Back Home?

I'm so confused about which place to call home. I was calling Minneapolis Home when I was in Cali but when I am here in MN, Cali is home. I figure none of them are home. Heaven is home and one day we will be home. We are citizens of heaven.

Well, I was very blessed by most of you. I was glad that I got to hang out with many of you while I was out there. Those of you who say they missed me and did not attempt to hang out with me are liars and the truth is not in you...j/k. I enjoyed my stay with you all and the talks that I had with many of you were very encouraging and fruitful. I wish I didn't have to come back here but the Lord has different plans for me right now. I feel refreshed though. I am not as homesick as I thought I'd be. The new count down for when I will see you starts. Please call me if you get a chance because I got a new phone and I don't know anyone's numbers.

I love my little nephews! They are so cute.

Yek

Can't wait to be with you all for Christmas! I wish I could be at the wedding but things fell through and I am not able to make it. I love you all and I will you freak faces soon. Elijah boy, I'm coming soon.

Snow Storm

It's crazy...

Snow is no joke over here. In CA, snow is exciting and fun to play in. In MN, snow is scary! It's still fun and beautiful to see all the rooftops covered in snow, snowflakes falling from the sky, and Christmas trees having real snow on the tips of the branches. I have no one here to throw snowballs at so i just throw it at my truck. I won both snowball fights against the truck. I didn't even get hit once. I did trip though and get snow all over my left side.

I wish all my family and friends could come over here and we can have a White Christmas over here. We can all be huddled close together in below zero degree weather drinking hot chocolate and singing songs of praise for sending us his Son. We could talk about all that God has done for us through the year and get excited for God is going to do for us in 2008. That would have been fun. Instead we'll do it over there minus the snow.

Poppa and Me

I have the best dad in the whole world! I'm sure many of you think that but I really do. Maybe PJ has a close competitor but man, is my Dad awesome! I wish I could describe to you the weekend that we just had. here's my attempt: never mind, I don't have time to write a story. Here are some highlights:

He flew out on Friday morning and arrived here in Minneapolis at 6 in the morning. I was up at five and slept at three because I was so excited for his coming. It was freezing cold when he got here and as soon he stepped out of the airport he rushed back inside. It was about 28 degrees at the time.


We walked around the sculpture garden...
Yes, its a giant spoon with a cherry on it.

My Daddy cooked Adobo for me...
He also cooked breakfast on Sunday and Monday morning. He would wake me up, "Yek, eat. The food is ready." I can't tell you how awesome that is to have again. I cleaned up and put all the dishes in the sink and started to get ready for church and when I got out of the shower he was washing the dishes.

I miss my Dad so much already. During Greek class I started to get teary-eyed because I was thinking I'm losing my family again. The teary eyes became a waterfall when I had to walk away from the terminal. It was time for him to get on the plane and I lost it. We were praying and I started crying and then he prayed and then he started crying. When he said in his shaky voice "I love you, son" I was ready to buy a ticket and come home. I turned back as I was walking away and saw him still watching me walk and I started to feel the loneliness again. It was if someone hit the reset button and I had to start all over again in dealing with the loneliness. I sat in the car and cried so hard. I just started praying and thanking God for the grace.

I praise God for my dad! My dad does a great job of displaying the love of God to his children. When I hurt, I know my dad hurts and when I cried, he cried. I can't wait to see him again. This was definitely an unforgettable weekend for me because God revealed to me that he has blessed me so much with a family like mine and a leader of the family who loves me with the love of Christ. I love my Dad.

Nothing New...

Wake up,
Study,
Work,
I come home,
cook,
wash dishes,
chill,
read/study,
sleep.


Then I do it again the next day.

What the...?

Ok. Most of you guys know me well. When everyone is freezing, I'm good. When everyone is good, I'm burning up with my sleeves rolled up. Over here, forget about it! I am freezing my...bunz off. Last night I was walking around downtown wearing a pea coat that Jennifer gave me last year for Christmas and I was dying. My teeth were chattering and I was hugging myself with a scarf wrapped around my face only allowing myself to see through two holes for my eyes. I was walking around like a mummy! I was missing the sunny southern California weather where I only wore the pea coat twice. I miss wearing shorts in the winter time and flip flops on any given day. I layer three blankets on myself when I sleep since I cannot sleep with two. Many of you know that one of them is not really thick but its my security blanket. Please pray for me because I am dying over here. It is easy for me to lose focus and get out of here because I can no longer feel my feet.

