Family Mission Trip to Whiteriver

I've always felt that our vacation budget is more wisely spent if we took our children on a mission trip.  I've been on mission trips to third world countries before where I've seen tough living conditions and also had the privilege to see how Jesus offered love and hope to those who seek.  So I really desire for my children to experience God, learn to serve others without complaining, and also see first hand that not everyone lives in the same living condition as we do.

Cleaning the church

We flew into Phoenix to meet with groups from other churches, pick up supplies, and cars.  It was 116F when we landed Friday, so we prayed that it wouldn't be so hot at the reservation.  The next day, we drove about 3 1/2 hours to a church in Whiteriver, AZ, which is on the Apache reservation.  When we got there, we immediately got to work cleaning the church to get it ready for Vacation Bible School (VBS).  We scrubbed everything: the sanctuary, windows with tons of spiders, the kitchen, refrigerators, multi-purpose room, second floor classrooms, bathrooms, all chairs and tables, and the barn where the team installed basketball hoops.  Everyone, maybe except K, worked really hard and didn't stop until all the work was done.  At Sunday's church service the next day, we witnessed five Native Americans get baptized and shared how Jesus has changed their lives.  Some shared about how the love of Jesus and people at the church helped them sober up and gave them hope.  Then, we went door-to-door to pass out flyers and tell people about our upcoming basketball camp and VBS.  In the evening, we got right to decorating the church and preparing lesson plans for Vacation Bible School on Monday.

Installing four basketball hoops.

Cooking class - making green onion pancake.

For the next four days, we hosted basketball camp for children 1st - 12th grade from 9-11 am.  For the parents, we had Chinese cooking classes.  I had the privilege of sharing my testimony at the cooking class, telling them how I came to know Jesus Christ and how, despite my troublesome teen years, Jesus pursued me and showered me with His unconditional love.   I also had the privilege of sharing my passion in cooking.  I taught them how to make green onion pancakes, fried rice, potstickers, and egg flower soup with corn.  After lunch, we helped with construction projects to fix up the church like painting, more cleaning, digging ditches, clearing out weeds, and organizing.  We got to rest a tiny bit before getting ready to teach VBS each night from 6-8 pm.  After a long day of work, everyone is hot and sweaty.  At the end of the night, our team of 40 had to take turns to shower in TWO single person bathrooms.  Everyone only got 5 mins or else other people won't get a chance to shower.

What's harder than physical labor is experiencing heart break when I hear of trials facing Native Americans.  Almost everyone we met had experienced the sting of death in one form or another.  And to my estimate, about 80% of deaths I've heard were alcohol related.  A majority of people drink.  People die young due to overdosing, driving while drunk, or other negligence while drunk.  One child told us that his dad froze to death when he tried to walk home from a bar, because he was drunk and fainted along the way.  Children as young as 2nd grade knows what drinking is and that it ruins families.  When I ask kids how I can pray for them, some would say they wish their mom/dad would stop drinking or that they would come home sober.

People there are very friendly and open.  When we went house-to-house to pass out flyers about our activities, they welcomed our visits and openly shared with us how they are hurting and asked if we could pray for them.  At the first house I visited, a group of five people were just chilling outside their porch.  When I told them that we are from the church, a guy told us that his mom died a few months ago and that he has a hard time dealing with the lost.  He showed us his bottle of Vodka and said that this is how he is dealing with it.  A few others said that they lost a child.  They asked what Bible verse can we offer them as comfort.  I was shock that they are so open to learning about Christianity.  People here at home are not so open because they want you to keep your beliefs to yourself.  What a difference!  I was not prepared at all and quickly scan through my brain and phone for verses.  Then God led me to share Psalm 34:18 with them, which says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."  Then I prayed with them and asked Jesus to comfort, heal, and turn their lives around.  During my prayers, a few of them cried because they felt the comfort of God's word and that someone cared.

