You Are Invited to Attend a Life Party

One of the foods I missed the most from the U.S. was Life cereal. My mom and others would agree that it is one of the best! It is so healthy and crunchy and it doesn't get soggy too quickly. I love how it feels to just bite down and feel the milk soak in between the two layers in my mouth. While we were in the U.S. I made sure to get in my quota of Life cereal since in the Philippines they don't sell it. In fact, they hardly sell any cereal because most Filipinos eat rice for breakfast.

Recently we went out to lunch with some Filipino friends, and one of them happens to be the ordering manager of a local grocery store. I told him of my dream to have Life cereal sold at his store. He said Quaker is one of his suppliers so he would see if he could get some ordered. We all joked that when I saw it on the shelves we would have a "Life" party. We would play the game of "Life" eating "Life" cereal, reading "Life" magazine and watching "Life is Beautiful" while we told our testimonies about "Life" in Christ. Fun idea!

I am going to have to have a Life party soon because today my eyes bulged out of their sockets when I saw on the shelf Life cereal! OH, I could not believe my eyes. I had to buy several boxes for fear that I would not see this day again. I also could not believe they had two of my other favorite cereals that are never sold here either. I think it was a good idea to put in a good word with the manager. I can't wait to have that "Life" party after all!

Night of Stars

Last Friday night was talent night at the schools. Nate and I were able to hold auditions, organize the events, prepare the students, and basically keep the show moving smoothly as the tech (me) and stage (Nate) crew. It was especially fun to see how excited the students were about performing. The four brass players wore their lips out like crazy by practicing non-stop. Everyday after school they wanted to meet with Mr. Becker to practice their quartet. We were so proud of them when they finally took their bows during the "Night of Stars."

The craziest glitch of the show was when this Korean elementary student went up to sing his "Silent Night" solo. The place was silent as he stood with the microphone in his hand. He stared at Mr. Becker and started pointing to the keyboard. Mr. Becker thought he wanted a starting note, since he had told us in auditions that he didn't have accompaniment planned. The audience waited nervously as Mr. Becker climbed the steps to the keyboard and gave the silent student his starting pitch. Still, no singing. The student motioned to Mr. Becker to accompany him, so the surprised music teacher sat slowly on the bench. Suddenly an impromptu introduction began and the crowd amazingly released their breath as the awaited act began. Nate received so many compliments afterwards for his impromptu performance.

Other than that, the most complimented act was the number we performed called "Staff in Step." Nine of us staff members, including the principal, tried to imitate "Stomp" on stage but using teaching materials. (I don't have a photo of this because we were all involved). It started with the broom, then the librarian shut books hard on 2 and 4, then a ruler was struck, then the squeaky white-board markers checked the board, and by the end I was dancing in my tap shoes and Nate was beating his body with a clipboard. The crowd went wild and loved seeing their teachers up there being crazy. I told them, "That is what we do during staff meetings each week!" What a fun night of enjoying music and entertainment with our students.

What's Slithering Around

I have to say this is our longest lull in blogging (our apologies). We have been enjoying our ministry here so much, we haven't had much internet time to share it with you. We love the Filipinos more every day. We have learned so much from them about culture and food. Saturday our pastor and his wife took us to a real Filipino buffet for lunch. While eating we just asked them about how they make the food, where they get the fish, what you call things...tons of info!

No, we did not eat crocodile on Saturday, but we did eat raw fish. These are photos we took on our trip to Crocodile Farm. They had HUGE crocs from the river, like one that was 120 years old and weighed tons. They also had this crazy albino snake. I believe it was a boa that had no black pigment. It was slithery and gross, in my opinion, but Nate was brave enough to try it on for size. I had serious doubts about the reptile.

When they were building our school, they actually found a incredibly long and large boa that was at least 12-15 feet long. That means it is possible to find one in our yard! Our friends' dogs have been killed by cobras, but I have yet to see one myself. You know what, I don't think I ever need to see one. The scariest snakes I have seen are the sea snakes. According to my student, "Every single sea snake is poisonous". Well, that is certainly reassuring. Did I tell you that when we got engaged at sea we saw 4 of them!? (Okay, one of them might have been an eel). I guess that is better than seeing a shark, right? Oh, the Philippines is full of wonderful and interesting things. I just hope I don't have to have a personal encounter with them all.

Drawing In My Head

I'm really in the mood to draw. The only trouble is that I don't really know how to draw. Some of my favorite art is that done with pencil (Daniel is my inspiration!). I wish I could sketch all the drawings I have in my mind and hang them on my wall for our enjoyment.

One of the drawings in my head is of la Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Paris. I actually saw the perfect drawing of this while Esther and I were in Paris (2002), but why didn't I buy it then and there!??! Regrets. That is one of my Paris regrets. The reason I didn't was #1 Money and #2 we still had 2 1/2 months and I didn't want to worry about it (we traveled very light, you know). Well, why didn't I mail it to myself?

The reason this drawing was perfect was because the day Esther and I went to the Basilique we just found the place by sight, not by map. As you may know, the roads in Paris are not a grid, like in Omaha, Nebraska. They are slanty and there are buildings blocking the way.

Esther and I stopped for panini in a square and we noticed it was a quarter for Muslim men to converse. We stood out, yes, but we made memories. The artist captured all of this with his pencil: The square, the stands, the buildings and above it all, the white domed wonder. Can you picture it?

Driving through Nebraska!

