A Call To Action!

Hello, friends! 

A few weeks ago, The Flatwater Free Press, an independent news organization in Nebraska, wrote a story about how nitrate levels in water around hog farms owned by our current governor were unusually high. The story was written by Yangqi Xu, a Chinese international (and Mizzou alum!). 

When asked about the story, Governor Pillen's response was less than forthcoming and more than a little racist and xenophobic. 

In case you want to cut right to the chase, here's what Pillen said: "“Number one, I didn’t read it. And I won’t. Number two, all you got to do is look at the author. The author is from communist China. What more do you need to know?”

Pillen was asked about his response later by other journalists and his response was not to apologize but to completely dismiss the question as part of the "political side show." 

Friends, this is absolutely infuriating on a number of levels. Firstly, as a Chinese American living in Nebraska, comments like these, to go along with accusation by our senators that the Nebraska Chinese Association is a front for Communist propaganda and spying, make it very clear to me that I'm always going to be an outsider around these parts and there's a very good chance that my children will always be treated as outsiders too. This sucks, and it sucks hard because for the most part, I like it here. 

Secondly, it just sucks that the Governor can't own up to his mistakes. I'm not calling Governor Pillen a racist; I've only met him once. However, it's possible for people who aren't racists to do and say racist things. This is one of those times. Had Governor Pillen admitted to his mistake and apologized, there'd be no problem on my end. People mess up all the time. It's the lack of reflection, the defensiveness, and the inability to repent that really gets me, especially coming from someone who says faith is such a big part of his life. 

Here's where things get interesting. Friends, especially those living in Nebraska, I'm asking for your help. Could you please take a minute to call the Governor's Office and encourage him to publicly apologize to Ms. Xu and to retract his previous statements? It doesn't have to be a long message. I can even provide a script for you. 

"Hello, Governor! My name is ______________ and I am a resident of Nebraska. I was very disappointed by your comments made about Yangqi Xu of the Flatwater Free Press. I have friends in the Asian American community here in Nebraska that were hurt and offended by your comments. If we want Nebraska to be a place that is open and welcoming to all people, we cannot be making assumptions about people based on their birthplace. I encourage you to publicly apologize and retract your previous statement. Thank you." 

The phone number is: 402-471-2244

To entice you, here's a photo of my lovely Chinese American children who live in Nebraska and who I'd rather not have their motives constantly questioned because they look like they might come from a different country. =0). 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

The Return of Migraine Season!

Hello, friends! 

A few weeks ago, I got hit with COVID for a few days. The worst of it was the fatigue (I needed a LOT of naps) but my other symptoms weren't too bad. I'm definitely glad that I didn't appear to have any long-COVID effects. 

However, one of the things that has been a little more frequent these past few weeks has been headaches, which is unfortunate.

For a long time, I had a pretty bad migraine problem. Through a lot of observation and analysis, I figured out that there were three main factors that contributed to my migraines; my water intake, my sleeping patterns, and the weather. While I can control two, I can't control the third. 

One of the things I've done over the past few years has been committing to drinking more water. I shoot for at least 100 ounces every day, and I've been pretty good about keeping up with that. That's done a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of helping me not have migraines anymore. In terms of sleeping patterns, I found that I when I have consistent sleep patterns along with taking longer naps when I do actually nap, that helps as well. 

The one thing that I haven't been able to control is the weather. I've had the most migraines in October and March, which I think has to do with the change of the seasons. I've read some studies about how the change in barometric pressure can trigger migraines, and the October and March in the Midwest bring on a lot of weather changes. 

Lately, the weather changes haven't been a big deal because I've been really diligent about the other two things. However, in the past few weeks, I've definitely had more headaches. Thankfully, none of them have turned into full blown migraines. I'm still able to function, get work done, and play with the kids. 

I don't know if the headaches are COVID related or not, but I do know that I don't like them much. If you're the praying type, I'd certainly appreciate them. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

Back to Class!!!

Hello, friends! 

I'll start with what everyone really wants to see, photos of my kids! Here they are at the start of the school year: 

Why am I starting this post with photos of my kids from a few months ago? Because yesterday was MY first day of school and frankly, no one wants to see photos of me when you can see photos of my kids! =0). 

Over the course of the past year, I noticed that there were parts of my job that were going well but other parts where I definitely needed to grow and develop to get to the next level of effectiveness. One of those areas was in Project Management. I actually spend a lot of time managing projects within the Region and these projects have had various levels of effectiveness. I wanted to up my game a bit, so I enrolled in a Project Management Course at the University of Nebraska - Omaha (#GoMavs). 

