about six months ago, Allie joined our family as a little kitten. She (really a he, but A like to still call him a she) was quite sick when she came, real little and cute as a button. i think Allie became a good attachment for A here as we started to readjust here. yesterday i wrote about how much i hated Allie's girlfriend... today i found out that cats cry like that when they are pregnant too. uh oh...
we have been planning for a few weeks to have Allie go to A&T's place because our family here is not used to having a cat around. Allie likes to go in their house and sit on the couch and sleep. something they are just not fond of i think. so we've been trying to figure out a way out there. CB a friend of ours volunteered to take Allie. i've been talking to A about how Allie needs to go and help A&T catch mice and maybe Allie could marry the cat there and have babies.
today the day came where Allie left us. A knew that it was the day and didn't talk about it at all, just played. then as night fell and she was getting ready for bed, she knew CB would be coming to get her... so as i was putting A to bed, she starts crying. A didn't want Allie to leave and cried so hard. i let her go out and say good bye, hold Allie for the last time in a while, and then i tried to get her back in the room to sleep and it wasn't happening. everyone came out to see why she was crying... soon CB came to get Allie... A cried and cried. Allie looked a little unsure about what was happening.
finally Allie was gone and A was in bed... crying herself to sleep.
good-byes are hard... especially when the one that got you through the beginning leaves you. hopefully the Lord will open doors for us to get our own place and Allie could join us again, but til then, she has a job to do at A&T's place.
bye bye Allie...
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
wanting to commit murder
when we got home from vacation, my friend was telling me that Allie, our cat (which actually turns out to be a boy, not a girl cat), and his girlfriend have been dating continuously on our porch. yes Allie has a girlfriend. it's actually kind of funny to watch. our cat is real beautiful and then there is this street cat that has taken a liking to Allie and follows him around everywhere.
anyway, i got a taste of their "dating" for the past two nights in a row after being home. cats have this really annoying mating call. it's kind of between a baby crying and a meow. so this girl cat, to get Allie's attention, will call to him. but i don't think Allie is too interested, so this girl cat cries all night long.
the first night it didn't bother me much, maybe from traveling and just wanting to sleep. but last night, i was lying in bed figuring out ways to kill this cat. i heard a couple people come out to shoo the thing away, but she came right back. i really hate this cat now and really want to kill it. right now as i am typing, A is napping and i wanted so badly to nap with her, but instead i hear the cries of this female cat. i was so mad, disturbing my sleep again that i took out a scooper (gayung) of water and poured in on the horrible cat. it was quiet for two minutes. she has started again. i just came in from taking a scooper of really hot water out to pour on her, but i cannot find where she is making this terrible noise. i am going to get her once and for all. ugh!!!
anyway, i got a taste of their "dating" for the past two nights in a row after being home. cats have this really annoying mating call. it's kind of between a baby crying and a meow. so this girl cat, to get Allie's attention, will call to him. but i don't think Allie is too interested, so this girl cat cries all night long.
the first night it didn't bother me much, maybe from traveling and just wanting to sleep. but last night, i was lying in bed figuring out ways to kill this cat. i heard a couple people come out to shoo the thing away, but she came right back. i really hate this cat now and really want to kill it. right now as i am typing, A is napping and i wanted so badly to nap with her, but instead i hear the cries of this female cat. i was so mad, disturbing my sleep again that i took out a scooper (gayung) of water and poured in on the horrible cat. it was quiet for two minutes. she has started again. i just came in from taking a scooper of really hot water out to pour on her, but i cannot find where she is making this terrible noise. i am going to get her once and for all. ugh!!!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
BONUS
ha... you all probably thought it was money. nope. my bonus today was having A gone all day. this morning, the family we live with invited A to join them on their outing. A was eager to leave. she was out all day and got home at like 8. my friends called me to come get her because she was OUT in the car.
i, therefore, had a very productive day. i got a lot of my e-mails out, finished taking care of the things i still hadn't from my purse being stolen, made some phone calls to the states, took care of finances, got work done, and went to the gathering at work. the original plan was to have A dropped off at the gathering, but she didn't want to come, so i ended up going out to dinner with my girlfriends from work. it was great!!! i got home, called my sister and finished off some other things before she even got home.
