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Testimonies
 March 5th was Ash Wednesday, and my family planned to attend the evening Mass at St. Clare Church. After my kids returned from school in the afternoon, I first watched them work on their homework and practice the piano, and then began to prepare dinner in the kitchen. As I was retrieving clean forks from the dishwasher, I accidentally dropped a chopstick into the bottom part of the dishwasher. I immediately reached my hand in to retrieve it. Although the washing cycle had completed, the metal pipe at the bottom of the dishwasher was still burning hot, emitting heat for drying the dishes. So just as my hand got hold of the chopstick, I heard a sizzling noise that sounded like meat placed on a barbeque and saw a wisp of smoke. |
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Driving back home from LA after the spring vacation was a long journey, and when we finally reached the Gilroy outlet mall, we were all hungry, so we stopped at Fresh Choice to have lunch.
Wendar finished her lunch quickly and wanted to buy some summer clothes for the kids who seem to be constantly outgrowing their clothes. She told us that she would go to the Gap at the other end of the outlet mall, and that when we were done, to drive over and pick her up either at the Gap or stores nearby. |
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 After 7 months of patiently waiting, Brandon finally got into his school’s Technology Club during the final session of the school year. He was very excited to be in the iMovie class where he could learn to make and edit digital movies using a camcorder and a computer. However, to attend the class, my wife Wendar needed to wake up an hour earlier every Friday to take him to school. Prior to his first iMovie class meeting, the school asked for parents who could to attend the class and assist the instructor during club meetings. Wendar kindly volunteered me to help out in the class since she felt that I was more familiar with computers and gadgets. |
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 In August 2002, I went on a ministry trip to Malaysia to give testimonials of faith in a series of seminars. This was my first trip to Southeast Asia, and I was excited about the opportunity to meet and share my faith with so many people. One of our early stops was to the town of Miri. Even before we had arrived, we had heard that Miri was a place full of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and that many of the priests and believers had been baptized in the Holy Spirit for over 20 years. My testimonial was scheduled on a Sunday, and we attended the morning Mass. After Mass, it was going to be my turn to testify before several hundred people about the wonderful things God has done in my life. Before each testimonial, we would customarily sing one of our new songs to praise God. This was going to be my first testimonial in Miri, and the first time I would be sharing a song I had just composed the previous day. I was not sure how a new Catholic like me could share my faith with a congregation church of such strong spirituality and faith. I felt nervous . |
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 My first personal experience with God’s grace was during the Ash Wednesday Mass in 1998. It was my first and a very important step in my spiritual journey. At that time I was not yet baptized. My family and I lived in Los Angeles, and I was attending the RCIA (Rite for Christian Initiation for Adults) program at St. John Fisher Church in Palos Verdes. According to the RCIA program leaders, Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent and thus is a very important day in the church calendar. On Ash Wednesday, there would be a special ceremony where both those who are baptized and those not yet baptized can receive God’s blessing. Therefore, all of us in the program decided to meet and attend the Ash Wednesday Mass together at 7pm that evening. |
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 St. Anthony of Padua is a very popular saint, and many people ask him to intercede whenever they lose something or when they are desperate for help since he is known as “a ready helper in time of need.” He is usually shown holding a Bible, signifying his love of the Scriptures. He is often pictured with a flaming heart, showing his zeal as a preacher, or holding the infant Jesus in his arms, recalling a visit from the Infant during one of his raptures1. St. Anthony’s feast day is on June 13th; every time I attend Mass on his feast day, I would remember how God has led me on my spiritual journey, and deeply appreciate that “from my mother’s womb he had set me apart and called me through his grace” (Galatians 1:15). |
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My nephew has been without a mother since very young age, and thus grew up in Taiwan in the care of my parents. When my father was still alive, he hinted that I should adopt my nephew and bring him to the U.S. When my nephew was 5 years old, my mother became sick and was unable to continue taking care of my nephew. As this was potentially a critical stage in a child’s development, I contacted my younger brother, my nephew’s father, to see if I could bring him to the U.S. so that I could assist with his care. But whenever I would speak with my brother about this, he would reply that he needed more time to think about it. This situation remained the same for a long time.
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