Author: Leung Ministries

As always, thank you for the prayers. Could I make some special requests on behalf of my family?

Please pray for my Mom and Dad. Lately, they’ve had great difficulty walking, especially my Mom.

Pray for Lillian. She and Micah had their first year of school at the SAME school! Lillian with teaching, and Micah’s Kindergarten year. They both did great, but it really wore her out. Could you pray for her to get rested up?

Kindly pray for me to learn video production for YouTube. It started with requests from pastors to submit preaching videos for their churches, and it led to our own YouTube channel. We really want to tell as many people about Jesus as possible. Please feel free to share videos you like with your friends. 

The only problem is, I don’t know what I’m doing. Do you know anyone who can help this “Old Dog learn some new tricks?” Stay tuned for more variety in content, such as the recipes I used to lose 50 pounds!

Lastly, allow me to share something I found quite special. Still trying to recover from the stroke, I look for activities and things I can share and pass on to my children. I can’t run, chase, or rough house with my kids. I can’t build sand castles, teach them sports, and it is with great difficulty and expense that I have been able to fish with them, but only once.

Therefore, I am happy to see my love for Chinese food beginning to take root in my kids. 
With Covid restrictions loosening, we were able to have dim sum with my Dad. Here are pictures of our little ones finishing their meal with a “dan-tat” (custard tartlet) each! Tonight, we had a two-way hot pot, and our kids actually ate with us. Of course, the girl only had noodles and mini hot dogs, but Micah also ate bean curd skin and corn on the cob! Big improvement over chicken nuggets and fries all the time!

I’m thankful for these little things that I can share, but more importantly, we need wisdom to raise, nurture, and even discipline our children during these “fast and furious” years. Appreciate the prayers.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6

Forgive us for the lack of updates. This has been a stressful time for Lillian as she wraps up her first year of teaching second grade. We also celebrate (albeit bittersweet) the end of Micah’s 1st year of school. Ironic that the son of my younger brother graduates college the same year my eldest has his Kindergarten promotion ceremony. Imagine such fuss over Kinder!

I continue to make hard earned progress. The shot in Florida seems to have helped (I will post video from our trip as soon as my wife can help me.) although the rate of improvement has slowed. 

Anyway, please pray that I can learn how to produce content for our YouTube channel with less hands-on help from my wife. Though I am terrible with computers, we realize that this is a medium we must learn. God graciously allowed ministry in spite of the stroke and Covid via the requests of fellow pastors that I do video messages online, and this led to our YouTube channel. It is hard for this old dog to learn new tricks. In any case, there is a short excerpt of a sermon, “Where is God in my Pain?” coming out today. https://youtu.be/WZ1jPgxQ8jQ

Thank you for your prayers and support. 

This weekend marks the 3rd Easter and two long years since my stroke. 

Thank you again for your prayers and concern. We wanted to see the effects of the second shot before we sent out this blog. If you read the previous blog, you’ll know that the first shot (of perispinal etanercept), though not quite miraculous, had an immediate positive effect. Basically, the second shot intensified and amplified the results of the first shot. 

All in all, I have greater use and control of my left hand and fingers. I find myself using my left hand more and more in everyday duties. My left arm and shoulder have greater range of motion, I’m quicker and more balanced on my feet than before, and I can walk for longer periods and take larger strides with less pain in my hips. I have less brain fog, tend to speak more quickly, and my voice is stronger. My wife even says that my vision has noticeably improved and I think faster. I am glad to report that the crushing fatigue that used to overwhelm me at night seems to be a thing of the past. My mood has improved, and my sleep even seems to be better. Thank God and thank you.

We will post some before and after videos in the near future. Please stay tuned.

As we commemorate the Passion week, I am reminded that my suffering, yearning, and pain pales in comparison to Christ’s agony on the cross and that His resurrection and victory over the grave grants me hope, healing, and power. Please join me as I make the following verse my prayer this Easter:

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. – Romans 8:11 (NLT)

We experienced some firsts today: First alligators in the wild, my kids’ first fish. The first time I’d ever seen a live peacock bass and a live bowfin. The first time I’ve gone fishing since the stroke. The first time my blood sugar has dipped down to 106 perhaps in seven years. Firsts. It is by God’s grace and your kindness that at my age, I’m still experiencing firsts. 

