i brought in my buds r and t. rreally great bonding time for me with them. went to church regularly, tho not involved really in active formal fellowship. it was cool hanging out with buds and getting to know new people. also us getting to know and share with a few people thru friendships. developed a little circle with a couple of other non-xian escorts in this. met a couple of christian girls in here, but didn't get too deep with them. still felt pretty different from a lot of the non-xian escorts.

my third year - 01 (snake)
i tried to recruit a ton of lumps guys who i knew to really bring in a christian influence into the pagaent. beyond sharing a cool experience with them, to really bring some guys who could possibly be positive life testimonies in here. this was the year that i was a co-chair with p and b, the three of us helping out under bing. my strategy sorta worked and didn't worked. i did bring in 4 guys i knew thru lumps...yet none of them were really super regular at lumps. i think we all identified with the spirtiual need and differences with the people we met. we prayed a couple of times, and i actively encouraged them. we had some really good bonding and fellowship times. yet in the end, b/c there were a few incidents with a few of them due to some social awkwardness and short fuses. in the end, i got a few comments shared how the guys generally seemed like the weird church guys. (not dp tho, he was cool with everyone.) the three christian girls we met tho, really appreciated all of us...how we weren't hom sup los like many of the other escorts, how we were fair, how our character shone thru, and also how we shared some fellowship with them. a lot of us had really real discussions with people sharing about faith and life with people. nearly every day for me. i had more significant conversations with non-xians that two weeks than i did the other 50 weeks of the year.

my fourth year - 02 (horse)
i brought you guys in. (i'm also in a pretty influential and insightful position as a head escort this time around.) it seems like most of the regular escorts around are the ones whom i brought in. the dynamic of the escorts has changed a lot so that there isn't a huge sharp contrast of the xian escort club and the other non-xian escorts. it seems like a lot of the other guys have some sort of xian background but aren't xian. it's not clear to me yet if there are any really solid xian girls competing. already been having great times bonding and fellowshipping with you guys.

it's great to see you guys discover a lot about the spiritual environment of the people here. i hope that we can be positive witnesses thru our daily actions...both big and small. but i don't think that just living as good guys is enough. i hope and pray for purposeful conversations to share with everyone to really get to know people where they're at. to reveal who we are and what we're about...having christ as our center. getting away to perspectives tonite was a nice break and a time of reflection for me. i think the biggest step to getting to that purposeful point is prayer. both on our own and together.

i think everything we've been doing so far is heading in the right direction of how we ought to live as christians in this environment. (e.g. the insights noticed and the conversations shared with people.) we can continue to stretch out of our normal comfortable lumps circle. i think particularly over the weekend, when we have more of a mixed group of lumps and non-lumps escorts we can do our best to break ourselves up to mix and find times and connect to people.

one closing note about evangelism. i've learned that it's not our job to win people over to christ...to cross them over that line of belief. it's all in god's hands ultimately. our hope and goal shouldn't be to convert people, but really to draw people closer to god. people will come to him in his time. even if we never talk to any of these people after the two weeks, don't underestimate how important our interactions can be in drawing people closer to god...sharing insights and knowledge of him.

pls continue to post your thoughts, insights, and identified prayer opportunities for people. looks like i wasted a lot of time blogging instead of doing my projects, but i think it was worth it to share all this with you all. pray on and be real with people, living for god's glory!

oh btw, i think im gonna stick my devotional and my lil bible in my backpack and just bring it with me to do during my downtime, cuz ive been wiped when i get home after escorting cuz im not used ta waking up so early. might borrow ur palm too Greg, so i dun hafta carry a bible around... im LAAAAAZY! :D