The course is mostly online but there are a few on campus days, including yesterday and today. Yesterday was my first day back in a classroom in a LONG time and friends, I have no problem telling you that it was awesome! 

I tell people all the time that one of my greatest regrets from my college days was that I wasn't a good enough student. There's an old saying that in college, your options are get good grades, have a social life, or get enough sleep and you only get to pick 2 of the 3. I definitely had a social life and got enough sleep... It wasn't until after graduation (#GoBears!) that I learned how much I love to actually learn things. I really enjoy figuring out how things work and getting to the bottom of questions. I think it's helped me in my job and in more recently, in my preaching. 

Friends, it's only been one day but I'm already learning so much about Project Management. There's always a cross between excitement and dread when you learn something new but also realize that you've been doing something wrong for a long time. Still, I'll take the good with the bad. 

Day 2 of class is right now as you're reading this, so I'm probably sitting in the classroom with my notebook open, a pen in my hand, and a question on my lips. Learning new stuff is awesome! =0). 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Caught by COVID...

Hello, friends! 

Well, after 3.5 years of avoiding COVID, I finally caught it (or maybe it caught me? Who knows anymore?)

Last Thursday I started having some mild symptoms but it felt very similar to the onset of the flu. There's been a cold/flu going around Omaha lately, so I figured that's what it was, I popped a few ibuprofen before bed, and woke up feeling pretty decent. 

However, during work, I could feel myself getting worse, so I cancelled my afternoon meetings and went home to try to sleep it off (along with more meds). My flus usually last about 48 hours, so we were very much in the "this is normal" phase of things. 

Saturday morning I was still feeling a little blah but generally better, so I figured that things were on the mend. Everything was going according to plan. Still, I took a nap on Saturday afternoon because I was still tired. 

This is where the fun starts. Saturday night, I was having trouble sleeping because of the nap I took Saturday afternoon. We had church in the morning and I was on Parking Lot duty (one of my happy places), so I definitely wanted to get a good night's sleep. I decided to take some melatonin to help me fall asleep. The kind that we have is actually children's dosage, which also means that they are "berry" flavored and come in gummy form. I went to the bathroom, opened up the jar, popped a melatonin in my mouth, was ready to go back to bed, when I had a terrible realization...

I couldn't taste the sleep gummy...

At this point, I decided to take the COVID test. It immediately popped up as being COVID positive and my run of being one of the non-infected, was officially over. We found out that Thaliea also tested COVID positive but the boys and Megan somehow avoided getting infected. This is one weird virus...

Right now, I'm cleared out of isolation and I'm feeling pretty good. I'm still tired but I'm told that this is normal. I'm hoping to be back to normal before the beginning of curling season on Sunday. 

Just last week, I reminded myself that I needed to schedule my flu shot and COVID booster. I usually do it in early November since that's usually when the flu gets bad around here. I guess I was a few weeks late. =0). 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

Momentum!!!

Hello, friends!

There is an ongoing debate in the world if sports about whether or not "momentum" is a thing or not. Does hitting 2 shots in a row make it more likely that you'll hit the third one? (Apparently so!) If your team scores a late equalizer, do your opponents suddenly tighten up, making it more likely you'll score again? (It certainly happens!)

Whether or not sports momentum is a thing, I firmly believe that ministry momentum is a thing. One good event or Bible study isn't a guarantee that things will go great for the rest of the year but it does make things more likely, as students are encouraged by seeing their friends show up and get connected. I'm the same way, one bad event won't kill the year but it does take a lot of work to make sure students stay encouraged and committed.

Over the past few weeks, we've had a lot of great momentum builders here in Nebraska. It's been such a joy to see students encouraged and ministry moving forward. A few highlights:

- Bellevue University had their kickoff last Tuesday and 11 students from 4 different athletics teams showed up. Our student leaders were definitely encouraged.

- Over at UNO, one of our student leaders recruited 2 more students to lead a basketball and faith small group.

- In Hastings, the Student Life department connected a student who wanted to lead a Bible study on campus to our InterVarsity student and they had 9 students come to their first Bible study of the year.

- In Lincoln, after the Bible study leader stepped down to focus on studies late in the summer, a graduate student hopped in to start leading and the group is meeting regularly.

Of course, no momentum lasts forever. Even though campus work isn't my primary job anymore, I'm still trying to keep up the momentum through encouragement and communication. It's fun seeing groups thrive and students be encouraged.

