Stroke of Grace: Health Updates

By next week, we will be on our plane to Florida for another series of shots that will hopefully help my stroke recovery. The first 2 shots, though not miraculous, gave us significant improvement, and so since my wife and son have their Fall Break next week, we decided to spend it going to Boca Raton for another treatment.

Would you please pray for us and the kids as we travel? (They hated the plane ride but don’t want to stay home without us.) Also, kindly pray that these shots will improve my sleep, balance, bowel regularity and aches and pains. Of course, I would love to sing and play the piano again soon. Thank you so much.

Meanwhile, please take a moment to check out our latest videos and pass them on! Much thanks.

Low Carb -Asian Fried Chicken in 4 Different Flavors. Yum!https://youtu.be/ZRM1MeJS0Qc
Message: Living Simple and Free: “Who’s Calling You ?,” Colossians 1. 
https://youtu.be/Z9aiZlgw6s4

We thank God for your gracious and generous support. We appreciate and covet your prayers, as always. Would you kindly consider watching one of these videos or passing them on to someone who may benefit from them?

This is the last installment in “How to Create Joy in the Midst of Painful Circumstances. Step 4: Aligning Yourself to God’s Hidden Blessing for You.”
https://youtu.be/G8Nt42yIOIE

Surprisingly popular, our, “Evidence for God in the Chinese Language,” series has received more views than any other video. We’re not sure why. Click this link to see how the Chinese words for “create,” “garden,” and “flesh,” have compelling references to Adam and Eve. Special bonus: Jojo & Micah both make an appearance in this video.
https://youtu.be/3ugJyolne9U

Thank you so much for your help.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. We are pleased to say that both Micah and Jojo are near 100% recovered. A little sniffling and sneezing, but no covid, praise God! Unfortunately, Lillian and I picked up their bug, but we’ve turned the corner and are getting better even as we write this. 

We have an unusual prayer request. One of our videos did unusually well. This is surprising. It was a video we released last Chinese New Year, about the words “blessing” and “righteousness” in Chinese. It actually outperformed every video we’ve released, including the one on crispy pork belly! Like I said, this is a BIG surprise. We take it as an indicator to come out with more on this subject. I never aspired to be the studious type, and so I would appreciate your prayers. 

If you’re interested, please take a look and pass it on. 
“Evidence for God in Chinese Writing II: Prosperity & Eden”https://youtu.be/o9KwOeCzITQ

Also, if you’d like to see my beautiful wife interview me on, “Dealing with Discouragement,” please take a look athttps://youtu.be/_dq3NWT5OSw

Thank you so much!Tim

Micah’s home under quarantine! A classmate had contact with someone with Covid. So according to protocol, the whole class stays home for a week just to be safe. Off since Wednesday, Micah goes back next Tuesday, I think.

The good news is he’s not showing any symptoms so far. The challenging thing is, now I have twice as many people to watch, twice as many meals to cook, twice the amount of fires to put out, twice the homework to help with, twice as many butts to wipe,…you get the idea.

The BEST thing is that I get to see him and my beautiful girl all day long. They do grow up too fast. I really cherish the time. Yet I wonder if I’m too easy, wonder if I’m strict enough, wonder if I’m doing anything right at all. It’s enough to make one’s head spin! Guess it’s an opportunity to trust God step by step, all the way to adulthood. That is if Jesus doesn’t come back for us first before then. (With all the current events, I wouldn’t be surprised if His coming is soon!.)

But trusting in God for each and every step is key isn’t it? The kids are mine for a season, they are a stewardship entrusted to me; I need to train them to love, serve, and worship God here on Earth, and then forever in Heaven. Furthermore, I really don’t know how much time I have to work with. None of us do. We just have to give it all we’ve got, every chance we get.

Could you pray that I take every chance I have to love and nurture those around me for Christ’s glory? Every moment is precious, isn’t it?!

P.S., We have new videos! Please visit our channel  and share with others.
Breakfast with Jojo (Donut edition)
https://youtu.be/xx76ZzJ3Frs

Turn Your Pain into Power!
https://youtu.be/9uI7nEUpbQE

And a new Interview coming out Sunday!

Thanks so much for your prayers and support! Appreciate you so much.

Tim 

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. Lately, I’ve been struggling with severe inflammation that wakes me up in the middle of the night, usually around 3am. Sometimes I get so uncomfortable I can’t go back to sleep. So far, the only thing that seems to help is ibuprofen, which I’m not supposed to be taking. Please pray that I can sleep without drugs.

On another note, we’ve just released another interview where my wife, Lillian, is the interviewer. The subject of this short video is my recovery journey over these 2 and a half years. https://youtu.be/oKQGIzBNpkk

Thank you again for your prayers.
Tim 

Sometimes we go through difficult times. Where is God? Does He care? Is there any purpose in my pain? We’ve just released on YouTube, a message first given to a Bay Area church. Perhaps it may bless you or someone you know. https://youtu.be/Pa-VdJ1829Q  Please share if you feel led.
Tim & Lillian

Appreciate the Prayers
Tomorrow, Lillian will be going back to work. She loves teaching at a Christian school about 30 miles from here. Our son, Micah, will be joining her as a student the week after.