I had the privilege of hanging out with middle and high school kids during VBS time.  Let me tell you about a girl in my class.  Let's call her Jane.  On Monday, the first day of VBS, Jane came with a few friends.  She had never been to church before, so she was not so interested in Bible study.  She was there just to be with her friends.  She didn't pay attention and giggled a lot.  When we separated into small group discussions, she didn't want to answer questions because she didn't know what to say.  But when I asked how I can pray for her, she said that she wanted her dad to be safe.  I asked her what kind of safety?  Is it from sickness or car accident?  She said accident and didn't want to talk further.  The next day, Jane returned and is a bit more relaxed and happy.  I told her I prayed for her dad and asked her if there is anything she is thankful for today.  She said she is thankful that she has food to eat today.  My heart sank and thought, does that mean she doesn't have food on a daily basis?  On the third day (Wednesday), the cooks on our team made extra food, so I saved her a plate.  She came to VBS late and she looked disturbed.  She retreated back to her non-communicative self, but she did say that she is happy that she is able to come to VBS.  During singing time, I saw a few drops of tears on her face.  I knew something happened to her today.  I asked but she didn't want to talk, so instead I said, "Since you came late, did you have a chance to eat dinner?"  She said no.  "Would you like some dinner?"  She said yes and gladly ate it.  She went home with a friend to spend a night there.  The next day is our team's last day at the church and she knew it.  She came to spend the entire day with us.  Another team member had a one-on-one chat with her and found out that on Wednesday morning, she wanted to come to basketball camp so she asked her aunt to drive her.  But just as they were about to leave, her mom came home drunk with a group of friends.  Her aunt told her mom that she shouldn't drink so early in the morning and that she should take care of her own kid.  Her mom then hit her pregnant aunt.  Through the chaos, she ran out of the house to a neighbor's house to borrow a phone to call grandma and other people to come get her, but she couldn't reach anyone.  So she walked to another friend's house hoping that she can reach someone after a few hours.  She still couldn't.  She walked further and further trying to get herself to church.  Somehow, she found a ride to church.  That's why she was late and so happy she was there.  That night, she slept over at a friend's house instead of her own home, so she can make sure she would be able to come back to see us on the last day.  The fact that she liked us and wanted to be with us showed that she experienced a taste of the love of God.  I've told her that in Jesus, there is unconditional love, acceptance, and hope. It is no coincident that I got to meet her.  It is providence and divine appointment orchestrated by God.  He brought us to AZ and later brought her there.  

This is our sleeping room and also classroom.  Every night we lay out our sleeping mat and every morning we had to roll it up and pack it away.  With a blow-up mattress, that's a lot of blowing.

On this trip, our intension was to serve and give, but in reality, I learned so much and was so blessed that I think I made a profit (to use accounting terms).  For the most part, people here at home are more private and don't want to hear about my faith.  I am so used to it that I have learned to give people their space when they close themselves off or reject my faith.  When Jane came to spend the whole day with us on the last day, I didn't try to pry and didn't ask her about why she cried the night before.  That day, she was constantly around me, happily prancing around and telling me the different things she was doing.  I could have had a heart-to-heart talk with her, but I didn't.  But thankfully, another team member talked to her and she openly shared about the day before which is how I learned about her story.  This was the same girl that didn't want to tell people about her family.  I've learned that whatever God wants to do, he will accomplish it regardless of whether I want to help or not.  If I had listened to God's prompting and pry a little with her, I would have gotten the blessing of building a closer relationship.  I didn't obey God's calling in that incident.  However, God's purpose was done.  She was able to connect with someone else and my teammate connected her with a few adults at the local church so they can drive her to church.  At the end, she was cared for and no harm was done.  But I had missed out on the joy and blessing of doing the work of my Father.  So I encourage you to listen and obey when you feel that God is prompting you to do something, even though that something is not in your comfort zone.  Otherwise, you will not experience the blessing of doing God's will and miss the opportunity of knowing the Creator and connecting with His heart.

Many of us create our own path and do what we want because we know what is best for us.  In reality, we may have completely mistaken what we should be doing.  The Creator who made us has a purpose of each of us.  Until we know Him and what that purpose is, our lives have no direction and we are constantly searching for something to fill us.  In the mean time, we have missed out on the peace, joy, and blessing of doing and being what we were created for.  If you are searching for that purpose, I would be glad to introduce you to the Creator.

