Kalei DINES scope

I'm Back

2010-12-03T04:57:00.000-08:00

It sure feels like it's been a century since I last blogged. I was hibernating, I guess. ;) The only downside of being dormant in blogging for so long is that I have so many things in mind to write about. I can't really think where to start. Well, the last thing I blogged about was our trip to England in February. I might as well, organize my thoughts in chronological order as to what happened following that month. Now, it's getting better... here we go...

Hubby's side of the family celebrated a "belated" birthday party for me and for the rest of the members of the family who have their birthday in March. We had the birthday party at my SIL's place in Owatonna, MN. It was a fun time! I got the Royal Albert Old Country Roses Bone China Teapot set as a present. It was a pure delight to see the beautiful teapot set. I had been wanting to have the set since we bought the entire Royal Albert Old Country Roses Bone China formal dinnerware set a few years ago in memory of my husband's grandma, who left us money when she passed away. Well, there goes my passion for elegance! I made sure that my teapot set is placed where I can see it when I'm in the kitchen... one of my simple joys in life.

England Trip Summary

2010-03-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

We were in 8 cities during our 15-day trip to England... hosted by a few families. Our main hosts were our close friends from Mongolia who now make their home in Stalybridge.

Day 1- Heathrow Airport/London (sightseeing)
Day 2- London (Sightseeing)
Day 3- High Leigh, Hoddesdon (for leadership training conference)
Day 4- High Leigh, Hoddesdon (for leadership training conference)
Day 5- High Leigh, Hoddesdon (for leadership training conference)
Day 6- Portsmouth (hosted by retired British military couples)
Day 7- Totland, Isle of Wight
Day 8- Carrisbrooke, Isle of Wight
Day 9- Newport, Isle of Wight
Day 10-Totland, Isle of Wight/ London: Piccadilly Circus and Paddington
Day 11-Stalybridge
Day 12-Manchester Piccadilly
Day 13-Liverpool
Day 14-Stalybridge
Day 15-London (Heathrow Airport)

Setting Foot in Europe- Tenth-Fifteenth Day: Northern England

2010-03-01T13:53:00.000-08:00

The night before we left for the northern part of Great Britain, we were hosted by a family at Paddington. It was nice to be able to get a good night rest before our trip to Stalybridge (15 minutes away from Manchester Piccadilly). It's where our friends who arranged the trip make their home. Stalybridge has the feeling of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia but a lot smaller and much less populated. It was great to be with our friends. We've been friends with them for about 8 years. We spent a lot of time just chatting in their living room, eating, swimming, witnessing, praying and studying the Bible. We also walked around the city and went to Manchester Piccadilly together. We so love this family! We are amazed at the great things the Lord has done through them. We thank God they are our friends.

Rainy Stalybridge

Manchester Piccadilly

China Town in Manchester... shopping for Kimchi.

Hanging out with friends outside the mall while daddy was witnessing...

Liverpool
We also checked out the city of Liverpool. It's 1-hour train ride away from Stalybridge. We walked around the city for about 4 hours. Isabelle was so excited when we visited the Bug World. It's a zoo for bugs. It was really cool. We, later, learned that it is the home of the Beatles. Well, we don't really care. We are not fond of them at all. But it was interesting to hear that Liverpool is one of the cities that the UK is eyeing for as its center. Well...

My Birthday

2010-03-01T13:38:00.001-08:00

I'd always wanted to spend my _th birthday at a restaurant overlooking the main London bridge. Well, it didn't happen... not a big deal because it turned out to be more special than what I had originally planned. We were in the Isle of Wight that morning... was greeted by the whole congregation of Christ Church in Totland and got to eat Pavlova. On the afternoon that day, we left the Isle of Wight and headed back to London. The Mongolian fellowship members were already waiting for us at their meeting place in Piccadilly Circus when we got there. We also met two of my close relatives on the way to the said place. I knew I was going to speak that night (and I did on Daniel 3. Paul also got to witness to one young man.) What I didn't know was that they prepared a surprise birthday bash for me. More than 30 young Mongolians were gathered there. They had a special birthday cake for me and Mongolian food, like Hushur and Buuz, for everyone who came. They also gave me presents. I felt very special. Coming from the people of my heart, the birthday party was very touching to me.

How cool it was to celebrate my birthday with two of my cousins who live in London! It sure was awesome to get to see them after so many years.

Chocolate monsters!!!

Setting Foot in Europe- Sixth-Ninth Day: Isle of Wight

2010-03-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

We took a ferryboat to cross the sea to get to the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth with our friends (the family who invited us to the UK?). Isabelle was so thrilled for her first ferryboat ride. Pastor Andy and his wife met us at the pier and drove us to Totland. Our friends stayed at their house. Paul, Izzy and I stayed at one very sweet lady's house, who is also Pastor Andy's church member. We are so grateful to God for bringing us to very generous hosts.

The house where we stayed at was a beautiful one on a hill. It's got a huge picture window in the dinning space. From it we could see the beach area.

Visiting Carrisbrooke Castle... We rode a double-deck bus from Totland to Carrisbrooke to check out the castle where King Charles was imprisoned. Princess Beatrice made it her home when she was governor of the Isle of Wight.

Climbing the hill to see the castle... with our friends.

Jack, the donkey, was the one that did the walking that day to show the tourists how donkeys helped with turning the wheel to get water from the deep well.

Newport City
We also spent a day exploring the city. It is located in the middle part of the island. It's a pretty small city but I think I heard someone saying that it is where the people in the Isle of Wight do some shopping. We checked out their shopping places and coffee shops...

My Birthday...
We were still in Totland, Isle of Wight on my birthday on the 21st. Our friends and Paul and I were asked to speak at Pastor Andy's church. The congregation also greeted me a Happy Birthday after the service. We had lunch at Pastor Andy's house. His wife made Pavlova! I found the dessert very yummy and promised to try to make it when I got home. For my birthday, Paul gave lots of red roses and chocolates! He knows I am a chocolate monster. :)

Izzy and our beautiful hostess in Totland, Isle of Wight. Our little girl really enjoyed her morning chore at the house... feeding the fish and birds in the backyard.

Setting Foot in Europe- Fifth-Sixth Day: Portsmouth

2010-03-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

The conference in Hoddesdon was concluded after lunch on the 17th of February. We then headed down to Portsmouth. It's 2-hour overground train ride south of London. Two sweet Christian couples and a generous widow hosted us there. It was such a blessing to get to meet and know them. Our time with them was spent mostly on sharing testimonies, praying together, eating their delicious English food, including Merigues. I really wondered why Meringues didn't get to America. Anyway, our hosts fed us like we were kings. I've never eaten that much in my entire life... (well, it's just to say, I ate like crazy there!)

Setting Foot in Europe- Third-Fifth Day: Hoddesdon

2010-03-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

On on our Day 3 to Day 5, we were at High Leigh Conference Center in Hoddesdon, about 30 minutes away from the center of London, for the 3-day leadership training of the Mongolian Christian Fellowship in the UK. Paul and I spoke at the said training for a few times. Paul concentrated on Evangelism and True and False Conversion, while I was teaching on how to do Inductive Bible Study. We felt so blessed to be able to share what the Lord has blessed our lives so much with. I would say that it was a pure joy to be able to speak on topics that we both have practiced (and mastered?) over the years.

Special dinner with special people...

Meet the conference coordinators...

The worship leader...

Izzy's English-speaking new friends in the UK...

The conference venue... (Can you see Izzy?)

Setting Foot in Europe- Second Day: London

2010-03-01T06:52:00.000-08:00

It was a Sunday... the first thing we did was go to church. Paul found Charles Spurgeon's church, so we went and brought our my friend (and host)Gantuul, and her daughter, Angie, with us.

Rev. Masters, the pastor of Metropolitan Tabernacle... Behind us is the picture of Charles Spurgeon.

Both Paul and I were so blessed at the Metropolitan Tabernacle (Spurgeon's church). The church is huge! The service was so simple and God-centered! There was no choir... no band either, just one piano... but during the worship time, it sounded like the Thousand Choir of Minneapolis was there! Meaning, everyone sang! Rev. Masters (the pastor) led the entire service. Nobody else was on stage but him. He was a very simple man but when he spoke, it was BEAUTIFUL! He preached inductively and prayed in KJV English for about 20 minutes... and everybody was silently praying with him! It's AWESOME! Paul and I realized how churches in America have put aside the importance of fervent prayers during services. We were in tears... the prayer has really touched our hearts! There was complete reverence for God's presence in that church. There was no hint of entertainment. Oh, how blessed we are to find a church like that!

For lunch that day we ate at... McDonald's in Piccadilly Circus. Our hosts wanted to do shopping at the Gap store to buy some presents for Izzy. McDonald's was right next to the store, so it was convenient... and weird!

We spent the rest of the day checking out a few landmarks of London, like the Big Ben and the London Eye. Riding the London Eye was sort of enough for us to see the entire area. It's an old city with beautiful European architecture. Coming from Minnesota, I found London to be not as clean. But it's fun!

The Big Ben

The Parliament Building

The London Eye

A day is not complete without coffee. My friend (and host), Gantuul, also loves coffee, so it's fun! Caffee Nero is everywhere in London. I really tried to avoid Starbucks. It's actually strange to see Starbucks there. I think I just didn't want to see it there. I don't know. Anyway...

Setting Foot in Europe- First Day: London

2010-02-25T00:24:00.000-08:00

I am now blogging at our friends' house in Stalybridge, UK. We are staying here for 5 days. Stalybridge is just about 10 minutes overground train ride to Manchester Piccadilly.

What can I say? I've never really strongly desired to visit Europe before. The door just got opened for us and everything fell into place!

London is a such a lovely place! It's got a feeling of New York but with a fantastic European architecture. I am especially blown away by the boulevard with a sweeping curve at Regent Street! It is awesome!!! I feel a little bit disappointed that we didn't get to spend enough time in Oxford and Regent streets to take photos. I just thought shopping in London is out of the question for me... and funny... being that I came from the place where the biggest mall of America is just 10 minutes drive from us.

Anyway, we got here on Saturday (February 13th). One of my very good friends, her daughter and their church friend came to pick us up at Heathrow Airport. They brought us to Mitre Hotel in Paddington straight away so we could kind of rest before we explored the city of London. They gave us our Oyster cards and so it was easier to just hop in the train and go.

Our first day was pretty much resting at our hotel, eating out at one of the Aberdeen Steak Houses in Piccadilly Circus, underground train rides and trying to cross one of the London bridges. It was freezing cold that night! So, we decided to go back to our hotel and retire. I was amazed how easy to get to places with the underground train.

That was our Day One in London.

The secret of having a super nice pre-schooler in a 9-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean is Stompie, the elephant and gum!

Izzy was excited to see Angie for the first time.

Izzy's mommy was so happy to see her very thoughtful friend, Tuul.

Taking the underground train in London for the first time!

In the train... Paul and Izzy didn't seem to have a bad jet lag.

Our first hotel, The Mitre Hotel in Paddington.

What did they put in this water to cost it $9?

Dining out at Aberdeen Steak Houses...

Eating up our most expensive dinner ever!

Help me figure out what I was supposed to do with two different faucets on the sink?

Exploring one of the London Bridges...

London

2010-01-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been like forever since my last post here. I've been so busy with other activities (more important than blogging, obviously!) and other hobbies. I know I have other hobbies that I want to make monies! Hence, I kind of neglected this one. I still hope to monetize this blog and my other blogs someday! ;)

Anyway, we have an invitation to do special lectures in London next month. My former boss/friend and his family invited us over. So off to the land of the queen in less than a month from today! I am so excited for this trip. It's gonna be my first time to Europe! I've been to quite a few countries in Asia but never to Europe yet. Our trip is pretty set, including our very specific itinerary.

Here are some of the places that we will be visiting: London, Isle of Wight, Manchester and Scotland. We made sure that we will be in London while I celebrated my _th birthday! And speaking of my birthday, I still want to eat at a restaurant where I have an access to the view of the London bridge. And yes, I will try to sing the famous children song, "London bridge". I know it doesn't make a lot of sense but it will for sure bring back childhood memories I have with my sister. We played that game growing up a million times!

Seriously though, I am just glad that we have this opportunity to help train church leaders of this new Mongolian church that our friend has started. It's quite impressive that this church has just been planted for not even a year yet, but they already expect 30 delegates to be at this conference. God's Kingdom keeps on advancing!

Oh, and we will also be meeting two of my cousins who are based in London. I haven't seen them for quite sometime. So, that is something I am looking forward to as well.

Signing off... for now.

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T06:16:00.000-08:00

What a joy it is to remember the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ -- that He came to save those who repent of their sins and trust in Him; and that He is coming back again to complete the eternal redemption of His people!

2009 was a full year for our family. We started it with our bi-yearly vacation to the Philippines in January. We got to visit our Filipino side of the family. It was wonderful to see every one healthy and happy! Papa and Mama (76 and 66 years old) celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. We truly thank God for blessing my parents with a beautiful marriage! On the last few days of our 21-day trip, we led a conference of 120 pastors and church leaders. We spoke on apologetics regarding true and false conversion and use of the law in biblical evangelism.

Late this summer, we finally got rid of our purple carpet! We updated our house. The renovation went well and we are very satisfied of how it turned out. Paul worked so hard and excellently in lacquering our woodwork and repainting our walls. Love the wide linen white wood trims! The red kitchen! The humble gold living room walls! The ice blue master’s bedroom! Izzy loves her prominent pink room! And yes, we love our new pattern-textured light gold carpet!

Last month, a follicular nodule in my thyroid was removed through surgery. It was scary being that it was my first time to undergo a general anesthesia. But it turned out well. My surgeon did a wonderful job! I am so blessed to have the most loving and supportive family, friends and church! Surely, God’s hand has been upon me, in healing me and helping me learn to trust Him more than I ever did before.

We can’t thank God enough for all the blessings He has poured upon us. Isabelle turned 3 and she sure is a darling! She has just started to pray on her own for her meals and before bedtime. She loves to sing and dance. She still loves Dora and still lines up stuff in the house. Oh, and she had her first (ever) stage performance this year. She was in a Charlie Brown Christmas play at our church as a Woodstock. It was so fun to see her perform! On the other hand, Paul’s painting business is still blessed with jobs even with our present economy. Paul and I continue to desire to grow in the Lord and be used for His glory. We enjoy our regular witness trips to Crystal Lake Beach and every opportunity we have to speak to people.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family!
Paul and Dina and Isabelle

Make-over Update

2009-10-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

It feels great waking up in the morning in our bedroom in the main floor. Hubby finished repainting it the other night. He did the bath last night. We are so happy with the new colors on our wall. Isabelle's room also has a new dramatic color on the walls. The girl has been really excited, even though at one point, she pretended to be crying not wanting to let go of the lavender color. Funny.

We can't wait for all the projects to be completed. Right now, we still have plastic taped on the walls in the living room, dining and kitchen. Somehow, we managed to be able to use the areas even with all the stuff hanging on the walls. Thankfully, we can use our bedroom, Izzy's room and bath now. We had to be able to make our bedroom in the basement ready for our guest who is coming today from Malaysia. She will be living with us for three months.

We are waiting for our friend to finish the work on the ceiling in the main floor. After that, hubby repaints it and the walls. Finally, new carpet will be installed. We are getting there. Hopefully, the entire project will be completed a week before my surgery, so I can at least enjoy the new look of our main floor.

Make-over

2009-10-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

Our family is currently camping out in our basement because the main floor of our house in under a few renovations. We can't wait for the work to be completed. It has been a little inconvenient to see most of our stuff in the closets upstairs jam-packed in the basement. Our pool table downstairs is holding a lot of clothes. Last night, I couldn't help being bothered by the sight of all the clothes on the pool table that I covered it with a big window scarf. It just looked so disorganized... plus Izzy's toys are all over the floor. I started to breathe better as soon as I was done covering the clothes.

I really thank the Lord for the sunshine today. The last few days was a little bit depressing being that we were not able to go out because of the weather. We were stuck in the basement. Actually, living in our basement is not bad at all. It's nice to be able to use our guest room, bathroom and living room in this floor for a week and a half now... it feels like we are in a hotel. What's even nicer is that I'm so close to Paul's office, which vacant space I turned into a craft area. Izzy and I just need our afternoon walks and we are fine. But the cold, windy and rainy weather the past few days kept us inside most of the day.