another person to pray for is tanya from seattle. i got to talk to her at dinner tonight and i told her i knew a buncha u-dub aacfers and she said she has some frenz in it and they invite her to church and aacf. Next time i get paired up with her, im gonna try to broach the subject of church and aacf with her and try to move it to why she doesnt go. u guys shud try to bring it up too if u can. but im also hoping jimmy can connect with her since hes from seattle and u-dub aacf, but hes not around too much cuz he got a real job hehe.
It just been humbling to see God in this pageant these past couple days. Just realizing and seeing Him working around me is wesome. i also realized i had NOT been in prayer for these girls and for us trying to reach out to them at all. i walked into this pageant under my own power when i should have been approaching this pageant on my knees... Its been great to see God at work and using us in ways that we can see and in ways that we will never kno or understand to impact not only the contestants but also the other escorts. which i think is just awesome. It was coo to hear about bing and edan btw. Looks like we, "greg's guys" are making an impact of some sort here. Lift it all up in prayer! The real battle is fought on our knees. now if we could only connect with the housemothers... :D

Oh and if ur in a prayerful mood, (and u BETTA BE!) pray for jennifer from lumps too. that new girl with the permed? curly hair. i had a good talk with her after welcome dinner. she's looking hard for something rite now... God? Pray that He reveals Himself to her. and hopefully she'll find a strong sister to help guide her instead of a brother.

it feels great to take a little break from chinatown and be on the net. =) too bad i got so much stuff to take care of.

i'm enjoying the fellowship with you guys...the talking about all the chinatown stuff, the girls, as well as the deep stuff like how we ought to live as christians.

please keep each other accountable when it comes to praying before meals. i might have forgotten before lunch today. i know how tough it can be when there's pressure to be attentive to everyone, so let's encourage each other on.

at lunch it was really interesting to hear how christine sorta checked out a fellowship her freshman year. she said something like how all of the people on her floor with christians, and that they were only friends with the christian people. i hope we can give her a good impression of christian people. i wonder if she'd be willing to check out lumps and church sometime, particularly since she's new to the area and doesn't know a ton of ppl.

i hope you guys can keep up on your quiet times. i know your schedule can be all whacked when you're there all day. if you ever want, you can ask me to borrow my palm, which has the bible on it.

i went to the family associations with "money", christine, and michelle...with "a-fro" filming us and adding his commentary...haha can't wait to see the video. at night escorted amy and had a chance to talk to her a little bit. yeah she says she's "on and off" spiritually.

i'm glad we were in the same car as bing on our way back home. it was cool talking to him about God and other religions. i'm glad that at least he takes time to ponder the reason and purpose for our lives on earth.

yeah a lot of people know that i'm a christian. christine asked some questions about church after she saw me praying....and i pointed out that a lot of other jabrones (you guys) go to my church also and are my sometimes painful and annoying buddies :) ...she thought it was cool.

so the first day came and gone. how was it for all of you? i think it went well...aside from a few bumps with the girls coming late and visitations. any thoughts or interesting conversations with ppl?

i double teamed with terry to take andra and amy (texas) to their associations. it was kinda nuts. the first two were totally unprepared for us. first one only had one guy there! never ever had that happen to me before. second one didnt expect us at all. they were all playing mah jong! we also had a lot of trouble finding the doorbell button. got all that on video.

andra told me that she sometimes goes to san jose chinese alliance. didn't get to talk to her too much about it.

i think the other dinner tables had more fun than my table. seems like everyone was getting along everywhere else. ours was quiet. i did get a chance to catch up with laura. also chatted with michelle. she's pretty cool. i think one of the 50% better than her picture. talking to her can tell that she's younger tho. (jr at santa cruz.) she can really put away food! eats a lot and pretty fast.

i think a lot of the girls already picked up on the fact that a lot of the escorts go to church. especially since i brought so many of you guys in. i heard amy notice that out loud. it was cool hearing some of you chat with amy (texas) in the car if she was spiritual.

i was totally caught offguard by frank coming. but he's cool. he'll be a good escort and will gel with everyone i think. get to know him if you don't know him much. i had a talk with andypan and frank during the walgreens run, doing my own briefing with them.

my car had an interesting chat with bing on the way home. he shared how he's in this christian basketball league, and heard a devo...where one guy opened it up for any questions...he asked how christianity is different from other religions. the speaker said that all other religions that arent thru christ are cults. the exact theology terminology of that we didn't agree with...but i'm really glad to hear how he's interested somewhat.

btw, chatting with eden yesterday, learned that he just started to go back to church. to the new cornerstone branch in sunset...how it feels more grass roots. he used to go. johnny, you have that in common with him, brian, dillion and nelson.

hey...please keep each other accountable as christians when it comes to language and how we use our tongue. i know it can be easy to slip.

that's all i have. impressions? thoughts? interesting conversations about faith with people? people opportunities you see to share?

just wanted to share with you what it's probably gonna be like for me for the two weeks, particularly tomorrow...

