Foggy Road

We left Hamilton at 6am last Saturday to go to Palmerston North. The first 2 hours of our 5.5. hour trip was under heavy fog. We can only see about 20-30 metres in front of us. In my (Mario) many years of driving I always wanted to see way ahead of me so I would know what to expect. But driving through the fog made me reliant on what I can see right in front of me with the aid of the car's headlight. This reminds me of my walk with God. There are times when what lies ahead is so clear but there are also times when it wasn't and yet both requires clarity of direction from God.

When we reached Palmerston North Saling spent time with our daughter Sarah the whole day and Mario attended the ISM Board meeting. Later in the day our family had dinner at a Korean restaurant called Arirang. The three of us watched the movie Transformers 2 over popcorn and drinks on Sunday. We all enjoyed it. It is always a joy to spend time with our daughter whom we miss every time.

On our way to Palmerston North we spotted a herd of sheep that were newly sheared. The photos of sheep that we see most of the time showed that they are covered with wool. They look different without the wool covering.

It was pouring with rain the whole time on our travel back to Hamilton but we made it just in time for the Amazing Race TV series that we avidly watch. We were like in the amazing race too - we travelled more than 900 km for this weekend trip.

Auckland Trip

Saling and I just got back today from our trip to Auckland yesterday. One way trip to Auckland from Hamilton is about two hours.

Yesterday was a full day. I had a Bible study with two Chinese guys, Kobe and David. Kobe is already a graduate and had been in my Bible study in Wellington in 2003 with two other Chinese students who are now back in China. It was good to see Kobe again. David has the strong desire to know God so he fills his time with his studies and involvement in Christian activities in his church.

Saling and I facilitated a Bible study with my relatives and their families in the evenig. Our friends Yogi and Mema who we have adopted to our family has been joining us. Yogi's sister was my co-teacher back in the Philippines. I also helped his younger brother in his spiritual life. We are using Dilemma of Choice, a Filipino culturally contextualised material developed by Reach Ministries in the Philippines.

Today, we saw our dear friends Paco and Nena who are travelling to the Philippines with their children. It was great to see them and fellowship with them. We have known one another since our university days.

Below is a photo of our group here in Hamilton when we farewelled a student going back to South Korea a couple of weeks ago. She was part of out Friday Bible study group that meets fortnightly at our home and had finished her language study. She is now back to South Korea and to her work as a nurse.

Families and Friends

We traveled to the United States in March 2009 to attend the wedding of Saling’s niece Christine to Joaquin in San Diego. The crowd in the wedding was a mix mostly of Filipinos and Mexicans who commonality is the Spanish influence in both cultures. This trip brought us joy as we rejoiced with the newly wed and spent time with relatives and friends that we have not seen for quite a while.

Our first stop was in California. We got a rented car and were always on the road visiting relatives and friends in the San Diego, Riverside and Los Angeles areas. One of the surprises of the trip was the visit to the San Diego Wild Animal Park in Escondido courtesy of Mario’s former student from UP Rural High School in Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines. We then had a reunion in San Diego with four of Mario’s former students after 26 years and it was a great time reminiscing the past and laugh at it.

Reunion of Saling's relatives after the wedding in Riverside, California

Mario's reunion with former students in San Diego

We had a great time with Gene and Helen Tabor and their daughter Beth. It was always a blessing to spend time with them.

Our next travel was about seven hour drive from Riverside to Vallejo, California where we reunited with friends and relatives we haven’t seen for a long time.

The last leg of our US trip was in Washington. We were hosted by our friends Danny and Angie in Olympia. We also went to Oregon and crossed the US-Canada border and visited Au and her daughter Marie in Vancouver, B.C. We had a great fellowship with all of them for they were all part of the couples’ Bible study we had in the Philippines.

Having a Chinese meal with our friends in Vancouver, B.C. Canada