A New Semester!

Hello, friends!

It's time, it's time, it's time! After a month of break, we are just a few days away from the beginning of a new semester awaits! Today I met with the ACF staff team, and friends, I am excited about the new semester and all the cool things that God is going to do. I can already tell you, it's going to be sweet.

Of course, Mizzou ACF isn't the only thing that's happening this semester. This semester is also going to see us continue the work that we're already doing at Mizzou ICF (Megan) and Columbia College (Charis). But wait, there's more! This semester I'm going to be scouting a few new areas of Mizzou as well as a new campus in Mid-Missouri. We've got all sorts of fun stuff happening and it all starts Monday with Mizzou's International Student Orientation.

Friends, please be praying for our team as we make the final preparations for the beginning of the semester. Here are a few specifics:

- Like I said, Megan is going to be helping at the International Student Orientation on Monday and Tuesday. Please pray that God will connect her with students both Christian and non-Christian.

- ACF is going to have its pre-semester retreat on Friday and Saturday of next week. Please pray for our Core students and that God will meet them where they are as the new semester gets underway.

- The harvest is plentiful and the workers are increasing! We have a few potential new hires as volunteers and interns. Please pray for both us and the applicants as we try to discern what God may have for them.

- There is still much work to be done on the fundraising department too. We still have about $10,000 left to raise in order for us to end the year "in the black." Please pray that as the semester gets under way, we will not neglect this part of our job as well.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Megan's Thoughts on New Years Resolutions

Hello, friends!

Happy 2015 to you all! Here's praying that 2015 kicks 2014's butt in every possible way. =0).

This is about the time of the year when folk start their New Year's resolutions. Last year, Megan and I decided that we would only buy clothing that was fair trade/ethically made. Here are Megan's thoughts on the year that was. Enjoy!

What happens when you intentionally refrain from buying clothing that wasn’t ethically made for an entire year? I didn’t quite know what to expect when we ventured into this a year ago. Adam and I made the decision to as we were preparing for a trip to another country where last year at this time there were protests from garment factory workers for their payment. Ultimately there wages weren’t raised and they were silenced to keep the peace. It left us with the question though of how we would respond. Before we dig in, I just want to say that I know that this method of advocacy and action isn’t perfect. People still need jobs regardless of how much they are paid. Although the system is completely jacked up and unfair, there is still a high demand for these jobs because there are people who need them. I want to share a few lessons we learned along the way on this journey:

1.     Exposure of idolatry and greed in my heart:

a.       I love Target. No matter what I come in there for my eyes & legs are somehow immediately drawn to the clearance clothing section. It doesn’t matter if I need that new sweater, there is an intense longing to own it. Knowing that Target is rated a D for clothing on the ethical rating (betterworldshopper.com) forced me to check these desires at the dollar section before I made my way over to the clothing. I realized that just because I felt like I wanted something, doesn’t mean I need it or can get it somewhere better.

2.     “I wear your granddad’s clothes, I look incredible” – Thrift Shops are the best

a.       I was already a fan of thrift shops before, but even more this year. I had a friend get married and had a fancy wedding where cocktail attire was required. This was a little harder for me in thinking of where to find something fancy enough for cheap. Luckily in Columbia there are lots of sororities – meaning lots of fancy dresses at the Goodwill. I found a nice dress and got many compliments on it.  I also found my entire winter wardrobe at thrift stores or garage sales. The best part is that no one can tell that these clothes aren’t new. Thrift shops come with an A+ on the ethical rating because they are reusing decent clothing that we cast aside for new things.

3.     People may think you are Crazy

a.       I love shopping just like most girls. It is a bonding thing that I grew up doing. We didn’t always buy stuff, but we had fun window shopping. I found it hard to shop with others because honestly, who likes the shopper that doesn’t want anything and points out how things are made? No one. You end up being Debbie Downer. It was also hard to explain why I wasn’t buying something. I didn’t want to make other people feel guilty for their purchases, yet knew I couldn’t buy it myself. The other reality is that living this way is counter-cultural. We live in a world where what you wear defines who you are. Wearing cloths I wore in college isn’t always in style.

4.     New Cloths are Expensive

a.       About halfway through the year Adam needed new socks and underwear. It was a challenge to find them fairtrade and at a decent price. Sometimes choosing fairtrade means sacrificing something else. There were other instances where I needed to find new clothing and thrift store didn't have what I needed. Instead I found a local store that choses to purchase fairtrade clothes. By God’s grace I was able to find some decent (although not that decently) priced leggings and pants.

5.     God provides abundantly

a.       Before I even knew I needed clothing, people were offering me boxes of clothes out of nowhere. It was such a blessing to see God provide before I even knew I was in need. 

