I’m sorry that you have to spend your first Mother’s Day in a hospital gown but you are demonstrating love and courage to our son. You took a chance with me 8 years ago and we got married without any certainty that we could make it San Diego. This year our family has grown and you gave birth to our son in the city that we love. It’s been a hard road but you followed God and even committed your career to serving the poor. This weekend, we are blessed because God had given us more than we deserve.
(2002) When I sat down with a recruiter, I was told about the Marine Corps scholarship that would pay for my college in exchange for me serving as an officer after my graduation. I was excited to apply even though I knew there would only be a small chance for me to get it. I knew thousands applied every year, but my college dreams rested on me getting it. I spent the rest of my senior year in high school worrying about what my future would hold. The scholarship was on my mind every day. Would I be going to college? Would I even get into a school where I wanted to go? My first choice was to get into UCSD, but I had low SAT scores. The only thing I could control now was my fitness, so I trained every day with the hope that I would be ready for the Marine Corps physical fitness tests. I remember the day that I did the tests for military processing. I had been training for the three-mile run and the twenty pull-ups test. But I was most worried about my interview with the base executive officer. I walked in not knowing what to expect. The first thing that he brought up was that I had listed Christian Club as one of my school activities. I was scared as to why he mentioned that first, but I told him that it was my passion to share about Jesus at my school. Surprisingly, he was also a Christian, and we spent the next half hour talking about how faith should influence leadership. A few months later, I got a package in the mail, notifying me that I had been awarded a Marine Corps scholarship. I would start classes at UCSD in the fall and would train with Naval Reserve Officer Training Command in San Diego. Soon after, I met Carmen Pat, started serving in China and realized that I would have to resign my scholarship… Book Excerpt – Would you like a copy? There’s a download link for the digital version at the end of the form or I can mail you a signed physical copy. Link in bio
This is the most our family has ever been served. It’s been an amazing year to experience the outpouring of love from our community around the world. I think my mom worried a lot when I chose to pursue ministry because she wanted me to get a MBA and do something business related. Most of my family who are my age, make about 5 times what I make and I think my parents worry how I can raise a family in San Diego. It’s a valid fear and probably why there are so few Chinese Americans in professional ministry. Today was a reminder of the blessings that are harder to quantify. We were really blessed when some leaders in our church gave us some special gifts. Karen Leong gave Carmen Pat a baby cake (a bunch of baby supplies in a cake form) and expressed her willingness to help her out with any mom advice she might need. Dale Lieu, a church elder, bought 6 of my books for the church staff because he really felt that sharing my story would help me work better with the church staff. My job is to help get people into ministry and I hear about the fears of this profession everyday. The difficulties have ranged from writing 40 page seminary papers to having my life threatened. There were a lot of times where I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue doing a job where my success is ultimately measured when I get to Heaven. Today though, I was reminded why this job is amazing. I get to serve amazing people and when our family needs help the most, they serve us too.
I won’t be working for two months when the baby comes. I won’t be preaching, writing, actively discipling or leading teams overseas. That does not mean that my ministry will stop. I hope to live out my calling in being a father and a husband. Whenever I speak with ambitious ministers, I notice that they never mention their families. Missions history is also full of men who built huge organizations but had their families fall apart. I understand that a lot of cultures don’t encourage men to take a large role in home life but I am convinced that the Bible teaches men to take care of their home before they can take care of others. Thank you for supporting us in this time. I will be taking two months of unpaid leave alongside Carmen’s maternity leave. We will be missing out on about $8,000 in wages. Some of you have donated generously to this book project and helped us tremendously in this difficult but joyous time. I feel the pressure of wanting to do more this year and working through paternity leave but your outpouring of care has helped me to just really enjoy my family. It means a lot to me that you are celebrating this baby with us. I have my book in both physical and digital form. There’s a download link for the digital version at the end of the order form. Link in bio
What competitors think but never talk about 🤣  I’ve been using the www.GainsinBulk.com Athlete’s Digestive Formula for a year now and I love it as a digestive aid. I used to just take a probiotic but I get a lot less bloating and gas with their formula. 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