- managing possibly about 30 guys, assigning duties, making sure everything goes smoothly
- having to help keep track of the status of 15 girls (arrivals, etc.)
- working with housemothers telling me where the girls need to be
- working with sydney (pagaent head) for last minute changes and coordinating with him
- somehow trying to coordinate with everyone and placate everyone
- trying my best to hook you guys up with a great experience, yet also trying to be fair to all of the escorts, not showing favoritism.
- find time to relax and connect to the new people around me.
- squeeze in a lot of needed time to work on my portfolio (and look for a job)
- try to work out the brand new guys who don't have a clue what's going on (not you guys)
- be a positive and good witness in the midst of everything

i'm starting to feel some of the pressure as everythings ramping up quickly. people calling me to figure out a ride. one guy trying to bring in a bud last minute. even some small pressures at home for some other stuff...anyways wanted to share this with you guys so you can be supportive and know where i'm coming from.

at times you'll probably get a few assignments that you might not be crazy doing. pls understand where i may be coming from in terms of needing to get the job done, or having to give it to responsible guys (like you) who i can trust. once i assign something, it could be really hard to change the assignment if there are other people around. again with the favoritism thing.

just sharing this stuff on the blog is a little cathartic for me. thx for reading and understanding.

this should be a pretty fun time for all of us. please be mindful of the other guys around us and take as many opportunities as possible to get to know them, too. i wouldn't want this blogging lumps escorts community to be too great of a clique, shutting out the other guys, putting them off, and missing the chances for us to share our lives with them.

again...this blog is on the d/l...even to the other guys who i have brought in. use it to share info, news, thoughts, predictions, and people opportunities. use this communication to enhance your experience and how you get to know people, but please don't say anything which may reveal the source.

oh yeah...tomorrow and the rest of the first week may have a lot of waiting. you can bring a book, cards, or busy work to do. i'll be bringing a laptop to do some portfolio stuff during some of the daytimes.

ok, hosmurf is in. he's added to this blog too. looks like andy pan is going to escort too, since he just left his job today. i'll tell him about the blog too. after him that should be it.

sunday update and ride situations

ok here's the tentative plan...go to early service. you guys can leave your cars in the sunset. (unless any of you vollunteers to make an airport run in your own cars?? you could then maybe go to 11:30 service.) we'll drive one of the vans to bring us all to chinatown. we'll then have to do airport runs, hang out, or do association visits. (it could be a lot of waiting...be warned. but it should be cool since we're all hanging out together.) at nite we'll drive the sunset shuttle back to the cars.

afu will be staying overnite sunday and monday nite. btw, donny should be staying overnite that first nite too. i'm planning on staying overnite on monday nite. (if i stay overnite, you sunset ppl will still be able to get rides back to the sunset. pete would then drive back.)

btw, i already told aaron...cable car tailor. downtown sf. i actually should adjust my own suit too.

hey if you chat with hosmurf...encourage him to do it. he's waffling. :P

jnyce and hosmurf (still need to talk to him) will be taking a lot of video during the two weeks. we plan on putting together a real world: chinatown pagaent escorting video documentary. :) we even have dv tapes covered in our official escort budget. the story will center around the escorts and the unique service that we provide. also reveal a little about the culture of the chinatown pagaent and a behind the scenes look at the new year festivities. i'll be writing up a page or two about it. be cooperative for the camera! we'll probably be doing little interviews with y'all and the other escorts. also with the girls to share about how much they appreciate the escorts and how much they like us. ha. should be fun.

