The Questions they Ask

Where did Jesus show up in my conversations this week?

Barney: God sure made some interesting creatures, didn’t he, Mr. Liu?

Alan: You’re a Christian, Mr. Liu?

Janine: Do you believe in Jesus, Mr. Liu?

Mick: Is Jesus real, Mr. Liu?

Darren: I don’t believe in God, Mr. Liu

I love working in the city. From what I've seen, urban kids are a lot more open to talking about God than suburban kids. Maybe it has something to do with parents who have higher education levels being more resistant to 'conservative' viewpoints, but here in the city, I get to answer questions about Jesus (very tactfully) at least a few times per week.

Saving Fish from Soup

When I arrived last Monday to school, the first words anyone said to me that morning were, "Mr. Liu, they killed your fish." Soon, I found my 25 gallon tank filled with oil, sugar, salt, vinegar, and other substances toxic to my freshwater fish. Besides that, my couch and pillows, as well as printer and computers, were drowned in corn oil. Attendance records were drenched. Homework assignments were wiped out. We had been vandalized. Other classrooms had similar damage and we were left flabberghasted.

Frustrated, I threw a pillow at the wall. You give your heart and time to your students, so when something like this happens, it really is like a stab in the back. (For several reasons, we are pretty confident it was a student) As 7th graders came in, many jaws dropped, surprised at what had happened. "Mr. Liu, I feel sorry for you," said one. "The fishies!!!" exclaimed another. After a brief moment of disappointment, it was time to get to work. Obviously, it wouldn't be right to proceed with the lesson that morning with all that damage in sight, so I mobilized my first period class. Some kids began scooping fish from the tank. Others started blow drying the room. Others, still, were cataloging the damage.

The most encouraging part of the day was seeing Janine taking the lead to scoop fish out from the polluted tank with her own hands. I had serious doubts, especially because the water in the tank was like a rich and oily soup. Nonetheless, every single one of the fourteen mosquito fish were saved on that day! Even though we didn't get very much work done, it may have been one of the best moments of our class this year!

Turtles in the classroom

On the list of random things that happen in middleschool:

One of my students has a turtle. It is a tiny red-eared slider which she carries around either her pocket often in or her backpack. It amazes me that the little reptile is still alive, but it seems to be very healthy. Today I caught her with the animal and we started a very nice discussion about turtle-care. It's events like this that remind you that even though kids in 7th Grade are growing up and becoming more and more independent, they're still kids and do the most surprising things sometimes.

What's Your Neighborhood Like?

So I assigned our first portfolio assignment last month: a descriptive essay about your neighborhood. I was pretty pleased with the level of description and detail in most of the essays. Generally, the Black and Hispanic kids paint a more stark and gritty picture of Boston than the Chinese kids do, but one essay written by one of the Chinese boys stuck out to me more than others-- here are a few excerpts, unedited:

My parents are rasist so I can't go out because I'll get "shot."....

One night, as I was about to sleep. I heard "PUT YOUR *****ING HANDS UP" Engines roared, tired screached, guns were being fired and sirens were singing. That night 3 people died. Mayor Menino said that he would hire more police. I dont think he ever did.

Here, in the inner city, amidst ignorance, critical minds are developing-- kids who think about race and the sinister assumptions that lie behind seemingly innocent comments like "you'll get shot." Not only that, but as 12 year olds, they are learning to connect their local experience with political and social responsibilities. It just goes to show, diamonds do grow out of the rough.

Injustice Stings

Why didn't He send somebody else?

I kept a student after school for 3 hours tonight, on a Friday. Don't worry, his parents didn't care because they have no idea where he goes afterschool anyway. In those three hours, that student learned more than he had this entire month of school combined. And yet, if I could have him after school every week for three hours, we still wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface of his achievement defecit. Afterwards, I was left to stare at the reality that I am just barely chipping away at Mount Everest.

It's unfair that his parents can't help him because they don't speak English and because they're never home. It's unfair that the public school system has failed him and that he does not have a real ESL class to support him. It's unfair that the MCAS is going to be applied to him and he will have no hope of passing. It is unfair that Boston can't give him all the resources that he needs to succeed, like they probably would be able to in Newton or Andover. It's unfair that he's stuck in a school where we mostly hire inexperienced and clueless teachers like me who may have a lot of heart, but are lacking in skill. If I spent a year, focusing only on this student and trying to help only him succeed, I might have a hope. But when I look at the twelve to fifteeen students who need that kind of help, I can't help but feel daunted. Faced with a mountain to tear down, I've only got a spoon.

When I read Exodus, I find that I cannot criticize Moses for asking God to send somebody better to do the job.

First All-Nighter of the Season... Ethnic Tension

So yesterday, all of the different things I am involved in finally caught up to me, and I had to pull off my first all-nighter in a very long time. I spent my time grading, lesson planning, preping my youth ministry lesson, creating progress reports, and analyzing student data. I've learned a thing or two about all-nighters-- the most important of which is the 30 minute nap. I took two of these last night, and it kept me going.


Some of you may be aware that the city just hit 56 homicides for the year. Sadly, people are starting to take it for granted. The other night, I was caught up in the middle of a dispute between two tenants-- one Black lady and an Asian lady. Apparently, the Asian lady had spit on the other woman's kids in frustration. The discussion got a little heated and at one point, one of the women standing by chimed in, saying, "You know if we were in Roxbury, we wouldn't be having this discussion, because we all know that it would been over by now, and you know what I'm talking about." It's sad that some folks in this town can toss that kind of thing around so indiscriminately.

On that note, ethnic tensions in this neighborhood may be higher than I had thought before. I suspect that the reason I got my apartment for cheap was because the Chinese families didn't want to live beside the Black families. And while some of the kids, especially one group of very young siblings, really don't seem to abide by the unspoken color-line, most of the adults seem distrust each other on a deep and sub-conscious level.

