The filippino is here!

The filippino is here!

On Saturday at 1:30pm, my twin sister’s husband-to-be arrived in Indianapolis from the Philippines, with his fiancé visa in hand! Jessie and Aldean applied for a fiancé visa in January 2012 and God was faithful to them as He was faithful to Titus and I one year ago!

“Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.”
(2 Samuel 22:50)

“Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.”
(1 Chronicles 16:9)

“He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.’”
(Hebrews 2:12)
Although I am disappointed that our small-but-growing family can no longer fit in one vehicle, I’m excited to see how Aldean changes the dynamics of our family. He’s already laughing at my jokes… laughing at least… so that’s good! And he seems to have picked up Nirtz pretty quickly, so that’s good! And he loves Jessie, so that’s great! (Although I still have to get used to my sister being in a relationship that isn’t long distance or seemingly imaginary.)

That moment when the guys met [again (Titus & Aldean actually met almost 3 years ago at a wedding in the Philippines!)] ... it was a good moment for me!  I trust that they will become very good friends!  Who else could have more in common but these two??  Not only are their wives twins, but this chapter of their lives are almost identical - leaving home [and everything!] for their brides and transitioning into a culture so foreign!  I hope that they will be an ear and an encouragement for each other.  Nonetheless, both incredible gifts to our family!

Tonight Aldean will meet Dad’s side of the family!

Love, Love, Love,
Jewel

We survived Hurricane Sandy!

I received a comment from a blogging friend that he hasn't heard from us since my last post in Baltimore, when we were preparing for Hurricane Sandy! Thank you, David, for your concern!! We are fine! In fact, we were untouched inside the four strong walls of our friends' old home. The storm started before 9am on Monday and faded away during the early morning hours on Tuesday. The winds were UNREAL... unlike anything that I have ever heard or felt. For hours, I expected any minute that the windows would be sucked right out of the walls. It rained and rained and rained HARD! The power flickered off and on all day, but we were fortunate to retain power, (although I’m quite certain we would have more than survived without it for a few days!) In one simple sentence: It was an adventure. A first anniversary to always be remembered! Despite Sandy, it was a great trip! ♥♥♥

Friday and Saturday were especially a lot of fun! We arrived in Baltimore by 10am and were warmly greeted by our dear friends, Sambat and his smart and adorable daughter, Elsie. I couldn’t quite remember how old Elsie was, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw her again (I had only ever met the Long family at our wedding one year ago.) When I got in the backseat beside her car seat and I said, “Hi Elsie! How are you?” and she responded, without hesitation, “I’m pretty good. How are you?” I knew she was well advanced and, over the course of the next few days, she continued to IMPRESS me! ♥♥♥

For lunch on Friday, we ate at a delicious and beautiful Indian buffet. So, so, so good. I could not stop eating! Afterwards, the four of us explored Baltimore city around the bay. We walked a lot! Laughed a lot! And took a lot of pictures! At 5:00, Sambat’s wife, Danielle, joined us and we went to the National Aquarium. Aquariums are one of my favorite things and it wasn’t even my idea to go! SO FUN! The jellyfish exhibit was very cool (I’ll spare you all the pictures!) and they even had a DOLPHIN SHOW! ♥♥♥

 On Saturday, we explored the streets of Washington DC between the Capital Building and the White House. There is so much to see in DC and I wish that we could have seen so much more [I saw a lot on a school field trip in 9th grade, but I wanted my husband to see it all!], but I enjoyed just walking hand-in-hand with Titus; and the weather was beautiful! We started our day at the United States Botanic Garden – a beautiful living plant museum – where we had a picnic lunch outdoors at the First Ladies’ Water Garden. Another big sighting of the day was, of course, the White House! The pictures of me in front of the White House… are not good… but below is a good picture of my husband! Just beyond the White House, we found a 24/7 worship experience happening for 40 consecutive days before the elections. Very cool experience! I made a new Spanish-speaking friend and explained to her that many people think America has no hope, but as certainly do! We have a living hope in Sovereign God and we must seek Him to lead our country, homes, and selves! ♥ ♥ ♥

