It had been a good visit with family and friends, especially at the wedding, and here are some of the highlights:

Pampered: We had a taste of luxurious living for a week, staying in a lakeside condo in Santa Cruz and driving a Mercedes. Both were courtesy of a couple of friends from our church, Trinity United Reformed Church.

Family times: Since the condo was about 15 minutes from Tim and Chesney’s house in Scotts Valley and 45 minutes from Lem’s apartment in San Jose, we got together for some evenings together. We even babysat Caleb and Tyler one afternoon.

Disneyland: Lem drove with Rachel to LA to join Oli and Nem for a day trip to Disneyland. Although tired from the trip, Rachel thoroughly enjoyed her first visit back as a teen.

Wined and Dined: We’ve had several lunch and dinner invitations, and not being used to big meals have made us feel stuffed after the meals.

Unexpected gifts: I visited Harris & Associates, the company I worked for temporarily in 2005 and 2006, and the IT Manager, Ramon Guiao, promptly donated a couple of their spare laptops after I talked to him about Mars Hill Study Center’s needs. How God’s providence works. Thank you, Ramon and Harris & Associates!

New mission organization: We’re finally coming close to finalizing our affiliation as a tax-deductible foundation under Congressional District Programs. Details are forthcoming soon, hopefully before the end of November.

Preaching: I’ll be preaching this Lord’s Day, November 9, 9 am and 5 pm services, at Trinity URC. My texts will be Psalm 46 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

[Show as slideshow]

(For a different perspective on the U. S. elections, please read “Time to pause, ponder and pray” in my other blog.)

Since I happened to be in California during the 2008 presidential elections last Tuesday, I couldn’t help but compare elections and campaigns in the States and in the Philippines. Evelyn and I quietly dropped our ballots in the mailbox a week before the actual election day.

• Unlike the Philippines, American landscape and streets were not littered with the candidates’ ugly posters, banners, and handbills.
• On election night, even before the polling places in the Mountain States, West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii closed, the whole nation already knew who the next president will be, and most of the U. S. senatorial races were already decided. Compare this with the 2007 Philippine elections: the final senatorial results were not known until 14 days after election day, while the presidential winner was not officially declared until two months after!
• I never heard of anyone killed during the two-year presidential campaign here, while every election in the Philippines result in scores killed and hundreds injured in election-related violence. Even in elections for the lowest public office of “barangay captains” (village chiefs), violence is commonplace.
• While elections in the States could sometimes be ugly and focus on personalities, the discussions mostly focus on the issues, and most of the electorate vote based on their conscience and on issues. In the Philippines, most of the electorate do not have an inkling on what the issues are, and the result is that movie and basketball celebrities and popular newscasters are almost always sure bets. I won’t be surprised if Manny Pacquiao (boxer) or Willie Revillame (noontime show host) ran for senator or president in 2010!

The chairman of the Philippines’ Commission on Elections, itself riddled with corruption, is envious of the American electoral system and process, noting how smoothly the voting and counting proceeded. Jose Melo also observed, “On the behavior of the candidates, they talked about issues and not personalities. Maybe we should be like that.”

Filipinos should take the cue from Melo to strive to emulate the civility, decency and order in which America conducts itself during elections. What is sad is that many Filipinos, after they read this post, would accuse me of being unfair and of “colonial mentality,” instead of asking themselves, “Since we have this problem, what do we do about it? What can we learn from the experience of other nations?”

We’ve had no water for over two weeks now. The water company again busted the subdivision’s main. Since they’re now laying pipes here, we were basically told,

“We don’t just lay pipes, we improve lives by breaking your pipes. Just wait out a couple of waterless months. Sorry for the little inconvenience.”

Last Sunday, our phone went dead for some reason. I called the phone company last Monday, but as of Thursday, the phone is still dead. Here, it usually takes a few phone calls to get your phone service back. What’s strange is that our DSL is still working this whole time. Well, I’ll take DSL over phone for now.

No water. no phone. Can’t beat that. Stop grumbling like the Israelites in the desert.

Meanwhile, back in Congress and Malacañan Palace, everyone continues their navel-gazing, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’ s got the most money of them all.”

Update (September 23, 2008): From a letter we received from the homeowner’s association, our main was not broken by construction crews like last time, but is leaking badly. It’s also so terrifying to read that the subdivision’s water lines are 40-year-old asbestos pipes! Yikes! Now the water company is laying pipes in our neighborhood.

Let’s pray that he will not only be “an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Rom 13:4b), but as a “servant of God” (Rom 13:4a), also be “salt and light” to fellow police officers and to the citizens of Los Angeles.

CONGRATULATIONS, Officer Malabuyo, and God bless you as you begin your new calling. ]]> http://blog.twoagespilgrims.com/2008/09/14/officer-malabuyo/feed/ 0 http://blog.twoagespilgrims.com/2008/08/24/mars-hill-website-launched/ http://blog.twoagespilgrims.com/2008/08/24/mars-hill-website-launched/#comments Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:41:15 +0000 Nollie http://blog.twoagespilgrims.com/?p=205 http://www.twoagespilgrims.com/marshill/ This is the Website of Mars Hill Study Center, a free resource and teaching center for Filipino pastors from nearby communities.]]>

Announcing the launching of a new Website called “Mars Hill Study Center.”

This is the official Website of the study center, a free resource and teaching center for Filipino pastors and church workers from nearby communities.

You can enjoy browsing the site now, but there will be some pages that are still under development or needs content. Of particular interest for some will be the “Forum” where people can discuss various topics of interest.

Please feel free to make comments and suggestions, and if you find bugs or broken links, please report them to me.