Here, There and Everywhere

This is one Beatles tune that I really really like. It brings me back to my high school days when we just hang around the school clinic and sing songs, not from our era, but from our aunt's and uncle's. The tunes are much more like eternal tunes of love and faithfulness...makes you giggle and smile as you ponder on the lyrics.

So much for love songs...back to real love...I have not appreciated my one and only for quite sometime now...when I think of what could have beens, I could only say "Thank you God" for having given me a husband like mine who is not perfect but has decided he will trust You with his life journey and the exciting thing is that I am with him in that journey.

It has been a colorful ride, sometimes sweet, frustrating, bitter, full of surprises, nevetheless, exciting.

wind beneath my wings

...fly, fly, fly away, you let me fly so high, thank you, thank God for you, you are the wind beneath my wings.

I have been singing this theme song from the movie "Beaches", a story of two friends who stuck it out together even in the most difficult situation. It is one of my favorites at Karaoke parties.

It is a tragic film where the one who supported her stubborn friend died of Leukemia. The surviving friend sang this song because she knew how much her friend has given up for her sake.

For the last two months, I have been singing this song as I think of my ate May who emailed me one day in June of this year that aftermonths of visits to the doctor finally, the doctor diagnosed her with Lou Gherig's disease, my husband wrote in our most recent updates:

"...May, Nina’s sister, was initially diagnosed to have Lou Gehrig’s disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a kind of motor neuron disease that results in the patient gradually losing control of her motor functions. May has already lost control of her right hand, is slowly losing control of her left hand and is experiencing difficulty in walking or even just putting on her clothes. She has undergone a battery of tests for four months now but doctors cannot diagnose with certainty that her condition is indeed ALS, although the symptoms seem to indicate so. (There is no known cure for ALS; existing treatments serve at most to lengthen survival time but not heal the patient completely.) May is the breadwinner for Nina’s family in Manila – Nina’s mom (her dad has passed away), a brother and a nephew who has just started college. The situation in the family was such that we decided it would be best for Nina to visit them, discuss the situation and take care of her sister, which includes taking her to the hospital for tests and treatment. Nina is now in Manila while Leo continues to stay in San Diego. We don’t know how long Nina should stay there – things are pretty much day-to-day.

We can only cast our burdens on the Lord, knowing He has and will always sustain us. Can we ask you to pray with us that the Lord will reveal more of Himself and His purposes in the days to come?"

seeing JESUS as the WAY

Just when you thought that you have arrived finally at a destination does not mean the journey stops there.

It has been more than a year since we arrived here in a "City where we could settle", the direction is not much different from when I first personally confirmed it in late October 2004.

We are amply supplied of our needs, sometimes I confess my unbelief but seeing all the cars, the appliances, the clothes, shoes, even the daily BREAD, shames me to the bones.

Just when you think nothing is happening, then suddenly things start shaping up in the downtown area where we pray to the Lord daily since we arrived, to show us His plan. Even with the Fil-am community where we started, there is an increasing interest in what our team can offer.

In the midst of all these, you get conflicting signals when suddenly you get a message shaking the possibility of staying longer in the city.

We certainly do not believe in the small notes inside a fortune cookie but God speaks in ways beyond our understanding and this is what my husband Leo got that dinner time at Panda Inn downtown: "you will soon cross a great body of water". We can interpret it a lot of ways.

Since 2004, we have crossed great bodies of water, but the greatness of the ONE letting us cross far exceeds the greatness of the water.

There is only one thing that can be treasured in this continuing journey, and that is seeing Jesus as the beginning, the door, the way and most certainly, the end.

The temptation though is to be the way to the Way. Sometimes I think as though I can actively work on controlling my situation. But I really can't.

You've gotta pray just to make it today

last may 3 was the National Day of Prayer. our team joined 3 small groups of professionals in 3 different places in downtown San Diego. The prayer times were short but it gives a sense of where the Holy Spirit would like us to pray, in our hearts, for the City of San Diego, at least for those of us who have been sort of sent out to the city to help make a difference here. No program, no non-sense, just prayer.

but it is a place where your heart is burdened and touched as the people who came, mostly government employees are hurting, because of the many problems they and the city face. There is no way but to express these hurts to God who alone can comfort and heal the hurting.

We've got to pray just to make it today.

Downtown

When we were asked to pray about this assignment, I laughed at the thought. Why San Diego? Until now, I ask the Lord daily to show me His purpose for bringing us here. After a year of seeing Him provide for our needs here, I sense His work and leading.

With approximately 5,000 businesses and more than 75,000 people working downtown, San Diego has a dynamic and robust business climate. Manufacturing, defense, tourism and agriculture remain the regions top industries, but in recent years, San Diego has become the nation's center for the wireless industry. Telecommunications, software and biotech are among the city's fastest growing business sectors. Downtown is the hub of San Diego's government, legal and banking industries. With more than 1 million square feet of new or planned Class A office space downtown, exciting opportunities exist for business growth or expansion."Source:Downtown San Diego."