A-Team's Christmas 2012 Newsletter

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. 

Isaiah 11: 1-3a

Isaiah turned 14 and is now an 8th grader.  Some of his highlights  from this year include going on his overnight wilderness camping trip, his school Athletic Meet in which his class won the relay, English Reading and Speech Contests, badminton competition (his class came in first), improving his drumming skills, growing taller than his mom, and his first outreach activity with his youth group.  The verse that he is trying to live out for this coming year is

Gal. 2:20 --

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  

The word he would use to summarize this past year is -- CHANGE!

 

Abigail turned 13 and is now a 7th grader.  Some of her highlights from this year are:  graduating from elementary school, going on her awesome graduation trip, winning the Watermelon Basketball Competition and being the MVP of the tournament, attending youth group, hanging out with cousins and friends this past summer, meeting a lot of Mom and Dad's old friends from Evergreen days, and celebrating her entry into being a teenager.  The verse that she loves to proclaim for this new year is I Corinthians 10:31 --

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do,

do it all for the glory of God." 

The word she would use to summarize 2012 is -- FULFILLING!

 

Lovely officially retired on August 1st and is loving it.  Her days are filled with fun and interesting things.  Being retired has given her time to rest.  She thought it would also give her more time to run, but that has not yet happened.  By March 31st of 2013, she would also be officially "over" menopause. Yes, you read that correctly!  Her only side effects thus far have been fatigue and hot flashes.  She knows that God is carrying her through this season of her life with joy and grace. The verses that are being spoken over her for this coming year are

from Isaiah 12: 2-3,

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid;

for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salation." 

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

The word that she would use to summarize this past year is -- FREEDOM. 

 

Alan continues to enjoy teaching at Soochow University.  Although there is pressure to conduct research or to join conferences, he has no complaints.  With Lovely being retired, he can step away from most of the homeschooling responsibilities and concentrate on his school work load.  He plays tennis and basketball on a regular basis and sometimes he runs.  His body feels certain aches and pains, but that has not stopped him from playing sports.  This past year has been special to him as there have been many opportunities to see friends who no longer live in Taiwan.  The verse that he is meditating upon for

this new year is  Isaiah 62:6-7 --

I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night.  You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

The word that he would use to summarize this past year is -- HEALING!

 

Happy Chinese New Year!

 

Our family verse for 2013 --

  Luke 6:45

"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good,

and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil;

for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."

 

As we look towards 2013, we ask you to be praying for the following requests --

 

1.  For Isaiah to have a heart of obedience and relief from his continual struggle with allergies

2.  For Abigail's homework load and to have perseverance

3.  For us to honor God in our marriage relationship and parenting style

4.  Favor for Alan at his school

5.  Wisdom for Lovely in all that she does

6.  Service opportunities at HOP and during the Spring Break

7.  Our hearts to yearn for more of Him and less of self

 

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A Walk Down 2012 Memory Lane

It's time again for our annual Christmas Newsletter. 

I decided to walk you through the year

with a pictorial of this past year.

Chinese New Year with the Brantinghams

Graduation Trip for Abigail

Wedding of our dear friend's daughter

Remodeling of our house!

Great friends in Taiwan for a visit!

Winners of the Watermelon Basketball Competition

 

Summer Fun at Soak City!

Hanging out with family and friends

 

Both my kids starting junior high school!!!!

 

Dinner parties and reunions at the Tu's!

More athletic competitions!

Happy Birthday!

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Christmas Dinners, Field Trips, Science Experiments and More

It's only the first half of December and lots have been happening... We rejoice!

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12.12.2012

People have been predicting that 12.21.2012 will be the end of the world. (Of course, this is due to the fact that the Mayan Calendar ends on that date!)  But that has not stopped people from around the world getting married today.  As for me, with God, I am at peace. He knows when the end of the world as we know it will be and I am at rest.  He is faithful and true.  Well, what is with the monkey PJ picture?  Well, this day happens to be my 51st birthday and I didn't want it to end without taking at least one picture with those numbers since it is so rare.  So, just before midnight, I woke my son up and asked him to take a picture at 11:11 on 12.12.2012.  I won't be around when it is 12.12. 2112... And as for 12.21.12, if I publish another post that day, then we know -- the end of the world did not happen.

