Appreciation Luncheon & Basketball Game

I was up not as early as usual... and went out late for my 10K as I wanted to remember to bring things to church. After trimming my hair, I took a quick shower and Alan was home and we were off to church. We got there as the food arrived and helped to set up!

We didn't have as large a crowd as I had expected, so there was plenty of food. The program went fairly well... from 11:30-2pm. Alan and I stayed to clean up and got home by 3:15. I put things away and took a quick 30 minutes nap and we were off to Sam's basketball game. They won! 

We scootered home and it was already 8:30 when we got back. I had a salad after putting things away and getting a load of laundry started! I had all the table cloths to wash!

I was so tired... by 11pm, I could not keep my eyes open... The table cloths were all in the dryer along with the towels... the rest was hung up nicely.

Tomorrow is going to be super packed: Young Adults Fellowship, tutoring... and church... after church, there is going to be another meeting. Please pray!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Rush, Rush, Rush Day!

I was up early and did not feel like going out even though the weather looked fabulous. I was just feeling tired.  But I did go out and ran my 10K and saw most of the 'regulars'.

I was home and after a shower, I said goodbye to Isaiah and went back to sleep! That felt so good.

Alan was home by 10am and we went out... first to Coco... and I bought some steam buns. Then we went to buy plants for the Appreciation Luncheon! Then it was time to drop off the gifts from Nepal. That took a while as we stopped to talk to all the different individuals! 

We got home by 3:30 and I grabbed my tutoring bag and headed out. First I sent over the deposit for our Chinese New Year trip hotel reservation and then go to the student's house by 4:28. They forgot... so the kid didn't show up until 5pm. When that was finished, I was rushing back home, stopping first to get gas.

I got home at 7pm and ate something before heading out to the church at 7:30! 

Isaiah joined us and we got the church set up for tomorrow and had a meeting about the meeting on Sunday evening. Please pray! 

We didn't get home until 10:30!

We were going to sit down and go over our goals today... and that did not happen. Maybe we will have time tomorrow! I hope so...

Daily Lovely Insight:

The Lord seems to be leading me to this verse as my personal verse of focus for 2026. The theme is: In Jesus' Name!

Seek Him First!

Much Needed PR Day!

I was up early and went out and hit my 10K, and saw several familiar faces... it was still warm and no rain.

I was home and after a shower, I messaged people about speaking at HOP. Yes, it's official: our pastor will be leaving by the end of December. In fact, last night he announced that he will not be attending the Eldership Meeting for December. He and his 'team' (made up of HOP members) will be starting their marketplace ministry/church. They are already looking to rent a place, which will need some remodeling to get it ready and perhaps they will launch their first service after Chinese New Year. We have no idea!

Isaiah and Alan took off for work and I set myself up on the sofa with my books and notebook and coffee. I read the next two chapters of Revelation and read through all the verses that I'm considering for next year's personal verse of focus. Alan and I will go over our goals for 2025-2026 tomorrow and we will also be looking at our Couple's Verse as well as our Family Verse. So, when we have our next Family Time, we will discuss and vote!

The morning flew by... and Isaiah and I were messaging each other as he sent over the money for the first lump sum of down payment. He is also trying to get the first time buyer's loan. Please pray! We want to borrow 8 million at the 1.77% interest rate for 30 years or even 40 years. 

I had made an appointment for a massage at 3pm and I brought things to drop off to people!

Abby messaged me as they are taking off to Bangkok on the same flight that I had taken. And then they will relax in Thailand for a few days before going back to Brazil. 

It was nice to be home as I made a great salad dinner with chicken slices!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Read to the End!

I was up early... and went out for my 10K... and it was not a pleasant run. It was so warm. I did several of my old friends and even ran back with our neighbor. Thankfully he was tired! This guy runs fast!

I took a quick shower and baked these delicious muffins! Yes, I had my Soochow Bible study.

I checked the recycling as I have been gone and everything was in fairly good order and the pick up went smoothly. The typhoon was nothing, so everything was back to normal.

