Yup! Lent is here again and it’s that time of the year when I stop eating meat, run away from junk food, and exercise every morning because I’m sure God wants me to lose some weight and get in shape. Or am I? Lent is a season for us to prepare for Easter, not for our next school dance. Lent is not a season to give up something for forty days, but to change our lives to be closer to God. This year I didn’t know what to give up, so my cousin told me to do something extra instead. So we decided to pray the daily rosary and read the Bible daily. And since this takes at least 20 minutes, I am also giving up Facebook. Only now I realize how addicted I was to Facebook and I am glad I talked to my cousin before choosing my Lenten promise. But when I told my mom about my promises, she was a little disappointed. She said, “Instead of doing all that why don’t you start simple and clean the jungle you call a room?” Then I thought…but that’s gonna be so hard! After I thought for a while I came to the conclusion that my mom was right. If the mess in my room upsets her so much, I think I could make my bed every morning and restrain from throwing a pile of clothes on it everyday. But… it’s only the second day and I already have a couple of shirts hidden under my blankets. This year’s Lent is going to be the hardest for me because my room really is a problem. It does not take me away from God, but it makes my mom upset. Praying the rosary and reading the Bible are not going to be easy but I actually like doing those. I advise you to examine what you have to change in your lifestyle. Giving up meat, for example, is good if it is done for the right cause. I have to say last year I gave up meat and it was not for the right reason. You don’t have to fast for forty days. If you’re not close to God, just wake up in the morning and say good morning God. If you are addicted to Facebook like I am, give it up. I assure you there are many other things to do on the internet. I watched hundreds of Youtube videos, created a blog, and read articles about Lent in two days. If you really don’t know what to do, pray about it, and God will tell you what you have to change! So good luck with your promises and may God be with you during this Lent.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I, personally, was not looking forward to going to Winter Retreat. This was the one weekend in the entire school year where I got to leave behind my problems, my worries, my homework, and everything of this worldly existence behind for a weekend filled with God and the best people there are. As much as all this sounded appealing to me, I couldn’t help but to feel reluctant to go. The week before retreat, I prayed the rosary and read the Bible everyday to prepare myself and rid myself of this feeling of doubt and reluctance. I regret to say that this feeling didn’t disappear until the very last minute of the bus ride, when, after talking to a friend, I made a decision to let go, of all the negative feelings, the reluctance, the past. I don’t think I’ve ever made a greater decision.

After the 13 hour bus ride, we arrived to a dark, snowing (Although, I thought it was rain -______-;;) and snow covered Alpine Meadow campsite. All of Sung Sam was squirming in their seats impatiently as the bus driver tried to get through the snow covered road. Finally, we were told to walk 15 minutes up towards the campsite. As we entered the eating area, we were soaked, cold, and ready for bed. Friday night had turned into the early morning of Saturday when we all went to sleep around 2AM. A long bus ride, physically and emotionally draining after a hard day at school.

Saturday morning: 7:30AM. Rise & shine! We wake up to a winter wonderland. The fresh powder had covered everything from the ground to the trees. It was truly a breathtaking sight to wake up to. Sluggish from the 5 hours of sleep, everyone trudged to the dining area for some human fuel–food. Afterwards, we proceeded with activities that ran throughout the entire day with periodic breaks for lunch and dinner. The activities ranged from praise, talks, touching testimonies, family group bonding, prayer, more praise, adoration, confession, and, of course, snowball fights–how can I forget that war zone. Saturday came and went by, and before we knew it, it was already the day to go back home.

Sunday hit. We continued praise, inspiring testimonies, and our snowball fights. This year, however, we tried something different. Instead of the usual ‘Circle of Love’ I guess you can say, each student had the opportunity for an individual prayer session with two counselors. It was a truly touching and meaningful activity and experience because of its personal touches and individual prayers. After a couple of hours filled with much tears, prayers, and emotional distress, everyone took last minute pictures before having to leave the campsite (What perfect timing–yay for chinky-eyed pictures!).

All of Sung Sam came together, a little broken here and there, to the retreat site in search for maybe a reminder of what is important in his/her life, a boost in his/her faith, or simply a get away place from everything. I really think we each got what we wanted out of this year’s winter retreat. We learned how to empty ourselves of the world, but to fill ourselves with God. We learned that we are all God’s original masterpiece. We learned that despite what others might say, do, or act towards us, God loves all of His children unconditionally. We learned more of each other as individuals and as a whole. We learned how to let go and let God. We learned our different capabilities and how our talents and our flaws as a whole bring us together to make us beautiful. We learned how to think of the 10 Commandments not as don’ts, but do’s. We learned that no matter what others think, God is the only one that can judge us; that in the end, it is all between Him and us. And as we left that retreat site on that very Sunday to return to our normal lives, to be swamped by the hardships and the temptations, we learned that things wouldn’t be so bad as long as we kept in mind the true love we felt during those 3 days as a Sung Sam family.