6.     It is worth it

a.       When we went overseas we saw 15-20 people loaded into small trucks to head out to the garment factory. There people get 80-100 dollars per month to work 12 + hours a day in the factory. This isn’t nearly enough to survive in any country. Some even turn to the sex industry in order to make enough money to support their family. Meanwhile companies are charging us $30 for a sweater while all of it goes to the company and not the people making them. We also witnessed local non-profits helping give people a decent wage for the same job. I would love to support these kinds of businesses even if it means more money.

In the end, I don’t know if we will always buy fairtrade. But I do know that our eyes are opened to our own sense of need for stuff as well as what it means to use our money intentionally. I encourage you to consider, is there one thing that you regularly purchase that you can find out how it is manufactured? Consider thinking intentionally about what you purchase for a year. It is sure to change you and those around you.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam 

End of the Year, Part 1

Hello, friends!

Below is our end of the year update, in case you haven't seen it already. God has blessed us in a number of ways this year and we wanted to share with you all. 

This is just Part 1 though. Part 2 will be coming in a few days, hopefully before the beginning of the new year. =0).

One piece you'll find in this update is that we are currently doing our end of the year donations push. If you'd like to make an end of the year tax deductible contribution to the work that Megan and I are doing in Missouri, you can do so here: 

Happy Boxing day! 

~Adam

The Year That Was...

Hello, friends!

Looking back on the last bunch of blog posts I've posted in the past few months, there have been 2 things that have jumped out to me. The first is that I haven't posted nearly as much as I would have liked. When I started working for InterVarsity, I said that I wanted to build my ministry on transparency. Since most of my support base was in California and I was in Missouri, I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what was happening as much as possible. In that way, I've blown it this semester. My bad.

The other thing that jumped out to me was how few of my posts were actually about what was happening on campus. I've had posts about MPD, a few posts about social justice, and some personal posts, but relatively few about what's been happening in terms of the actual ministry that's been happening here in Columbia. It hasn't been totally lacking but less than in previous semester.

I was hanging out with Jesus and trying to figure out why that was the case. The truth of the matter is that this semester has been one of the hardest in my 8 years of working for InterVarsity. There were a lot of things that definitely didn't go the way I wanted them to go this semester. ACF has had a down year with dwindling numbers and low levels of mission. I've been constantly feeling behind in my supervisory roles. Our funding is down. There has been conflict with students. Generally, it's been a pretty blah semester.

As I was looking back on the semester, the one thing that I heard really clearly from God was this: "Remember my goodness." From there, I started reflecting on all the things that went well this semester. Things like the growth of particular students and some of the completed projects. But I had to stop myself because that didn't feel quite right. God wasn't saying, "hey, remember that I've blessed you too" although that is definitely true. What God was saying was for me to remember his goodness.

No matter what, in the midst of good things and bad, God is good. It is his nature. He can be nothing but good. It is impossible for him to not be good. That is what I need to cling to, no matter what. When things are going well, praise Jesus. When it's been a tough day, week, or semester, praise Jesus. That's what we were made to do and that's what I'm going to try to do.

Everything could change next semester. I really have no idea. What I do know is that if the semester is better or worse than this current one, easier or harder, no matter what, God is good.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Happy Birthday!

Hello, friends!

In the Leong household, the new year doesn't start on January 1. It doesn't even start whenever it is that the Lunar New Year happens to fall in any given year. Nope, the new year starts on December 9, which is today!

Why does it start today? Because today is my sister, Chrissie's birthday! It goes like this. The sibs and I are spaced more or less 2 years apart. T and I are born in January, Phuzz is in May, and the Kid is in December. That means we have "even" years and "odd" years, which are always the opposite of the calendar year. For example, the year is 2014. T is 31, I am 29, Phuzz is 27, and the Kid is 25. Well, she was until today, which is why we start the new year today. Now she's 26 and we all start having "even" birthdays. Pretty neat, eh? =0).

There are a number of stories I could tell about "The Kid." I figure, if you've spent your entire life with somebody, you'll have a few stories. Whenever I think about my little sister though, there are always a few that always jump out to me.

Every kid goes through that phase when you play "slug bug" right? You see a VW beetle and whoever sees it first yells "slug bug" then gets to hit someone. I couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 but I remember seeing a beetle as we were getting into our car on the way somewhere. I yelled "slug bug!" and hit The Kid as hard as I possibly could, right on the shoulder. She... started... WAILING... I don't remember if if was Mama or Papa who said it but they said very clearly, "You NEVER hit your sister. You PROTECT your sister." I don't know if that's exactly when I started becoming super protective of her but that will always stick out in my mind.

