Loyal Like a Kleenex!

My friend Betty signed up for the 2010 Pasadena Marathon because I promised to train with her and to run the entire race with her... and because she was able to register at an all-time low fee of $45.

On February 21, the day of the marathon, Betty and I ran the marathon together.

The day started out as rainy and overcast. Probably because of this, Betty had to blow her nose intermittently throughout the race, but she had only brought a couple of tissues with her. (Pocket space is very limited while running a marathon especially with the 10 packets of Gu, Icy Hot pads, and gloves she already had in her pockets.) So, after each use of her tissue, she put it back in her pocket.

At around mile 18, Betty pulled out the same tissue she had been using since the start of the race. By this time, she was pretty tired and started thinking out loud. She said, "Wow! I can't believe this Kleenex has lasted so long. Every time I pull it out of my pocket, it's dry again. What a loyal Kleenex to have stuck with me for so long. Eunice is loyal like this Kleenex because she's sticking with me for this whole race."

For a moment, I was speechless. I have never been compared with a Kleenex before!

But before I could say anything else, Betty started talking again, "Hmm... maybe this is a good way to save paper. Maybe even at home, I'll keep reusing my Kleenex."

Again, I am not quite sure what to say. Maybe... gross!

Thanks Betty!

You're loyal like a Kleenex too!

Hahaha!

Extended Family

Several months ago, I was pleasantly surprised when Jesse and Tammy asked me to be the godmother for their daughter. I am also a godmother to two other boys (Jacob and Jordan), but because the boys have many godparents, I never took my role too seriously with them... just taking them out every once in a while and buying them gifts.

For my goddaughter, however, things are very different. I know that I'm the only one. It's a huge responsibility. I realize that I'm a lot more thoughtful about how I interact with her. As a godmother, one of my key responsibilities is to guide her spiritually. Even though she is only 8 months old, I'm already trying to do my part in spiritual guidance... by teaching her good Christian values. I'm careful to not spoil her with material things, like I have done with my godsons. And I try to say things to her about honoring her mother and father. When I babysit her, I recite Bible verses to her, tell her Bible stories and pray with her. (It's great that God has made her a very well-tempered and all-around pleasant baby so far... makes babysitting very easy.) It really looks like she's listening when I do those things with her!

As she grows, I know it will be even more difficult to guide her spiritually, but I consider it a privilege and honor to be her godmother. And I am grateful that Tammy and Jesse gently guide me in how they want their daughter to be raised, and for allowing me to be part of the process. It is my prayer that God allows me to actively participate in the growth and maturity of this precious little girl, and shows me how.

Perhaps many of you are already godparents and have some advice to give me. I welcome any advice I can get.

"Missional Living" Sunday School Reflections

Although I knew that mission work did not have to involve getting on a plane and going to another country, there was still a part of me that believed that it was not fully mission work unless I traveled elsewhere. But since taking classes at Regent College and learning to read the Bible better, I have know otherwise. True mission work is wherever I am. This is not because I can do so much. It is because God is a missional God. And since He has a desire for all humanity to know and love Him, mission exists everywhere, including the hodgepodge suburban city of Monterey Park—the city in which I reside and attend church.

As an intern for Kingdom Causes, my basic job description involves helping my own church in Monterey Park to be more missional in our own community. But the general mentality of the people who attend my church is still very much like mine was before learning more about missional living. Furthermore, we are also stifled by our fear that being missional means that we have to be gifted in evangelism or at least know how to logically defend the faith in which we believe to skeptical friends and family.

In a desire to dispel misconceptions about being missional, to see our church more relevant in our community and to see our church’s people being missional in their everyday lives, Sunday school seemed like a good place to make a dent. I talked with Jesse about it and he seemed to agree. After getting approval from the pastoral staff, we taught a “Missional Living” Sunday school class in the fall quarter.

