I can’t believe it’s already been a week since we’ve returned to the US. Everything that happened within the past 5 weeks just seems like a dream… A dream that I wish I didn’t have to wake up from… It has been one of the most inspirational things that I was able to experience in my lifetime and to God I’m forever grateful!

Happy Friday and I hope everyone has a great weekend! Here are some photos taken last Saturday at the Manila Bay in the Philippines.

My cousin Gerard. :D

I saw a rainbow!! :D

Manila Bay :D

I am really enjoying meeting brethren all over the world (which was one of the prayers I had when I was just a teenager)… and although the internet was a way of making that happen, being able to see some of them in person is just an extra blessing altogether! I am going to do my very best to remember the names of those I’ve met and will meet in the days to come! You are all such an inspiration to me!

To all my brothers and sisters who have been so kind and helpful during our stay in their locale, Thank You! Danke schön! Tusen takk! Grazie! Muchas Gracias! Maraming Salamat Po! I am so happy to know you po and I know we will see one another again.. if not on earth.. definitely in our true home :) For those who I will soon meet, I will make the most of our time getting to know you po! And as I look out the window from our room, I just want to say again, I am so very thankful :D

I was in awe seeing the cover shot of the magazine and I knew I had to buy it. So I did.

It contained photos of different places of the world and now I’m going to see if Ryan and I  and even my relatives and friends, can visit SOME if not ALL of those places.

I want to be able to see for myself the beautiful places or “masterpieces” that was created in this world by God’s Almighty hand for people to appreciate and enjoy.

So sometime in the near future, when my mom returns back from the Philippines, I’m going to set up a family trip to finally see the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

YES I WON A CONTEST on Justin & Mary’s Photography Blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See how excited I am!?!!? This is the first time I’ve ever won anything in my whole entire life!!! 

Thank you Justin, Mary, and Julia for the opportunity!! It really is something I’ll never, ever forget :D

If you’re wondering what the contest was about, here’s the link to read about it! Basically, we had to leave a comment about our Best Travel Upgrade OR Worst Travel Experience.  So I decided to give it a shot with this entry:

Joan Solitario My most memorable travel upgrade happened when my mom and I were coming back to the US from the Philippines. We didn’t anticipate having to pay customs and we gave all our cash away. So when we got to the airport, we realized we needed to get cash fast. I wasn’t married to my husband Ryan then, so it was kind of a blessing for me to see him one more time as he came to the airport to give us some cash. I couldn’t go outside to see him, because my mom wanted to thank him personally while I watched our luggages. So the only way to tell him thank you and I love you was through sign language. There were two glass walls that separated us. I was really sad that I didn’t get the chance to hug him one last time, but I was just happy to see him before we left. For some reason though, we still didn’t have enough cash… so a really nice guy in line behind us offered to pay the difference. (Thank you Mr. Nice Person!) As my mom and I finally got to the counter to get checked in, we realized that the attendant behind the counter started to upgrade us to business class (which isn’t first class, but is totally better than coach). The airline had overbooked the plane and we were the last ones to check in! It just proves that there’s a reason for everything! And that is my most memorable travel upgrade moment.  

So there you have it, my winning entry and now I’m going to get some survival travel goodies, like L’Occitane lotion and a “Mophie” for my iPhone!!! HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?

Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH JUSTIN, MARY, and JULIA!! All the best to you and your business!

Thank you God for giving me the experience to write about my most memorable travel upgrade!  :)

And since blogs are so much better when it contains a photo(s). Here’s a picture I took of my friends and cousin during our settin up for the Recoginition Night for High School Grads on Saturday, June 12 which was held at the Ontario Marriott Hotel.  I loved how excited my friends and cousin were that evening :) Congratulations to the youth members of our church who graduated High School this year!

P.S. My friend, Kevin, doesn’t really look like that.. he made that face on purpose.. :) 

Thank You Father

Thank You Father, for Your kindness,
That I truly see and feel each day.
LORD, you always show your mercy.
LORD, you hear me every time I pray.

Thank You Father, for the inspiration.
You always give me hope and faith and love.
I promise to forever serve You,
My Almighty God, my Father above.

Thank You Father, for Your compassion.
I’m still a member of the Church of Christ.
Thank You Father, for this blessing,
That I will cherish until the end of my life.

Their story of faith, love and hope inspired me so much that I wanted to meet them and hug them. So, when I found out that Ryan and I were going to go to Chicago, I contacted Lora Lee and I told her that I’d like to take their family portraits. At first I thought she would think I was this crazy-stalker-person but Lora was just so nice about my request and a few months later, Ryan and I were invited to their house for Nerf Wars!

