News - Alexander has qualified for the final of the National Bible Bee in Washington D.C.

We just wanted to let you know some exciting news about Alexander. On September 12th he took part in the local level of the first ever National Bible Bee along with 17, 000 other children aged 7 to 18. Since May, at the primary level (7-10 yr olds) they memorised 200 passages of Scripture along with 200 Bible Knowledge Questions and studied 6 books of the Bible. They sat an hour long multiple choice written test and had 2 oral rounds.

We are thrilled to say that Alexander did well enough to qualify as one of the 100 finalists in his age group to compete in the finals in Washington D.C taking place on November 5th and 6th. For this he has 100 extra long passages to memorise (equivalent of Psalm 1 or Eph 2:1-10) in a matter of a few weeks. Lisa and Alexander are getting up at 4 am in the morning to study every day.


We have been greatly encouraged by friends and members of Grace. He is representing Grace Church in the final and it is a testimony to the good teaching in Sunday School and AWANA. The Grace School PSP group has made Alexander an illustrated book of memory verses full of good wishes. We have even received a letter of congratulations from State Senator George Runner!

Here is a link to the Bible Bee website with Alexander's picture

http://www.biblebee.org/nationals2009/meetthefinalists.php?agegroup=primary

We have currently collected around $600 towards the $2,000 costs of sending Alexander and Lisa to the Bible Bee Final in Washington D.C. on November 5th and 6th. If you would like to contribute finacially towards the trip please use the paypal donate button to the right hand side of the webpage and we will be very thankful.

Update October 26 2009 - We have now collected over $1,300 towards the cost of the Trip
Thank You so much

Below is a picture of Alexander practicing his verses in Church (Sojourners' Fellowship Group - Grace Community Church)

Can life just start by chance?

A "Simple Cell" - Created by Undirected Time and Chance or God you decide?

Christmas Photos

Make a Smilebox slideshow

November 2008

(click on the pictures to see them more clearly)

Chi Blog ------

It's been a while since our last update and a lot has happened since then

I turned 40, so I am now technically middle aged. I think I've aged reasonably well as I still have my own teeth and only a few grey hairs. I didn't want a big party so I decided to take the family to San Diego zoo. On my acutal birth day I attended a church membership class so now I am an official member of Grace Community church. All the new members also had to stand up at the front of the church for a small ceremony. (picture below)



I'm coming now to the end of my first semester and the time has flown by. I'm still struggling with Hebrew but I think I'm going to pass the class which is a relief. I've learnt a lot in short space of time. I have decided to join the Drug and Alcohol abuse ministry at Grace Community Church. I am visiting a rehab centre called Acton with an amazing guy called Patrick who has been involved in the this ministry for many many years. Patrick runs a weekly bible study and I'm helping out. The centre at Acton is a old concentration camp (no comment) that has been converted into a place where people can stay so they can help from their addictions. Most of the people who attend the centre are straight out of Jail and need a lot of support. I might also get a chance to preach at one of the Sunday sessions sometime in the future.

The whole family is loving it out here - what do I like the most?

No particular order -the Seminary classes, Grace Community Church, spending time with Lisa (we even had the chance to see a film - Fireproof - good story and it will save a few marriages) , getting to know the Children better (they are growing fast- I think its all the sunshine), making friends, chatting to people who have the same beliefs that you have, the weather (only 2 days of rain since I've been here and its always warm and sunny),


Hummingbirds (we have them visit the flowers on our hedge they are amazing - they must have been created by a designer there is no-way these things evolved by blind chance), spending time reading God's word, listening to great preaching, being involved in ministry, and finally just watching God bless us and providing us with all that we need.

You can see from the pictures at the top how busy we have been you can see them better using the link

http://picasaweb.google.com/chiwahandlisa/ChowFamilyInCaliforniaNovember2008#

For those interested in hearing what Grace Community Church teaches I have good news for you. All the teaching of the church is now available for free to download on the Grace to you website. http://www.gty.org/

more on the amazing hummingbird -

His wings are attached to his shoulders in such a way that he can poise motionless in the air, and he can fly in any direction, forward, sidewise, up, sown -- and even backward, a feat no other bird can do. (Coronet Magazine)

"While hovering, a ruby-throated hummingbird beats its wings up to 75 times PER SECOND."

"In addition to backward flight, the hummingbird has achieved the aerodynamic miracle of sideways flight... which it does with no appearance of difficulty" ("Nature Parade," p. 206).

Lisa's Blog ...

Hi everyone - life is getting better and better as we are getting established here.

The children are great - The boys are loving the clubs they go to on a Wednesday and Sunday - they are learning a lot of Scripture and earn badges and candy each week. Daniel even received a Clubber of the Month award which he was very pleased with (see photo bottom right of collage). A couple of weeks ago Daniel had to go to the ER as he became ill very quickly with a headache, stiff neck and couldn't even drink at one point. He had Strep throat and a penicillin shot sorted him out. He's fine now. We still owe him a present for having that shot!

Eden and I are still enjoying our Friday morning class The Master's Kids - there is a trip every month and we have been to downtown LA on a train to Olvera Street, the oldest street in LA, and to a Pumpkin Patch which was a fruit, vegetable and animal farm where we chose a pumpkin in a Fall Festival . We also had a lot of fun yesterday at a nearby ice-skating rink (see the photo of Eden with a frame on the ice) - she loved it! I only fell over twice (very elegantly of course -is that possible??)

Miriam is growing up a lot - she says lots of words now and is very amusing and cute. She often amuses herself by drawing on paper or building dens with chairs, cushions and blankets! That's when she not watching Peter Rabbit with scary Mr McGregor!

Highlights for me since the last blog are :

- Going to Grace Community Church every week
- Learning about the Old Testament on a Tuesday night (just started a 2 year course)
- Homeschooling our children and being amazed at what they can absorb
- The perpetual sunshine
- A great dinner with the Gillespies (Jason and Tammy and family)
- Being given (by Tammy) loads of clothes - about 10 pairs of jeans and T-shirts for me and loads of childrens clothes !
- Hearing Daniel's budding American accent as he rolls his r's when he says Alexanderrr!
- Chi Wah's birthday lunch at an American Diner (see photo above) yummy chicken fajitas!
- Seeing the panda rolling around with her cub at the San Diego zoo
- Miriam's Mr McGregor impression
- Eating cookies and watching a Veggietales movie with all the family on our bed on Oct. 31st


One great day we had was last Saturday when the singles group at church looked after the children of the Seminary families so the husbands and wives could go out together. We had a date to see the new Kirk Cameron film Fireproof and it was fantastic and gives a great Gospel message and hope to those with dying marriages. And on the way to the film we saw the famous HOLLYWOOD sign in the mountains. I was so excited I just screamed at the top of my voice, I couldn't help myself. I felt like we'd finally arrived!!

I'm turning into an American mom a little bit as I regularly fix pancakes and syrup and homemade chocolate chip cookies for my family. Great taste but not so good for my waistline!

Hello from California

Welcome to the first Chow Family Blog from Los Angeles

We have settled in really quickly. We are renting a lovely house in Van Nuys which is in the LA suburbs north of Hollywood about 20 minutes from the Seminary and Grace Community Church.

Our landlady, Pat, has been wonderful. She helped us get our suitcases to the house and filled it with food, towels and bedding for our arrival. We have a car now too, which we managed to get at a good price. The Lord has been gracious and provided for our every need. I was thinking about buying two bikes for the boys so I could teach them to ride the other day and our neighbours across the road, the Langs, arrived on the door step with two bikes. Its been like that all the time - we needed a washing machine and we were given one by our friends Ross and Lisa.

The street we live in has two other Christian families in - Susan the daughter of the landlady lives down the road and her husband, Tony, goes to the Seminary too plus Scott Lang who lives across the street works at Grace Community Church.

