July 2002

from a journal entry after my first mission trip to Trinidad:

"I thank God that everytime the door appeared closed, that hope was fading, that we were weary, He and He alone, showed that His inconceivable, perfect plan will always restore our faith in He Who Is Always Faithful. The wonderfulness of the LORD's time and providence is awesome and praiseworthy."

rocky mountain high

Last Saturday, Rufina and I joined some of the people in our Sunday school class for an evening at Stone Mountain. Four of us ventured up the mountain.
You can see the skyline of downtown Atlanta through the pines... and haze.

Rufina celebrates making it to the summit.

Both of us on top of the world... or at least the largest piece of granite in the southeast.

Me resting after the hike up the mountain (with a bum knee).

Rufina waiting for the laser show to start.

The face of the mountain before the laser show started.

I got to tell Rufina the history of the mountain... how it was originally a weapons test site for the Confederacy and how they were testing cutting-edge laser technology and were just months away from a break through when the CSA finally had to surrender with Lee's army done and Atlanta in flames. Years later the testing was resumed and they used the lasers to carve the images in the mountain.


Okay, I embellished a little.

Next stop, South Carolina.

Check this out

You can go to www.iwcstories.com and check out a cool new multimedia site that is tracking a handfull of volunteer teams working in South America. It includes videos, maps, blog updates, photos, stories and live broadcasts.
Plus you get to see some of my friends' work.

www.iwcstories.com

Roll Bama Roll

Rufina and I just got back from a trip to Alabama and Tennessee to see some of my family.

We were able to meet my (great-great) Uncle John. When I was little, John and Aunt Bessie Mae really spoiled me by taking me out to the park, Space Center, Baskin Robbins and toy stores.

Aside from being a great guy, one thing John is known for is his "Bama House". It is a building behind his house that is FULL of Alabama memorabilia.

Here Rufina, Elmo and I are sitting in front of the custom Crimson Tide stained-glass window that John had made for the Bama House.

Hey, who is that cute guy in red? No, the other one.


Elmo seemed to enjoy his time at the Bama House.

Unfortunately for you, I didn't take a lot of photos of the actual Bama House (because there is just too much stuff). It is really a site to see- Daniel Moore paintings, hounds-tooth hats, photos, knick-knacks, etc.

All in the Family

While we were in Huntsville we got to see some of the places that I used to hang out at when I lived there and visited my family. Here we are at Monte Sano Park on the mountain.

One thing Rufina became very familiar with while she was in the Rocket City was Cracker Barrel. As it turns out, my grandmother- Nana, now has a serious jones for turnip greens and the brand new Cracker Barrel is where she gets her fix.

Rufina also met my dad and grandparents. She noted that there were many similarities in my family which is from Puerto Rico and her family in Hong Kong.

Since Rufina got to know my dad, she also got the scoop on Dave Ramsey. As it turned out, we got to visit Dave's HQ in Cool Springs, south of Nashville.

We were in Nashville to visit my cousin's family. Sure it was great to see my cousin, eat a nice dinner at Saffire and walk around downtown Franklin while we enjoyed ice cream, but the cherry on top had to be this little slice of Utopia...

the massage chair and big screen TV with the MLB package. Nothing like kicking back getting a massage and watching any baseball game in the country on the big screen.


Oh, and we also snapped this shot of Vince Young's Nashville pad in their neighborhood.


We are back in Hot'lanta now, but more adventures and trips are in the works.

She's Here!

She finally made it! After 5 months of being apart, Rufina and I were finally reunited yesterday evening. I went to the ATL to pick her up and was standing at the point were "all" the passengers exit the terminals before going to baggage claim. It was about time for her flight to arrive and all of a sudden an airport employee who was helping direct passenger traffic said, "Delta baggage claim to the left, all others to the right... If you are waiting for someone on United or American airlines, they come up on the other side of the terminal!"
"Doh!"
She was arriving on UA790 from San Fran. So I hurriedly made my way to the other end of the terminal to try and intercept her.
As it turned out her flight arrived early and so we passed each other on the way and I quickly pulled out the sign I made (as seen in the photo). She had already spotted me. After a big (much needed hug) we got her bags and left the airport.
We ended up eating dinner at Mellow Mushroom (break 'em in early & right).

It is so good to have Rufina here with me to be able to forge our relationship in a more active and non-long-distance manner. We are both excited to see what God has in store for us.

Yay!



(You can ask a Chinese friend what the sign says, but it is pronounced "Xin Zhang Ren")