From Subang Jaya to St. Paul Minnesota

OK, since y'all insist, I will share with all of you what I did over my spring break in Minnesota. Well, it's nothing much, really. Actually, I'm just a little lazy to write, so I'll just cut and paste the letter I wrote to SJGC a while back. Yeah, sorry for the terrible grammar. Didn't have the time to revise it (so much for an English major, yeah?). Anyway, do take delight in the photos I've uploaded.

Dear SJGC,

Thank you for all the support given to make the mission trip to St. Paul, Minnesota successful. I came back from Minnesota a week ago, only to suffer from a bout of food poisoning after a seemingly normal breakfast in McDonald’s. The diarrhea and vomiting persisted for a week, and rendered me unable to attend school for that whole week. Thankfully, I have now recovered, and I pray that it is not too late to share with you all what had transpired over my spring break in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Ride

My Team

Well, we started off from Abilene on the 7^th, crisscrossed through Oklahoma, Missouri, and finally through Ohio before reaching Minnesota, up north. Our group, consisted of 14 of us (one of whom could not make it due to family circumstances) journeyed in two separate vans. We began our trip there during the evening, before dark. The scenery changed as we cut through to the north, from arid and barren Texas to lush fir tree-covered wintery Minnesota. Overall, although we got a lost a few times on the highway, we still managed to reach the church, called Woodbury Church of Christ, relatively early. In fact, we reached our destination some 3 hours ahead of time, which provided us extra time to play with the snow after arriving in the church.

Debriefing

At about 2 pm on the 8^th of March, we got out of our van into the wilderness of Minnesota. Heading to the church building, which looked more like a gigantic wooden hut, we snuggled together before dispersing upon entering the church. We sat down in the guest commons, and waited for further directions. After a while, Steve Countryman, the leader of the St. Paul Urban ministry, the ministry our team is working with, came up front to introduce himself, as well as to elaborate on the mission of the ministry and the purpose of us coming all the way from Abilene.

The ministry, according to Steve started a few years ago, after he returned with his wife, Tina, and their kids from a mission stint in Thailand. They have been working with the Hmong community, mostly with the youths, through the church for a while now. The ministry started initially through the efforts in inviting troubled Hmong youths to the church, with the intention of helping them through counseling. Now, the ministry has gathered a group of 30-40 or so Hmong youths, many of whom became committed Christians. From what Steve had said, it is very clear that God is working through this ministry. Many of these kids could have ended up like many other Hmong kids – out on the streets, either doing drugs or involved in a gang – but thanks to God through the work of this ministry, many of the kids have changed.

Also, many of the Hmong cultural practices are not only unbeneficial to the Hmong in America, but it works to their detriment. For instance, when there is a funeral, a family would cook for the rest of the relatives for a span of a month. Many of the Hmong in the US are not rich, many of whom are actually very poor. Yet, because of their culture, they will sell their possessions, and many of the times, even go to loan sharks to find the funds to cook for that period of mourning for the deceased. One of the Hmong girls, Mary-Lee, is fortunate that her family did not resort to go to the loan sharks. Thanks to the ministry, some funds are raised to help her family. The ministry’s mission is not to change or criticize the Hmong’s culture, but first and foremost, to provide them with the help they need.

Apart from that, the ministry also helps train these young Asian Christians to live their Christian life without compromising their culture. The age of the kids involved in this ministry range from 10 years old to 24 years of age. While these kids are Christians, many Hmong people in the US still believe that Christianity is for the white people. As such, it is not only hard for the Hmong to become Christians, but it is also hard for Hmong Christians to integrate into the Hmong community. This is so as the majority non-Christian Hmongs will criticize them as forsaking their culture. Most of the time, the Christian Hmong could also be subjected to exclusion from the society, and sometimes even be persecuted (i.e. physical beatings and violence). I guess this is not such an uncommon occurrence for us Malaysian Christians to hear. Yet, this is the reality for many of our Hmong brothers and sisters here, even though far away from Asia. Imagine still what some, if not many of the Urban Ministry kids have to endure just to tell their parents their decision to follow Christ.

After hearing the one hour long introduction of the Urban Ministry, Steve then introduced us to a few of the youth leaders of the ministry. We left the church soon after to our respective host families. For the 5 of us boys, we left for the William’s. The cool thing about staying over the William’s is the fact that we will be sleeping each night for that entire weekday in Wisconsin, a little about 15-20 minutes away from Woodbury church.