Last night, hubby informed me that there will be a little delay on our re-carpeting. We chose a really nice texture-patterned carpet last week. The carpet store had to order it and it's not ready until 10 days. That only means that we will be in the basement until at least the 20th of this month. I'm a little worried now because we are expecting a guest from Malaysia next week. I just hope that we could at least make our house look decent before she arrives. Hubby did say that for major changes like what we are doing in our main floor now could sometimes take 6 months, so to have it for less than a month is really good. So, I guess I have to gird myself up for this. But the thought of having a new beautiful look in our house excites me.

What we are doing in our main floor are the following:

1. Replace all doors with a Alder doors. Hubby (THE painter) already stained and lacquered it. They look so sleek.

2. Replace all the woodwork with Poplar wood. The woodworker should be able to complete it today. Tomorrow, hubby starts enameling it. We decided to use linen white paint versus plain white. The woodwork is double the width of the previous one and is very smooth.

3. Finish the process of changing the ceiling from popcorn to knock-down.

4. Paint the walls... with bright colors. I am a fan of bright colors. I like to say, cool neutral colors are boring and that they aren't really colors. I love deep colors... but they must not be in a primary and secondary color wheel.

5. Improvise a multi-media furniture from the cherry-lacquered furniture we already have at our house for our main living room.

6. Re-carpet. We are so excited about our new carpet. It's top-of-the-line texture-patterned carpet. Thanks to one of hubby's friends who is a re-modeler, we got our carpet very affordable. Otherwise, there was no way we would go for it for its cost. Blessings come in different forms!

7. Replace cabinet doors... may not happen before this year ends though. We are not sure whether to enamel or lacquer the cabinets. If they are Alder doors, I would definitely want them lacquered. Otherwise, enamel is pretty too with a deep bright wall color.

Can't wait for the new look of our main floor!

Health Issues Update

2009-09-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

I blogged about my health issues here and I wanted to make a quick update on it mainly for family and friends around the world ;) and for anybody who might have the same experience. I definitely welcome encouraging comments and stories.

Anyway, I saw my surgeon last week for consultation and she did a very good job of explaining the whole surgery process on my neck. She seemed to be well-experienced in her field. Before meeting her, I was hoping to see someone older (anywhere between the ages 40-50). For some reason, that's of importance to me. I already had a sense of trust in her being that she was recommended by my endocrinologist. Meeting her in person for the first time, gave me a comfortable feeling that she would do a great job. She mentioned that the procedure would last from an hour to an hour and a half. It's gonna be a lobectomy. This is the case where the entire right portion of the thyroid would be removed. And while I am asleep, they will do several biopsies of the part that would be taken out to find out if there is any malignant cell, which she said is a very slim possibility.

We scheduled my surgery on the 6th of November. A week before the surgery I must have a general physical evaluation to make sure I qualify for the procedure.

The anticipation of an up-coming surgery isn't very pleasant. But I am thankful to the Lord for the courage He gave me to choose that route rather than waiting for another 6 months and then go through a repeat process of tests, which my endocrinologist gave as another option.

I have a month to gather more strength from the Lord before my surgery. And to pray that my surgeon's hand would be guided by the Lord.

Izzy's Early Birthday

2009-09-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Izzy's 3rd birthday with P's side of the family much earlier this year. The whole family got together two weeks ago for the party. We also celebrated the birthdays of two of Izzy's cousins. I got to make the cake which Izzy especially requested. She wanted the ice cream cone butterfly cake. She saw it from my cake recipe book. Too bad I wasn't able to take photos of all of the ice cream cone fun cakes... Izzy's cousins couldn't wait to pick their favorite design before I could get a chance to take the photos. Yeah, the little cakes came in different designs- butterflies (Izzy's favorite), flowers and I even made a lady bug. I will probably make another one on Izzy's actual birthday.

Our little girl was so excited to get a couple Veggie Tales DVD's, Kailan and Mr. Fluffy's Bakery set and a Kailan doll for gifts. Of course her favorite is the Kailan doll.

Minnesota State Fair- II

2009-09-15T08:43:00.001-07:00

When we went to the state fair on the second time, the Treuenfels (friend Maricris' family) were with us...

Friend Cris and me

The sweetest roasted corn I've ever had!

Izzy and her daddy and Cy and his daddy went on the giant slide! Rides... rides... rides...

My second grilled Turkey Leg!

Friend Maricris, her kiddos- Cy and Jo and Izzy and Me.

We were met by a huge robot at the entrance of the fair. We are still wondering if there was a man inside the robot. He did a conversation with Paul. We don't know if that's possible for a robot to actually carry a conversation like that.

Minnesota State Fair- I

2009-09-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

Paul loves the chocolate-coated fruit slices on a stick.

Izzy's favorite thing to do at the fair is watching horse show. She could basically sit watching the Rodeo, especially, for hours if we let her. It was so fun. I enjoy it a lot as well.

A pose with Simon, the black sheep. It was nice to see the sheep at the animal barn.

The butterfly nursery was also fun to visit. Izzy really enjoy that experience. She couldn't believe butterflies would freely come to her and stick with her until she pushed them away.

Love the big crowd at the fair. More than a hundred thousand people visit the fair each day.

I'd come to the fair excitedly mainly for the grilled Turkey Leg on a stick! Super yummy!

Randy, P's brother, came with us on our first visit.

Health Issues

2009-09-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

I've been very healthy. I try to be disciplined in eating well and exercising every morning. I am not a big sports person. I swim. Work out. Walk as much as I could. Bike for miles. Play basketball and table tennis. But I don't do sports competition. I wouldn't be seen me in a triathlon or in a basketball competition(although I kind of did that when I was in Mongolia). Despite all the efforts done to keep me fit, I am not a hundred percent perfectly well. I have struggled with a couple issues regarding my general health.

Right after I gave birth to my daughter, Izzy, Bell's Palsy hit me. Thankfully, it didn't last long. I had it for only a month. It was frightening! It felt like it would never go away. One month felt like forever. It deformed my face like crazy. I was sad but was able to overcome the frustration that came with it by God's grace. A couple months passed after the Bell's Palsy disappeared on its own, I had my friends over for lunch at my house. One of them was a Filipino doctor. She noticed that the right side of my neck was abnormally bigger. I quickly checked the mirror and realized that it's true. My neck was bigger than it normally was! My husband and I went to our doctor in Fairview Ridges for consultation. She confirmed that my right thyroid was enlarged. She recommended me to see an endocrinologist, which we did immediately.

My endocrinologist said that there was a nodule in my right thyroid and it has to be biopsied. Ultrasound-guided biopsy would be the only way to know if the lump was benign or malignant. Being that I was nursing my daughter during that time and was planning to nurse her until she would turn three, I didn't want to do anything that might have divided my attention as a new mom. I had the issue of my enlarged right thyroid at rest. Somehow, I wasn't worried. I did well in enjoying my life as a full-time stay-at-home mom. I knew that once my daughter was completely off from nursing that I would start dealing with my own physical condition.

Two and a half years had passed and it's time to see my endocrinologist again. She noticed that my neck was a little bit bigger than when she saw me last. Once again, she recommended an ultrasound-guided biopsy immediately. And I was ready for it.

I had the biopsy last week. It was somewhat scary. The ultrasound technician, the nurse and the radiologist were super nice. The very young Chinese radiologist stuck a total of 4 very tiny needles in my neck. The first one was the Novocaine to numb the nodule area and the next three needles were to draw sample cells. It went well.

The biopsy result came in yesterday. All the sample cells turned out benign. Praise God! However, my endocrinologist gave me two options... one, wait 6 months for another ultrasound; two, surgery. I am leaning toward having the nodule removed as soon as possible being that it is getting bigger. As it gets bigger it pushes in and will cause me more dry throat. Yes, my voice has been really affected by the nodule. I've noticed how I lost my voice after singing or teaching Sunday School. I've been struggling with forcing my voice out at times. My endocrinologist explained that it is the lump in my thyroid that has caused this.

My perspective about sicknesses has been checked. I used to persistently pray that God will take away all of my physical problems. And there's nothing wrong with that kind of prayer because it is God's will that His children enjoy good health. But the prayer has to have, "Your will be done, Oh, God." I have learned to pray for more of His grace and strength to carry me through most trying times. God is my Jehovah Rophe yesterday, today and forever. However, there are times that He uses sickness to build our character in Him.

Many of us don't act differently than those spoiled brats. We only want to eat what is sweet. We want God to remove every uncomfortable and painful experience. Apparently though, God uses painful experiences to make us become more like Him. Character is being built up and solidified through trying times. Thus, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:1-4

Examining King David

2009-08-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

What would have happened if King David did not run and join the Philistines, his enemy, when King Saul and his men hunted him down?

I was amazed to hear another perspective on this account in King David's life. I heard one speaker said that when David ran away from King Saul and his people for his life and eventually joined the Philistines forces, he was actually taking a detour in his life. The detour was not originally planned by God. As a matter of fact, during this several-month detour, sons who later despised him and caused tragedy in his household were produced. King David was discouraged! He was scared to death! And he fled from the land that God promised him to be king. What would have happened if he didn't escape? We all the know that David was already a hero even in his youth. People loved him! Do you think they would not protect him from the hand of Saul? But wait, what happened to the priest who gave David holy bread and Goliath's sword? Oh, he and his entire clan were annihilated by King Saul. I think the people already knew that King Saul had totally lost his sanity and was capable of killing anyone who dared saved David. (my idea) No matter what the situation was, I believe that God had another way to preserve King David, without him becoming a fugitive.

I love the analogy of this perspective as we apply it to our walk with the Lord. There are times that we find it hard to wait upon the deliverance from God and instead we resort to create our own solution for our problems. And as we detour from the Lord's will, troubles are being produced. Some of the sad results of our failure to wait upon God do not arise until later. How tragic it was for King David to have a son like Absalom, who started a coup against his own father. He betrayed his own dad. Absalom, was one of David's sons during the time that he was a fugitive... sons who brought him so much pain. How frightening it is to take a detour in our walk with the Lord.

Conference Weekend

2009-08-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

Our church held a conference last weekend. It was a three-day meeting. Pastor Hilton and his wife came from Tennessee to minister. Mrs. Hilton is quite the singer. She ministered us through her beautiful singing. She sounded pretty much like Kathy Trocoli. I admit I am not a big fan of Trocoli because her range is too low. Mrs. Hilton though, despite her limited range, she has a beautiful voice when it reaches higher. Anyway, it was nice to hear a recording artist sing. Not only that, she was such a good encourager. Pastor Hilton, on the other hand, was a bold, anointed and cute-humored speaker. I found his style very nice. He spoke clearly and effortlessly. His message was very clear and straightforward. We are so blessed to have him speak four times.

During this conference, our church also commemorated its 65th year anniversary. It is amazing to know that with in 65 years, the church only has 2 senior pastors, the founders and the pastor at present who was the founder's associate. It speaks a lot about strong commitment on the part of the pastors and the faithfulness on the part of the members. We are so thankful we are a part of this church.

Summer Parties and Everything...

2009-08-17T20:09:00.001-07:00

That includes parties at Izzy's waterpark at home ;)

Fair and Softball

2009-08-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

Paul and his softball team got to play with other really good teams in Minnesota. The games were up in Brooklyn Park. While Paul was playing softball,Izzy and I were at the fair by the softball fields. Izzy enjoyed the fair so much. She got to pet animals, bounce on jumper combos, ride the kiddie train and even had her first horse-back riding ever! That was a fun day, except that Paul's team didn't win in any of their games... that part was absolutely a bummer.

Lord Fletcher's

2009-08-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

On our family date at Lord Fletcher's Restaurant, we had an expensive dinner... We were basically happy with the food but when we saw our check, we sighed. I could definitely make that kind of meal for 10 bucks but I guess we were actually paying for the place. It was not bad after all because we don't eat out that much and it's a pretty place by Lake Minnetonka. Plus, we got to see our neighbor and friend, Kelly, played beach volleyball after we ate. Oh, and the minute her team won their game, the thunderstorm blew hard on us. Paul managed to run to get our car and picked us up at the main entrance of the restaurant. At the scale of 1 to 10, that date was a 9.

Naturalization

2009-08-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

It took me a while to really think if I want to apply for US citizenship soon or not. I figured out that it is really want I want to do. After all, my husband and daughter are American citizens. I guess I was not ready to deny my Filipino citizenship until now.

Today, I am printing the application forms for US Naturalization. I am planning to fill up the forms and send them to the USCIS as soon as possible.

Pa

2009-08-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

Today, Pa turned 76 years old. I called and greeted him this morning. Izzy sang him the "Happy Birthday" song and recited her new memory verse. It touched my father's heart.

Thinking about my father reminds me of God's faithfulness. Five years ago, Pa suffered from Tuberculosis. The disease ate up his weight. He became smaller and weaker each day. We were so worried and thought that he would die with it. It was also the time when he decided to give up his church to my oldest brother. His retirement from being the senior pastor didn't help him. I guess he missed preaching at church every Sunday. I was positive that he didn't miss the administration part of his pastoral ministry because he always didn't enjoy doing that part. When he finally gave in to our (his children) demand for him to see a physician, he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. We were all very concerned. Good that the government in the Philippines provides free treatment for TB. We have no idea where he got the disease. With our oldest brother's help, Pa was able to avail the free medication. Pa's very disciplined personality helped him take his medication every single day. Lots of prayer and the medication took the TB completely away from his system after three months. The treatment was supposed to work after 6 months of religiously taking the pills every day. Day by day after the TB was gone, his strength slowly came back. His appetite also came back. He started gaining back the weight that he lost over a couple years period.

One day when I called him, he said that he is amazed at how his body is gaining back strength that he never thought possible for an aging man like him. He said that the strength from his youth has even doubled in him now. We got to see the evidence when we flew to the Philippines six months ago. We were amazed that he even climbed a mountain with us! He is really excited about his renewed strength. We encouraged him to go back into preaching. He was even more excited. Now, he preaches on air via DXGB every morning. What is more amazing is that he chooses to walk 3-4 miles early in the morning everyday to get to the radio station and back. He said that he noticed that the more he walks the stronger physically he becomes. It is also a perfect time to have conversations with the Lord.

His story has continued to amazed us of what the Lord can do in His people's lives. My mother is the same way. She suffered from heart and skin problems and is now completely free from them without the help of any medical specialists. God is awesome. He blesses my aging parents with good health and, most of all, joy.

Talking to my mom and dad this morning was such a breath of fresh air. It is so nice to hear my mom talk for an hour. She just has a lot of stories for me. All stories are of God's loving kindness. It was also wonderful to hear Pa's youthful golden voice. Yes, his voice has not changed over the years. That is one reason why many people love to hear him on the radio. At home, he's always the "man of a few words". But when he is preaching, he is so equipped with words... not just words... but words full of wisdom because they are from the Word of God.

I am so grateful to God for my father. Pa provided us a silent yet strong and wise leadership growing up. I don't have any memory of him spanking me. Well, he gave my mom all the right to spank me and my sister. He did spank my brothers. He just thought that a strong man should not spank a weak little girl. Makes sense. But he never failed to correct me whenever I needed it. I have so many memories of him holding me as a little child and praying for me. I can also remember how he told me of his wonderful dreams for me. One of them was to see me someday playing the piano. I failed him. I didn't make that particular dream come true. But he didn't mind because all of his other dreams for me came true.

Pa is my earthly savior. As a toddler, I lost my life one morning. Pa and Ma found me literally dead on the floor. He picked me up and begged God to give me back my life. And... God did! Oh, the whole village was celebrating when my dad told them about it. When I was nine years old, I drowned into the river while swimming with my brothers and sister. Pa, who was at a conference nearby, left in the middle of his sermon, obeying a still small voice to go look for his little Dina. He found me... drowning. All he could see was my long hair floating on the river. I was already unconscious after I gave my life up to Jesus. A great swimmer, who had already saved a few people from being drowned in the ocean, my dad dove and swam into the river to rescue me, not wasting time to take his tie and dress shoes off. He successfully saved me! What a father he is!!! I want to say he is the reflection of how God is as a father to His children but it is not right for me to even compare God's perfect and matchless love.

I have more to say about my Papa. But maybe I should stop here for now before our house become flooded with my tears.

I love you, Papa! I love you, so very much!!!

