#GPinCanada: Get-Together with Friends, Krause Berry Farm, and Me-n-Ed’s

Another highlight of our Canada visit last July was reuniting with old friends.

On Friday, we borrowed my brother’s car and, using his trusty GPS navigator, we managed to find the Ohoy’s (the couple’s term of endearment to each other ☺) home in Surrey without any problems. JB flew in from Calgary for the weekend and was playing with the Ohoy’s new baby when we arrived. Jason, Jean and their 2 girls (whom we saw at Whistler a few days back) followed a bit later because Jean got off work a bit late.

with good friends who migrated from Dubai

Glimpses of My December

The last month of the year is always the fastest, in my opinion, and December 2015 was no exception. There were so many things to do, and so many parties to attend and prepare for, that the month just whizzed by. And before I knew it, we were welcoming the new year with anticipation of more exciting times ahead. The week of December 5th to the 12th was the busiest because every day, I had somewhere to go.

Anyway, I’ll photoblog a bit ok, so you won’t get bored with details ☺

A Great Wedding Gift Idea

Hubby and I were part of the service team of our CFC cluster’s Marriage Enrichment Retreat 1 that took place over the weekend, and definitely we were busy. Hubby was the head of the Marshalls and Logistics Committee while I was part of the Child Care Committee. Fortunately, the overnight activity took place in Auris Hotel at Tecom (unlike past MERs that took place in other emirates), so the journey going to and from there wasn’t long.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the souvenir that the participants received. It was such a nice token, the service team also ordered these souvenirs as well.

It’s a Marriage Memory Jar! Whenever something good or special happens, the couple will just need to write the details on a piece of paper, and put it inside. Or if they go out on a date, they can get a remembrance from that event (a paper napkin from the restaurant, a movie ticket, stationery from the hotel, etc. ) and put that in. It’s a nice way to remember all the special things that they shared and went through together.

One thing that makes it a memory jar especially for (church) married couples, is the sand. There are 3 different colors of sand inside: neutral (white-brown), blue, and orange. There’s an explanation for this.

In all marriages, there is the husband (blue) and wife (orange). But a couple alone can never make their marriage work. Someone should be part of it. Of course I’m not talking about having an affair. I’m talking about God…who is the only third person that can should be part of every relationship. Without Him as the foundation, couples won’t be able to face and overcome the problems that come their way…their marriage wouldn’t last.

Initially, the jars were distributed with only the neutral colored sand in the jar, and the blue and orange sands were given separately.

At the signal during the program, the couples poured in their colored sands into their jars together, at the same time, and were asked to mix them well. The challenge given to them was if the day comes when one or both of them want to part ways (and for sure, that day will happen), they need to separate the different grains of sand. If they could do that, then and only then can they break up.

Practically impossible to do, of course.

Which is why the jar was such a nice token for the MER1. And why I think it’s such a great wedding gift idea. Or even a wedding anniversary gift to couples.

And it’s not expensive too! All you need is a big glass jar, normal sand (from the beach), 2 different colored sands (the ones used for ours were from Ikea; any colors will do), different colored papers to write down memories in, and whatever things you want to use to decorate the jar.

Simple, easy, yet very meaningful.

Day 10:1 April - Centralized Prayer

It was April Fools Day, but the joke was on me when, upon arriving at the office, I discovered that I had left the keys to my drawer at home in my other bag. Fortunately, one of the drivers was available to drive me all the way home and back to the office. Much better than having to commute!

That night was our Chapter Household at the Hinolan residence. As always, we had a sumptuous and scrumptious meal filled with jokes and laughter. This was followed by a “centralized” prayer (our private household joke) and sharings. In the middle of my sharing, I received a compliment from Tita Pinky. It was really nice, flattering…and totally unexpected. Truly, friends that pray together have many happy moments together.

Day 9: 31 March - Hubby's Talk and Caila's Amazement

Hubby gave a talk about Brotherly Love to a room full of Household Leaders.

On the ride back home, I was able to make Caila amazed and amused at how I “magically” made my shawl appear and turned it into a blanket for her.

ang lakas mag-trip!

Last night we had our Chapter HH at our humble abode. Like our previous household meetings, we talked about the upcoming activities of the different ministries we were serving, as well as the details for any chapter, unit and household activities. Usually the earliest time the meeting would end and everyone would leave would be 11pm; but last night, everyone (including Hubby and me) left at around 10pm...because we suddenly decided to go all the way to Umm Al Quwain to check a possible hotel venue for the team-building we’re planning!

I know, crazy! It was pretty late, Umm Al Quwain is approximately 38 kilometers from Dubai, and the journey to the hotel took almost 40 minutes...but still we went.

It's a good thing the staff at the hotel were friendly and accommodating, and allowed all of us (three cars full of 14 adults, 3 kids, and a baby) to enter and look around their villas, no matter how late it was and even though we hadn't called beforehand. The man who went with us and opened the vacant villas for our viewing looked a lot like Bruno Mars complete with the fedora hat!


This is the real Bruno Mars. I didn't take a picture of his kalokalike

While we were in the last villa, the organizers of the team-building were standing around to discuss some details if we pushed through at that hotel, when suddenly one of them said “Kailangan upuan yan! Pag-usapan na lang sa Starbucks!” which prompted all of us to go out and get into our cars and drive out of the hotel.

We didn’t end up in Starbucks, though; there wasn’t any branch on the way. So we agreed to stop at the first Enoc station that had a KFC and Hardee’s restaurant...where Tito Bong bought Magnum ice-cream for all of us!


midnight snack!

