Bodybuilding Jesus

Jesus is the ultimate Bodybuilder and I'm just following him (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-77408123-1', 'auto'); ga('send', 'pageview');

[bodybuildingjesus]

Jeremiah Pat likes to sit between Carmen Pat and me when we read books. He will listen while I read and then grab the book away from me and give it to Carmen after a few pages 🤣. He loves his reading time and wants to share the moment with both of us. I get sad when we read like this because it reminds me that I didn't have times like this with my parents. When my parents came to the US in their 20s, they struggled a lot to get their restaurant started and I was sent to China to live with my grandparents after I was born. I cry a lot as a parent. This has been an amazing year but everything hurts so much deeper now. I can't see hurting families the same way. When I hear stories of lonely kids, I think a lot about Jeremiah. I'll never get over the pain of my childhood but I found hope because I came to know my heavenly father. I pray a lot now, I hope every lonely kid can know their heavenly father when they read the book that God has given all his children. — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2ZurwZT

[bodybuildingjesus]

I want Jeremiah to know God’s love. That starts with me. I want him to know my love for him as a father. I will read him stories from the Bible about how God loves his children and I want those stories to be believable because of what he experiences everyday. I hope my love for him does not depend on him being good, I want him to feel loved no matter what he does. I know that Jeremiah will upset me and do wrong things but I don’t want him to feel that my love is diminished because of it. My love does not depend on him doing the right things. One day I hope that he will believe that Jesus Christ came to save sinners because he loves us. I hope he will believe that. — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2Yrp2Kx

[bodybuildingjesus]

I'm going to be leading a team this winter to serve our friends who grew up in the orphanage and now have families of their own 😍🔥🙏. This is something I dreamed about when I first started this work over 10 years ago. I've seen the statistics of what happens to abandoned children but God has truly blessed those who we have worked with. Now the challenge is helping them grow as parents when they've never known their own mom and dad. Some of the orphans have actually been parents for a couple of years now but I never felt comfortable teaching any workshops until I became a parent myself. I've been asking my partners, like Cari Furr and Mark Torvinen , to pray for me. This trip is going to be hard because preparing to teach about families is going to bring up a lot of my own fears about being a good dad. I don't want to parent shame (if you read parenting blogs, you know what I'm talking about). I don't want to go in with just a list of how they can be better parents. This winter, I want to have hard conversations about the difficulties of adoption. I want to have hard conversations about what it means to adapt to different disabilities. I might not be the best person to talk about the wide range of parenting hardships but I'm praying that God will use me to bring grace and healing. There's been a lot of hurt in the Chinese church around the difficulties of families. It's time for us to experience renewal. — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2LICjwv

[bodybuildingjesus]

I went to seminary because I'm insecure. Getting my master's degree added to the student debt load I had from UCSD but going into professional ministry was terrifying. The only qualifications I had for ministry were a few years of leading short term teams to Shanghai and being a Bible study leader. I wanted to work with pastors and missionaries but I didn't want them to make fun of me. At 21 years old, I already got strange looks whenever I sat in meetings with people who were twice my age. I was desperate to feel like I belonged. Insecurity feels like falling and I was desperately trying to find anything that would make me feel adequate. Getting a piece of paper from Bethel Seminary seemed like it would do the trick. I don't regret the education that I got and I really appreciated the professors but I wonder what would have been different if I lived my life with faith first. I've been in ministry for 15 years now and I still struggle with insecurity. It's made worse because I can't hide my feelings through more accomplishments or education. I don't think I can achieve my way out of this feeling. When I read the Bible, it sticks out to me that Jesus called fishermen to teach religious scholars. That's the kind of courage and calling that I want. In my next 15 years, I am asking God to shape my career with faith. I can accept that some people are always going to think that I'm not qualified and over my head. My insecurity is still with me but I'm going to imagine myself falling into God's grace. — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2Z4wyfA

[bodybuildingjesus]

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭103:13‬ — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2O7003C

[bodybuildingjesus]

You have a choice... Feel self conscious that you are taking off your shirt in front of tons of tourists or you can do it for the gram. 🤣💪💥 — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2JBKIzq

[bodybuildingjesus]

