Today is Sunday, October 28, 2012, the long awaited hurricane 'Sandy' is expected to hit NY/NJ area within the next 12 hours or so. Preparations are underway, alerts are going out, and disaster plans have been activated.
Ajo also left today to Atlanta for a work related training. By God's grace he had an uneventful flight. Ajo doesn't particularly like air travel. It was definitely a struggle especially with the storm and windy conditions. God is always good.
This storm warning reminded me about Jesus calming the storm recorded in the Gospel.
Here is a very comforting verse....
And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
From the Gospel of Mark
Ajo is going to be away for 3 weeks... to be exact 20 days. In the past 6 years of our marriage, Ajo and I have not stayed away from each other. It will be hard but the Lord is going to bring out something marvelous from this time we are spending away from each other. This will be learning time to love the Lord more, to love each other more, and to appreciate our marriage more.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Rear-View Mirror
Crossing Tappan Zee Bridge from Yonkers on a Friday evening is never fun. Bumper to Bumper traffic or at least slow traffic is a guarantee. I have seldom taken that trip alone and today was one of those lucky days.
As usual traffic started way before the start of the bridge. Tired from a long day at clinicals, and adding to that the aggravating crawling traffic, the drive felt so long and cumbersome. Within seconds my thought wandered to Reno and how I wished I was there. The complainer in me came out and I went back and forth in my mind just thinking about how I hate traffic.
Slowly, traffic started picking up a little but still slow moving, I was getting closer to my exit. Suddenly my eye glanced at my rear-view mirror and I saw a lady driving behind me perhaps in her 30's wiping her tears. I watched her cry and wipe her tears multiple times. The exist for me to get off approached and I got off. She drove past me and that was the end to it.
I realized that very instance how my eyes are blind to the hurt in this world. There are countless people hurting every second and here I was driving and noticed one. My heart was crumbled yet humbled at what I was able to see. Who else other than God opened my eyes to notice a tear from a Rear- View Mirrow. That is incredible.
I have no idea who she is, neither do I know the meaning of her tears. I know for sure that those were tears of sorrow. I prayed silently in the car for her as I drove to my destination.
As usual traffic started way before the start of the bridge. Tired from a long day at clinicals, and adding to that the aggravating crawling traffic, the drive felt so long and cumbersome. Within seconds my thought wandered to Reno and how I wished I was there. The complainer in me came out and I went back and forth in my mind just thinking about how I hate traffic.
Slowly, traffic started picking up a little but still slow moving, I was getting closer to my exit. Suddenly my eye glanced at my rear-view mirror and I saw a lady driving behind me perhaps in her 30's wiping her tears. I watched her cry and wipe her tears multiple times. The exist for me to get off approached and I got off. She drove past me and that was the end to it.
I realized that very instance how my eyes are blind to the hurt in this world. There are countless people hurting every second and here I was driving and noticed one. My heart was crumbled yet humbled at what I was able to see. Who else other than God opened my eyes to notice a tear from a Rear- View Mirrow. That is incredible.
I have no idea who she is, neither do I know the meaning of her tears. I know for sure that those were tears of sorrow. I prayed silently in the car for her as I drove to my destination.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Until we meet again!
Ajo read from the following passage from Ephesians before we said goodbye to LK.
It was definitely bitter sweet to end our vacation in Canada and head back to NY.
A cherished story - Meeting LK
We met LK for the first time in September of 2010. Wait a second! LK is from Canada and you may be wondering how we met. Summer of 2008, Ajo and I moved to Reno. In October of 2009, a really close and dear person to us in Reno passed away. We met LK's mom at the funeral and happened to talk briefly at a prayer meeting. Meanwhile a year ago LK started her application process and planning phases to move to NY to do her Masters. LK's mom mentions this to us knowing that we will be moving back to NY in the summer of 2010 which was about the same time LK would be moving to NY to settle in.
