Visitations (the circle of returns)

"It is not won by promotion, but by many prayers and tears. It is attained by confession of sin, and much heart searching and humbling before God; by self-surrender, a courageous sacrifice of every idol, a bold uncomplaining embrace of the cross, and by an eternal, unfaltering looking unto Jesus crucified. It is not gained to us as loss for Christ. This is a great price, but it must be paid by the leader who would not be merely a nominal but a real spiritual leader whose power is recognized and felt in heaven, on earth and in hell. " -a quote about the road to spiritual authority and leadership by Samuel Brengle, Salvation Army.


Dear Friends and Family,

I can't believe that the summer is almost over! Jamie and I are back in Syracuse prepared for a new season of our marriage this fall. It is good to be back on the blog world and I hope to capture what has happened in the past 10 days. I had the opportunity to go to a special wedding in Massachusetts on the eve of our first year wedding anniversary. Then headed to Rhode Island where we met with my parents for some time of leisure and good food. Then we headed to the city for several meetings with friends, ministry partners and potential funders for the Asian American Laity Project. Then we had a special gathering of friends for my birthday and then sharing at Chinese Conservative Baptist Church.

It was my first extended trip in New York City for a time and it was a time of a re-emergence of my heart towards ministry. I met with the President of Grace Christian Fellowship at Cornell (where I will serve as volunteer staff this year!) and we talked about our common vision for the campus. I was able to conduct a special training for the Herald Gospel Camp counselors on how to minister to campers. I met up with immigrant youth whom I served and now are halfway through graduating college and making decisions for their futures. It amazes me to know that 7 years ago when I met them, they were barely speaking English and knew little about Christ and now they are preparing to engineers, math teachers, and now serving the church as bible study leaders...Praise God.

As I wrapped up my time there, I felt a deep love and heaviness for the city and an eagerness to return to serving this place, this distant home of mine. But thanks to words from friends (special thanks to Jenny and Caroline) for your encouragement in this time of waiting. In some ways, it has been a time of sabbatical for me and it has deepened my faith and my passions. I am yearning for a sense of something familiar here in Syracuse...

Jamie and are looking for a new church and had a great time visiting Eastern Hills Bible Church and we are looking to visit International Assembly and the Korean Church of Syracuse. Our ideal match would be a place for us to learn and to serve together, especially in areas of community and international students. We had a wonderful dinner with a family serving through Young Life in Syracuse and it was a great exchange of vision and common leaders whom we admire. Please pray for Jamie and I during this important time for us to worship and build community. We are thankful for our time at Syracuse Alliance Church for the past year and continue with the relationships that God has begun.

Funding for Asian American Laity Project
The Asian American Laity Project needs an additional $11,000 to raise for the project. I had some productive meetings with some supporters and potential partners for this ministry. Pray that God's provision would be given to this special project that I have a passion to serve those who faithfully serve in the Asian American churches. I am developing a stronger peace about this and I know that God will provide in his timing.

Special Lunch with Paul Tokunaga and Leadership Roundtable
PaLM and Intervarsity is hosting a special lunch with Paul Tokunaga at the Chinese Evangel Missions Church in Queens. I am looking forward to attending this and to hear the engagement with Mr. Tokunaga and the respective pastors of the Asian American church. I will facilitate a special Leadership Roundtable at Eastern Chinese Bible Conference with Paul Tokunaga and several leaders from Intervarsity, Campus Crusades for Christ, and Chinese Christian Herald Crusades during the labor day weekend and I will also presenting a special workshop on evangelizing to young adults and postmoderns.

Volunteer staff for Intervarsity Grace Christian Fellowship at Cornell
I have offered to serve with Intervarsity this year with Grace Christian Fellowship at Cornell. I am excited to serve the college students at Cornell and to connect with what God is doing there. Pray for my involvement to equip the leadership there and to serve the fellowship in a way that will bring the campus to a deeper knowledge of Christ.

Serving with Chinese Christian Herald Crusades
During my time in New York, I was blessed by spending some time with current staff at CCHC and learning about the new and exciting things that God is doing there. I spoke to the Director and we are arranging for me to somehow be involved with supporting their new direction and vision for preaching the gospel to Chinese community. I am not sure if this will be suitable but want to be open...Pray for wisdom and for a balance of ministries that I am involved in.

Mid-Hudson Chinese Christian Church
I am tentatively working with the leadership at the Mid-Hudson Chinese Christian Church to develop their youth and young adult ministries. I will be preaching there once a month for their special concurrent services there. I really love the ministry of this church as they are striving to serve the second generation Chinese church. Many of the youth who go there are from Hofstra New York Summer Conference where I spoke this summer. I will be speaking at the end of September and spending time with leadership and develop a strategy for growth. Pray for the my time there and for mutual sharing and blessing as we seek to serve the church together.

OneHouse NYC
I had a chance to meet up with the organizers of the One House event. We had a Thursday prayer meeting and there were poignant moments of discovery for us regarding where we stood on these issues and also for each other. There were tears and many earnest pleas for God's provision in this matter. The event will be in NYC on October 21st, it is a unity concert focusing on social justice. I am excited to announce that Neah Lee will be performing and sharing that night. I am preparing my talk and excited to delving into the writings of Cornel West, Ron Sider and Martin Luther King. Pray for my talk to be filled with an overarching theme of God's mercy and his desire for Justice....

MISC
Please pray for a youth pastor how has been diagnosed with Lymphoma and that it seems treatable but continue to lift him and his family up as they go through this difficult time.

Special praise to God for Kara, Esther for lunch (sushi!!), Jinny and Koo (rain down on them in Washington!), EUG-ene for catching up and learning about fatherhood, John for meeting with me and sharing some thoughts on the Asian American church, thanks for all the youth who came out to hang out and have some herb-orade, for all the people who came out to my birthday party, for the OneHouse folks for a meaningful time of fellowship and prayer, Simeon for sharing your vision for campus, and a special thanks to all of you who sent me words of encouragement and whose support means so much to me...God sees and will provide.