As we met up again with our Consultant yesterday afternoon, all I could really think of is how thankful I am that we have him. The Contract was 16-pages long and he cleared up anything that we weren’t too sure about as well as answered any questions we had. Although we had to sit at Starbucks for almost 2 hours just to go through the whole document, I was just really happy and just so thankful the whole time. What I read that morning probably had something to do with it.
In Psalm 30, David is thanking God for a lot of things – healing, protection from his foes, salvation, life, favor, joy, for establishing him, supplication, for being his helper, etc…
And for what???
“To the end that my tongue and my heart and everything glorious within me may sing praise to You and not be silent, O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” (v.12, Amp)
The Psalm ended with this and I just thought, ‘Thank you God that you don’t just do things for me.’ I mean, I’m glad He does. But ultimately, He does whatever He does so that His Name is praised. He does things for His Name’s sake and I just absolutely love that!
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It was also yesterday that I got to meet our Architect / Contractor. It was a brief meeting as he just gave us the documents needed for the Building Permit that Anthony, Babyanne’s Mansion Secretary, will soon be working on. He said since it’s outside Manila, it might just take 1-2 weeks to be approved; as opposed to the 3 months that it took him for the other project that he is working on.
I do pray that he’s right. Because as soon as we get the Building Permit, the excavation on the land can start and oh! I just cannot wait!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
going on 3 weeks
So this goal of a daily blog won't work I don't think...
We do have internet at home but we only have 1 laptop between the 3 of us so I can't hog it =p
As of the moment, our team has just finished editing the 16-page Construction Contract. This then has to be looked at by our Consultant and then our Contractor. Once all parties agree, our Lawyer will finalize it and it's just a matter of getting the Contract signed. Crazy. I still get overwhelmed when I'm confronted with documents as such. Like hello! I so do not know anything about building houses. But again and again, I find myself so privileged & honored to be a part of something like this. It's such a blessing to know that although I know I don't know much about these things, GOD is a gracious God and He gives us the grace we need in order to do the things that we cannot accomplish on our own.
Meeting the team for the 1st time last week just left me feeling grateful yet again.
As some of you know, we have 3 new Board of Directors for the BABYANNE'S MANSION [BAM] team here in the Philippines. One I have met before but the other 2 are complete strangers. I only know them by paper (their application form).
But when I got to meet them last week, I just really saw how God has answered our prayers. My prayer really was that we will find people who will be committed to BAM... that they will catch the vision of the orphanage and work accordingly. My prayer really has been for each part of the Board to be working to their full potential so that the team can be both productive & effective. And when I got to attend their meeting last week, all I could really say was "Thank You."
Of course it's still a new team and there are lots of areas that they can still improve on.. but I can see that they are all quite enthusiastic about BAM and that just thrills me.
There's also this guy, who is a friend of a couple of our Board of Directors, who we met up with last Tuesday because he was interested in helping out with fundraising. This guy has experience in raising funds and seemed like he had the theory to back up how he does things as well.
And seriously, this is again 1 of those answered prayers.
Sometimes, it just feels like you've been praying for something for so long that you wonder when God is ever gonna answer it (or if He will ever answer it for that matter). But after years and years of asking God to build our team here and give us the people that we need in order to make this happen, now there's this guy who I think will be such a tremendous help to us.
Soo cool.
So to those of you who are praying for us (or who have been praying with us from the very beginning), THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
The next big (grueling) thing we gotta work on is the Building Permit. Funny cuz after being here for a couple weeks, even though I haven't gone to the government offices myself and lined up to get these documents signed & processed, I am beginning to see how 'different' the system really is here in Manila. The process of acquiring the permit could take months! But if we want things to move a little faster, just a few thousand Pesos will solve our problem. It's sad really. Cuz although the employees in those offices know that it's wrong, they still do it cuz that has been the way things have been done for years. Hearing that, I was reminded of what the Bible says about how bribes make a good man compromise (something like that).
A few people have told us already to maybe give a 'little something.' But as much as we would like to get that permit as quickly as possible, we refuse to conform to the ways of this world. Sure it may be 'grueling,' and the process might involve days & days of lining up and our patience might really be tested but, God says that He surrounds the righteous with favor as with a shield. So although it may seem like the only way to get this permit asap is to bribe, we know we have God on our side and that He can cause us to find favor. We will just trust in that.
We do have internet at home but we only have 1 laptop between the 3 of us so I can't hog it =p
As of the moment, our team has just finished editing the 16-page Construction Contract. This then has to be looked at by our Consultant and then our Contractor. Once all parties agree, our Lawyer will finalize it and it's just a matter of getting the Contract signed. Crazy. I still get overwhelmed when I'm confronted with documents as such. Like hello! I so do not know anything about building houses. But again and again, I find myself so privileged & honored to be a part of something like this. It's such a blessing to know that although I know I don't know much about these things, GOD is a gracious God and He gives us the grace we need in order to do the things that we cannot accomplish on our own.