Our Summer Trip

Dear family and friends,

This year, the Mak family has the opportunity to participate in the Youth Summer Missions Project (YSMP) at Chinese Independent Baptist Church (CIBC). We will be partnering with a number of churches from around the country to minister to Native American youths and churches on reservations in Arizona.

The community on the reservation we are going to is a broken community.  Domestic violence, child abuse, child neglect, substance abuse, poverty is a norm in the neighborhood. Because of the chaotic family dynamic and deprived environment, young people there are not hopeful for the future.  We hope to spend time with the community there to show them that there are people who care and that there is hope.  We want to show them that a loving God loves them and that they are worthy of His blessing.

When we are there, we will be hosting youth basketball camp in the morning while we have cooking classes for the adults.   In the afternoon, we will help with construction projects and perhaps visit a few families.  Then in the evening, we will host Vacation Bible School for children of all ages.  These kinds of free kids’ activities are very well received by the community because kids don’t have anything to do in the summer.

Since the whole family is going, we can foresee a lot of challenges. Hopefully this will be the first of many of our family's trip where we stretch ourselves and serve those who are in need.  There are many reasons why we choose to bring the entire family on this trip. 

1.     We want to model for our kids how we need to love people.  And love is more than making a donation to a worthy cause from the comfort of our home, although it is a great first step.  Love requires action and sacrifice. 

2.     We want to teach our children that they can make a difference at any age and that they are not too young to change the world.

3.     We want the kids to know that not everyone live the way we do and hopefully to realize how blessed they are.

We will be leaving in a few days.  We definitely covet your prayers as we prepare, embark, and serve on this trip.  Would you partner with us and commit to praying for us?  If so, please let us know. 

Please pray for the following:

1.     Be prepared and bring all the necessary supplies.  We have to literally bring everything we need, from musically instruments, to craft supplies, to coloring pages.

2.     Be filled with God’s love as we interact with each and every person.

3.     Our kids to be bold and take the initiative to reach out to children there.  The boys are more introverted.

4.     Be ready to share Biblical truths when given the opportunity.

5.     For our team to have health and safety on the trip (we will be going with a team of 17)

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6.     For our team to work well together and also be ready to serve each other.

In His Time: What an artichoke plant taught me about parenting.

Look at those beautiful artichokes from my garden.  And to think I almost dug it up to toss in the green bin.  But God used it to remind me a very valuable lesson.

Last spring, I planted an artichoke plant in the garden.  I watched it grow really big from March till October.  When all the garden vegetables were harvested, there were still no artichoke.  People in the garden FB group that I am a part of says their plants have lots of artichokes.  I was disappointed, perhaps I didn't do a good job taking care of it.  When I cleared out the other vegetable plants, I wanted to dig it up.  But I didn't and instead did some research.  I found that sometimes artichoke grow in the second year after it's been planted.  Humm....so I left the plant there through the winter.  I didn't take care of it at all, even through all the rain and cold freezes, it survived.  When the weather got warmer, it began to grow and now there are three beautiful and hearty artichokes.

This happened at about the same time as C's debut on the worship team.  On April 2nd, C played piano for the main worship service for the very first time.  I felt so privilege to be front and center to see God's blessing and miracle.  Of course, I was proud of him for his skill.  But most of all, I am very thankful for God's work in his life.  I remember C hates playing in front of people and performing.  He would refuse to even play piano for my mom and sister no matter how much we bribe him.  But now, he willingly serve and play for the church.  WOW!!!  I am blown away.  God is soooo good.

God made me a mom to kids who are late bloomers.  Some kids display their talents, strengths, and interests at a very young age, but not my kids.  I try to expose them to many things to see what they like and what they are good at.  Nothing seems to be their thing.  I guess it's easy to parent a gifted child.  You'll know their gift and all you have to do is put money into developing that gift.  It is much harder to parent children who require a little help to find their gifts and talents.  Nothing in my life is easy because God is developing my talents Himself.  God made me very passionate, full of ideas, and always the pioneer.  I guess my personality is what my children need as their mom.