By 10am, I was feeling quite tired and decided to take a quick nap before going to the post office to check on the procedure for transferring money. Isaiah and I had been messaging each other all morning.

I left for my Bible study and only two kids showed up... oh well... we had a marvelous time and all the muffins were gone because there were visitors at the church!

I then headed to Mega PX Mart and bought the dryer for the old house. It was on sale and I can delay the delivery until December 5th as the cement work should be finished and Fenny will move in on December 7th. And... they didn't have any in stock, so I had to wait anyhow! PERFECT.

I then went and shopped for milk, vacuum chicken meat, soy bean milk, bleach... and the list went on. I couldn't believe how much I got on my scooter. I arrived home and called Alan to come down to help me. I didn't have tutoring today as I had cancelled thinking I was going to be a judge at a college nearby for their English Singing Competition. It was nice to get the food and go home... and eat a huge salad and watch the Rookie with Alan.

Isaiah came home and he had a meeting at 8pm and Alan and Isaiah had another meeting at 9pm. Isaiah went back to the office.

So.. what happened yesterday? The lady accepted our offer. 10 million NT$... hence transferring the down payment and calling to see what loans we can get. Isaiah will go tomorrow to transfer 30,000US$ and then we will figure out the loan and hopefully the escrow will close by 2/28. Please pray! The lady gave all the furniture and major appliances to Isaiah. So, the only thing he might need is to get some nice curtains and enclose the back balcony so that it would not be so dusty as that's where the laundry will be hung to dry. It might need a hanging rod... I can't remember if there is one...the lady is opening a bakery in Jiangsu province... I think we are to buy from her so that I can pray for her and encourage her. 

Please keep praying for House of Praise... and pray for the whole process of buying the house! We hope to find a bank which lends to first time buyers, giving an excellent interest rate!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Back Home!

I was at the airport... and boarded... and slept pretty much the whole way back.

Customs and Immigration went fast!  I was at the bus counter by 8:45. BUT... the slow bus was at 9am and the fast bus was at 9:30. The schedule was changed due to the typhoon. Both would arrive at the SongShan Airport at 10:30. So, I took the 9am bus: cheaper!

Alan picked me up and we went over to the house to meet the cement guy. We signed the contract and paid half of the total cost! He will start work tomorrow, doing the indoor stuff! YEAH!

We headed home and I started unpacking. We ate a quick lunch at home. I made hamburgers! We had sliced cheese... Annie said I needed protein!

Alan went to the weight room at 3:30 and I headed out for a run at 4pm. Yes, it was sprinkling. And yes, I ran 10K.

We had an appointment at 6pm for Isaiah's offer. It was at the Century 21 Office right near our house! I'll update you in tomorrow's post to keep you all in suspense.

And at 9pm, I had my online study. 

I was so ready for bed when that was finished!

The competition for tomorrow has been cancelled... as well as counseling tomorrow night! I could have stayed another day! Oh well... with this airline, I don't want to make any changes. I wrote a review and I would not fly with them in the future! 

In April, Abby and I are seriously considering going back to Nepal to hike the ABC (Annapurna Base Camp) Trail. We are looking at tickets for her to be in Taipei for 3 weeks from March 14th to April 1st and then we go to Nepal for 7-10 days and she'd be back in Taipei for another 5 days before returning to Brazil. Of course, we are waiting to see if she can get her visa extended for another year... Please pray!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

A Day of "Travel"

I was up early and the group had decided to hike up to the top of this hill to see the sunrise. But at 4:30, they were still not ready, I headed out on my own. I was waiting for them by running back and forth. And when I hit 5kms and they didn't show up, I started the hike. 

The trail was dark and I really didn't know the way. I just kept praying... and God led me there. As I headed up, I saw two of the members sitting at a bench! YEAH. I wasn't lost! It was my first time to make my way up this hill... and there were no signs to point the way! It was a miracle!

At the top, I led in a short devotional by reading Psalm 108:1-6 and praying together. We took pictures and headed back down. Abby and I had a donut each when we reached the small village. They were only 10cents each and very delicious. I wanted to buy more!