now i have to say, i totally enjoyed my day without A and hope to have another one soon. i think it should be a weekly thing. it was an awesome feeling. i know all you moms out there know exactly what i'm saying.
so that was my bonus on top of a great relaxing week.
as i carried A to our room, she was half asleep, i asked her if she missed me and she said no... i thought, wow me too. we both just needed some time away from each other. :)
i, therefore, had a very productive day. i got a lot of my e-mails out, finished taking care of the things i still hadn't from my purse being stolen, made some phone calls to the states, took care of finances, got work done, and went to the gathering at work. the original plan was to have A dropped off at the gathering, but she didn't want to come, so i ended up going out to dinner with my girlfriends from work. it was great!!! i got home, called my sister and finished off some other things before she even got home.
now i have to say, i totally enjoyed my day without A and hope to have another one soon. i think it should be a weekly thing. it was an awesome feeling. i know all you moms out there know exactly what i'm saying.
so that was my bonus on top of a great relaxing week.
as i carried A to our room, she was half asleep, i asked her if she missed me and she said no... i thought, wow me too. we both just needed some time away from each other. :)
Friday, March 26, 2010
Refreshed and back to life...
I have had the most relaxing, energy gaining, motivating, regaining focus week. We went to AB and TB's place. It was so much fun. We stayed at our own house, the one made in memory of P. It was great.
My favorite part of the week... sleeping 9 hours at night and also taking at least and hour and half nap with A. I really needed all that sleep. It was absolutely heavenly.
The other great thing about the week was that we were surrounded by creation and we would wake up to the curtains dancing with the wind, in between their beats of dancing, we could see the trees and beautiful blue sky from the bed. It would be such a sight, until A would toss the curtain over her head and call our for Uncle A. I would just laugh thinking how I'm just enjoying this scenery and she's all ready to go and play.
I wanted to see what their life was like as much as resting, so we followed TB's schedule during our time there. But then she became my hero and I remembered why I told God I did not want to be in the tropics or is it just manual labor in the tropics since I do fine with my kind of work. :) TB one morning goes out to the field and works the beds of vegetables with the women. A and I joined. They work from 6:30am-1pm. A and I went and worked hard... After an hour and a half, I was feeling a little heat stricken and had to stop. TB went on til midday. Wow... She is my new heroine. She not only worked the beds, but carried big sacks of things over her head. I'm telling you either something is wrong with my cooling system in my body or I need to like have an electric fan blowing on my face. Heat and I just don't do well together. But I had a great time for that hour and a half... For every half bed I worked, the farm ladies did a bed and a half. I laughed at myself and they told me it's because it's their daily life they could work so fast. I would love to do that again some time. I think if I could get out on the field quicker, I could last longer since it's cooler in the mornings. I think I could at least do the morning shift before the break and then do something in shade after that. :)
The other morning we went on a hike down the mountain to visit some people and hiked back up. TB and I took turns carrying A on our backs. You could imagine going up and down mountains with an extra 18 kilos on your back. But TB and I both thought it was good exercise and had a grand time on the hike. I think that was a highlight for me or at least one of them.
In the afternoons, around 3, A went to a farmer's family's house and stayed their with her new friends. They really aren't friends, they are in high school, but those girls thought A was so cute, after they worked the fields all morning, they wanted to spend the afternoon with A. So A would be gone from 3-6. The girls, 3 of them, would take her around the farm to look at goats, fish, kittens and play doctor. A also became their English tutor. They would practice their English with A and she would talk to them in English. Usually the next morning, the girls would share with us what they did the evening before. A loved her time with them so much that when it was time to come home, she cried because she wanted to stay with them.
So our vacation time was great. We really needed it, enjoyed it and now feel refreshed.
___________________________________________________________________
As I was there, I finished reading Acts, Crazy Love and thought of something.
After the flood, the Lord led me to Acts. As I read the first chapter, I had a desire to live a life like those in Acts. So I read a chapter a day and just studied it a little. I wanted to share some things I've learned.
___________________________________________________________________
Please invest in the book "Crazy Love". I do not know Francis Chan and I am not getting paid to say this, but really if you want to read one book this year I think this should be it. I also ask that you read the book prayerfully. You could read the book and just say "oh that was good" and never think about it again. But I believe that if you go into this book prayerfully and really hear what he says, then this could change your world. I mean literally, you could be anywhere but where you are after you read this book.