Please continue to pray for the InterVarsity groups in Nebraska, especially that the momentum of these past few weeks will continue through the year.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

A Delicious Wedding Weekend in California!

Hello, friends! 

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my cousin Ying Ying's wedding in Southern California. Since school had just started for the kids, I went to this one solo, which was a totally different experience for me! 

One thing that would have been the same regardless, was that I ate A LOT. Here was the breakdown:

Friday afternoon: Fly out of Omaha with a stop in Denver where I grab a burger for dinner.

Friday evening: Arrive in Southern California and immediately eat a chili burger.

Saturday morning: Wake up and eat some of the White Castle my sister's family brought in from Phoenix while watching soccer.

Saturday afternoon: Party at my sister's house full of Indonesian food and my favorite beef noodle soup in the world.

Saturday evening: Pretty much as soon as we got back to my parent's place, it was time for a second party with some cousins who couldn't make the first party. The menu here was Peking duck, eggrolls, and other tasty bites.

Saturday night: Everyone at the party decides to walk to the Dairy Queen by my parents' place for dessert.

Sunday morning: Pick up one of my favorite donuts on my way to church

Sunday lunch: Another serving of beef noodle soup

Sunday afternoon: We got to the wedding at 3:30 for photos, followed by a cocktail hour and appetizers, all of which were great.

Sunday evening: Wedding banquet with salad, bread, fish, steak, and dim sum desserts

Sunday night: Grab some In-N-Out on the way home with my niece and nephew and brother-in-law

Monday morning: Fly out of Southern California with a stop in Chicago for lunch where I grab another burger.

Monday afternoon: Arrive back in Omaha, just in time for dinner. =0). 

Eating aside, it really was a great trip. It was great to see family as well as lots of aunties and uncles at church on Sunday morning. Everyone had a good time at the wedding and the drama was limited. I even had some really good conversations with some family members that I wouldn't have had if I hadn't been there.

Congrats to Ying Ying and Sam on their marriage! I pray that it'll be just as full of life and deliciousness as the wedding weekend itself was. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

Today in AAPI History...

Hello, friends! 

On September 1, 2011, the University of California - Irvine launched Viet Stories, a Vietnamese American oral history project. It was also on this day in 1874 that the Chinese Mission Home, later renamed the Cameron House, was founded in San Francisco's Chinatown. 

How do I know this? Because I've been posting about things that have been happening on "This Day in AAPI History" for the past 2 years. I've learned a lot, not only about AAPI History, but also about myself. 

The project started for me in 2021. As I was working on my job plan for the upcoming year, I was thinking through all the different roles I'd be filling, I noticed that I didn't have any specific roles working in Asian American Ministries (AAM). Usually, there was at least some connection to AAM in the work I did. For the first 10 years of my staff career, I was leading ACF at Mizzou or supervising the staff who was leading ACF. When I first moved to Omaha, I got connected to the AAM bible study at Creighton and was helping out there a little. I'd also did some Zoom coaching for the ACF at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. But, in 2021, I wasn't really doing any AAM work, and I missed it. Added to that, because of the pandemic, there was a sharp rise in acts of violence against the AAPI community. It broke my heart to see the ways that the AAPI community was treated because of deep rooted racism. 

So, "Today in AAPI History" was my solution. I'd heard about this book, "Asian American History Day by Day" and committed to posting regularly about the important events in AAPI History on any given day, as a way for me to keep my connection to the AAPI community and hopefully educate some folk along the way. 

Friends, it has been such a joy to post these little tidbits, day after day. I'm not in it for the "likes" but one of the things that's been so much fun has been seeing different people from all my different spheres interact with any given post. Folk who have no connection to one another, other than the fact that they know me, are having similar reactions to the triumphs and tribulations that the AAPI community has faced in the history of our great country. 

Looking back on my posts over the past 2 years, one thing that jumps out to me is how much our people have suffered in the United States. From explotative labor practices, to exclusion, to internment, to hate crimes, we've been through a lot. 

But, we've also had a number of triumphs. I'm always proud and inspired when I get to post about the first Asian American to hold a post, be elected to an office, or accomplish a feat. We are also a resilient people.

With that being said, I'm going to retire Today in AAPI History for the time being. It's not that these stories are no longer necessary; quite the opposite. They're just as crucial as ever. I've just noticed that my time is more limited than it was before, at least in part because of some new work I'm doing with AAM in InterVarsity related to Ministry Partnership Development.

It's been a pleasure and joy bringing you bits of AAPI History each day. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam