I spent this past weekend with close friends.

There was a time when our lives were closely knitted. Life seemed so simple back then. We would get together for no special reason. We laughed, we cried, we shared our possesions, our dreams, and our failures. We simply did/lived life, together.

So 2-5 years later, here we are, spread out all over the country. Life lived 'together' is taking a different form but the same meaning. Things have definitely changed but somehow for a short period in time, for a weekend, it felt like the 'Good Old Days'.

Thanks everyone! I'm looking forward on seeing you again next year.

Today I said goodbye to an old friend, the red truck. I got a call this morning about my ad on the paper, the guy came over this afternoon, literally looked at the truck for 5 minutes then wrote me a check for it.

Five years ago, I wanted to learn how to kayak so first I bought a truck then a kayak.

The kayak served its purpose, I've used it to float through the streams of the Mississippi, survive the storms of Lake Superior, and breeze through the friendlier waters of Lake Michigan. The kayak and I had a ton of adventures and through it I've met a lot of very interesting people.

The truck served a much bigger purpose, which was unknown to me when I first bought it. Through the years it has helped a lot of people move their 'stuff', specially the big ones, couches, swings, washer, dryer, you name it and the truck has moved it. It also became the vehicle of choice when someone is in need of a transportation, not just for a day but sometimes even weeks. The truck became everybody's best friend!

At the end of five years I've learned a lot of lessons through the kayak and the truck, probably the biggest is that there seems to be a bigger purpose in some of the things that we do. We don't always see them right away but given time, that too will be revealed.

Well, it has been a great ride.

I really just wanted to learn how to kayak!

Had a bet.... / Signs...

On my way out of a meeting tonight I saw my friend BeckyR. By the time our conversation was done we had a bet going. Whomever the first to update their respective blogs twice, gets to be taken to McD's for a fresh batch of large fries. So here's my first attempt to winning....

Now, I can stop right here and I could argue that this would be considered as an update but why waste the space. So, here it goes...

I took this picture about 5 years ago when I was visiting Hong Kong. Supposedly these are signs. Are they still signs even though I can't read them?! They are pretty, eye grabbing, but since I cannot read them, it's not serving its purpose. Or is it? I noticed it enought to take a picture of it.

Everyday I ask God to give me signs on what I'm supposed to do or where I'm supposed to go. Sometimes I see them and there are times that I totally missed them even though they are right infront of me. There are times that I see them because they are as obvious as the lights on the streets of Hong Kong and yet I don't know what to make of them. If I can only speak God's language... If I can only trust my Translator, I would be on my way...

This is the group that went to Italy. During one of the afternoons, we took an hour drive and ended up and on this town where there was an old coleseum. I would be more specific as to where we went but I don't really know much more other than that. On the way there I fell asleep and before I knew it we were there.

Now, if you don't know who the Punds are, can you guess which once are the missionaries that we visited? Probably not, that's because they look just like us and they blend in with the rest of the group. Come to think of it, in some ways are we not all missionaries sent to wherever we are at to reach out far, beyond our comfort zone?!?!

Pizza!!! I can't talk about Naples without talking about Pizza. I was told that Napoli WAS the birth place of pizza.

So here it goes...

One night we got home kinda late, 11pm late. We haven't had dinner so we were going to get pizza. After we got home and since it was late some people didn't want to eat anymore. I also heard that we were splitting pizza since it's so huge so I spread that rumor around.

The pizza place was right next door to the camp. Ever since the first night Lisa and I have been planning on going there and have a taste. So on the night that we were eating pizza, we tried to walk over and follow Jamie. When we got there we couldn't figure out where the entrance was so we started pulling on door handles hoping one would open. Well, the doors were made of glass, so while we were doing doing this, people were staring at us. The street was dark, dogs were barking and we had no where to go. I think Duke (the dog) followed us all the way there. Finally, we decided to just go home and wait for Jamie. It was quite an experience.

Back to the 'eating pizza' story... Well, some people ended up sharing but I ended up having my own pizza. The 2 people that had half pizzas saw mine and gave me crap about it. I admit, I felt bad, but I was hungry and somehow it was funny. Oh, eventually I shared my pizza with one of them so I felt better.

Working on the church...

This is one of the few pictures that I have where it shows that I was working. I thought I'd include it here just to show that I did work!

Getting to this stage took a lot of practice. I knew that the skills that I've learned by working at the Cornerstone building, painting the old Britten house, and painting my own house would come in handy one of this days. Finally, a place to show that I have some skills.

Actually, I was sharing at the lunch table one day about this experience. Working on the Punds house brought back a lot of memories of working with Sue and other folks at the building, being with the Rutzs, Brittens, and Pendletons for when we were working on our house projects. Believe it or not, I do enjoy house projects, especially if they are not mine. It was those times that I really got to know the people that I was working with. What else can you do when your painting, scraping, and mudding? Talk. The more I talked to them, the more I listen to their stories, the more I really wanted to get to know them.

This is also what happened in this missions trip, we got to know each other as we worked together. We got to build relationships, we got to build the church.

I hope what we did in Italy would last. I hope that the paint would stick to the wall and not run, the plants will continue grow, the ceiling would hold, the fence would stand, the skylight will keep reflecting light, the leaves falling from the trees would assemble themselves and burn.

Most of all, I hope that the relationships that we started will last. These are some awesome people that I got to know during this week. It was an honor to serve with them and it is a gift to be called their sister in Christ.

This is one of my favorite spots in Rome, a cafe/restaurant right on Piazza Navona. I've gone here twice and I think I've taken the exact same picture both times.

I think it would be so cool to just sit in one of these tables and watch people.

What is it about 'people watching' that ammuses me?! It is like watching TV except I get to create my own story based on what I'm seeing!

It was a circus when we were there. There were people selling toys and they blow bubbles on your face. There were painters, protestors, vendors, and of course, tourists from all over the place. People would just hang out there.

What is it about this place that people were drawn to?! It could be the famous fountain at the center of the courtyard or the obelisk on the other side of the mall. It could also be that people would stop because they see other people there. Maybe they enjoy people watching too, just like I do.

Roaming in Rome.

This picture kinda struck me funny...
Are they just posing or was there something behind me, like a speeding car, and they are trying to get my attention. Well, I survived so it must have not been the car.

Lisa, what was that finger for?!?!

This is taken in my host family's house in Italy. If you've heard me talk about my trip you've probably heard this story. Here's the gist of it... I was worried that I was going to have a hard time talking to my host family because I didn't speak Italian. But then, the subject of family came up and I showed them a picture of my family. My host mom asked if she could keep it. She wanted to post my picture on her cork board so that she could be praying for my family. She also asked me if I would pray for her brother and sister to believe and follow Jesus. How awesome is that. We don't speak the same language but we pray to the same God! I litteraly have people praying for me and my family all over the world; from Asia to Europe, from the North and South East to the Midwest. I feel blessed!!! It is awesome to be a part of God's family!!!