I am writing this from home right now because I called in sick today. I cannot breathe through my nose and I possess a horrific cough. I think it had to do with last night and walking around downtown with snot frozen to my cheeks. Please pray that I get better. Thank you.

My Parents are coming...

I am soooo excited! My Mom and Dad are coming out to the cold North Mid-West! My Mom is telling me that she is going to cook Filipino food for me. I miss that so much even though I did not eat it much out there. It was always one call to Grama away. Now Leon and Mikey (Burden) are taking my spot with Grama. I wish I could see all of you and the babies but for now I just look at pictures. 2 more weeks and I see 2 more Filipinos in this sea of White folks. Not that I have a problem with white folks I just like to see some flavor, you know...

venting...

Last night was a normal night. I came home from work, took my shoes off, turned on some Shane and Shane, and started cooking. I ate and I started relaxing on my couch...normal stuff. I talk to my family regularly but this time it was different. Kuya RC and I were talking and all I could here was Xander yelling because he wanted to talk on the phone. I like to think he knows who he is talking to. Kuya said repeatedly "talk to uncle" and he would yell non-sense.

I miss my family. I knew I hadn't gotten rid of this feeling. I miss my family. I love that my Dad calls me every 3 days to see if I am doing okay. He says "I love you, son" after every call. He's so great! Dad, I'm sure you don't read this but if somehow you do get to this know that I love you so much and that I appreciate everything you help me with. I wish I could just hug you right now. Thanks Dad for supporting your sons in our decisions to go to the army, air force, and expensive colleges and ministry. I don't know if you know this but I have grown so much from this time out here and it would not be possible without the your love and support.

For everyone else, thanks for reading my venting...I miss you all too but not as much as my Dad.

Torn

Geneyem sent out an Email saying that we should send letter for a Christian man, Mr. Son, to get out of prison because he scheduled to be executed publicly. I don't know how I feel about it. Maybe it is God's plan for him to be martyred for the cause of Christ, maybe it's not. I don't mean to be crude or seem anti-safety or anything but isn't it an honor to die for Christ? Wouldn't that encourage more saints to go out and be bold for the gospel? For Mr. Son to live is Christ and to die is gain. If he dies...he makes Christ look GLORIOUS!

I'm not sure how I feel. I am praying for what God wills for Mr. Son. I'm sure Mr. Son would want me brothers and sisters to do that.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
- Christ

"Stand"

Are weary from ministry? Are you getting tired? Do you feel heavy laden? I urge you to STAND brothers and sisters in Christ! STAND, all you who believe in the return of the King! STAND.....for his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

We must persevere to the end of our lives if we treasure Christ. We must finish the race strong, fight the good fight, keep the faith. Do not give up bothers and sisters in the faith! Our glorious King will come back and on that day give us rest for the rest of eternity. Do not buy in to the American dream of having the nicest house, the coolest toys, the buffest body. Do you not treasure Christ more than these? The Christian life is marked with suffering all the way until we die. 2 Corinthians 4 says that Paul and Timothy were "slaves" for the brethren at Corinth for Christ's sake. Be slaves that show love for the people you minister to and to those are not saved so that they may see Christ in your lives. Please do not get comfortable in this life here on earth because there will be comfort for the rest of eternity but make your life count for Christ now. DO NOT waste your lives on what the world thinks success is. You do not live by their standards because are not of this world. We are citizens of heaven! We will dance around the throne singing praises to our Savior with our glorified bodies in the streets of gold. Remember, family, that is by the mercies of Christ that we are still here. Ministry is a mercy, we don't deserve it. Your husbands/wives are acts of mercy, you don't deserve it. Life itself is MERCY from the Almighty and Just God from which all mercy flows. WE DO NOT DESERVE IT! We deserve death! All praise to the Merciful God who sent His Son to die for you and I that we may live with Him!

Are you weary? Are you tired? Are you heavy laden? By the grace of GOD we must STAND.