The others didn't get back, so we did not have the key to open the bedroom door. We just sat outside and chatted. When they got back, I went and took a shower. Abby did a load of laundry. We ate breakfast. She went to feed a doggy. I packed. She got the game on (Chargers won)! I purchased extra luggage weight. And I pressed 20kgs for me, which I thought was a mistake. But God knew what He was doing. I also bought extra luggage weight for Abby. I went and dropped off more gifts for our host: the coat I was wearing and a tube of salty toothpaste. (They love salty toothpaste. Colgate makes a special brand for the Nepalis.) Abby took a shower.

At 11am, our taxi arrived. Abby forgot to hang up her clothes, so the driver had to wait just a few minutes. The driver is a brother at the Revival Church in the slum. It was so nice to see his car without all the Hindu decorations! He was a superb driver, but the traffic was bad. We arrived in plenty of time. Abby dropped me off and got back into the taxi. We had talked quite a lot and hopefully, she will be back in March for a visit in Taipei and perhaps we'd come back to Nepal to hike/climb Annapurna Trail!

And at the check in counter, sure enough, they had no record of the extra luggage that I had purchased when I bought the ticket. So, it was not a mistake to have purchased 20kgs. God did another miracle.

Customs and immigration was fast! And there was no free airport WiFi, so I had no way to get a message to Abby or Alan. The flight took off late... and felt extremely long because I was so cold. I gave away almost everything except the clothes I was wearing. I gave my running shoes to Abby, so I was wearing slippers! ha, ha, ha...

I arrived in Bangkok and the transit desk had no one... I waited and waited... but at least the airport had free WiFi.

I was at the gate by 11:45 and got hot water for my cup-o-noodles and coffee... NICE. I finished eating and had my QT. I board at 2:25 and will be back in Taipei hopefully by 8am. There is a typhoon blowing through Taiwan!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!

Visiting Villages

I was up super early and went out for a walk on my own. I truly enjoyed it. I had a flash light and met some people who actually invited me to join them. But I enjoy walking on my own... and at my own pace!

I was back and everyone was up as we were to be ready by 6:30 for the van to pick us up. But this is Nepal, which meant the van didn't show up until 7:30. There was traffic.

We headed out to several villages and boy, was the driving ... AMAZING! CRAZY AMAZING! Our driver was superb! We arrived at the first village that was about three hours away and went to a house church of about 10 people. They don't have their own land to build their own church. We worshipped and I gave the sermonette. I didn't know until I got there that I'd be sharing. The Lord gave me Isaiah 55:12. They served us lunch with MEAT. So you know they were truly trying to honor us. I walked down to the next field and helped an old lady gather her rice stalks. 

We then went to the second church. This church has a building but with only 6-7 people. The building is now used for After School Care! Just above this church is a super nice church and supposedly some Chinese "Christians" came and started the church. But they are not very welcoming of people. We then drove to another church. But on the way there, there was extensive road walk, with a pile of huge rocks in the way. A bull dozer was called and the rocks were finally cleared. The third church had a group of seven ladies who have been waiting since 11am, thinking we were coming in the morning. Wow... these people are so faithful. 

We had a very fast trip back and Abby and I went to buy 5 more kilos of stuff to bring back to Taiwan. I had purchased 20kilos for my return trip. After yesterday's shopping I think I only purchased 15 kilos of goods. Plus, Abby wanted a few things to give to those who had donated for different activities during this outreach ministry to Cambodia and Thailand and Nepal. So, we went to a small local 'supermarket' and spent about another 10US$.

We came back and they had already gone up for dinner. Abby wasn't hungry but I just had to eat as I love the rice and the spinach! That's what I had. I stuffed myself. I came down and took a shower as I have not had a shower for two days. I can't believe it???

I felt so nice! I will wash my hair tomorrow as I am hoping to go for an early morning run!

I packed and blogged and Abby worked on our testimony video for 11/30. 

I will go to bed early as I have been up early every morning. 

I haven't done my pre-check in nor buy the luggage for Abby!

Daily Lovely Insight:

Seek Him First!