Wow,it has been a long while since the last time i post my blog here. Thw past two months has been very hectic with me. My fiance(now my husband) went to my country with his little boy and spent a month with me and my family. It's a sort of asking my family for me for marriage. "Pamamanhikan" is what we call it in the Philippines. So, to cut a long story short, I spent the last two months or so in preparing papers for the immigration and stuffs. Plus, we had a little engagement party over there since we planned to get married in the US. It is more difficult if we marry in the Philippines, it will take forever for me to follow my husband. You know, those complicated stuffs and everything.
Oh well, my very first trip in the US, or should i say outside the country. The anticipation is so great that not until the plane lifts up from the ground, did I finally realized..."hey, I am now actually leaving my country and my family...this is it!" And tears suddenly fell from my eyes. It's a mixed feeling...both sad and happy. Sad because this is not gonna be a temporary thing. It's not just a vacation for several days or months or that you have a contract of a limited time then come back and go home to your family. This is a decision of a lifetime! And I am happy as well because I will be with the one I have waited for....all my life. The one who gives such happiness that family and friends can't give. Of course I value and treasure very much the happiness my family and friends showed and gave me. But like what they say, "no man is an island". Although we are surrounded with love from friends and family, still, we long for that "someone" to love and be loved in return. A complement, a bestfriend, a confidant...someone to grow old with.
I thank Jehovah God for giving me my complement. Although I admit I may screwed up a few times before...but He never lets me down. And although there is no perfect relationship, but accepting the truth about it and both will agree to work on it, nothing is impossible.
And so, June 25, Wednesday at 9:30pm, my plane landed at Daytona international airport....the airport was so quiet, as if no one works in it..it's odd. Then, as I was going down the escalator, feeling groggy for over a 24 hour trip, I see this very handsome man clad in dark-colored long sleeves and tie...beaming at me! Suddenly my senses woke up and felt energetic again! There goes my baby, i said to myself.
The next week has been busy preparing for the wedding. We got our marriage license the next day and witht the help of some sisters in their congregation, the wedding that was supposed to be small and intimate became a "not that small" wedding since it's about a hundred came and welcome us as newly-wed couple. So everything went well that goes well. It's simple yet beautiful.
The congregation is so warm and loving in general. Everyone seems to be happy and caring. Well of course nobody's perfect but it's just amazing that even though I am thousands of miles away from my family, they made me feel at home. Thanks to the new technology, I get to talk and see my family back home.
It is now our Circuit Overseer's visit and what a great speaker he is. He had this talk about the youth, on how to make wise decision in life. And making the Truth their own. Proving if what they believe in is the truth. I had same problems as I was growing up. For me, attending meetings and service is just an obligation. As in you have to do it or else....you'd get scolded by your parents. But as I grow older and mature, God has never been so real until you realized it. For some it started early, some started late. But there is no too late for God. He has given us sooo much time...with his patience and kindness, it's really up to us to use our lives wisely and do not abuse it.
This past few months has been a tremendous change for me. For 38 years confined in a poor country, waking up with the noise of the neighbors. Either they are gossiping or fighting...still you wake up with those loud voices. Sniffing the polluted air amidst the heavy traffic, sweating, burning up under the sun waiting for a passenger's jeepney or trycicle or bus. You'd be lucky enough to get a public SUV(or FX as we call it in Manila) for you to feel cool inside and let your hair stay in place and keep you fresh til you get to your point of destination, wherever it may be....and all of it were gone to where i live now. I am amazed to see different breeds of birds flying in the sky in groups...you will see people fishing in the bridge which you cannot do in Pasig river ha! It's almost like paradise. But there is one disadvatage i guess...and like what the congregation here said, because people doesn't feel they are lacking, they feel that they don't need God anymore. So, it is so hard to convince them to accept the truth and study the bible. Yes, they may have huge houses, peaceful neighborhood...but they don't need God, it is somehow depressing. But what's important is we do our task as christians, that we go make disciples and whether they accept the truth or not, leave it to Jehovah. And this somehow kinda made me feel homesick. Somehow I realized that "poverty" has it's advantages. Because poor people feel the pain and suffering more, they need God. They need a change, they need hope, they need God's kingdom. But I am still positive that even though people here may not be accomodating or too busy at work and such, I know for sure that there are still many out there who are just waiting to be taught or maybe they were puffed up with pride. But one thing I came to realized, people cannot feel the need for God unless they are in distress or in danger. Just like the book of Revelation said, if people doesn't listen, let them be.
Oh well, that has been my life for the past two months...an abrupt changes which I hope i can cope up with. I am sure I can.