Church Picnic

2009-07-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

We had our church picnic last Saturday. P's mom and dad drove from Winona to go with us to the picnic. It's a once-a-year thing and we like them to come with us to fellowship with our church people. Picnics are a really good avenue to know our brothers and sisters in the Lord more. I like conversations in an informal setting... over food, yes. I was hoping I would be able to play volleyball, but it seemed like nobody from my age level was interested in it. So I talked to friends and cheered for Izzy and Paul more than play. Isabelle was in a few-meter sprint race, blowing bubbles, tug of war, and candy hunting games. It was cute. Paul was playing with the "men".

This is how I do "picnic"... sitting pretty!

Musical friends... Julie and Diane (daughter and mother)...

P playing with the men.

Izzy in a sprint race...

Izzy and her grandma making cookies...

Minnesotan Wedding???

2009-07-29T06:28:00.000-07:00

Did this wedding really happen in St. Paul, Minnesota? Is this for real? Knowing how Minnesotans can be generally "formal", to me this particular wedding is unbelievable. It's a lot of fun though!

Flowers

2009-07-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

I am a little disappointed that our daisies don't last long when they bloom. They were blooming so beautifully the past two weeks. Now, they are almost gone. I am planning to plant more perennial flowers more this week. I am hoping that our Coreopsis will still bloom late summer. I haven't seen a lot of them yet. I am also hoping that our roses will continue to bud and bloom. But... I am thankful to God for every flower we have in our garden beds... including the flowers from the weeds. Hehe, just kidding.

Fun in the Sun

2009-07-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

So glad that finally it felt like "summer" over the weekend. It was too cold for a summer last week. It barely went up to 70. But it was a perfect time playing basketball with Izzy on our driveway. Speaking about basketball, I miss my friends in Mongolia who I enjoyed playing it with when I was there. They were such great friends.

The warm weather on Saturday was really great for biking. We biked for 6 miles to the Minnehaha Falls from Fort Snelling. This was our second time biking that trail. This time we were not rained on. I remember, heavy rains poured on us just a quarter of a mile away from the falls last year. That time the falls was still nice, I heard. We were sad to see it on Saturday dried up. We were told that there is a serious drought going on here. No wonder why my flowers are not beautifully blooming now as they were last year. Anyway... here the photos from our weekend activities...

An afternoon at the beach of Lake Calhuun in Minneapolis on Sunday...

Melaleuca

2009-07-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

One of the realtors that P works with came to our house with her husband one night. Her husband used to work for a chemical industry for 7 years. According to him, while working at the industry, he developed a very serious kind of eczema on his hands. He tried every remedy possible to be free from it but it only frustrated him that it would not go away. On the other hand, that 7 years of working at chemical industry gave him enough information how chemicals used in housecleaning liquids, soaps, detergents, lotions, and etc. are harmful to every persons health. He left his job, became a realtor, shift to non-chemical based cleaning products and started taking vitamins from Melaleuca company. Lo and behold, his eczema divorced him for good.

Honestly, I am not easily carried away by advertisements and even testimonies from others, but that testimony made sense to me. I've been to a few countries but I've never heard so much about cancers and other diseases until I came to the USA. I was really alarmed. Many people are sick and there is a medical term for every little sickness, which I think makes it sound more serious than it actually is. It is also in America where I could find all kinds of chemically-based cleaners and disinfectants. These cleaners smell too strong for me that there was that two weeks that I didn't clean our bathroom because I just hated it when I smell 409. It makes me cough. Antibacterial hand soaps are drying my hands like crazy. Anyway, I think that cancers are also brought about my these chemicals we have been using in our homes. How about the food we eat? Well, there was a time that I was gonna turn our diet into organic and study more about nutrition but I quit. It's just that it's hard to figure out who to believe for what. My simple opinion is this... with food, I pray for its sanctification before I eat and I believe that God answers that simple prayer. However, I don't always pray before cleaning the bathroom ;) maybe I should.

In my devotion today, I was reading the account of David facing Goliath. Applying it to myself, I said to God, "Lord, you know how the fear of sicknesses and diseases is one of the giants I am facing. I can gird up myself with all of knowledge in the world available for protection. I can study more about food and healthy living, but I believe I have a sling with small stones that I am so used to, let me pray." It is my version of what David said about trying on King Saul's armor, "I am not used to these armors. Let me use my sling."

Nashville Blast

2009-07-16T07:00:00.001-07:00

We hit the road to Nashville after lunch at Joy and Brian's house in Cookville on the 4th of July. We were looking forward to see the festivities in the city on that special day. We heard that July 4th celebration in Nashville is very special, so we couldn't wait. I was also hoping I'd see the boat parade.

When we finally got to the city, the first thing we did was putting sunscreen lotion on our skin. It was blazing hot... at least for me, for some reason. My skin pores were dripping sweats like crazy. By the time we got to the family activities spot, my sweat washed my sunscreen lotion off already. I couldn't wait to get inside a well air-conditioned building. But I needed to be patient because P, Izzy and our friends were playing on jumper combos. Paul (my hubby) and Paul (Joy's hubby) even had a race on that big inflated climb-slide combo. Before I could get really dehydrated, we saw Hard Rock cafe and went in. Oh, it felt great, although, I basically had to use the menu pages to fan myself that first 30 minutes. I don't know what happened there... I guess I have officially become a Minnesotan! Tennessean heat and humidity were almost unbearable to me. But we had fun with our friends... that was important.

After cooling down and feeding our hungry tummies, it was time to get out and explore the river bank filled with people. There was a huge stage floating on the river facing the crowd (hehe... of course!), so we wanted to check it out. Plus, of course, a crowd-lover like me won't just miss this opportunity to be with lots of people. I was really looking forward to that. However, it rained cats and dogs before we could even get to pay our bill at the restaurant. We got out anyway, I couldn't stay even a minute longer at that kind of cafe. It's dark and loud. I love "bright, bright, bright... places (and things)". Dark and loud don't seem to fit my personality.

So we got out and ran in the rain to cross the road where we could buy rain coats. Isabelle was basically partying in the rain! She just loves the rain. She sang, "Rain, rain go away, come again another day, little children want to play." She sang that line for like a thousand times and finally she got frustrated and said, "It's not working!" I just couldn't believe it! She really thought that the rain would go away if she kept singing it!

Paul and Paul found out that there was a thunderstorm coming just about the time the fireworks would start. We decided to cross the bridge to get to our car on the other side of the river before the thunderstorm comes. There was a big crowd on the bridge too... well, at the first segment of the bridge, I should say. When we almost got to the middle of the bridge, we found out that we were trapped. We couldn't get to the other side. There was a barricade. Paul and Paul were concerned because any minute from that time the thunderstorm would come. We had mixed feelings... part of us was happy because we were at the best place for the firecrackers show, but we were also kind of scared because we knew that a strong thunderstorm was coming. Well, it was time to put our rain coats on. We were prepared! The firecrackers show started... it was amazing! After a few minutes, it started to rain... it started to get windy! But we got to enjoy the firecrackers show being that we had our rain coats on. Our cellphones, cameras and purses were safe. Nothing is better than being prepared! We felt bad for the people who were wet and cold watching the show. That was quite the experience for our two families. Our 2-year-old kids didn't care about the thunderstorm... they, too, enjoyed the firecrackers show. After a few minutes from the finale of the show, the barricade was removed and we were able to walk to our car. While walking, I was telling my friend how I loved the experience. Yes, I do enjoy atypical experiences.

Tennessee

2009-07-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

We flew to Nashville, Tennessee on July 2nd to visit Joy, a very good friend of mine, who I haven't seen for 8 years. She and her family make their home in Cookville, an hour and a half drive from Nashville. Isabelle did very well on our flight to Nashville... well, she always does. She enjoys every single flight we had in the past, except that one time on our flight to DC when she had an ear infection. You can just imagine how painful it is on your ear during taking off and landing when you have an ear infection. But our flight to Nashville was very nice. We rented a car and one of our friends co-own the Budget car rental here in MN so we got to get a big discount through him. We ended up driving a rich-man's car... very nice.

We drove to the downtown of Nashville from the airport and had lunch at a Greek cafe. Outside the cafe, Paul got to meet the security guards of the building and guess what... he was witnessing to them. So predictable, I know. After telling the guards to repent, believe and put their trust in Jesus, we left to hit the road to Cookville.

It took us less than an hour and a half to get to Joy's house. Her house is beautiful! I adored the pretty roses on her garden beds. She takes such good care of her yard. The inside of her house is immaculately clean. Man, this young lady is a clean freak! Well, I just meant to say, she cleans her house very well. It was awesome to get to see her finally! She didn't change that much... maybe just a little bigger than the skinny Joy I used to know before. I'm pretty sure we have the same weight... and height. And we are still the friends who love to talk and laugh out loud. As expected we had sleepless nights... talking and watching our Filipino movies. Isabelle became friends Joy's super handsome 2-year old boy. They played so well together... no pushing, no grabbing of toys etc. happened. Paul also became friends with Paul... well, Joy's hubby's name is also Paul... but he prefers being called Brian now. P and I really love that night Brian played the piano and the rest of us sang along. I got to sing a duet with Joy... what a special time. Brian did a really good job on the piano.

The family brought us to Burgess Falls one afternoon. It's a few miles away from their house. We love the long scenic walk of the series of three water falls. Pushing the strollers up on the hill was such a "weight loss" program for Joy and me.

Other things we did in Cookville with Joy and her family include visiting their church and shopping... (well, for her and me... we spared our husband from the joy (pain for them) of shopping.)We also drove to Nashville on the 4th together in a Suburban SUV. We had such a phenomenal experience in Nashville... check it out... Nashville Blast.

Summer

2009-07-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Izzy and her mommy have been busy... outdoors. We like to pull the weeds from our garden beds and pick up flowers for our vase on the dining table. It's really nice that our daisies this summer has been blooming a lot. I feel bad, though, that our day lilies were chewed by our regular "deer" guests before they were ready to bloom. Izzy gets excited to see the deer in our yard, I do too, it's just sad that they can't stay away from the day lilies. My day lilies were so beautiful last summer, but I guess I don't have them to enjoy this year.

Other things Izzy and I like to do outdoors is biking. My little girl has just learned to use the pedals of her little pink-purple bike to move around our driveway. Sometimes, I walk beside her as she bikes around our circle. We also enjoy our biking time where I put her in her trailer and I get to drive my bike around our circle for ten times. I still don't have the courage to cross highway 42 to get to the biking trail across the street of our circle. I think it's too dangerous for me and Izzy. I am just contented to get my work-out around our immediate neighborhood... biking around the circle at least 10 times. It's nice when Paul gets home earlier from work and we get to bike together for two hours.

We really haven't been able to set Izzy's swimming pool up yet. I think we have to get it going this week. Also, we are looking forward to regularly visit the public swimming pool a couple blocks away from our house. There's a really nice and big water park just about 10 miles away from us, that's one of the places we want to go soon.

We do picnic at Crystal Lake beach on Saturdays. It's also our family evangelism time. My part is to intercede for Paul while he goes around witnessing to people at the beach while watching Izzy play at the kids park. We are really loving it! When P is done witnessing, we eat dinner. It's really fun.

Blogging

2009-07-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, I didn't know I had neglected this blog on the first 14 days of this month. Thanks to my very good friends in London who kind of reminded me that this blog is not really just a hobby for me but an avenue to update my family and friends about my life in America. I apologize.

The summer this year is amazingly cooler. High of upper 70's to 80's is a perfect temperature for me. It is so nice out that Izzy and I spend most of our time during the day outdoors. We love to play on our lawn... we like to chase each other and picnic. Oh, and she has just learned the simple summersault thing. It is so fun to watch her run and quickly do the summersault. With me (and Paul, when he is around), cheering her doing the summersault a thousand times doesn't seem to make her exhausted. Oh, boy. It makes her parents exhausted, instead.

Part of the reason why I have not been blogging that much is that I have been scrapping. I love making a few scrapbook pages at night while listening to the Audio Bible, Nancy Leigh Demoss' radio shows, Paul Washer, Way of the Master radio and my favorite music. I just love my scrapping time. It is a time for me to put my creative mind to work and at the same time learn from God's Word. Paul helped me set up my craft area in his office room in our basement. We found out that that there was an empty space in that room that was a perfect spot for my small "big ideas" adventures. I used to have my crafts cabinets and working station in our guest room. So, I've been enjoying my craft time... sewing, jewelry making, scrapping and card making. Speaking of card making, I never thought that I'd get orders here and there... they're not much but it's an income. I praise God for that.

Oh, and yes, a very good friend of mine in Tennessee and I have just started a ministry together. Well, it's a ministry that I have started since I got here but didn't really work for it good enough, and when I shared it to this friend of mine, she got excited about it (that got me excited, all the more) and joined me since we share the same vision. So, this one too got me a little busier.

I guess now, I am back to blogging in this blog! Happy reading!

Disgusting Script of Chorus Line

2009-06-24T04:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe someone would intentionally write a script full of profanity and using of God's name a cuss word. I'm talking about the writer of the script of the Broadway musical play called, Chorus Line. How awful it is to know that someone could actually premeditate blasphemous language and put it into writing. It's one thing to unintentionally be repulsive but it's so sickening when it is premeditated. Well, I suppose that's the reality of what is in the world today. But do we, Christians, have to sit for two hours and listen to all this vulgarism? If our motive in watching shows like this is to be exposed to the real world we are, it's lame. We are already warned of this in the Bible, we do not have to pay anything to learn what is in the world. There's a big difference between going into the world and along the way you hear vulgarity and paying your way to sit for two hours listening to actors using God's name as a cuss word. Blasphemous! That's the right word I can describe the script of the Chorus Line. Well, what can you expect to come out from a writer/choreographer/director who's known to be the first gay who died in AIDS... and Chorus line was supposed to be his memorial to all out there of his kind.

We went to the play only because of our friends, who we love. They have no idea whatsoever what kind of a play it was. They got all our front seats tickets for free and so thought it was a nice date for all of us. The music and dances were entertaining, yes.

After watching Chorus line, I learned that it is very important to read reviews and scripts ahead of the time before watching any play. I just can't stand listening to garbage. It's like eating junk food... and I try to stay away from that to the best of my ability. And yes, I would not spend money on junk food.

My only joy that night was the fact that I and my friend got to dress up for our double dates with our honeys.

Farm

2009-06-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we visited the farm owned by a B-I-L's family. It's a huge property of 16 acre. Anyway, this farm is really not a farm. Well, let me explain... they call it a farm but there's really nothing grown there except on the small vegetable garden. There are two humongous barns but they are not really serving their purpose. My F-I-L mentioned that the government doesn't allow the owners to turn the said land into a real farmland. I don't really know why but anyway... since the land is not planted with any crops, the owners and their friends have used the big space as a driving arena for their four-wheelers and ranger truck. It was so fun to driving those things! We really enjoyed it.

Daddy's Day

2009-06-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day, we ate at a Chinese buffet restaurant to make P happy... yes, he loves it there for the huge variety of fruit they offer. P is a big "fruit" eater. He thinks he can't swallow any food with out fruit with it. We wanted to show him how important for me and our daughter, Izzy, that he eats fruit. We want to have a happy leader in our home! And he is... he is a happy leader! He even tries to be happy even when we run out of fruit in the house. Anyway, while "devouring" our Asian food yesterday, our little Izzy gave him lots of hugs and kisses and repeatedly said, "Happy Father's Day, daddy!" We were also talking about our fathers while eating. P got a little emotional at church earlier thinking about his dad. He was reminiscing his wonderful time with his dad growing up. His dad did a great job of training him into a man who values hard work.

We came home and Izzy gave him our gifts and the card we made for him with her scribbles on it. We then, took a long nap. We were exhausted from our busy days last week. After napping, we drove to P's softball. We had fun picnicking before the games. But we were disappointed that his team lost in both games. P was very disappointed, to even say, "I can't play anymore! I played so terribly tonight!". As expected I said, "You don't just give up like that... it's not you." and he said, "I know." Hopefully, his team will do better next week.

Izzy wants to say, "Daddy, everyday is a Father's Day!"

Proverbs 17:6
Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

Warm Days

2009-06-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

It's been really hard to find time to sit and blog these days... it's warm and it feels like I want to make the most of it by doing more outdoor activities. Izzy and I have been taking our afternoon walks, gardening, picnicking and playing in the yard.

The past couple weeks, we have been busy with biking, camping and Paul's softball games. The couch potato season is over! Paul, Izzy (on her trailer pulled by Paul's bike) and I were biking for 8 miles total last Friday and Saturday. I was so sore. I think I pushed myself too hard knowing that it was my first long bike ride this year. But it was good... no pain, no gain... so to speak.

Here are snapshots from our warm busy days...

Talking about RECOVERY! Watch this...

2009-05-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

Scenic Sunday

2009-05-30T09:12:00.001-07:00

Como Park, St. Paul, Minnesota

Memorial Day

2009-05-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

I lost my $20 bill in the morning before I went out shopping. So, no new dress for me! Sorry. I was shopping mainly for new dinner set. The one we were using everyday was chipped all over and I couldn't wait getting rid of them. After shopping, we went to the Como Park in St. Paul. Here are our snapshots...

Singin at our Church

2009-05-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

I have started singing again at church a few months ago. On my first time up on stage, after about five years, was a little awkward. And I lost my voice after the second song. I am not sure if anybody noticed it but I felt like I had to force my voice out and I couldn't hear myself. I truly miss the days in the past when I felt like I was so good in singing... mainly because I received a lot of invitations to sing and even to do recording. Should I say, "those were the days", with a sigh? Oh, no. I am not a wimp. I just don't give up. But I'm taking it slow. I have to revive my voice slowly but surely. Good that I only sing at church up to twice a month. But yes, I am happy that I can use my voice in singing again for God's glory.

Friend Tricia and I and our shoes. No, we didn't plan to wear the same color of shoes...

Lazy Thinkers

2009-05-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was one of those days when Paul, Izzy and I would go out and look for a spot outdoors where there are people hanging out. This is one of our witnessing "regimen" this year.

We went to the park by the beach about 3 miles away from us for one reason, evangelize! This park is called Crystal Lake Park and is one of our family biking routes. When we got to there, we were like "what's going on here?" There was a big crowd of funky young guys hanging out. There were a few girls in skimpy sun dresses too. Then we noticed that 95% of the cars were very low to the ground with open hoods. Later on, we realized that it was a Honda car drivers meet. The drivers were mainly showing off the power of their car engines. We were excited to share the Gospel with the drivers and those who were there just to see the cars. We prayed first and then got out with our million dollar bill tracts. Izzy was excited. Yes, she knew were out for something very important. We walked around the lot and stopped at every car to examine the engine and start conversations with people. I didn't really talk that much because I had to watch Izzy. Paul was able to share the Gospel with many guys. One of them was the meet organizer, who rejected what Paul had to say. One of this organizer's friends though lingered in the conversation with Paul. And when Paul got to the point of sin and judgment, he asked me this question, "Does he always make you think like this?" Paul and I knew that he is thinking. My answer was, "Oh, yes." Then, he said, "I am a lazy thinker." And I said, "Well, there are so many things in life to think about. If we are lazy thinkers, then we should just think of the most important things in life such as what we are talking now." He agreed.

It was a happy day! You know how it is when you know that you are doing what God commanded you to do? People responded in many ways to Paul when he witnessed to them. And Paul has come to the point where he can handle a situation when the person he witnesses to neglects the Gospel. When evangelizing, it is important to keep in mind that the saving part is God's work, our part is mainly speaking to them the whole Gospel.

Paul witnessing to one of the guys...

Izzy Pooh holding one of our Gospel tracts, yes, that's a Gospel tract!

Got to enjoy the kids park and the sun!

Sleepless Weekend

2009-05-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

Friday...

I tried to get our house ready for our guests on Sunday. I was also busying myself packing my scrapping tools, papers and embellishments for the all-night scrapbooking with one of my bff's. I think I have too much "scrapping scraps" than I need and it has always been a little more time-consuming getting ready when I have a "creative weekend" with my "creative bff". So, we left the house an hour after P got home from work. Krisha, (my bff) already made dinner for all of us. The drive was only about 40 minutes north of us. So it was not one of those long drives we don't like to take... yes, we prefer flying than driving! When we got to their house, Cy and Izzy officially started their own party!!! Laughing, jumping, hugging, running, pushing each other, hugging again, apologizing, grabbing each others toys... all in 30 minutes! And the grown ups had a wonderful dinner... Filipino and American food side by side on the table! It was Paul's first attempt to eat a bowl of Mongo beans with Ampalaya tops soup. It wasn't very successful! I ended up eating most of what he had in his bowl... plus my two bowls of it. Also, Krisha and I tried to have our husbands eat gizzards... and they did! And, of course, we didn't tell them what they were before they ate them.

After that big big supper, Krisha and I began working on our scrapbook pages while our hubbies cleaned up and baby sat our little ones. We scrapbooked until 4 am. It was Izzy's first time to go to bed without mommy on her side. The 7-hour scrapbooking time flew so fast! We didn't actually want to stop at that point but we had to get at least a few hours of sleep before we went shopping and more scrapping.

Saturday...
P and Krisha's hubby made breakfast. It was P's first time making banana pancakes... well, the first breakfast he made for me. So, that was sweet of him. Krisha and I ate our breakfast and off went shopping. We bought identical outfits for us. They're the second identical outfits we ever got for ourselves. Yeah, we think it's fun to wear the same outfits. We ended up wearing them for the whole day. When our husbands saw us dressed up the same, they went nuts. They couldn't stop laughing. The rest of the day was spent on scrapping and roasting marshmallows in their backyard. We didn't home until 10 pm.

Sunday...
I was teaching Sunday School for the pre-schoolers at our church in the morning, took a long nap in the afternoon and went with Izzy to P's softball game. We came home around 9:30pm and met our guests. They got to our place while we were in P's game. It's wonderful to meet the wife and son of one of the Mongolian consuls to the Americas, Middle East and Africa.

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-13T20:22:00.001-07:00

Saturday...
I was sneezing like crazy! For some reason, my spring allergy has not stopped bugging me. It's been going on for 3 weeks. I'm not one to seek a doctor's prescription when I have issues like this, so there I tried not to complain about my constant sneezing. We went to Dennis for a big breakfast. It's Izzy's third day of eggless diet, so I was careful not to order anything with egg for her. It seems like it's really working on Izzy's skin. Her skin has shown a lot of improvement since I stopped giving her eggs. Anyway, at Dennis, I tried hard not to sneeze... but it didn't work so we ate our breakfast as fast as we could and off to do food shopping for the big party at our house later that day.

P's family started to arrive at around 3pm. By that time, I already took a day cold medicine and an Ibuprofen. My issue with sneezing has improved and I was able to make the meaty pasta bake and other food for the whole family. Interestingly, I was feeling good the whole time everyone was around. So that was a treat.

Sunday...
P's parents stayed overnight at our place. They went to church with us and we had a chance to celebrate Mother's Day with them that day. We went to World Buffet after church and P's brother and his family also joined us. We had lots of food! P handed Mom our card for her and he gave me the card he wrote for me. I already told him that I didn't want any present for Mother's Day. So to get that card from him was very special. My husband is quite a sweet and creative writer. I love the letters he gave me. The messages are so touching! Anyway, after lunch we went home and Izzy and I took a long nap, while P played his first game in softball in this season. We planned that Izzy and I would not go with him to his game because it was not warm enough for us. After our nap, we had a lot of mommy and baby time... we played, watched tv and took photos.

Fifteen Minutes in North Dakota

2009-05-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

We were able to squeeze in a chance to visit Fargo, North Dakota when were waiting for Orgil's graduation time. Fargo is right next to Moorhead so it only took us a few minutes to actually cross the boundary of Minnesota and North Dakota. The few minutes we had was mainly spent on sightseeing the flooded area by what looked like a very nice park.

Weekend Snapshots

2009-05-05T09:24:00.001-07:00

A weekend trip to Moorhead, Minnesota for Orgil's graduation day.

She found a high staircase outside the college cafeteria and thought it was fun to go up and down it... her dad didn't think so!

She decided the hat was too big and said, "I monna buy a smaller one for myself!"

Posing with the college president... I mean to say, former president!

Going after Izzy on the staircase...

Izzy and her famous Uncle Orgil

Looks like every one of Orgil's friends wanted to take a picture with our Izzy Pooh!

Orgil's Big Day!

2009-05-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

It definitely was a big day for our smarty Mongolian boy! For one, he is the only foreigner on the list of students with highest honors in Concordia College this year. Magna Cum Laude at that! We are so happy and so proud of him. Oh, and did you know I was his teacher back in Mongolia? LOL! Kind of like a glory-to-me thing! Forgive me. Seriously, God has really blessed him. He has put everything in place for him to come this far and finish his undergraduate studies. Not to forget that he got a decent job at one of the most reputable and biggest internet companies in the US even before he actually graduated from college. Such a blessing!

We are so glad that we could be there as a family for him. He also really appreciated P's parents to be willing to take the trip to Moorhead to be at his graduation. Too bad his parents could not come from Mongolia to witness that important occasion in their oldest son's life. But Orgil handled it well.

Hours B4 Orgil's Graduation Day

2009-05-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

We drove to Moorhead from our hotel in Fergus Falls around 8:30 am. We had a simple but good-enough breakfast at the hotel's cafeteria earlier that morning. The drive was about 45 minutes. We attended the Baccalaureate service when we got to Orgil's college. The auditorium was already packed with people when we got there but we were not late. We were looking for Orgil but could not find him. Later, we learned that he was late so he was not able to participate the service. Good it wasn't the actual graduation yet... funny! But we enjoyed the music at the service. They have excellent band and choir. If we were blessed by the message? Well, unfortunately, not. Honestly, we could not understand what the preacher was talking about. He was saying how the center of the gospel is transparency. Odd! No idea what he meant by that. There were other things he mentioned that were so vague. I could tell he loves poetry because he asked someone to read three different poetry in between his sermon. Anyway, we decided not to be bothered by the sermon... we were there mainly for our love for Orgil.

After the service, Paul's parents, Orgil and us, went to the college cafeteria for lunch. It's huge, very clean and has got a lot of variety of food. It was a nice time for P's parents to have a good conversation with Orgil over great food. Isabelle, on the other hand, enjoyed her ice cone! :)

Weekend up North!

2009-05-04T20:56:00.001-07:00

Saturday afternoon... we drove up north with P's parents for our Mongolian boy's graduation on the following day, Sunday, at Concordia College, Moorhead. It was a 3.5-hour of driving all the way, but we had to stop and stay overnight at Comfort Inn hotel in Fergus Falls, which is about 60 miles on the way to where the college is. It was because when we tried to book a hotel accommodation in Moorhead and Fargo area there wasn't any available room for us. It so happened that some famous star had a concert in Fargo the night before Orgil's graduation. It worked well though coz it almost was too much of driving for Izzy. It was not our first time driving up there... Paul, Izzy and I have been to Moorhead, specifically to Orgil's college, it was our third time. But for Paul's parents, it was a first time. We kind of joke about it being that both of them are born and raised in Minnesota.

Fergus Falls is supposedly the home of some 15,000 population but we were surprised to see a busy little city... it definitely looked like it's got more inhabitants than what is reported. It even has got shopping centers like Target, Wallmart, Herbergers and etc.. We even ate at Applebees... see, they have the known restaurants around... yes, they have Perkins too and other family-owned restaurants. Anything more interesting than what I've mentioned? Well, I wish we had a chance to drive around the city to see more of it but we decided to do swimming instead, we had to get some exercise. ;)

Some photos I took inside our room at Comfort Inn...

Paramedics at our House!

2009-04-28T15:21:00.001-07:00

Yes, the paramedics came to our house about 10 minutes after I called 911 yesterday around 12 noon. No, it wasn't me. It wasn't Izzy either. It was Izzy's friend. What happened was this... my bff came to see me and for her 30 months old son and 1 year old daughter to play with Izzy. Something "terrible" happened at her kids' pediatrician clinic earlier and she couldn't wait to tell me about it. Her 1-year old daughter was given a wrong vaccination shot!!! The nurse admitted that instead of a Hepatitis B she mistakenly gave the little girl the shot for Hepatitis A, which is not supposed to be given to kids under 2 years old! What a serious error on the part of the nurse! Worse thing, the nurse didn't even apologize! I was really angry when I heard about it. This is the life of a one-year old girl we are talking about... how could they make such a mistake? It is so unacceptable!

Anyway, my friend and I were talking about it when suddenly we heard her 30-months old son cried in pain in Isabelle's room. It was a cry that really got our attention... we knew it wasn't one of those fights between him and Izzy because it wasn't Izzy crying, if you know what I mean. So we rushed to Izzy's room and found my girl standing on her bed and the little boy on the floor, screaming in pain. When his mother checked him, his blood squirted from below his chin! We both screamed and panicked. We thought it was more than just a little cut. We even thought the blood came from his throat! My first thought was to look for my first aid kit, only to find out I didn't have first aid kit for cuts. So I looked for a clean cloth to use to press on the cut to stop the bleeding. While his mom did that I asked if she wanted me to call 911 and she nodded. So I called 911 and answered a few questions from them. About 10 minutes later they parked the ambulance in front of out house and two paramedics came in. They suggested the boy to be brought to the urgent care for stitches. He and his mommy went with the paramedics to the hospital, where I gave birth to Izzy. I was left at our house with my friend's 1-year old daughter and, of course, Izzy. Two hours later, she called and said that they had been waiting at the emergency area and that she already got really sick and tired of waiting there. She said that there was not many people but nobody had attended to them yet. The bleeding in her little boy's chin had stopped, so she decided to come back home even before a doctor could to see them. It's terrible. They were very hungry, too! I was so disappointed at Fairview Ridges hospital! So, they came back and had lunch at our house, gave him a bath and drove back to their house.

Such a traumatic day for me and my friend. I could also feel the trauma that Izzy experienced when she saw her friend fell from her bed to the floor. I had to comfort her. Later, she explained what actually happened. She did it pretty well that I was able to understand what cause the cut below his chin. The cut was about half an inch. I have no idea how deep it was though... must be deep enough to spurt that amount of blood. Anyway, he was reaching for Izzy's stars (those that light up in the dark) on the wall by the bed. Somehow, he lost his balance, tipped over the edge of the bed and hit his chin on the foot board. I figured out that the strong pressure caused the cut. I didn't know it was possible until one of our neighbors told me. Anyway, I believed Izzy's explanation because there was an evidence... we found little stars in the boy's hand. The stars are not strong enough to cause a cut, so it was the stars. Here's the thing, when I shared this story to one friend, he said... "it's dangerous to reach for the stars without being careful!" He was being funny but yes, there's some truth in it. Lesson to learn: Always keep an eye on your little children while they are playing. Double check what the pediatricians give to your kids.

Weekend Recap

2009-04-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

We had quite a weekend. P was off from work on Friday so we could attend the conference at our church. We had such an awesome speaker! We were so blessed. The conference started on Thursday night and ended on Friday night. I got to actually be at the conference twice and got to hear the speaker, otherwise, I was helping at the nursery so other moms would have a chance to enjoy the conference. Oh, and I made cookies the day before the conference and brought 4 dozens to church. There was a lot of good food for the fellowship after the evening session. The women at our church worked hard to serve such great food for the delegates. That was really fun.

Saturday, we stayed home most of the time because all three of us had allergies. It's this time of the year where our noses get itchy. We've been taking turns sneezing and blowing our noses! Not fun at all but it happens.

Sunday, we drove to our friends' place in St. Paul for their daughter's first birthday right after church. We got stuck in traffic because it was raining and so the traffic was very slow, plus, there was an a car accident... so that wasn't very fun... what was supposed to be a 30-minute drive became one and a half hours. Bummer, yes... but also yes, it happens. When we got to our destination, I almost didn't have time to dress up like a fairy. Yes, I was supposed to look like a fairy mother to Izzy who was dressed up as Tinker Bell. I had to make two Filipino dishes, so it used up my time to put fairy make-up on. My friend (the mom of the birthday girl) looked fantastic in her fairy outfit and make-up. Good I still managed to have time to wear my simple pink fairy dress. So we had fun at the party! Quite a few of our friends came so it was a great time catching up with the latest in their lives.

We didn't drive home until around 10:30pm. Yes, it was that late. It's all because Paul did some ministry of witnessing to the men who came. We know them so it wasn't really evangelizing strangers. In fact, some of them kind of expected for spiritual talks to happen because they know Paul loves to talk to them about God. I am so proud of my husband!

Izzy and Mommy Day

2009-04-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Isabelle and I went to the Mall of America for some fun time. She, of course, wanted to visit the Lego Land first and then the rides. We went to her favorite places first... kind of making her feel obligated to go with me (with a smile) to my favorite stores, like Arden B. And so yes, she didn't complain the whole time we hopped from one store to another. I'm glad she has now a good understanding that what is "deal" is deal... and that she has to keep her promise to me.

