Happy Birthday, Mama!!!

Hello, friends!

On Sunday, my wonderful mother will be turning (static, static, static) years old! I can't be in California for the festivities but that doesn't mean I can't dote on her virtually!

Mama Leong is one special lady. Not only did she birth and raise 4 kids and have 3 of them turn out pretty well, for a really solid .750 batting average (just kidding, we're all great!) but she's also been "mom" to literally dozens of other people, offering a pastoral word to wherever needs it. She has a special knack for connecting with women who don't have a mother figure state-side. It's something I didn't always appreciate growing up, but very much appreciate now.

Of course, Mama Leong isn't just a mother but also an Ama. I've always known my mom to be generous but once the grandchildren came along, things went up to a whole new level. I'm not saying she tries to spoil my kids. I'm just saying that I've gotten more than one phone call asking if she can buy my kids things they obviously don't need but said they wanted at some point. (Note: regardless of what my answer is, she usually buys it anyway)

So, here's to a wonderful mom, Ama, and woman! Happiest of birthdays and sorry I can't be there with you to celebrate. When you visited, Megan took most of the photos so this is the only one I have on my phone. I think it captures who you are pretty well. =0).

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Relief...

Hello, friends! 

I have a few different news apps on my phone so I can keep up with current events. On Tuesday afternoon, I got multiple notifications that the jury had reached a verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. More or less, the rest of my work day was kind of shot. 

The verdict was supposed to be read between 3:30 and 4pm Central time, so right about then, I left our home office and went upstairs. I folded some laundry, texted a friend who I knew was following the case closely, and watched the network news waiting for the verdict to be announced. A few minutes past 4, the verdict was announced: Guilty, guilty, guilty...

At that moment, I didn't feel joy or happiness. A man was going to go to prison for potentially a long time and I have trouble being happy about that. I didn't feel a sense of accomplishment or finality because Derek Chauvin going to prison doesn't bring back George Floyd and one (or three) guilty verdicts doesn't fix policing in America. When I heard the verdict, the one emotion I felt over all others was relief. 

My mind immediately went back to where I was in November of 2014 when a grand jury decided to not indict officer Darren Wilson in the death of Mike Brown. Megan and I were back in California, visiting family for Thanksgiving. We had just found out a few weeks prior that she was pregnant with Ezra. I remember watching the news with my family, hearing the non-indictment decision, and feeling like I needed to go for a walk, punch a wall, and scream at the exact same time. The prospect of justice seemed so far away. Hope wasn't even on my radar then. On Tuesday, it was.  

Before the verdict was read, I was so nervous. The default setting has to be the assumption of an acquittal or non-indictment because that's the norm. If it wasn't for a bystander taking cellphone video of the Derek Chauvin's knee on the back of George Floyd's neck for nearly 10 minutes, the police report of "Man dies of medical incident while in custody" would have been the accepted story and life would have moved on. After 3 weeks of testimony and dozens of witnesses, including fellow officers, saying that what Chauvin did was unacceptable and not part of the training, there was still doubt in my mind that a conviction would come. Why? Because very rarely does a conviction come. But this time it came. 

So, what do we do now? Now, we continue to fight for justice and reform. Some may say that this verdict shows that the system works. I say it's the exception that proves the rule. With all the evidence available, again, including 10 minutes of video, there was still no sure thing because we still have a lot of work to do. 

You've probably noticed that in the past few years, I've been speaking out more about issues of social justice, particularly around issues of race. Some of you may be asking yourselves what any of this has to do with my job as a missionary and sharing the Gospel. The truth is that this has everything to do with the Gospel. When Christ died for us and rose again, he commissioned us to go make disciples, or followers of Jesus. Jesus cared about justice. He cared about the least of these. He came to Earth to set the captives free and liberate the oppressed. Fighting for a more just and equitable society is an extension of following Jesus. He didn't die for my sins just so I could go to heaven when I die. His Holy Spirit is empowering me to be a part of the Body that brings heaven on earth. Tuesday's verdict was a relief but there's still work to be done. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam  

Happy Birthday, Megan!

Hello, friends! 

I know I'm a day late in posting this, but it's not because I was a day late in remembering Meg's birthday. It's just that we had so much fun yesterday, I didn't have time to write a blog post about how wonderful my wife is! 

Yesterday was Meg's birthday. The older kids painted her mugs, Jonah and I got her a light for her indoor plants, her mom visited last weekend and made a delicious ice cream cake, and for her birthday dinner, she made SUPER tasty Indian food, a favorite of ours. 

This past year has been a difficult one, for sure. In April of 2020, the pandemic was just getting started. Ezra's preschool had just been cancelled for in person learning, so we were scrambling to reorganize ourselves so we could both work and share the load of taking care of the kids. We had no idea what was safe, what the infection rate was, or anything like that. Add a 6 month old into the mix, and it was a really stressfull time and that meant a stressful birthday for Megan.  