I have to be honest, many days I get very discouraged when I see other people's kids with so much talents and doing so well.  I wonder what did wrong.  Of course, it doesn't help when people give praises to parents when their kids displayed incredible talents or get awards, attributing the success of the child to great parenting.  A lot of time it is true.  But none-the-less, this makes me feel like a terrible parent when my kids didn't have similar successes.  But God reminded me that things happen in HIS time and for HIS purpose.  Like the artichoke plant, my kids were growing just fine in the first season. There was nothing wrong, it just needed a longer time to bloom.  All I had to do is continue to let it be rooted in the nutrient rich soil.  Like the plant, my kids will bloom in the next season, or the season after that.  So now, I can finally see C blooming a little.  Not only can he play piano, but he did not play using music sheet.  He played using cord and also improvised.  On top of that, he played the whole worship set with a few pointers from Hebron and only a week and a half of minimal practice.  I am super excited of his ability and desire to serve.  I cannot attribute his ability to my parenting because God knows I struggle.  But I feel blessed and also humbled that my Heavenly Father allowed me to experience His work in C's life.

But I do have to give credit to Hebron because he is a terrific role model for the kids.  Hebron is the boys' initial piano teacher.  I always jokingly say that because he is the teacher, the boys are behind the average kid who has an "official" teacher.  Hebron loves to lead worship and to use his talents for the Lord.  He model for the boys a desire to serve and help.  They both enjoy playing piano with dad and want to play for his worship team.  I don't know how, but Hebron instilled in them the desire to use their talents for others.  This is something no piano teacher can teach, it can only be modeled.

To have artichoke, the plant had to battle a harsh winter.  I also planted other winter vegetables this past October like broccoli and potatoes.  They were growing fine, but when the freeze came, those plants died.  But not the artichoke because it spent the entire spring season forming roots and growing deep.  Perhaps because of that, the artichoke survived.  My Heaven Father took this opportunity to remind me that the time I spent and saw no result is also the time my kids began to form deep roots.  God is using that time to prepare them for the bloom soon to come.  Just as I did nothing to the plant to get artichoke this season, I don't have to do anything further, except the normal watering, to bring out my kids' talents.  But sometimes a little fertilizer is necessary.  How do I know when to add fertilizer to my kids?  Only God knows what they need, which means I have to be close to my Creator (their Creator) to know.

So now I say, "Remember the artichoke?" to remind myself that my kids will bloom in HIS time.

Chicken Noodle Soup in Instant Pot

My kids LOVE chicken noodle soup with lots of chicken, carrots, celeries, and onion.  There are many recipes out there to make it.  Some uses whole chicken and some uses canned chicken broth. Using whole chicken make the soup too fatty and, well, canned chicken broth is just not good enough for soup.  We like it with meaty fresh chicken taste.  So I just go by how I think it should be done.  At the beginning, I added everything in with the chicken and everything is waaaay to soft.  So now I make the broth first, then use the broth to make the soup.  Then everything comes out perfect and completely homemade from scratch.  I normally use chicken carcasses with a few chicken legs, that seems to be the right balance of chicken flavor and meat.  But if you can't find carcasses, then use 6 - 8 chicken legs.  But then it'll be too much meat, so just don't add in all the meat.

Enjoy it! Make it for your family.  Make it for someone who is sick.  Make it for your friends and co-workers to let them know you are thinking of them and share the love of Christ through food.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

4          Chicken carcasses

1 or 2  Leg quarter (skinless)

            Water

2          Bay leaves

            Salt (to taste)

2 tsp   Dried basil

4          Carrots cubed

3          Celeries cubed

1          Onion diced

4-5 oz Pasta (linguine, fettuccini, or other wide noodles)

1.     Parboil the chicken for 5 mins or so, then toss the water and rinse chickens.

2.     Put chicken, bay leaves, basils, some salt, and water to the 10 cup line or a little more or use 8 qt stock pot.

3.     Set on soup mode of Instant Pot for 20 mins.  If you have time let is natural release or else quick release. (On stove top, boil on medium until the meat falls off the bones)

4.     Take out the chickens and bones.

5.     Add in carrots, celeries, onions, and pasta. 

6.     Seal IP and set for 6 mins on soup mode.  (On stove top, continue to boil)

7.     While it’s cooking, shred the chicken.

8.     When cook is done, QR and add in shredded chicken.  Then season to taste with salt or a little bit of fish sauce if you have it.