Closer to Home

This recently happened right on my street. There's not much to say, but it's sad. In the words of one of my kids, "Man, the shootings is getting insane." Later, I saw a bus with a sign on it that said, "More drama than driving in Boston traffic." Irony.

An unidentified male was being sought Thursday after he allegedly fired as many as five gunshots into a small clot of teenagers outside the emergency room of Tufts New England Medical Center in Chinatown, authorities said.

One bullet struck a young man in the leg, officials from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said. Another shot lodged in the driver’s side of a nearby Silver Line bus, they said. No one on the crowded bus was injured, and passengers were put on another bus, police said.

The suspect, who authorities believe is a teenager, fired his weapon about 5 p.m. and then ran across Washington Street, between the Josiah Quincy Elementary School and Quincy Tower, witnesses and MBTA officials said.

Police roped off Oak Street in front of the Wang YMCA of Chinatown and searched neighboring buildings and around the school with dogs.

Hyphenated Modifiers... and Pizza.

Ugh. I knew it would be a difficult lesson before I even started; but the blank stares of death nearly smothered me today. I thought I'd try spicing up the class with some challenging concepts, like implicit/explicit metaphors, hyphenated modifiers, commas when preceeded by an introductory phrase... The interruptions to the lessons were plentiful-- a student started singing in the middle of the lesson, a freight train blasted its horn for three straight minutes, we had an unexpected fire-drill... It took all the self-discipline I had to let it go without nailing home the lesson.

I've come a long way since my first year teaching. Back then, I would have just felt bad about myself and fed a cycle of negative self-talk. Nowadays, I'm realizing that I'm always going to have some days like this, when I'm doing everything wrong and my lessons are horrible.

And here's how it relates to the big picture: who cares what a hyphenated modifier is? Yeah, English is important; but I hope that in all our collective successes and failures as a class, I will never teach kids that English is the most important thing. Failed English lessons become good character lessons and a reminder to keep perspective. I am here to point people to Jesus Christ; and if I trade that birth-right for a pottage of good English lessons, then shame on me.

After a walk and a deep breath, the rest of my classes today went well. I played catch with my advisory, and made pizza with my culinary arts class (yes, I teach cooking!!!). I always try to remember that they'll remember more about the kind of person you were than what kind of lessons you taught.

Jaz and the Brand New Ending

I was so proud of Jaz today-- one of the kids I had previously. She focused really hard on cooperative reading with Deja and Erica today. She’s been sitting with them and she has been succeeding. I don’t know how long this will last, but I feel like she entered into this school year with a more positive attitude after being kept back from last year. On the first day, I put up the quote, “One cannot go back and make a brand new beginning; but one can start from this point and make a brand new ending.” Jaz responded in writing, saying she felt like she was reaping the consequences of skipping class and slacking off last year. She told me the story of her father never being home and how her mother is still in China. I was so sad reading that paper. It's amazing how you can know a kid for a whole year and never hear that stuff. The whole time, you think of her as a class-cutter, and you forget to ask what's going on beneath it all. She resolved, at the end of the written response, to do better this year, to make a "brand new ending" for herself. Perhaps I, too, can resolve to do a better job of helping her this year.

So far, the school year is going well. I can see how much experience helps, now that I'm in my third year at JQUS. I miss those 9th graders whom I had as 7th graders, but I'm also glad to put those first 2 years behind me. I'll write more about my different and interesting roles some other time, one of those roles being a cooking instructor! For now, I'm thankful to be feeling challenged and motivated to improve. For a while I've been wondering if I'm really cut out for this. I'm still not sure, but right now, I feel at least competent and that I am helping these kids more than harming them.

Kids getting Younger and Younger

It seems every year, kids get younger and younger. This past Friday, in youth group, the change was almost shocking. I knew that we would have a much younger group of middle-schoolers, especially with the addition of 6th graders this year; but as I looked out at the crowd of little kids, I wondered, how do you teach and counsel kids this age? Will they sit and listen to a sermon? What can we talk about in our small group time? How do you bond with them?

As my 9th graders moved onto 10th grade and out of the realm of my specific Friday night ministry, I realized that I had the same questions at the beginning of last year about them. I wasn't sure if anything was happening, until pretty recently, when we started having sleepovers and more outside hangout time. They have recently evolved into a group that cares more for one another and prays for each other, sometimes. It's sad to see them go, yet they serve as a reminder to me of how these groups grow and change. Praise God for the work He has done in them!

I wonder, sometimes, if my abilities are best suited for this age group. I started off as a counselor for older teens, and in many ways, it is where I still feel most comfortable. Still, for the time being, the Lord has put me here, and I'll joyfully wait and see what He has in store-- the divine appointments, the relationships, and personal growth. Definitely, I'll be stretched in patience, in learning to care for younger kids, and in learning how to teach them. It looks like I've got 6 talks scheduled in the fall and winter, covering the book of acts.

Meanwhile, I'm really excited that God is bringing lots of new visitors and potential counselors. He's answering prayers for more youth workers, which we prayed for 6 months ago!

Back from Maine Retreat

The retreat in Maine was interesting for many reasons. On the first night, we were sitting around the campfire, when all of a sudden, one of the men emerges from the darkness, very excited. I look and in his hands, he is holding a huge FROG! So I admired it, like everyone else, and then waited to see when he would let it go. He didn't. Instead, he took a butcher's knife and tried to cut it's head off! "We can make soup," he said. Fortunately, he missed and the frog jumped out of the way. So everyone else decided to keep the frog alive until they were hungry!??!