The little things we did…

Basically, we gathered together each morning of that week in the Countrymans’ house to have a one-and-a-half hour long devotional. The devo, as we call it, did not only help break the ice for our group, but it had also instilled within us dependence on God. After the devo, we were broken up into several groups, consisting of 2-3 persons each, which then would do the assigned day tasks (cleaning the church, planning activities with the kids, cook, etc.).Each day had different tasks.

The 9^th

Lunch in the Hmong market. Joni, another Malaysian, and I.

On the Monday, the 9^th, we all sat together to plan for a game night with the kids. The purpose of the game night is chiefly for breaking the ice. This is the night where we would be officially introduced to the kids. Fairly so, during the evening itself, over 25 teenagers introduced themselves to us. Thankfully, Hmong names are easy to remember as they are single syllabic name. I think even if one could not remember one of the children’s names, one could randomly utter a single syllabic sound, and still might hit the jackpot.

The 10^th

The 10^th, on the other hand, we went in a group of three, to some of the kids’ houses. We did not go their houses per se, but just outside of their houses, where we heard their stories from the ministry leaders, then prayed for them individually. Some of these stories are very sad. In fact, Tina Countryman, Steve’s wife, who drove my group, confessed that the ministry has been struggling a lot. While there has been good news, the ministry has had to deal with some of the kids who had altogether abandoned the faith due to family pressure. In the long run these children have not only shipwrecked their budding faith, but also their lives – subjecting themselves to the very things that they have been redeemed from. It is indeed very sad to hear that some have gone into drugs, and then some into ungodly relationships, while some into other vices that I do not even want to mention. And so, we prayed for them that day.

The 11^th

Although I didn't mention, we helped Chew, a senior Hmong Christian, to make some spring rolls

We also helped out an organization called "Feed My Starving Children"

On the 11^th, we cleaned up the Countrymans’ house in order to set a devo/party for the children. Many of the Hmong children arrived way before the party began. So, we interacted with some of them. I had the opportunity that evening to be able to talk to a very talented teenager. Her name is Shernia. She hung out with two other girls, one of whom is Mani, one of the youth leaders. Quiet and shy, Shernia began to come alive as she shared with me her dream to be a singer. When asked about her favorite singers, the 15 year old jumps for delight as she softly whisper to me her favorite Korean boy band. As I endured an almost exclusive Korean boy band conversation with her, I noticed her aversion of topics concerning her family. Whenever I try to bring up matters about her family, she would instantly try to change the topic of the conversation. I had a hunch, and it had something to do with some form of restriction from her family that she hates.

Later, as the party began, we again interacted with the kids that came. After eating, we had the devotional. A day before, after praying for the children, I told Tina about my own story of coming to know Christ. I told about how it had been a struggle for me to become a Christian in my own home. So, when the Countrymans asked me to share my testimony with the kids, I did not decline, though I felt a little reluctance to do so.

As many of you all know, I came from a broken family. As such, anything related to my family, or my past for that matter, is something not only hard for me to come to terms with, but also something I would not want to just share with anybody. Coming to the US, all I really wanted to do is to have a new start. I have been doing a great job at doing that too. Many of my new found friends do not even suspect that I have had such a history. Yet, it pains me to wear this mask. It pains me even more to think of the past. From time to time, I’d still ask God, “Why?” Why did my parents have to separate? Why did mom hit and scold us for no reason? Why did I have to undergo all the beatings from my family just for going to church? Why is my mother’s mental health not improving? The list continues.

Well, I still do not know the answers to these questions. However, I do not really need to know them. God never promised me from the very beginning that it is going to be smooth sailing. Nonetheless, over the years, I have seen Him work in me, in my family. I mean, it could not have been a coincidence that in just a span of 7 years, my brother and I reconciled with Dad. In a year after going to church, Mom threw away her Buddhist idols. A year ago, my family, who threw me out of the house after telling them that I became a Christian, sent me to study in a Christian university in the US. I have accepted the Lord some 6 years ago, with the promises of Psalm 27:10 and Psalm 121 written on my heart. He never said it will be easy, and I still have lots of problems left unsolved, yet He promised that He will never forsake me. He promised to be faithful, and He is.

