June 2010 Update

Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings from Malaysia! It has been and continues to be hot and humid! Things have been a whirlwind since I arrived home two weeks ago. It is hard to begin describing my experience of being home. No amount of preparation was sufficient when it came to dealing with the reverse culture shock. I knew that it would be hard but I never expected it to be this hard.

I am still adjusting to the hot and humid weather. The first few days were the worst as I felt lethargic, sweaty and there were moments when I thought I would not make it through the day! My body has sort of adjusted a little to the weather. Rain has finally arrived and it has been pouring like cats and dogs these past 2 days. I welcome the downpour as it brings with it the cool breeze and clears the sky. Nevertheless, I still long for the Victorian weather that I have been privileged enough to enjoy over the past 3 years.

Even though I missed my Malaysian cuisine, it has not been easy adjusting to the eating lifestyle here. My body went into shock as I was not able to get my usual diet of skim milk and cereal for breakfast, a big serving of fresh fruits and vegetables and good cheese! ;) I am also not used to having rice for every meal. I miss having fresh vegetables and fruits. I tried eating a raw carrot when I first came back and it tasted horrible. I was pretty upset that I couldn’t get lots of the food that I eat in Canada here. (I do welcome a care package consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables from Canada)
On a brighter note, I have unlimited access to an abundance of food. There are food stalls and hawker stalls at almost every corner and some of them are open 24 hours! I am also able to get Malaysian fruits at a fairly cheap price. I am reminded of the vast array of food and fruits that we have here in Malaysia and I am grateful for it.

I went through a period of intense homesickness. All I wanted to do was nap and cry. I really wanted to return back to Canada to be with my community and friends. I miss my lifestyle, the weather and the food and how easy it is to meet up with friends. I was sad and felt rejected that no one really inquired about my experiences in Canada. I felt like I have never left Malaysia. It was like time stopped and then resumed from where it stopped. I also quickly came to realization that my family has their own schedule and activities and at times, I felt lost and useless. I also felt like an outsider, peering into the lives of my family. It is hard to not have my own routine and familiar surroundings. I miss my community and lifestyle in Canada, but I am able to enjoy myself as well as my time with family and friends in Malaysia.I know that my family and friends are happy to have me home. Although it has been hard adjusting to life at home, I am grateful to have the opportunity to spend my summer in Malaysia. I am beginning to see that God has a greater purpose for me this summer. As many of you know, I am fundraising for my upcoming internship. Things took off amazingly but it got really hard when I came home. I felt really discouraged to a point where I lost all sense of purpose. However, God is good and faithful and somehow in His own ways, He used various people and various events in my life to encourage and spur me on. I am more at peace now because I know that God wants to provide for me and He will! I am called to be faithful to my call. Thus, I will continue to share my story and the works that God has done in my life. I will leave the rest to God.

I believe that July and August will be better now that I have been home for 2 weeks and have experienced the worst of reverse culture shock. I am slowly realizing that even though I am far away from my community, I am not forgotten. I am also well loved by my family and friends here as well as my community in Canada.
The next time you hear from me, I trust that it will be filled with many God encounter stories and possibly a few good laughs stories. Take care, keep in touch and God bless.

Blessings,
Rachelle

I am thankful

I am filled with awesome Thanksgiving food - from turkey to pie.
It has truly been an amazing 3 consecutive Thanksgiving dinner =) I thank God for His abundant blessings of FOOD and FRIENDS.

Jesus, I thank You for how You've provided us with the abundance of food as well as the sweet fellowship among friends. May we not forget to pause and thank You each day for all that You've done for us.

Special thank You to:
Alex and Emily for being such wonderful hostess.

Special Day

Blessed 22nd Birthday Christine.

It has been a blessing getting to know you.
Thank you for your encouragement, for your love and care, and for your wisdom :)
Thank you for being such a wonderful friend. I'm so glad that God brought us together, not only to be friends, but to constantly learn from one another.

I pray that on this special day, God will remind you of His unfailing love towards you. May He grant you the desires of your heart; and may He reveal more of His heart to You as you continue to earnestly seek Him.

May this day be filled with lots of joy and laughter. May this day be a truly memorable day for you.

Looking forward to spending the evening with you and the others ;)
God bless you, Christine.