I shoot LK an email a few weeks later which I never got a response to; only to find out later that she never received my email. End of August, 2010 we moved back to NY. One morning in September, I get a call from LK's mom from LK's NYC apartment stating that she is in town from Canada. At that time, I told her I will contact her and we will try to meet. Things got busy and I never called her back. Exactly a day before she was to head back to Canada, I literally got woken up from sleep at 8 in the morning and was just drawn to call LK's mom and call them over to dinner. Dinner happened that night with LK and her mom with our family. What a great beginning!. Talk about God ordained friendships. We feel so blessed to have experienced it.
The moments we spent with LK became memorable and a blessing to us. We will always remember worshiping together on Sundays, the late night fellowships after Chicken n' Rice, visiting NYC hot spots, walking the Brooklyn Bridge and many more other memorable meetings we had.
We hope to meet with LK every few years. At least that's the desire of our hearts. We pray that God will bring it to pass.
May our friendship stay strong, our families grow, and more over our love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ grow deeper.
Until we see each other again
May God be with us always!
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3: 14-21
It was definitely bitter sweet to end our vacation in Canada and head back to NY.
A cherished story - Meeting LK
We met LK for the first time in September of 2010. Wait a second! LK is from Canada and you may be wondering how we met. Summer of 2008, Ajo and I moved to Reno. In October of 2009, a really close and dear person to us in Reno passed away. We met LK's mom at the funeral and happened to talk briefly at a prayer meeting. Meanwhile a year ago LK started her application process and planning phases to move to NY to do her Masters. LK's mom mentions this to us knowing that we will be moving back to NY in the summer of 2010 which was about the same time LK would be moving to NY to settle in.
I shoot LK an email a few weeks later which I never got a response to; only to find out later that she never received my email. End of August, 2010 we moved back to NY. One morning in September, I get a call from LK's mom from LK's NYC apartment stating that she is in town from Canada. At that time, I told her I will contact her and we will try to meet. Things got busy and I never called her back. Exactly a day before she was to head back to Canada, I literally got woken up from sleep at 8 in the morning and was just drawn to call LK's mom and call them over to dinner. Dinner happened that night with LK and her mom with our family. What a great beginning!. Talk about God ordained friendships. We feel so blessed to have experienced it.
The moments we spent with LK became memorable and a blessing to us. We will always remember worshiping together on Sundays, the late night fellowships after Chicken n' Rice, visiting NYC hot spots, walking the Brooklyn Bridge and many more other memorable meetings we had.
We hope to meet with LK every few years. At least that's the desire of our hearts. We pray that God will bring it to pass.
May our friendship stay strong, our families grow, and more over our love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ grow deeper.
Until we see each other again
May God be with us always!
 |
| To our friendship - Alberta, Canada - May 2012 |
Friday, June 8, 2012
Good bye to Western Canada - Day 6
Sunday morning, we headed to the airport at 8 AM. We were flying on West Jet back to Newark. We thought the staff and the service was much better than Air Canada. Ajo sat next to a 30 year old guy who was visiting NY for the first time. They talked almost the entire time. Meanwhile, I tried to get some sleep. The landing was a bit bumpy but otherwise it was quite a good flight.
We were back in NY in our home around 7PM.
A few things in Canada that was different:
1) Long daylight hours till about 10PM
2) Metric system - km/hr and Celsius
3) Seat belt law for the back passengers
We were back in NY in our home around 7PM.
A few things in Canada that was different:
1) Long daylight hours till about 10PM
2) Metric system - km/hr and Celsius
3) Seat belt law for the back passengers
Downtown Edmonton and Drive to Calgary - Day 5
We had quite a busy Saturday. LK took us on a quick tour of downtown Edmonton. Ajo took some shots of the skyline and we walked around the heart of downtown Edmonton for 1/2 hour or so. Downtown was pretty quiet, perhaps because it was Saturday. We drove around Whyte Ave and the University area afterwards.