Other adventures include: shopping at the Asian market, an authentic Vietnamese restaurant, Titus teaching Sambat how to cook, puzzles with Elsie, and movies in the evenings. ♥♥♥
Again, despite Hurricane Sandy, we had a wonderful time in Baltimore! I wish that we lived closer to the Longs and the Novs, our two Cambodian-American couple friends who cannot only relate very well with Titus, but understand cross-cultural relationships.♥♥♥

Love, Love, Love,

Jewel

Baltimore

Writing this from Baltimore... preparing for hurricane Sandy aka "Frankenstorm." The Washington Post predicts it will be New England's worst October storm in more than one generation. People are stockpiling food and water, buying chainsaws and generators, taping windows, and pushing other customers in the battery aisle. Danielle's school already announced a closing tomorrow. Still... I remain a doubter. Perhaps I am naive, having never before experienced a hurricane or the threat of. We should know in the next 24 hours! In 48 hours, we're scheduled to fly home!

It's been a really good three days already, and hopefully that trend continues despite threatening weather. We flew in Thursday morning and were greeted at the BWI airport by Titus' good friend from Cambodia, Sambat, and his curly-headed, three-year-old daughter, Elsie. We went to a beautiful Indian buffet for lunch and it was... SO GOOD! Wow. Really would like to have one of those in Marion! After lunch we explored Baltimore City by foot. It was a perfect October day! We walked around the harbor, through some shops, up a huge hill to the park and a beautiful of the city, and enjoyed some live music and Italian ice. At 5:00, we got half-price tickets to the National Aquarium, and enjoyed stir-fry and Chinese leftovers at home.

I'm attempting this first post from my iPod, so no idea what you will be seeing. Hope it's decent!

Much love,
Jewel

My Man's 1st Birthday

My man's first birthday in America.  Lots of emotions surrounding the occasion; a big occasion - celebrating 30 years of life. 29 years in Cambodia. [Almost] 1 year in America. ONE YEAR! So much has happened. So much has changed.

Surprise!  I like to think he was, but I think he's good at acting - at acting surprised to please his wife; his wife who worked hours and hours and hours to surprise him, to make it happen in a big way, to make him feel special.

A Scrabble party for my Scrabbler

75 balloons hanging from string, draped wall to wall.

More than 100 pictures displayed his age- 30!

Lots of food and more than 50 guests!

Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with Titus and to make the party a success. ♥♥♥

Love, Love, Love,

Jewel

Matthew 22:34-40

“In other words, you shall love God with everything you have and everything you are. Everything. Every longing, every endowment, each of your intellectual gifts, any athletic talent or computer skills, all capacity for delight, every good thing that has your fingerprints on it-take all this, Jesus says, and refer it to God. Take your longings, and long for God; take your creaturely riches, and endow God; take your eye for beauty and appreciate God. With you heart and soul and mind, with all your needs and splendors, make a full turn toward God.”

Neal Plantinga, Pray the Lord My Mind to Keep

Love, Love, Love,

Jewel

Great minds think alike!

Twin sister and I showed up at youth group last night wearing the same t-shirt. Sophie took this picture of us and I forwarded it to older sister, who replied, “Wanna know something even funnier?!” She then sent me a picture that she had just taken of her[pregnant]self wearing the same t-shirt! Crazy. I’m pretty sure the probability of this happening is ~1/250,000!! ♥ ♥ ♥

Love, Love, Love,

Jewel

Carpe Diem

I HATE that few things in life cause me reflect on "today" as death and the fear of death.  I HATE that I am so guilty of taking TODAY for granted and not taking advantage of each moment in time.   Today, I am again facing this paradox of life and death - of living abundantly and of abruptly reaching the end.