Happy Birthday, Special Treasure God gave a gift to the world when you were born—
a person who loves, who cares,
who sees a person’s need and fills it,
who encourages and lifts people up,
who spends energy on others
rather than herself,
someone who touches each life she enters,
and makes a difference in the world,
because ripples of kindness flow outward
as each person you have touched, touches others.
Your birthday deserves to be a national holiday (coincidently, your birthday is actually a national holiday back in Malaysia),
because you are a special treasure
for all that you’ve done.
May the love you have shown to others
return to you, multiplied.
I wish you the happiest of birthdays,
and many, many more,
so that others have time to appreciate you
as much as I do. By Joanna Fuchs

It feels just like yesterday

Little brother,

You're not so little after all. I can still recall the first steps you took :) I wonder if daddy is still keeping that video. I can remember laughing when you stood and walked wobbly; and Sammie trying to get daddy to not video her.

I can still remember when we used to fight and argue and quarrel. Well, we still do it now, just not so often ;)

Now, you're taller than I am. You're mature and you're grown.
But, no matter what, you will always be my little brother.

Have a truly BLESSED 14th BIRTHDAY.
I miss you lots.
Have fun on your special day. May God bless you as you continue to learn more about Him.

I know I don't say this often enough to you. But I want you to know that although I don't say it often, I love you a lot and I care for you.
I love you, Tim; and I mean it.

Just in case you're wondering...

... where I've been, or if I've decided to abandon my blog, I'm still here. A lot has happened in a week, and I just do not have the time to blog. Now that I have some time, I'll do it. :) I have to keep people like my sister and Kelly and whoever else who reads my blog and is from home in the loop of my whereabouts.

*Classes, School, Assignments, Homework, Readings
So, my classes have been going fine. I'm enjoying my classes, which helps a lot when it comes to studying. I won't deny the fact that I have a lot of work to do, but I'll take things one step at a time. Thus far, surprisingly, I'm actually enjoying my Southeast Asia Literature class. I'm reading El Filibuterismo right now. Furthermore, I've been reading a lot of short stories from Malaysia -- something I WOULDN'T do if I were back home ;) Nonetheless, through this class, it's attracting me to read novels from Southeast Asia. At this moment, I actually miss reading all the amazing and "torturous" komsas (Malay literature) ;p

*IVCF
I love IVCF and the people :) What's there not to love? They're amazing people.
Anyway, we had the New Student Dinner last night and it was a success. I enjoyed myself and I believe those who were present did too. We had awesome food and awesome interaction and conversation.
I'm uber excited for Ring Out and all that we have in store for the school year.

*Kids, Food, Bruises, Smiles, Innocence
12pm: Lunch preparation which includes heating up the food, and setting the tables.
Arranging tiny beds for nap time
12.30pm: Lunch time
Clean up
1.00 - 2.45pm: Nap time
Clean-up, which includes cleaning the tables, kitchen, floors, etc.
2.45-3pm: Wake the kids up. Store the beds in the cupboards.
(Occasionally, extra work is given depending on what there is to do on that particular Wednesday)

I started my job at the Daycare Centre on Wednesday. That will be my typical Wednesday until the end of the semester. There's this little boy who handed me a picture he drew and said, "Here, this is for you". A girl came up to me and asked, "My button. Can you please button?"
The children are so adorable. :) I love them, and I am looking forward to Wednesday to see them again. There is something to kids that steals my heart away. I thank God for creating cute and adorable kids :)

*Dum-di-dum-deee-dum-da-dum
Go to my Facebook, and under my pages, click on Juwita Suwito. Once you arrive at her page, listen to the song "Sejak hadirmu" (Sorry to those who don't understand Malay) It's an awesome song.

*Teaching, lessons, inspiration, food
Read: In the Name of Jesus. I started on it this morning. It's an awesome book.
Read: A Samad Said -- the collection of his short stories. They are good.

*Encouragement to the heart
Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV) "But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

The start of the school year

And so school begins again:
3 Psychology classes and 1 Humanities class. I attended the Humanities class (it's South East Aisa Literature class) and I'm the only student in there who is majoring in Psychology. I wonder, why am I even in that class. ;p Anyway, the point I wanted to convey is the fact that 15% is allotted for attendance and participation. Attendance is a not problem for me, but participation??? I don't like speaking up in class (owh, and this class has only 7 students) and with 7 students, I'm bound to have to SPEAK UP! :( Owh the joys of participation. Anyway, I'm not going to drop this class as the novels, plays, short stories that we'll be reading are awesome! :) I already have an assignment due on Friday and another on Tuesday. Good times...