My name is not David Pat in Chinese. My family name is actually Bi but my parents had to go to Hong Kong where the Cantonese pronounciation made it sound like Pa. The only reason my parents had to go to Hong Kong was because the US was not accepting immigrants from Shanghai but Hong Kong was under British rule so the entry process was different. Immigration officials chose an Americanized version of my Cantonese family name and that's why you all think it's weird that my last name doesn't sound Chinese 😅. I was born in Phoenix, Arizona and my birth name is very American because Chinese Americans want to fit in. Shanghainese are very practical and a lot of them know the history of the Japanese internment camps during WW2. You will rarely see Chinese Americans with a Chinese sounding name because we were taught to fit in and the consequences that happen when you don't. When I learned the history of my family in America, I thought a lot about the discrimination my family has gone through but also the great life I have now. One of the reasons why our family loves working with ethnic minorities is because we feel the struggle of new American families. We have friends who just arrived in Southern California and are learning about what it means to live in this country. I feel hurt that immigration has made me lose a piece of my identity but I am thankful that God has made me a person of many names. My family struggle has taken away a part of me that has existed for generations but this journey has allowed us to write new chapters in a story my ancestors would not believe possible. — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2JHLxWh

[bodybuildingjesus]

I feel dad guilt. I work so hard to balance being a dad with bodybuilding and ministry but I never escape the feeling that I'm failing. I've been praying a lot about what God's plan for me looks like. It feels pretty terrible that the results of my one year prep for Greece and Budapest was a bottom placing and the ending of our Mission trips to Hungary. The sacrifice for all these things doesn't feel worth it. I want to be a good dad for Jeremiah and be true to who I am as a person. It's been a hard year trying to learn about my son and learning about myself. When I wrestle with my feelings I take hope that God is with our family. I know that God loves Jeremiah and God loves me. He's going to be with me on this journey. I have faith that Jeremiah will grow up to be a great person. I have faith that God still a lot in store for me in bodybuilding. I have faith that Jesus will save the orphans in Budapest. I can't see it now but that's what faith is. — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2LhlUz4

[bodybuildingjesus]

We are finalizing our kids book! "Jeremiah Lionheart" will hopefully be ready for the Fall. Please 🙏 for us. We are going to send our files to the printer soon and this is the trickiest part of the process where we try to figure out costs and specs for the book. We created this book to help families see more stories about adoption and inclusion of those with disabilities. This book will feature both English and Chinese so that we can distribute it to our friends in China! — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2L7eRJ2

[bodybuildingjesus]

The newest health guru has some helpful tips for you 😁 — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2FVC50t

[bodybuildingjesus]

Thank you for seeing me the way I am. I'm not a muscle head who only thinks about sports. I'm not a nerd whose only love in life is video games and engineering. I've been stereotyped my entire life and it was a blessing to me when @tilda_garancsi drew me as a regular person. (Go follow her on IG!🔥👍) I love it when people in Budapest ask me questions and are curious about who I am as a person. I've spent my entire life in America or China where I've encountered a lot of preconceived notions about what I must be like. My friends in China are shocked when I tell them that I have a Master's degree in Theology (not bodybuilding). I had someone at the dentist office in San Diego ask me if I was a scientist for a living 🤔❓🤣 God made my story unique and I believe yours is too. I love Missions because I learn about stories for a living. I learn about how orphan kids in Shanghai can grow up wanting to be architects. I learn about how different refugees found their way to San Diego. Thank you to all the people of Budapest who have taken time to learn my story. Thank you @bluebirdcafehungary for having this fun free drawing for customers. Thank you @agota.colnar @papa_roland for teaching me about your culture. — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2KT7W63

[bodybuildingjesus]