“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” -Henry David Thoreau
Below, I have shared my friend Jason Helm's facebook status.  Jason and I attended the same middle school, high school, and university; but because he was a number of years ahead of me, our paths never crossed until May 2010, halfway across the globe on the coast of Mozambique, Africa.  During the two months that I was a missionary intern until his watch, Jason really challenged and strengthened me in a lot of ways.  The news that Jason has cancer has made me... simply put: Sad. And reflective.

Carpe Diem... We all know that two word phrase. Latin for “Seize the Day”. It’s always has been in the back of my mind throughout my life. I believe that because of this I haven’t always fit into the mold that life and people have tried to fit me in. I have always tried to follow after Christ and do what I know is right even if it has meant being misunderstood or unaccepted by others. One of
the biggest decisions in my life was to take my new wife and move to Africa to serve as teachers and missionaries in Mozambique. The ones closest to us understood but many did not. We have been in Mozambique full time now for 7 years and have seen some truly amazing things and would not give up that experience for anything. Among many things we have received two of the most wonderful and amazing blessings in our lives, which are our children. Two truly African - American blessings whom we love dearly. I know at this point that I am rambling and everyone wants to know how my biopsy came out. With every ounce of strength and courage I tell you that my results did not come out as hoped. I have been diagnosed with cancer. This has been shocking and almost numbing to hear the results today from both the pathologist and oncologist that I do indeed have cancer. We will not know the exact type until Tuesday next week, but it is most likely cancer of the Pancreas that has spread into the liver. I will continue to update all of you as I receive info but I want leave you with a couple questions. Are you going through life on Cruise Control? What have you done today to make and eternal difference?
~Jason

Life… is fragile, is precious, is short!!
Every day is one more page in your life.
Every moment is an opportunity.
Smile and say hello to strangers.
Don’t take your friends or family for granted.
Don’t worry so much over the little things and don’t fight over the little irritations of life.
Say I love you to the people you love.
Enjoy your time where ever you are, at work, at the gym,at the library, resting at your house, in a park …just enjoy every moment.

Please join me in praying for my friend, Jason!

Serving Him,

Jewel

Big City Life

Life is full of adventure.
So full of adventure.

I started writing this post on Saturday, while sitting in an overly-air conditioned Starbucks on Monument Circle in Indianapolis; Titus taking the TOEFL exam a few streets away.  I need to say that I am NOT a city girl - at least I didn't think I was; - however, as I have been gaining more confidence behind the wheel, trust in the GPS, and yearning to see & explore, I am enjoying the city! [Note: EXCEPT DURING RUSH HOUR.]
While Titus took his four hour English exam - and many many many thanks to those of you who prayed for him!!! - I explored the 2 block radius surrounding Monument Circle.

Last Saturday at this hour, sweet husband and I were in Hollywood, California.  Who knows what adventures await us in the next week?

In Hollywood, we walked around Universal Studios City Walk with our friends, Barbie and Ken.  Entrance was free, and there were 30-35 shops and restaurants that we perused. We had iced coffees at Starbucks and over-ate at Hard Rock Cafe

After lunch, we got back in the car and on the 10-lane Freeway to Hollywood Boulevard, where we saw the stars

and the famed Hollywood Sign, which was on my LA Bucket List.

We also had the strange opportunity to meet Muscle Man, who was one of numerous characters standing on the street offering photo ops to tourists. Before Muscle Man, we declined numerous offers, but he was so insistent that I finally consented. What I did NOT agree to was the second pose, where he - in one quick motion - lifts me into the air for a second picture. After he slowly and gently lowered me to the ground, he said, "I do that for a donation." A DONATION!?! Of course he does. I could have used the donation to buy a new shirt... the man was SO SWEATY! Seriously gross.

Can you tell by my face that I was NOT enjoying the moment??? HA. (I can laugh about it now.)
WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!
We ended our time in Hollywood at Griffith Park Observatory, overlooking the expansive city of Los Angeles, California

Look forward to one last "LA Vacation" post about the beautiful beach wedding at Venice Beach! ♥♥♥

Love, Love, Love,

Jewel