I will be taking care of both kids alone at first, and then it’s just me and Joey. Although I cherish the kids and love time with my little princess, I am not looking forward to being apart from my wife during her time at school. It’s still quite a challenge to take care of myself and the kids alone. However, I am blessed by “Daddy’s assistant,” (Micah) atleast, for the first week. Even so, would you please pray for us? Thanks. I will look at this as continued therapy made special by my beautiful daughter.

Pray of course that I won’t get injured and that God will continue to heal me. Could you also kindly pray for a good night’s rest?  Lately, I’ve been waking up in the wee hours of the morning, unable to get back to sleep. I need all my faculties to care for my little girl.

Lastly, please pray as we prepare to return to Florida for another round of shots. We feel that the first doses made a significant difference but the effects seem to have plateaued. The kids don’t like the long plane ride (made more inconvenient by Covid) but didn’t want to stay home without us. I thought briefly about going without my wife, but she advised against it, knowing that I still depend on her a lot. She’s probably right. So we’re planning on another big trip during my wife’s Fall Break in October. At least the doctor has offered us a half price discount.

And that’s what’s going on with us. Meanwhile, I am going to try and get better at video editing (probably in the mornings since my little girl sleeps in like a rock star!)  Thanks again for your prayers.

Tim

P.S., Lately, I’ve been shocked by the increasing rate of calamities and tragedies worldwide. Could it be that God is telling us that Homecoming is near? see Matthew 24:3-8 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17.  

You may not know this, but I’ve lost over 50 pounds eating dishes like Cantonese Pork Belly, Beef Brisket, and chicken with the skin on. Even better than that, my A1C has dropped 5 whole points and my cholesterol and triglycerides have fallen well within normal range. I thank God for His grace upon me. More on this later.
Recently, we have started a YouTube channel. This was in response to some messages requested of me from some good pastor friends of mine. We figured that since we made the videos for the churches, we might as well put them on YouTube. We’ve noticed, however, that views on our human interest videos greatly outpace our videos on in-depth Bible study. This is understandable. 

So please pray for us as we invest in making more than just sermons videos. We do this in the hope of building bridges to reach people for Jesus, not in hope for fame and fortune. We just want people to hear our story and discover Jesus.

Can you help us? Would you recommend our videos to your friends and family? We are proud to present to you the very best and easiest Crispy Cantonese Pork Belly recipe we’ve ever put together. This is after numerous attempts over the years, consulting with various cookbooks, YouTube videos, and online recipes. This is the method I will teach my children! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEPTqpYlHb0&t=19s

Please take a look at the attached pictures. I am not lying when I tell you I have lost at least 50 pounds eating rich foods like this! Although I must say, I also adopted a very low carb lifestyle with intermittent fasting.

Pass it on!

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for walking alongside us these past two years. Your prayers, words of encouragement, and financial gifts have sustained us and meant so much to our family. We cannot begin to thank you enough.

Back in March of this year, Tim was able to undergo an unconventional stroke recovery treatment, only available through one doctor in Florida. The treatment was successful and we saw some significant gains which gave him a boost in his recovery efforts.

My apologies for taking so long to send out a recovery video for him. With the busyness of finishing out the school year and keeping up with the responsibilities of a young family, I kept postponing making a video.

It just occurred to Tim last night that INR (where he received his treatment) might have posted their own video of him. Sure enough they did! Here it is – you can get a good inside look at what happened immediately after he received his perispinal etanercept shot.
https://youtu.be/8_H02gPXNto

Thank you again. We love you and appreciate you! Please keep us in your prayers. 

Lillian 

First of all, thanks to all our wonderful friends and family for your prayers. I try to keep a stiff upper lip, but honestly, it is a day-to-day struggle. Lately, extreme fatigue and muscle aches have been an issue for me.

It is really nice to have Lillian home for the summer, for at least 2 months that is. I’m trying to make the most of my kids’ fleeting childhood years. Sometimes, they are exasperating, but sometimes they totally disarm me with their sweetness.

Could I ask you a favor? Please check out our latest attempt at a YouTube video. https://youtu.be/5k2P3we3vBY We are trying something new. We really want to connect with people who don’t know much about Jesus. It is no surprise that the more preachy videos aren’t as popular as the ones with my kids, human interest topics, family activities, and personal experiences.

Therefore, we are going to try to put out shorter, more “edutainment” type of videos. Losing weight while eating well seemed like a good way to build bridges with new friends. 

Would you consider sharing a pertinent video with a friend or two? Give us feedback. We’d love to hear suggestions on topics. And of course, pray that I can learn to produce quality videos before Lillian goes back to school.

Thank you so very much for your faithful support!