I intended to serve, but surprised by my gains!

 

 

I chose the English name Joshua when I came to the US in 1991. Over the years, I have found this name described my life journey vividly. As Joshua 1:9 in the Bible stated, "Here is what I am commanding you to do. Be strong and brave. Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. I am the Lord your God. I will be with you everywhere you go." In many ways, just like my experiences with RM, God has been repeating this verse in my life and help me transform.

 

I met Peter Wong soon after I moved to Seattle in 1998. Peter[JTL1] , the founder of RM, often came to my previous church to share his spiritual experience and evangelized RM. In 2009, Peter invited me to join a Men's small group he hosted at the Microsoft campus. During the weekly sharing, I picked up frequent updates about RM activities. Lack of accurate information, well-trained professionals, and appropriate facilities hinder these kids in China from reaching their dreams. I would fear crossing busy streets with the help of audio prompts commonly available in the US. But few roads were equipped with audio prompts in China. The majority of Chinese universities wouldn't accept even the brightest students when they were blind. As time went on, the challenges of the disabled kids in China drilled a hole in my heart. In 2014, Peter and I started to brainstorm periodically on how I could serve RM better. I had been a photographer for fundraising dinners. Peter invited me to join the RM short-term service trip to capture photos in China. However, I was not comfortable doing so with insufficient Mandarin speaking skills and my busy schedule, especially with a young child.

 

In 2015, RM had a critical need to refine its direction and improve the organization's effectiveness. The goal was to grow RM effectively to serve more kids. That sparked the idea of how I could help formulate a growth strategy. My professional background is in Sales and Marketing. I also helped a church to define its mission and vision previously. So I signed up to be a Marketing Consultant for RM. During the initial few months, Peter, Bosco, and later Paster Rain often met at the McDonald's at Factoria to discuss various RM topics. After many discussions, we identified two specific areas of focus. One was to refine RM's mission and vision. The second was to improve its marketing strategy. Later RM decided to categorize its services to 4Cs targeting ABC in China[JTL2] . We use a story-based approach to connect the US community to the individual needs and stories of the RM kids. The theme was "from being helped to helping others" and "how lives changed when serving others." RM would continue its existing approach of helping one life at a time, as symbolized by the RM logo[JTL3] .

 

Over the past six years, it has been amazing to witness how God has led RM through many transitions. It has been very humbling to learn about many RM kid's stories [JTL4] and how their lives changed. Many families felt the love of God and accepted Jesus also. Thanks to all the generous donators, RM has raised more donations than targeted every year. Many devoted volunteers and highly qualified board members joined.

 

Along the way, God also turned many of my worries into His promises fulfilled. In 2016, I thought it would be impossible to raise $5000 to help Jason with urgent eye surgery[JTL5] . Your donation came in within a month. I took note that God will give when we asked in His will. A week before the 2019 fundraising dinner[JTL6] , I worried sick because RM shorted 50 guests to fill the dinner tables. But on the date before the dinner, extra 80+ guests signed up out of the blue. The spacious Newport Hill Church could barely fit the newly added five tables. Feeling sorry for the guests who went home a bit hungry as food went out, I realized how God's plan is far superior. 2020 was a rough year for many. RM fundraising team pulled together a Drive-In event [JTL7] in 3 months when I thought it would surely fail. God even expanded this local event with an online audience worldwide, including Hong Kong, California, and Amsterdam. Through working with RM, I have witnessed the excellent work God has done. These experiences also helped transformed my inner thinking. God has strategically timed these lessons to address other areas of my life.  Each time I reflected on the difficulties of the RM kids, all my challenges felt so much at ease.  I learned to let God take care of my worries. I need to rely more on God and counts the blessing on my family.

 

Did you know that RM is a four people non-profit, and half of them are even part-time? Yet, hundreds of life-changing stories, including mine, blossom through the walks with RM under God.  As 2 Corinthians 12:9 stated, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Would you raise your hands to join this family of volunteers?  You might be surprised by your gains. I certainly did.  

 [JTL1]Please link to the page how Peter found RM

 [JTL2]Please link to the page on 4Cs and ABC

 [JTL3]Please link to the page on RM logo

 [JTL4]Please link to the section with RM stories

 [JTL5]Please link to Jason’s story

 [JTL6]Please link to 2019 fundraising dinner

 [JTL7]Please link to 2020 Drive-in event