It's been weeks now since I last blogged... and I can't remember what's happened during that time?!

I turned 34.

Last Friday was my birthday. It felt like I celebrated for weeks thanks to fun, thoughtful friends. It was a fun birthday filled with so many blessings. Sweet words of love and encouragement. A fun party. 2 delicious cakes. Fazoli's. Movie. Laughter. Friends. Lots of surprises.

Church.

Okay. After a year and a half I've finally decided on a church to regularly attend. This was really, really hard for me. There's a great church that I had visited a few times. It's a smaller church so there was an incredibly warm and welcoming feeling whenever I would go there. They have awesome worship music. And they have a WONDERFUL ministry for youth. They have a great vision for young leaders and live it out consistently. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to be consistent and commit to being there in the midst of travel. And, while I can understand Tagalog, I found it difficult to really, really focus and really learn during sermons. So, I decided that (for now at least) I'll plug into the church I started attending when I first arrived in Manila. The teaching is GREAT and it's in English. And, I think I'm in most need of that right now.

Dry Spell

I returned from my last trip on June 18th. I haven't travelled anywhere since then. Boy, I've missed it. I've enjoyed being home and having some "routine" in my life. But, at the same time it's been hard! I've missed working face-to-face with colleagues. I've missed the fun of being in new places and meeting new people. To be honest, I've struggled with staying motivated and focused sitting at my desk day-to-day. Who knew that I'd miss the hectic travel so much?!?!

The Dry Spell is Over!!!

Finally! Just last week I was given the opportunity to visit a part of the Philippines that I've been hearing about for years. PALAWAN.

When most people hear "Palawan," they think of its beautiful beaches, pearls and its paradise-like getaways.

When I hear "Palawan," I think of April 1998. During that month there was a celebration of the Kagayanen New Testament. MY plans were to move to Manila and join the Monsoon team then and help them document the grand events. Well, plans change. God's ways are beyond ours. And for that I am thankful. I am thankful for 2008-2009, the lessons I learned then, and how God has and continues to use that time for HIS GOOD.

And, I am so thankful that now I have the chance to visit this place and see what is happening among the churches there.

Not Alone!

This trip to Palawan is a work trip. BUT, it still should be fun! It feels like I rarely get to travel WITH colleagues. I will be traveling to Palawan with colleagues who work with Monsoon and Sa Bawat Wika. Yay!!! Looking forward to traveling and working with others!!

BY THE WAY: We'll be there for their first mission conference -- "Go Glocal: Empowering Palawan Christians to Become Globally Minded and Locally Active!!!!"

DECISION TIME

OH... and I'll be in Manila for at least another year. Yup. I committed to continue working with Monsoon at least until February 2012. I'll blog more about that later.

And... I guess that's about it...can't remember anything else.

Must be the aging thing.

Hahah!

...worked overtime last week! Heheheh.

Our team had a week-long meeting last week.

From Monday - Friday, pretty much 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM we met together.

And, we had lunches and dinners together as well.

I was glad for it -- even if my "introvertedness" was getting a major workout.

Our entire team hasn't been together in months. Even those of us who work in the Manila office haven't met together as a team in a long time. So, it was a good week of being together. Teammates from AUS, PNG, HK, USA, and MNL were here. We also welcomed an intern from Germany who will be working with us for the next 6 months.

We shared about what we each of us are working on, we talked about some of the challenges we're facing, we talked about the future, we ate together, we played bingo bowling together and we talked to God together. It was a good week.

I'm thankful that I get to be a part of this team.

And thankful for each one on it.

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! )