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A Turn of Events

We were on our way down to visit friends in Taichung when our car broke down in the middle of the freeway on a dark and stormy night.  I truly believe that the angels pushed the car over to the safety lane of the freeway while cars whizzed by at break-neck speed.  I truly believe that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY watched over us and provided for us.  We all got home safely and even our car was tolled free of charge all the way to our mechanic here in Neihu.  It was just under the free 50 kms limit -- 48kms.  How do I know it was God?  When we were filling out the paperwork, the driver of our toll truck (see picture above) signed his name... and guess what's his name?  Mr. Peace Tseng!  Yes, peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God. And surely, God was, is and always will be with us and we are at peace even in the midst of trouble.

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The Simple Joys of Life

 
 

Our celebrations are always kept simple.  We don't buy gifts, whether it be for birthdays, Christmas, or anniversaries!  We want our kids to enjoy the simplicity of being together as a family without looking at what they can GET.  And over the years, I have noticed -

 THEY ARE GRATEFUL! 

THEY HAVE COME TO APPRECIATE THE SIMPLE JOYS OF LIFE! 

 

They appreciate the World Missionary Fellowship "prayer warriors" from College Avenue Baptist Church in San Diego who ALWAYS mail them cards with their beautiful signatures and well wishes.  We do notice that the names are getting fewer and fewer.  We so appreciate them.  This year, their birthday cake was baked by one of the sisters in our church who is just learning to bake. She did a wonderful job with this carrot cake and cream cheese frosting.  The kids enjoyed every bite.  Yes, we also used "recycled" candles and again, my kids appreciated the fun of whatever number we had to place on top of their birthday cake.  Each of them had a homemade card from Dad.  Each of them received one gift from their youth fellowship group leader.  Again, they were so appreciative as the leader wrapped the gift and picked out a gift that was perfect for them.  Isaiah got a DVD and CD of a worship band. Abby got a wooden "JOY" note holder in a color that matched her room and decorated with a piano keyboard and music notes.  Just to see them carefully opening their gift and card I can tell they thought they were having the best birthday celebration.  Not a word of complaint why they didn't get more!  As you can tell from the pictures above, they were all smile. 

 

What a blessing to be raising kids who are appreciative of the simple joys of life.

 

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13 Years Ago

13 Years Ago

                                         Now!

How do I begin to describe my daughter, Abigail?  She came with a stubborn streak and has grown into a beautiful tender-hearted, caring, praying, talented young lady.  She is helpful and loves to bake with me.  She, like Isaiah, plays the piano, the guitar and the drums. She has joined the track team at school and loves to play basketball.  And don't ever try to race her in the pool -- she can out-swim all of us and she makes it look so easy!  For her birthday celebration this year, I had to buy her some French fries as she loves the smell of them. Why you might ask?  We picked her up 13 years ago at the McDonald's in Panchiao and so now, she has this love for the smell of French fries.  Her perfect dinner this year was fried onion pancake with eggs, bubble milk tea, and baked custard cakes.  There are moments that she might have a "bad attitude" but these moments are fleeting and rare.  Spiritually, she loves reading her Bible and has a prayer journal as she is consistently praying for people to come to know Jesus.  She is also actively inviting people to the youth group on Saturday afternoon.  She is conscientious about her homework and seeks to honor God.  These past 13 years have been such a blessing to me to be her mom... and I know that the years ahead will be filled with more wonderful memories... God is shaping her wings to fly and to soar... and when she does, it will be difficult for me to let her go, but I know her journey will be amazing.

Happy 13th Birthday, my sweet Abigail!

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14 Years Ago

14 Years Ago

                                          And NOW!

Fourteen years ago on a clear November morning at around 10:55 I received a phone call.  Isaiah was born in a hospital in PanChiao.  Although his due date was initially set for the second week of December, God had decided that it was time.  Although it would be another 10 days before I finally hold him, God had those days in His hands. 

When I first saw him, all I could see was his moon-shaped face as he was tightly wrapped in a blue blanket like a big fat tzong-tzi.  The first time I laid eyes on him, I knew -- this was the son the LORD had prepared for me.  The adoption papers had not even started, but I knew.  The love for him started at that moment and it has not stopped. 