Speaking was new and challenging. I gave a set of talks on "Changes that Heal," which was the theme they had chosen. I know there's a book by that title, which I didn't read, but I chose to divide up the talks into these "changes":

1) Experiencing God's Grace through Others-- becoming vulnerable
2) Meeting Jesus in Suffering-- changing our understanding of pain
3) Trusting the God who Sees-- returning to our broken relationships
4) Everything is Rubbish (but You)-- fixing our eyes on Jesus, our joy

I got to pray for a few guys who connected to the messages. It was nice to be with the Vietnamese Church again, at least for a little while. I'm still praying for you guys.

Those of you who prayed for me, thanks. I felt prayed for!

Heading up to Maine (Please Pray)

Over the past week, I've been re-focusing on teaching, especially these past few days, when I've spent a lot of time in my classroom. Three of my former students showed up to help move furniture-- the same guys who helped me move into my current apartment. I'm glad to be able have an ongoing relationship with them, even though I haven't been their teacher for 2 years. It reminds me that God often uses you to make an eternal impact in someone's life, even if it isn't so apparent immediately.

There's so much to look forward to this year. We're starting up TWR (the junior high youth group) again soon, I've got guitar classes that will also begin in a few weeks, and, of course, there's the new students I'm going to meet. I'm excited and a little anxious at the same time.

More immediately, I'm about to head up to Maine for a weekend retreat with the VAC young adults. I've been invited to speak. I've got my outlines for the talks, but I'll need the car-ride to solidify everything. Please PRAY for me! I've never spoken at retreat before. Pray that God would use me to deliver his Word and that the Holy Spirit would convict and change hearts. I very much need and covet your prayer support this weekend. Thanks!

The Lead of Love

I’ve been thinking through the last couple of weeks so that I could figure out what to report to you. So much has happened and there is so much to look forward to as well, here in Boston. I'll save the future for another post, however. After Project Destiny ended I had about a week off before getting back into the swing of things, in preparation for Summer Teen Conference—our youth retreat in Alfred, Maine. The retreat, over the years, has become a significant way for us to wrap up summer ministries and integrate students from the outreach programs into our regular youth groups. The theme this year was “The Lead of Love,” how God leads us not to a place, but to a person, not to a destination, but to a destiny.

The preparation was pretty adventurous on several fronts. On one front was worship team, where I got to help the students learn new songs, but also, I prepared to play drums for the first time in “public.” You can imagine for yourself how that sounded. The other front was the creation of the camp handbook. In a series of complicated plot twists involving multiple trips to Copy Cop, a misguided trip to Brookline, and an all-nighter, the handbook did not get completed until a few hours before the retreat started! Thank God that it got done—it could have been so much more complicated.

So it was that despite my being really tired, Summer Teen Conference began. I had taken my 9^th grade boys as my small group for the weekend. It is the last time that I will be their counselor, as they are moving into the high school youth group. It was important, then, that we had some good one-on-one time: i.e. huddles. We had our huddles on interesting places—a sailboat, a canoe, a porch swing…I was really struck by some of the things the guys shared during their huddle time and appreciated their openness about family, faith, and sin. We had some memorable discussions- one of them on a shooting range talking about God's design for suffering, one of them in my 4x4's trunk in the middle of a downpour. Our last discussion, where we shared the things we needed prayer for during the school year, was probably our most important. Not all these boys are Christians, but I can see how God is leading them all to know Jesus Christ better as their Lord and Savior and follow him. Having 6^th graders in the fall will be so different.

I know some of you had us in your prayers—thanks! Everything went pretty well and I feel like the weekend effectively helped to integrate the PD kids into youth ministry, as well as building up the young Christians in our church. Middlebury-folks—you might be interested to know that Tom and Megan were on staff at Camp Cherith at the same time we were there for the conference. It was a treat to see them in between the huddles and discussions. Finally, I’ll leave you with a picture I took while taking some time off to go hiking (FINALLY!!!) in Vermont this past week, as well as some lyrics from Caedmon’s call. As I begin work as a teacher again tomorrow, it seems like an appropriate way to wrap up the summer’s round of postings. Thanks for praying and reading this summer.

Looking back at the road so far, the journey’s left its share of scars
Mostly from leaving the narrow and straight
Looking back I can clearly see, man is more than the sum of his deeds
How you made good of this mess I’ve made is a profound mystery…

Looking back I can finally see how failures bring humility
Brings me to my knees, helps me see my need for Thee.

…looking back, I see the lead of Love.

Project Destiny Update 6: Last Days of Camp

If doing PD this summer was a like a marathon, the final week was like a sprint. I feel like I used up the last of my energy in the last stretch down to the finish line. It flew by like a jet airplane on afterburners. My role, during those last days, was to lend logistical and sometimes hands on support to the counselors. I kept a car on hand to go buy things that were needed last minute. I got to provide backup for different classes that were busy or needed extra personel to finish their projects. During the last couple of days, there were times when it seemed that I was gathering the skeleton crew of counselors who were available to supervise/ run programming for 50 kids because many of the other staff members were busy trying to finish up different publications and office jobs in time for our final day of camp.

One highlight was Friday, when the kids ran a home-made streetfair for the neighborhood. Think of an empty church parking lot, filled with 12 streetfair games-- each made out of cardboard boxes, tables, and other easily obtainable items-- painted in vibrant colors. There were games like "extinguish the candle with a watergun," "soak the counselor," "penguin walk race" and other games invented and created by the students. We had music blasting and prizes available at a ticket redemption booth, which I manned all afternoon. We had a lot of people from the community come-- it was a lot of fun and it was a meaningful way to finish the camp.

On Saturday, we had Family Night, a time for family and friends of Project Destiny to come and see the results of the summer's hard work. We displayed tons of artwork, including paintings, drawings, student-directed movies, clay-animated featurettes, and street art. At 6:00, we served dinner to 190 people! At 7:30, everyone filed into the sanctuary of the church to see the feature presentations-- peformances by my guitar class, the chinese hammered dulcimer class, another dulcimer class, singing, dancing, and a drama presentation. Those 190 people who came also heard the Gospel, preached in Chinese by Pastor Kenneth Kwong.

