Jacob's Student Council President Campaign

Jacob is running for student council president! He is allowed to make 4 posters on paper given out by Sutter.

Also,

Here is his first attempt at a speech:

Hi! My name is Jacob Yu. And I am running for student council president. I have a sister in 2nd grade named Joanna. I've been at Sutter since Kindergarten and I like to play sports. I think Sutter is a great school. [I wish recesses were longer and school days were shorter- deleted by principal] . I think I would make a good president because I am nice and I care about others. There are a lot of things I want to do as student council president to make Sutter a great place to be.

First of all, I want to see if we can bring chocolate milk back because I know a lot of you like it better than plain milk.

Next, I will try to find out about bringing pepperoni pizza back because I like it and I think that some of you like it too!

Then I think we need more playground equipment because we don't have enough. My sister wants more hula hoops and jump ropes, and I want more playground balls and soccer balls. I will ask about getting every classroom more of these things so you can have a better recess.

Speaking of better, I think Froggy Fridays would be better if Mr. Funcheon told a joke every time. I think there should be a box in front of the office where people can submit a joke, and Mr. Funcheon could pick one to read each week.

Also, I think kids should be able to make money. I have an idea that we can have a big sale at Sutter right before Christmas. You can bring things you don't want any more, like games you don't play, and books you've already read, and sell them to each other.

Last, I think we should bring skims in handball back because I know a lot of you have been working on that skill, and would like to try it in a game. I will ask Mr. Ron about painting more handball courts so you don't have to wait in line as long.

These are the things I will work on getting if you vote for me, Jacob Yu, for president. Bye!

Tried to play volleyball tonight

I tried to play volleyball tonight. I tried my best to psyche myself up. Ate a light lunch, skipped dinner, drank coffee, warmed up against the wall hitting as hard as I can. But my mind was in a cloud. The same cloud that I get when I'm completely nervous - like in playoffs, or when I'm playing with people that are too intense and stressing me out. But this time, I know the cloud is due to the thoughts of my dad. I try to focus on the game, but I feel a lack of energy. I feel tired. We lose three games. I make some mistakes - a couple of shanks and some serving errors. Whenever my mind is not there, the first thing that goes is my serve. My left hand just can't toss the ball. My right hand barely hits the ball over the net.

Letter to Jacob on June 15, 2010

Jacob, I found your ELD homework in which you had to compare a life story with the ant and the grasshopper, and I thought you showed a lot of wisdom. Your paper is crumpled up now, but this is what you wrote.

One time I was rushing on my GATE test because I didn't think it was important, and didn't pass.

Once I was supposed to do my homework before my friend came over, but I had a friend over first and got 6/10 on my homework.

Once I was complaining that my sister got candy and I didn't, so I tried to get the candy and ended up being unable to eat candy for a month.

Duckwater ShortTerm Mission Trip July 3 - July 5, 2010

We've been wanting to go on a family missions trip for a while, after being inspired by the many friends who have taken their family on long term and short term missions trips. We were so excited when we heard about this trip to Duckwater because it seemed like the perfect trip for our family. The conditions didn't seem too harsh or dangerous, the time frame was perfect, and we were able to go with our church family here at CCIC.

My biggest concern entering the trip was, how will we be used by God to do his work in such a short time? I felt like we didn't really have much to offer. We weren't there to build houses or be medical missionaries or teach English. We were there just to hang out and see what God can do through us. We were there just to make ourselves available for what God had planned.

Looking back, I think we definitely got more out of it than we gave, because just by being on the trip, we were able to witness some amazing things that God was able to do through us.

One example of how God was able to use even the littlest things that we have available was seeing the impact of bringing our kids on the trip. Most of you already know I have a 10 year old son named Jacob, and a 7 year old daughter named Joanna. Besides that Joanna got bug bites and a minor eye infection, and Jacob suffered from a bloody nose, they pretty much nailed the concept of "just hanging out". They immediately made friends with the local kids and played with them like they were their neighbors. And the amazing thing is, just by playing on the reservation with a few kids, they attracted more kids, who attracted their parents, to our activities. In fact, God gave us strong bonds to one particular family whose children were instant friends with our kids. Those kids showed up at every single gathering we had including coming to church on Sunday. And what was even better was that those kids' parents started hanging out with us, and one evening, instead of going to the 4th of July party at a neighborhood reservation, which is something a lot of the natives did that night, their family spent the whole evening, till almost midnight, with us. The parents were playing volleyball with me while the kids were just playing like they've been friends forever. By the end of the three days, we felt pretty close to that family, and I exchanged email addresses with the wife, so I hope to stay in touch with them, and I do hope we can come back next year just to continue our relationship which developed so quickly and so easily.