Happy Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is not as big of a deal in the US as in Asia.  I remember New Year to be sooo much fun when I was a kid in Vietnam.  Because my mom can sew, she made me a new outfit to wear everyday for two weeks straight. As part of our custom, my parents would take me to visit relatives to wish them a prosperous new year.  New clothes, good food, and red envelopes, New Year was like Christmas in the US.   My Dad would make his diakon cake every year.  However, this year, he said that his hand hurts due to arthritis, so he didn't make daikon cake.  Of course, I have to help him carry on the tradition.   This New Year brought back memories because my mom helped me hemmed a few pair of pants I got in Christmas.  I have new clothes to wear, red envelopes, and daikon cake.  It's like I am little again.

Chinese Baked Bao Recipe

Baos are not the simplest thing to make and there are many ways of making them.  I've tried a few and settled with this recipe because it is comparatively simpler and produce pretty good results.   I am very picky about Bao because if I can't make it better than Chinatown, then I might as well buy them (especially since I live close to Chinese bakeries).  I think baked good fresh from the oven usually taste pretty good.  My criteria for a good bao are that it is soft and pillowy with a slight chew not ONLY fresh out of the oven, but also the next few days.   Even certain bakeries in Chinatown have baos that are hard the next day. So as you can see, my criteria are high.

I measure my ingredients by weight, this way I get the same result very time and it's also easier to bake in bulk.  I've learned that artisan bakeries use formulas and proportion to measure their ingredients so it can easily be scaled up or down.  But since you may not have a scale at home, I've also included an approximate (pretty close) measurement.

The recipe can be used for Char Sui Bao, Gai Mei Bao, Green Onion, Custard, or any other kind. When I am in a hurry and the kids want baos the next day, I usually just make Hot Dog Bao because I don't have to make the fillings.  This recipe is only for the dough.

For the bread to be soft and pillowy, you have to knead it until gluten is formed.  How do you know when it's done?  Well, usually it's done when the dough is smooth and stretchy.  You should be able to stretch the dough about 3.5 feet without it breaking.  Also to be fluffy,  you have to let the dough rise enough, but not too much.  Just a heads up that when you are done, the dough should be a bit sticky, but not so sticky that it sticks to your hands.  It should be like slimes that children play with.  It's wet and sticky, but when taken away, there shouldn't be slime on your hands.

You don't need a bread maker to make bread.  I figure in the olden days people don't have bread maker and current day bakeries don't use bread maker, so I don't need one either.  You can knead by hand or use the Kitchen Aid mixer.

Have fun and let me know how it turns out!

Chinese Baked Bao Recipe


Ingredients
300g     Bread flour (about 2 cups and 2 TBS)
300g    All Purpose Flour (about 2 cups and 2 TBS)
250g    Milk (about 1 C)
130g    Sugar (about 2/3 C)
10g      Dry Active Yeast (about 3 tsp or one package should work)
2          Eggs at room temperature
5g        Salt (a pinch)
100g    Butter softened and sliced up (about 7 TBS)

1.5 TBS Hot water
1.5 TBS Sugar

1. Warm the milk (make sure it is not hot) and add in some sugar and yeast and let it sit for 10 mins.  If it gets foamy, then that means your yeast is alive and you are good.  Otherwise, throw it out and use new yeast.