That was a great night of celebration, but also of non-stop work. I was the emcee that night, so my role was to run a last minute dress rehearsal of the different acts. At the same time, I had 4 guitar students whom I had not quite prepared enough for the trauma of performing, so I had to be in two places at once. Once we ran the dress rehearsal, I realized that we had not thought of how to set the stage, or transition from act to act-- things I never realized were so important to a production. Also, I remembered that I had nobody to translate for me, so I asked our speaker, Pastor Kenneth, to also double as a translator. When he left after his talk, I tried my hand at translating my own Chinese to the crowd. It was hilarious and I probably shouldn't try it again. I think I might have accidentally told the crowd that we were giving away lottery tickets to the students at one point...

So camp is over, and I plan to write one or two more updates. But before I end, one more poignant moment-- during dinner, in between running around and comforting my desperately nervous guitar students ("don't make me do it Mr. Liu!") I ran into Samson's mother. "Thank you so much for all you've done for him," she said. "You know he really likes you a lot and talks about church all the time. Even though he'll be in highschool, please check in on him every once in a while." When I told her that she should encourage him to keep coming to church, she said, "I don't need to do that. He goes on his own. He'll probably keep going forever. It's good for him... I can see him starting to change. So I have hope..." It was just one little conversation, but what a powerful testimony to what God has done this summer in just this one student's life. It is a theme, that I am sure resonates with other campers as well.

Project Destiny Update 5: Good News and Staff Update

Remember Samson, the student I wrote about a few weeks ago? He prayed to receive Christ this past week! For me, it seemed to be the answer to many prayers and a confirmation that the Holy Spirit was at work in the different circumstances I had recounted. It happened after a conversation between him and another counselor. Samson realized that he believed everything that a Christian does and that he did not need to first be "good" in order to accept Christ as Savior. So right then and there, he prayed and professed faith. Afterwards, he told me, "Mr. Liu, I just became a Christian!" He was noticeable happy the rest of the day.

Aside from that story, it was a roller coaster week for the counselors. Many were tired and some were carrying the weight of burdens and sorrows. Sometimes, especially after you've spent so much time together every day, you wish you could carry their weights for them.
I've really grown to love this team a lot. When you read over applications in the winter and spring, you try your best to get a sense of each person's strengths, weaknesses, passions and needs. You try to imagine what the team will be like and how the personalities will come into play; but the result usually ends up being a surprise. It's only after you live, work, and grow with each person that you have a chance to really care about them.

The first year that I was a counselor, in '97, this kind of community was new to me, so I really missed the team when PD was over. The same is true again this year-- but maybe even more so. I feel the end of camp nearing and I know I'll miss this team.

Please pray for us this week as the final week is upon us. It is truly crunch time for the different programming elements we have. Also, we try to make final push to point the campers towards Jesus Christ while integrating them into our regular youth ministries. On Friday, we had a huge turnout at the Junior High youth group event-- 67 students! Pray that this would only be the beginning as we try to keep up our relationships with these students.

Project Destiny Update 4: Good Weather

The third week of PD has just passed. This week, we were facing the prospect of cancelling yet another two field trips. We had already cancelled two previously-- once due to heavy rain and once due to heat. I remember thinking to myself, it's a good thing our classes and regular programming this year is so much fun, because otherwise, it would be difficult to swallow the loss of 4 field trips. Still, the Lord allowed us to avoid a major tropical storm, and so we had our trips to a berry farm and to a lobstering excursion.

This here is a picture of a visit to a museum we took. Our mentoring groups have been bonding together through field trips like this one, and through their discussion times in the mornings and afternons. They have been discussing what they're learning from the morning chapel times and one student, this week, asked how she could accept Christ!

This week, I got to share about three scripture passages for morning team devotionals. The first was on Colossians-- the supremacy of Christ, the second was on Martha and Mary-- following Christ with joy by listening to him, and the third was on Jesus calming the storm-- the place of peace in Christian's life. I look forward to these chances to share the Word and relate it to our team. Ever since starting to teach at VAC, it is an area of ministry that I've been hoping to grow in. I've got a few opportunities possibly coming up in the fall-- teaching to the junior high youth group. I really enjoying preparing the talks, but the actual delivery is the hardest part.


The team took a retreat yesterday. We read some devotional materials and spent the day resting and doing a little bit of reflection. It was a much needed time for our team. I know I am recharged and ready to go for the next two weeks. Here's a picture of our team staring at a computer one day after camp one day. I don't know what they're all so engrossed by.

Project Destiny Update 3: Samson, Medical Fiascoes

The second week of PD has concluded and I have a few stories to report. One of them involves one of my students from JQUS-- an 8th grader who was my 7th grade student last year. We'll call him Samson. I remember one day last year, Samson got upet at me during class and challenged me to a fight. "Meet you afterschool and we'll settle this," he had said.

"Ok, you want to settle this? We can settle it," I had said, agreeing to meeting him. What have I just done? I remember asking myself. I've accepted a student's challenge to fight! When Samson arrived afterschool, I tried to think quickly. I wondered what he was thinking. Suddenly, inspiration struck-- I had two play swords mounted on my walls for our drama unit. I challenged him to a fencing match! I got to teach him the rules and beat him a few times before letting him win. Thank God we turned that situation around!

Since then, a lot has gone on with Samson-- he started coming to our Friday night youth groups regularly and he's in Project Destiny this year. Just this past week, I got to "go to bat" for Samson when he unexpectedly found out he had to go to summerschool and thus miss PD. He was pretty upset when I called him on the phone that night. I reassured him, saying I'd go find out what was going on, and that he should not worry too much.