Since then, things have gotten better. We've figured out some rhythms. Ezra is back in school and the younger two are in daycare now. We've both gotten our first vaccine shots. We can see some light at the end of the tunnel. And yet, there's still a lot that we don't know and a lot of precautions we're still taking. 

One of the things that has amazed me this past year is how Megan has held up this past year. Of course, there have been some tough times (winter was tough on everyone, right?) but in the midst of this pandemic, which kind of spanned from her last birthday to this birthday, she's handled things with grace, poise, and love. The kids are healthy. Our marriage continues to be strong. We've been making it, and it's in no small part because of her hard work. 

Happiest of birthdays to my lovely wife, the best of wives and women. I'm continually in awe of you and excited to see what the next year has in store for you and for us. I'm sure it'll be fun. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

One Shot Down, One to Go!

Hello, friends!

Last month, I was talking with some friends who live in Missouri and they were telling me about how the vaccine distribution in Missouri was pretty bad. Every county in Missouri received the same supply of vaccines, which may seem like a fair thing to do until you realize that this means that St. Louis County with literally hundreds of thousands of people got the same number of vaccines as the more rural counties in Missouri with only a few thousand people. Why this matters is that it means that my friends were able to drive a few hours away to rural Missouri to get their vaccinations. 

That got me thinking about if I could do the same thing in Nebraska. Actually, my first step was to see how long it would take me to drive to a Walmart in Northwest Missouri. =0). However, when I did some more research, the health requirements for vaccinations were still in place in Nebraska so that wasn't an option. 

However, a few weeks ago, President Biden set the goal of every adult being eligible for the vaccine by May 1. A few weeks after that, pharmacies in Nebraska who participate in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Vaccination Program, which includes Walmart. So, I went onto the Walmart website and saw that if I was willing to drive to Norfolk, Nebraska, about 2 hours away, I could get an appointment. However, taking a full day off on short notice wasn't possible, even for a vaccination. 

BUT, I did notice that the Walmart pharmacy website only allows reservations to be made 7 days in advance. Which gave me an idea. If I was willing to stay up until midnight Tuesday morning, maybe I'd be able to snag a spot for Monday, which is Megan and my off day. 

Guess what, friends! It worked! I logged on at 12:01am Tuesday morning and Monday was wide open. Added to that, while there were no pharmacies in Omaha that had any vaccine, there was a Walmart in Blair, just 20 minutes north, that was taking appointments. So, I snagged a few spots for Megan and me, and what you see below is a photo of us in line to get our shots! 

We woke up Monday morning, shuffled everyone into the car, dropped Ezra off at school, then made our way up to Blair. The kids were a hit for (most of) the people in line and we were in and out within the hour. They even scheduled our second shot so I don't have to get up early again. =0). 

Understand, the only reason why we were able to make this work is because of the privilege that we have. I have reliable internet access that allows me to get a reservation. I have the privilege of having a job that allows me the flexibility to take time to get vaccinated. I even have the privilege of a car to allow me to drive. Not everyone has these privileges and I'm thankful that I have them. 

My first thought is to offer folk in Omaha the time for me to set a reservation for you. I'd be more than happy to stay up and put your name on a list. However, just recently, Douglas County opened up its vaccination site and from what I can tell, everything locally is happening faster. You can sign up here. If you still need some help, feel free to message me and I'll do what I can do to help!

Have an excellent day!

~Adam  

A Good Friday Indeed...

Hello, friends! 

Happy Holy Week and Good Friday to you! I hope that you and yours are safely celebrating the resurrection this weekend. He is risen! 

People who know me know that I'm not much of a celebratory or a holiday person. I don't usually do much for my birthday or any of the major holidays. I enjoy being with family and celebrating various things but it's not the biggest deal in the world to me. In years past, Good Friday has been a day that I've celebrated and acknowledged but it hasn't been something that has had a huge impact on my day today. 

This morning, as I was hanging out with Jesus, Good Friday struck me a little bit differently. As I reflected on how hard and stressful the past year has been, I was reminded that Good Friday and Easter mean that Jesus' power is power over everything.

In between dealing with the stress of the pandemic for the past year, the rise of anti-Asian violence (including the most recent shooting in Atlanta), having to lead a training in the midst of processing the Atlanta shooting, finishing up leading a series at church for the past 2 months, and the general doldrums of not quite being out of Winter even though it's technically Spring, it's comforting to know that Jesus can cover all that. He's covered me before, he's covering me now, and I know he'll cover me again. 

So, as I finish up work today, then we head out to SoDak to spend Easter with Megan's side of the family, I'll be doing my best to not think about all the things that still need to get done and how messed up the world is. I'll be thinking about how it's a Good Friday indeed, because of the good work of Jesus. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam