All who have had the pleasure of meeting Angel, aka Mama Lam, either know of or have personally experienced how generous, selfless, and service-oriented our mama is. 

As a piano teacher, mama was not just a teacher. She was often a counselor, a friend, a sister, or a mother to the families who came through her never-locked doors. She loved her students. At Christmas time, mama always took the time to give every single one of them presents. Our home would be stockpiled with so many gifts that you would think it was Santa's workshop. 

But this home was much more than that. When remodeling, mama had others in mind from the start. She expanded its walls to serve others. Over these past three decades, mama has opened up her home to countless family and friends either as a home away from home, or as a place of community, prayer, and comfort. If she wasn't home, then she would be making house calls to pray for you, as long as you were within local driving distance, of course. If the route required highways then she would tag along with someone else who could drive the freeway.

Prayer was pivotal to mama's life. Nothing was ever too small or too big for God to hear. She prayed for her birds, she prayed for global issues and everything in between. My freshman year at UCSD, she prayed in secret that I wouldn't date in college, something I wouldn't come to find out until after I graduated. Needless to say, that prayer was answered. When Justin and I were engaged this past January, she wasted no time in announcing it to Stillwaters church and enlisting their help in praying over and blessing our marriage. For that, I’m grateful.

"Shun Zhen Jie", as mama is known by her church family, loved her brothers and sisters in Christ, and loved worshipping with them. Being the church pianist, she would often be one of the first to arrive and the last to leave the worship space as others trickled in and out of the sanctuary. Rain or shine, you could count on her to be there and that's how consistent, constant, and dependable she was in many other areas of her life as well. We hope God designated a piano in heaven specifically for you, mama! 

Even as she was fighting this terrible disease, mama put others first. She had just been admitted into Urgent Care for the second time in a month the same night one of her students relayed to her that they received "merit" for their piano exam. Nevertheless, she expressed to them that this was the happiest news she received and the best thing to happen that day. I will never forget one of our last conversations in the hospital before mama's health took a turn for the worse. She insisted that she would get better because she still had so many people she wanted to pray for and care for. Even as her body began to fail her, she continued to pray steadfastly and care sacrificially. Despite the many, many hardships that mama faced throughout her life, she was resilient. Mama's faith never faltered, and her love for God never wavered. I have yet to encounter a stronger, more God-fearing woman.

When mama wasn’t serious about living out her faith, she was seriously yet humbly competitive with games. She could easily beat us at a round of Chinese checkers any day but always nudged us into making better moves along the way. To me, one of mama’s most endearing attributes was how impressed and delighted she was with herself all the time. When she’s proud of herself, there’s no way to hide it, even if it’s as a result of something as lighthearted as a nerf gun target shooting contest. What often started off as a grin that she tried to conceal with her hand usually turned into an explosive and contagious laugh. I hope you have been able to share those kinds of moments with mama too because they’re a reminder not to take life too seriously.

We know the lasting and loving impact that mama made on others because we have felt that compassion and care reciprocated towards us during mama's last few months with us. Thank you for loving on and taking care of mama with us. We hope that in remembrance of mama, you will keep your faith when the going gets tough, ground yourself in a loving community, and continue to 'pay it forward' with kindness whenever you can. 

Mama, "all that [we are] and hope to be, [we] owe to [our] angel mother." Thank you for being our mama. For the simple joys you find in food, fashion, and flowers. For your absolute excitement when it comes to the multi-generational bird families in your front door wreath. For all the sacrifices that you have made for us. For being our prayer and scripture warrior through all circumstances. For raising us to be the women that we are today and for loving us in the ways that only you can. Rest in Peace, mama. We love you. We will take it from here. ?