I had thought about putting down the things I like about the book, then I think people wouldn't go out and get the book. So I won't do it now. Maybe in a few months, hoping that some of you have bought the book, I will jot down some of the points that I particularly enjoyed and was convicted on.
____________________________________________________________________
A thought I had while I was at my friends' house. There is a term "ikut suami" here. It is almost like a phrase that all feminists would be attacking. It means you "followed your husband". So like on our visa here as a family, I was "ikut suami", which just meant that I am under my husband's visa and I wasn't really doing anything here.
After P died, I had trouble with that term, because people were using that on me. Saying that I just followed my husband, like I didn't have a conviction of my own. That bothered me for some time and I really didn't like that people were not seeing me as an individual that the Lord wanted overseas also. The thing is, I know that if I was not comfortable with going, P would have not gone. I also know that if I had any doubts P would have not gone. P knew that it was not just him, but that God was asking us as a couple to make the move. Yes he just happened to be on the way when we met, but that doesn't make it any less my obedience in what the Lord asked me to do.
So when the Lord asked me to go again, I honestly had some doubts. The things people had said became the lies Satan used to hold me back. The Lord worked me through that... and I came with A with God leading every step of the way. So no more "ikut suami", just me...
The other night, I was lying in bed thinking of my time here and thinking of what's next. I thought of how easy it was to just "ikut suami" and not have to do all the thinking on my own. Then the Lord said to me, "but you are "ikut suami" remember I'm your husband". Wow... I was just floored with what the Lord said to me. That's right, Jesus says that He desires to be our friend, our Savior, and even our husband. So here I am again, "ikut suami" and the best "suami" I could ever ask for.
Thank you God for speaking so personally to me.
___________________________________________________________________
I ask for prayer in the area of revival. Ask for revival in the hearts of believers here and for those who do not know that they would come to know. Pray for His spirit to pour down on the people here!!!
My favorite part of the week... sleeping 9 hours at night and also taking at least and hour and half nap with A. I really needed all that sleep. It was absolutely heavenly.
The other great thing about the week was that we were surrounded by creation and we would wake up to the curtains dancing with the wind, in between their beats of dancing, we could see the trees and beautiful blue sky from the bed. It would be such a sight, until A would toss the curtain over her head and call our for Uncle A. I would just laugh thinking how I'm just enjoying this scenery and she's all ready to go and play.
I wanted to see what their life was like as much as resting, so we followed TB's schedule during our time there. But then she became my hero and I remembered why I told God I did not want to be in the tropics or is it just manual labor in the tropics since I do fine with my kind of work. :) TB one morning goes out to the field and works the beds of vegetables with the women. A and I joined. They work from 6:30am-1pm. A and I went and worked hard... After an hour and a half, I was feeling a little heat stricken and had to stop. TB went on til midday. Wow... She is my new heroine. She not only worked the beds, but carried big sacks of things over her head. I'm telling you either something is wrong with my cooling system in my body or I need to like have an electric fan blowing on my face. Heat and I just don't do well together. But I had a great time for that hour and a half... For every half bed I worked, the farm ladies did a bed and a half. I laughed at myself and they told me it's because it's their daily life they could work so fast. I would love to do that again some time. I think if I could get out on the field quicker, I could last longer since it's cooler in the mornings. I think I could at least do the morning shift before the break and then do something in shade after that. :)
The other morning we went on a hike down the mountain to visit some people and hiked back up. TB and I took turns carrying A on our backs. You could imagine going up and down mountains with an extra 18 kilos on your back. But TB and I both thought it was good exercise and had a grand time on the hike. I think that was a highlight for me or at least one of them.
In the afternoons, around 3, A went to a farmer's family's house and stayed their with her new friends. They really aren't friends, they are in high school, but those girls thought A was so cute, after they worked the fields all morning, they wanted to spend the afternoon with A. So A would be gone from 3-6. The girls, 3 of them, would take her around the farm to look at goats, fish, kittens and play doctor. A also became their English tutor. They would practice their English with A and she would talk to them in English. Usually the next morning, the girls would share with us what they did the evening before. A loved her time with them so much that when it was time to come home, she cried because she wanted to stay with them.
So our vacation time was great. We really needed it, enjoyed it and now feel refreshed.
___________________________________________________________________
As I was there, I finished reading Acts, Crazy Love and thought of something.
