Beauty

Li'l Angelika in a costume made
by my late mother, when I was away
 and unable to be with my daughter,
a few days before 'the storm'.

Beauty
is not found in heavily made up ladies,
Neither in the sparkling diamonds or glitters of gold
Brimming from necks and limbs;
Nor in the latest models of gadgets or antiques of old,
Strings of possessions and processions of things.

Beauty---
if you care to look--- is in the eyes
Of one where joy resides, see as she smiles
At the future in this ocean of life,
Facing with mirth its every ebb of tide,
Grateful, joyful for every unexpected love
Committed on the vow she made to the One above.

I'm Coming Home!: Helping a Child with Trauma

A storm is brewing in the horizon as I'm writing this. And my husband is looking for the cat before it gets caught in it. The sky is in different shades of iron, from silvery gray to almost black. It is awesome to watch it. Through the windows from the safety of the house.

We were outside a few hours ago, as the kids and I often are one or two times in a day, to simply play and breath in fresh air. But the wind was blowing so vigorously, even throwing sand into our faces, that it got me thinking that if we were in the Philippines, we would've been in a dangerous situation just being outside. All kinds of stuff would have been flying around already. It brought to mind "the storm that changed my life".

Well, it was not only me who remembered that. Because as I was waking up my biggest girl, who was enjoying the last remaining days of her vacation sleeping in before she starts school again in a couple of days, responded to my cheery "Good morning!" as I drew the curtains, "The weather is scary!" And what can I say to that? To someone whose recurring nightmares, especially when awake, consists of whipping winds, floods, and being alone?

A Haiyan Survivor's Tribute

Angelika drew as she told me
what she had gone through.
I listened with my heart beating so fast.
I am one blessed mother! (Check out our video.)

Beyond the Storm: Joy in the Morning

source

Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5 ASV)

I'm counting the days when I get to meet our new baby daughter. In fact, I have been here at the medical facility for a few days now, where mothers are given quality pre-natal care, give birth, and are cared for together with the baby after the birth. Makes one feel like a queen. And it's all for free! I have done nothing (that means no cooking and cleaning), but get all checked, rested and fed. 

Oh, how this pregnancy journey has been different from all previous ones that I had (well, I already had three aside from this). That's why I can totally agree with Patsy Clairmont's  book title "Normal is just a Setting on Your Dryer". We want to make sense out of the things that we don't understand and try to sum them up as normal. But when things don't go as we expect, we experience lots of anxiety and get all hung up that things are not normal, that we are not normal. But if we look at all these as God's special and creative way to brighten up our world and our lives, then we get to accept 'the different' more readily and enthusiastically.

Nothing is Impossible with God

Angelika in the Philippines,
so delighted to be starting school there.

Today of last year, Angelika, with me and her little sister, Ella, left for the Philippines, never knowing that it would take a year for her to come back. We didn't know then that she would go to school there, spend some considerable time without a mother, be left in the care of her doting grandparents, spend a birthday without even one of her immediate family, see the home and the school she  had come to love destroyed and broken, witness both her grandparents being taken away by a destructive storm, be left on her own in the water with no one to help, and being rescued by an unlikely hero, a ten-year old boy, and a little later, a total stranger with a brave, soft heart. And all the while, she was hoping and waiting for her mother to come and take her home.

Legacy I: Love for Work

"I miss lolo and lola." ~my son

(Having lost both of my parents in Haiyan storm, my mind at the present cannot help but dwell on the many wonderful legacies that they have left for me, my siblings and a host of other people. What I’m writing here are just a few of the obvious heritage that they have left behind. It is my hope, that as years pass by, all that they have left behind (no land or houses or money as all these, or the little that they had, were swept away or broken during the storm) will not be forgotten but will be passed through even to the next generation of our family. And may you find even just a little nugget of treasure. Be blessed!)

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise.” Proverbs 6:6

The midday sun beat on his back. Slowly he made his way through the field with his faithful carabao. Once again, Moreto found himself following behind that symbol of labor in the Philippines. His father had once again fallen asleep drunk last night, which only means that it was up to him to take the carabao out and work on the field again. His father had done it before and he would do it again as his manner of getting drunk indicated.

LIVE UP God's Dream 2

If we want God's dreams, we got to LIVE UP.

To live up is to do life with the aim of moving on to a higher ground.

To live up is to intentionally be full of life despite circumstances or people pulling us down.

To live up is to come alive and remain alive in God's truth, His presence, His power.

To live up is to know and believe that our help only comes from above, that our blessings can only flow out from the good heart of God, and our very lives come from His own poured out life.

Beyond the Storm: Love

Where God leads, He provides.

As my sister, Myrel, keeps on saying, she and the kids made it through to a safer place through God's providence. The whole experience was like crossing a raging river without a stepping stone in sight, but every time they took a step a stepping stone comes up for their feet to step on. And so, getting out of Tacloban was made possible through God's guiding hand and His love was evident in all His provision for the survivors' needs.

Three days after Haiyan, with no food, no water, no electricity, no clothes, violence breaking out in the city and citizens cowering inside their broken homes with any weapon they could find to protect themselves from intruders, everything wet and dirty, and the children-survivors needing medical help and none to find, my sister decided to get out of Tacloban. But how?

Beyond the Storm: Hope

Julianna, Angelika, and Lance
 I love you, little people! But God loves you more!

(A simple account of how three kids survived typhoon Haiyan.)

"He reached down from on high and took hold of me, He drew me out of deep waters" (Psalm 18:16).

A monster storm was coming! Okay.

For most people in the Philippines, we get to experience storms not just once, but even more than there are fingers on our hands and toes on our feet. But everyone was warned that this one was going to be a terrible one. So everyone prepared.

Beyond the Storm: Faith

Faith is the reality of what we hope for, 

the proof of what we don't see.

Hebrews 11:1

I am a mother of a Haiyan typhoon survivor. Actually, I am a mother, an aunt, a sister and a daughter of real people victimized by this Monster Storm. I didn't expect to be one.