Tuesday, July 14, 2015

This past week our family spent a few days at our dear family friend's bay house.   We went canoeing, kayaking, enjoyed crabs, relaxed and watched all our kids have fun, all the same things we did about a year ago with our family, though this time one person was missing.

Found this picture tonight right after returning from our visit from the bay house, right after canoeing/kayaking this morning.   We miss you Dad! 

Friday, June 19, 2015

Pre Father's Day

Along with the sadness comes a lot of gratitude this Father's Day as I thank God for giving my sisters and I such an amazing Dad.  I've often heard it said that we sometimes view God the way we view our earthly Father. If our father wasn't always supportive, wasn't there, we may find it difficult to understand what our heavenly Father truly is like.

A few years ago, I remember Dad sharing in a parenting class he often did not know what to do as a father. He didn't have much experience with kids prior to us.  As with anything he shared that all he knew to do was to pray and so he literally prayed about everything. In his prayer list that we found recently, he even was praying about one of his daughter's wart!  I won't disclose which of us had the wart, but woweee.  God has humbled me to realize that my dad loved us so much and cared for even small matters.  And he believed that God would care about those small matters too.  Completely grateful that I had a father's support, prayers and love throughout the growing seasons of my life.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Radio Tribute (in Cantonese)

I recently received an email from a friend of my dad who I don't know.  In the past two years I've gotten many emails from people who were influenced by my dad yet who I don't know.  With each sharing, email, story and more,  our family continues to be blessed knowing how special our husband and dad was. It is still hard to believe he is not with us.

Dickie Lau, a friend of my dad from Hong Kong, recently produced a radio tribute for Dad that was broadcast on the Hong Kong Christian Times website.  We know that we are not the only ones to miss Dad, so as we remember, we also wanted to share this with you. Thank you Dickie for sharing this with us.

http://christiantimes.org.hk/Common/Reader/News/ShowNews.jsp?Nid=89430&Pid=19&Version=0&Cid=652&Charset=big5_hkscs

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

(Bel) 
I was blessed to come across this article tonight that my dad wrote. 

Lord, Let Me be like A Dandelion

Samuel To

For people who love green lawns, there is nothing as annoying as dandelions.  They seem to be almost impossible to get rid of.  For homeowners in expensive neighborhoods, patches of pretty yellow flowers stick out like "sore thumbs."

However, after years of working on lawns, first on a landscaping crew in colleg
e and later as a homeowner,  I  have come to respect the dandelions.

Its Influence
I am deeply impressed by its pervasive power and ability to multiply.  Its flowers put out dozens of seeds that can go far and wide.  It can also multiply through its roots.  The dandelion stands out from other flowers in the yard.

Our Lord commanded us to be good witnesses.  We need to be in the world, and yet not of the world.  Like the dandelion, we should be influencing the world around us.  We, too, should have a life-style quite different from those around us.

It Resiliency
I have a deep respect for its resiliency.  Dandelions are very hard to eliminates.  They are able to survive in any kind of inclement weather, even after harsh winters.  It is so deeply rooted that unless the whole plant is dug out, it will return and multiply again.

taken July 2013 when we first found out about Dad's cancer
From the dandelion, we can also learn how to recover from failure.  Satan seeks various ways to destroy our testimony. By working as the “great accuser,” he will be happy if we do not get up again.  After we fall, many of us may believe Satan's charges and that God does not love us anymore.

I recognize my weakness. I cannot say that I will always do the right thing and never sin.  Yet, if I ever fall, the Lord willing, by His grace and strength, I want to follow the dandelion and rise up again.

Just as Paul says in 2 Cor. 4:7-9, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
We need to understand and claim God's grace and forgiveness and live again.  King David was a good example.  He committed serious sin, however, he rebounded and continued to function.

My Tribute to Dandelions
My experience with flowers was unusual.  To help pay for my college tuition & fees, I once worked as a laborer cutting flowers in the foothills of the Appalachians in North Carolina.  The earning was low, only seventy cents an hour.  The plantation owner did not abide by the minimum wage of $1.25 an hour.  The work hours were long, 13 hours a day, rain or shine.  And seeing how plantation owners exploited laborers certainly did not help my appreciation of buying flowers that only last for a few days.

Having no fondness for extravagance, buying expensive cut flowers has never held much appeal for me.  However, recognizing that many people do like buying flowers, I have learned to respect other people's desire for enriching special occasions with cut flowers.

Maybe my funeral would be a fitting occasion to express my unusual perspective about flowers.  Instead of buying cut flowers, my preference is for a patch of dandelions gathered from the yard.  Besides adding the pretty yellow color, it will be a very special tribute to an unusual flower.

"Lord, let me be like a dandelion!"

1987 Rock 11th Anniversary ed p.12
w/a/dandel.art




Tuesday, May 5, 2015

A Tribute to You Dad (from Memorial Service program)

By Isabel Tom

I used to joke with Dad and tell him that my poor vision was because of him.  He would shake his head, chuckle and always deny it.  Through a consistent and daily submission to God, Dad has passed down to me so much more than his looks, his mannerisms and yes, his poor vision.  He didn’t give me a sermon and he never nagged or even gave me persistent reminders.  He walked humbly with God and taught me the most tiring way.  He walked the walk and he walked it even to his last days.