Minneapolis

I am really starting to love this city. On Friday night, since there is no Bible Study, no Praise and Worship to do, I decided to walk around downtown Minneapolis. It was beautiful. The building light up, the air crisp and cool, and the people are nice. My favorite part of the night was when I saw a girl leaving a club. She walked out of the club at 10:30 pm and strapped on her helmet, jumped on her bike, excuse me, bicycle, and ride into the night. Oh, I forgot that she was wearing some red heels too. Who does that? That is something I expect in Nebraska but not in Minneapolis. I laughed so hard I almost got in an accident.
Minneapolis is a really beautiful city. There is a 40% population of Muslims in the city. I thought that was funny...Sometimes we ask God to reach the nations and he puts them right in front of us. We just have to speak up.

To my little X

Oh Xander, I miss Xander. Ate Aimee sent me videos on my phone to watch of him and I just wanted to squeeze him! He is so cute! I was watching him laugh on the video and he looked exactly like his Father, but his father is not as cute. I love that boy and I pray for him whenever I think of my family back home. I pray that he and his hippie cousin will be great men of God. Men that will push, strive and yearn for God. I picture my little Xander boy playing his little high tech computer and running sound system for church. One day I will see this come true, Lord willing and his little woman (Braveheart) will next to him all cute together. I praise God for that kid because even though he probably forgot uncle Yek... he still brings so much joy to my heart. I love you Xander...and your little brother in your mommy's womb (I hope its a boy).

What do you take me for...granted?

Being 1,903 miles away from home shows you how much you take things for granted. There are many things that I take for granted out there. The one I want to focus on is, mainly for CFBC members, potluck. After church today I was dying to get some food but having to be a good steward of God's money I decided to go home and cook for myself. I forgot how long it takes to make a meal. I am cooking the rice right now in my little cooker but boy is it taking forever. It is 2 o'clock and I still have not eaten anything.
I praise God for CFBC and the amount of food that we consume. We have food at almost every event and don't even give it a second thought of where it came from. It came from the Father of Lights, where all good and perfect gifts come from. Next Sunday I will prepare my food before I leave so that way I can heat it up and enjoy the blessing. Right now the Lord is giving me another blessing...it's called a lesson of patience!

"Holding the hand that holds the world"

Albert Zaporteza called me a few days ago and warned me about the shock of being out of your hometown and being put in a situation where you sink or swim. I didn't know that it would be this hard. But for how much tribulation there is always enough grace. God was not going to let me do this alone, just without Filipinos. He is holding my hand. I just had my head turned around towards home that I couldn't even see him. jumping in the truck and driving 1900 miles is probably the best thing I could have done for my walk with the Lord. I realized how much I was dependent on the people around me. I wouldn't have caught such idolatry had it not been for this journey. Yeah, I miss everyone like crazy and I wish you guys can see the grace that is out here but, in gaining perspective, there is an eternity that all who believe in the Lord Jesus will enjoy together in Him. Amen!!! What's 3 years? I encourage anyone who will read this to journey out of their comfort zone and see the grace of holding the hand that holds the world.

Lonliness

This is where the true challenge awaits me. No more Mike. No more Lou. Just the quietness of the room and the loudness of my own thoughts questioning if I'm going to make it out here. I've never felt alone like I do right now. I can hear each step shake the whole 3rd floor of the building that used to be drowned out by the laughs and giggles of Mike and Lou. My heart plummeted as I dropped them off at the airport. My eyes watered when I saw the text that they were okay to go on the flight. Selfishly I didn't want it to work out but for them to catch a later flight. This is by far the hardest thing I ever have done in my life. I don't know anyone and I don't know what to do for the next few days out here by myself with no work, no church...nothing...nothing.

First Week

This is my first blog. People try to sound all sophisticated on this stuff but that just wouldn't be me. not that I'm all dumb but...you know.

God sent me here to learn and absorb from Bethlehem Baptist Church. O what a joy it has been only on my first Sunday! God is working in me and I now have more visions for the church. I prayed with Piper and I was nervous. It's Piper; the man who has taught me so much about loving the Lord and not wasting my life! If it were not for this man and his insight then I wouldn't be here studying to preach the word. He prayed for me adjusting here and getting used to the weather which I'm very scared of.

Last night, I cried. Out of nowhere. I started thinking about Elijah and how much I missed him and I cried. I am so scared that he will run away from me when I try to carry him and turn his body the other direction when I try to carry him. It hurts to think that I can take him from anyone now but in a few months he will not care who I am. I am getting watery eyed just thinking about it. O the sacrifices one must make to serve the Lord.

I love you Elijah as if you are my son. I know you can't read but one day you will and you will know that uncle loves you more than you'll ever know.