Miss California's Boldness

2009-04-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

News have really been redundant the past few months. If it's not about the economic meltdown which is referred to as one of the reasons for murders and suicides, then, it's about the liberal moves of the new president. Today, though, was different, a young woman made a bold statement of her stance on the Biblical correctness of marriage as between a man and a woman. Here is a new face among the icons of beauty and brains... Carie Prejean was expected to win the pageant but she obviously didn't care if she lost the crown of the next Miss USA to someone else, she knew she had to remind America and the whole world that this is still a country of citizens standing bravely on the freedom to live as Biblical Christians. Awesome!!! We are in a free land... we have a full right to declare what we believe! We do not have to compromise our very own beliefs to appease the people who have continually refused to receive the gospel and are given to a reprobate mind.

My Favorite Wedding Songs

2009-04-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

Well, what can I do? I got tagged by my sisi, so here I go...

5 of my favorite wedding songs:

1. All in His own sweet time (I don't know who the song writer and artist are, but that's on top of my list because in my wedding story, that song speaks it all!)

2. The Lord's prayer (That song was sung by P's best man who is an opera singer in New York on our wedding day. It was awesome!)

3. You are my song (by Regine Velasquez only)

4. How did you know (by Gary V... makes me cry! so touching)

5. Love is stronger than anything (Cathy Maliza)

Now, I don't think there's anyone left not being tagged of this one. I'll just end here, if you don't mind.

Steak Season

2009-04-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

I call spring and summer the steak season. Steak (the real thing... beef!) is one of the many reasons I love my life in America. My all-time favorite is a well-done rib-eye. This year though, I am planning to start eating medium-rare. The reason why I have been a big fan of well-done is because I don't think eating food that is not cooked thoroughly is good for pregnant and nursing moms. Anyway, I have started to make steak on our charcoal grill. Last Tuesday, I made steak, served with baked potatoes, freshly baked garlic bread and fruit salsa, P was very happy! It's his favorite meal. And we had dinner at our deck... that made it just the perfect one for my hubby.

Spring is here, at last!

2009-04-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally here. It felt like forever waiting for the winter to end. Winter seemed to refuse to exit until last week. It's been really warm since then. Belle and I have been enjoying the outdoors. She loves running on our lawn and playing basketball with me on our driveway. When a friend of mine and her two kids came to visit us from New Brighton, we took an afternoon walk together... it was refreshing. P and I and our little Belle have also started our after-dinner daily walk around our neighborhood. The little girl enjoys it because now that she is bigger she gets to actually walk and not have to sit on her stroller. Now, she gets a lot of exercise. She needs it... and loves it.

On Saturday, we did a lot of yard work. P was raking our lawn and cleaning our garden beds. I was planting flowers. We love having annuals in our garden beds because their blooms seem to last from spring through fall. I still have to study more about planting flowers in our place. The perennials are difficult for me to figure out. I still want to someday have the most beautiful flower garden- one that has a lot of blooms at least on spring through fall. Anyway, on Saturday while planting flowers under the nice warm sunshine, I remembered my mom. She loves planting flowers and is very patient with caring them. I'm not sure if I will ever have the same amount of patience and passion for flowers. I love flowers around the house but I'm not as hardworking as my mom and other ladies in gardening.

I am happy that it's been raining since yesterday. It's sporadic though. I just can't wait to see a green mini-jungle in our backyard. I'm kind of tired of the brown dead branches on the trees. I want colors!!! These rains we have now will definitely bring colors in a few days. Can't wait.

Blessed with Great Friendships

2009-04-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I was praying for when I got here 3 and a half years ago was friends. Being thousands of miles away from the family, I was desperately needing friends- friends who would make me feel less homesick. In my heart of heart, I knew that God would answer this particular prayer and bring special people into my life. Back when I was traveling in Central Asia, God didn't fail to provide me wonderful friends each time I asked Him. So I never doubt He wouldn't give me friends in America. Today, I am so blessed with great friendships! All women in my neighborhood are my friends but two of them are very good friends. There's a Filipino group that I became a part of and I have made a lot of friendships in that group, but 5 of the ladies in the group are special... and one of the five is my bff. I have so many American friends but two of them are very close to me. I am forever grateful to God for the blessing of friendship!

I wrote about friendship because this morning when I woke up, a friend stopped by to bring me a big bowl of her home-made fish soup. I felt so loved! It's not her first time, she has been doing this at least once in a couple months for about three years now. I just feel so blessed!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

Still in Winona...

We went to church in the morning with P's parents. As I anticipated there was a little bit of a show at the beginning of the service. I apologize if I will sound critical but I don't understand why the church put on a professional singer for a special number at the beginning of the service... well, that's not my concern because, obviously, there's nothing wrong with that. My issue is on the song he sang. Why would they make an Easter service, or any church service, look like a variety show on TV? The singer, by the way, sang "It's a beautiful day" by U2, if you are familiar with that, which most of my readers here are, I'm sure. Well, that one I didn't like much. The rest of the service was good though. The songs during the worship time were great. The message was... well, okay. I said "okay" because I think I only understood at least 50% of the of the sermon. It's not that plain and simple for me... there was too much analogy and too much information. I craved for inductive preaching. Anyway, we're just glad we got to be with P's parents on Easter Sunday. Food at lunch was great... great because we got to eat Pluma Moos and etc.. We also went to DQ for ice cream and enjoying visiting with the neighbors.

I think this is very funny!!!

2009-04-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

I found this one in the profile of one my friends in Facebook and it cracked me up!

Micah's guide to being a successful bench player:

the first rule to being a good bench player is admit you suck, there is a reason your sitting there. this is very hard for a lot of people to do, but once you admit you deserve to sit there, the happier you will be.

the second rule is, basketball is not life! if you wanna have a conversation on the bench, then do it! who cares if its the first quarter and we are tied, the interesting stuff happens at the end.

the third rule is, be in shape for the bench. its hard popping up off your butt after being comfortably sitting for couple quarters and dodging out of the way of the cocky starters who feel like the world serves them, not to mention reflexes to grab that water and towel and hand it to them.

the forth rule is dont waste your time, when the coach is walking back and forth looking for the next person to put in, its not you so dont even waste your time trying to look like your ready to go in. dont waste your time stretching, or tying your shoes either. and certainly dont bother watching what he draws on the play board during the timeout, you know it your not involved.

the fifth rule is important. the coach and the players need to think that you are involved and actually care how they are doing, so say good job, give lots of five fives and pretend like you are paying attention.

the sixth rule is above all the most important. no one can be a good bench player without a wing man, this is the guy you will be best friends with, you guys will watch each others backs the whole season and have the strongest bond with. you should take a picture of the first time you go on the court together. pick someone that doesnt take themselves to seriously, remember, your the joke of the team.

the last rule is simple, personize your bench, this is your new home. hang some pictures up, a welcome home matt, have a cushion for your butt and some food. take pride in your bench.

bench players are like the leaders in disguise, they get people ready for championship games by keeping everyone relaxed and confident in themselves. the bench has come a long way, from being made of stone and wood to the more familiar plastic that we know today.
a team is only as good as its bench.

Scenic Sunday

2009-04-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

I took this photo from the boarding area at Narita Int'l Airport on January 27, 2009. For more scenic photos, check out...

Easter in Winona

2009-04-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

It's been wonderful to get to be with P's family here in Winona for Easter weekend. We drove here last night after our Good Friday service at church. The drive was nice and... noisy, I should say. Izzy was very excited to see her grampa and gramma and was singing and talking a lot. P and I had to put her nursery cd on so she settles down and we could start our conversation. We always treasure our out-of-town drives and we enjoy our endless conversations on just about anything while in the car. So last night's drive was fun.

Today, we were not busy. P helped his dad do some work at the house- preparing for the warm days ahead. Mom and I talked a lot while working in the kitchen. Izzy and I took a long nap after lunch... it was really good to be able nap that long. I don't usually nap for an hour and a half because I prefer the power 5-minute naps in the afternoon. Anyway, mom has been serving us really good food here, so we have been eating well. We had roast beef for supper and that was very delicious. I don't know, for some reason, I feel like I eat more when I am in Winona. Anyway, after dinner, I got to drive to one of P's friends growing up. We saw them at their new house. It was nice for P to meet his friend... play catch and talk. I also enjoyed talking to his wife. She has such a bubbly personality... something rare around here. Generally, Minnesotans are reserved(?!)... kind of like prim and proper. So it was nice to meet someone who loves to laugh out loud!

Tomorrow, we will be going to P's church growing up with his parents. We always go to this church every time we are in Winona. The church is okay, it's just that sometimes their services get too theatrical... sort of too much entertainment... too much creative stuff that are sometimes "distracting" to me. I am hoping there's not a lot of drama going on tomorrow. I kind of suspect that there will be some of that if not a lot because it's Easter Sunday. Oh, well... I guess I can handle that. I just prefer simple services... like worship Jesus and listen from the Word... oh, and yes, fellowship with other believers.

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday tomorrow... and all Sundays!

P's Birthday Bash

2009-04-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

What can be better than celebrating birthday on a Sunday... you get to go to church first and then other fun things follow. That's what we did for P's birthday yesterday. We went to church, came home, took a nap, played basketball outside while Izzy was biking, I baked a colorful cake, went out for steak, came home for cake and P's gift opening and payed Scrabble. P and all of us had fun. For Izzy and my presents, we bought him shirts for summer. Orgil got him two DVD's of Max Lucado and Lee Strobel. When he saw the cake, he thought it was the first most colorful cake he has ever seen! I'm glad he liked it because I worked hard to make it possible. I know he has a sophisticated taste for colors... he likes bright colors so I worked extra on making his birthday cake very colorful.

For steak at dinner, we thought we would go to a restaurant we had not been to together... and that was the Timberlodge. The place was okay. I accidentally (???) ordered prime rib... well, I totally forgot I don't care for it. When I saw it, I didn't like it. P suggested I would order sirloin steak because they only serve a 14-pound ribeye, it was too much for me. Ribeye, by the way, is my favorite. Yes, I know I don't need the extra fat in it. Anyway, I made a second order or sirloin and was happy. We ended up taking home the prime rib.

Well, according to P, his birthday didn't end at 12 midnight last night. He has a point though, we still have a party for him others with his family soon.

Progressive Dinner

2009-04-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

Three families in our small neighborhood coordinated a progressive dinner last Saturday. Being that we were free, we got to join them. We started off at one house with appetizer. After about an hour, we walked to another house for a fondue dinner. Fondue dinner is perfect for parties. It's very fun to eat slowly... and talk in between putting food in the mouth. We also played Wii, where Paul beat all in dancing! Believe me I'm telling the truth! Anyway, after our tummies digested part of the Teriyaki beef we had in fondue, we were ready for dessert. It was time to climb the hill where the house of our new neighbor couple moved in a few months ago. By the time we were ready to leave for the "dessert" house, it was already snowing hard. It suddenly felt like December. We walk to the hill during the snowfall. When we got to the house, I smelled coffee. I was happy. I was ready for it the moment the snow flakes touched my hair. We were also surprised to see candles on a German chocolate cake on their dinner table. Paul had a surprise birthday bash that night. So nice of them to do that. I got to have coffee and chocolate cake that night. How nice was that! It was already 11:30 when we got home. Surprisingly, Izzy was so awake and was a great party-er.

Us and our neighbors at the third house...

Winter in Spring

2009-04-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

It's just so Minnesota... snowing like crazy on April 5th! It's very pretty though. However, I could care less about looks when I am so ready for the summer. Imagine waking up wondering if it was December or April. I was pretty sure it's April. But looking through our window in our bedroom, it felt so "decembery!" (if there is such a word!) I entertained myself with the glorious snow sitting on the trees. The summer umbrella on our deck was beautifully decorated with snow! Suddenly, the blue jays in our backyard had a day-off from their morning job of serenading us... yes, they were cold too. Anyway, the snow, of course, didn't stop us from going to church and enjoying our fellowship with friends and celebrating P's birthday. The snow was gone before 1pm though. The temperature wasn't low enough to keep it on the ground. Check out the photos I took yesterday morning...

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Happy Birthday, Honey!

2009-04-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

Today, my husband turned a year older. He is one year younger than me, so it should be easy for you to guess his age now... wait, that's only if you know how old I am. Anyway, to start celebrating his birthday, we had his friends from church over at our house for brunch yesterday. Eight guys came with him from their men's prayer meeting. I served them the typical continental breakfast- scrambled egg with ham, sausages, pancakes with honey (I forgot to buy maple syrup... bummer!) and pear honey preserves, bananas, strawberries, oatmeal-raisin cookies, coffee and orange juice. It felt great to see my husband very proud of me! Oh, sorry... I mean, to see him happy with his friends who he can talk to, unedited. When I say that I only meant that he is so himself when he is with these guys. These guys are awesome. They're godly men and are like real big brothers to him. They love him... and he loves them.

One of them asked me if I could join them in the dining table, I got to tell them that I actually felt awkward around 9 big guys. Yes, I felt that. And I figured out that they are better off talking without me joining in their conversations. Izzy was still la la la land sleeping soundly when they were eating, so I felt very much outnumbered.

This morning at church, several women thanked me for serving their husbands great breakfast. Trying to be modest, I said, "You're welcome. I actually served them easy-to-make breakfast, so it wasn't super special." Oh, but I think they really liked the food. In fact, one of them said that if Paul's business goes bankrupt, there is another business opportunity waiting for us... a restaurant! LOL!

Weekend Recap

2009-03-31T09:34:00.000-07:00

Friday night: We had that junk movie, called, Duplicity. Driving home from the movie felt like driving home from a dinner date at McDonald's. How unromantic was that... ooops, rephrase... how unhealthy and fattening was that! We were so bumped. But life is like that. We can't expect things to be always beautiful.

Saturday: P volunteered at church, painting with other guys. I was home with baby, kind of like complaining that I had a Saturday morning that felt like a regular weekday. But when P came home, he had two bundles of pretty roses and a Caribou vanilla latte for me. Not only that, he also bought roasted turkey so I didn't have to make dinner. How sweet is that! That is just as sweet as any wife can get! At night, we stayed home and talked.

Sunday: I woke up earlier than usual. It was one of those Sundays that I need to be at church for praise and worship rehearsal 2 hours before the service. Yes, I now sing at church. It was my second Sunday. Exciting! For lunch, we joined some friends from church at a Chinese Buffet. There was definitely a party in my tummy! After lunch, I did shopping for a couple hours. Then Paul and I and Izzy (sleeping in her car seat) went joy riding. We went to the nearby lake and watched the kids skateboarding. One of the kids approached us and asked P if he knew "drifting", referring to that thing when you drive your car in spinning, which is actually only possible with a really high-powered sports car like the Thunderbird that Paul had before. So they talked about it. Eventually, P led the conversation into witnessing. The four kids were listening and were very responsive. I was praying. Then we went home feeling so satisfied! Really, there's nothing more satisfying than sharing your faith to others.

Yummy Sunday

2009-03-28T19:10:00.001-07:00

Our neighbors invited us for dinner at their house last week, she served us this fruit cake for our dessert. Paul was very happy... he is a fruit guy!

Scenic Sunday

2009-03-28T19:02:00.001-07:00

Aerial view of Davao City. I took this one on our trip to the Philippines a couple months ago. For more scenic photos visit Scenic Sunda...

Movies

2009-03-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

P and I are not into movies anymore... well, we were never fans of Hollywood movies. In almost 4 years of being husband and wife, we only went out for a movie 4 times. For us, going to a movie theater for a date is kind of a WOT (waste of time). Well, except for that one time when we watched the Fireproof. Fireproof was a real "date" material for married couples. Anyway, I was talking with my BIL on the phone last night and he asked me why I said in an email that P and I are not into movies anymore. I told him that one of the main reasons is that we are so disgusted with the dirty language that most movies now contain. The constant cursing and using of the name of God and Christ as cuss words seriously bother us. We can't stand it. Sitting there for two hours listening to sinful words is just too much. If a Christian can sit in a theater for two hours per week for a PG-13 Hollywood movie but can not even read the Bible and pray at least two hours per week at home, then there is a serious problem. Sanctification can never be attained by intentionally exposing ourselves to the ungodliness of this world.