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My new place is awesome! :)
I love it. I've been staying there for 3 days and I've already learned a lot about stuff I take for granted. For instance, I know more about conserving electricity and water and heat and whatnot (that's because I have to pay for it). I think it's good though as it has made me aware of these, which all along, I've been taking it for granted. When you have to pay for stuff with your own money, you'll do anything to minimize expenditure.

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Good News:
I qualified for the work study program on campus! Praise God for that. Now, one down, another to go. I've applied for 2 positions and now, I am in the "waiting" stage. Well, hopefully I'll get one of them.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.

The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Through the Year

Just when you think I'm MIA or have decided to abandon my blog, I'm back.

No particular reason for the MIA -- I've been preoccupied with watching Criminal Minds and have been doing some more packing.
I love CM -- it has loads of psychological stuff in it. I learned a little about Personality Disorders and while studying it, I never understood why I have to learn about PDs until I started watching CM. Some people with PDs are so "normal", you would not even know if that person has PD. Scary... but it's a fact.

Alright, enough about psychology, let's move on.

Just for the record, it's officially ONE YEAR since I first came to Canada. I can't believe it's my second year in Canada and soon, I'll be done with school. Honestly, I'm not ready to graduate yet. ;)

Memories through the year:
Leaving Malaysia
This is me a year ago

First day in Canada -- PNE

Getting acquainted with Victoria

Thank God for FRIENDS :)
IVCF Christmas Banquet

Christmas with my grandaunt, granduncle, and their kids

My trip to Vernon -- first time experiencing snow ;)

My first IVCF Exec Retreat at Denman Island

First Chinese New Year away from home.
Celebrating it with my family in Victoria :)

First birthday away from home

My trip to Kamloops

Hanging out time with friends

Trip to Surrey

Trip to Qualicum Beach

This is me a year later :)

Jesus I thank You for a fruitful and wonderful year in Canada.
May the upcoming year be a time of more spiritual growth as you lead me to greater heights.

Know Whose You Are

Devotion by Mary Southerland

2 Timothy 3:16

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do" (NLT).

Friend to Friend

If we really want to know God, if we really want to understand who and whose we are, the Bible must have the highest place in our lives. We don't have to be a Bible scholar or have a firm grip on the Hebrew and Greek languages to know and apply God's promises. As you read the Bible, the Holy Spirit will give you understanding and teach you spiritual truth. He will then give you the power you need to follow those teachings and apply their truths.

A disciple is a follower, a learner and a student. If we want to follow God and be a learner of Him, a student of His ways, then we have to understand the importance of the Bible, love the Word and spend time in it. I thought I was doing a fair job of plugging the truth of God's Word into my life until I began to gather scripture for this chapter and rammed right into Psalm 119. Within this passage, I discovered a test for us as believers that will help determine the importance we really place on God's Word in daily life. Take this test with me to see if God's Word has the place in your life that it should have.

1. Is God's Word more important than food?

Psalm 119:103 "Your promises are sweet to me, sweeter than honey in my mouth" (NCV).

Here the Bible is described as honey and at other places in the scripture as milk or bread. The Bible is our spiritual food. God's Word sustains and strengthens us just as food sustains and strengthens our physical body. Just as malnutrition affects our physical growth, spiritual malnutrition affects our spiritual growth. I dare say that we rarely miss a meal. We always find a way to eat, even if we must resort to eating fast food. Do we have the same depth of commitment to our spiritual growth and health as we do to satisfying the hunger pains of our human body?

2. Is God's Word more important than money?

Psalm 119:72 "Your teachings are worth more to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver" (NCV).

What the psalmist is saying is that spiritual wealth is more important than human wealth. Do we really live as if that statement were true? I have a friend who is totally committed to God and to serving Him whole-heartedly. My friend is a garbage collector - a happy garbage collector. I once asked him why he was so happy in his work. "Mary, I collect garbage to pay the bills. My real passion in life is to share Jesus Christ and to serve Him with joy." I recently spoke for a church that is almost totally staffed by volunteers. One couple in particular, felt led to serve the church but knew that the church budget would not pay another salary. What did they do? They moved into a tiny, one-bedroom apartment and sold their car to buy a smaller, more economic vehicle. The husband quit his job to work as a full-time volunteer at the church and his wife took a church staff position that pays a minimal salary that they both live on. And I have never met two happier or less-stressed people. They have the right backdrop for life and it is not wealth or money.