Me, Maddie and Dad
With an adventurous and energetic wife and three feisty girls, my dad has had a lot to “endure” throughout his life.  On my end, I’ve never been afraid to argue with pastors and in my teenage years, I gave him little respect. I resented his decision to become a pastor and wasn't afraid to give him a piece of my mind.  In return for my bitterness, Dad has always loved me and given me affection, even when I would brush away his hugs and shrug his hands off my shoulders.  When I’ve criticized, argued and vented, he listened to me and let me have the last word. He never retaliated or fought back. He never threatened me to behave or told him I needed to respect him more.  He never reminded me that I needed to be appreciate him for his patience with me.  And he never even murmured, rolled his eyes or sighed out of frustration because of my immaturity.  He strategically had me memorize Proverbs 15:1 as a kid, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  And in his mind, I’m sure he prayed and prayed and prayed.
Through his continual prayers and his life, God has used my dad to win me over to Christ.  What would life be like if I didn't have my hope in the Lord?  I praise God that I too can be with God one day and that I have joy, hope and purpose from an awesome God.  God's timing is perfect and his ways are best.

Dad, people may say I look like you on the outside, but my prayer is that I would develop the same heart for God that you had on in the inside.  I look forward to the day that I get to see you again.  Breathe well. Walk freely. Eat with ease. Garden. Smile a lot.  Jump rope for God's sake!  And break lent in heaven.

I love you so so so much, Dad. 

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Pastor To's Memorial Service

On behalf of our family, thank you for loving us, praying for us and supporting us during for so long and during this time.  We are so very blessed and humbled to have had so many people celebrate Dad's life with us at his memorial service on Friday.  He truly touched the lives of so many people.

Thank you to the amazing brothers at CBCCP church (George, Thomas, Sunny and others) who helped us to live stream the service so that so many near and far could watch Pastor To's Memorial Service.  

If you were unable to attend, you can still watch the service by going to http://info.cbccp.org

The PowerPoint from the program is also available here
In the coming days, we hope to post other things at Dad's blog.  

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Letter #5: Wishing you a blessed Chinese New year 祝

See letter #1, 2,3, and 4.

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

Happy Chinese New Year. 

Many Chinese like to look for good fortune in this season.  Since we are now in the “year of Lamb,” we can take advantage of this season to share the good fortunate through knowing Jesus, “the lamb of God.”  Last Sunday, I put some tracts for Chinese New Year in the lobby. 

We can also take advantage the redemptive analogy in the Chinese words to share.  Here are a couple of meaningful Chinese words:

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Boxing It - One Way to Hide His Word in Your Heart

(Bel here) Recently and today as well, shortness of breath is becoming more of an issue for Dad.  Something cool he showed me today was this box he created way back when to help him memorize scripture. He said he has used it for years.  The box is filled with little cards (all hand cut and I assuming not with a fancy scrapbook cutter) each with a bible verse on it.

Psalm 119:9 says "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word."

Its says in Matthew that the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8).  Thus the purpose and basis behind Dad's box.  MAYBE, I should create a box of my own.  This may be Pinterest worthy! Check it out!



Monday, March 23, 2015

First Car



Here he is Mr. Samuel To in his younger years with his first car! If you know Chinese, you might want to check out his story.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Fostering a Christian Heritage - Unique Challenges in Discipling Christian Kids

Christian Heritage (Chinese)

My Car (VTech)

Harnessing Ethnic Churches for Kingdom Outreach

Letter #4 - Reaffirming the Bible as Authority

October 3, 2014

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

I was scheduled to preach this past Sunday. As God would have it, I ended up in the hospital for excessive loss of blood (due to a side effect of chemo treatment).   Later, I was transitioned to an inpatient hospice care facility. 

While living in that care facility, I was working on a letter to share a conviction that  relates to the message that I was going to preach last Sunday.  It is the core value #1 of our church, i.e., the Bible as our highest authority.

Letter #3 - Unity in Church

September 26, 2014

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I want to thank you so much for your prayers, and especially as I go through the most difficult times. As I travel through the valley of the shadow of death, your prayers mean so much more to me.

I want to take this opportunity from my hospital bed to share another core value of our church that is dear to my heart: to preserve and foster the unity of our church.  Please forward this to those in our church who may not be on the google group mailing lists.

For example, in our church, you would see right away that there are three different language congregations. We need people who are willing to cross over language groups.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Letter 2 - A Living Church

September 16, 2014

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

Tomorrow, I will be going in for another infusion for chemotherapy.  Thanks again for your prayers.  As mentioned before, I would like to share my thoughts in short letters.

Since the beginning of our church, we have seen that the Lord has been working.  In spite of many limitations (such as not enough space, the transient nature of student ministry, the challenges in our county, etc.), we have seen hundreds becoming His disciples.  Quite a few are serving in different areas of our church.  Quite a few have graduated from seminary.  A few members have become career ministers & missionaries.

Will this continue for the next 50 years? 

Letters #1 - Being Intentional

September 9, 2014

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

This past year, I have been touched by your prayers for me & my family. Tomorrow, I will be going through another round of chemotherapy.  Appreciate your support and prayers.

I am scheduled to preach in the English service this month.  Yet, I do not know how my throat and speaking will be affected.  Just in case I do not get to preach, I am sharing my thoughts in short letters.