Another example of God's amazing power was being able to witness Him draw people to our activities. Since I was in charge of the kids crafts, I had to purchase some craft supplies ahead of time. I calculated to have enough supplies for about 30 children. I was a little disappointed when I heard that I should expect only about 6 kids, and even more disappointed when the missionary, Marv, said not to be surprised if only 2 people showed up to our activities. Those low expectations started seeming more realistic the first morning, when our groups were split up to do the prayer walk to invite locals to our activity. Out of the 13 houses we walked to, only 4 families opened the door, and of those, only 2 seemed receptive to coming to our activities. But to my amazement , at the first session of crafts, God drew about 30 kids to the church, and their were enough crafts for everyone. Not only that, but the kids came with adults, and some of those adults even participated in our crafts and activities. And later on, the missionary told me that the community was being brought together through their kids, and that it was rare for certain families to be in the same building as another, due to unresolved conflicts in the past. But God was able to bring these families and children together to enjoy an afternoon of crafts together, despite anything that we expected.

One way I felt really blessed from the trip was spending time with the rest of the team. For one thing, I really don't get a chance to meet the youth, and I was really encouraged to see these future leaders serving. They labored with the youth, they cooked, they cleaned, they led worship and prayer, and they even got down on their knees to play with all the kids. It was also nice to spend some time with the other members of the English congregation, and I'm amazed at all the coordination and all the cooking that was done. No stomach was unfed, no shower was missed, and everyone had a comfortable mat to sleep on over the school floor.

On a final note, probably one of the most touching memories I have of the trip was of a photograph that was hung up inside the school. It was taken 18 years ago by a Chinese church that had been coming there for 18 years to have VBS. Next to the picture was a quilt, and on the quilt were some of the kids handprints and artwork, and the words "God Loves You" . What was the most touching was that two of the kids in the picture were now adults participating in our events, both of whom I spent a lot of time with. In fact, one of the "little boys" in the picture, was Lorin, the father in that family that spent practically the whole 3 days with us, and his wife made us a beautiful visor for us during one of the activities. She decorated it with the words, "Thank you CCIC group".

We still have to pray for Lorin, because as an adult he still hasn't come to accept Jesus as his personal savior. However, the seed was planted in his heart 18 years ago, and now his kids continue coming to the VBS held by that Chinese church every year. In fact, to my surprise, when I was teaching the kids during Sunday school, they already knew how to sing "Awesome God" and a song called "Joshua 1:9". I just felt in awe to think that we are just a part of God's plan in Lorin and his family's life, a part of something that was started at least 18 years ago. It reminds me of one of my favorite verses that I think about when I am a short term missions, From 1 Cor 3:6,7

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." 1Cor 3:6,7

When will I feel normal again?

I'm still not my normal self, although I can tell the crying is getting better. I feel like it's suppressed all day and then gets released as soon as I have some quiet time to think about it at night. Reading my dad's diary has been very helpful. I was bummed to discover, though, that there are several years that he intentionally did not leave behind for me. The year when his parents died, and he was forced out of the ministry all the way up to when he meets my mom. And of course, the year of my birth is missing. I guess I should respect his will and just be grateful for what I have, which is way more than I expected.

It's still very hard to be productive at work. I get fixated on things, and the past year at Zoran and Brocade, my fixation was on work. It's been good to come back and feel a routine again and write a little code, although I know it is taking me days to accomplish whatI used to be able to accomplish in 2 hours. Like here I am writing email to you guys. As much as I can't complain about anything at work, I feel the desire to quit and be home with my kids, and volunteer all day at school. And get all my dad's diaries translated and saved. I'm probably just still a little depressed.

Looking back at my 1984 diary

Last night I decided go back to my diary which I started in 1984. There are not a lot of entries in there, but it's hilarious to go back to. I'm glad I have them because I can remind myself of what it was like to be a pre-teen. I think Joanna will appreciate me having this memory again. The things that I wrote about seemed quite petty, but reading them reminds me of bigger themes in my life. I'm also surprised at my spelling and grammatical errors, although I attribute that to my feeling of being carefree as I was writing. Anyway, I have uploaded some of my diary entries to my "Seed of Anhui" blog, because in a sense, I am also a seed. =) I've intentionally left the grammatical and spelling errors in my entries to keep the authenticity. And to remind myself to have more patience with my kids when they make their mistakes.