Meeting the team for the 1st time last week just left me feeling grateful yet again.
As some of you know, we have 3 new Board of Directors for the BABYANNE'S MANSION [BAM] team here in the Philippines. One I have met before but the other 2 are complete strangers. I only know them by paper (their application form).
But when I got to meet them last week, I just really saw how God has answered our prayers. My prayer really was that we will find people who will be committed to BAM... that they will catch the vision of the orphanage and work accordingly. My prayer really has been for each part of the Board to be working to their full potential so that the team can be both productive & effective. And when I got to attend their meeting last week, all I could really say was "Thank You."
Of course it's still a new team and there are lots of areas that they can still improve on.. but I can see that they are all quite enthusiastic about BAM and that just thrills me.
There's also this guy, who is a friend of a couple of our Board of Directors, who we met up with last Tuesday because he was interested in helping out with fundraising. This guy has experience in raising funds and seemed like he had the theory to back up how he does things as well.
And seriously, this is again 1 of those answered prayers.
Sometimes, it just feels like you've been praying for something for so long that you wonder when God is ever gonna answer it (or if He will ever answer it for that matter). But after years and years of asking God to build our team here and give us the people that we need in order to make this happen, now there's this guy who I think will be such a tremendous help to us.
Soo cool.
So to those of you who are praying for us (or who have been praying with us from the very beginning), THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
The next big (grueling) thing we gotta work on is the Building Permit. Funny cuz after being here for a couple weeks, even though I haven't gone to the government offices myself and lined up to get these documents signed & processed, I am beginning to see how 'different' the system really is here in Manila. The process of acquiring the permit could take months! But if we want things to move a little faster, just a few thousand Pesos will solve our problem. It's sad really. Cuz although the employees in those offices know that it's wrong, they still do it cuz that has been the way things have been done for years. Hearing that, I was reminded of what the Bible says about how bribes make a good man compromise (something like that).
A few people have told us already to maybe give a 'little something.' But as much as we would like to get that permit as quickly as possible, we refuse to conform to the ways of this world. Sure it may be 'grueling,' and the process might involve days & days of lining up and our patience might really be tested but, God says that He surrounds the righteous with favor as with a shield. So although it may seem like the only way to get this permit asap is to bribe, we know we have God on our side and that He can cause us to find favor. We will just trust in that.
Friday, August 1, 2008
1st week in Manila
I meant to blog almost every day cuz I don't really like catching up but I guess I'm gonna have to do that today. Things have been quite hectic lately. We've been coming home late most nights and after a long day of commuting in the rain, you end up just wanting to sleep when you get home. Karen & I actually got soaked a couple days ago. We were on our way to go grocery shopping and all of a sudden, it just poured! Hard rain I might add! And because we didn't have an umbrella, we ended up being soaking wet after. It was like 1 of those scenes in a movie where it's almost ending or there's a transition sort of thing where it just had to rain.
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:::Thursday, July 31st:::
We (Karen, Jen & I) together with Anthony (1 of the new Board of Directors for Babyanne's Mansion here in the Philippines) went to visit the land in Baliuag, Bulacan (a town about 1hr 1/2 away North of Manila). It pretty much looks the same from what I saw on pictures as it is still mostly grass. But actually BEING at the site and seeing where the house, that will house 40kids in the future, will be built, just did something to me. It was so exciting! I just can't wait to see the cement being poured and for the house to actually start going up. I took pictures and took a little bit of a video clip to show all of you but I haven't uploaded it from my camera yet (I'm just not a very "techy" person so I need help in that area). I will soon, so just check back in in a couple of days.
After that, we met with our Consultant Oliver to go over the bids and discuss the contract. Although it was a long meeting, I was very thankful at the end knowing that we have him on our team. Cuz seriously, us not knowing anything about building a house and us doing it ourselves, wouldn't be a very good idea. But because of our Consultant (and other professionals who are members of our team), we are able to have a better understanding of what the process really entails. As he went through every part of the construction process, although a little overwhelming at times, I again just felt excited at the end of it as I started picturing the house in my head.
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:::August 1st:::
The 3 of us, together with a few other friends, went to Passion::Manila. Passion is a conference specifically geared towards reaching out to college/university students. It originated in the States and the conferences used to just be held there. Until this year when they started their World Tour and set out to minister to the college students of 17 different cities all over the globe. The night was just amazing. INDESCRIBABLE really (as Karen described it). The Filipinos were nuts! and went all out as they worshiped the only One who is worthy of praise. As a volunteer in the gallery upstairs, I think I probably had the best view in the house. As Chris Tomlin sang "Mighty to Save" near the end of the night, I just saw the sea of 8,000 people at the Ultra (or Philsports Arena) on their feet, eyes closed, hands lifted high and singing at the top of their lungs. It was AMAZING. It was in Vancouver that I became a Christian so although I've been back here in Manila for 6 times now, I still really didn't know how the Filipinos worshiped. But wow... they were loud! It really was an amazing sight to see.
