By Tiffany Ng 

Mothers give a lot. But what if they are giving out of nothing? It is a recipe for disaster.

My mission field was once East Asia, first as a team member, and then a team leader, during my days in university. As part of my training, I read an article titled “Moving from Solitude to Community to Ministry” by Henri Nouwen. The link between my quiet times with Jesus and ministering to others was “community,” which at the time, came in the forms of my weekly team meetings, Friday night Bible study group, and perhaps my three other like-minded apartment-mates.

Fast forward, when my oldest was first born, I found myself on my own as a new mother. I found myself in solitude a lot (Do sleepless nights with a crying newborn count?), and my new “mission field” was my daughter. But while I appeared like I had it together on the outside, I was seriously struggling on the inside because “community” was the missing link. At that time, the women’s group I was in met inconsistently and infrequently. Most mothers, if not all mothers, in the congregation had adult children, and I was one of the first among my like-minded friends to have a baby, let alone be married.

Fast forward again, now with my youngest child, who was born during this pandemic, I am blessed to be a part of our Friday morning Mom’s Ministry while I work in my 1st grade classroom on the other days as a team-teacher. I am thankful to have this space in my life to regularly meet with other like-minded moms. I leave this place with my heart feeling full from our shared laughter, my spirit inspired by our mentor mom who has gone before us, and my soul humbled by my peers’ honesty. 

But the best part? The commitment to Christ and His words. 

I have followed Jesus since I was in middle school, and over two decades later, I still find myself always needing to have the gospel preached to myself all the time. As we go through “The Gospel Project,” I love our Christ-centered conversations that are based on Scripture. Together, our group spurs one another on to remain faithful to Christ. This Mom’s Ministry is truly a place that creates space in our lives to be empowered to preach Jesus’ life-giving words to our children. In John 10:10, He has said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Thank you, Jesus!

Participants: Ron and Rica Chan, James and Julie Chow, Ed and Sally Lum, Randy and Angela Quon

Thank you for your prayers and contributions of SD/Micro-SD cards and funds for their purchase. Over 130+ cards and over $1000 will provide the Word in countries where the Bible is forbidden to have. An example of how biblical digital media can be shared in restricted countries can be heard at the following link (Voice of the Martyr Radio): https://youtu.be/vjzhn6mAiwQ

We traveled to the Voice of the Martyrs headquarter in Bartlesville, OK to serve in their Mailing Distribution Center and become stewards of the testimonies and stories of the persecuted believers around the world. We were made aware of the present state of the persecuted believers and how we can support our brethren as they suffer loss of home, livelihood, and lives for the name of Jesus.

God gave to each one of us different experiences. The best way to summarize our experience is to share paraphrased statements from the team:

1. “It was detox for the soul” – We were immersed in a refuge away from the banter of politics and social change and had the opportunity to dwell just on Christ and his work.  

2. It was “unexpected” rich fellowship – We shared our life stories with sympathetic hearts 

3. It was a “challenge” to step out and walk with the persecuted – Our minds were renewed so we can begin to think and feel what our persecuted brethren go through.

4. It was “distributing” the stories and prayer requests of the persecuted – With zealous enthusiasm we increased our daily output from 6k to 10k prayer calendar packages to be sent across the nation.

Some of the most moving interactions came from hearing fresh testimony from the VOM field workers and staff.

1. One such meeting was with Jonathan, the Vice-President of International Relations. He gave us insight to the heart of Afghan Christians as the Taliban was taking over the country. Despite hearing mainstream media stories that the Christians are fleeing the country, he assured us that the believers that they had contact with were not leaving. They knew if they departed, the gospel presence could be lost. VOM is seeking to partner with our brethren who choose to stay. In addition, Jonathan also put in perspective that the greatest threat to the Afghan Christians is not the Taliban but the immediate family members who are taught that those who convert must be convinced even by force to return or face death.