The next day, instead of going to the field trip with the camp, I met with some of the administration at my school. The details of that conversation are not subject to public disclosure, but after talking about a few inconsistencies, we sorted out the fact that Samson would not have to go to summer school. When I finally arrived at the field trip site, several hours later, I got to talk to Samson, whose appreciation and thankfulness could not have been more evident. It was definitely one of the blessings of doing this work. I can see how Samson is becoming a lot more comfortable with church and the people there.


On another note, we sent two students to the emergency room this past Friday. One of them fell off a swing and crashed, chest first, into the ground. He soon started coughing blood. Fearful of a Drew Bledsoe type injury-- remember when he tore one of his arteries in the 2001 season, just before Tom Brady's ascension?-- I called in an ambulance to take him to the hospital. He eventually checked out ok.

The second student had a random piece of debris fly into his eye and it got stuck there. He said the pain rated an 8/10-- 10 being the worst pain you could ever experience. Ouch. So I accompanied him to the hospital, where they removed the debris and gave him medication. The nurse, who had seen our staff there earlier commented, "You're keeping us in business today. What are you doing to those kids?" Maybe she could ask, what are they doing to us? In all 6 years of doing PD, I've never had to talk to our Medical Consultant. On that day, we called her 3 times!

On another note, I am now completely funded. Again, thankyou so much for all your financial generosity and your prayers. Please pray this week for continued energy and health, as I've been feeling a little under the weather. Thanks again.

Project Destiny Update 2: First Week

The first week of Project Destiny concluded with a fun field trip to Georges Island this past Friday. Over the first four days of camp, our students bonded together with their mentoring groups through group games, field trips, and discussion times. We've been presenting the gospel in the mornings through the story of Joseph in Genesis (you can ask me how that works some time) via skits and sermons. Our teaching counselors have been training their students in Street Art, Chinese Dulcimer, Guitar, Movie Making, Sports Competency, and more. The students seem to be having a great time and are warming up to their counselors.

Personally, it has been a blessing to be able to talk and relate with campers on a different level than I can as a public school teacher. Even teaching guitar is different because my students really want to learn how to play. They are a nice group of kids. Here is a picture from one of our field trips-- a phot-scavenger hunt in Chinatown. Ignore the gang hand-signs, please.


Please pray for grace, patience, and physical energy for the team. I know I've gotten little sleep while keeping up a very busy day-- and the rest of the staff has a similar schedule. I'm almost completely funded-- I'm down by about 100 dollars, which I am confident the Lord will provide. Thank you for being involved in the work here. I'll have some more detailed stories to tell soon.

Meet Jim

I spent the last part of tonight hanging out with a man named Jim. Jim has fallen on some tough times-- his girlfriend of 4 years, whom he lived with in Vermont, recently committed suicide. He's been ostracized by his family and neighborhood. Just tonight, he was robbed of most of his worldly posessions. Jim is currently homeless.

I was playing ball with some of the youth, when Jim walked into the ball court area. He stood around watching. I thought, hmm.... I should probably ask him to move along so he doesn't scare the kids. As I introduced myself, and he introduced himself, we found that we had Vermont in common. Gradually, Jim started talking about his girlfriend, Lisa, who had had a drug and alcohol addiction up until she overdosed and killed herself a few weeks ago.

When Jim got to that part of the story, my heart grew heavy. We ended up spending the next hour and a half talking about the messes in his old life, the cruelty of the modern city, street culture, and humanity's inherent sinfuless. That sort of led him to ask me to read him something from the Bible. It's times like that when I wish I had verses memorized. The best I could do was read him Romans 8-- one of my favorite chapters. I also paraphrased Jesus' "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden... my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

After that, Jim started talking about how he believes God put him in our church parking lot at the right time to hear those words. There was a lot of just sitting in silence-- and because he was homeless and had nowhere to shower or anything, he kept on moving and squirming-- he was itchy all over. In the end, I prayed for him and he asked me for a Bible to read.

I wanted to give him some detailed information about Boston Rescue Mission, but I didn't know anything about them. Jim says that he'll come to church on Sunday for worship and that he will try to find nice clothes for the occasion. If I see him, I'll give him the information then.

Tonight, the Lord opened my eyes to the plight of people-- how possible it is for a normal somebody to fall into homelessness. Please say a quick prayer for Jim when you read this-- that he would find peace in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and that the Lord would pick Jim back up and take him out of homelessness.

Project Destiny Update 1: Training and 1st Day

Thanks so much to everyone who is giving support to my Project Destiny work, either financially or in prayer. I am just over half-way funded! Many of you have been generous beyond my expectations. If you are still interested in supporting me, check out the prayer letter I wrote in May, in the Archives. You can send a response, along with your e-mail address to 5E Oak St. Boston, MA 02111.

I've been helping out to train our two dozen PD counselors for the past two weeks. Everyday, from 8AM- 5PM, in workshops and lectures, we've covered topics ranging from taking out the garbage to the history of Chinatown; from classroom management to theological understandings of the City. Meanwhile, our group has been gelling, forming a team that works, eats, plays, prays, and worships together. It's exciting to see how the different personalities are coming out and how people are stepping up and helping out.

For me, the past 1.5 weeks, or so, can probably be best described as a working retreat. Sure I've been busy, but I've been a little more sheltered and withdrawn from the City because of our loaded schedule. While it's slightly ironic that most of our staff comes to PD to have an experience with urban missions and I'm engaging the City less in order to help at PD, I think it pays off in the long run because the Lord has definitely used PD in the past raise up people to pray for and serve in the City. So even though I have less time to be directly involved, I feel like I'm helping to lay some groundwork for many more Christians who will, at some point, make the decision to move here and be epicenters of change for Boston.

