Acts of giving thanks (Guest Writer: Walt Martzen)

I've asked my son Walter to write a short thank you to everyone as well as further share my meal train link. Please enjoy, and happy holidays!

My parents and I have felt your love, thank you! 💓

Something I observe is that in our modern world, simple acts can get overlooked in their ability to convey the most intimate and life-sustaining messages. Acts like these can seem simplistic or cliché or mushy or redundant, but they aren’t. They are the building blocks of connection, relationships, family, and community. It’s why my dad’s persimmon cookies don’t taste the same when someone else makes them, or why my mom’s soups really do seem to have magical elixir properties. When the spirit of God is with us, so is the spirit with the presence, gifts, and service that we make. 

This might be new information for some, but my dad began at-home hospice recently to match his increasing medical needs. It's been a difficult new adventure for him and all of us, with many challenges yet opportunity to demonstrate acts of deep love and connection. This reminds me of the word for crisis in Chinese, 危机 (wei ji) which holds the meaning of opportunity amidst danger.

It is as we find ourselves in moments of crisis, that we rise to show acts of love and care for one another. As a family, I'm grateful for the opportunities we've gotten to show each other love in new ways. I also think fondly of the acts of love my family has received from our friends, family, and community. These acts remind me of what my dad calls 'Acts of Hospitality'. These acts have come in the form of prayer, food, comments and shares of my dad's blogs, helping hands, conversation, donations, haircuts, favors, and more. They have also come in the form of people supporting our meal train, to give my parents the ability to routinely expect food to be brought alongside a friendly familiar face which can be an immense source of relief and motivation for my dad to continue trying to gain weight. 


My parents wanted me to give a specific thank you to people currently supporting through our meal train and donation page:

Ruth and Arnie Chon, Sengdeuane and Ernie Tom, Elena Littlefield, Jaimie Hill, Louise Wong-Garcia, Alicia Marquez, Sharon Mori, Joanne and Paul Wong, The Wissman Family, and Archana Carey.


If you also would like to participate in this meal train, click on the link below. 

https://mealtrain.com/relr77 

Additionally, my mother Chin Cheak could also use a helping hand. If you feel called to, and are able to drop by to help on occasion-- please contact her directly or indicate in the comments that you are interested to help her.

From the bottom of my heart I'd like to thank all of you who have acted from love towards us in various ways, your love is felt brightly even amidst some challenging moments.

The holiday season can both be a challenging time and a time for closeness to family and community.

I wish so much light, love, and warmth to you all ✨

With Gratitude, 

Walter Chyau-Yu Martzen