| Someone who I've considered one of my greatest friends, Grace Ogawa,
had passed away from her bout with lung cancer.. how she got lung
cancer was beyond everyone because Grace was neither a smoker or
exposed to something that would cause lung cancer...
Grace was someone who I believed had God's favor... it wasn't
so much that she would ask and recieve but it was more that her heart
was so blessed with loving kindness, patience, faith and grace that God
used her to touch the lives of many. I can only compare bearing much
fruit to her warehouses and warehouse to my little bowl, as the Bel
Aire Presbyterian Church was nearly packed with about 1000 friends,
family and aquaintances... and that was just the tip of the ice berg of
people she has touched. And it seemed to me that many of her prayers
were answered, even when a particular prayer seemed hopeless or
un-answerable.
And with her cancer, her faith seemed as strong as ever, as
while she did want healing, it seemed moreso that she wanted God
glorified and that her illness can find blessing in the lives of
others... in her husband's reports over the email update list, she
seemed to always say, "I trust you Lord!" with much joy...
Grace was my staff partner at UCLA AACF. We were a team for a
good seven years...I was blessed that she only lived literally five
minutes away from my house in Northridge. So it was almost like
anytime I needed to talk to someone or even feel God's favor...Grace
had an open invite for me to cell her phone or even drop by to her
house. When she resigned from staff, she told me that her funnest
years in ministry were OUR years together... which is awesome
encouragement that I will totally keep in heart forever considering she
staff partnered with some awesome people like Melvin Fujikawa, Sheri
Chan, Jermaine Ma, Rob Honma, Ross Akimine, Davin Dong, Anne Tomita,
Frank Teng and even her husband Curt Ogawa. I always knew that of all
the staff that has come and gone, I am the most favorite, like I was
the student's most favorite staffer! Just Kidding! (I wonder if she
is asking God's Spirit to send me a little extra blessing because Roy
Padre is still kind of a dork).
The
week before she passed, I was soooooooooo blessed to see and talk to
her one last time. I had offered to make her and her family, which
included Grace's sister and husband and Grace's mother from SoCal. It
was very hard for me to believe that the weakened little body that lay
in that hospital bed at her house was Grace...but then when I sat down
next to her and talked with her...and looked deep into her eyes...I
knew it was her....because many times over in our times of sharing
about ministry and other stuff... Grace had looked at me with those
awesome beautiful eyes of hers... and those eyes were the one thing
that cancer could not touch... or make that four things, as it could
not take her heart, soul and her mind...the things that she had given
up to her savior Jesus Christ back when she was an undergrad at UCLA.
In the last week, it has been hard to morn and grieve. I
still can't beleive that she is gone to be at home with the Lord. I
wept a little at her Memorial service last saturday but there's still a
part of me that can't let go of her just yet, though what I felt at
that same memorial serivce...at least what ministered to me the
most...was when I arrived at the church, it happened to be at the same
time Curt and Jordan arrived... and Jordan saw me and ran up to me and
hugged me...and it was not just a quickie hug for uncle Roy but she
really held me for quite a bit of time... and I thought to myself,
'Perhaps this is Grace...'
I dunno if any of you saw the movie, 'The Shawshank Redemption' but
there was this scene where Morgan Freeman's character was narrating
about his friendship with the Tim Robbin's character... well...to this
day, whenever I think about the times and blessings that I shared with
Grace, I can hear Morgan Freeman's voice saying, 'I miss my friend...'
Well I miss my friend...
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vacation time in Monterrey at the Padre Oaks hotel...sweet!`
me and my buddy Jolly.... the jolly bee from Jollibee...magaling!
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| | You Are a Blue Flower |  A blue flower tends to represent peace, openness, and balance.
At times, you are very delicate like a cornflower.
And at other times, you are wise like an iris.
And more than you wish, you're a little cold, like a blue hydrangea. |
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|  Sad day for a Dodger Favorite is leaving for Texas.... Good luck Eric.... looks like the Dodgers are going with Saito as the closer ....thank God that Gagne didn't go to the SF Gnats....err ... Giants....a team that has no chance of winning anything.... perhaps they should to Williamsport...the home of the Little League World Series...there... Barroid Bonds won't need to shoot up and he can pass Hammerin Hank's major league home run record... |
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|  FINALLY THE BRUINS BEAT THE TROJANS...
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS.... YES I AM A BRUIN FAN... 
GREAT WIN AT THE ROSEBOWL 
WHOA!! 
Karl Dorrell saved his job 
this interception sealed the deal 
dude is lucky he wasn't at the Powell Library! oh and cal won too.... |
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