Last night, for some reason, we thought we would go out for a movie while Izzy stays home with her Uncle Orgil and works on her new geography jigsaw. We planned on watching the movie called, Confessions of a Shopaholic. When we got to the theater, we realized that it was no longer showing. We decided to watch Duplicity. Oh, it was two hours of listening to cuss words. We also felt so uncomfortable watching the lead stars kissed and did some bed scenes knowing that they are not married. How can other people overlook that... I don't know. I was surprise we didn't walk out. I guess we just got curious about how the story would end. And when it ended, we sighed... and said... "such a piece of garbage!" That movie ruined our date, that's for sure. I wore my red shoes and used my gold purse for that date. But I guess it happens. In the future though, we will be more careful.

Bulgogi Recipe

2009-03-25T08:00:00.001-07:00

I am posting this for Gigi.

Ingredients:

1 lb. very thinly sliced beef
1 Kiwi fruit or apple (kiwi is the best tenderizer)
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 T sesame oil
1 T sugar
3 dashes black pepper
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
green onions
2 T Japanese or Korean cooking rice wine
1 T vinegar (optional)

Direction:

1. Put the meat slices into the large mixing bowl and sprinkle sugar over it and mix with hands or chopsticks. Let it stand of about 10 minutes

2. Prepare the marinade... place onion and kiwi into food processor or blender until liguid and pour into small bowl. Mix soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, sesame oil, cooking wine and vinegar. After mixing taste it. You want have a slightly salty, sweet taste. If it's too salty, add a bit more sugar.

3. Chop garlic into small pieces, cut green onion into 2 to 3 inch pieces and put into sugar/meat mixture.

4. Pour both sauces into the garlic/onion meat mixture and mix well, using hands or chopsticks. It is important to mix thoroughly so the marinade is evenly distributed throughout the meat. Refrigerate for at least tow hours or overnight.

Dina's Favorite Cookies

2009-03-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

OATMEAL-RAISIN VANISHING COOKIES

3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt (opt.)
1 c. raisins
3 c. Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices; add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie, 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire cooling rack. Store in tightly covered container. 4 1/2 dozen.

Bulgogi: My Comfort Food

2009-03-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

You can not imagine how excited I was when I finally learned how to make Bulgogi. That was two years ago. Bulgogi is made from thin slices of sirloin or other prime cut of beef. The meat is marinated with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, kiwi fruit or apple. Before cooking, the meat is marinated to enhance its flavor and tenderness. Kiwi fruit is the best meat tenderizer I've ever known.

Bulgogi is traditionally grilled, but pan-cooking is common as well. It is best eaten with raw whole cloves of garlic and radish or cabbage kimchee. My favorite way of eating them is wrapping each bite-size serving of Bulgogi, garlic, rice and kimchee with lettuce or other leafy vegetable. Oh, it's very tasty!

Bulgogi is more than nutritious and yummy food for me. It reminds me of how God blessed my life with my Korean very thoughtful and sincere friends. It also reminds me how I loved being in Seoul, Korea. I got to visit the city three times in 4 years. I love Korean culture, food, cleanliness and the people. I love the Korean Christians' devotion to prayer and generosity. In addition, Bulgogi wrap was my comfort food back when I was in Mongolia. When I got really sick of the harsh weather, when I got tired of the greasy meaty Mongolian food, when I felt lonely and sad, when I have money, I always went to a Korean restaurant and ate a lot of Bulgogi. It made me happy.

I am so glad that one of my close friends here found Bulgogi to be very tasty. She loves it now. It's really great having someone to share the joy of eating Bulgogi wrap. Paul eats it but it's not really his favorite. Well, I understand being that Americans are not trained to eat Kimchee. I wasn't either but I have become a Kimchee-lover!

Weekend Recap

2009-03-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful weekend. We stayed home and played Scrabble with Orgil. It was a great game but very sobering! Orgil has been beating P and me 4 times in a row now! It's embarrassing! I guess I taught Orgil English too much back in Mongolia! The blame is on me, that's for sure! Anyway, it was nice that our Belle flower let us play without her interruptions. She was so happy playing playdough and her new Dora set over popcorn. The big people had banana cake and tea. It was a sweet evening for our family.

On Saturday, we spent time with our close friends, the Samuelsons. We helped them deliver fliers of their architecture business. It was a perfect day to walk around their neighborhood... the temperature was up to 65F. We then went to Famous Dave's restaurant for lunch. I had a big order of their spare ribs and shrimp combo. I shared it with Izzy... she ended up eating just the corn. She wasn't up for shrimp... I know it's strange! She's always loved shrimp except that day. We went back to delivering fliers and went back to their house for the girls to take a nap. Hope, Hannah, Izzy and I napped in their king size therapeutic bed for an hour, while Paul and David continued delivering the fliers. After our nap, the little girls played playdough and I had coffee. Lisa, (the lady of the house) came home from work and made dinner. I didn't feel like helping her. Instead, I and the girls turned on the TV and put the movie August Rush. We were watching the movie while waiting for Lisa's Bolognese spaghetti and Caesar salad. I felt a little spoiled there. I didn't do anything but napped and ate yummy food. We ended up staying until 10 pm. We love to be with them so much that we don't care looking at our watches.

Yesterday (Sunday), we went to church in the morning. I didn't have to go to church much earlier because I wasn't scheduled to sing with the worship team. But it was my first Sunday to teach the preschoolers' Sunday school. It was fun to be with the kids. I told them the story about the wise and the foolish builders. They loved the story. I can't believe how their little brains could comprehend the principle of building a house. I think it was easier for them to understand the concept of building a house in a sand as I talk to them about what happens to a sand castle if we pour water on it. But I was excited that they also understood that if a house is built on a rock it stands strong. They're very bright! Anyway, after church, we went with friends from church to Chipotle. Izzy and I had steak burito in a bowl. I loved it. Izzy didn't. She ended up having chips and choco milk for lunch. How nutritious is that? I felt bad. We spent all afternoon napping, reading, shopping and watching TV.

Now, your turn to tell me about your weekend.

A Dinner with Special Friends

2009-03-19T22:40:00.001-07:00

We have made our next door neighbors one of our close friends the past two years. They are Somalis who have been living in the US for more than 10 years. They are a wonderful family. Isabelle and I go out with the wife and her daughter a lot. Our little girls have definitely become best of friends. The couple has been really open to tell us how they love us and that they find us rather having beautiful hearts. They tell us how they believe that the reason why we have beautiful hearts is because we love God. It is very encouraging to hear that from them! P and I love and pray for them a lot. We are praying and looking forward to the day when God unite our hearts in Him. We continue to allow ourselves to be used by God to bless this family with His saving grace and love.

Last Friday, they asked us to join them for dinner at their house. We had a great time talking over Somali food. The man of the house asked P to pray. And P prayed in Jesus' name. Every person, big and small, in that table said, "Amen!" Isn't that awesome?

Serving

2009-03-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

Paul and I are finally back to serving at our church. We kind of stop doing ministry when Isabelle was born. Paul used to teach little girls at our old church. He did that for 6 years. I got to help him with that for a while. When we moved to our new church a year and 3 months ago, we were so content not doing anything until Paul was asked to lead the Food drive ministry, where he leads a group that collects food donations and bring them to Dakota Country food shelf. Just a few months ago, our pastor asked him to lead the evangelism team of the church. As for me, the church asked me to help teach the preschoolers Sunday school. I just gave my "yes" to that request a month ago. I will start that ministry this coming Sunday. Also, I have just joined the music team. In fact, last Sunday I got to sing in front for the first time after about 10 years of not doing any worship leading. So we are happy that we are back to ministry... at church, because we have not stopped our ministry of evangelism and discipleship. It's about time to get involved in church ministries.

"I'm bored!"

2009-03-17T09:49:00.001-07:00

"I'm bored!" seems to be the favorite line of the young generation here in America. How sad. And to me, it does raise red flags. These kids who are saying this line have i-Pod's, cellphones, computer games, internet access, televisions with at least 50 channels at home, DVD's of their favorite movies, all kinds of toys, hundreds of books and etc.. On top of the listed things, there are public libraries, fitness centers, community learning centers, malls and schools with everything they need to be busy with. Whatever happened to this generation!

Growing up, I didn't have the luxury to enjoy all that the kids are enjoying now but I can not remember being bored. My sister and I were so content with our Coke bottle we used as a doll. We were so happy making our play house from coffee branches and banana tree barks, as opposed to the ready-made play houses that are available today. We loved recycling our mother's cans and jars from her kitchen into our own play kitchen utensils. Now, little girls can choose from so many kinds of ready-made play kitchen sets.

"I'm bored!" clearly speaks of discontentment and ungratefulness. This generation is plagued with a constant desire for more. Never satisfied. Never grateful. Stomachs are never full. Minds can not rest. Hearts are full of acquisitiveness. It scares me! It freaks me out because this was the case of the people of the Tower of Babel. They were not satisfied to build just a high tower. They wanted a tower that reached to the sky... to make a name for themselves. God looked at them with displeasure. He was so displeased that He punished them with confusion. I believe that He has started to confuse people now. The technology today has become confusing to most of the people.

Oh, by the way, the bulb of our Plasma TV blew up... now we have experienced the peace brought by not having a TV.

Singing Bees

2009-03-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

These girls are just three of my 8 nieces in the Philippines. We couldn't wait for my parents first grandson... if he comes, he comes. If not, God must have an important reason for giving them many granddaughters. Anyway, I love these three girls. They are super talented! They each has a very unique personality. But all three of them are very beautiful!

Volume up your speakers...

My Only Sister and "Bestest" Friend

2009-03-12T08:02:00.001-07:00

She is fondly called Gigi, Nene, Kokoy, Grace and Mary. I call her Gigi. She is 2 years younger than I am, but I don't look that much older than her (LOL!). We grew up and made all kinds of memories together as sisters, playmates, rivals, co-workers, discipler-disciple (who's who? it purely depends on the situation), master-servant (who's who? it also depends on the situation), and etc..

We are opposites. That's why we attract. She talks all day, I think all day. She does, I watch. She has a million of close friends, I have twenty. She is the life of a party, I am... uhmmm... getting there, I suppose. She loves the outdoors, I love indoors? well, 50/50. She works hard at home, I am usually the beneficiary of her hard work at home. She works and talks fast, I am slow. She is practical, I am impractical? Hehe... theoretical, that's maybe the right... and classy word. She learns by hands-on experience, I am... hhhmmm... well, leaning toward being speculative. Anyway, enough of the opposites.

We are both loved by handsome men! Both married on our early 30's! Both hearts were transformed as we surrender them to the Lordship of Jesus. Both are teachers. We both love to sing and dance. We both drink coffee. We each has a cute little daughter. We both love to laugh. We both are silly. We both speak at least 3 different languages fluently. We both have long black straight hairs. We both weigh 105 pounds. We both are Jesus freaks... we love Him so much. We both are so blessed!!!

She loves me and I love her!

It was great seeing her on our very recent trip to the Philippines... that's after 2 years.

Spoiled Generation

2009-03-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

During weekdays, I usually wake up earlier in the morning to make sandwiches for my hubby to take to work for lunch. Then, I would quickly turn on my lappy, leave it and make coffee for myself. As soon as I get the coffee maker going, I would return to my laptop to check my emails, Facebook and Friendster, listen to my audio Bible and blog hop. This morning was a little different. Okay, I pressed the power button of my laptop and left it to make coffee. I got the coffee maker going so I went back to my laptop to do my internet routine. However, my laptop wasn't ready yet. It was downloading updates for a couple minutes, which literally felt like an hour. I started to grumble. After complaining I knew I have just proven that I have become a citizen of this spoiled generation.

Checking my Facebook, I came across one of my friends' video link post. It's called, "Everything's Amazing, Nobody's happy." by Louis C. K. I'm not really a fan of Louis C. K., but this particular video made me plead guilty. It's hilarious and it's got a lot of truth in it. You could check it, laugh about it and be guilty. However, I don't recommend watching his other videos, he swears a lot... it's disgusting.

Dear Jesus, forgive me for my complaining attitude this morning. Help me to be patient and be thankful for all the fast things that I am enjoying now. Teach my spoiled generation a lesson- a lesson to bring us to our knees and recognize that every good thing comes from you and that we need to be thankful for them.

Philippine Trip- Tandag

2009-03-11T18:47:00.001-07:00

My family moved to Tandag from Davao way back in 1988. It was right after I graduated from high school in Maragusan. I went to college in Tandag, taking up BS in Business Administration majoring Banking and Finance. I have quite a bit of friends in Tandag- from college, church and youth organizations I was a part of back then. Life there wasn't very easy economically, especially when I was in college. However, after finishing my college, things got better that I even got to go to the graduate school without borrowing money.

What I like about Tandag the most is the abundance of seafood. I am a seafood (and veggies) person, so I love Tandag for that... and of course for the special people God has placed in my life.

I love where my parents live now. It's ways from the downtown, so it's quieter (except early in the morning when the roosters do their cock-a-doodle-doo's) and cleaner. Oh, it was nice to see papa's little farm. He has lots of plants, including bananas and rice! Their place has a countryside atmosphere in it. I love it.

Philippine Trip- Davao City

2009-03-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun vacationing in Davao City last January. We stayed there for 5 days. It was great to be with the whole family, catching up with everyone's life. Here are the photos we took...

Bail Out

2009-03-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

Since day one of the bail out thing, I have always been opposed to it. I know that supporters of it want to make it sound like it is for the welfare of so many people who would have lost their jobs if the government didn't "come to the rescue" kind of a thing. The bail out, at first, seemed heroic to people who have less care or worst, ignorant of one of the important factors that makes a country the land of the free- capitalism.

The humongous amount of money that the government spent on bailing out the wealthy "fools" of this nation has paved the way for "more government" on this nation. The beauty of capitalism which is to achieve lesser governance has been totally a failure over the past few months. As the government holds the preferred stocks of these giant corporations being bailed out, capitalism has lost its place in this country.

I am just wondering where all of these extravagant spending of this present administration will lead this country to. These stimulus funds are not the answer to rebuild this economy. It only stimulates tax raise! Tax raise for the middle class people who are working hard... working hard to rescue the wealthy.

How about bringing the corrupt big fishes of those bailed out companies into justice?

Jollibee

2009-03-01T15:58:00.000-08:00

Something about Jollibee fast-food restaurant in the Philippines that makes little boys and girls go crazy. The first time Izzy saw it, she got excited... I mean, very excited. She asked me what it was and I told her it was a fast-food restaurant. She has never forgotten about it since then. She fell in love with Jollibee! When we were driving in the main cities, she could easily spot a Jollibee restaurant and scream to the top of her voice and say the word over and over again until everyone in the car says, "oh, yes, it's Jollibee!" When we were at the Metropoint mall in Pasay City, she saw a Jollibee mascot and gave it a big big hug. Her smiles told us how much she loved it!

The "effect" Jollibee has on children made the business launch a very successful record as one of the leading companies in the Philippines for many years now.

Yummy Sunday

2009-02-28T20:23:00.001-08:00

Steamed ripe Saba banana! It's so yummy!

Scenic Sunday

2009-02-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

Maragusan Valley, Davao. This is where I spent my first 15 years of life.

Relativism is Illogical

2009-02-26T07:33:00.000-08:00

One thing I like about Americans is their ability to stay "cool" even in a heated discussion. Well, most of the time. Unlike most Filipinos, they usually carry a conversation or an argument rationally and with a sense of respect. They talk to strangers... they are not intimidated (maybe they are!) by intruders who want to talk to them. They honestly welcome and answer your questions, as opposed to a lot of Filipinos who think that a stranger has no right to smile, greet or talk to them. I have heard a common comment in the Philippines like, "Why is she talking to me? Do I know her?" Often, what Americans call confidence is cockiness to Filipinos. Anyways, this just came to mind because I was fascinated at how people respond to Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron when they suddenly appear to individuals and start interviewing them. People are amazingly responsive!

Check this video out...

I really enjoyed watching it! It explains relativism and how illogical it is!

Conference

2009-02-23T22:13:00.001-08:00

Paul and I spoke at a Pastors and Church Leaders conference in Tandag, Surigao del Sur, Philippines on the 12th of this month. 120 of them made it to the said event. We had to say “no” to those who didn't register before the seminar day because the venue could only accommodate a maximum of 120 people. It was pouring heavily on that day and some areas of the city were already flooded. But the bad weather could not stop the people from coming.