I was hoping that these trips to the orphanage in Budapest would introduce our Chinese partners to the needs of abandoned and hurt children in Hungary. It was my dream that the Chinese living in Budapest and our partners in Shanghai would catch a vision to help these kids. But after this last trip, I realize that this dream will probably not come true. On our last trip to the orphanage, none of the Chinese in Budapest wanted to come out and serve the kids. There has also been no interest from our partners in Shanghai. While at the same time, I have been asked to bring teams to serve Han Chinese kids in different parts of China. I'm writing this update last because I am super thankful to all of you who have partnered in serving these hurting children of Hungary. The staff of the Hungarian orphanage really appreciated the work of our team and the kids wanted to continue to follow up with us after we left. They really enjoyed the Gospel of John comic book and are thankful that we came to serve them. But I can't shake the disappointment I feel from this trip. My Chinese partners in Budapest and Shanghai are not interested in learning about the Hungarian culture nor are they interested in learning about why these kids are living in a group home. I've tried multiple times over these last few years to share the needs of the Hungarian people but my follow up conversations have always ended up about when I would be able to bring another team to China. I've talked with my missionary co-workers and they understand my frustration. They are experiencing similar issues when they have asked their Chinese partners to serve in mission to other fields. There has been no interest in serving those who are not Han Chinese and who are not Mandarin speaking. I brought my first team to Shanghai 15 years ago. I've seen a lot of people get saved and the church grow in numbers. There are still a lot of areas in which the church needs to grow. I don't have a clear path forward about what to do in Budapest. Please pray. There are a lot of hurting kids in Budapest who still want our help but right now we have no workers. — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2YnHLaT

[bodybuildingjesus]

Papa, mama and baby — view on Instagram http://bit.ly/2Y4OZ3q

[bodybuildingjesus]

I have to hide faces of both the kids and the workers because this children’s home is a shelter for kids from abusive families. There have been threats made against the staff and the kids here 😥. I call this place an orphanage because some of the kids have lived here for years and there no plans for them to be reunited with their families. I’m at a loss for how to write about my thoughts and feelings from this trip. I always left the orphanages in China with a lot of hope but hearing some of these stories from Budapest made me really sad. I think the staff here are some of the best I’ve worked with but kids are not meant to grow up in a shelter. Most orphans in the world have parents who are still alive. In China, kids are abandoned at birth with no way of contacting their parents. Here in Budapest, they have information about these kids’ families but reuniting them can often be dangerous. I’m praying through how I can best serve these kids going forward. Please 🙏 with me. — view on Instagram http://bit.ly/2WRC9Ja

[bodybuildingjesus]

This trip was sown with the tears of late nights trying to coordinate with our Hungarian and Chinese partners. This was early days of OMF work meetings and feeding baby Jeremiah. The hope is that our Hungarian comic book might speak some truth and love into the life of a 6 year old who has been living in this children’s home since he was born because his dad was abusive. My hope is that somehow all these months of work might somehow be worth more than a fun afternoon for these kids. May God bless small things done for a big Savior. — view on Instagram http://bit.ly/2wXgRdE

[bodybuildingjesus]

I want to personally apologize if you think the Chinese are racist. Many times we act like our culture is the only one worth learning. I can feel in my own heart how lazy I am sometimes to learn the histories of the different peoples that I serve. We came to Heroe’s Square as a team to make an honest commitment to honor the history of Hungary. We realize that we are guests in this country and we want to honor that opportunity. Thousands of Chinese have already come to Budapest in the last few years and I can sense that relations are already not great between the two cultures. Please 🙏 for us that we can be part of those who will help bridge cultures and show that God desires that all people would come to the cross through love. We are trying to grow in our love for the people of 🇭🇺. — view on Instagram http://bit.ly/2KQL46n

[bodybuildingjesus]

Had a chance to share the Gospel and talk about life with my new friend Kostas. After 4 hours of driving around Greece together, I learned a lot about his previous life as a Special Forces Paratrooper and his new life as a husband. It's always hard for me to hear about the lives of soldiers after they leave the military. I heard from Kostas his feelings of being betrayed and let down by military leaders and politicians. These stories remind me why I believe in making changes through the Kingdom of God. There is only nation whose ruler who rules justly and whose agenda is only about serving his people. I was reminded in these last few days to 🙏 for the people of Greece. They are a resilient and good spirited people who have a hope that their family, their culture and their people will have a future of peace and growth. I 🙏 that my ❤️ will remember all the Greek people in my life and to be patient in listening to their stories. I'm starting to learn and love the peoples of Europe more. I've never heard the stories of ordinary Europeans until these last few years. I'm thankful to make new friends and I'm thankful for the process of growth that they have started me on. — view on Instagram http://bit.ly/2EWEPu7