We headed home after stopping by Don's photo to pick up something. We had lunch with a family we met while we were in Reno, Nevada. They were hospitable and we enjoyed our time with them. We came back to LK's home to do last minute packing and left Edmonton to Calgary around 3:30PM. Leaving Edmonton and LK's home was sad for us. We felt like in 4 days we became part of the family. We had a great vacation in Canada. We couldn't have asked for anything better.
In Calgary, we met with LK's cousin and went out to have dinner with them. We spent the night at LK's cousin's house.
We headed home after stopping by Don's photo to pick up something. We had lunch with a family we met while we were in Reno, Nevada. They were hospitable and we enjoyed our time with them. We came back to LK's home to do last minute packing and left Edmonton to Calgary around 3:30PM. Leaving Edmonton and LK's home was sad for us. We felt like in 4 days we became part of the family. We had a great vacation in Canada. We couldn't have asked for anything better.
In Calgary, we met with LK's cousin and went out to have dinner with them. We spent the night at LK's cousin's house.
West Edmonton Mall - Day 4
Friday (June 1st) morning we slept a little late to catch up on some sleep. For breakfast, LK introduced us to peanut butter and honey sandwich. It was a great combo. Thanks to LK!. After breakfast we headed over to the West Ed mall, the largest mall in North America.
We had Brunch at Earl's. LK was right, their chicken wings are delicious. Ajo & LK had some interesting theological discussion I was sandwiched in between. I saw each of their passion and their individual convictions which may not be similar but regardless they both loved God. That is what matters!. Perhaps these kind of conversations are meant to challenge your walk, sharpen your boundaries, or perhaps even redefine, reassess, or refine your christian experience. I know they are meant to be a blessing.
We walked around the mall with LK. The mall had an indoor amusement park, an indoor water park (the largest in the world), skating ring, indoor lake with sea lion/dolphin shows, mini-golf, a hotel, and you name it, they had it. They had almost all the stores that you could ask for and a great variety of restaurants. I can see how Ajo and I could have got lost very easily in there if LK wasn't with us.
We toured and walked around the mall for a good few hours and still felt like we needed more time. We had to cut our time short since we had some shopping to do for friends and family. We stopped by a toy store, christian store, and souvenir store. It took longer than expected. We had just enough time to have "Poutine" in the food court and headed back home. Poutine is a French-Canadian dish of french fries served with cheese curds and brown gravy. We enjoyed it but felt like it was an acquired taste.
We headed home around 6PM since Ajo's 2nd cousin and his family were invited to come over to the house and have dinner with us. LK and her mom opened their home and we cannot appreciate their hospitality enough. Two other families joined us for dinner. We met and connected with Ajo's cousin and his family. It was a fun evening/night. After everyone left, Ajo & I along with LK and her mom stayed up past 12 AM just talking, laughing, and sharing some memorable stories. Since it was past 12 am, we wished LK' s mom Happy Birthday and then headed to our rooms.
We had Brunch at Earl's. LK was right, their chicken wings are delicious. Ajo & LK had some interesting theological discussion I was sandwiched in between. I saw each of their passion and their individual convictions which may not be similar but regardless they both loved God. That is what matters!. Perhaps these kind of conversations are meant to challenge your walk, sharpen your boundaries, or perhaps even redefine, reassess, or refine your christian experience. I know they are meant to be a blessing.
We walked around the mall with LK. The mall had an indoor amusement park, an indoor water park (the largest in the world), skating ring, indoor lake with sea lion/dolphin shows, mini-golf, a hotel, and you name it, they had it. They had almost all the stores that you could ask for and a great variety of restaurants. I can see how Ajo and I could have got lost very easily in there if LK wasn't with us.
We toured and walked around the mall for a good few hours and still felt like we needed more time. We had to cut our time short since we had some shopping to do for friends and family. We stopped by a toy store, christian store, and souvenir store. It took longer than expected. We had just enough time to have "Poutine" in the food court and headed back home. Poutine is a French-Canadian dish of french fries served with cheese curds and brown gravy. We enjoyed it but felt like it was an acquired taste.