it would be impossible (and also less interesting) to do a documentary focused on the girls. they don't need the constant nuissance of a camera on them with all the pressure to perform and prepare. it's much more interesting to focus on the escorts and along the way tell the secondary story about the pagaent and the culture.

there's a unique opportunity to record a lot of footage this year compared to other years. primarily cuz i'm a head guy this year. also cuz the pagaent heads are gonna be a little more detached from the scene...and hopefully less critical of the escorts (i hope).

i'm pretty sure there will be some interesting things recorded and some little dramas. it'll be pretty cool to have a nicely edited video documentary as a souvineer of this two week experience. who knows, if it's really great, maybe we can edit it in some short film fest. that'd be cool. maybe could get some money for it too. :)

if you guys were unclear, you must dress up in a suit for sunday. you'll likely be going out on visitations in the afternoon. i recommend having a casual change of clothes (no jeans, no tennis shoes, no t-shirts). i recommend that you always have a full suit (with dark socks...don't forget) and a change of casual clothes ready for each day/night you have duty.

just got an e-mail from jw. he says that he'll be swinging by lumps. :) we'll say that he met some of us from mutual friends.

man...i'm starting to feel the pressure for this chinatown stuff. hey...one thing that i don't think i ever mentioned to you guys is that for the rest of the year after the two weeks, escorts are needed to periodically accompany the queens to appearances and meals. like this sat i need to find someone to take last year's chinese sf queen to the sf symphony. too bad it conflicts with when i gotta get the vans.

just e-mailed you guys the flight schedule. also has the ages, since i know you guys were curious.

here's the deal for sunday...let's tentatively try to go to early service...then i'll drive us down to chinatown in a van (which i'm getting sat). however, i'm going to try to work it out to be easier on us...to go to 11:30 service and get more sleep...then go down to chinatown. i think either the van (or one of our individual cars) may need to make one of the runs to sfo to pick up one of the girls. still tbd. need to talk to pete and brian about it. sun nite i'll drive the sunset shuttle back from chinatown and give you all lifts.

afu, i think you might be able to stay overnite at the hotel if you want sun nite (and maybe even mon nite). gotta clear it with the other head dudes tho. lemme know if you would wanna.

mon am, jace and i have class at city. we be done at 10:30.

oh yeah...i have tentative schedules for you guys. i'll hand it to you probably on sunday.

hey if you guys are up for a pre-chinatown hang-out...jon fong's bday is coming up. this friday dinner at claimjumpers in concord. yeah, it's hecka far...but it is a really great group place. (lots of good memories in college for small groups and birthdays.) ribs are hecka good. and atmosphere is great too. exact time tbd.

yo. glad to hear you make more sense now, jon...and i do appreciate you for doing that too. :)

also really glad that you brought up my bud, ken. of any of the people that you have opportunities to befriend and hope to draw closer to god...it's the escorts.

i met ken last summer while i was enrolled in the ad school. he had just moved out here after graduating from boston. didn't really know anyone coming out here. used to hang out with all asians. hasn't really found much of a crowd to hang with. (very few asians at ad school.) i felt for him pretty early on and brought him out to lumps once (but he said christianity really isn't his thing) and one of our outreach cafe nites. i try to invite him out still now and then...on the non thursday events (since he has night classes). dunno if you guys knew emily tam, who was going to lumps about half a year ago. she knew him in college, and it was on her heart to share with him for quite a while... right around the time i met him. he had some christian friends in school...and was exposed to christianity...but i guess he never felt that it was his thing...or was never curious enough to seek. my hope for him is that thru his interactions with us he'll really get to know what christians are like, how we're different from the rest, and hopefully see a little about what god has to offer.

i hope that the new guy we met at the meeting, jimmy, gets to come out and hang out with us. maybe he'll be able to come out to lumps. i think he hasn't found a fellowship group or a christian crowd yet.

it's not too early to pray for people by name...both the guys we met and the girls we only know by the poster. :) you never know how god can work in their lives over the next week. in some way perhaps thru other christian friends or some event that makes them think about god.

uhh there is? wuts the 411 on it?

well hey u guys know that there's a brothers appreciation night going on right?

