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A NATE UPDATE

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Nathan will be going for open-heart surgery on the 14 th  of August to close the hole in his heart. The hole (VSD) has begun to show signs of leakage and the valve above the hole is starting to deform as a result of the pressure caused by the leak. Should the leak worsen, he will have to undergo two surgeries rather than one. As such, J and I have decided to go ahead with their current suggestion to patch the hole. -- What are your thoughts? Certainly, it is a major surgery and we will take care to prepare Nate (and ourselves) for it. But other than that, we are not too anxious. In contrast, we are grateful for the clarity and confidence the surgeon gave us yesterday. More importantly, we know full well that He is sovereign and in control. This entire heart journey is out of our hands and Nate, like every one of us, is at the mercy of our Creator. We do not think Nate’s condition is worse than any other child or better for that matter. Instead, we treasure him
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JULY FLY BY

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Celebrating my birthday during the lockdown Finally taking time to pen down some thoughts before the onslaught of celebrations ensue. Mya's prayer during the lockdown On the 20 th , Jonathan and I will celebrate seven years of marriage. We recently laughed at how it will take many more years of marriage to outnumber the years we were friends prior (16years). He also turns 30-something on the 25 th of July, having celebrated his graduation with a Masters of Divinity over Zoom he is now serving his beloved youth in a full-time capacity. Nathan turns two on 27 th July. Two evident years of the Lord’s goodness upon us. He is speaking more and more these days although it takes an interpreter (Mya) at times to understand what he is actually saying. He maintains his off the charts size and has begun to show a distinct love for music, dancing even in the middle of throwing a tantrum once music plays. Nathan goes in for surgeon review and conference on the 20 th
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MARCH ON

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January crossed into February without any of us realising it, midway into the fifteen days of Chinese New Year, the NCov Virus broke out leaving everyone in a frenzy. Mya started another bout of mysterious fever (without symptoms) during this time that lasted 8 days, after began a persistent dry cough that got so bad it woke us all at night. As such, I (Amy) have been home bound these past two and a half weeks with the little fellows and am slowly running out of meal ideas. Nonetheless, school life goes on and assignment deadlines approach with blinding clarity each time I open my planner. Again, I am forced to ask myself the question, was it wrong of me to take on part-time studies and writing projects with two young children in tow? Should I drop these commitments for another season? Rather than guilt, it is physical tiredness that tops the list. After household chores, child-minding, meal preparation and bath times all day every day, I find myself breathless and frustr
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NEVER SHORT CHANGED

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The months of November December have been immense for us. A close family friend left for the field south of Philippines. A good friend lost of a baby while another two had healthy baby boys. We submitted our final papers and got busy gearing ourselves up for ministry months with Leaders Retreat and Youth Camp on the horizon. We’ve also been catching up with friends and individuals as they come home from overseas or clear leave for this festive season. In the midst of all these Nathan has gotten so big, he’s gone over the weight limit of our old carrier and has gotten a wardrobe switch to 24-36mo clothing. Mya has always used a drawer unit for all her clothing thus far, when Nathan came we gave away most of her baby clothing and continued using the drawers. But with cloth diapers, extra beddings and the like, we knew we had to start saving up for a new closet. Somehow, without any prior communication, our soon-to-be missionary friends offered their children’s wardrobe. F
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LAST THREE

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October has always been a mad rush for us at Seminary. Essay deadlines. Project presentations. Exam preparations. Reflections due. And really everything else you can possibly think of for a student’s final few weeks of terms. At the turn of the month, as timely as you would have things occur in a drama serial, we all took turns to fall ill. Nathan was hospitalised for Croup and the week after he was discharged, Mya started having mysterious fevers which became a hacking cough and at one point all of us were having fevers. To be honest, it was frustrating being ill. I (Amy) was angry at how weak I was and disappointed that my body had succumbed to a simple flu, especially when I needed to be the pillar at home with Jonathan’s work piling up. But now as I look back at those ten days, it was an amazing time for me and both the children. Just endless hours at home, taking our time, to paint, to read, to play and to just lie in bed together. Talking, laughing and loving one anothe
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A LITTLE BOOK PROJECT

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In my (Amy) first year of seminary, we had a group presentation on Foreign Domestic Workers. It required fieldwork, interviews and applications. As part of the research, we went to Peninsular Plaza, People’s Park to observe on weekends. We spoke to those around us. We also got a lot of information via government websites and the like. The main takeaway was a very depressing one, the statistics of abuse, deportment, ill-treatment was frightening to say the least. But we knew that was not the full story, because around us we had heard many success stories as well. Bittersweet farewells of employers sending their helpers overseas to further their studies, lending them capital to set up businesses and so on. As our presentation came together, we had to put up several suggestions as well. One of it was to create a positive angle using a story that will be suitable for even young children, to encourage but also educate us on this special group of people. To help us envision the pos
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A BLESSED BREAKDOWN

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We had a small budget to work with for Nathan’s first birthday celebration, but only because we wanted to host a party to celebrate his having made it to this first-year milestone. Significant for a child who was recommended open heart surgery within the first week of his life. And so, we went about securing a lunch caterer, getting a cake made and all that. Then the party came and went, and payment came. Due to my oversight, we realised we had gone over budget by nearly $500, no small sum for our family for four. When I made the bank transfer, I saw that my hands were trembling. How were we going to make it through the next two weeks, how would we settle meals and Mya’s birthday was coming up too? As these fears were about to explode in my head, a text came saying a transfer of $500 has been made to my account. The note following said it was for Nathan, and that we could use it for him in any way. I was shocked to the point of disbelief and had to read it several times to
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