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Month: January 2021

Language Barrier to Immigrant Parents

It was only when I left for college and then graduated that I realized how much I wanted to connect with my parents. And how hard the language barrier made it sometimes. In high school, it was all about rebellion. My teenage self wanted desperately to get away. I wasn’t thinking about communicating at all; in fact, it was the opposite—I wanted nothing but to cut off my communication with my nagging, overbearing parents.

Fast forward a couple more years. Sure, I called home once or twice to cry to my parents when the worst of college and failure hit me. But when I graduated, found a job and stable community, started working full-time… all of a sudden, I realized how fleeting time with my parents actually was.

Surviving the Pandemic as a Church

2020 may be over, but the pandemic is not over yet. With stay at home guidelines, isolation, and low-grade anxiety surrounding almost every decision of daily life… I’m reminded that many people are still far from feeling “okay.”

A church community can oftentimes be a place of support, mutual encouragement, and hope. One thing I’ve been struggling a lot with this past season is figuring out both my place and my “role” within the community. Especially as someone who is working part-time for the church, it can be doubly confusing. Where do my work responsibilities start and end? How do I take care of myself as I take care of others? Is it my job to take care of others first, before myself?