Last Friday, I experienced my first shot. Although not the miracle I was hoping for, my wife tells me that there is significant improvement in endurance, stamina, balance, walking, talking, even singing and vision. I think it kind of bugs my wife that I can point out these scampering little lizards so ubiquitous here in Florida and read signs in the distance that she can’t make out. 

Even though I am not able to play Rachmaninoff or even Bach, at least I am using the fingers of my left hand in everyday chores, weak though they may be. I went to the zoo and walked all day long. Today, I woke up early, drove the car, and went fishing. Praise God, I didn’t fall into the alligator-infested waters once. I was able to assist my children in their first ever fishing trip and land my very first fish since the stroke. 

Please keep praying for us. My next shot is on Friday. 

Tim

Dear Precious Family & Friends,

Thank you for all your support thus far. This is just a quick status report. Received the first shot on Friday afternoon. A little apprehensive, we were delighted at the initial response to the perispinal etanercept. There appeared to be rapid improvement in walking, balance, the use of my fingers, even my voice and speech. However, it was not the miraculous sudden transformation seen on the 60-Minutes Australia video. But the effect was significant and we hoped that the progress would continue. I ended the day with a lot less fatigue than normal.  

Perhaps, hoping for too much, I was a little bit disappointed that I didn’t jump out of bed the next morning with all the vim and vigor of one of my children. Maybe my body just needed rest. Still, as the day wore on, we realized that this was not going to be an easy quick fix, but that God still had more work to do in my character and in our marriage. We needed to continue to work together as a family. Please pray for us that God will use this time to grow us closer to each other and that I will continue to heal over the next few days. We are scheduled for a second shot this upcoming Friday. Today, we will head out to the Miami Zoo. Let’s see how it goes. Joey wants to see a koala.  

Thank you so much.

Tim

Tonight is Wednesday, March 17th. We are on the cusp of a journey that has the potential to change our lives just as the stroke changed my life nearly 2 years ago. Such a momentous occasion compels me to reach out to you, our gracious and generous supporters who have made this trip possible. You have read our blogs, empathized with our pain, toiled in prayer on our behalf, and if that were not enough, many of you have given generously, graciously, even boldly. You have made this moment possible.

I want you to know that no matter what happens as a response to the treatment, that your gift has already begun its healing in me. Let me explain. These past 3 years or so have been the most intense my wife and I had ever endured together. There have been many times when I felt a total failure. Especially after the stroke, when my disability reared its ugly head to remind me of its dominance, I felt like an abject failure, but I’ve been reminded (I know it’s cheesy) of a quote from the well-known Jimmy Stewart movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Remember no man is a failure who has friends! Thanks for the wings!”

Tonight, because of your generosity, you have given me the wings to fly to Florida, to take a chance on this unconventional treatment and to know that in spite of my feelings, I am NOT a failure …  because I have friends like you. Thank you, my friends. God bless you. 
But it is the most earnest prayer of our hearts as a family, that you, our friends, know the greatest Friend of all. 

Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” – John 15:13-15 (ESV)Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6May God richly bless you.Tim

Well, the countdown has begun. Because of the wonderful support and prayers of all of you, we are able to take a chance on this unconventional and very expensive treatment in Florida, March 18th to 28th. We are so deeply humbled by the generosity and kindness of so many of our friends and family. Some of you have reached out to us after many many years! It is truly a lesson to me that God has mobilized and motivated his family to minister to us in our brokenness and desperation. We will never be able to thank you enough.

Speaking about desperation, we desperately need your prayers as we “take a shot,” on this treatment in Boca Raton. Of course, I would like total and complete recovery and to have all my ability and faculty restored. But I’ve learned again and again that I am not in control. It is entirely up to the Lord. May His will be done and may I bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ. Please pray that I will humbly accept whatever the Lord gives me. (It is a personal challenge.)

As a side note, those of you who know us personally know that my parents have been struggling with old age and health issues. It would be a great bonus to me if I were able-bodied in order to serve them and my young family. If ever I needed physical strength and ability, it is now. Thank you for your faithfullness and prayers.