3. Is God's Word more important to you than sleep?

Psalm 119:147-148 "I wake up early in the morning and cry out. I hope in your word. I stay awake all night so I can think about your promises." (NCV)

I know. Now God is getting personal! When we start talking about giving up sleep to read and study the Word of God, we are talking radical obedience. Exactly! If we want to experience God's power in our lives, we have to saturate our lives with His Word.

How did you do? I will tell you honestly that I failed this test! I have walked with God for over forty years and I still do not have the hunger and thirst for God's Word that I should have. If we would listen carefully, I believe we could hear God say, "If you want to get to know me - really know me -- if you want to be intimate with Me, then you have to know my Book!" The level of stress in my life is directly correlated to the amount of time I spend or don't spend reading and applying the Word of God.

Jeremiah 2:32 "Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number" (NCV).

Jeremiah did not write these words to the unbeliever but to those of us who call ourselves "disciples" of Jesus Christ. I can hear the sorrow in His words, can't you? They vividly portray the broken heart of a Father whose children have ignored Him and abandoned His words. I know what it does to me as a parent when my children do not listen to me or when they choose a path that is in direct opposition to one I would have chosen for them. I can only imagine what it does to His heart when we go for days and even weeks or months without even picking up the Bible except as an accessory for others to see when attending church.

Let's Pray

Father, I pray that you would give me a hunger and thirst for your Word. I want to please you with my life through obedience to your truths. I choose to spend time with you each day this week, studying the Bible. Would you please honor my commitment and empower me to keep it? When I fail, Lord, I choose now to forgive myself as you forgive me - and begin again. In Jesus' name, Amen.

For My Sister

June 15th, 1991

Surprisingly, I don't remember much about you when I first saw you. I can only recall pictures of me holding you. I don't think I felt jealous when you were born.
Vivid memories of you when we were young we us being dressed up by Mama. We shared a room together - you in the playpen, and me on the bed. We had such strict routine every day.

When we moved to Subang, we shared a room. I remembered being really excited when you first when to kindergarten.

When we moved to Labuan, we still shared a room, but I was getting annoyed because I wanted the room to myself. As we entered primary school, we would argue and quarrel till the dawn of day. At this point, I was really irritated with you and Tim. Sometimes I wished I was the only child. I got mad when mummy and daddy would give you and Tim something but not me. I remembered us arguing over who would wash the bathroom or who would vacuum. The chores that drove me up the wall. Most of the time, you would do my chores for me, but I never once thank you.

I never knew you thought I was perfect. I probably never even thought what it would feel like hearing people speak highly of your sister in front of you. It's funny that you mentioned about mummy and daddy speaking of me to others often. I never knew that. I have always thought that mummy and daddy were never proud of me because whatever I did, never seem to be at par with their standards. Those are memories now. However, I'm really humbled to read that you are proud to have me as your sister and how proud you were when we were in high school. Although every single teacher knows and talks about me, I want you to know that every teacher knows about you too. I would always talk to them about you and I believe they all cared and loved you as much as they loved and cared for me.

Yes, I miss those times very much.
I miss the times when you would irritate me.
I miss the times when you would tease me and make me mad.
I miss the times when I say I'll help you bake cookies; instead, I helped myself to the cookies you baked.
I miss the times when I'd asked you to wake me up; and you'll get all annoyed because I wouldn't wake up.
I miss the times when we'd secretly switched on the air condition and take an afternoon nap.
I miss the times when I'd sit and watch TV and you had to study ;)
I miss the times when we would watch CSI together. I miss the times when I'd come home and know that I'd find you in your room sleeping or studying, and I'd come in to your room and snuggle to sleep on your bed.
I miss the times when I can run into your room and say, "How do I look?" and your response would be, *eyes opened big* then laughed, and would say, "Jie, not nice." And then I'd frantically run back to my room yelling, "I have no clothes, I tell you. I need to go shopping!" [I have no fashion sense you see; unlike my sister]
I miss the times when we'd go shopping together.
I miss snuggling on the bed with you and read and cry together.
I miss the times when we would lay in bed at night in silence or when I'd talk and talk and talk and talk; and sometimes I think I talked to myself because you would have slept! ;)

I MISS SO MANY THINGS! I cannot wait to see you again and do all those things I miss so much.

Looking back, my life is made so much more meaningful and colorful with you. You're so quiet, yet you caused a chaos in my life that changed me forever.

I want you to know that I LOVE YOU LOTS, and I MISS YOU!
I want you to know that no matter what, I am proud of you.
Although we're far away, you're always in my heart. Many things remind me of you. :) Being here has made me appreciate you (and everyone else back home) even more.

