from California with love;

fall is here!

i know i’ve been on a blog hiatus for sometime, but I really do hope to be updating regularly. :) 

I don’t think I can ever get tired of the sunset and sunrise here by the lake. 

so last Saturday morning, the campus church had organized a ladies prayer meeting for the missionaries the church sends out/supports. They graciously invited us international students to cook some local breakfast. It was so nice of Holly (a staff from school) to open her house for Tabea(my friend from Switzerland) and I to cook. I cooked bee hoon and prawn-paste chicken. The chicken didn’t turn out as expected but I must say I was quite surprised at how the bee hoon turned out. it was all agaration..but good afterall ;) it was nice just eating Asian food and food that reminded me of home. Kinda miss all our local delights..I’ve got a tom yum cup noodle waiting for me in my food box (since it’s only one - i will wait till i desperately crave some local delight to eat it)  

before

after 9 mins!

you must be wondering what is that! that is called Pizookie. a mix of pizza and cookie. It’s the most awesome desert ever! freshly baked warm cookie the size of a pizza (4 flavours) plus ice cold ice cream in the middle…ahh. shiok!

Meet Natalie! My dear friend from Porto Rico who is in love with Korean culture. Hence over the weekend, we went to a Korean BBQ Restaurant to eat some authentic Korean food. That’s my fish! haven’t had fish in a long long long time. Cos we aren’t exactly really near the cost.

Following our sumptuous meal, we went to Jo Ann’s a store with lots of cloth and cool stuff to find cloth for Natalie’s Bible cover.

That same night, I went with my roomies Mikayla and Shannon to the Sidewalk Prophets Concert cos they were in town. My first Christian Band Concert. It was a wonderful time of worship. :D

The past week has been a wonderful one. Pastor Mike and a.Lisa came by school on Wed morning. It was so good to see them. Thank God for opening doors for Pastor Mike to speak to the student body at morning chapel. He shared about Philippines e-campaign and the ministry in Indo. There was good response and quite a good number of people wanted to find out more about these ministries. 

That same day, I received some unexpected mail! :) a package from Elpis and a letter from Claudia. 

Elpis sent me this really beautiful necklace to remember them by. :D

Currently going through the prophets for my devos now..just finished Hosea.

“Let us press on to know the LORD.” - Hosea 6:3

Indeed, let us press on to know God! Was just thinking this morning about how soon Christ can return..it can be anytime. So let us work while it is still day and remember that this world is not our home. May we live with eternity in mind ;)

Have a blessed week!

getting into the groove of things

enjoying the lovely evening sky (it’s purple!)

on my Friday adventure with Joy!

comfort food that reminds me of home!

meet my new found friend, Joy! :)

found this 99cent shop which just makes me so delighted! my kia su Singaporean spirit came out when I saw this.

don’t know if you can see just how big this mixer is. :)

spent my entire weekend working at the bakery. Hence, i missed the Harvest Crusade. But still managed to stream it live on my itouch to watch. Work at the bakery was so fun! I made bread, scones, cookies and even pizza dough. yummy!

‘

our work table.

banana cream pie!

bread rising..

so today, we had a dorm lunch. our room of six gals loaded up in Carissa’s car and headed to In and Outs for some bonding! :) thank God for all of them. Our room has some great similarities - 3 people with ACL surgeries, 6 guitarists with 5 guitars, 2 people with the same laptop. Our ages are within 3 years difference. Just so many awesome things in common which only God knows and He has providentially placed us together. Love em!

the pride of California: In and Out Burgers!

to top this awesome day off, spent some good qt with the Lord by the lake at dusk

oh ya, went to the gym with my roomie, Mikayla tonight too.

ta ta! wish y’all an awesome week ahead! <3

P.S - been reading A.W Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy for my Theology class.

something he said got me thinking - 

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” 

Just think about that :) So, what comes into your mind when you think about God? Cos our view of God effects our actions and the way we live. 

time flies

time sure flies. It’s been almost two weeks now in my new home. so, it has been an awesome week. Here are some pictures and a recap of what happened.

went down to Winco (a supermarket) and bought some stuff I needed.

this is for you, ter! Chex at $2.28!