The conference went really well. Paul has grown so much as to being a teacher and as to public speaking. In fact, he was a different person up there. He spoke with eloquence, boldness, convincing power and a clear message by God’s grace. I knew it! I was very optimistic that he would do well because he is such a passionate study-er and is obedient to God’s call in his life, which definitely are signs of being a good teacher. He has mastered his topics and applied it on himself. He spoke on three different topics and I reinforced each one and moderated forums and group dynamics. My job also included showing our power point presentation and videos from the Way of the Master. Anyways, the simplicity and clarity of Paul’s message attracted the people in the conference hall. It was amazing to see them being quiet and all-eyes to Paul. Well, as Filipino, I could easily tell when a Filipino audience is not interested and not learning anything. They usually talk to each other, look at the floor or ceiling, sleep, go in and out of the conference room when what you speak on doesn’t interest them at all. But that time, people were very attentive and you could tell that they were pondering on what we were speaking about. Most of them were taking notes, too. So it was very encouraging.

Every time we showed videos, every body got excited! The Way of the Master videos are very well done- creative and fascinating. They message is conspicuous! Very understandable! Any body could easily identify with the situations given.

We had time for people to voice their thoughts and reactions when we wrapped the conference up. We were more encouraged when we heard their very positive responses.

We offered to provide for most of the financial need of the conference. Paul and I have a special love for the pastors in Tandag. They were the ones who supported me with faithful prayers and finances when I was in Mongolia. It was great to be able to treat them that way. We gave all of them books and cd’s and provided them food for lunch. We believe that God blesses His children who care for His servants. It was wonderful to hear that they were blessed and felt loved by us through that event.

We thank God for placing every aspect of the conference in place. We really felt His hand upon it. For its big success, we give Him the glory and praise! Also, we are thankful for my brother, Dan, who coordinated it. He is quite an event organizer. His fellow pastors and the churches in Tandag trust and love him so much that they don’t hesitate to participate whatever event he endorses. We are also grateful for Pastor Tom Adino, the chairman of the Ministerial fellowship in the city, who helped coordinate it. He came, welcomed the delegates and Paul and me, sat all day with other pastors to learn from what we had to say and finally spoke about how he was blessed… to our encouragement. We are honored and humbled to be used by the Lord to minister to these veteran men and women of God and to be able to “give a glass of water” to each them.

Another Year for ME!

2009-02-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

I thought of the Bible verse that says, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." (Psalm 90:12) and asked P why we celebrate our birthdays each year instead of each day. Why didn't King David use "years" instead of "days" when he wrote that prayer? Well, I have to throw that question to him when I meet him in heaven someday. Anyways, I celebrated my 16th (???) birthday on Saturday. I still had jitters from our long flights and couldn't figure out the time. I was awake at 3am and got sleepy at 8am. I slept until 1pm. Paul had to take care of Izzy's breakfast. He and Izzy cleaned the house. When I woke up, every thing was nice and clean. We went out for lunch because I was too lazy to fix it at home. After lunch, we went to the fitness gym for swimming. After getting enough exercise in swimming, we then drove to Hoban Korean Restaurant in Eagan to officially start celebrating my birthday. Exactly three years ago, we also had my birthday dinner here. Hoban has changed a lot. It has now a nice ambiance- brighter, cleaner and more spacious. The service has definitely changed too. The authenticity of their food has also improved. I was so happy with the restaurant.

FYI, Korean food was my comfort food when I was in Mongolia. I always went to a Korean restaurant in Ulaanbaatar when I get bored with the Mongolian food and when I feel lonely. I have very beautiful memories of God's faithfulness and great friends in Seoul, Korea and every time I eat Kimchi, I remember them and it brings smile to my face and heart. The Korean people I know are just wonderful blessing to me! They are the most helpful and thoughtful people I've ever met. I love them!

So, I ate until I had a big party in my tummy! I was so full... but wasn't really feeling guilty of overeating. The Bul Go Gi and the side dishes in lettuce wrap had definitely made my night!

My birthday bash continued at home with DQ ice cream cake that Orgil bought for me and opening of presents that P and Isabelle got me. Then we played scrabble until midnight. No, I didn't win!

I can't believe I am one year older than last year! Well, I thank God for the blessing of new friends, lots of peace and joy and lots of free time to enjoy life and family last year. I have already submitted my wish list to Him for this new year in my life!

Philippine Trip

2009-02-22T21:10:00.000-08:00

January 26-
Orgil brought us to the airport here in the Twin Cities for our 13-hour flight to Tokyo, Japan. During the entire flight, Isabelle only napped for an hour. That means her mommy and daddy had almost zero sleep! The little girl was very excited to be in a 747-400 aircraft, even though it wasn't her first time to be in a huge plane. Paul and I were excited about a different thing- that's to be with family and friends in the Philippines. The flight seemed like forever! I think it's just because we couldn't wait to get to our destination. In the plane, we got Izzy busy with reading books, drawing and coloring, listening to her music in her daddy's ipod, watching her movies in my laptop, playing with other little people in the plane, playing with her dollies and teddy bears and snacking. She would do anything but sleep. That was a little bummer!

January 27-
We finally arrived at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan. We were so dog-tired that we didn't mind making a bed out of the hard floor by the boarding gate of our next flight. We had 2 hours to rest before we boarded another 747-400 plane bound for Manila, Philippines. Isabelle continued sleeping until we landed at Manila International Airport. It was a 5-hour flight. At the airport, my only sister and "bestest" friend, Grace, and her husband of 6 months, met us. They flew in a day earlier from Thailand. We got to meet her husband, Clif, for the first time. He looked much bigger than every one in the Philippines with his 6 feet height. Isabelle called my sister, "Tita Grace" right away. She also didn't complain when Clif picked her up. From the airport, we headed to our favorite hotel, Kabayan Hotel. We always stay in this hotel every time we are in Manila. It's a little different now... it's bigger, cleaner and decorated better.

January 28-
We stayed another day in Manila. We visited the Intramuros, the Spanish headquarters during their colonization of the Philippines. We toured around the historic area and enjoyed the company of an expert Filipino historian as our tour guide. We also went to Manila Zoo, where Paul got to see crocodiles for the very first time. In the afternoon, we left our husbands and Izzy sleeping in our hotel while we went shopping at the Mall of Asia. We ended up not buying anything but a pair of flip flops for each of us. All we did was walking around the mall while talking... we would stop and sit in sidewalk benches when our conversations got more emotional. When we got back to the hotel, the three were still sleeping. We woke them up and went to Glorieta for dinner. We took the MRT light rail train. Oh, you should have seen how excited Izzy was to be in a "Cho-cho" ride. Anyway, we were up for Korean food so we ate at a nice Korean restaurant in Glorieta. Oh, the food was awesome! I didn't realize how much I miss Bulgogi and Kimchi until that night. With the "party in our tummy", we went to the park in the mall so Izzy could play with Paul and Clif while Grace and I went to do more shopping and talking. After Izzy's playtime, we went to Greenbelt, the mall where we could easily spot popular Filipino celebrities for a walk and coffee. Grace and I had Starbucks coffee. Oh, the coffee there tasted much better than their coffee here. I don't know why.

January 29-
We woke up at 4 and had a very early breakfast because we had to be at the airport for our flight bound for Davao City at 7am. The 1.5-hour flight was very long! We couldn't wait to see the rest of the family (except for Nemrod and his family, who later joined us) waiting for us at the airport. When we finally saw them, we got more excited! My Mama and Papa looked much healthier and stronger than when we met them two years ago. My nieces have grown so much. Some of them were taller than me! From the airport, we headed to a restaurant for lunch, hugging and talking! Isabelle enjoyed the attention she got from her lolo and lola (grandpa and grandma), cousins, titos and titas (uncles and aunts). She gave each a hug and a kiss! Nemrod's wife and kids came and joined us for lunch. After lunch, we drove to Red Knight Gardens where we rented two apartments for our accommodation for 4 days. The said apartments were in the same building and were turned into some kind of hotel rooms but each one is fully-furnished. It felt like we were all in the same house... perfect vacation spot for a big family. We spent the rest of the day resting and talking.

January 30-
All guys brought Papa for shopping for his attire for their 50th Wedding Anniversary the next day. All ladies also went shopping with Mama to buy her her special dress. All the kids stayed at the apartments to play. Nemrod arrived later in the afternoon. In the evening, we had Grace's Wedding Reception at a private room in one restaurant. It was a cute party with lots of food, laughter, singing, dancing, speech-ing and praying. We got to formally welcome Clif into the Maliza family. Oh, and I was the MC. Also, three of my high school buddies came to see me and my American family. Oh, how they've changed. They looked bigger and happier! All three of them have really good careers. I was so happy to see them and to get a chance to introduce my handsome hubby and my lovely daughter. After the reception, we were so tired that we couldn't wait to get to our apartment to sleep... and we did... but before we ended that day, the drama of our laptop started! Check it out here... The Drama of our Laptop.

January 31-
God woke us up with His miraculous way to answer prayers! A knock on our door announced the miracle! What a morning that was! It sure did gave us a strong jump start for that day. It's our parents' Golden Wedding Anniversary and we were very ready to celebrate it. We did our last minute shopping for the big event in the morning. At 3pm every one was dressed in his/her best. We drove to the Waterfront Hotel where we were going to have the celebration. We had our picture taking for an hour and at 5:30pm the ceremony was started. The reception followed right after the ceremony. For more of the event and photos, check this out... Golden Wedding Anniversary.

February 1-
Nemrod and his family left for Bislig City early morning. The rest remained at Red Knight and later visited the Crocodile Park and Tribal Park, where we ended up dancing with the folk dancers in the park. Paul had a great time at the Crocodile Park. I also got to see a real water dragon. Oh, it looked very ugly... the ugliest animal I've ever seen in my entire life! We also did some swimming at the pool at Red Knight Gardens in the evening. Oh, and we also had a worship service at one of the apartments we rented because it was Sunday. Paul and Clif spoke during our service.

February 2-
We drove up to Tandag, Surigao del Sur in the morning without Grace and Clif(they went to visit my uncle in STo. Tomas, Davao del Norte). It was an 8-hour drive. It could have been shorter if it wasn't raining hard. The roads weren't all paved yet so there were parts that were very muddy. Dan definitely did a great job of driving his van, despite his few backseat drivers. Paul also tried driving and I instantly became the backseat driver! It was already dark when we got home (my parent's house).

February 3-
Rest day. Ate a lot of grilled tuna, chicken soup with all kinds of green veggies and lots of mangoes, papayas and very sweet bananas.

February 4-
We rested more but had a lot of conversations with Mama and Papa and Dan, who was off from work for three weeks to help us get to places where we needed to be and to help organized our meetings with groups and individuals. We had a mid-week service at Dan and Papa's church where Paul spoke again. We got to meet our friends from church that evening. It was great seeing them and catching up with updates in their lives.

February 5-
We did more preparations for the Pastors and Church leaders conference where we would be speaking at. I started making the Power point presentations. Grace and Clif arrived in Tandag from Davao City.

February 6-
Lunch with two of my closest friends from college with Paul and Izzy and Grace, Clif and Queenqueen. We ate at a restaurant at the beach. I spent time with my friends until evening, while the rest went home and rested.

February 7-
We went to Tago (30 minutes away from Tandag) to buy the famous casava cake and sweet potato balls and to watch Dan and Paul's basketball match. I don't want to tell who won though. Later that day, Nemrod, joined us in Tandag. It was sad that his wife and kids could not come with him due to the heavy rains that made it difficult to travel.

February 8-
We attended the service at our church. Paul spoke a little bit. Clif was the main speaker that morning. For lunch, we all went to a nice restaurant by the beach and had a long conversation over our Filipino food. We had lumpia, fish soup, rice, pancit canton, fried chicken and mango shakes. We were so full and definitely happy! Later that day, I spoke at a women's meeting at our church. It was such a blessed time with women pouring their hearts out. I prepared a whole outline of things to say but God redirected me into speaking what they needed to hear that afternoon. We all had chocolate fondue right after the meeting. It was such a joy to see them enjoy their first experience of fondue. Oh, and Grace spoke at the meeting too! She had such a powerful testimony of God's faithfulness and healing power. It was a great time with the ladies!

February 9-
Grace and Clif flew back to Thailand. I was sad to see them leave. It felt like I couldn't get enough of Grace's company. She was such a happy and creative soul. Her joy was very contagious and I enjoyed every minute of our time together. I enjoyed all her sad and happy stories. She's quite a story teller! To say "bye-bye" to her was not very nice. It would be another two years before I see her and her very nice guy, Clif. Anyway, it was raining so it was nice to rest at home with lots of Filipino food to munch on. In the evening, we had a get together at our church for a few of my very close friends from college. It was fun to see some of our photos back in college. We all looked thin and innocent. We had a nice restaurant do the catering for that party. The food was awesome! I'm glad my friends could make it with a short notice.

February 10-11
We did a lot of preparation for the conference on the 12th. It was also time to get more rested. We went to the beach but couldn't really swim because it was high-tide. It's been raining and the temps were pleasant so we got to rest well at home and play scrabble in between napping, eating and talking with our family.

February 12-
120 pastors and church leaders came to our conference for Biblical evangelism. For more of it, check this out... Conference!

February 13-
We left for Maragusan, the town in a valley in the northern part of Davao, where my family lived for the first 15 years of my life. For more of it, check out Maragusan.

February 14-
We drove back to Davao City and stayed at Red Knight Gardens with every one in Dan's family and Queenqueen (Grace's daughter).

February 15-
We said good bye to Dan's family and Queenqueen at the international airport in Davao City. We made the "bye-bye" session as short as possible to avoid shedding tears. We flew to Manila and stayed one night at Kabayan Hotel.

February 16-
We flew back to Tokyo, Japan then to the Twin Cities. The flights were shorter. Isabelle and I slept well. Paul was reading more than sleeping.

Maragusan Valley

2009-02-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

I spent the first 15 years of my life in Maragusan Valley, Davao del Norte. It was in this town that my growing up memories were formed. I literally learned how to walk, run and climb mountains here. I went to grade school and high school here. My love for people and the beauty of their different cultures was shaped here. I discovered the the importance of having an inner circle of friends in this place. I fought the battle of peer pressure as a teenage girl here. The circumstances around me here had pushed me to be close to my Creator and God.

As far as my memory serves me well, I cried more than I laughed in Maragusan. I was not happy that I had to bathe in cold water before I walk to school every morning. It didn't please me that we had to eat lots of sweet potatoes or casava with salt when we ran out of rice and fish. The place seemed very remote from the bigger city. I got frustrated that we didn't get to watch TV because electricity didn't come to town until later in my high school time. I was stuck with my little radio listening to some silly journal broadcasters and audio plays aired from Davao City. I also had to share my radio with my siblings, which made it very complicated because each one had his/her own favorite station. We ended up fighting over the little radio. I didn't like the low temps in Maragusan. It felt like I would freeze to death. Yes, it's cooler down there because it is highly elevated. Growing up, I thought it was the coldest place in the world. No kidding. I dreaded our high school parades around the town. The heat from the sun at 12 noon could easily cause me a stroke. The hardest time in my life was when my mom would ask me to do food shopping where I had to walk from our house to the market for about 15 minutes each way. There was no public vehicle to use for commuting and the roads were not paved... dusty on dry season and muddy on rainy season. I walked like crazy in this town. I hiked to school every morning and ran back home late afternoon. I climbed mountains with friends to pick coffee beans and guavas. I was always skinny growing up... no wonder!

Maragusan was a melting pot of different ethnic groups. Here, I was first exposed to different languages and cultures. Quite a few tribes settled in this town. Thanks to that, I have learned that communication does not depend solely on someone's fluency and eloquence of words. I have also learned not to be ethnocentric but appreciate the uniqueness of each people group. In fact, being ethnocentric is being ignorant of the reality and beauty of life. Maragusan was a home of the Mansaka, Waray, Boholano, Mandaya, Moslem and Ilonggo groups of people. Very interesting! It sure did prepare me for my trips to several countries.

My family left Maragusan 20 years ago, just right after I graduated from high school. I was kind of happy because I didn't have to deal with its "cold" weather. We moved to a city by the pacific ocean... plenty warm and humid... lots of fish and coconut. However, after a while, I started complaining about the typhoons and floods. We never had such things in Maragusan being that it is in a valley- surrounded by high mountains that were covered by virgin forests. I also started getting sick of fish. I so longed for the fresh brewed coffee and the huge variety of fruit we could get in Maragusan. I began to miss bonding with different ethnic groups. Tandag was very ethnically homogeneous. I became homesick. We only got to visit is once in a few years.The last time I visited the place was 9 years ago.