I can't wait to see you -- hopefully during my convocation :)

PS: I need more self portrait pics of you *wink, wink*

Click Here

Jesus You are Beautiful

I always enjoy and appreciate a day when I get the opportunity to pray together with friends.
I spent my day hanging out with Georgia and Christine today.
We prayed, pick daisies (and made daisy chains), basked under the sun, made bread (i learned how to), go grocery shopping, drink tea, nap and read comics, and eat! ;p

Jesus, I thank You for today. I thank You for Your goodness and faithfulness and for Your abundant blessings.
I thank You for the privilege and honor to come before You in prayer. I thank You for wonderful friends and for a wonderful day. Thank You for the sunshine, for daisies, for tea, and for bread too! ;)

Jesus You are awesome and beautiful. Words cannot express how thankful and grateful I am to You.
I thank You that You never change -- that You're the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Thank God

So, I'm still alive, not dead. I'm feeling so much better today, although I'm still having some slight flu and cough. Otherwise, I'm good. Thank God for that.

Since I've been resting for the past week, nothing interesting happened at all. Really.
The only thing that was interesting to me was receiving emails from my family and friends.

One interesting conversation I had with my mom through email. We talked about dinnerwares. Wink, wink. It was so nice to actually have a "conversation" with my mum about something we both love. The both of us have been dreaming of getting new dinnerwares. (Yes, I'm dreaming of owning my own dinnerware) So, hopefully my mum will invest in a couple of good dinnerwares. She told my sister and I that she'll give them to us when we have our own houses. (Love you mum!)

I've been in love with dinnerwares and everything else that a home needs. (I've even dream of my own house in the future -- how it will look like, etc.) Haha...
You know, when you're sick and laying on the bed, you have all the time in the world to do some "daydreaming"! ;) Haha

I need company. I've been isolated long enough. :D

Dinner and friends

Finally, a productive day! ;)

I sorta invited myself over to Georgia and Christine's place (oh boy, I wonder what my mum would say about this. tsk tsk tsk...)
Anywho, that aside, PERFECT and wonderful day! :)
We had a great time praying together; preparing dinner together; and hanging out together too.
We made Prawn Noodle (har mee). We even set up the table and it was so pretty! Let the pictures speak for themselves...
[table set by Georgia and Christine. Christine made the delicious lemonade...hmmmm]

[the stuff ;)]

[the finished product!]

[it was so pretty; and it felt so "homey" too. It was like a family dinner. No wait, it was a family dinner! ;)]

After a yummy dinner, we went for a walk to a nearby park.
We had tea and dessert (honeydew melon and sago with coconut milk) and sat and had fellowship with one another.

The best part of the day was sharing THE DAY with friends :)
I'm so glad we worship and serve a God who makes all things beautiful in His time.

Christine, Georgia and Ruth -- thank YOU for a lovely day. I've been so blessed.

Yeah for moving-ness

Helped Christine and Georgia to move today. Oh, it was such a beautiful day and with the help of others -- Robyn, Nicole and Mark -- we all helped them to move their stuff. (Good exercise for me, carrying all the boxes and stuff)

After all the moving madness, we all sat and prayed for their lovely house (sidetrack -- Christine and Georgia's current place is LOVELY and AMAZING!!! I'm so blessed and excited and thankful that God provided this place for them) Back to what I was saying, after praying, we all had ice-cream and chocolate chip muffin (for dinner. hehe...)

All in all, God is so good and I am so pleased that they have this beautiful place to stay in. They truly deserve it and I know and believe that this place will be a "house of prayer" for the Lord. I already sensed the presence of God in that place and I know that that their place will be a blessing to many. Nothing brings me more joy that knowing that the ones I love received what they need -- far more than they could ever imagine.

Jesus I am so thankful for your enormous blessing. Bless their house and keep them safe.

"O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, 'I will build [in this case, provide] a house for you.' So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer.
O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.
Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."
2 Samuel 7: 27-29

Vancouver Aquarium

So, today is the day when I had the whole house to myself! :D

I decided to catch the bus to Stanley Park and decided to be a "little kid" today and ventured in the Vancouver Aquarium. Was it a great experience! I spent the whole day there ;) If there's one thing I learned today, it is about God's majesty and splendor! Having this opportunity to see and learn about so many different creatures opened my eyes to God's awesome wonder. No wonder He is Indescribable! :)
I'm so thankful I serve that God :)

Dolphin show

Sea lions

Sea otters

Beluga!