There's so many things I could say about Passion::Manila - the amazing truth that was preached that night, the "crazy" people upstairs, the awesome volunteers - but what I loved most about that night was how we got to just declare that GOD IS THE GOD OF THIS CITY. HE'S THE KING OF THESE PEOPLE. HE'S THE LORD OF THIS NATION. GOD IS MIGHTY TO SAVE THIS COUNTRY. And that ALL OUR HOPE IS IN HIM. And that Name is strong & mighty & powerful. Wow.
My love & my heart for this country is ever renewed. I just saw so much hope from watching the Filipino people lifting up the Name of JESUS last night. My own parents even say after watching the Filipino news televised in Vancouver that there is no hope for the Philippines anymore... that this country will never ever change. I just refuse to believe that because as long as GOD is God, there is HOPE. He IS our HOPE.
I abolutely love being here and am so privileged, and forever humbled, to get to do what I get to do. I knew that God brought me here for such a time as this and wow, I just love it! There is no other place I would rather be than being in the will of God.
Please do keep us in your prayers so that Karen & I will be accomplish our goals and do what we were set out to do, for the time that we are here.
---
:::Thursday, July 31st:::
We (Karen, Jen & I) together with Anthony (1 of the new Board of Directors for Babyanne's Mansion here in the Philippines) went to visit the land in Baliuag, Bulacan (a town about 1hr 1/2 away North of Manila). It pretty much looks the same from what I saw on pictures as it is still mostly grass. But actually BEING at the site and seeing where the house, that will house 40kids in the future, will be built, just did something to me. It was so exciting! I just can't wait to see the cement being poured and for the house to actually start going up. I took pictures and took a little bit of a video clip to show all of you but I haven't uploaded it from my camera yet (I'm just not a very "techy" person so I need help in that area). I will soon, so just check back in in a couple of days.
After that, we met with our Consultant Oliver to go over the bids and discuss the contract. Although it was a long meeting, I was very thankful at the end knowing that we have him on our team. Cuz seriously, us not knowing anything about building a house and us doing it ourselves, wouldn't be a very good idea. But because of our Consultant (and other professionals who are members of our team), we are able to have a better understanding of what the process really entails. As he went through every part of the construction process, although a little overwhelming at times, I again just felt excited at the end of it as I started picturing the house in my head.
---
:::August 1st:::
The 3 of us, together with a few other friends, went to Passion::Manila. Passion is a conference specifically geared towards reaching out to college/university students. It originated in the States and the conferences used to just be held there. Until this year when they started their World Tour and set out to minister to the college students of 17 different cities all over the globe. The night was just amazing. INDESCRIBABLE really (as Karen described it). The Filipinos were nuts! and went all out as they worshiped the only One who is worthy of praise. As a volunteer in the gallery upstairs, I think I probably had the best view in the house. As Chris Tomlin sang "Mighty to Save" near the end of the night, I just saw the sea of 8,000 people at the Ultra (or Philsports Arena) on their feet, eyes closed, hands lifted high and singing at the top of their lungs. It was AMAZING. It was in Vancouver that I became a Christian so although I've been back here in Manila for 6 times now, I still really didn't know how the Filipinos worshiped. But wow... they were loud! It really was an amazing sight to see.
There's so many things I could say about Passion::Manila - the amazing truth that was preached that night, the "crazy" people upstairs, the awesome volunteers - but what I loved most about that night was how we got to just declare that GOD IS THE GOD OF THIS CITY. HE'S THE KING OF THESE PEOPLE. HE'S THE LORD OF THIS NATION. GOD IS MIGHTY TO SAVE THIS COUNTRY. And that ALL OUR HOPE IS IN HIM. And that Name is strong & mighty & powerful. Wow.
My love & my heart for this country is ever renewed. I just saw so much hope from watching the Filipino people lifting up the Name of JESUS last night. My own parents even say after watching the Filipino news televised in Vancouver that there is no hope for the Philippines anymore... that this country will never ever change. I just refuse to believe that because as long as GOD is God, there is HOPE. He IS our HOPE.
I abolutely love being here and am so privileged, and forever humbled, to get to do what I get to do. I knew that God brought me here for such a time as this and wow, I just love it! There is no other place I would rather be than being in the will of God.
Please do keep us in your prayers so that Karen & I will be accomplish our goals and do what we were set out to do, for the time that we are here.
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