My two cents on the sis appreciation is that it would work better on a NON-thursday becuz the normal lumps thurs nite rotation isnt altered and new ppl wont feel left out and core would have less problems with it. oh i think if there was a group of guys going to core trying to sell sis appreciation, it would sell better. Maybe you can get a buncha doodes together if it's something u really wanna do. k that felt a lil more like 4 cents, but least i get my money's worth. hehe :D

much respect to jon for honestly sharing his motivation for serving in this pageant.
however, if it was JUST about the pretty girls (and we all concur that it's a debatable issue), i definitely would not be doing it. that's actually one reason why i wouldn't do it...i don't want people to think that i'm just doing it to meet attractive women and for it to be true. and if i was asked to help escort last year while i was still working, i probably would've said no. but since i have some time now and a flexible schedule, i think it'd be a FUN experience. sure hanging out with pretty girls contributes to the FUN experience, but above all, what really "pushes me over the line between yes and no" is CURIOSITY...i watch pageants on tv sometimes, it'd be cool to see what goes on when they're not on camera...and what do escorts do anyways? i use to think they just walk them here and there during the pageant...stuff like that. and what makes it more FUN is hanging out with a bunch of friends while sharing a new experience...kinda like taking a trip with ur buddies to some place new...i hope that doesn't sound too idealistic or like 10lbs of doodoo in a 5 lb bag to you, cuz it really shouldn't...i'll openly admit that networking, learning to be a gentleman, sharing God's word with non-christians WERE NOT the first things that came to mind when deciding whether to do this or not...although when brought to my attention, they are definitely things to consider and added benefits to the cause.
as to jon's confusion over christian girls in pageants, man...i'm just as confused as u are. and after talking to cathy, i still don't really buy it. maybe i could understand if they were curious and just wanted to experience it, but even still...it's a lot of work and commitment for something like that.

whew...i was feeling pretty sick the past day...finally back online to check e-mail and blog...

a few things...

* in "why i did it for three years" in a previous post, one of my 5 points was "to have fun hangin out with some cute, fun girls." i never denied it at all, JON. but that's not the main personal driving reason for me to do it. it's fine with me if it is for any of you guys (but you're really just setting yourself up for disappointment). you'll soon see firsthand what more there is to the experience.

* asian club = the asian party scene. you know what i'm talking about afu. :)

* a big thing that makes this fun, is that it's all centered around our interactions with the girls. it feels really good to be appreciated, doing things for girls. (some might say makes you feel more of a man.) i think it's all good practice, too. i can tell you that you'd never get the training to this extent in lumps. (on a side note, some lumps person could ask me why don't i try to put all of my effort instead into something for the sisters? well, i thought about that and tried. the sisters are more important to me anyways. i wanted to set up last week feb as a sister's appreciation event and even vollunteered to orchestrate it. well core decided that they didn't want to do that. oh wells. fine with me.)

i'm off to lunch with the police commissioner, sydney, who is also head of the pagaent. will get money and the schedule. more insider info for y'all later.

cathy seems coo. though i wish someone had told me wut she was doing there B4 i left u guys. LOL! oh wellz. no bigs. fillin me in on the highlites would be coo.

yo...winch, jnyce, and jabrone...what'd you think of meeting cathy? she was keeping it real, huh? thoughts on the insights and perspectives she shared? i think only jabrone got a chance to hear everything...since she shared at times when we were separated.

did anything impress you or strike you? i'm sure you guys thought she was cool...totally more than a shallow pagaent girl huh?

hey, i talked to pete today. he said that his initial impression of you new guys is that you guys seem pretty cool. (that's good.) he said better than the last bunch of guys who i brought in (excluding dp). :P

he also told me again about that guy j we met. he said again that he heard that j doesn't know a lot of people since he's moved down from seattle, and that we should invite him out to our fellowship/church. i thought that was pretty cool. told him he could check it out too sometime whenever he wants to. who knows, maybe...he grew up catholic.

looks like i got a meeting with sydney, the head of the pagaent at the chamber on tuesday. update after that. on monday i'm probably meeting up with the other head guys to figure out things a little more.

