Went out for a date today and was treated sooo wonderfully!!!
Treated with delicious food, beautiful scenery, wonderful company, flowers, and... A RING!

Okay, okay...I know, no fooling you all!

So, today I went out today with some of Monsoon's Vision Trip 2010 participants.
We ventured out to Tagaytay, took a boat out to Taal Volcano, and walked up to the ridge.
It was a beautiful (although HOT!) day.
Our trek led us to the top where we enjoyed the view of the lake inside the volcano, inside the lake. It was beautiful and totally worth the journey.

All throughout the day there were these sweet, sweet gifts from God. Beautiful little flowers along the hiking trail. Sweet little bird songs. Laughter. Good music. Shady tree spots perfect for taking a breather. A spring of cool, refreshing water along the road (for our overheated car!) Great company. Good food. A ride in a super, good-looking car. :)

And... the thing that totally just blew me away -- THE RING!!!
While we were in the boat on the way out to the volcano I was just so overwhelmed with gratitude for that moment. I was so thankful for the chance to be with the group, to be sitting outside in the fresh air,to be out in the water, seeing such beauty and to be there with clear blue skies and smatterings of white clouds.
And then I saw it... a rainbow! I smiled. And then I realized... it was a rainbow ring around the sun!!! I had never seen that before and it just totally blew me away. I was giddy over it!

All day today it just felt like God was wooing me in His very special ways. Things that touch my heart and make me smile, He kept putting before me over and over again. I loved it. I feel so loved... and loved so well.

(Okay... so now I know thanks to Google that the rainbow around the sun is a halo! The picture I took does not even come CLOSE to capturing how beautiful it was. We had a great photographer out with us today. Hopefully I'll get a copy of the photos she took to share with you here! )

I haven't been out of my apartment since I returned from work on Tuesday night.
I've been home -- sick.

I had intended to get a lot done this week. I actually planned to have some really productive days working from home. But instead, I mostly just found myself having to lie down and rest.

Cold? Flu? Allergies? Not sure... I Googled it to see if I could tell the difference but I couldn't really. All I know is that I came home on Tuesday with the start of a sore throat, woke up with no voice, have had terrible congestion/sinus pressure all week long, my whole head hurt -- including my jaw, felt feverish (although I never had a fever), and achy all over. Thankfully it's going away.

Yesterday and today were the only days I was able to get work done. It was a frustrating week. It felt like the week was just sucked away from me. Nothing was done. Nothing was accomplished. It just kind of drifted away...

I found that I never really rested because I had my plans and I wanted to follow through on them. But I couldn't follow through on my plans because I just really need to rest. Bleh.

Recently, a couple of leaders in the area had been sick to the point that they were on bed rest for a long while. I think I have heard both of them on different occasions comment on how they have been blessed during their time of bed rest. They both said something along the lines of how it has given them time to just be with the Lord -- meditate on His Word, be in prayer, worship, etc. I think if they were to comment on this time, they would say that it has been GOOD for them.

I remember when I heard that I thought, "Wow! That's great!" After this week, I think even more so -- "WOW!"

Oh, to have that heart, mind and discipline to truly "be still" before the Lord and just be CONTENT to be in His presence. Even if I do nothing else...accomplish nothing else...add nothing else, but to just be wholly content and satisfied to just be with Him.
I feel like I have had moments and times like that ... but oh that I would have a greater desire for that, and see that be even more true in my life.

NOTE: I am feeling better. And tomorrow I'll venture out. Whew. About time!!

Photographers.

Writers.

Designers.

Videographers.

A group of about 10 media professionals from the Philippines and the Americas heading to a neighboring country here in Southeast Asia. The first Monsoon trip of its kind -- Vision Trip 2010.

One of the things that really energizes me about my work is the thought that through it, people would have the opportunity to get a glimpse of how God is at work in the world. And hopefully, get a vision for how they uniquely may take part in it.

I love seeing the look of excitement in people's eyes as the wheels start turning in their mind as they think about the possibilities of how they could be part of the exciting work of God. I love seeing them start to catch the vision of how who they are can contribute to the bigger picture. I love it when people can start to see how they can be themselves and through their gifts, their skills, their experience, and their passions, be an important part of the work of missions.

And so, I'm excited that this week a group of media professionals will actually experience this for themselves. Tomorrow they will travel to the country of one of our partner organizations and will work together with them on specific media needs that they have.

They'll capture images. They'll record interviews. They'll write up stories. They'll get the chance to see how their work truly does have value in the world of missions.

So, please pray for them. Pray for them as they get to know each other and work with each other. Pray for God to use them mightily this week and that they experience joy and delight in their service. Pray that their hearts and minds would be open to the things the Lord would have them learn and be challenged by each day during this trip. Pray too that as a result of this trip they would be advocates for media in missions.

Yes, I'm super excited for this group.

And yes, I'll admit it...I'm a little bit jealous that I'll not be with them.

I'll be stuck here in the office. Hehehehe!!!