well, i do really have something really big to thank God for. He really answers prayer. Last sunday, this wave of loneliness just swept over me..but come sunday night and monday morning, I could sense God comforting me and replacing that loneliness with His peace. Talking to Ian afew days later, found out that ELPIS(the band I worship with) were praying for me during their worship session. And just that time that they were praying for me was the same time God was doing His comforting work. Amazing! That’s not all. Tue was skyping with Josi, my dear missionary friend in another vast country. She told me she had prayed for me that morning. That was the time God renewed a desire in my heart for His Word. Prior to that, morning devotions were dry..but suddenly, God gave me a renewed desire to be in His Word. I’m currently taking a class - Bible Study Methods and I absolutely love it! I know that studying God’s Word takes hard work and involves time and effort, but I’m sure the results and benefits are beyond measure. try it! ;)

 

The past friday, Pastor Chuck Smith came to speak for lectures. It is one thing to hear all about a person, read his autobiography, listen to his voice everyday (we have something called chuck tracks and we have to listen to him going through the entire Bible for our Ot/NT Survey) and just seeing him in person. He is such a dear man of God. Humble and always smiling. He shared from Psalm 73 and was the one who talked about how it is God who holds our hand and not us holding onto God’s hand. Cos if it is us holding His hand, we can let go. But when God holds our hand, He never lets go. Praise God!

Oh, this week I met a missionary kid who has a vibrant walk with the Lord. God knows my heart, and Him allowing me to meet that kid was a huge blessing. Sierra is the daughter of Paul and Jeanette. I hope to get to know this family better as I go over to their home for home groups this wed night. 

No, I didn’t go watch a movie. We went to the mall to…evangelize! :) Yay for street E! it was an awesome experience on Sat night just talking to people on the street. They are very friendly and open. Many religious and go to church but do not have a relationship with the Lord.

was paired up with Aaron (guy on the left) and Tabe (from Switzerland).

guess what? 

they have forever 21! not only that…

but we have H&M opening soon too! not to be outdone by the one that just opened back home in Orchard. Anyway, not like I’m crazy about clothes or anything..so don’t know why I seem so excited..

Went to a Thai Food Place opposite school yesterday for lunch. Was great just to have Asian food for the first time after awhile! :) reminds me so so much of home. I must try their Korean beef and tom yum one day. Looked pretty authentic. 

Okay, I gotta run to finish some homework before class in the afternoon. Oh ya, I’m looking forward to this week because of Home Groups starting this wed, work at the bakery starting friday afternoon and..we’re driving up to the Harvest Crusade at Dogers Stadium this sat evening! :) yeah.. can’t wait to see that God will do at the Crusade..hear Greg Laurie and Chris Tomlin LIVE!

Have an awesome week with our Father, peeps! :D

first week in Cali

so, this has been an awesome first week. Tuesday and Wednesday was orientation where I signed up for classes and got my M199. M199 is a class, something like practical Christian service. When I heard I got kitchen, I was like, oh - okay. Then I waited in line to find out my specific role in the kitchen and it was BAKING! :D What a blessing! God knows how much I love bread and baking. Thursday night I had my first class - Ruth and Esther. It’s an all girls class and I’m looking forward to the night of prayer and three days of fasting together as a class. Friday morning I had History of Redemption which is lovely - examining the theme of Redemption through the entire Bible. Friday afternoon we drove down to the beach.

It was quite a big group that went down. The waves are HUGE. Splashed in the water, played beach volleyball, even followed a group of students doing Street E in this beach town called Encinitas.

The sunset was beautiful.

Saw birds on the lines just like those classic pictures.

and had Mexican food for dinner (look, ter - they have cheerios!)

so that was friday. Spent Saturday doing miscellaneous stuff. Sunday morning attended the campus church. Spent the afternoon with my roomies playing the guitar and going out for some frozen yogurt (yum, yum) So, my room has 5 guitars and 6 guitarists. Imagine that! We have 6 in one room so practically all of us play the guitar. Cool huh. Sunday night chapel was refreshing. I love the times of worship and the freedom the Holy Spirit has to work in those times. 

Skyped home yesterday cos it was mummy’s birthday. I’m looking forward to this week when I get into the full swing of things. Can’t wait! :)

Thanks all for your love and prayers! I’m missing home and all you peeps but thank God at the same time, He’s helping me to adjust well.