Tag: Testimony
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My Story, God’s Story (Spoken Word)
The author has kept his identity private due to sensitive work, but now feels prompted to share his story…hoping his story will lead people to know Jesus.
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Chapter 13: Salvation
I landed in Los Angeles International Airport in the summer of 1996 rockin my blue Adidas windbreaker outfit. I wore matching sandals and beanie and thought I looked like a dope Asian break dancer. After waiting on the curb for over an hour I realized that my Aunt wasn’t coming – she was stuck in traffic…
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Chapter 12: Suicidal
My mom was clinically depressed and was taking pills to deal with it. I didn’t know it at the time but she was suicidal. Life was a deep black hole and she expressed it to my aunt living in Los Angeles in one desperate phone call in 1996. “I don’t know what else to do…
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Chapter 11: Sandals
I had to check in periodically with my probation officer downtown. His name was Officer Hewitt. Sometimes he was cool and sometimes he was an ass. This day he was an ass. “Do you like pets?” asked Hewitt. “Nah.” I answered. “Are you allergic to them?” he asked. “No, why?” I replied. “Ok, good. I’m…
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Persecution Story
I was trying hard not to shed tears as I was listening to Chanthi’s story. I had asked him a very simple question, “So tell me about your time in prison for Jesus.” Chanthi was from a remote tribe of spirit worshippers in Southeast Asia. He lived in a simple village high up the mountains…
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Chapter 10: Gunplay
Getting locked up in juvenile hall didn’t change my heart, it only forced a break in my criminal activities. The first thing I did upon my release was smoke a joint with the homies to celebrate my time in jail. Recognition from peers was more important than any type of consequences drummed up by the…
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A New Way to Do an Old Thing in a New Year
Sharing our faith with lost family, friends and strangers can be a daunting task. We all know that we should be good witnesses of the most important message in the universe – that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again – but none of us have the evangelistic gifts of Billy Graham.…
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What Next? The 4 Stages of Launching Church Movements
As church planters, “What next?” is probably one of the questions we ask the most. What do we do after reaching the lost? How do we make disciples and train them to train others? How do we form groups and catalyze a movement of reproducing churches? There are so many methods and answers out there…
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Chapter 8: Monkhood
My mom tried everything to keep me off the streets, even religion. In Southeast Asian Buddhist culture it is customary for young males to spend time in their local temple as a novice monk. It’s a way to earn merit for our past offenses and a way to earn respect from the surrounding Asian community.…
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Chapter 7: Typical Day
It was 1996. The sun was shining and I had just punched some white kid in the face. I picked up his glasses and threw them down the street as he begged me to stop. I let him get on his bike and said, “You tell your brother to never talk s*** again. Get the…
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Easter Doesn’t Exist…For The Unreached
Last week I found myself with a broken motorbike surrounded by jungle and stranded in a mountain pass with no cell phone reception. There was no other choice but to split the group up and push the heavy ass bike back the way we came – up and down the mountain in the heat of…
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Chapter 6: Routine
Southwest Michigan. Some small crappy town. 6:40 am. Snowing and pitch black except for the orange glow of street lights. The air was cold enough to freeze the snot running down my nose. My greatest motivation to wake up and walk to school in this shitstorm was the thought of packaged blueberry muffins, cafeteria sausages…
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The Joy of Persecution
A few weeks ago we took a sweet little boat ride up river to visit dear friends. No big deal. Just two hours of zigzagging through mazes of dead trees in a tiny leaking boat, to reach a remote village in the mountains with no electricity, phones or latrines, where there was a real possibility…
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Chapter 5: Friend or Foe
I spent Jr. High school in four different states. We practically lived in a U-Haul (moving truck). I wasn’t bothered by the moving though. It was the new schools that made me nervous. First impressions are everything. As a little Asian gang-banger I categorized people instantly as friends or enemies. My brother and I always…
The Asian Rough Rider 