One thing you most everybody knows about The Kid is that she's a cryer. There's no shame in it, she just cries more than average (or maybe I just don't cry at all so it seems above average to me). I've seen her cry in all sorts of situations; weddings, births, family meals, watching The Biggest Loser, etc. The one time I will always remember is at the movies. The Kid, Papa, and I went to a theater to watch Up. You know the scene I mean! I'm thinking to myself, "Man, this is really sad..." I look to my left, and Papa is asleep. I look one seat to my left and the Kid is literally sobbing. It's dark but you can easily make out the silhouette of my little sister crying uncontrollably. (Also, I laughed when I saw that, more proof that I may not have a soul...")

Harry Potter is totally a thing for the Kid. When HP7 came out, I made her a deal: I'd buy the book for her but she had to let me read it first. It took her 3 days to decide that it was worth it. On that fateful Saturday, the FedEx guy came to our door, she grabbed the book, threw it at me and said, "START READING!" For that entire day, and chore that Mama wanted me to do was immediately met with The Kid running down our hallway yelling, "I got it! I got it!" It was pretty sweet.

Above them all, I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to shake the memory of "Mony Mony" I don't know if it started during one of the car rides when I had to take her to dance, the kitchen of La Casa Leong, or somewhere else. All I know is that it's impossible for me to hear that song without thinking about rocking out with my little sister.

So, here's to you The Kid! A wonderful sister, aunt, and woman after God's own heart. May this year be filled with new adventures, more love for Jesus, and finally meeting Jeremy Lin.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

On Personal Responsibility...

Hello, friends!

The past few weeks have been a blur. They really have. Between the non-indictment of Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson earlier last week and non-indictment of Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner in Long Island yesterday, I have been having a lot of heart wrenching conversations and thoughtful conversations with a lot of different people in person and via Facebook. I have also been reading a lot of articles online as well as the comments; some helpful, most not. I attended a protest on Mizzou's campus on Tuesday and will be leading a prayer vigil tonight close to campus. My heart is heavy not just because my brothers and sisters in the Black community are hurting but also because of the apparent blindness or dismissive-ness to the issues of systematic injustice that many in the country feel.


One phrase that I have heard and read over and over again from a number of different people is the phrase "personal responsibility." From what I can gather, the phrase can be summed up by saying, "Don't do stuff that will get you in trouble and you won't get in trouble." This phrase has taken many different forms in different weeks. In the case of Mike Brown, it went something along the lines of either, "He shouldn't have resisted arrest," "well, that's what you get for robbing a store," or, "when will people learn to never resist the police?" In the case of Eric Garner, the idea of personal responsibility has taken the form of, "Well, he shouldn't have been selling cigarettes illegally," and "if only he hadn't started a confrontation with the police."

Disclaimer: Understand that I am entering this conversation not exactly fully a part of either the Black or White community. I have experienced both the hardships of being a minority but also the benefits of being considered the "model minority." I know that my experiences are imperfect but I'd like to think that my various conversations with lots of different people gives me a certain perspective.

Personal responsibility is a very powerful and important thing. Acting in a way that is "above reproach" and represents Christ, specifically for Christians, is an important value. There are consequences for our actions and we need to understand that sometimes there are repercussions. Oftentimes, those repercussions are fair and justly deserved. Each of us needs to be pursuing a live worthy of the calling we have received (again, especially Christians).

With that being said, there are two major problems that I have with the "personal responsibility" narrative. One is of fairness and the other is of empathy.

Here's the truth: White privilege and personal responsibility are inextricably tied to one another and the standard for "personal responsibility" is higher for Black folk (especially in regards to interactions with law enforcement) than White folk. The hashtag #CrimingWhileWhite highlights anecdotal evidence of White folk getting away with crimes that many Black folk would almost certainly be for in similar circumstances. Of course, anecdotal evidence will only get you so far but there are statistics too. Whites use drugs at a higher rate than Blacks but are incarcerated 50% less. A study by the US Department of Labor found that Whites are less likely to be pulled over than blacks but more likely to be given a warning as opposed to a ticket. Cars driven by Blacks were also more likely to be searched than cars driven by Whites.

The point I'm trying to make is that the personal responsibility narrative is ultimately an unfair one because the standards for "acting responsibly" are different for Black people than they are for White people. Should Black folk use drugs, speed, shoot people, etc.? Of course they shouldn't. The problem is that they are being disproportionately punished for their actions as opposed to their White counterparts. The narrative also breaks down because there are plenty of legal things that Black folk cannot do (like holding toy guns in the case of Tamir Rice and John Crawford) that get them killed. It's a matter of systematic injustice.

