Notable November

Rushing to create this post has made this month truly remarkable. Since I haven't been able to make regular posts, I prefer to compile a summary of my highlights for the month to ensure I don't miss them.

I started this month by working on Christmas crafts for our decorations, which occupied my free time.  I'll make a separate post about the Christmas decors.

On November 8, 2015, we were privileged to meet Ptr. Vincent Greene's family.  They traveled to Batangas City to meet us and visit our church for fellowship.  It was a fun time for the kids and us to meet everyone.  It's too bad we don't have photos with the whole family.  I guess like me, Kim didn't have much time to think about posing for a photo as we were occupied with energetic little children. I'm glad to have found copies of the photos of the children taken during their Sunday School.

November 10, Pakner4lyf joined Patikarun 2015 hoping to win the cash incentive for EJ's birthday. Click for the whole story here.  

November 11 - of course, it was EJ's first birthday! We had a simple family celebration.  Both Pakner4lfy and I are grateful that EJ is thriving.  Our son is just a little smaller compared to other babies his age but is doing great and meeting the expected developmental milestones for his age.

November 20 is my dad's birthday, and we decided to eat lunch out before strolling in a nearby town.  I am blessed to have a very skilled father who fixes and builds many things.  He provided for us, and I salute him for being a visionary, a risk-taker, and a hard worker as well.

After spending time with my family, we had another appointment in the evening to attend Chinkee Tan's Marriage Seminar at Victory Christian Fellowship in Batangas City.  

This seminar was great for us as a couple.  Most of the lessons discussed were not new to us, but they served to remind us to work on our relationship to make it stronger. Sitting there, I realized that after being married to a pastor for eight years and serving our church, we have hosted many seminars, which made this one feel significantly different.  What made it different, and something we appreciated, is that we were simply there to sit and listen. It was a significant change from what we used to do - it's so nice to just sit and listen.  I didn't have any thoughts about what I should do next, what to prepare, or who to talk to as part of the seminar organizing team.

What I greatly learned from Chinkee's seminar was the discussion about the man's "NOTHING BOX. " Men and women have a lot of differences. Now I better understand my husband when he tends to isolate himself from us and doesn't want to talk, especially when he is stressed or tired.  To my husband, I will respect your time spent in that NOTHING BOX, but it should last for 30 minutes to an hour and not a whole year! 

It was also a great time for me to meet new friends Ptr. Rodel and his wife Sis. Yhen, along with their baby boy, Adronicus. (I don't know if I have spelled their names correctly.) The next day, November 21, we invited the couple to visit our house for dinner.  It was also their time to see our church and meet some of our staff.  Their visit was like fresh water to us as they intentionally ministered to us spiritually.

November 23, Pakner4lyf wanted to visit his hometown and spend time with his family.  Hearing that was unusual for me because we had a lot of work to finish, especially for our upcoming musical concert on Sunday. I felt that it was weird, but I didn't say anything to him.  I needed to arrange a few things before leaving, then packed our clothes and off we went.

We had a nice time spending time with Jay (Pakner4lyf's youngest brother) and his wife Mariza in their home.  The cousins had missed each other for a long time, and their playtime seemed endless.  The next day, we began to get ready to go back home.  Jay and Pakner4lyf had another chat.  They went outside as Pakner4lyf was about to get the car parked across the street, and Jay rode his motorcycle to buy something.  Both of them were about to cross the street when we heard a loud noise outside.  I knew it was a road accident and I was trying to figure out who was involved and what actually happened. I rushed outside while praying and saw Pakner4lyf standing in the middle of the street, frustrated at seeing Jay get hit by a motorcycle a few meters away from him. He immediately rushed Jay and the other driver to the hospital, as they both needed urgent medical attention.

We are thankful that no serious physical injuries occurred to Jay other than deep wounds from being dragged a few meters.  He didn't need to be confined to the hospital.  We had to wait for the X-ray results.  In that kind of accident, it would not be surprising if he had fractured bones.  But God performed a miracle, as no bones were fractured. We were informed that he had dislocated his shoulder bones.  He only needed to rest more and recover from the muscle pain caused by that bump, and then he would work on the relocation of his shoulder joints. This accident made me witness another miracle, and for the couple Jay and Mariza, it was life-changing.

On November 30, our church had been preparing for this musical concert.  We aim to collect funds to achieve our goal of purchasing a piece of land in Pallocan West, Batangas City.  All proceeds from the ticket sales will directly contribute to our Lot Fund.  I am very thankful for our dedicated church members who made this event possible and successful.  

This concert is just a preliminary event because we will have a bigger concert this coming December 22, 2015.  We are thankful for the partner churches that are willing to raise funds for our church lot cause.  I know that the Lord will repay them.  Little by little, we will be able to seed fund for the lot that we look forward to constructing as a larger place of worship to reach more people for the glory of God.

Once again, warm thanks to everyone who supported and gave their best for the success of this concert.

I just received a phone call from my brother Joshua saying that he passed the Licensure Exam for teachers. Congratulations, bro!

This ends my notable November! Expecting for more greater days to come!