Again, if you are unfamiliar with this procedure, you can take a look at this link that the Lord revealed to me one sleepless night as I searched the Web.
https://youtu.be/-nEtQ-Wxkas

Please check out our YouTube channel for updates and messages during this trip. 

https://youtube.com/channel/UCoeBXx1d_r6G641kQO1qEyw

Most of us feel as if there’s never enough time to do all the things we have to do. For the Leung household, it is no exception. My wife wakes up at 5am on weekdays to work a fulltime job out of town. We have two children under the age of 6, a little girl who stays home with me, and I am still struggling in the aftermath of a stroke. We struggle to keep up with the housework, the laundry, the healthy meals, maintenance, and now we’ve just found out that my dad was diagnosed with gallstones and if the pain gets worse, will have to undergo gallbladder surgery. With my mom already battling crippling arthritis, I feel compelled to help out in any way I can. On top of this, we have our YouTube channel to maintain, weekly messages that I get to preach for various churches, and a big Florida trip to prepare for. How can we possibly manage? Perhaps you can relate. No doubt, you also feel the stress of life today. 

Thus, it is with great admiration and amazement that one considers one of the final three words of our Lord on the cross, “It is finished.” Undoubtedly, He was referring firstly to His intense suffering. He was giving up His final breath. His earthly life and excruciating death was over. But it is also commonly understood that His ministry on earth was completed. 
How could it be? Surely there were countless eyes that were still blind, many lame who still could not walk, numerous sick who still needed to be healed, and multitudes who still had not heard the Gospel. How could He say it was finished? Yet, the life of Jesus was never marked by stress over deadlines, anxiety over the future, or a list of things left to do. Bold and victorious, He declared on the cross, “It is finished.” Jesus had accomplished all that His father had for Him to do, not more, not less. What Jesus had, that we often don’t have, was focused and unhurried time with God. He often got up while it was still dark to have alone time with His Father, to hear from Him and to start the day with the confidence of intimacy with God Himself. 

From this mindset, He was able to clearly see His priorities and to make the hard decisions that day. He was able to prioritize and to say no to things that in turn, allowed Him the freedom to say yes to the things that really mattered. Thus, our Lord was able to come to the end of His short earthly life with those powerful words, “It is finished.”
May we all have that sublime mix of freedom and focus, calling and commitment, and sweet completion as we journey through this life. May the peace of Jesus be yours today.
P.S., Please be in prayer as our burden is heavier with my father’s pain, and don’t hesitate to view my feeble attempts at writing Chinese on our latest Youtube video, in honor of Chinese New Year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeafCxW1jZ0

Hey Everybody,

This is just a quick update for those of you who are praying for us and supporting us. We really couldn’t have made it this far without you. Everything is finalized and we are scheduled to leave for Florida, March 18th to the 28th. There will be 2 shots, 1 week apart, and so we thought it best just to stay there and get both done. It will be the longest trip my kids have ever been on, so please pray that everyone will be on their best behavior.

Special thanks to the many individuals who have contributed to alleviate some of the cost of this very expensive trip. Thank you, also, to the Chinese Christian Herald for their gracious contribution as well as assisting with our travel and accommodations. May God richly reward you all!  Above all, please keep us in your prayers. I must admit, I’m a little bit afraid of being disappointed, but we feel that we have to take this chance. May Jesus Christ receive all glory and praise for what He is about to do.

Also, if you’re interested, please check out our YouTube channel for an interview by our friend, Byron Yee, that might shed some light on our experience since the stroke. Feel free to let us know if there are specific questions you might like us to address. 
Lastly, there is also our son’s, Micah’s, debut on YouTube, coming out this Sunday. 

Tim

Thank you for your prayers and support.  We have scheduled our trip to Florida to “take a shot” on this somewhat controversial treatment for stroke patients during my wife’s Spring Break in March. It will be a long, costly, and difficult trip for us and the kids, with potential travel complications due to Covid-19. Your continued prayers are most appreciated!

If you’re interested, Tim originally found out about this treatment via the 60 Minutes Australia episode.

Also thanks so much for visiting our new YouTube channel. We don’t really know what we’re doing but we will be adding more personal interest videos that speak about the stroke recovery so far and even cover Tim’s diet and recipes.  This Friday will mark Jojo’s YouTube debut (set to release at 11:45am). Please check it out if you’d like.

Our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoeBXx1d_r6G641kQO1qEyw

Thanks again. The Leungs