The First Day was yesterday, so yes, we did meet the youths. We have 52 of them that I would ask you to pray for. I know a good number of them because of connections here and there. They range from the really small and adorable 11 year olds to the kids who are taller than me and speak in baritone voices. I look forward to getting to know them better and to seeing how our counselors learn to care for them.

Changes Part II: End of VAC Service

It hasn't really sunk in, yet, that my time at Dorchester is over. This past Sunday was my last day there-- my last sermon, last time worshipping together with everyone, last time hearing the worship team lead. We're the kind of church that is small in numbers, but big in heart and strong in community. I know I'll miss the process of seeking God's vision for the church and working with other dedicated lay-people to serve the Lord and each other.

Over the past year, God has used me there to accomplish a great deal, but he's also used those at the church to accomplish a great deal in me as well. When I started going there, I was just Duy's Shadow. The Lord taught me how to handle cross-cultural relationships-- even with different cultures that are right here in the same city that I live in. He grew in me a willingness to love the youth. They weren't really anybody in my eyes when I first arrived, but now they all have permenant indentations on my heart and mind-- like a spot on a carpet after the heavy furniture is lifted from it. He also made me preach more than I ever did before and now I'm no longer as nervous about taking on a sermon


Vi, School, and Uyen said a few words after my sermon and the youth gave me some gifts, which will serve to remind me to pray for them every so often. All of you TYGers will be well missed, but definitely prayed for=). We've grown a lot together and gone through a lot as a group-- remember to keep running for the Lord don't be a bystander in life.

Although I went there to do youth ministry, I'll also miss my adult and young adult friends that I met there. For those that I consider my peers, your presence was always a support for me and your friendship lifted me up... random BBQ's, outings, late night restaurant dining, meetings to find our first English Minister, visits to Boston churches in the dead of winter... Thank You.

I'm leaving to see how God wants me to serve in Chinatown at this time. How can I bring the Gospel of Grace to my "hood?" I hope that you at VAC will seek do the same for yours. If we run after him, who knows where and when the Lord will choose to have us cross paths again?

JQUS 8th Grade Promotion

Here is the video that I put together for the Wednesday 8th grade promotion. During my best moments as a teacher, I see them with all the optimism and tenderness that I tried to put in video... at othertimes, I'm lacking and see them quite differently=)

Changes Part I: End of School

So much is changing in my areas of focus right now. It has been an amazing 1.5 weeks of non-stop action. Simultaneously, this week, I concluded my second school year, my time of service at Vietnamese Alliance Church, and also began Project Destiny. With all of this overlapping and giving me less "down" time, I've found it more necessary than ever to depend on the Lord to shield (for now) from my own emotions that might distract me and to give me strength in faithfully doing everything that I have committed to do.

Finally, it seems things are settling down. It gives me a chance to reflect on all that has passed. On Wednesday, we promoted the 8th graders-- my first 7th grade class from last year. As I stayed up to finish our Retrospective Video, I was amazed at how much that had grown and changed from the last year. Many of them are leaving for Exam Schools and I will miss them. This is probably one of the worst parts of being a public school teacher-- losing your students to another school. While corporately, it would be a great thing for our school if those kids stayed, I know that I should be happy for them because they are getting a better opportunity for themselves. I was so proud, particularly of three students who spoke at the commencement ceremony. They have certainly come a long way.

School ended on Friday, and it was a mad rush to get my grades in! I think there are still many things that I dislike about myself as a teacher. They are not so much "skills" that I should have, but rather character issues that I had assumed God would have worked out of me by now. I believe that the same qualities that make a good person also are the traits that make a good teacher-- integrity, love (as defined in 1 Corinthians 13), consistency, reflectiveness... I actually think I have most of these pretty set, except for the second one-- love.

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." (NRSV, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Look at all the characteristics in bold that make up love. Those are the things I am lacking in. It grieves me greatly to read this passage... God, forgive me and make me a better-- more Christ-like-- teacher next year, I pray.

Pray for Boston

As those of us who live here know, violent crimes involving youth have been on a rise since the end of last year here in Boston. Almost daily, there is news of yet another homicide, another shooting, or stabbing in one of the neighborhoods. From the battle over those "stop snitching" shirts to the gang insignias tatooed onto our school hallway walls, the culture of violence and crime is pervasive-- and well marketed to our youth.

This week, it hit a bit closer to home:

-People don't usually think of street gangs in today's Chinatown, but it looks like we might have a gang just forming up in the courtyard area of my apartment now. The other night, some neighbors heard what sounded like a gun shot from the kids.

-A couple nights ago, there was an argument over a girl in the hallway downstairs and when I went down to check if everything was ok, there was blood all over the hallway and a young man doubled over in distress.

-While taking a walk on Saturday, I ran into a group of students I know from all different contexts-- my school kids, my BCEC youth, and my VAC youth-- and they were hanging out together, all wearing gang colors. I was told later by one of them that they believe themselves to be affiliated with the Bloods. It was a real blow to me because a few of those students were kids that I think very highly of and care for a good deal.

-A girl who has been in and out of our church in Dorchester was shot and killed last week in front of her home. Many of the young people at VAC knew her well from Vacation Bible School.

Each new report brings with it sadness and frustration for people who live here. With the heat of the summer setting in, it doesn't seem like it will get any better soon. Now is a good time for Christians to remember to pray for the city and consider serving in the community in some way. We need for God's grace and healing to touch the areas of Boston where there is brokeness and hate. Please pray-- and if you're wondering how you can get involved=).... talk to me. I've got some ideas in mind.

Community Activism?

I've begun my political career at last! Maybe not quite, but it was kind of interesting. I got a notice this past weekend about a hearing at City Hall exploring the feasability of opening a branch library in Chinatown. It's an issue that I've felt strongly about ever since I began teaching here. I did not hesitate, then, when a chance came to speak up about the issue.