My Last Day with My Dad

My last day seeing my dad alive was September 18th, 2010. I took a morning flight from San Jose and and arrived at LAX at 8:30. I got to see my dad in the Garfield hospital at 9:45. He was on the third floor, sharing the room with a cancer patient.

When I arrived he was sleeping. But he woke up about 10 minutes later. He seemed alert but tired. But it was nice that he was making eye-contact with me and could speak. His wife fed him some thickened apple juice and a pint of milk. I also tried to feed him. I spent most of my time holding his hand. He did not like having his arm strapped down. But they were strapped down because he had been trying to rip out his feeding tube and his IV's. He didn't like being strapped down and said " Wo fan shemme fa?" (what crime did I commit?) But eventually, I took one arm out so I could hold his hand. We were together for 45 minutes. I sang hymns to him. He told me he recognized the tunes that I sang. I sang " How Great Thou Art". "Amazing grace" "Because He Lives" "the Doxology", "I have decided to follow Jesus", and some other tunes. At some point he fell back asleep. His wife left the room from 11 - 3. It was just my dad and me. I read a system verilog book while he slept. I also spent time talking to the nurses and complaining about him getting dehydrated at the nursing home. I watched as they took his blood pressure and gave him his breathing treatment. My dad looked really weak. It seems like he was just lying in bed all day. It seems like he knew he was near the end. At about 12:30, he woke up. I sang to him, and held his hand. We stared into each other eye's a lot. He said something about feeling "very close to me. Never felt so close to me before." And I said, "Yes, I feel very close to you". At times he was grappling at my arm. I didn't know what he wanted. But other times he just held my hand, from one hand to the other. Sometimes, he would take my hand to wipe his lips. But sometimes, he just kissed my hand. I rubbed his forehead. I asked him if he wanted me to sing to him more. He said "wu so wei (it doesn't matter). He just liked me near him. I sang the doxology once again, and he mustered enough energy to sing "da-dum-dum-dum- Amen" the rest of the melody. (In my visit in August, before we ate our meal in his kitchen, he had sang some sort of "grace" to the tune of the doxology, so I already knew he was familiar with the tune). I asked him, literally, if he knew Jesus. "Ni jr dao Ye Su" ma? He seemed kind of confused by my question. I realized I should have said "ni xiang xin ye su ma?" But I was afraid to talk more, afraid that he was in a bad mood and might say something I didn't want to hear. Another time that day, I said, "Ni ji de ni yi chien shr mu-shr ma?" (do you remember you used to be a minister?" He said with energy, "of course I remember!". At one point I said that I was 38. He said in disbelief, "you can't be 38!" and then I told him he was "82"

Winson came in at about 1:00. throughout that time, my dad had been in and out , falling asleep and waking up. We had also been feeding my dad, and he was doing a good job eating. There was a time when he held my hand and Winson's hand, and had all three of our hands together. And he put his hand on Winson's heart. He told Winson he wanted to feel his heart beat. (He managed to say that very sentimental request in a very matter of fact way). He kissed Winson's hand. Winson said to my dad, "We know you love us, and we love you very much".

And he asked about my mom, and I told him she's doing great. And he asked about my job, and I told him it was great. And I had my kids call on the cell phone at about 3:30, and he heard them saying " ni hao gong gong" on the phone. And then he was tired. And he went back to sleep till 5:30. At 5:30, I knew I was about to go back in 30 minutes. I wanted my dad to wake up. It was really hard for him to stay awake. At about 5:45, one of the internists came in and talked to my dad, and my dad awoke a little more. So at about the last 10 minutes before I left, my dad was alert, and I told him that I had to go, but to take good care of himself, and get stronger so that we can visit again with my kids and James when he gets out of the hospital. And he just looked at me, staring into my eyes, and I said, "say something" and he said "bye-bye". Then he told my brother "ni sung ni di mei-mei hwei jia". or something like that meaning "take your little sister to the airport".

He left the hospital at the end of that week. I really thought I would have had a chance to see him again. I was hoping he would be on the road to recovery. We booked an airplane ticket for 10/10 for the 5 of us (my mom included). I did not know he would pass away the day before at 8:20 am.

I am crying now, as I remember the last day. I remember that day, i wanted so badly to cry on him and tell him how much I loved him, and how much I would miss him. But I didn't want him to feel bad, so I kept my tears inside.

I love you dad!!