By Shaun Ho

Since 2020, our church has directed families to participate in Kare Youth League, a Christian sports league for children PreK - 6th grade. Hear from one of our parents share testimony of his family's experience being in Kare Youth League.

Just before the pandemic, our kids were starting to get involved in sports, even taking semi-private lessons for basketball.  Like with everything else, this venture was cut short by the closures.  As things opened up again in 2021, we wanted to find an inexpensive avenue (like some city community centers have) to have them re-engage in team sports, but still receive a decent level of coaching.  We weren’t looking for anything as advanced as club/travel teams (we were not that intense about it) and we wanted something that we could reasonably juggle our schedule around.  Pastor Victor invited us to check out KARE Youth League (KYL) in Irwindale (they have other branches in Covina and Upland), so we signed our son up for soccer in the summer of 2021.

Our son really loved playing at KARE and we were really impressed by the quality of the facilities as well as the warmth of the community.  As the summer closed out, we were thankful that the next sport offered for the girls was volleyball.  Our daughter was willing to try it because of some spontaneous volleyball play at church and because she has always known that I have played and coached the sport.  It was during this fall season that we really got to know more of the parents as well as the staff, and this set off a new era in our family’s lives.

Our entire family has found a great community at KYL and I became a participant in an unofficial “Dad’s Club” while watching our kids practice and play games.  Our daughter and our son really enjoy playing with their teammates and I love how the environment fosters a general level of respect and warmth even in the parent community.  Having coached and known many coaches, I have felt and heard from most of them how difficult the parents can be sometimes, but I have not witnessed much of that at KYL.  In fact, it is not unusual for a parent to say encouraging things to kids from the other team, win or lose.  I believe much of the reason for this is set by the tone of the coaches.  They will call out, give directives, and even gently discipline the kids, but never in anger.  Even during a game when they feel a referee made an error, they will point it out without anger and do not continue to make an issue of it.  They do not merely preach good sportsmanship. They exemplify it.

But the coaches do not just focus on the sport with our kids; they have weekly devotionals with them and work on character building.  I have witnessed on several occasions a coach gently pull a kid aside, if the child was not exhibiting care and/or respect, and compassionately speak to them about the issue without making the child feel bad.  Even the assistant coaches are great.  They are youth that have gone through leadership training in the Rio Hondo Prep program and they all are great leaders and role models for our kids.  Essentially, I believe that all the staff demonstrate a great meld of healthy competition in sports combined with the heart of Jesus.  Even in Paul’s exhortations, he doesn’t call us to shy away from competition, only to compete in what matters.

“24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”  -  I Cor. 9:24, 25

Although the kids aren’t exactly competing for the crown that will last forever at KYL, they are shown the heart of healthy competition so they know what it looks like.  Additionally, the kids are given good exposure to a variety of sports so they have the chance to discover what they are most passionate about.

In the midst of this family atmosphere that we have come to love, we discovered that the Rio Hondo Prep School (RHP), which this program is connected with, could also be a viable option for our own kids.  With my wife and I both being public school teachers, we never seriously thought that we would want to or could afford to send our kids to private school.  Well, the Lord has opened up the doors in a variety of ways and we discovered that, compared to most private schools, RHP is actually quite affordable.  We are truly excited that we have found not only a sports program that will also guide the characters of our kids towards Jesus, but a school environment that will continue to partner with us in such character-building until they become young adults.  We are so thankful for the doors the Lord has opened up in our lives and are excited as we venture into this new chapter in our lives.

For more information about KYL or RHP, feel free to contact Pastor Victor or visit www.kyl.org and www.rhprep.org

by Sandra

Hi, my name is Sandra.

I am a mother of two children. One is 14 years old and her name is Joanne. She is a freshman in High School who loves boba milk tea and is an awesome older sister to her brother. The other is Nathan, who is 11 years old and a 5th grader who loves connecting with people, has a great sense of humor and loves Legos. They complete our family of four and we love exploring life together.

Let me introduce ourselves. This is my husband, Johnson, myself, Joanne and Nathan.

Our youngest, Nathan, happens to have a disability. We received a prenatal diagnosis that he was going to be born with Down syndrome, a genetic condition characterized by full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21. Down syndrome is the most common genetic condition. It affects all races, religions and economic backgrounds. Trisomy 21 causes developmental and intellectual delays.

It was an unexpected revelation to us. We came to embrace it after the natural initial shock, which came because we didn’t know anything about Down syndrome and what the future would look like for our son.

We reflected on these Bible verse many times after receiving his diagnosis:

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praised you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:13-14

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

With that in our hearts, we took a leap of faith to create a vision full of possibilities for our son.

Over the years, we’ve learned that we could and should have hopes and dreams for both of our children. The support in place might look a bit different, but don’t they all look different for all of our kids?

For Nathan, what can look different is the fact that things take more time, effort and practice for him to learn, and support might be needed until he feels more confident and independent with the skills he acquires.

Our parenting is not about performance or something to brag about, but about a shift in mindset so that we can renew our expectations, find opportunities and provide Nathan risks for him to attempt with dignity. The result is a change in the perspective of what can be.