In the class, we basically covered four big concepts with Bible learning, application discussion and field trips. Here is a short and imperfect summary of each concept:

• Incarnational Hospitality: Jesus was hospitable (welcoming) everywhere he went—in others’ homes and in public areas. How can we be hospitable everywhere we go—in our residential neighborhoods, in our churches’ surrounding community, at the grocery store, in restaurants, while eating with our friends/family, while driving, etc.?
• Shalom: Because of sin, we are no longer fully in shalom. In other words, we are not wholly the creations that God wants us to be. How do we seek shalom (wholeness) for ourselves and in others?
• Kingdom of God: God’s kingdom is not a place; it is His realm over all things. It is here and not yet. This is the concept that God is in control, and not us. When we do mission work (as all ministry should be), we are not doing things for God, but we are participating in what God is already doing for His people.
• Church of the City: In the past, there used to only be one church in each community. That church was then responsible for the spiritual growth of the entire city. But in the present, there are often several churches in one city. In Monterey Park alone, there are over 25 churches. How can all these churches (despite different denominations, cultures and buildings) work together as the Church of the City?

Now that the official class has ended, Jesse asked me to write down a few reflections.

Highlights:

• Most of the students were regularly consistent. I hope this means they were interested and learning.
• A few of the students told me that they were seeing their lives differently—seeing how being hospitable to those around them was part of being missional.
• Our McDonald’s field trip showed us that people in the city are in need and how we can be hospitable in a public setting.
• Our church-visiting field trip opened our eyes to what other churches are doing in Monterey Park and how we can maybe join forces in being the Church of the City.

Challenges:

• One quarter of Sunday school is not sufficient. In fact, two years of seminary are not sufficient for fully learning about our missional God and how we can participate. But in being and doing, I hope we will all keep learning.
• There are over 700 regular weekly attenders at my church. Only 10-15 students were in the Sunday school class. We wanted more. But the hope is that these few will spread the word. After all, the entire Christian church spread from 11 totally inadequate guys who learned to follow Jesus closely.
• I wish our pastors and our key leaders were more interested in working with other churches. I think that that’s the downfall of being in a larger church. We are so big and have so many resources that we think we can handle many things on our own. But so much more could be done when the Church of the City works together.

Regarding this Sunday school, Jesse asked me, “Would you do this again?” My answer is “Yes.”

This entry can also be found in City Blog.

Theology of Caring for Creation

Before I moved to Vancouver, I did very little to care for creation (the environment). Yes, I recycled my bottles and I brought my own grocery bags to the market when I remembered, but my reasons for doing so had very little to do with God and mostly to do with getting back my bottle deposits and not wanting extraneous plastic bags at my house.

But in Regent, I learned that it's important to care for the world that God has created for us. If Christians believe that our world (and universe) is a creation by the God we worship, why is it that Christians are also the worst at destroying it? Perhaps if we believed in pure evolution without the hand of God, we would have good reason to ignore the need to take care of the world. After all, if it's only about evolution, the world will just merely morph into something else and it doesn't matter. But if it's a gift from our God, shouldn't we take care of it?

With this theology in mind, I am making more efforts to be a better steward of the world God created. I still have a long way to go and need to be more willing to be inconvenienced, but I'm learning. Here are a few ideas I've come up with and try to do. What about you? Do you have any ideas?

• When I go out to eat, I try to remember to bring my own containers for the leftovers.
• When I go shopping (market, clothes shopping, Costco, etc.), I try to bring my own shopping bags. And I try to reuse my produce bags. If I'm buying very little and forget to bring a bag, I just tell the cashier that I don't need a bag.
  
• I try to avoid using/buying trash bags even though they are bigger and stronger, and try to use up the plastic grocery bags I still have as trash bags.
• Unfortunately, I still dislike the taste of LA's tap water. But instead of buying small plastic bottles, I now buy the gallon sizes and pour the water into my own reusable bottle.
• I don't drink coffee and I don't generally go out for tea, but I notice that many people tend to carry around disposable cups. How about bringing your own cup to the coffee shop next time you get your daily coffee/tea? There are great travel mugs.
• Do you go out for Asian food much? It seems that more and more restaurants now give you disposable chopsticks to use (even when you're dining in). Why not bring your own chopsticks? There are great travel chopsticks that you can purchase or you can just use a pair you already have at home (just wrap them up in a cloth napkin or clean handkerchief).