Tuesday afternoon arrived. It took a while, but eventually, the city council chamber was filled with over 100 people who turned out to support the library campaign. Lawrence Joe's youth contingent of Chinese Progressive Association was out in full force. The Josiah Quincy Elementary School also turned out, with principal Lee and several of her young students holding colorful signs. Many Chinese-speaking English students spoke passionately about the need for a library as well. City Counselors Michael Flaherty and Sam Yoon sat for 2 hours, listening to lots of testimony.

Having a library in our neighborhood would make sense on so many levels-- not the least of which is the boost it would provide to literacy efforts, which would, possibly, in turn produce less dropouts and, then, less youth crime in our city. So that was the angle of attack that I took on the issue as I took the stand and read my speech. So maybe it's not the beginning of run for governer, but it provided me a chance to network with CPA folks, as well as a guy from NAAAP.

In the end, it all comes back to bringing greater glory to God. If a few Christians can speak out with truth and grace for issues of social justice-- in a way that brings blessings to the neighborhood in which we live-- and if they know we are Christians-- then, I believe that Jesus gets all the glory.

You can see the video of the hearing here: http://www.cityofboston.gov/citycouncil/cc_video_library.asp?id=208

My testimony is somewhere around the 1:26:00 mark...

Decision Done??

The late nights recently have found me torn between Dorchester and Chinatown. On the one hand, there is the fledgling congregation at VAC that has so many needs... on the other hand is the potential to commit myself deeper into a well-rooted ministry at BCEC. For a while, I could really see myself moving out there to Dorchester and continuing to help nurture that congregation.

But tonight, there was the first indication that God was saying, "Time to get out of there, Steve." While browsing through a few blogs belonging to my now 'former' youths, I ran into one that seemed to be an answered prayer for a kid I'd been praying for. Since coming back from the retreat a few weeks ago, God has been making real changes and increasing this student's love for Him.

I think I've failed in a lot of things since I've started serving in Dorchester. There have been times when I've taken the wrong approach with a student and inadvertantly pushed him away. There have been times when I've failed to recognize a problem before it got worse. I've sometimes been aloof or too concentrated in tasks rather than people. I've missed out on opportunities to show compassion and love. Yet, how is it that, somehow, despite my shortcomings as a counselor, friend, and teacher, God keeps on working all things out and growing these students I come into contact with?

When I read this student's blog, I realized that God will care for his church with or without me. It's his Spirit that achieves everything and not the work of people, no matter how "dedicated" they like to think they are.

I also realized that the worship team may very well be ready to move on without me. They've been all talking about stepping up. Even this past weekend, it was Truong who led the worship songs and not me. There is a new confidence about the team-- a quality of being unafraid. Sometimes, I suppose, the best thing you can do is just get out of the way. The worldly side of me stings with the thought of not being needed any longer, while the Christ-like part of me acknowledges this as the natural result of mentoring and teaching people.

Who am I, that God would use me in even a part of such divine purposes? Grace upon grace upon grace... it's the only possible answer........ no decision yet, but I think I'm getting there.

Junior High Ministry

It's like sitting on an egg-- that's how I've once heard junior high ministry described to me. You plan activities and have discussions, and often, you have very little idea whether or not anything is happening inside the egg. Working with the boys, especially, who don't tend to share that much as a group, it can make you wonder whether or not your efforts are helping at all. Tonight was like that... we had a lot of activity: responses to questions, a skit practice, basketball, wiffleball... but I always feel like we could be doing more to nurture our youth.

I came to know the Lord when I was in junior high youth group-- the very same BCEC group where I now serve. I hadn't gone to church before that, but I kept coming back for social reasons-- the other kids were friendly and I was interested in some of the girls. For some reason, those Friday nights became the thing that kept me afloat through some tough times at home and really boring, tedious days at school. Eventually, the Gospel rose through the haze of Friday activities and penetrated my cluttered heart and mind.

I wonder what it was like for my counselors. Did they wonder if anything was happening inside of me during those times that I came for reasons other than learning about God? Did they realize that Friday nights were the bright point in an otherwise pretty tough existence? I wonder if my youths have the same thing going on, or if they are completely different.

See, they're really distracted and superficial sometimes and it can be frustrating because you want some kind of breakthrough. But all you can really do is continue to model Christ, pray, and love them consistantly. One day, the egg will hatch and you'll see how God used those efforts.

The Heart of a Worship Team

School, one of the youth at the Dorchester Church, chose the worship set this past Sunday. One of the themes for me this month is mentoring, training, and equiping others to do my jobs. I'm really starting to realize that I should have been focused on this ever since I announced my departure several months ago, but now it's hitting home with a new urgency: I've got 3 weeks left!

I've watched this young worship team grow so much over the past 2 years. At first, they had a only a grasp of their own instruments and very little idea of how to put their abilities together, or even of what a worship team was. We've gone throught the loud punk rock stage where we just tried to make the coolest sound we could come up-- including a full drum set and loud, blasting choruses. We've temporarily suspended the team. We've cut down our size and shrunk to a more basic ensemble, and then grown again. More than that, though, we've gone from the business of making music to the business of praising God with our hearts. And maybe that's the one thing of lasting value we've accomplished up until now.

I'm proud of them-- very very proud. Especially after last Saturday night when we led worship for our youth conference. Sure, they were younger than all the other teams that led, but the goal of glorifying God and not ourselves was not lost on them. All the "lectures" I had delivered, all the pep talks and reminders-- phrases like "we are not a band" and "this is not for us"-- all of it could not teach the lesson as well as God did when he set our team's sights on him that Saturday night and brought himself glory through our leading.