With all our hopes and dreams, we could absolutely not surpass the biggest hope and dream of all, which is to see Nathan to learn and grow in his love for God, and for him to understand the meaning of communion, the broken body of Christ and the blood Christ shed for us.

So our discipleship for Nathan is for him to learn about God’s Grace and God’s love, for Nathan to know that God loves him so much and has a special plan and purpose for his life. We have faith that one day, he too will desire to ask Jesus into his life, to be his Lord and Savior and to be baptized.

I have to humbly acknowledge that we cannot do this alone. Thank you Church School and Staff for shepherding Nathan.

One way you can help us in our discipleship of Nathan, is to feel comfortable around him, get to know him, pray for him, mentor him and see him as a part of the body of Christ.

Here is a video that captures a vision for what discipleship in our church can look like in this young man’s testimony and baptism. His name is Ryan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocIwGXf2L80

by Ian Nagata

Last month, all eyes were on a Buddhist priest and his giant calligraphy brush.

There atop Kiyomizu Temple’s iconic wooden terrace, news crews gathered to see what single kanji (Chinese character) he would draw, to summarize the entire year.

Stepping up to the blank sheet of paper over a meter in width and length, he dipped his brush and began to write.

密

2020 in one word.

Years from now, if nothing else, people will remember密mitsu, meaning “close” or “dense.” It’s Japan’s social distancing keyword, used in the “3 mitsus to avoid”: “closed spaces” 密閉空間, “crowded places” 密集場所, and “close-contact settings” 密接場面. 

Not bad considering some of the previous choices since the tradition began in 1995, like 災 (disaster), 震(quake), 戦 (war), or even 毒 (poison)! 

Nevertheless, COVID-19 had the lasting word. 

I posed the same question to our church. What did God teach us these trying 12 months?

Immediately, one boy replied, “endurance.” Then another girl, “home,” and yet another, “creativity.” Even words that seemed grim at first (like my choice, “weakness”), captured a sense of hope.

Then as we were about to move on, I realized one person hadn’t shared: the husband of one of our members. Though not yet a follower of Christ, he has been attending services over the past year. 

Hesitantly, I put him on the spot. 

He immediately replied, “family.” 

“In what sense?” I asked, thinking he was referring to the extra time he had with his wife and daughter this year.

“This church has become like family,” he said.

Despite all the opportunities we “lost” to COVID-19, we overlooked the ones we gained – quick weekday lunches together while working from home, golf outings, even online celebrations. Through these and more, our church had become like family to him.

Indeed, someone had been painting this word, along with all the other words we shared for 2020. Not a priest in his lofty temple, but our Great High Priest upon His throne. God had the final word. 

May our eyes be watching and waiting for His next brushstrokes.

by Thomas Chan

My whole family tested positive for COVID-19. 

My bout with the virus lasted 5 days. My brother and sister each spent a few days of their own completely down for the count. My mom got admitted to the hospital once doctors discovered that she had pneumonia as a result of the virus. And just as she was coming home, my dad got admitted into the Intensive Care Unit requiring heavy oxygen support to combat the crippling shortness of breath that was ravaging his body. Necessarily, the rest of us remained at home in quarantine, unsure of what we could really do next. Our family found itself in a moment of weakness, nervous and perhaps even a bit fearful of what could happen next.

And yet in this very same moment of uncertainty, God revealed something profound to us:

We weren’t alone.

As we shared the news with extended family and the first of our friends, their words and care quickly became a pillar of strength for us. Many of them checked in with us daily, providing us counsel and comfort. We knew that their prayers would intercede mightily before the throne of God. My mom had lung surgery last year, and that experience revealed to us how inviting others into that journey really allowed them to come beside and support us. In that same light, I rallied our allies near and far by putting out a social media post to share what was going on.

The responses that followed were staggering. Like a dam with its floodgates burst open, support for our family came rushing in. Before we could fully realize what was happening, our phones began erupting with messages and phone calls, even from people we haven’t heard from in years. The prayers multiplied exponentially. A meals on wheels program was even set up to ensure that we had enough food to eat, and TRUST ME, we’ve had plenty! In our time of need, we were and still have been met with more overwhelming support than we could have imagined; it truly means more than words can adequately express.

We don’t know how long the coronavirus is going to be around for. Still, I’m convinced that God has a way of laying a trail of silver linings through even the most unlikely of situations; He has certainly revealed some of them to my family.  If there’s one takeaway I can leave you with, it’s this: The best thing you can do for your loved ones is to be the first to reach out and extend a helping hand to those you care about (as long you maintain social distance of course!). Even if it is just to check in and see if everything is all right, initiating a simple text message or making a quick phone call can mean a lot to someone that deep down just wants to know someone cares about them. At the end of the day, that is something we all crave. We’re stronger with each other, and perhaps God is using a time like this, one where we don’t have much else, to restore this fundamental part of our humanity to the world.

This blog post was been adapted from the original post at https://foreshadowingsofeternity.wordpress.com