Every 3 years, the Asian American staff, along with staff who serve Asian American InterVarsity chapters, come together for Asian American Ministries Staff Conference (AAMSC). It's always a fun time of reconnecting with old friends, meeting younger staff, hearing from Jesus, and getting super fat from eating delicious food. Friends, I have no problem telling you that this year, AAMSC was a success on all fronts.
This year, AAMSC was held in Irvine, California, which isn't too far from where I grew up in Garden Grove (and where my parents still live). It was great to be back in Orange County in a place that was somewhat familiar to me. Here are a few highlights from the conference:
- Be able to use my expertise: In AAM circles, I am officially the Ministry Partnership Development (MPD) guy. It may be because I'm one of the few staff who really like doing MPD and it may be because I'm one of the few staff nationally who has MPD as his full time job. It may also be because I am always talking about MPD. Either way, it was so cool to have so many conversations with so many people about how to do MPD better and in a way that serves the AAM community. It was affirmation from God that MPD is where he wants me.
- Connecting with old friends: This was AAMSC number 7 for me. It was around my 4th or 5th AAMSC that I realized that the conference wasn't actually built with me in mind. Because of the high turnover in our line of work, most staff will only attend 2 or 3 AAMSC's. That means that the content usually has younger staff in mind. There are still good things for us older staff to get out of it (more on that later) but for the past few AAMSC's, I've had the freedom to not attend everything but use what time I could to connect with old friends (and see who is still on staff). This time was no different.
- Hearing from Jesus: The staff work side of the conference content is focused on younger staff but that doesn't mean that the spiritual side of the conference content isn't for everyone. We were in John 21 this week and it was so good. We heard from some amazing preachers and I felt like I heard from Jesus in a very real way. Our theme was "Come and eat Breakfast," taken from John 21. I felt the invitation from God to enter into ministry with a sense of joy and anticipation. It was good stuff.
- Getting fat: Y'all, I ate REAL good in California. The hotel food was fine (as hotel food is) but it was the other meals that really filled me with joy. I had 4 different bobas. I tried a Korean dessert as well as some Korean fried chicken and Korean street food (I just realized how much Korean food I ate...). My parents took me out to Taiwanese food before I went to the airport to go along with the . AND, I got back to a Carl's Jr., which I haven't had in YEARS. I was perfectly happy with pretty much every calorie I consumed.
AAMSC was a great time. I'm so thankful to InterVarsity for valuing Asian American Ministries and the joy that comes from recognizing the diversity that God created. I'm thankful to Megan for holding down the fort with the kids while I was gone. I'm thankful to my AAM colleagues for their love, support, and comradery. I'm thankful to God for making me Asian American.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
