5 loaves of bread and 2 fish

After having classes after classes on Saturdays, I finally have the first Saturday of the month free. I decided to serve the residents of homeless shelter Innvision (influenced by a song by steven curtis chapman that i will share in next post).

There's 4 of us and 40 people to feed. Tante Rini Hing did a good job leading us the team. She showed us how to cut and clean veggies, meat and she would assign us on a task we can accomplish. We had a good pace and ready to serve the food by 6.30pm

Surprise came at 6.15pm, the cook(s) for the other house did not show up, so now we need to feed additional 50 people from the other house - that's 90 people total! Under ci Rini's direction we quickly prepare another meal and cut up more fruits, hoping that there is enough food to feed everyone who are coming. 

At the end of the meal, many people got second servings and one person actually can actually get 3rd servings and everybody who came get sufficient amount of food! Really, if Jesus can feed 5000+ people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, ramping up 40 meals into 90 is a piece of cake for Him! 

What a mighty God we serve! =)

Consider others

My sister in Christ, M, asked me to sleepover at her house while her husband was on business trip. She had 2 daughters, M (10 y.o) and C (6 y.o). They are all such a delight, but I have one specific experience with C that I want to share with you.

We were playing with Disney princesses: Tatiana, Mulan, Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine. So C wants me to pick 3 out of these 6. I really don't have preference, and as the older one, I felt that I need to yield to her and let her have her picks first. But she insisted, so I said we'll take turns making choices: I'll pick one and then you'll pick one, we'll continue until all princesses have owner. She agreed.

We finally went down to 2 princesses: Cinderella and Ariel. My previous picks were Mulan and Jasmine, so I want the last princess to have a proper dress, so I picked Cinderella. C instantly shouted "Yes!!!" then excitedly get Ariel to her team. "I really wanted Ariel," she said. I started protesting, telling her that she could have told me that. Her answer was, "I know, but I want to you have all your favorites."

My heart fell to the floor the moment she said that. I was totally humbled. C, at 6 year old, taught me what it means to consider others as more important. To yield and to think of others first, before your own wants.

Matthew 18
New International Version (NIV)
The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me

Beanie story

Our pemuda group had a camping trip 2 weeks ago. One of the thing I am afraid the most about the trip is enduring the cold at night. Bay area weather never requires us to own a beanie and don't want to buy one just for the trip.

It started as i browse around the Goodwill's store. I love looking for stationeries: colored papers, file divider, crafting supplies, you name it! I give credit for my friend at Montessori school for getting me plugged in to this store!

I saw a roll of pretty heavy yarn on the store. It sells for $ 1.59, and i impulsively bought it. I have crochet sticks from way before (even before Max Tan was born!) But never really have a completed projects before (booo!) I do realized that i had too thin of a yarn before, so this time i get a heavier one hoping that the project will finish faster  :)

I followed instructions from this tutorial. The result totally surprised me!! Well, let's be honest, it's not the neatest stitch, but i can't stop taking about it! I made it! The hat, as humble as it is, have me delight :)

I have better understanding on how God takes delight in us because we are His!

Anyways, I completed the work the night I brought it home. It took me about 4 hours to complete. Is there any project that you've been meaning to try? Trust me, if i can complete a hat, You can do anything you set your mind to!

Hope this post encouraged you to go and try DIY projects for your own :)

Hiking with Yeye

BoTh Yeye and i have a free Saturday this week, which doesn't happenthat often. We decided to go on a hike because both of us need to lose weight: I need to lose weight for my cousin's wedding in October, yeye for his bro's wedding in December.

It's a bit challenging to pick a trail, because neither of us are real hikers. On Saturday morning i opened up my Google Now browser and found out about wildflower festival in Sunol. It's a bit far, but still managable. They have booths and guided walk. Its perfect for us, i thought!

When we arrived at the park, we couldn't hide our disappointment for a small booths area, as it doesn't seem like they have a lot to explore. So we decided to go hit the trail rightaway.

We have no maps, no idea how long the trail is, or what to expect whatsoever. We just followed the crowd leading to the hiking area. In the very beginning, the trail branches into two path: one looking really steep and the other one looks a lot flatter going along the creek.

It was no brainer which trail we chose! I remember one of us said it's impossible to do the steep trail. So by the creek we go. We talked, enjoyed the wonderful weather (including too much sunlight!), but we were not really impressed by the trail. We were starting to wonder where the trail would end,  whether it's a loop or an out and back trail. We went up to a point called little Yosemite, where the creek ends, and we saw large rocks and !ini waterfalls.

We were contemplating whether we should continue the loop or go back the same way. Then sudenly I felt an urge to go uphill to continue the loop because i want to see the view from higher elevation and we sure glad we did!

The views on top are gorgeous!! We saw cows too:

Yeye said surely we can't lose to them!!! Hahah

Anyways i learned not to get intimidated too easily by the things we see as reality. The hill sure looked high when we started, but we ended up finishing the whole loop in one piece. We did get awfully hungry afterwards, but that's normal, yeah? 

Too good to be kept alone

I recently found this article (six lessons in good listening) and felt an urge to share with you. It is in line with what I've learned at BASS conference on coaching, by Pira Tritasavit (founder of kingdom professionals, ci Santi's classmate from Western Seminary).

Coaching is a way to serve others by "helping them want what they want the most and help them accomplish what they want the most"

The field of coaching is distinct from counseling, consulting, preaching and teaching. Just like a trainer in a gym, a coach is there to motivate the trainee. The trainee would have to do all the heavy lifting and the exercises.

This article reminds me of that concept. Letting people finish their thoughts, listening carefully and not jumping into conclusions are one great way to be a better servant for our brothers and sisters.

Hope you enjoy this article!

On a date with the One who loves me most

Ever since I heard Sam Earp sermon on devotional and having a soul care time, I've always been meaning to try it out but I've always been distracted with other stuffs that it never get to happen.

So this past Monday, on my birthday, I have a strong determination to finally have one. A quiet time to reflect and pray and asking wisdom for direction in the future.

So i went to a quiet cafe, spending time praying and just enjoying the Lord's presence. I then started to read back my journal entries from 2004. The journal itself was a birthday gift from ci kiki way back then.

I kept thinking to myself how funny it is, that although my name is Fonda, all my life stories have been all about grace. Anyways, looking back those years overwhelmed me with gratitude for all the things God has done in my life. There is a sense of wonder of how he orchestrated my life, crossing my paths with others to pray and encourage one another, to learn from one another, to speak truth to one another.

As I read my journal, I see all of them as and extension of God's grace. I'm grateful for these people who pursue the introverted me, building friendship with me and inviting me to their lives. I'm grateful that although I am still introverted, over the years God helped me to be more fond of people, to get interested in their lives and to see God's handiwork through them.

Anyways, this year's birthday theme has been all about gratitude. I am grateful that I get to spend time with the one who loves me most and get my love tank filled up :)

Ordinary (Original Song) by Tim Be Told

I'm really blessed with the honesty he sang in this song.

"Why am I such in a rush to be somebody, leaving behind all the things I'd rather be?"
"People always telling me that I am something special, well, it's too much pressure to take"
"I may never be a perfect person but I'll do my best to try to make you happy"
"I will never meet your expectation but I never care at all"

Enjoy!