Caring for creation is often the more difficult and more expensive alternative (especially as environmentalism become more of the "cool" thing to do), but I think it's the right way to go. And I do not believe that spending more to care for creation is being a bad steward of our finances... it's about being prudent about where the money goes.

In no way am I even close to eliminating all the waste that I go through or to even being a great steward of creation, but I'm trying. I'm forgetting and failing a lot, but I still try.

Little by little...

Milk in Glass Bottles

In Vancouver, I started drinking organic Avalon milk from glass bottles. The milk tasted much better than milk from a plastic or wax-coated cardboard carton. Plus, the bottles could be brought back to the store to be sent back to Avalon to be used again. The only waste were the small plastic tops which I put into the recycling bin.

When I came back to LA and bought my regular organic milk from Trader Joe's, I could definitely taste the difference. And I hated putting the container in the trash; it seemed so wasteful.

In search for where I could buy milk in glass bottles again, I googled "milk in glass bottles." Lo and behold, I found that there is a dairy right in Montebello (just one city south) that sells milk in glass bottles. And based on the positive reviews on Yelp, I was eager to try it out.

I finally went this morning, and drank a wonderful cold glass of milk when I got home. It tasted so good — creamy and smooth, even though I got the nonfat. Maybe I'm just a milk snob, but if I can get good-tasting milk in reusable glass bottles without going very far from home, I'm all for it.

I highly recommend this local dairy's milk. And based on the reviews, their chocolate milk, eggs and seasonal eggnog are a big hit too. (Please note that they don't say "organic" on their products because it requires special fees and licensing for them to get it. It's a small operation, so they don't bother.)

Broguiere's Farm Fresh Dairy
505 S. Maple Ave.
Montebello, CA 90640

And their tagline is so cute:
"Milk so Fresh... the Cow Doesn't Know It's Missing"

Going Back to LA

Every time something interesting happens, I think about posting it on my blog. Unfortunately, I rarely get around to it. I've also been meaning to update everyone on how I'm doing with school and whatnot, but I just have an unfinished draft. I guess I should post one thing now: I'm moving back to LA on August 11.


FAQ

Q: Are you finished with school?
A: No, I'm not finished with school. I still have 6 papers to finish for my classes, due at the end of August and beginning of September. Also, I have my field education (like an internship) and comprehensive paper (like a mini-thesis). I will complete my degree in April 2010.

Q: Where are you doing your field education?
A: I will be working under Jesse's mentorship with Kingdom Causes in partnership with CEFC. My first project will be co-teaching an adult Sunday school class in the fall on missional living. Subsequent projects will be dependent on passions, resources, Jesse, availability, and of course, God's leading.

Q: Are you excited?
A: Yes. And also very scared and nervous. If I could explain these feelings to you, I would. But I'm still trying to understand them myself.

Q: Are you going to continue your blog?
A: I will continue my blog until I finish my degree. At that time, I will think about starting another blog or just stop blogging altogether.

Q: How have you been changed by your time in Vancouver?
A: Haha... good question. For those who knew me before coming to Vancouver, you tell me. I'm still figuring it out. Danette says that I'm more "liberal" now. Yikes! I hope that it's more that I'm now more biblical in my thinking rather than just principled (or Republican). I know, however, that I'm definitely more confused... but not in a bad way. I'm confused in that I realize more and more that God is mysterious and his ways are mysterious, but I love trying to figure it out even if I often get it wrong or don't even have full certainty.

Q: What now?
A: I don't know. But if you chat with God, please remember me in your divine conversations. And be sure to let me know if you feel/hear him communicating to you about me.

Mei Lin's Slideshow

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Memories of Mei Lin Leung from ae young on Vimeo.