Hello!!!!!! wow…six months ago last year a lot of things happened…both good and bad ones…nevertheless, everything is part and parcel to be thankful for. Yes, to be thankful first of all to our loving God who guides, direct our lives according to His plan and purpose.
The highlights in the year 2008 for our family has been many…Meryl’s being granted a 10-year US multiple entry visa was one of them. We were able to travel together with her to attend the GCE Conference at Ohio and visited Laurie and Jeb’s famiy in Wisconsin, and Cheryl and David in Colorado. It was the first time for Meryl to travel to the US and so the excitements and educational experiences she had was overwhelming. Our visits to Laurie’s and Cheryl’s families were very enjoyable and profitable. Then, came our much awaited Macaraeg Siblings Reunion last August… you will be able to view videos and see a lot of pictures taken in all of the activities we scheduled for the occasion. Will be sending out the videos to you soon as Meryl finishes them hopefully by Wednesday…February llth.
Next, was the wedding of Richard and Anndy Lou which you already saw such in pictures and video…it was highlighted the more with the presence of Laurie and Jebs’s family. It was a very happy and memorable occasion.
Then, came the FOT 2008…once again the BEST feast ever …so many overseas guests attended here in Davao including Mr-s Jim Franks as our visiting speaker, and the family of Jeb and Laurie with Jordan and Aubrey.
December’s activities were the last major event we had here in Davao…where Mr. David Baker and Doug Horschak conducted a National Leadership Conference and Seminar. This was attended by pastors and wives and local leaders with some of their wives as well. It was a highlight and very memorable for most of our local leaders and wives because it was their first time to stay at Insular Waterfront Hotel. Overall, the year 2008 was full of successful, happy and memorable activities.
Now for the current year 2009…this year, as our family tradition in the family, we started off with a FAST praying for a more peaceful and abundant life even as we are entering very difficult and challenging times ahead of us. May we continually resolved to be closer to God even more at this time…changing for the better in all areas of life…spiritually, physically, financially etc…
January l7th, we flew very early to Manila to catch up with our schedules and especially to attend the Sabbath Service in the afternoon. Your dad gave the Sermon…”Our Proper Attitude In Facing End-time Events”…it was well received and was an inspiring message. After the service, since it was Meryl’s 22nd birth anniversary, we volunteered to buy some extra food and ice cream which we ate in the house of Bong and Grace.
The following day, Sunday, was the wedding of Joseph and Janice. Your uncle Bong drove us to the venue after fetching your uncle Jerry and auntie Lal. But before proceeding to the wedding, we had a stop-over at Tagaytay City to take pictures of Taal lake and volcano, since Meryl has not seen the sceneries yet and to appreciate it. She has probably been to Tagaytay in the past but she was still too small to remember the place. Tagaytay has changed a lot since the time we have been there. So many modern buildings are being built, commercial establishments, eateries, nice shopping malls, hotels and restaurants etc. It’s actually a tourist spot. Anyway, as you already saw some of our pictures in Meryl’s website, our Tagaytay tour and the wedding itself was very nice and was a happy occasion. Meryl’s photo shots were very beautiful and professionally done.
We all stayed overniite again in your uncle Bong’s place…this time with your uncle Jerry and auntie Lal. The following day, Monday, we were invited for lunch by Dr. Robin Navarro in a Greek restaurant…”Cygma”…the food was delicious. Your dad also took the opportunity to consult with Dr. Navarro concerning his heart problems. He has always been a generous man ever since we were in Bacolod City.
Our flight back to Davao was at 6:30 pm so we had to go to the airport earlier to avoid the traffic. One good thing in this trip was that we were able to see our close relatives during the wedding of Joseph and Janice…and for that reason…we were happy to receive a text from Dudes… .asking if it is ok for them to attend the FOT this year in Davao? Of course, we were more than happy to welcome them here for the FOT.
Some updates from our family here…as you already know, Isis is having a baby boy this coming June…Charles beaming with joy and inspired to finish renovating his house. Was surprised to know and see the quality of his workmanship…very nice and skillful…like dad. Having studied architecture plus his interest in art and creativity, his house now is cute, unique and beautiful– Japanese style….hoping ready to be finished as a gift to Isis on her coming birthday on the 10th of Feb.
As for dad and myself, it’s almost a week now that we are sleeping during the night time at our roof garden…remember where we used to put the exerciser unit at the end corner of the roof deck…this is the spot where we installed an air mattress on top of an aluminum bed stand. Very invigorating to sleep here during the night…with cooler fresh oxgen to breath, beautiful stars and moon to gaze up in the sky…and in the morning, we enjoy looking at my plants and flowers as we take our breakfast there as well…while at the same time benefiting the early sunshine…we actually did this for the sake of your dad’s health and mine as well. We also do our morning exercises up here…and a place to meditate, study or read the Bible and other literatures…it’s a blessing to have a place like this.
It’s getting late in the night, past our sleeping time…just have to continue this later…meanwhile, happy to see most of you at Facebook…a very good tool to connect us to each other briefly…this is where i focus more lately, such that i have neglected to update for so long my weblog. Very happy to see a lot of pictures and videos from some of you…enjoyed so much Shoshy’s latest videos…her cute singing…hearty laughter as david and her playing the “football” game.
I also really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful photos of Jordan and Aubrey especially during their snow playing vacation…Laurie’s tummy getting bigger each day…excited to see the upcoming…Amberly Dawn…a beautiful name. So until next episode…missing you all abroad…love to you all.