I have never shared my testimony before, not even in Malaysia. Now, so many miles away from home, I shared my story to our fellow South East Asians living in a foreign land. This is the God we serve. I am glad that, even though ugly and painful, God can use, if not redeem, my past to encourage others who have and are currently going through similar circumstances.

After sharing with the kids my testimony, Sen, one of the youth leaders prayed. In his prayer, he said, “Father, if See Huang could do it, we can do it too!” Before leaving the house, Shernia came to me up front, thanked me, and gave me a hug.

Shernia and I

The 12^th

On our last official day with the kids, the 12^th, we helped the ministry in organizing for the children a Parents Appreciation Day in the church. We did various work to help the church prepare for the night. I, of course, chose to serve by cooking for the night. Following the directions from Tina, I prepared Thai styled roast chicken. Tina made some steam glutinous rice to go with the chicken. While helping out, I took the opportunity to ask her about Shernia. And yes, my hunches proved right. Shernia is having a lot of difficulties with her family, who severely restricts her from attending church. In between sharing with me Shernia’s story with me, Tina actually wept. It has not been easy for me, and I can understand that. But, for a girl her age… And she even summoned the courage to go to the Countrymans’ that night too. Such bravery.

Preparing food for the Parent's Appreciation Night

Anyway, during that night, we helped by dishing out the food, and serving the food to the kids and their parents (another item for praise!) who attended. A video is shown after the dinner, where some of the kids are shown thanking their parents in Hmong. Then, halfway through the video, an unexpected footage of Shernia thanking her parents is shown. I am shocked. This girl is truly something. Actually, what is more amazing is that she actually showed up that night. God is already at work in her. The night is ended with a short skit, in Hmong, by the Urban Ministry youth leaders. The skit is rather short, but it served its purpose of showing to their parents that Christ came to die not only for the Whites, but also the Hmongs.

In just a jiffy, the night ended, and so did our last day with the kids.

Conclusion

Overall, this has been a great trip. It is rather sad that it had only lasted us for just a mere week. Yet, we went to do what we needed to do: to help the kids. The greatest experience I have gained from going to Minnesota is not the fact that I have learned to interact with “kids” more, but that God has been really faithful. As much as I have helped the children, this trip has helped shed some light in where God can use me to the glory of His kingdom. Actually, before leaving, the Countrymans actually offered me to do a summer internship this year. Of course, my answer is a definite yes, but I have yet to tell them. Anyway, to all of you in SJGC, I’d like to just thank you all for the opportunity that you have given to me to go to Minnesota. Lastly, I like to challenge all of you, especially the youngsters, to come out of your comfort zones, and go do something to help those in need. I end with an overused verse of the Bible, Matthew 28:18-20, “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Thank you.

Tougher Than a Cockroach

Over the past 3 weeks, I not only survived the coldness of Minnesota, but also a week-long food poisoning as well as a few major exams, while barely cutting it close for two speeches. Yup, I'm alive, a-kicking, and a-running. For some reasons, coming out of these series of hurdles reminds me of the humble cockroach. As weird as it sounds, I think it's quite appropriate that I think of myself as a "lipas". I mean, I did survive from the chilly winter of Minnesota (cockroaches don't usually thrive in cold places, btw, so that makes me more adaptable than them, no?), and food poisoning from McDonald's did not kill me, and a physiological psychology test did not render me unconscious. Therefore, it's only justified that I equate myself to life's most adaptable and resilient creature, the cockroach. So, come on, bring it on!

Break

One have to wonder why the word "break" is used to convey a general understanding of what people all know as rest or holiday (another word that I will attempt to dissect one day). When one says he is going to "take a break," he means that he is going to rest or relax. When the term "spring break" is used, it often means a week-long holiday marking the end of winter, or the beginning of spring. Now, just why would break take on such positive meanings when it almost always convey brokenness in many other contexts?

Well, perhaps, we all need a break, or a spring break -- just an interruption in normalcy, a broken net to free us, even if it is just a little bit, from being too tied up to our strings (aren't we all somewhat like puppets, tied to strings, made to dance at fancy by our schedules?). Just a little hole, a break is good for the soul. No wonder Jesus often takes time off from the group from time-to-time.

May this spring break be a good time for us (who are studying in America, or anywhere else that has a spring break) rest. For the rest of you who do not have the privilege of a spring break, just hang in there! To St. Paul, Minnesota I GO!!! Brrr.