2. A second such meeting was with Lebanese Pastor Pierre. God had called him to start a church on the Israeli-Lebanon border.  He shared that hundreds of Muslims that he interviewed are following Jesus because Jesus appeared to them in a dream or vision. This personal “invitation” prompted them to seek Jesus at the local Christian churches. The Christian churches are learning to extend the hand of fellowship to these Muslim converts despite suspicions of their conversations. Pray for their unity.

3. Other interactions gave us impactful insight to the courage and faithfulness of our brethren. Feel free to ask us about these other stories.

 Voice of the Martyrs helps us to love the persecuted church in four ways:

1. VOM provides persecution response by “stopping the bleeding” and “re-establishing lives”.

2. VOM provides Bible distribution in whatever translation and method most compatible to the hearer/reader. It is their belief every believer should have a bible!

3. VOM provides support to the frontline worker. For our brethren who choose to stay as a witness, VOM provides the tools and support to carry out their gospel mission.

4. VOM provides the communication that shares our brethren’s stories so we might learn to become faithful as they have shown by their example.

Begin your journey to support the persecuted church by connecting at www.persecution.com and www.icommittopray.com. We are looking to return next year in mid to late September. Join us (the team, the VOM staff, and the persecuted brethren) and be transformed!  
Blessings, James Chow

By Arman

Farewells are always bittersweet. I am both excited to start my journey back to Kazakhstan (after I see some friends in Detroit and DC) and sad to leave California. 

God has blessed me with countless fun memories here over the past 2.5 months: 

• Tasting the art of tailgating for the first time with Chris and his family before a USC game as well as watching my first live college football with Stuart [USC] and Victor [UCLA]. Both teams lost those games so think twice before you invite me to watch your favorite team play.

• Making shabu and sushi with the Setos. Mako kept his word after I put him on the spot in my previous blog post [y’all should note this brilliant strategy]. It was a great night of fellowship.

• Too much great food [this was confirmed last week when one of my students said, “Coach Arman, you’ve been getting bigger every week since you came here”] and not enough time to hang out with so many of you! 

I have been surrounded by so much love and care from Evergreen and my football team at Rio Hondo Prep – I am praising the Lord for your faithfulness and desire to be part of my ministry to the lost in Kazakhstan, especially among American football players there. I didn’t have to worry about a place to live or transportation – you’ve provided me with everything necessary for a fruitful time of learning the craft of coaching during my stay. Hilda even took a role of a caring American mom – not only by helping me navigate through the mundane things like where I can do laundry but also by regularly asking me whether I have enough food 😊.

Among all these memories the most special ones were those where I got to witness God’s work in and through others. Like watching the elders of Evergreen [every Tuesday morning] think, pray and discuss of how to lead the church faithfully in accordance with God’s revealed will in His Scriptures. Like singing rich hymns with the saints on Sundays – many of which we sing in Russian back in Almaty – and sitting under faithful preaching of God’s Word week in and week out. Or how you’ve welcomed my Kazakh friends and football players from Rio Hondo Prep when they visited our church services.

I am especially sad to leave my high school football team right now – it feels like my students have just gotten to a point where they can trust me with some deep matters of their hearts. I’ll share a few examples of that privilege. One of the players wanted to discuss a question of how God’s sovereignty relates to human’s responsibility. Another was wrestling with the biblical texts on women’s role at church. One time after practice a student asked, “Coach Arman, can I talk to you?” I said, “Sure. What do you want to talk about?” – “Nothing in particular. I just want you to tell me more about God and the gospel”. And then we spent almost an hour talking about the beauty of Christ in the gospel. Maybe one of the most moving conversations happened a couple of weeks ago. We were lifting weights in the gym when a student asked whether I have time to chat with him. As he began talking, tears started pouring from his eyes as he said, “How can I be closer to God? I think that my soul is perishing…” I could barely hold my own tears as we talked about the ugliness and stupidity of sin and the unshakable hope we have in Christ. Oh, how thankful I am that the Lord allowed me to become a member of the Kares football team during these couple of months! 

