Bing from Baguio

Bing is from Baguio, and she has not gone anywhere beyond Luzon. The only Philippine language she knows is Tagalog, although she told me she could understand a bit of Ilocano. She was the one who suggested that we (with our friends from the Yakal Christian Fellowship) stay in their Baguio home one summer. She was also the one who invited us over to their ancestral house in Bicol and Camarines Sur.

But even before we had the chance to take her invitations seriously, she is already wading through the streets of my hometown more than 2,000 kilometers from Manila; where Tagalog is as seldomly used as the 30 volumes of Encyclopedia Americana in the age of the internet.

Now, while I go back to Manila on the first week of June, she’ll be stuck here working for another six months or so. Thus far, she has complained of the unforgiving heat of summer. Feared of developing migraine. Got conned by a tricycle driver in General Santos who demanded a 15-peso fare, when it could have been only six pesos. Ate durian. Went to our home church. And had dinner at the beautiful “The Farm.”

Today is John’s Birthday

Some things I know about John:

1. Contrary to popular sentiment, dogs (and cats, too, especially those hungry felines wandering at the back of the Engineering building) are not his best friends. Understandably so, for what kind of friend bites another?
2. He makes a habit out of taking a nap in the afternoon. And when he does, don’t ever—now comes my mischievous grin—don’t ever make any noise, not even a giggle. And tell the five-year old kids in your street not to giggle, too. Tell them to play hide-and-seek in some other place. And the dogs? Tell your neighbors to feed them well just before lunch, so they remain quiet and content for as long as possible; otherwise, his wrath would visit the kids and the dogs and the noisy lot in such an ungodly hour as twelve noon.
3. During moments he has a common cold, he acts as though that day were his last.
4. He cooks well, and he writes even better. Visit his blog here, and see what I’m talking about.
5. And he expels gaseous reactions from his system quite often, too. (You know what I mean.)

He was lost, but now he is found. He was blind, but now he sees. He was dead to sin, but now he is alive in Christ

Happy birthday John. May you take the time to meditate on His Word, so you may be reminded of the gifts you have in the Lord. And then thank Him. And Praise Him. Like David. In Psalm 103.

“Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits–
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s….”