Welcome to my website! My name is Joshua Chan, and I am a part-time rideshare (Uber and/or Lyft) driver in Orange County, California. I will be sharing my stories, thoughts, and ideas here. If you are interested in becoming an Uber and/or Lyft driver, I have written a guide to Uber and Lyft’s vehicle and driver requirements, as well as a guide designed to help you decide whether driving for Uber and/or Lyft is right for you. To begin, I will share my own journey from campus minister to rideshare driver. The story will be broken up into eight parts, and I will release one part every two weeks. So, without further ado, here is the first part of my story.
Part I
In Spring 2012, after numerous conversations about spirituality, religion and life, a former professor of mine said, “Josh, I am looking forward to you becoming a campus minister because I am counting on you to encourage other Christians to be more loving.” Coming from a non-Christian who seemed to be very hostile towards Christianity, those were extremely encouraging words to hear. About a year later, I moved to Irvine, California from Houston, Texas after graduating from the University of Texas with a major in Japanese and a minor in Chinese. There was so much excitement brewing inside me as I began my drive to the West Coast. Finally, I would get to be in an environment where I could put my language skills to use. I would get to be closer to the awesome friends I had made on a missionary trip to Japan back in 2011. Last but not least, I would begin my paid internship as a campus minister with Epic Movement, an Asian-American campus ministry committed to engaging in respectful dialogue with people who hold a variety of worldviews. Working with Epic Movement would not be particularly lucrative, but I was looking forward to working at something in which I found great meaning.
The friends I had made on that missionary trip to Japan were part of a Japanese-American Presbyterian church in Orange County called Wintersburg. It did not take long for me to feel like a part of that church; I immediately found myself making many close friends and ministering to Japanese internationals there. It was not unusual for me to head home from church at midnight instead of noon! My work with Epic Movement was going quite well, also. I was so grateful to be paid to mentor Asian-American college students and to help them thrive intellectually, physically, relationally, and, of course, spiritually. Although I sometimes encountered challenging cases, the majority of the students I worked with were kind, intelligent, and very teachable. I also really enjoyed spending time with my boss and most of my co-workers. Not only did we have a lot of fun together, but we also made a conscious effort to understand, encourage, and care for one another. It was not a perfect year, of course, but it was certainly one of the best years of my life. Unfortunately, things would not stay wonderful forever…