Inspired....

Here in Singapore we eat out alot... and I mean alot especially when we have visitors... we eat out like 3-4 times a week... but recently a blog friend of mine has inspired me to cook more at home and then another friend here has inspired me to use Jamie Oliver cookbooks... I don't think that they are the easiest recipes to use but they sure are good....
Here is my first take... Chicken with creamy butternut squash and chili's.... (bottom left hand corner)

Before it was cooked (my version):

After and it was YUMMY....

On my knees for the Philippines!

Will you please join me in prayer for the Philippines right now...
Just a couple of days after our team left Manila, Philippines the town was hit by a Typhoon. The very place we stayed and very place we served and worshipped is under flood waters right now... The people of the Philippines need our prayers....

Please go here and here to see video of the devastating effects the typhoon had on such a sweet land of people. There are two more typhoons headed their way... please pray.

240 people have died and the death poll is still rising.... I know that this is not the first natural disaster that we have seen but I hope and pray that we never get numb to the fact of how devastating these disasters are... never has one effected me so... I guess getting to know the people there and getting loved by them and to now see them suffering so... makes my soul ache for them... I do know that our God is a good God and He will win this too...

Here is an email I just got from Laura, the pastors wife of Paco Baptist Church... the church that serves the street kids there in Manila.

Dearest Camille,

Thank you for your email. Just receiving your letter encourages me. Do continue to pray for us. We are assessing the situation around Metro Manila and neighboring towns. I learned that they are in much worse situation. We will be giving out relief goods after we determine the extent of the need and damage and which areas where our people are that have not been served yet. One pastor friend and his family had to stay for two nights on the roof since the flood waters inside their place reached to 8 ft. In desperation since they had nothing to eat, and were just drinking rain water, their eldest son jumped into the flood waters to get help. Sadly, he has not returned since. I am afraid there will be more similar stories among our people.

Two more typhoon are on their way to the Philippines. Pray they will get diverted elsewhere where they can't wreck havoc.

Again thanks!

Sincerely,

Laura

Please help me pray... Please!

Formula 1 in Singapore!

Image via Wikipedia

Yes... another year the Formula 1 race... we got to go last year (you can check it out here) and thanks for sweet friends at Blake's work we got to go again this year... I went with Blake on Saturday night and he went both Sat. and Sunday... My ear drums can only take one day a year... HE HE HE

On our way in... we saw people standing in all the places they could to get a view of the tracks... check out the staircase...

Right before the entrance to the grandstands... there was a Starbucks booth.... it was meant to be... no chai tea but just the thought that they were close made me feel at home... :-)

The view from our seats... the construction zone for the new "Integrated Resort" on the marina... they were saying the dust from the construction site has been hard on the roads...dangerous.

Saturday night was the qualifying race (in my opinion the best night)... we did not have as good as seats as we did last year for photo taking but we got to see more of a run so that was nice...

The view to the left of my seat.... that is awesome.... the largest observation wheel in the world.
They rented out the "tubes" for the race...

Does not matter how many times I see the fire trucks here in Singapore... they just crack me up...

The skyline of downtown... and the merlion in the bottom right hand corner.

Not as good of pics as last year but I decided I was only going to try a couple of times this year... it took 100's of shots last year to get the perfect one... I figured if i got one that was good enough...

There were lots of people in front of me this year... so this black glob is someone walking by... not a ghost....:-) It is hungry ghost month though... HE HE HE

There was this cute boy next to us... I had my ear plugs in to...he was trying so hard to get the best pic... so cute....

There were half a million people there... so many people...

Do you feel like you are driving?

Trying to get out... wow I have never felt more like a cow... MOOOOOOO!

Afterwards we went to the "Travis" concert... a band from the UK... and finally got home around 1am... my ears are still ringing... but I had a blast and great time with my hubby...

We probably will not be here next year for the race... so this might be our last F1 race in Singapore... makes me sad.

Speechless Sunday!

Caught in action...

Ok... just recently one of the grandparents said they missed seeing Pierce on the blog (so here ya go).... Pierce in action... (P.S. I am glad you miss him).

Flashback Friday!

Pierce and daddy hanging out on the couch.... Oct 2007

Pierce driving our parked car... Oct 2007.

Pierce hanging with daddy on the couch and using his imagination to drive a car.... Sept 2009.

Hungry Ghost Month!

Have you ever heard of "hungry ghost"... well here in Singapore there is a whole month that is called "the hungry ghost month" and the "hungry ghost festival" takes place....

My friend Jenn here in Singapore wrote about it on her blog and I wanted to share... I am very thankful that I do not believe in this but I find it interesting when I find out why other cultures do the things that they do...

From Jenn:

One of the festivals that has been going on in Singapore is the Hungry Ghost Festival. It occurs in the 7th lunar month of the Chinese calender. I kept seeing signs around the stores, packets being sold, and tents being erected around our neighborhood and wanted to know more about what was going on. One of the first things I did was buy an extra small packet of joss paper in the store. I felt a bit strange buying it since I'm not Chinese or into ancestor worship, but I was curious.In the packet I found this (there was a lot more, but this is a sampling):

I knew that people burned these things so their ancestors would get them, but I didn't know what each thing represented. So, I asked a Singaporean friend of mine for some insight on what the paper meant and the reasons behind the ritual.Basically during the 7th lunar month the boundaries between hell and the living on earth are removed. This allows the ghosts of the ancestors to walk among the living. It also allows the living to "replenish" their living expenses for a year. It is believed that hell is like earth and that the ancestors need all the basic necessities that we do. Living relatives burn the paper which allows their ancestors to get whatever is on the paper.
If you look at the picture, the large paper has pictures of clothes, TVs, shoes, etc. Most of the other paper represents money. My friend taught me how to fold up the paper (the silver one on the bottom left) correctly. Her family would write the name of their ancestor on the paper and the date of their death (I think) so it would get to the right person (ghost?). She said that she would do this for stacks and stacks of paper since the more you burn the more your ancestors get. (I hope I got all that right).
The paper and incense are burned in places like this:

I found out the the tents that were being erected put on shows for the ghosts. The first two rows of chairs are left empty so the ghosts have a place to sit. (good know so if I ever go to a show, I won't sit on a ghost.) At the end of the month, the ghosts go back to hell with all of their new possessions.Their are couple other festivals coming up The Mid-Autumn/Lantern Festival a Chinese festival and Deepavali Hindu festival.

Thanks Jenn for your help in explaining this... I have personally seen alot of people burning these papers and it pains me to see that there hopes for their deceased loved ones lie in their hands (and there act of serving) (no disrespect to them who practice this or their beliefs just a personal thought here)... I am so thankful that my God is in control of the loved ones that have passed before me... that I can give Him all the glory for taking good care of them and they don't have to rely on me (bc I am sure I would fail them)... thank you Jesus.

Faces of the Philippines!

The many faces of Philippines!