We have made lots of very good friends and the children have settled in really well too. They are enjoying the classes they have joined at the Church; AWANA is a Wednesday evening class which teaches the memorization of scripture as well as lots of fun and gamesand and they also attend morning and evening clubs on Sundays. The childrens program goes through the whole bible in 3 years and we have just started from Genesis again, a good time to start our time here.


So what else have we done ?


1. Went on a beach picnic laid on by the Seminary with games (including a watermelon seed spitting contest) and a sandcastle building competition with complimentary food and iced drinks.


2. Had a field trip to a local cowboy museum with our homeschool group.


3. Visted Pacific Aquirium at Long Beach with complimentary tickets given to Grace church (and had lunch on a grassy knoll opposite the Queen Mary which is moored in Long Beach harbour.)


4. Been to a few Sunday evening fellowship events at Grace Church including a film evening and a hawaiian theme night

Note from Chi Wah ===========

The Seminary itself is fantastic and I am learning so much each day - the work schedule is very heavy but not too bad for me as I don't have to work at the moment. Other students are working as well as doing more classes than me which stops me grumbling too much. I am enjoying all the lessons. I have just come out of a old Testament class - we are currently on the Leviticus. I'm struggling with Hebrew but I think its just beginning to stick. The other classes I am doing this Semester (up to Christmas) are Hermeneutics and Church Ministry. I also have a Discipleship lab where we get a chance to get to know some other students and a faculty member better.



At the moment Lisa and I are praying about which ministry or ministries to get involved with. I visited a center for people who are trying to free themselves from drug and alcohol abuse - the Seminary sends students every two weeks to preach to them and runs a weekly bible study. There are also opportunities to work in the Children's ministry or visiting the elderly in homes. The Children's ministry is appealing but its very demanding time wise but it does mean we can serve together. They are over 500 people involved in Children's ministry at Grace so its a bit different from the UK. Lisa and I are starting a ten week course this week that will teach us how to run a "Foundations in Faith" Course. This course is for new Christians or non-believers who want to know more about the Christian faith. Similar to Christianity Explorered or Alpha in the UK.



Grace Church, which the Seminary is part of, is big there are well over 7000 members but it doesn't feel big. After the main service you split into different groups for further study and fellowship - we have joined a group called Sojourners which is group that focuses on the Old testament. Its about 300-400 people and the group splits further down to midweek Bible study groups. We haven't decided which Bible study group to join yet. See http://www.gracechurch.org/ for more details about Grace Community Church.


Note from Lisa ===========


There is so much to tell you about our first few weeks here. Although it was sad to leave our family and so many good friends behind we have been made to feel so at home here. Apart from the two Christian families just a few doors away we have met lots of lovely families through the seminaryand the homeschool group which we have joined for PE, field trips and social events.


Eden and I have also joined The Master's Kids which is a church group for 4 year olds and their mums which meet on Friday mornings. It's a lot of fun with teaching, singing, crafts and a field trip every month. Tomorrow, Eden and I are travelling on a train to an old part of L.A. with the other mums. On Saturday I'll be attending the Women's Fall Event at Grace and we'll have teaching from Joni Eareckson Tada which should be interesting.


Some of you might be wondering how we have been adjusting to the weather out here - basically its been up to 100 degrees but with an air conditioned house and car it has been quite comfortable. Apparently its been an Indian summer here - I haven't seen any rain yet and for a few weeks we didn't see a cloud in the sky. I could get used to it!!

I'm sure the children have grown taller even in these last weeks - their clothes seem too small unless they are shrinking in the tumble drier or maybe our eyes are adjusting to the less fitted American dress-sense! Miriam has grown up so much - she is saying so many more words now.

We're excited that my Mum and Suzanne have booked their tickets to come out in February. We have a quite comfortable 3 bedroom bungalow and so can put anyone up if they fancy a trip out here - we'd love to have you to stay!

Sorry this news has been late in coming but now this blog is up and running it shouldn't be long before we can send some more news ......