Okay, so this blog is a little late, I (Nate) realize that! But I can't simply help remember our memorable drive from Colorado back to Omaha over 2 weeks ago!...

First of all, I must say that I hadn't seen so many cows in my life--cows are like trees in Nebraska; it is just unbelievable!

Secondly, we had the opportunity to see a Nebraskan landmark, called the Chimney Rock; it is located in the panhandle of Nebraska. This was even better than I expected. The day was on January 2nd and was absolutely gourgeous--55 degrees and sunny--you can't get better than that in early January! While we were taking pictures of this momentous occasion, the batteries in our camara died and we couldn't find any batteries that worked.

Finally we were able to drive to this neighboring town that had a population of 500 people and we found the right batteries for our camara--Praise the Lord! Then, we went back to this beautiful Nebraskan scene and had our own photo shoot. We praise the Lord for the beauty he has made in Nebraska!

Nate

To My Last Breath

Today in 9th grade OT class I was teaching from the book of 1 Kings. I gave each student a passage summarizing the life of a king, and then I asked them to create a sketch of that king's tombstone.

"Here lies Omri King of Israel...he sinned more than any kings before him" read one student's tombstone.

What an honest thing to write on a tombstone! It is interesting how God's word records these bad things about certain people. What a lesson I am learning through reading about those who followed God and those who did not.

After class the Lord showed me a verse from Psalm 104.33 (NLT). This is my prayer today and for my whole life: "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!"

May my tombstone read: "Here lies a faithful servant of the Lord...she praised Him to her last breath and now lives with Him to praise Him eternally."

What do you want your tombstone to say?

Time Machine

There has been a blogging lull from the Beckers, and we'll tell you why. We have been in a time-machine! Yes, folks, we went in a time-machine called Northwest Airlines on December 15th, went back in time several hours (truly!) and then stepped off that time-machine on the same soil with the same temperature three weeks later on January 7th. I ask myself, "Did all that really happen?"

You watched us post, you saw the photos, you journeyed with us from the time with the families, to the wedding in Chicago, to Indiana, Nebraska and Colorado (and back!). You shared the Christmas holidays with us and the New Year. Then you said, "Where did they go?" I ask you the same question, "Where did we go?" We got back and everything was the same as we had left it, so I wonder if it was all even true.

Honestly it was wonderful and amazing to see everyone. It all went by really fast for me and when we got back we were both sick. We slept a lot, unpacked, went to church to worship and then were back at school.

The greatest thing about being back (if we ever even left) was seeing the students again. When I saw my class sitting in their desks ready to learn and smiling at me I knew I missed them a lot. I was so happy to be back in the classroom. I love teaching these students! We are just ready to "Get back in the saddle", as Nate says, and have a great semester! What about you?

Arrived back safely!

Praise the Lord, we arrived back safely today! All of our luggage came with us too!

We are still feeling tired but we thank the Lord for the rest He gave us along the way. Even though in some ways things get easier the more often you travel across the planet, it still can be tiresome and not exactly enjoyable. However, there are still opportunities to smell the roses through the mundane!

We will try to write some blogs of exciting things we experienced during our last few days before we left the U.S.

Thank you for all of your prayers!

Now it is time for second semester!

-Nate

Please Pray As You Read--Departing

We are loading the car in ten minutes to head to the airport. Today we will travel for many many hours to return to the Philippines.

We ask prayer for our safe and smooth travel. Please pray for us as you read this. Pray that we will be healthy (I came down with a cold that is hard to fly with), and pray that we will become somewhat rested through our time on the plane. Pray for our smooth transition back into our lives in the tropics.

Praise God for a wonderful time with friends and family. Praise God for the many blessings and resources He has given. Praise God for His grace and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Bringing In the New Year

The seventh annual New Year’s Eve party was held at our friends’ Chris and Janelle’s home in Colorado last night. Our friends from Taylor annually gather to celebrate at a different person’s house. Last year Nate and I were in the Philippines for NYE, but this year we had the privilege joining everyone for the bash.

We gathered with people from Taylor, their spouses, relatives and the local small group friends, plus their kids. What a huge group! We had a campfire out back to warm us, inside we had some crazy karaoke fun and we enjoyed the usual treats to tie us over ‘til midnight.

At midnight we held a count-down to bring in 2006, “Ten, nine eight seven….” HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We thank the Lord for an amazing 2005. In just one year I completed my first year of teaching, got engaged and married, and travelled across the Pacific ocean four times. We pray that in 2006 we will seek the Lord dilligently and put Him first in all things as we continue to serve Him.

Last Chance For Snow and Skiing

With our Christmas money from our grandparents we got to spend a day of skiing with our friends in Colorado. Since we will be returning to the Philippines soon we wonder if this may have been our last chance to see snow and to ski. We enjoyed every minute of God’s creation and the grandeur of His splendor displayed in the Colorado snow-capped mountains.

We woke up early on New Year’s Eve and drove to Loveland to ski with our friends. I was so thankful to Kim that I could borrow all her skiing gear. It wasn’t until I got this picture back that I realized I looked kind of scary in my costume! (I’m the one with no skin showing…watch out skiers, I’m coming down). Thankfully I was very warm and of course got no sun burns.

It feels so great to breathe in the fresh air and swoosh down the mountain on skis. It is also really fun just to ride the lift to the top and see the blanket of sparkling white snow so smoothly sloped. This was my first winter with Nate and my first time skiing with him. It was definitely a joy and gift that we will not soon forget!