Yeah, we've had our tough times, even over that weekend-- but through all of that, the Lord was teaching us something... and I have more good memories than tough ones. When you look at the big picture and see how much God has done in their worship lives it's not hard to realize how much God is going to do in and through them in the future. I think I know which people I'll miss most when I go....

Awkward Moments

So I'm leading a Bible Study tonight-- we're reading the first part of Romans and discussing hippocracy in our own lives-- deep dark stuff hidden in our "closets" that we're judging others for. The two guys I've been meeting with for the past five months (you know who you are) are humbly and honestly revealing the sins they are ashamed of... it's about to bring our discipleship group to a new level.... when all of a sudden, the chair I'm sitting on completely splinters apart and collapses. Doh.

My Bad Dream Comes True

So I've sometimes had this bad dream that I'm walking around the neighborhood, late at night, and I run into one of my students. I never know what to say because what if they ran away from home, or if they got kicked out? What if they become my responsibility? I'd probably ask, but not want to know...

So it finally happened tonight. It was bound to. One of my7th graders had gotten kicked out of his home in Mission Park. I walked around the corner, and there he was.

Liu: What are you doing out so late?
Student: (Chinese) I got kicked out by my mom.

A hundred thoughts flashed through my mind before I decided... I couldn't leave him out there, could I? That's why I invited him to help me do laundry and stay the night. Yes, I took all the precautions necessary to protect myself from accusations-- he wrote down a statement and signed it; I informed two other people that he was there.

It's so wrong that a parent would kick their kid out. No matter how bad he is. I know this kid, he's no piece of cake to deal with-- probably one of the tougher cases we've had in my school since I've been there. But to kick him out of the house?! When he's this young? It's not right. How, now, do I share the love of Christ with him-- I'm involved, afterall.

Project Destiny Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,

I’ve got some exciting summer plans that I’d like to share with you! This summer, I’ll be helping to run a church based day-camp for middle school students who live in the Chinatown area of Boston. I’ll be trying to reach out to kids in the neighborhood where I now live by hanging out, playing basketball, teaching a guitar class, leading morning chapel activities, and taking them on field trips around the state. I’ll also, along with the camp planning team, care for a team of volunteers who are giving up their summer to live together in Chinatown and be a part of this neighborhood outreach.

The name of this camp is Project Destiny—so named because we believe that God will use the summer to impact the eternal destiny of our students. The camp exists to meet a need in the community that neighbors can perceive—the need for summer youth programming—while addressing a need that they don’t yet perceive—the good news of the Gospel. I first became involved with this ministry in 1997, and since then, I’ve often returned during my summers. Over the years, God has developed in me a heart for urban youth, especially in Boston and Chinatown. Beginning last February, I joined a small team of like-minded Christians, who want to see the love of Christ extended to this community, and we started planning year-round for the summer camp.

This year, we feel that an area of need that is not addressed in the community is education in music, arts, and technology. We’ve made some changes to our academic program and what results is a curriculum that offers classes in creative disciplines at an incredible low cost to students’ families. My contribution to this will be teaching a guitar class that covers the basics of general music education as well. I’m pleased and excited that we are able to bring this opportunity to a low-income area of the city.

From my years of partnership with Project Destiny, I know that God uses it to change lives. Because we share the gospel every morning and present it in a relevant way, as well as living it out every day, every student comes to understand what the Gospel. Many students come into the camp and end up coming back to our church’s regular youth groups. Some former students that I now consider friends gave their lives to the Lord during camp and now, as college students, are returning as camp counselors to share the Gospel with other community kids. We know this is only possible because of the Lord working on our side.

Would you consider partnering with my work in Project Destiny this summer? In order for the camp to really change lives and impact this neighborhood, we’ve got to be aligned with God’s plans and desires. We need a lot of wisdom and sensitivity to what the Holy Spirit is doing. For this reason, I invite you to partner with me through prayer.

Also, I invite you to partner with me financially. As I mentioned before, we want to offer these great arts and technology opportunities to families at a fraction of the cost of running the programs. Each student pays $200 or less for the entire summer. My guitar class, alone, will cost almost $2,000 in materials, like guitars for students to practice on. Aside from that, we need to fund field trips and other activities that make this camp valuable to people in the community. Volunteer counselors, who are living full time in the community, will also require food and other living expenses. It is a great opportunity for me to practice faith that God will provide—and I know he will. Would you consider contributing financially to help me meet a fiscal goal of $1205?

I’m so excited for this summer to start. I can’t help it when I think of how the Lord will be changing the destinies of campers and expanding the vision of counselors. Would you partner with me in prayer and finances? I look forward to hearing from you.

God Bless,
Steve Liu

Here are just a few areas that I could use prayer in for this summer:

• Project Destiny is an intense ministry that calls for long hours of service—60-80 hours a week. Pray that I will not be tired of serving and that I can look to the Lord for sustenance.

• Pray that I would have the wisdom and discernment to know how to care for a team and to lead them as we serve together.

• Pray for the unity of our staff as we bond to become a team

• Please pray also for our students, that the Holy Spirit would work in their hearts and penetrate their lives with the Gospel.

If you would like to make an eternally significant contribution to Project Destiny, send checks to

Steve Liu
5E Oak Street
Boston, MA 02111

Please make checks out to BCEC—Project Destiny with Steve Liu written on the memo line. To ensure that your contributions are tax deductible, federal regulations require that the church reserve the discretion to apply your contributions to other church ministries when necessary.

First Post-- Purpose

Between Dorchester Youth Group, Chinatown Youth Group, Project Destiny, Josiah Quincy Upper School, and anything else in between, I've realized that I should have a place to update my friends and family about everything going on in my ministry life. God has blessed me with many opportunities to serve him and I should faithfully share these joys with other like-minded people. So from this point on, Ministry in Boston will be a record of God's faithfulness through all the struggles and victories of my urban ministries.