Full moon, full house

Looking back on our Mid-Autumn Festival celebration

On Thursday, September 24, Harvest Haven Community Service Center gathered to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Nearly 80 friends came, and the hall was packed. As guests kept arriving, we kept adding chairs, row after row, until we had eight rows of about ten seats each. The whole room was full of laughter and holiday cheer.

Heart on stage, joy in the seats

The program opened with worship songs and prayer, followed by greetings from guests, singing, a qipao show, Chinese idiom riddles, song and dance, ballroom dancing, folk dancing, games, and a raffle. Every teacher and student prepared with care and brought their very best.

The qipao show was a highlight. Thank you to Maria for leading the performers onto the stage in one elegant qipao after another, to nonstop applause. James Lee’s tai chi sword demonstration was equally impressive: each move balanced strength and grace, and the room erupted in cheers.

The song-and-dance numbers were just as lively. The performers gave it their all while the audience clapped, laughed, and sometimes couldn’t help humming along. Nobody was just watching a show that day; everyone took part in the joy of the festival.

Table after table of shared love

The potluck lunch was another high point. Everyone brought a favorite dish to share. With more people than we expected filling the hall, we honestly worried for a moment: “With this many people, will there be enough food?”

Then dish after dish arrived, and our worry quickly turned into delight. Home-style dishes and snacks covered the tables. Everyone ate their fill, with plenty left over. That’s often how it works: when each person brings a little and shares a little, it adds up to far more than we imagined.

And no Mid-Autumn Festival is complete without mooncakes. After lunch, everyone enjoyed mooncakes and conversation. A small mooncake stands for reunion, sharing, and blessing one another.

Sit together, and we are family

For many seniors who immigrated to the U.S. years ago, Mid-Autumn is a season when homesickness runs deep. Some have children who live far away; some have family in another city, or another country. But on this day, everyone could sit together at Harvest Haven to eat, sing, chat, and enjoy the performances. Some have come for years; some came for the first time. Some performed; some applauded. We come from different places, but when we sit together, we are family.

Our heartfelt thanks to every teacher, student, and friend who performed, and to all the staff and volunteers who cooked, moved tables and chairs, decorated, welcomed guests, took photos, cleaned up, and served quietly behind the scenes. Because everyone pitched in, we had a joyful and warm Mid-Autumn Festival.

Full moon, family reunited: at Harvest Haven, we are one family.

After a fall, we saw how many hands were there

Pauline’s story from our Huntington Library outing

Our August outing to the Huntington Library was one of the most memorable days of the year. The weather was perfect; we enjoyed the art collections indoors and strolled through the colorful gardens. Then, on that lovely day, an accident happened.

After coming down a flight of stairs, Pauline, one of our seniors, lost her footing on a gravel slope and fell. An ambulance arrived quickly and took her to a nearby hospital. She waited a long time in the emergency room for X-rays and further tests, and her daughter and grandson rushed over from far away. Her son-in-law, a physician, sensed something wasn’t right and immediately contacted the hospital where he works to bring in a specialist. Late that night, the family moved Pauline to that hospital, and the next day she had surgery on her pelvis and knee.

For a senior, a fall can take only seconds, but recovery is a long road. Since coming home, her children have taken turns caring for her, a nurse visits daily to help with care and medication, and a physical therapist is helping her learn to move again. Getting in and out of bed and walking still hurt, and she is recovering one step at a time.

Yet through it all we also saw a heartwarming picture: family taking turns by Pauline’s side, one arranging medical care, one keeping her company, one handling daily needs, and another cooking delicious, nutritious meals every day. Everyone jokes that although Pauline can’t get around easily yet, her family has fed her so well she’s looking plump and rosy.

We thank God for watching over Pauline, and we hope she grows stronger every day and comes back to Harvest Haven soon. Pauline, we’ll be right here waiting for you.

This experience reminds us that helping seniors get out and see the wonderful world is important, and so are fall prevention, safety, and looking after one another along the way.

You don’t need to prepare anything to come to Harvest Haven. If you’re willing to come, you’re welcome. Someone is waiting for you, and there’s a chair saved just for you.

16,700 miles to Harvest Haven

Mrs. Mak: once a week, for nearly 20 years

Mrs. Mak immigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong. When she first arrived in Southern California, many homes in the area cost only about $90,000. Later she bought a house in a neighboring city. Over the years, the houses changed, the cities changed, and she grew older.

But one thing hasn’t changed in nearly 20 years: Mrs. Mak comes to Harvest Haven every week.

When she first joined, Harvest Haven didn’t yet have a meeting space like today’s; gatherings were held in a backyard. Ever since, Mrs. Mak has been one of our most faithful old friends.

She lives about 8.7 miles away, a 20-minute drive, or 17.4 miles round trip. Over 52 weeks a year, minus about four holidays, that’s roughly 48 visits a year. Over nearly 20 years, her trips to Harvest Haven add up to about

She used to drive herself. As she got older, her children worried about her safety and didn’t want her driving anymore. But giving up the car didn’t stop Mrs. Mak: she started taking a taxi.