2. Add eggs and bit more sugar to the yeast and whisk to combine.

3. Add in flour, salt, and the remaining sugar and combine until it comes together into a ball.

4. Add butter a few slices at a time and knead the dough until all the butter are incorporated into the dough.

5. Knead it for 5 mins and then let the dough rest for 10 mins.  Then test it to see if it's stretchy enough.  If not, keep kneading the dough until it is smooth and stretchy.

6. Grease a large bowl, put the dough in it and cover with saran wrap.  Then put it in draft free place to rise.  I like to use my oven (but it has to be OFF).  If your house is cold, I would put a bowl of hot water in the oven.  The steam is warm enough for the yeast to grow.  It has to grow 2 to 2.5 times.  It can take anywhere from 45 mins to 1.5 hour.

7. Take the dough out and punch down to deflate.  Then continue to knead for a few mins.  Cut into 12 pieces.

8. Roll each piece on a clean counter to make a rope.  Then wrap it around a dry hot dog.

9.  Cover with saran wrap and return to rise again in the oven that's OFF.

10. When it grew 2 - 2.5 time, you are ready to bake.  It is best to remove the bread from the oven after 30 mins and let it finish rising on the counter so you can preheat the oven.  I have two ovens so I can preheat and rise at the same time.

11. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

12. Combine hot water and sugar and mix till sugar melted.

13. Brush the sugar mixture on the risen baos and bake for about 16-20 mins or until top is light brown.  Be careful not to over bake or else your buns won't be able to stay soft the next day.

14. Remove from oven when done and brush with sugar mixture again immediately then let cool.  Enjoy!!!

Pho Ga in Instant Pot (Chicken Pho)

I know there are a lot of Pho Ga recipe for Instant Pot, but I haven't seen a written one that match
exactly what I know how it should be made.

I personally love beef Pho more because the flavor is richer and deeper.  That's because I love beef.  However, there is a time and place for chicken Pho.  It is not as rich and in Chinese, it is clearer, meaning the broth is so light and tasty (I know this dish is not Chinese, but since I am both Chinese and Vietnamese, I often combine the two cultures). There is some kind of healing effect in chicken broth, so I sometime crave this on cold days.  I think that the spices use for chicken and beef Pho should NOT be the same because they are distinctively different. I have made beef Pho with star anise, clove, cinnamon, cardamon, and coriander.  With chicken, I only use coriander seeds and cloves.

The key to this broth is to roast the coriander seeds and cloves and char the onion and ginger.  I used to make broth without charring the onion and ginger and it tasted good.  But a more authentic Vietnamese cook told me to char it to get a deeper flavor.  I have to agree.  I just char on the stove top like this.

Pho Ga in Instant Pot


Broth
2 whole     Onions (one to put in broth, one for topping)
4 inch        Ginger
2 TBS        Coriander seeds
4                Cloves
6-7 lbs       Chicken (parts of whole)
1 cube        Rock sugar (1-2 TBS of regular sugar)
1/3 c           Fish sauce
                   Chicken meat balls (optional)
                   Pho rice noodle (fresh or dry)

Toppings
Green onion chopped
Cilantro chopped
Onion sliced paper thin
Bean sprouts (optional)

1. Wash the chicken and remove as much fat as you can.  I usually also remove skin too but leave some skin on for richer broth.
2. Parboil the chicken in boiling water for 5 mins.  Then rinse them clean.
3. Char the onion and ginger until soft.  Then cool, wash, and peel the burn parts.
4. Roast the spices and put them in a mesh bag and tie it tight.
5. Put chicken, onion, ginger, and spices in the pot.
6. Add in rock sugar, fish sauce, and fill it with water to just below the max line.
7. Cook manually on high pressure for 20 mins.  Then let it naturally release for 10 mins and then quick release.
8. In the mean time, chop up toppings and cook noodle according to instructions.  Soak thinly sliced onion in water so it's not so spicy for kids.
9. Remove the chickens, taste the broth, and add more fish sauce if needed.
10.  Add in chicken meat ball if you like them and use saute function to bring broth to a boil.
11.  Assemble the bowl by putting in noodle, shredded chicken, thinly sliced onion, cilantro, and green onion.  Spoon broth and chicken meat balls over the noodles and serve.