After the flood, the Lord led me to Acts. As I read the first chapter, I had a desire to live a life like those in Acts. So I read a chapter a day and just studied it a little. I wanted to share some things I've learned.
- The Holy Spirit is at work. Jesus promises us a helper and the Holy Spirit comes and just shakes the place down. People were being filled with the Spirit and radical things started happening. - Read "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. LORD FILL ME WITH YOUR SPIRIT!
- The Gospel was a part of everything. It didn't matter who, what, where and how, but wherever the apostles were, there was the gospel. Whenever they addressed the crowd, it was with the gospel. LORD LET MY LIPS BE FILLED WITH THE GOSPEL. LET EVERYTHING BE ABOUT YOU JESUS.
- After hearing the gospel, people were baptized right after. Many times in the NT it states, they believed and were baptized. LORD LET BAPTISM NOT BE JUST A RITUAL FOR ME, BUT THAT IT IS A SYMBOL OF BEING A NEW CREATION.
- People gave and shared everything. Once someone became part of the family, they sold and gave so that everyone may have. - Read "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. LORD LET ME BE QUICK TO GIVE AND WITH A JOYFUL HEART.
- God's people suffered. The people that were proclaiming Jesus were being ostracized, being put to prison, flogged, beaten, killed... Jesus said that following Him ain't going to be easy. He said that if the world thinks your weird, then you are doing the right thing. LORD LET ME NOT THINK THAT FOLLOWING YOU IS GOING TO BE ALL SWEET AND GOOD, LET ME BE READY TO COUNT MY COSTS.
- This is so crazy, but I so long for it. After their suffering, after their flogging, the apostles came out rejoicing at the very thought of how great it is to be worthy to be tortured for Jesus. They had joy in all this. They wanted more. LORD TO HAVE JOY LIKE THIS. LET ME BE SOMEONE TO REJOICE EVEN IN DARKEST DAYS OF MY LIFE.
- The apostles were performing miracles left and right in the name of Jesus. LORD LET ME BELIEVE THAT YOU STILL ARE CAPABLE AND WILLING TO DO THE SAME MIRACLES. LET ME NOT JUST PASS THIS AS SOMETHING YOU DID BACK THEN.
___________________________________________________________________
Please invest in the book "Crazy Love". I do not know Francis Chan and I am not getting paid to say this, but really if you want to read one book this year I think this should be it. I also ask that you read the book prayerfully. You could read the book and just say "oh that was good" and never think about it again. But I believe that if you go into this book prayerfully and really hear what he says, then this could change your world. I mean literally, you could be anywhere but where you are after you read this book.
I had thought about putting down the things I like about the book, then I think people wouldn't go out and get the book. So I won't do it now. Maybe in a few months, hoping that some of you have bought the book, I will jot down some of the points that I particularly enjoyed and was convicted on.
____________________________________________________________________
A thought I had while I was at my friends' house. There is a term "ikut suami" here. It is almost like a phrase that all feminists would be attacking. It means you "followed your husband". So like on our visa here as a family, I was "ikut suami", which just meant that I am under my husband's visa and I wasn't really doing anything here.
After P died, I had trouble with that term, because people were using that on me. Saying that I just followed my husband, like I didn't have a conviction of my own. That bothered me for some time and I really didn't like that people were not seeing me as an individual that the Lord wanted overseas also. The thing is, I know that if I was not comfortable with going, P would have not gone. I also know that if I had any doubts P would have not gone. P knew that it was not just him, but that God was asking us as a couple to make the move. Yes he just happened to be on the way when we met, but that doesn't make it any less my obedience in what the Lord asked me to do.
So when the Lord asked me to go again, I honestly had some doubts. The things people had said became the lies Satan used to hold me back. The Lord worked me through that... and I came with A with God leading every step of the way. So no more "ikut suami", just me...
The other night, I was lying in bed thinking of my time here and thinking of what's next. I thought of how easy it was to just "ikut suami" and not have to do all the thinking on my own. Then the Lord said to me, "but you are "ikut suami" remember I'm your husband". Wow... I was just floored with what the Lord said to me. That's right, Jesus says that He desires to be our friend, our Savior, and even our husband. So here I am again, "ikut suami" and the best "suami" I could ever ask for.
Thank you God for speaking so personally to me.