When things would get complicated because of some conflicts and matters to be considered, someone would joke “Magandang pag-usapan yan habang kumakain ng lugaw sa Karama,” or “Mag-halo-halo kaya tayo sa Chow King para maayos yan?!” which would of course make all of us laugh at how crazy the idea would be...but considering our sudden decision to go on a road trip to UAQ late at night, who knows? =)

Thirty minutes after midnight, we were in our cars on our way back to Dubai. And amazingly, all the kids who were with us were still wide awake! Nakisama sa trip ng mga matatanda! 

mga malalakas mag-trip!

Mamayang hating-gabi uli, sa Fujairah naman! =)

the marriage prayer

Our recent weekend began and ended with the Marriage Enrichment Retreat 1 where Hubby and I were part of the service team. The retreat calls for a separate post because so many things happened and I’m still having second thoughts on whether to share all the details or just parts of it.

In the meantime, I’d like to share this clip that one of the speakers showed yesterday. It’s a song wherein the lyrics are a prayer, and it’s a very beautiful prayer for all married and soon-to-wed couples. 

cana weekend

As I mentioned in my previous post, this year’s National Conference took place last Friday.  And like the past NatCons, so many couples attended from all over the UAE. The ballroom of Crowne Plaza Deira was practically packed and overflowing!

You can probably guess from the title of this post that the theme this year was based on the wedding at Cana...nothing special for most, but it just so happened to be the same gospel we chose for our wedding almost 5 years ago!

magnificat weekend

This year's UAE CFC National Conference will take place tomorrow, and once again, Hubby and I will be among the participants.  I had made a post about last year's conference which was published in CFC Middle East's blog, but I would like to share it here as well...it's a longer version, though.  Anyway, I'm sure that all of the registered participants (me included) are looking forward to what the conference will have in store for us tomorrow.

serving in the community

Again, another bump in our service. I had somewhat expected this, but of course I hoped I would be wrong. It may be too early to complain since nothing has happened yet, but then, that’s also one of the reasons why it’s so frustrating...nothing has happened yet! I don’t want to blame anyone or point fingers, so I’ll just blame it on the timing (so many things happened and it’s the Christmas/Year-End season). I don’t know...I just want to give up and go back to when things were (somewhat) easier and we had less responsibilities. Is it too much to ask if we want to go back to being members?

family weekend: back to the farm

The 17th of June was Father’s Day, and it also happened to be a national holiday here in the UAE. So prior to that day, our Unit Household decided to celebrate by having a long overdue fellowship. Since we had been telling them about what a nice place it was and they wanted to try something new, we all decided to go to The Farm.

the household with the pregnancy virus

Is there such a thing as pregnancy being contagious? Because if there is, our CFC household gets infected pretty easily. Back in 2008 when Hubby and I had just crossed over, Che was already pregnant, and Dab and I had just found out we were expecting; Nanay Alice followed immediately after, then Cherrie, and finally Jean. Tintin also got pregnant about the same time, but unfortunately had a miscarriage. So from November 2008 to May 2009, babies were popping out one after the other in our household. And all of us had to deliver via caesarian section, and every one of us had baby girls. Pretty cool coincidence huh?!

family weekend: marriage enrichment retreat 2

As much as possible, Hubby and I try to attend CFC teachings that we know can help strengthen our relationship and/or add to our knowledge in raising a family. So when it was announced that there would be an MER 2, we immediately confirmed that we would be attending as soon as we saw that our schedules were free. We had attended the first MER more than three years ago, and since we enjoyed ourselves then and learned a lot as well, we were looking forward to the second MER. The fee we paid covered the overnight stay in a room, buffet breakfast and buffet lunch at the hotel…which was actually very sulit.

ACTS: here i am to worship

Another favorite worship song, because God is truly awesome and deserving of all our praises. He is the greatest, but He was humble and loved us so much to suffer and be humiliated, and continues to accept us and love us over and over again, even though we fall into sin so many times.

ACTS: better than i

I first heard this song when I bought the DVD of Joseph King of Dreams, and liked it right away. It’s a reminder that God has a reason for everything that happens in our lives and we should just trust Him, no matter how confusing His road and plans for us may be.

ACTS: heaven

One of my favorite songs since my SFC days; when we sing this during the community gatherings, I always feel at peace and one with God because that’s when I feel His presence. I’m sure all of us would like to go straight to heaven when we die, but in the meantime that we’re here on earth, we get to experience a little bit of heaven when we’re one with God.

ACTS: no greater love

Truly there is no greater love than God’s (and Jesus’) love for us. Jesus came and walked the earth, knowing full well that in spite of all the goodness he had shown and done, he was going to end up crucified on the cross. While this song was being sung by the Music Ministry, slides were being shown on the screen of how much Jesus endured and suffered from more than two thousand years ago. It was really heart-wrenching to watch, at the same time nakaka-guilty.

ACTS: the song of my soul

It was my first time to hear this song during the ACTS Prayer Assembly, but I instantly liked it because of the tune and message (plus the soothing voice of the sister who sang it). Everyone has experienced storms at least once in their life, times when we feel that our soul is all confused and weary, and this is a prayer to ask the Lord to embrace us and give us peace.

ACTS: still

This song never fails to bring tears to my eyes when I sing it at CFC gatherings or during households. It’s a reminder that we cannot rely on ourselves alone to fix our problems. When we feel we’ve done everything we could, nothing seems to be going right, and it seems like we’re all alone, all we have to do is relax, be quiet, let God take care of everything, and just trust His plans for us.

ACTS: glory glory lord

I always enjoy singing this when it’s included in the line-up of songs during CFC gatherings. The Refrain of this song being sung in different languages/dialects makes us feel that we’re all children of God, praising Him in one voice.
If you have your own language’s version of the Refrain, could you please share it with me? I’d love to add it to the lyrics.