RELAXation...

this past wked was GREAT! i felt like i finally rested...finally. and my voice is now BACK! at church today, i was told that i no longer sound cancerous. hooray!

the vacation started w/ a couple of days in Vegas!

i was a total 3rd wheel on this trip...but hooray for VIP friends who get comp nights at the Wynn!

wow, what a hotel! and boy, WHAT a BUFFET!
these king crab legs were sliced in 1/2 lengthwise and provided the easiest crab-eating experience ever. yummmm...


the breath of the spread was amazing but each individual item of food was also incredibly delicious. i was very impressed. and very full. esp. since all i did that day before eating was rotate through the pool, spa jacuzzi, and steam room. haha, what a day of self-indulgence!

after we got back, a few of us LA orphans had Thanksgiving dinner together:

this dinner was sans turkey but w/ tri-tip as the replacement...not a bad thing to settle for!

& of course, my favorite part of T-giving is forcing everyone around me to recite their list of "Top 3 Things You're Thankful For." i know quite a few holiday grinches who were resistant to play this "game," but in the end, i'm always so blessed to hear ppl's lists.

here's a condensed version of mine:
#1 - i'm still making and deepening life-long friendships
#2 - God has been healing me in incredible ways and helping me put my identity in Him more and more
#3 - this year, i've experienced the joy of longevity in service - i got to see some of my same orphans again this year at camp & i have the same students this year again at school. it's been neat to deepen those relationships

and speaking of reunions:

these boys were in my freshman dorm...go Burbank! (man, that duk-bok-gi owned us...spicy!)

and lookee:

i got to see this southern boy while in Atlanta

H & I were there for a missions conference...and what a fantastic time we had! We spent the first day looking around the city - our favorite part was the MLK jr. Center. what an AMAZING man! i know, "Duh!"... but i'm more in awe and more in love w/ him now. Everything he did was inspired by the gospel...he really wanted to see the Kingdom come! wow.



it was FALL there... the trees were beautiful!






and being at the conference led to the most special reunion:

my parents from the Philippines! i missed them so much!

what a privilege it was to go to this conference. it was SO neat seeing friends i had met abroad and to spend all wked hearing great stories of God's work. and i discovered new things that made my heart beat faster...it's so exciting.