Why come no matter what? For her, it stopped being a question of distance long ago. Once a week, seeing familiar faces, talking, sharing a meal, joining activities: this habit has been with her for nearly 20 years. It’s part of her life.

Now our staff have begun arranging rides for her, so she doesn’t have to worry about getting here, and won’t have to give up a routine she has kept for nearly 20 years.

Some might ask, “She lives so far away, and she’s getting older. Why still come?” Maybe the answer is simple:

Some places, after you’ve gone long enough, stop being just places; some people, after you’ve known them long enough, stop being just friends. As she puts it: “Harvest Haven is my second home!”

As long as Mrs. Mak wants to come, we hope to keep walking this road with her.

Harvest Haven is moving

Please pray for the renovation and the move

Moving day

Saturday, October 24 (expected)

New address

11700 Artesia Blvd., Artesia, CA 90701

The question we hear most these days is, “When is Harvest Haven moving?” We know you care and are looking forward to it. Preparations are moving ahead step by step: space planning, renovation, government approvals, and the move itself. We expect to move on October 24, to our new address at 11700 Artesia Blvd., Artesia, CA 90701.

Right now we especially need your prayers. Renovation at the new site is going more slowly than expected. Please pray with us for:

• Steady construction progress, so the planned move isn’t delayed
• Smooth government approvals
• Safety on the job site
• All the staff and volunteers planning and carrying out the move

We look forward to a space better suited to our activities, where Mandarin and Cantonese senior gatherings, tea-and-Bible study, health talks, youth activities, volunteer service, line dancing, exercise, table tennis, knitting classes, and more community programs can grow.

The building will change and the address will change, but the laughter, friendship, faith, and care for one another are all coming with us to our new home.

Help build our new home

A few practical needs remain, and we invite your support

Moving in is about more than carrying over our tables and chairs. To make the new Harvest Haven a true home for seniors, volunteers, and neighbors, we still have a few practical needs:

You can designate a specific item, or give any amount as you feel led. Maybe one day you’ll walk into the new Harvest Haven and see seniors chatting in the reception area, someone busy making lunch in the kitchen, and the new Harvest Haven Community Service Center sign out front, and you’ll be able to say with joy, “I have a share in this home.”

With gratitude

Every gift helps build Harvest Haven

Last month, Harvest Haven received several gifts that fill us with gratitude:

• Mrs. Zhan’s son generously gave $2,000
• A Harvest Haven board member gave $7,000, with $4,000 designated for the sound system at the new site
• Staff at East West Bank donated $1,000
• Our recent rummage sale raised nearly $2,000

Next to large gifts, a rummage sale may not seem like much, but every donated item, every buyer, and every volunteer who helped sort and sell represents real participation. For Harvest Haven, giving has never been only about the amount. What matters more is that people believe in what we do and are willing to carry it with us.

Because of your generosity, we can keep caring for seniors, walking alongside new immigrants, hosting community events, and, step by step, preparing better equipment and space for our new home. Thank you for journeying with Harvest Haven and letting love keep flowing.

Wanted: young administrative volunteers

Turn your time and talents into real help for the community

As our work grows, we need more than event-day helpers. We also need young administrative volunteers to help move our programs forward. If you’re a college or graduate student, early in your career, or eager to use your skills to serve the community, we’d love to meet you.

Youth volunteers can help with:

• Computer and data organization, event administration
• The newsletter, social media, and website updates
• Design and promotion
• Connecting with community resources and organizing fundraising materials
• Getting new service programs off the ground

You don’t need a lot of time or experience, just a willingness to learn and take responsibility. It’s also a great way to gain hands-on experience in nonprofit work, community service, administration, and intergenerational programs.

If you’re a young adult, come join us. If your children, grandchildren, or young friends might be a good fit, please introduce them to us!

A community is built together

In recent months, a lot has been happening at Harvest Haven. Some people donated things they no longer use; some sorted items at the sale table; some prepared lunch; some drove seniors; some kept sick friends company; some led activities and Bible study; some gave quietly; and some simply showed up every week to sit beside a lonely senior and chat for a while.

These things may seem small, but Harvest Haven is built on small things like these. You don’t need to come every week or have special skills. Helping now and then, chatting with seniors, assisting with activities, sorting items, preparing lunch, even just one more pair of willing hands, is precious.

Bringing what matters most to our new home

Moving forces us to ask: what should stay, and what should go? Some things we’ve used for years are ready to be let go; some things still useful can be passed on to the next person who needs them. Life is like that too. We can’t carry everything with us, but we can choose to keep what matters most.

For Harvest Haven, what truly matters has never been a building or a count of tables and chairs. It’s the senior who came for the first time and slowly made friends; the hands that reached out the moment someone fell; the smiles when an old item found a new owner; a group of people around a table sharing a meal; a cup of tea, a passage of Scripture, a word of care, and a prayer.

The building will change and the address will change, but as long as these remain, Harvest Haven is still Harvest Haven.

Next stop: see you at our new home.