If the Lord wills, this is not my last time in LA. I hope to be visiting you in the future and I am so excited to see what the Lord has for Evergreen SGV! I pray that you as a church keep pursuing Christ with all your heart and strength and that you stand firm in the grace of our Lord. I am privileged to be able to say that I consider Evergreen as my home in California. Please know that my church in Almaty is very thankful to the saints here for all the support and care you’ve shown me. And please pray for the fruit in my football ministry in Kazakhstan! May the Lord save many there for the glory of His name!

Much love in Christ,

Arman

Paul Lu recently joined our staff as an intern. Hear more from him as he shares about his journey and what his hopes are for the future in serving the Lord.

Please share how you came to Evergreen.

Our family came to Evergreen through Michelle and Eric Abe, whose girls were friends with our daughter Phoebe at ACS (Arcadia Christian School). After visiting a few churches, we sensed the Lord guide us to call Evergreen SGV our home church. We have been here since February 2014, and have been members since July 2015. Since then, we have been deeply ministered by pastors, as well as many brothers and sisters in the church.  

What will your internship entail at Evergreen?

My internship will be primarily in Outreach and Worship ministries. I will be serving in Local and Global Outreach with Pastor Hugo and Jon H. I will also coordinate the praise teams for Lord's Day services, serving with Rich, Garrett and Irene. Also, the Lord has placed evangelism and prayer as two areas to serve the body of Christ. I pray for more opportunities to do so. 

What do you hope to gain from your internship at Evergreen?

I hope to be equipped at Evergreen so that when Prudence and I are sent out as missionaries we know how to plant churches and care for the flock. In the meantime, there's a lot to learn from the pastors, staff and the body of Christ on how to minister to one another in God's Word and in prayer.

What are your plans after the internship?

My plan is that Prudence and I would be sent out as missionaries to East Asia, Lord willing. I plan to equip the overlooked people in East Asia with communication tools for them to thrive in society, and look for opportunities to plant churches.

How can the church be praying for you?

Prudence and I are seeking the Lord's will in terms of missions. Please pray that God will bring our differences into alignment with His will. For me specifically, pray that I would lead sacrificially and lovingly.

By Pastor Victor Chen

This past summer, twelve children in our church ages 4 - 14 successfully completed the Summer Reading Challenge! Each child submitted a written response to me indicating what they enjoyed the most about the book they read. 

The books I recommended were fictional works written with a Christian worldview. Here were the books I recommended to be read:

Kindergarten and younger (Read by parents to child)

“You are Special” by Max Lucado

“The Lightlings” by R.C. Sproul

1st through 4th grade

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and remaining books in “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis

5th and 6th grade

“On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness” and remaining books in “The WingFeather Saga” by Andrew Peterson

“The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien

7th and older

“The Fellowship of the Ring” and remaining books in “The Lord of the Rings” series by J.R.R. Tolkien

It was once said that every household had two books in their home —the Bible and “The Pilgrim’s Progress”. My hope is that more families would be blessed by reading through “The Pilgrim’s Progress” in their homes today. In light of that, here were the book prizes I awarded to each child according to their ages:

”Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey” (Lithos Kids)

”Little Pilgrim’s Progress Illustrated Edition” (Moody Publishers)

”Pilgrim’s Progress” (Crossway)

I was pleased with how many children in our church were involved in the Summer Reading Challenge in 2021. Here was the message I shared with them on specially created bookmarks by Irene Mar:

Congratulations on completing the challenge! May the Lord grow your love for reading so that you would love to read His Word and know Him more!

Because He First Loved Us,

Pastor Victor

 Blessed is the man

  who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

 nor stands in the way of sinners,

  nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,

  and on his law he meditates day and night.

 Psalm 1:1–3 (ESV)