Hosive

in the middle of my ny fall, i got to go out to california for a san diego fall. too bad, it was more like a pacific northwest fall..it was either too rainy or chilly to enjoy much of the beaches and water. still a good change of scenery.

i was here for part 2 of a 4 part gathering of younger asian american ministers for mentoring and ministering to by 3 seasoned ministers: dave gibbons, ken fong and bob roberts.

our first gathering was in dallas where we got to know each other a bit and start covering issues young leaders need to wrestle with….from vision to administration to asian american identity to calling to personal development to family. i loved interacting with the different guys and hearing their ideas.

two distinct groups started to emerge from the second gathering….a group of more entrepreneurial guys who’s heart is to start new ministries and plant new churches….and another group of guys who are focused on long term care and shepherding of the people. planters and pastors. i fell into the latter group. so i connected more with ken fong who has been at his church for decades.  dave gibbons was more for the first group and he was sometimes waaay out there for me but his thoughts challenged and stretched my brain. bob roberts was more in line with dave in a homey southern style.

it was not all work as some of us raced go-karts one evening….and thus begins a host of activities that theresa would have loved. she won some prize money at a company race one time.

that same night we also went out to a pub to watch the election results. strange. no pictures made it to my camera. theresa would have loved the beer too.

another afternoon, we went to legoland to check out the store for exclusives…more theresa loves.

the amusement park itself was closed as it is primarily a weekend attraction during this season. however, they open the gates for anyone who wants to check out their extensive store. there were about 10 other people in the store when we entered. there were some deals, special editions and unique items but nothing theresa would have liked…so i passed on them.

finally i got to hang out with old friends over great meals. L2 always treats us to the yummiest grub in town. in fact, they research it and then bring us. here i am with dj, alice and nat.

i wasn’t able to take theresa this time but perhaps when we head out to thailand she’ll be able to go with us. i’m just hoping i can make it to the third gathering at the end of may 2009…pretty close to our due date. i may have to miss out on mentoring, continuing friendships, side trips in my old hometown….and good eats! but if i don’t make it, it’ll be for something equally joyful and most likely something of greater joy.