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Winter Retreat 2010 : As It Is In Heaven (pictures here)

“40 days to discover” – Joe Kim

I think that is one of the most fitting ways to describe the season of Lent. The liturgical season of Lent is the period of 40 days before Easter. 40 days to discover. Why forty days? In the Bible, the number forty appears quite often – Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with God; God made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights while Noah was in his ark; our Lord retreated and fasted for 40 days before He began His ministry.

We may make New Year’s resolutions, and promise ourselves that we will or won’t do this and that…but I, for one, can say that those never fare well. For LENT, however, it’s different. Not only is it 325 days less of promise-keeping, which makes it a little easier for us to stay true, but it is “a time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving”. It’s a time of year set aside for us to sacrifice little things…but it’s not just about giving up things we like…for each thing we give up and take out of our day, we can add something better. Take Facebook out of your schedule and replace it with time to pray the Rosary. Take away the profanity and replace it with praise. Take away the whiney Korean love songs and replace them with Matt Maher! Our Lord carried a heavy wooden cross up Mt Calvary…we can carry our not-so-heavy, unseen sacrifices for forty days, right? Besides, God will be with us every step of the way!

So this Lenten season….

…If you’re going to pray the Rosary daily, you have 40 days to discover the power of prayer.

…If you’re going to read the Bible daily, you have 40 days to discover the Word of the Lord.

…If you’re going to exercise everyday, you have 40 days to discover how much fun it is.

…If you’re going to do at least one good deed a day, you have 40 days to discover how good it is to be kind.

…If you’re giving up Facebook, you have 40 days to discover what you can do with all the free time that you used to spend on Facebook.

…If you’re giving up AIM, you have 40 days to discover that a phone works equally well.

…If you’re giving up junk food, you have 40 days to discover the natural goodness that God meant for you to eat, instead of that mysterious, fried and re-fried, origin-unknown “food”.

…If you’re giving up meat, you have 40 days to discover how hard it is to be Korean without meat.

Whatever it is, when you give up all the material things, the comfortable things in life that we take for granted, anything and everything that might distract from prayer and love….you gain the chance to grow in God. Lent may last only 40 days, but what you discover will last MUCH longer.

The CHRISTMAS SKIT! Our annual High School Skit was truly amazing. We incorporated dance, Korean, Skits, Tech…Everything! In order for the skit to be successful we needed lots of effort, so we put in all of our effort. Everyone had intense practices which lasted almost three hours each time. The script writers all contributed, adding ideas and translating each scene into Korean, adding funny lines; the script was amazing. The skit itself was about the Nativity scene, but it was a more modern interpretation. This time, we did not copy the story exactly, but interpreted it in our own way to make it more unique. The characters in the scene were hilarious. There was the crazy widow, blind grandma and the deaf grandpa! Furthermore, all the different accents, especially the Korean hillbilly accent, gave the skit more substance, making it a hit. The actors were so realistic and very enthusiastic, making it much more interesting to watch. The Tech/Props crew created these cute hats which resembled dogs (똥개) for the dancers. This year, instead of spending hours painting the backdrop, the Tech/Props projected pictures onto white sheets, saving time and allowing for different backgrounds. All the backgrounds that were created were perfect and fit well with the plot of the skit. Lastly, the dance crew was amazing. The choreographers (Kyong and Alice) created a routine to the song “Please Don’t Go” by Korean girl group 2ne1’s Minzy and CL. All the dancers worked hard trying to dance and to do a good job. The dancers wanted to nail the routine…so they practiced! Overall everyone put in a lot and it was great time. We were able to bond and mingle with people we haven’t really known. This is what CHURCH LOVE IS!

** Check out the Photos section of the website to see what the entire process looked like**

It’s been two years since our last “Sung Sam Winter Gear” but what better time than in the 30th Anniversary of our Church to bring back the gear that will keep you warm?

They come in two colors: YELLOW or ASPHALT

and in the following sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL

We are taking orders Now for only $25.00!!!

All sweater orders are due by January 31st

You can order by e-mailing your choice of color and size to Joe Kim:  jkim@palcampaign.com

or Yoojin Lee: geegeebae@gmail.com