___________________________________________________________________
I ask for prayer in the area of revival. Ask for revival in the hearts of believers here and for those who do not know that they would come to know. Pray for His spirit to pour down on the people here!!!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
in need of vacation...
we have had quite a journey these past couple months... moving, stealing, flooding, moving, saying good-bye, computer problems... all of these things have make me think i need a break. my brain doesn't work sometimes and i just realized mid-week last week that A will be on a break for a week as her term has ended. so before the new one starts, she gets a break. so we are taking a vacation to grandma and grandpa's house... ha ha... it's really not grandma and grandpa, P and i used to call it that, since that's what it felt like, but they are way to young to be anyone's grandma and grandpa. A and i are taking some time, don't have an exact date on when we are coming home, but we will be leaving on monday morning. we are just going to go and enjoy some loving and beauty of God's wonderful creation. i think i need some time to cry and relax. it's been an overwhelming period of my life.
PLEASE PRAY FOR MY HELPER. actually her husband. he has been sick for a while and has been okay for the past about 6 months. tuesday he went to the ER again... i'll make the story short, but it looks like the doctors were treating him for the wrong thing. 4 in the morning this morning, i was awaken by a phone call from our helper, Y, that her husband is doing really bad and asked what she should do. she sounded so scared... told me that his body was turning cold... that did it for me... it took me back and hit right at home for me. again long story short.... please pray for this situation that the Lord will show Himself to them through this. please pray that i could be of help and give wise counsel. please pray for his health... he is only 36. we have been talking about how Jesus is the great healer and about heaven. Please Please Please pray!!!
Please pray for me too... i fell today... i hurt my left hand, primarily on the knuckle and my left knee is feeling a little sore. i will take some ibuprofen before i sleep and hope that will be all i need.
Please pray for A as she has had a cough for about three weeks now. no other symptoms, but please pray.
Please just lift us up daily... physically, emotionally and especially spiritually as we live out a spiritual war!!!
hopefully i will be more refreshed after my vacation to write some more things on my mind.
PLEASE PRAY FOR MY HELPER. actually her husband. he has been sick for a while and has been okay for the past about 6 months. tuesday he went to the ER again... i'll make the story short, but it looks like the doctors were treating him for the wrong thing. 4 in the morning this morning, i was awaken by a phone call from our helper, Y, that her husband is doing really bad and asked what she should do. she sounded so scared... told me that his body was turning cold... that did it for me... it took me back and hit right at home for me. again long story short.... please pray for this situation that the Lord will show Himself to them through this. please pray that i could be of help and give wise counsel. please pray for his health... he is only 36. we have been talking about how Jesus is the great healer and about heaven. Please Please Please pray!!!
Please pray for me too... i fell today... i hurt my left hand, primarily on the knuckle and my left knee is feeling a little sore. i will take some ibuprofen before i sleep and hope that will be all i need.
Please pray for A as she has had a cough for about three weeks now. no other symptoms, but please pray.
Please just lift us up daily... physically, emotionally and especially spiritually as we live out a spiritual war!!!
hopefully i will be more refreshed after my vacation to write some more things on my mind.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
external
I'm so glad that I finally have my laptop back... although now, it has an external keyboard attached to it. I got it looked at and the keyboard disengaged for $10 and a friend had an extra keyboard. So no need to buy a new laptop. I'll just keep doing this until it's time to buy a new one. Maybe for when I go back to the states.
My heart has been burdened by some overwhelming things and how do I put that all down... I can't do that all on the first day I get my laptop back. I mean come on, I've been off for like more than a week. ha ha...
Well, I do want to say that, God is definitely working in and through and around my life. I pray that He will use all this for His glory.
I'm glad to be back on!!!
Lots to catch up on.
My heart has been burdened by some overwhelming things and how do I put that all down... I can't do that all on the first day I get my laptop back. I mean come on, I've been off for like more than a week. ha ha...
Well, I do want to say that, God is definitely working in and through and around my life. I pray that He will use all this for His glory.
I'm glad to be back on!!!
Lots to catch up on.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Out of Touch
My laptop is in the shop. May have to either change the keyboard or get a new laptop. It's already three years old and I hear that's about the lifespan of a laptop.
Please pray for a quick resolution.
Sad.
Please pray for a quick resolution.
Sad.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)