*return*
my 12 day hiatus has come to an end. the time and space i have here cannot fully capture what went on in the past week and a half. it has been a shower - no, a torrential rainstorm - of blessings from the Lord. right from the very beginning, with me being able to take friday off to leave early due to flight changes, the trip has been love in abundance from above.
derek and i first spent two heavenly days in manila for my friends christine & keith's wedding. since her father is a prominent businessman in the philippines, and according to pinoy custom they had 12 'sponsors' or godparents who took care of the whole shebang, it was an affair that blew our socks off. derek and i have never seen the philippines like this before, having only gone there previously for mission trips, where we only visited the most prestigious of squatter areas and graveyard slums, and having only travelled in jeepneys or the common bus. this time, we were shuttled around in private air-conditioned luxury vans complete with mega-tinted windows, driven by the family chauffeur. criket's father put up all the out-of-town guests at the shangri-la, i was treated to full-body aromatherapy massage, and royal buffets every meal time. he even gave us money for the taxi to the airport!! we did not spend a single cent the entire weekend, and it was probably the most luxurious weekend we've ever had. talk about blessing.
i felt blessed simply by having had the chance to see my friends from vancouver get married. vancouver seems like such a faraway place sometimes, and since moving to hong kong 3 years ago, i've missed nearly 10 weddings (that's not an exaggeration!). it was so good just to be able to hang out with keith and criket again, seeing criket's sister arlene after nearly 5 years, and having a few more people meet derek... it felt like the rope between my life in canada and hong kong was stregthened that much more.
in case anyone is interested, i've finally found a new webhost for my photos, and i've put up most of the ones from the past 6 months. the new ones from this past trip are on their way, so keep checking it! (sorry the link function has mysteriously disappeared so i can't put a link here, just go to "photo album" on the right...)
hillsong began, renewed, and continued many things - too many to mention here, although i'm sure these thoughts will slowly find their way onto this page.... the line on the cover of my new classic pooh journal sums it all up quite nicely: an outdoor adventure is beginning today. the best thing about an adventure, is that you never know what it will bring. and with God, the most extravagant of what we can imagine is simply too small for God....
therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. let us fix our eyes on jesus, the author and PERFECTOR of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scourning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. consider him who endured much opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lost heart. ~ hebrews 12:1-3
my 12 day hiatus has come to an end. the time and space i have here cannot fully capture what went on in the past week and a half. it has been a shower - no, a torrential rainstorm - of blessings from the Lord. right from the very beginning, with me being able to take friday off to leave early due to flight changes, the trip has been love in abundance from above.
derek and i first spent two heavenly days in manila for my friends christine & keith's wedding. since her father is a prominent businessman in the philippines, and according to pinoy custom they had 12 'sponsors' or godparents who took care of the whole shebang, it was an affair that blew our socks off. derek and i have never seen the philippines like this before, having only gone there previously for mission trips, where we only visited the most prestigious of squatter areas and graveyard slums, and having only travelled in jeepneys or the common bus. this time, we were shuttled around in private air-conditioned luxury vans complete with mega-tinted windows, driven by the family chauffeur. criket's father put up all the out-of-town guests at the shangri-la, i was treated to full-body aromatherapy massage, and royal buffets every meal time. he even gave us money for the taxi to the airport!! we did not spend a single cent the entire weekend, and it was probably the most luxurious weekend we've ever had. talk about blessing.
i felt blessed simply by having had the chance to see my friends from vancouver get married. vancouver seems like such a faraway place sometimes, and since moving to hong kong 3 years ago, i've missed nearly 10 weddings (that's not an exaggeration!). it was so good just to be able to hang out with keith and criket again, seeing criket's sister arlene after nearly 5 years, and having a few more people meet derek... it felt like the rope between my life in canada and hong kong was stregthened that much more.
in case anyone is interested, i've finally found a new webhost for my photos, and i've put up most of the ones from the past 6 months. the new ones from this past trip are on their way, so keep checking it! (sorry the link function has mysteriously disappeared so i can't put a link here, just go to "photo album" on the right...)
hillsong began, renewed, and continued many things - too many to mention here, although i'm sure these thoughts will slowly find their way onto this page.... the line on the cover of my new classic pooh journal sums it all up quite nicely: an outdoor adventure is beginning today. the best thing about an adventure, is that you never know what it will bring. and with God, the most extravagant of what we can imagine is simply too small for God....
therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. let us fix our eyes on jesus, the author and PERFECTOR of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scourning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. consider him who endured much opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lost heart. ~ hebrews 12:1-3
posted by jana* at 3:07 PM