We headed home around 6PM since Ajo's 2nd cousin and his family were invited to come over to the house and have dinner with us. LK and her mom opened their home and we cannot appreciate their hospitality enough. Two other families joined us for dinner. We met and connected with Ajo's cousin and his family. It was a fun evening/night. After everyone left, Ajo & I along with LK and her mom stayed up past 12 AM just talking, laughing, and sharing some memorable stories. Since it was past 12 am, we wished LK' s mom Happy Birthday and then headed to our rooms.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Road Trip to Jasper - Day 3
On Thursday morning, around 8:30am Ajo & I headed to Jasper National Park. The drive to Jasper was unexpectedly long. We stopped at Hinton for gas and lunch. It was past 1 PM when we got to the town of Jasper. Jasper felt much smaller than the town of Banff with less traffic, and people on the roads. We stopped by the visitor center to get some more detailed park information. Our goal was to do the Jasper tram and the Columbia Icefields. However, after chatting with the lady at the information desk, we came to the conclusion that we had time for only one and we decided to visit the Icefields.
The drive to Columbia Icefields through the Icefields parkway was very scenic. We got to the Icefield center before 4PM and hence we were able to catch the 4PM tour. The tour took about 90 minutes and it was worth every minute. We were transported from the Icefields center in a regular sized bus to the inner parking area. The tour guide gave a brief history about the glaciers. Upon arrival at the inside parking area, we were picked up by a snow coach which was specially designed for ice and snowy hills with tires that cost 15,000 each. We traveled through the road carved out through the glaciers. It was an amazing ride. We had a 20 minute stop to step out on to the glacier and explore this ancient ice. When you stand on the glacier it feels no different than standing on top of hardened snow but to think that this ancient piece of ice is the size of Eiffel tower is just phenomenal. It was a little windy and cool but the skies were clear and blue. Definitely, Columbia Icefields is a must-see attraction in the park and we consider ourselves blessed for the amazing opportunity.
After our expedition, since it was nearing 6PM, we headed back to Edmonton. On the way back, we saw a mountain goat, few big horn sheep, elks, and surprisingly enough 3 black bears and 1 grizzly bear with a baby. It was quite a day. We enjoyed our return trip tremendously. Other than some brief stops to capture some photos and grab dinner, we drove straight through to avoid getting back to Edmonton too late. We got back around midnight and crawled in to bed to catch some sleep.
The drive to Columbia Icefields through the Icefields parkway was very scenic. We got to the Icefield center before 4PM and hence we were able to catch the 4PM tour. The tour took about 90 minutes and it was worth every minute. We were transported from the Icefields center in a regular sized bus to the inner parking area. The tour guide gave a brief history about the glaciers. Upon arrival at the inside parking area, we were picked up by a snow coach which was specially designed for ice and snowy hills with tires that cost 15,000 each. We traveled through the road carved out through the glaciers. It was an amazing ride. We had a 20 minute stop to step out on to the glacier and explore this ancient ice. When you stand on the glacier it feels no different than standing on top of hardened snow but to think that this ancient piece of ice is the size of Eiffel tower is just phenomenal. It was a little windy and cool but the skies were clear and blue. Definitely, Columbia Icefields is a must-see attraction in the park and we consider ourselves blessed for the amazing opportunity.
After our expedition, since it was nearing 6PM, we headed back to Edmonton. On the way back, we saw a mountain goat, few big horn sheep, elks, and surprisingly enough 3 black bears and 1 grizzly bear with a baby. It was quite a day. We enjoyed our return trip tremendously. Other than some brief stops to capture some photos and grab dinner, we drove straight through to avoid getting back to Edmonton too late. We got back around midnight and crawled in to bed to catch some sleep.
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