These fourteen years have flown by.  He is now taller than me by a centimeter or two.  He plays the drums, the piano and the guitar all so beautifully and with such passion.  He can also sing.  He loves sports and still wants to play a set or two of tennis just so that he can beat me.  He is fun to hang out and chat with and when he laughs, the room lights up.  And he is so good at imitating people and making funny faces.  He has leadership ability which God is developing.  Yes, he has his moments of being rude and having a bad attitude.  He doesn't always try his best and he isn't ranked first, second or third in his class.  He talks like he is all grown up, but he still has his "Bo-bo" and his blue blankey sewn by his sweet Aunty Annie -- both of these were gifts from his very first birthday. His bed is still filled with doggy stuffed animals or funny pillows.  And each night, he still asks for me to tuck him in and to pray over him. 

I love going in at night after he is fast asleep to plant lots of kisses on him when he is unaware. I know that one day that bed will be empty and he will really be too "grown up" for me to tuck him in.  But as his mom, he will never be too grown up for me to be praying over and for him.  He will never be too grown up to be my son. He will never be too grown up to be a child of our loving Heavenly Father. And in that thought, I celebrate these past fourteen years and all the years ahead. 

Happy 14th Birthday, Isaiah Iosefa Rong-en Alagata!

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Isaiah's Handicraft

For Isaiah's Home Ec class in Xihu Junior High School, he had to sew a puppy dog.  He did a great job and he made the whole thing by hand in five weeks.  This Sunday is his 14th birthday.  And he just surpassed me in height.  How fast the years have flown by!  Please pray as both the kids will be taking their school wide exams next Monday and Tuesday, so we cannot celebrate their birthdays until the weekend after.

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HOP Family Retreat

It was a fantastic HOP Family Retreat. The theme this year was "Thirsty".  For our final time of worship, our pastor set up the room with seats, blank canvas, paint tubes, and brushes.  We were to express our heart of worship through art!  When we finished and looked at one another's colorful paintings, we all knew that as a family we all hunger for more of Him!

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Great Start of Another Great Month

The weather has turned cooler now here in Taipei and the days get darker earlier.  I like these changes.  They signal the changing of time and seasons.  This month started with more activities.  Isaiah and Abby had their school anniversary. They performed, screamed, marched, ran, and just enjoyed themselves tremendously.    Isaiah's class came in first in the class relay against all the 8th graders and Abby's class came in second against all the seventh graders.  Abby's class should have been first but they had two penalties while passing the baton!  Each penalty cost them 5 seconds!  I volunteered to run the relay as part of the parents/teachers team.  I was sore for two days.  We also had our House of Praise Family Retreat.  It was fabulous to get out of the city and worship together with our church family.  We were even asked to be a part of a musical that was performed on Saturday evening.  Alan and I also had time to reflect on this past year and to look forward to this coming year.  We do this every November as we know that December gets really busy with all the Christmas and New Year Activities.  This month will also be our kids' birthday celebration.  Well, I will leave that for my next entry.

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Fun-filled Month

 

 

I thought I better get on line and write one more blog before this month completely flies by.  It's been a fantastic and fun-filled month. Yes, I am still enjoying the "retired" life.  I still cannot find enough time to get to some of my personal projects. But I have started to listen to Taiwanese, Hebrew and Spanish.  I want to refresh my Spanish and hopefully, German and learn Taiwanese and Hebrew.  I have gone through my piles of files and sorted them into three HUGE files.  There is definitely a lot more work that needs to be done. I get on line and read about organizing files... but I can't imagine getting everything into one nice neatly organized box.  We had also gone to three weddings this month and I had a special get together with some of my honors' English students from four years ago.  Abby is now a vocalist with our House of Praise Worship Team.  Both Isaiah and Abby still help out with the drums when needed.  But this is a new step of faith for Abby.  And the seniors at Soochow University are already taking their graduation pictures... And I continue to trim/cut my own hair.  I am getting better and better at it.  I run when I have time and I do bike a lot more.  I have gone to Costco on my bike, but I didn't get a picture of that.  Too bad!!!! It was pretty funny as people watched me pack my Costco goods on my bike. I prayed with every push of my pedals.  Next month is just around the corner... and I know I will have lots to write about...

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