Happy birthday, A.Fro!

we oughta hang out or something for your bday.

i totally appreciate john being real (and offering an interesting perspective). and pretty to the point. i think it's really good to talk about motivations and expectations for doing the pagaent. my thoughts...

be real with your reasons

i certainly wouldn't want any of you guys to pass off any fake lines to anyone...in/out of church, in/out of the pagaent. if say you're really doing it to solely meet girls and don't give a crap about the culture stuff or how whether or not people know you are christian in there...then don't use any sugar coated cover. that would just be a lie then and a really poor living testimony. in the world (and i'm sure in the pagaent), you'll meet people.

like afu, i stated the different reasons...culture, friends, fun, new people, schmoozing, service, and being a living witness. i know that most christian guys that i bring in aren't doing the pagaent with the sole intention of doing it as a covert social missions trip. but i would really hope that you guys as mature solid christians can see the potential for opportunities to influence people for god and to even just show god's love. (i think most of you can...nearly all of you having experience on a missions trip and/or taken perspectives.)

also...you're gonna be asked by everyone. you always are. guys and girls in the pagaent. people at church eventually. friends. etc. some will probably assume that it's just to meet girls or something. a reason why i don't advertise to everyone, that i'm doing this...is to prevent cursory judgements and assumptions of why i'm doing it. it usually takes a little more explaining. (hmm...maybe i will eventually put it on my blog...i dunno.) when i do explain why i do it, most people do understand and are even encouraging. however that understanding isn't necessarily extended to the other guys that do this with me...especially if they don't know you guys. i respect everyone's reputation and do my best to protect them...one reason by not overly publicizing who's doing this with me.


what the girls are really like

afu is totally right in terms of the people you'll meet. (as you might have guessed looking at the poster pix or hearing my past stories.) most of the girls aren't wanna be models or total airheads. (and that's also not how the pagaent is judged...just on looks). many of the girls really do this for the incredible cultural experience (something you may not know if you did not grow up in sf), to meet new people, for scholarship money, or from heavy encouragement from other people. altho...some can argue that maybe overall...you might not find the personal depth that you might in lumps girls, many of the girls are pretty complete people. i'd say that out of the 50 or so girls i met from the past three years...only one or two would have any aspirations of becoming a model. only another one or two aspire to get into tv journalism. the rest have pretty normal aspirations...doctor, teacher, business, etc. i'd say that the pagaent girls are pretty representative of an average sampling of asian girls who could be found at some asian club.

christians in a pagaent

i wouldn't automatically judge someone's character who claims to be christian, if they're involved in a pagaent. particularly with the understanding of what the whole experience entails and my experience with people i've met. but especially with my position of having been rooted heavily in a secular world and the christian world at the same time. working in advertising (an extremely liberal field), escorting for the pagaent for the past three years, hanging out with non-xians...leading and training people for missions, serving with the youth, leading and being so involved in lumps. real faith should be translated into all aspects of your life, how you relate to people and areas of the world in which you get involved. faith shouldn't be segmented off to the sundays and thursdays of your life. it's also not hard to do. i know that you guys don't need to be convinced or anything, but i thought i'd share with you the depth to how much i've thought about this balance.

thoughts please...

info on all the chinatown festivities. we'll be around most of em. sf station link.

with/without make-up

just to show you guys how deceptive pictures can be...

cameron diaz
christina applegate
madonna

i've never seen zoolander. someone show me that pose.

i hope all of you are practicing the two spoon method (unless you got it down already). don't embarass me, guys.

hom sup lo = dirty old man

i dunno about mr chinatown...but we could do be that boy band a-fu wants to start up!

hey if you're around for 5:30 service, you can meet my friend cathy. she ran last year and is a christian. she's pretty cool. (hopefully she'll come to lumps next week, too.) comes to our church now...but i never see her. it'd be really interesting for you guys to hear about her experience in the pagaent. oh, and she knows to keep this on the d.l. maybe we can ditch the late late potluck and get dinner?