When we got to their home, it was sprinkling and I was worried that our mini-family photo session would get cancelled, but it wasn’t! They were still willing to have me take their family photos despite the weather and I’m forever grateful for giving us the opportunity!

Here are a few pictures from our session and I had so much fun taking it! By this time, it was pouring rain, so I found a perfect song for their session not just because of the weather, but because of the way they dealt with the trials that they had to face as a family and it did not shake their faith. No matter what life brings, nothing will stop them from believing what our Father in heaven can do! So, yes, let it rain.. because it won’t stop them.. :) You can listen to the song by clicking here for their slideshow!

Here’s RJ and Lora sitting on the steps of their home.

Here is Chance.  He is one incredible kid! Once he got out of the house, he kept running up and down the sidewalk, enjoying the rain.

I asked him if I could take a picture of him jumping and he gave me one that looked like a karate kick. Then he tells me, “I can’t jump because I’m only a kid”. :)

So it started to rain bad and Lora was trying to put a jacket on Chance…

but Chance got away!

So they saying goes, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”.  The whole family started running around too. Chance loved it!

We were able to finally get Chance to stop running for awhile…

Thank you Serrano Family!! We are so happy to call you not just friends, but our brothers and sister in the faith! :)

This post is going to be short because it’s time to prepare for our church’s missionary event going on tonight! But here are two photos from the day.

This is our picture before the walk.

Here’s our picture after the walk. YAY! High Five everyone!

This was really a great start to an awesome weekend!

It’s not too late to sign up and join our team! If you’re still interested in joining, you can even join the day of! If you would like to register, just click on the link and on the website where it says, WOMENTUM, under that is another link: “Register Now and Join this Team“. Click on that to register for the Iglesia Ni Cristo Team #1145 – Team Captain is Sis. Juliet Patterson. We will even give you a FREE INC TEAM SHIRT! So that means you’ll be getting 2 free shirts tomorrow! One from Revlon and they other one from our team!

On another happy note! Here’s a teaser picture of the Serrano Family that I was able to do a mini-family photoshoot during our brief vacation to Chicago, IL! They’re also members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, but in the Chicago, IL area! (See what I mean about how much I love meeting INC Brethren All Over The World!?) They have such an inspirational story about how they are fighting and are winning the battle with cancer all because of God’s help and mercy!  Their little boy, Chance, had a type of cancer called Burkitt’s Lymphoma.  More on their story very soon! For now, here’s a teaser photo!

Have a happy Friday everyone and a Great Weekend Too!!

My Dearest Ryan,

This is for you. I love you so very much and I am really thankful to God for you! I hope you like this poem! If not, we can always get you a tall chair that you said you wanted for your desk for your birthday! :) Either way, I just want to wish you a very happy birthday!!!

I Am Thankful For You

I knew that you were special,
A blessing from the Lord,
An answer to my prayers,
In this dark and lonely world.
Though your music filled my life
With such love and inspiration,
What touched me most of all,
Was your faith and dedication.

You helped me realize just how beautiful this world could be.
You remind me to always trust in God, to love Him constantly.
Hardships and trials may come, but we’ll be brave.
Together we will see them through.
Oh my friend, my love, please always know,
I am ever thankful to God for you.

As years go on, I’m certain
Our love and faith will grow.
We have all we ever need
For our God is with us so.
With all my heart I promise,
I will love you now and ever.
For the vows we shared are truly blessed
By our God, Almighty Father.

God made us realize just how beautiful our love could be.
He gave us hope. He gave us light, that we can truly see,
We were meant for each other and no one else.
You were made for me, and I for you.
Oh my friend, my love, please always know.
I’m ever thankful to God for you.

Love,

Joan :)

Now, since pictures make blogs more interesting, here’s a recent picture of Ryan from our trip to Chicago! He’s crazy for standing on that glass balcony at the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower), but I love him so very much!

The 17th Annual EIF REVLON Run/Walk will be held on Saturday, May 8, 2010, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at Exposition Park. According to their website, the run/walk will start under a canopy of confetti! Just thinking about it makes me excited and happy! It’s only 5K or 3.1 Miles and I know it’ll be an experience that I will never forget!

If you would like to join the Iglesia Ni Cristo Team, please visit our team’s website.

Now, if you’re not located in California and you live in, let’s say, New York, and would still like to support our church in supporting this event, I found out we have another team set up for the New York called the Iglesia Ni Cristo HELP Team! Their event will be on May 1, 2010! Click here for their website and to get more information!