I want to change people’s minds. I keep getting told that bodybuilding is just a fun hobby but I shouldn’t take it too seriously. I should be like every other Asian and focus on school. I know why they are saying it. I’m very aware that I’m the only Chinese kid with glasses at every show. At least it’s easy to spot me in the group pictures because I stand out. Winning the Teen division at the INBA Team USA Championships changed my life. It changed how I saw bodybuilding. Maybe this sport could be more than a hobby. It was encouragement to stick around when I didn’t feel like I belonged. I think God uses events to confirm directions for our lives. I knew that bodybuilding would get much harder as I aged out of the Teen division but now I knew that there is hope for me. Maybe this Chinese kid who was always told to stick to school could actually make a career in sports. (To read my full story, link in bio)
I was really sad when I went to Mary’s hometown of Gao Yao. 10 years ago, I saw a city that was developing but few people cared about the outcome of girls without parents. It was amazing to see most of the orphan girls accept Christ but I knew our work wasn’t done if we couldn’t help them become successful adults. I really wanted to see them grow in their calling. I knew that they were not destined to just in the back of a church service. Mary, has always shown a natural talent for language. Even as a teenager, I was amazed by how fast she picked up English. Without taking a language class, she just understood how to hear and pick up languages. That’s why I was so eager to bring her to Budapest. In 2017, God opened a lot of doors and allowed her to join our team serving orphans in Budapest. Mary would be an example for what is possible. Could an orphan girl without education be a great missionary? Could she learn the culture and language? Could she mobilize other orphans from China to see their calling as servants to those who are most disenfranchised? Together, we are going to find out. This summer, Mary will be leading 2 other orphan girls from China to join our team in Budapest and we are going to see if this is a long term calling for her. God has allowed me to do missions because his spirit has been upon my life. I wonder what God is going to do in Mary’s life. Will she be a great missionary? She doesn’t fit a lot of the criteria we look for in candidates. She’s not educated enough, she doesn’t have the help of a family and she carries scars from being alone as a child. I hope you will join me in praying. People look at the outside but God looks at the heart. What will this next generation of missionaries look like?
I’m doing something a little different for our Budapest missions training. I realize that none of our orphan partners like learning through textbooks or essays. China though has a rich history of art and a lot of everyday instructions are done up with comics so that’s what our team is deciding to do too. I’m working with my team to tell the story of missions mobilization in a comics format. We are going to explain why we do missions, best practices and what to expect on short term missions in a way that makes a lot more sense to those not used to sitting in a college classroom. Of course, it’s also going to have a lot of bodybuilding storylines mixed in because a lot of my team members tend to be into fitness. It also just looks better when the characters are buff like Dragonball Z 😁
My son gets to see me in the moments where I’m exhausted and fed up with ministry. It’s hard to fake it with Jeremiah when he’s with me most of the day. I’m not going to hide from him when I’m discouraged by criticism. There’s a lot of difficulty and hardship when you are trying to help people lay down everything they know and to follow Jesus. Most days we are not going to see the world change and all we are left with is hope. But as he grows up, I hope he gets to see the fruit of all these days that ended in disappointment. People will let us down but God won’t. If we follow God, we are going to see his promises happen in his timing.
Proud of my guys for overcoming their unique challenges to get to this point. Less than a month left before they step on stage at the Inba Pnba Denny Kakos Iron Gladiator. This is a long difficult journey, make sure to cheer these guys on. The road to the stage takes a lot of sacrifice and pain. Everyday they are learning what it takes to grow in discipline and dedication. Chris Koo will be doing Open Bodybuilding and Charles Klinedinst will be competing in the Physically Challenged division. My new favorite supplement is a digestive aid from wwww.GainsinBulk.com . Their probiotic is made specifically for athletes and even contains lactase to help breakdown protein shakes. If you want to give their products a try use my promo code DavidP10 for 10% off your order! #GainsInBulk #GIB #PNBA #INBA @inbaglobal_official @gainsinbulk #teamusa #bodybuilding #weightloss #fitness #curls #arms #shredding #legs #contestprep #bodybuilding #worldchampionships #inbaglobal #naturalbodybuilding #muscleshow #musclecontest #Worldchampionships #INBA
This contest prep has already been my hardest. I’ve learned how to overcome discouraging comments and how to plan my diet. I’m still learning how to support my wife in her 70 hour a week job and to balance ministry, bodybuilding and being a parent. 15 years of bodybuilding has taught me that anything worth doing is going to take time. I’m not just building my body, I’m building myself. My new favorite supplement is a digestive aid from wwww.GainsinBulk.com . Their probiotic is made specifically for athletes and even contains lactase to help breakdown protein shakes. If you want to give their products a try use my promo code DavidP10 for 10% off your order! #GainsInBulk #GIB #PNBA #INBA @inbaglobal_official @gainsinbulk #teamusa #bodybuilding #weightloss #fitness #curls #arms #shredding #legs #contestprep #bodybuilding #worldchampionships #inbaglobal #naturalbodybuilding #muscleshow #musclecontest #Worldchampionships #INBA
(1983) My entire childhood is this family restaurant. The Red Lantern is how my family bought our house, it paid for our cars, and it’s why I’m going to school in America instead of China. My earliest memories are of hanging out in the back of the restaurant playing Nintendo and helping my dad clean up at the end of the night. I saw the power of starting your own business; it represented freedom and a way to provide for your family. No one handed my parents a great job that allowed them to buy a house and send their kid to school. It was because my parents pursued their dream that they were able to care for me. My mom always gave me the business section of the newspaper and told me to read about stocks. She said that our restaurant was just a small family business but that one day I could hopefully have my own large business. I think my love for investing comes from these experiences. When I think back to what life was like for my parents, I feel both proud and sad. I am amazed that we had our restaurant for so many years because I know how many restaurants fail. To run a restaurant for 25 years is a fantastic feat but even more so because my parents were new immigrants who didn’t even know English. They had no one to teach them how to do things, and they learned as they went along. I’m also sad because of the life they could have had. My parents got divorced when I was 7. I’m sure the long hours of maintaining a small family business didn’t help their marriage. As I look back, I realize how much my early childhood shaped me. It was then that I began to develop my love for business and entrepreneurship. But it was also then, as I watched our family’s restaurant succeed while I watched our family fall apart, that I began a long journey of learning how to appreciate and love my family even more. Book excerpt. Full book download in bio.