by Kay Carey

During the first couple months of the pandemic, I had the opportunity to evaluate and reprioritize what I had been doing. One of the things God impressed upon my heart was to consider stepping down from staff and just serve Him as a lay person as a disciple maker. After seeking some wise counsel and much prayer, I decided to retire at age 63 from a formal staff position.   

As I reflect on my time as a ministry associate at Evergreen SGV, my heart overflows with gratitude for the blessed opportunity to grow in Jesus Christ. I give Him all the glory and honor for the wonderful time serving Him and His people.   

When I was first hired as outreach staff back in November 2006, I was going through a major transitional period of my life after returning from Costa Rica due to health issues - cancer and PPS (Post Polio Syndrome). After going through a season of treatment and healing, God opened a perfect ministry door at church. It really helped me to transition back into life in the U.S. 

I have many fond memories of ministering with many faithful people, promoting God’s great commission to the church family and equipping them to share the Gospel and His love locally, domestically and overseas in the outreach ministries. After seven years, I transitioned to discipleship/mentoring, which has been my passion for most of my Christian life. I am so grateful for all the things I learned from all the pastors and church family. Thank you so much for all your love, prayers and partnership/friendship!   

For those who are interested in knowing what I have been doing since my retirement: My daily activities have not drastically changed since my decision. I continue to disciple and mentor people as God allows and guides. I have been experiencing lots of joy and peace as I get to develop deep and meaningful relationships with family members and friends (old and new) who live near and far. 

“The Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.  May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”

2 Thess. 3:3,5

by Kenny Wada

Though all of our Congregational Life ministries have either stopped or become virtual gatherings, we continue to ask the Lord to leverage the advantages of online interactions and fill in its inherent deficiencies.  Some of the pluses of online communities are:

1. Easily accessible, so it makes it simple for newcomers to "drop-in" and check out small groups or fellowships

2. More consistent attendance since busy schedules, freeway traffic and unplanned interruptions are less of an issue when attending a meeting is only a click away

3. Less work involved in preparing the meeting space (you don't have to get snacks together or clean up your home!)

4. Easier to meet new people online, stay connected to them through social media and in some ways get to know them quicker because of the ease of communicating online

However, the ease of connecting to an online community is also an inherent weakness.  Online communities require less effort and are therefore less costly than in-person relationships: 

1. You don't have to deal with unpleasant smells like bad breath (your own or someone else’s)

2. You don't have to fear standing alone by yourself because everyone is equally spaced apart in nicely framed rectangles (you can even hide yourself and still listen in on what everyone is saying!)

3. You also don't need or deal with all the awkward tensions and conflicts of in-person interactions

But all these extra efforts, awkward tensions and anxious relational issues are all a part of real, face-to-face relationships that challenge and shape our character and cause us to turn to the Lord for the strength, forgiveness, courage and ability to love like Jesus.  

It is the deep and painful costs of loving real, broken and sinful people that God uses to bring us to the end ourselves and to the beginning of our total trust and dependance upon him.  Nothing brings us quicker to the foot of the cross and the mercy of Jesus than the hardships of in-person relationships.  

I would imagine that your in-person relationships at home have either driven you nuts or have driven you to the foot of the cross.  If that's true for you, that’s because in-person relationships are costly.

May we continue to take advantage of the benefits of virtual communities while remaining aware of their built-in limitations.

by Sabrina Yee

A fun project for me was to compile a video summary of my four years in Japan into the length of one of my favorite Japanese songs. "Paprika," a song that just about any Japanese kid will know the dance moves to. Click here for the English version.  

Music: "Paprika" by Foorin

As I browsed through snapshots and videos of the past four years, I'm full of gratitude for all of the relationships with Japanese friends, and all of the ways God provided for me in the form of roommates, housing, home cooked meals, visitors, community, and the list goes on. 

Thank you to all of you who have faithfully prayed for me. 

Thank you to all of you who have given financially so that I could be in Japan. 

Thank you to those of you who have visited me in Japan. 

Thank you to those of you who have sent care packages to encourage me. 

Thank you, mom, for visiting me every year, twice a year. 

Thank you to my MSG (Missionary Support group) for meeting with me virtually every month, listening to my crazy stories, keeping me in check, caring for my heart, and for always pointing me to Jesus, my firm foundation amidst constant transition.

I have been on home assignment since September 2020 and I’m so happy to be able to reconnect with family, friends and supporters while debriefing my four-years in Japan. On home assignment I would also like to pursue further training that would be useful for future work in Japan. 

As the cost of living is similar enough from Japan to the U.S. my financial needs remain the same; however, I am currently at 74% of my financial monthly goal. Please pray with me for increased financial support.  

This week, I will be going to Colorado to attend MTI's DAR program to help me debrief and further process my term. Then in early December I will virtually do my SIM home assignment office visit. 

Please pray for me as I debrief and meet with SIM staff. 

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."

2 Corinthians 4:7, 

by Victor Chen

When we think of Thanksgiving, we can imagine a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting — a warm family with beaming smiles, eagerly gathered around a picturesque table as the father prepares to carve a delicious turkey. 

That becomes the standard for our Thanksgiving. That becomes the feeling we try to capture. That becomes the setting we try to recreate.

And we fall woefully short, year after year.

Expectation turns to disappointment. Anticipation turns to bitterness. Our families aren’t idyllic. Our homes turn out to be more cold than warm. Our situations don’t seem very happy at all.

But let’s reset and try to find Thanksgiving in the Bible. 

Picture the apostle Paul in prison, awaiting impending execution. Even if he was under house arrest, imagine the social stigma and the loneliness. 

There is no warm meal to be shared around the table. There are no friends or family to enjoy company with. 

And yet, it is here that we find Thanksgiving in the Bible. Not the American holiday to be celebrated (or dreaded) each year. But a true heart of thanksgiving that is not contingent on situation or close company. 

Thanksgiving in the Bible is not a holiday or a setting or even a feeling. 

Thanksgiving in the Bible is a matter of the heart and it comes supernaturally only through the Lord.

Every day, in every moment and in everything, I pray that we, like the apostle Paul, would be marked by this happy thanksgiving.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11–13 ESV)

by Victor Chen

This is the second part to the previous blog post, “What Are My Children Suppose to Do During Sunday Service?”

With distance learning in place, our home has discovered one common need among our three children. 

Sure, our 5th grader is quite independent and able to log on, listen to instructions and track assignments. Our 2nd grader is pretty independent as well and able to follow along. Our Kindergartener is doing his best and making the most of it. 

All of them, though, need parental guidance. 

The younger ones need more parental guidance in varying degrees, whether it be sitting next to them during class or checking class schedules ahead of time. But the older ones still need accountability, because assignments can be missed and instructions can be misunderstood.

But this makes sense, right? This is the reason why distance learning is particularly difficult for the working parents. Because at some level and to some degree, parents need to monitor their children when it comes to learning. 

Why do we think it is any different when it comes to Sunday service?

Sure, our 5th grader can be independent and track along with the sermon with the help of the Church Sermon Notebook. Our 2nd grader may not be too far off with engaging with the passage and message through the Children’s Bulletin. We may need to encourage our Kindergartener to find simple key words in the sermon passage like “God” or “Jesus.”

All of them, though, need parental guidance. 

Our children cannot listen to Sunday service without us. 

They can’t do this alone anymore than they can do distance learning on their own.

We need to help them listen. 

What is the one thing to help children listen during Sunday service?

Parents, it’s you.