These Little Wonders

O beloved Mother, the time has come for your departure from our home, your home also for seven days of your stay with us. Our lips cannot express the joy overflowing in our hearts.  Inspired by your love, Mother, you desired to be with us even for only a while.  Thank You, Mother, thank you. Come back some other day. We will wait for you with profound ardor.  Upon your departure, take with you our love. Take with you our hearts. Never allow us to forget you nor to stray away from your care now and forever. Amen. That was our prayer this evening as we bid goodbye to Mother Mary. And it's also symbolic since tonight, we are saying goodbye to Lifehomes as well. Yes, you read it right. We're leaving Quirino, our home for the past 25 years. I thought I was already prepared for this. But during the block rosary, I still wasn't able to control my emotions. I guess this is really true:  But no matter how painful and sad it is, I am still excited. :) I know

*This is a long overdue post. But better late than never, right? :) The first 12 days of June were simply amazing and well, rare, because for the first time, I spent them in a foreign land. It was also my longest trip so far. I've never been away from my family for more than a week, but because I was called to do mission in Thailand, I had to leave my comfort zone and proclaim God's greatness in another kingdom. :) It's already my second time in Thailand but I felt like it's my first time because it was only during this trip that I was able to truly experience what such amazing country has to offer. The first time I went out of the country and traveled to Bangkok was last year during the Global Leaders Summit (see stories here and here ) but I was there only for the summit (plus I didn't have the budget back then). This time, I came back for the Princess Diaries (and Lawrence for the Knights Tale) and I had eleven days to explore, discover, and just be amazed

Joyful.  After two years, I'm finally reunited with Sr. Weng Remulta of Daughters of St. Anne! Hooray! :) She was my counselor during the One Heart MMC in 2010, a fan of my love story, a friend, and a prayer warrior. I am just so happy and excited to see her next week in Lucena for the Blessed MMC. :) Grateful. My household keep me sane, and so every moment spent with them is a treasure. :) I am so grateful for another evening of sharing and fellowship with my sisters in the Lord. And of course I'm grateful for all my relationships - my healthy, happy, holy, and loving relationships. Lastly, I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve and bless others and make them experience the love of Christ. :)  Prayerful. I'll be honest. Right now, I'm praying for a house and lot, a new home, a permanent residence, one we can really call our own. And I'm also praying for more income or more sources of funds to make my dream home a reality. 

We just had our sector GRATEFUL assembly and six sharers testified to God's goodness and faithfulness. Boggs is grateful for the blessing of a new job and a possible promotion this month (let's pray for that). Ellen is grateful for the gift of community and God's means to keep her ablaze in service. Albert is grateful for a new life in Christ through the CLP. Shiela is grateful for the gift of health and a second chance to live. Cha is grateful for brothers and sisters in the community who made her experience God's redeeming love, and the realization that God will truly replace what was lost with something better, something more beautiful. Kuya Boyce is grateful for the gift of relationship. As I was listening to their stories, I can't help but be amazed at how the Lord works wonders in each of our lives. And I was reminded of my own blessings, too. :) And so for this post, allow me to share the things for which I am grateful. :) I am grateful for

  The photos above are different versions of 1 Corinthians 13 (yes, that part in the bible where Christian love is described). What do you notice? :) Honestly, I didn't thought of it until last Friday when Kuya JQ, a brother from the community mentioned about it during a sort of a "love forum." :) I don't know if you noticed that though there are a lot of versions of this famous verse, one thing remains constant: the first description of love is patient . There must be a reason why love is first of all, patient. Kuya JQ said that in reality, people don't lose faith, they lose patience. And if we say that patience is a virtue, then it must be something morally excellent. Patience, as defined by Dictionary.com , is . . . a. the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like. b. an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or