Beluga show

Giant clam

Turtle

Crocodiles

Sting Ray

Moon jelly fishes

Wuhoo... Look at what I found today in my inbox. My devotion and guess what it was about? :)
Bingo! you're right! :)

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1

We've all had those moments when something in nature captivated our attention, whether it was a sunset that displayed a mixture of colors or a mountain that rose high above the clouds. We've all seen something that has caused us to stop and wonder at the beauty.

Those moments are testimonies of God's existence. They let us know that something greater than ourselves exists. They are examples of God revealing himself to us. That does not mean we can look at a mountain and be saved. But it does mean that God has placed enough evidence in the world for us to consider his existence.

God has given us evidence of his existence so that we can look for him. He's not trying to hide from you. He wants you to find him. All you have to do is look around and see the evidence of God. Then, turn down the path that Jesus provided so you can find your way to him.

I believe that the fishes and mammals and every living creature too declare the glory of God :)

A Meaningful Easter

Easter had a different meaning altogether for me this year. One thing definitely does not change, and that is the resurrection of Jesus and His love for us. Easter brings hope to us that Jesus conquered death and we now have life eternal with Him :)

What made a difference for me this year was that I was able to enjoy Easter with the people I love. I remembered my past Easter Sundays just as me going for church service and thereafter, either being caught up with the busyness of life or other distractions.
However, this year, I was able to take the whole Sunday off from everything and use that time to have fellowship with the people I love and share the Lord's love and goodness with them! And that makes the difference.

I had the opportunity to have lunch and dinner with my family - Georgia and Christine and Ruth! :) It was so so nice and meaningful. We even had the opportunity to share and talk about so many things and that just makes our relationship grow stronger.
I have learned through this day the importance of putting aside time for the ones I love. The busyness and worry and workload of life can wait... plus, those things will not last; and what will last (and you will bring into eternity) is the relationships you've formed and invested in. And life is more than that - to me, it's about people and showing them that I love and care for them. By giving my time to the ones I love, I am giving part of my life to them.

My life came crumbling down the moment I arrived in Victoria - no, not in a bad way... it's for the BETTER! :) It's so exciting to see how God messed up with my priorities in life and giving me a whole new one (so much better!)
And I quote what my friend and I said:
R: I think I've aged 50 years since I arrived in Victoria
K: yes u indeed have [...] well i'd like to think u got WISER

Thank you... :) God just has His way to imparting wisdom to people don't you think? ;)
All glory be to God.

Extraordinary Birthday

Truly it has been a great 20th birthday. I got what I hoped for, and even more! :) My friends whom I love so much and whom I've called my family were all there and that meant the whole world to me.

Well, to those who didn't know what happened, here's a quick summary of the weekend:

Saturday, March 15th: Watched "August Rush" at Cinecenta with a couple of friends. Then we headed to Special Teas to drink tea! :)

Sunday, March 16th: A group of us went to a couple of art galleries then headed to Murchie's for tea. Yes, we love tea! :)
At night, we had a potbless dinner at Jesse's house. Awesome food with awesome people. The night couldn't get any better! :)

There you have it. Summary of the week. I had so much fun I literally went to bed smiling. So, thank YOU to all who came for the weekend of birthday madness events... And thank YOU to everyone who sent me messages on Facebook, Friendster, and emails. And of course, thank YOU to all who gave me gifts and cards. Your cards and the words penned down were amazing and all I can say is Amen to whatever you have written down. I love you!

Well, here are a couple of pictures. Not many, but at least there's some...

Tea at Special Tea - Robyn, Robyn and Dawn
Robyn (in the middle) birthday's on the 14th, and Dawn's on the 13th.
Tea at Murchie's.
Meghan, myself, Georgia, Rebekah, Christine, and Alison

Alison and I - we both share the same birthday! yah!! :)

Birthday potbless at Jesse's... the food was awesome! :)


Playing Duth Blitz. :)


Some preferred to play Wii ;)

Mary and I

Christa and I

Christine and I

Georgia and I

Marijka, myself, Alison

Flowers given by Emily. :)

LOVE this gift! ;) Thank you Georgia

I received the study Bible I wanted. :) Yeah! I've been looking for a study Bible and I got it. Love you guys!

Love the words :) Thank you Christine...

Card from Alison...

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I will always cherish this! :) All glory be to God.