On our trip to the Philippines recently, we got to squeeze in a day to drive to Maragusan on the way to Davao City from Tandag. The drive was terrible. It was raining and the roads were in pretty bad shape. But I would say, they were a hundred times better than 20 years ago. Dan, who was driving, had to be the best driver in the world to deal with the rough roads with deep puddles and soil erosion on both sides. Arriving in Maragusan brought back quite a bit of memories despite the many changes in the town. One important change I noticed was the presence of banana plantation. It used to be all coffee trees. It was also nice to see the closest mountain to the town developed into a mountain resort, now called, Haven's Peak. We stayed at one of the beautiful cabins there for one night. The temps were so perfect. It's maybe about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. It was great to see 4 of my closest friends in high school, my close friend when I was 2-10 years old and the people who were very close to me growing up including my nanny and her sister who was the closest person to me growing up. One of my high school classmate who also was a good friend until college prepared a big lechon (roasted pig) for us. It was really great to be specially treated that way.

I would like to bring my family again to Maragusan in two years. This time, I want to be the one giving all those who are very close to me a special treat.

To all of you who I got to meet in Maragusan the other week, thank you very much from my heart of heart!

Ate Kims (close/best friend, big sister, nanny, partner in everything growing up)

Ate Abet (my nanny)

Jingjing (my close friend from age 2 to 10)

4 of my closest friends in grade school and high school: Ferdinand (Enan), Bembem, and Mar Ulysses

Aerial view of Maragusan Valley

Golden Wedding Anniversary

2009-02-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

One of the main reasons why we flew to the Philippines was to be at my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary. We had the said event on the 31st of January at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Davao City. I and my siblings planned it for 2 years and I was tasked to be the event organizer. I had lots of fun putting the details of the event together. A sales representative from the hotel did a great job of preparing the venue and the food. I made the program for the ceremony and the reception with the approval of my siblings. Our goal was to make it super special, elegant and a "big" surprise for our parents.

We didn't tell them how we were going to celebrate it. They thought we would just have a simple dinner at a simple restaurant. When we bought them their attires- a Barong Tagalog (official formal dress shirt for Filipino men) for Papa and a Filipiana (official formal dress for Filipino ladies) for Mama, they were wondering why they had to wear them. When they saw the men dressed up in Barong Tagalogs and the women in formal long gowns, the two still had no clue what we were gonna do. We drove to Waterfront Insular Hotel, a 5-star hotel, without telling them what we were up to there. As soon as they read what was in the backdrop in the beautifully decorated party room, they realized that we would celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary there. They were so stunned and moved that they had tears of joy in their eyes. They didn't have the slightest hint we planned a special celebration for them. The photographer and the videographer we hired didn't waste time and started the fun in picture and video taking immediately. We had pictures taken outdoors... oh, it was blazing hot! We were practically bathing in our own sweats but we gave our best smiles anyway. My parents looked stunning in their attires! And watching them posed for the camera was very cute!

We started the ceremony as soon as Papa's brother, Uncle Josh, and his wife arrived. Papa and Mama looked very cute on their processional march. We all stood for them as they walked down the aisle. Auntie Leah, Uncle Josh's wife, opened the ceremony with a prayer. It was followed by Kuya Dan's (our oldest brother) speech to welcome every one. Then, Kuya Dan's wife, Ate Babette, led us in singing a worship song. After that, Papa was called to recall and tell us their love story. Oh, it was very romantic! I will write it here sometime. He also said his special message for Mama. Then it was her turn to say her message to Papa. As soon as they were done with their messages, I and my siblings sang their favorite song. Growing up, we heard them sang that song over and over. It was our chance to sing it to them. It's called, "I'm going higher someday". The rest of the ceremony was Uncle Josh officiating the reenactment of Papa and Mama's marriage vows and the promenade of their grandchildren to pay respect and honor to their Lolo and Lola with their presents and flowers. Kuya Nemrod was our MC, so it was a "knockout!"

For the reception party, we had buffet dinner and talent time. The food was excellent and more than enough... we got to bring quite a bit of left-overs. The kids got to show their talents in singing and dancing and dedicated them to Lolo and Lola. The big people said their love speeches to Papa and Mama. The two also had a cake and wine thing, which I think was adorable. Then, we danced the night away!

It was a dream-come-true to all of us in the family, who wanted something special for our parents. It did come to my parents as a big surprise. And I am pretty satisfied with how the whole thing turned out. It was memorable, beautiful and inexpensive.

The Drama of our Laptop

2009-02-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

On our way to Red Knight Gardens in Davao City, where we rented two apartments for the whole family, Isabelle was sleeping in the taxi. It was 11 at night. As soon as the taxi stopped at the gate of our apartment, I said, "Honey, would you help Joy (my adopted sister) carry Izzy to our room? Be careful, so you won't wake her up." And he did. We were so worn-out from all of our activities that day and from Grace's Wedding Reception that Paul couldn't wait to hit the bed. I was still up talking to my siblings. After sleeping for 30 minutes, Paul got up and announced that he left the bag with my laptop in the taxi. We were shocked! We did all our best to recall the name of the taxi but we couldn't. It was very important that we recover that laptop because it's got our personal information that could be used by others on our behalf. Clif thought of the guard house in the entrance of the subdivision where Red Knight Gardens is located. Dan didn't waste time, he drove to the guard house and the security guard on duty gave him the name of the taxi and it's number. Later, he also gave the name of the taxi driver. The next hour was spent on making calls to the office of the taxi company, 911 and the police headquarters. The taxi company refused to give the contact info's of the said taxi driver for reasons he won't disclose. We were so desperate to get our laptop back before the one who got it open it and uses our credit card info's. We called our bank and requested to put our credit card on hold. Dan and Nemrod drove far to personally talk to the person on duty in the taxi company office that night but didn't get any more info's about the driver. When they got home, we were so hopeless! The impossibility to get our computer back just got more real. A month before our trip to the Philippines, Dan was telling me how people in the Philippines have become so desperate to survive in a very depressed economy that thieves and robbers were everywhere. He warned us to make extra effort to protect our moneys, credit cards, passports and other important belongings on our trip. In fact, a thief broke into my parents' house a few months ago. With that in mind, I was just very hopeless that our laptop would be recovered. We had the name of the taxi and the driver but to try to trace him could take weeks. That's just how system in the Philippines work. Our final effort was to gather in the living room and prayed. Every one, except the kids who were soundly sleeping, was praying. After lots of prayers and Paul promising to give all the cash he had that night to the driver if he came back with our lappy in the morning, we all slept like a baby. Around 5 am, my mom heard a hard knock on our gate. She got up and opened the gate and lo and behold, she saw a taxi driver with a bag in his hand. He came back with our laptop! Mama woke us all up to announce the great news! We got our lappy back! The driver said that he was driving home very far from where we were and found out about the bag. He said he couldn't sleep that night at home and that he felt really convicted to look for us and return the bag, so he drove back to us very early in the morning. Every one was full of joy! Paul gave him all the cash he had and the driver felt very appreciated for his integrity. What a story of God's faithfulness to answer our prayers! That's just the God we serve and love! And oh, when we left for Tandag, we left the power cord of that laptop somewhere in Davao. We couldn't trace where we left it and thought it was lost. We bought a new power cord for it. But when we went back to Red Knight Gardens, they said they had our power cord and gave it to us. We called them before to ask if they had it but they said, "no". It's crazy... but yes, that's the drama of our laptop! We cleaned that lappy and gave it to Dan.

Back Home

2009-02-18T15:29:00.000-08:00

Oh, it's nice to be back home. I miss my family and friends in the Philippines though. Three weeks seem very short... too short and too precious. I said "NO!" to an urge to go online and blog! I told myself, "Blog if you want, but there is family and friends to have endless conversations with, siblings to play competitive scrabble with, super cute nieces to play with, places full of memories to visit, Filipino food to eat... slowly (to celebrate the taste of its authenticity), meetings to speak at and heavy rains and flooding to enjoy! Blog if you want, but as far as I am concern, there are more important things to do than blogging." The whole time we were gone, we revisited memories and made more beautiful ones.

I promise to put the stories and photos from our trip together and share them with you here. For now, I'm off to make calzones... my hubby will be home from work in a few minutes.

Off to the Philippines

2009-01-25T20:16:00.000-08:00

We are off to the Philippines tomorrow. Can't wait! We've been looking forward to this trip. It's been exactly two years since we visited my family in the Philippines... Isabelle was only 3 months. Anyway, we will be flying straight to Tokyo and that's a 12-and-a-half hours flight. We have a short lay over at Narita Airport in Tokyo of about 3 hours. From Tokyo, we fly to Manila where we are expecting to meet my sister and her husband who flew in from Thailand. We will be in Manila for a whole day. On the following day, we fly to Davao City where we meet the rest of my family.

For this family, I spent a lot of time to prepare. There will be at least 4 major events that will take place during our entire stay. One, my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary. Two, my sister's reenactment of marriage vows. Three, Women's conference where I was asked to speak at. Four, Pastors and Church leaders Evangelism conference where my P and I are going to be speaking at. The rest of our days will surely be spent on beaches, visiting mountain resorts, friends and classmates reunions, scrabble time with siblings and chit-chatting with family members.

It's 10:30 pm and we are all packed and ready to go. I had my favorite bubble bath and Izzy played a lot with Orgil. P was helping me pack up our stuff for the trip this afternoon and now, relaxing... talking to his mom... for almost an hour now.

I better go put our little one to bed. Signing off...

Worth Watching

2009-01-24T09:16:00.000-08:00

If someone is truly sincere in his/her quest for truth, he/she spends time investigating issues that lead to the discovery of the truth. One can not say he/she knows the truth and have preconceived ideas. Take time watching this 2 1/2 hours video on Bible translations and let me know what you think of it. Thanks. Oh, and please let me know of your thoughts only if you watch the whole thing.

Obama's Imeldific Inauguration

2009-01-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

I am disgusted at the fact that the series of events of President Obama's inauguration is setting the record as the most expensive inauguration in the American history. The whole event costs more than 150 million US dollar!That fact is more despicable to think that it happens at a time when thousands of American people received "pink slips"! Didn't he conquered the office by his promises to save the country from the current economic crisis? How heroic is spending the money of the people who just got laid off from their jobs to pay for the president's parties? While he and his family are enjoying the royal parties with caviar and the most expensive wine on earth, many people don't even know where to get the money to pay for their mortgage this month. Lord, have mercy upon our new president! Give him wisdom to lead this country in righteousness and genuine compassion.

Weekend Blurb

2009-01-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

We had a full weekend. We were looking for very dressy dresses for me and Izzy to wear on my parents 50th Anniversary in the Philippines on the 31st of this month. Glad we found the ones we want at the mall. So that's taken cared of.

It was the 25th Wedding Anniversary of the youth pastors in our church, so we went to that event on Saturday. We had Isabelle's best friends, Hope and Hannah watched her while we were at the occasion. The ceremony was beautiful! We also loved the fellowship with other people over snacks and cake at the reception after the ceremony. For dinner that day, we brought Hope and Hannah to World Buffet. Surprisingly, the couple who had the 25th Anniversary and their family were at the same restaurant. We ended up joining them in their table. It was a long dinner with them... about 3 hours. Conversations over good food seemed endless for us that time.

On Sunday, after church, we brought Hope and Hannah to their home. They had a sleep over and went to church with us in the morning. We didn't plan to stay longer at their house, but we ended up staying for 12 hours. We didn't come home until midnight. We feel so comfortable with them. We feel like we are at home at their house. We didn't do much but eat, talk, sing, pray, laugh, cry and laugh more. We love Hope and Hannah's mom and dad! And Isabelle loves her Hopie and Hannah so much!

So that's about our weekend. Have a blessed week you all!

Car Accident

2009-01-20T08:21:00.001-08:00

Two of the boys dear to us had car accidents the few weeks. Both are in their early twenties and bright. Both of their cars were totaled. One happened somewhere in California when he went driving to the west coast with 3 other friends. The accident happened when one of his friends asked if she could do the driving. A mild snow storm came and she lost control of the car in a 50-mph traffic. The car smashed the elevated concrete road island. The driver broke her arm and our boy got burns on his face when the bag went off. The car was completely wrecked. We kind of bought that car for him... and he is paying it off monthly. But we are thankful he is alive! All of his friends are all alive as well. It could have been worse! Praise God for his new life!

Last Friday, we got a call from one of church friends letting us know that her son had a car accident on the way to his school that morning. It was his first day of school after he decided he wanted to be a paramedic in the meantime. He used to go to an expensive university and was studying to become a neurosurgeon. That morning on the way to his new school, just half a mile from home the snow plow hit his car when he was turning from a 50-mph traffic. He had his seat belt on and that kept him from flying through his car's windshield, which would probably put him in a very critical condition. Well, his car was totaled... but he is alive. He had a little concussion but was stable. A few CT scans were done on him and he was found out to be fine. He just needed to recover mainly from the trauma and from his little stitches. We are thankful he is alive and that God has given him another chance to completely put his trust in Him. Over the past few months, he had been doubting about God. The accident sure did put him in a place where he is given a chance to reflect on the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord on his life.

It's indeed a new year with a new life for these two boys special to Paul and me.

Mountain Climbing

2009-01-16T15:06:00.000-08:00

I was visiting a friend's blog this morning and read that she has been preparing for mountain climbing. Wow! The last time I went mountain climbing with friends was about 12 years ago somewhere in Zamboanga. Oh, how time flies! I remember how I cried halfway to our destination. It was too much for me. I was catching my breath... we could not stop and take a break from walking because we were time pressured. We had to be on top of the mountain before it gets dark. It was just too dangerous for us to be walking in the dark in that area. My friends were worried about me and the guys even offered to carry me. That was nice of them to do that. But I said... "thanks, but no thanks." My physical stamina came to its last point but to give up is just not my style. So I kept walking... and crying.

We didn't only climb that mountain for fun. It was not fun to me at all. We climbed it for a purpose! We brought the gospel to the minority tribe who was settling on that mountain. The evening we got up there, we held an evangelistic meeting. The said meeting drew all of the settlers in the area. When it was my turn to speak, a drunk man picked on me. He commented on each of my lines jokingly and the people laughed. After speaking, I approached him and told him that God wanted to forgive him of his sins if only he would surrender to Him. He was laughing at me. He told me that nobody could stop him from going to hell because he was the most sinful of all sinners. He said that he had 12 wives, had been drinking for years and did terrible things to his wives. Then he asked what my name was. After I told him my name, he went away. The next morning, while having breakfast with my friends, someone told me that I got invited to our host's neighbor's home. I and my friends went to visit the said home right after breakfast. And guess whose house that was... the drunk man's. I was surprised to see him a different person. He was different when he's not intoxicated with alcohol. He told me that he got born again. He said that when he went away from the meeting the night before, he repented of his sins and placed his life in the Lord's hand. We celebrated his born-again experience. We were literally jumping and praising God until one guy came into the house and told us that we were also invited to visit another house in the neighborhood. Off my friends and I went to that house.

When we got there, we noticed that it was the biggest house in the village. We were all led inside... to a huge but filthy room. I was very uncomfortable there. I felt like it was a home of some demon-possessed person. My friends and I were very silent... silently praying... just looking at each other. The guy who led us in was actually the man of the house. He told us that his wife was in their bedroom waiting for us. He also told us that his wife had been battling with ovarian cancer for many months and that she just came home from treatments at the hospital. She actually came home because the doctors could no longer assure her that her treatments would help. She had a few weeks to live according to her doctors. Knowing that put me and my friends in a scary situation. But we were courageous... well, we were scared but we knew that we were there to show what kind of a God we served! We knew that God could heal her if it's His will. Okay, so we went into the couple's bedroom and saw the sick bald woman lying in bed. She got up as soon as she saw us. She stared at me with her huge eyes! I was overwhelmed with fear. I could feel that some kind of a demon was tormenting her. I was in spiritual warfare! I was battling against the evil spirit in her in my spirit. Then I felt led by the Lord to touch her and speak life in her in the name of Jesus Christ. I hesitated because I was scared. But the urge to do it just got stronger and stronger until I could not hold it any longer. I went closer to her and touched her and spoke life to her in the name of Jesus Christ. My friends and I left that house after we prayed for her. We all went to our respective homes, not really knowing what happened to that woman. A couple years had passed and I met one of my friends. He told me that the woman got healed from her cancer and that she got born again. She even became one of the elders of the church that was founded right after we left that village. What can I say??? Our God is an awesome God, He reigns!!!

Remembering that particular mountain climbing experience brought tears to my eyes this morning.