Secondly, the problem that I have with the "personal responsibility" is that it reeks of moral authority and lacks any sense of empathy. Let's try some hypothetical conversations:
Me: Why are you so angry?
You: The daughter of a friend of mine was sexually assaulted and there are going to be no charges pressed.
Me: Oh yeah! I heard about that. You should tell her to stop dressing like a slut.

Let's try another one:
Me: Hey, what's wrong?
You: I have lung cancer.
Me: That's what you get for smoking.

What would your reaction be towards me if that conversation actually happened? You'd want to kick me in the face, wouldn't you? You would call me callous and uncaring. You would question whether or not I really cared about your well-being, or if I really cared about you at all. In both of those cases, you could argue for "personal responsibility" but it is totally unhelpful and shows no compassion or empathy. THAT is the problem with the personal responsibility narrative. It does nothing to show our Black brothers and sisters that we grieve with them.

A friend asked me which is more helpful to talk to young black men about, white privilege or personal responsibility. I understand his point that spending too much time focusing on "blaming Whitey" doesn't actually uplift the community. However, I would like to pose the opposite question: Which is more helpful to talk to White folk about in order to bring reconciliation, white privilege or Black personal responsibility? I would argue the former more than the latter.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Suffering with the Body...

Friends,

As I'm sure all of you have heard, yesterday, a grand jury decided to not indict Officer Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown on August 9th of this year. While this was not unexpected, it doesn't hurt any less. My brothers and sisters in the black community are being continually reminded that in the United States, the killing of an unarmed black teenager by law enforcement is nothing new and will continue to be unchecked by the legal system that claims to protect all citizens.

Let me be clear here. I was not in the grand jury deliberations. I have not yet reviewed all the evidence. I was not present so I do not know what "really happened." My cause for suffering comes not just because Officer Wilson will be able to resume his life while Michael Brown will not. My suffering comes because my friends in the Black community are suffering. This wasn't just about this case. This was about 400 years of systematic injustice. Despite what many on Facebook want to say, this wasn't just a matter of open and shut, let's find all the facts, determine who is guilty, and move on with our lives. It was one part of America feeling like it has been kicked in the teeth one time too many and trying to say, enough is enough.

When I think about all my various networks, I am so thankful for how God has blessed me with such a diverse group of friends and family to which I can learn. There is the Chinese Christian community where I spent the first 18 years of my life. There are the Black fellow WashU Students (Go Bears!) who I have the pleasure of calling some of my best friends. There are the mid-western Asian Americans I have had the pleasure of working with for the past 8 years. There are my White friends who I have met in school, in church, and just by virtue of living in the Midwest for the past 12 years. When the Grand Jury decision was released, my mind went to all of those groups and how to be the best friend I could to each group.

There are a lot of temptations out there right now. The following messages are generalizations so I apologize if this does not apply to you. I mean no disrespect.

For my White friends, now is not the time to be posting articles about the "facts" of the case. Speaking as a minority, every article you post about the "facts of the case" comes off as gloating. Whether intended or not, it smacks of, "see, I TOLD you he deserved to die." Now is also not the time to move on, assuming that justice has been done. For every person who has said or thought something to the effect of, "well, of course I care about racial reconciliation but..." now is your chance to shine. This is where you say, "An indictment didn't happen. This case is closed in the eyes of the law, but I said I care about justice so I'm going to keep fighting for it on behalf of my brothers and sisters in the Black community." This is your time. Suffer with the body. Empathize. Do not disengage. Seek out your brothers and sisters in the Black community and see what you can do to suffer with them and stand united with them.

Speaking to my Asian American friends, here's what I wrote to an Asian American student who asked about what it means to suffer as the whole body suffers.

The short answer is to care. If your foot hurts, the whole body walks with a limp. The other foot takes on more weight. The eyes are extra careful to see things on the ground. Every part of the body is affected.

To suffer with them means to engage in conversation with them about how they are feeling. It means to advocate on their behalf. It means to walk alongside them add they suffer. It means to feel their pain as best you can.

How that looks for you may be different than me. It could mean going to a protest. It could mean taking a friend out to coffee and letting them vent. It could mean a lot of different things. But it does mean acting like you care and not letting excuses keeping you from engaging on some level.

Have fun suffering. I will be right there with you, as a member of the same body.

Last but not least, to my Black friends. I want you here. You have enriched my life in so many ways through your friendships. You've shown me a new way to see and preach the Gospel. You've accepted me as a friend and a brother. Words cannot begin to express how important each of you is to me. Right now it may feel like the US is not a place for you. It may feel unsafe. It may feel oppressive. It may feel unjust. I won't argue with you on any of those points. Just know that I want you here.

~Adam