Journey to the Ends of the Earth

On the Road- Mon-Tues

So we're not so great about posting here on our blog. But since we are advertising that this is a place to read updates about what's going on with us, I guess it's time to start (again). We'll attempt not to bore you with every detail of our trip, but just want to give you all a glimpse into what amazing people we have as friends and family.

We love LA....not!
We spent last week down in Southern California. We were visiting old friends and sharing about our time in India this past summer. Every time we are down there, we are grateful that we don't live there. There was a time when I (Ana) would dream about living in LA. All it takes is one traffic jam on the 405 for me to thank the Lord that San Francisco is our home (for now).

We drove down on Monday and spent the night at my college friend's home in Seal Beach. Kolia is an assistant property manager of a corporate housing complex. It's kind of like a hotel/extended stay apartment complex. She not only works there, but also lives there.
We got there in time for dinner and went out to eat at this fabulous Cambodian restaurant. This was my first time eating Cambodian food and it was yummy!


We spent Tuesday morning hanging out at Kolia's apartment. Then we said our goodbyes and headed up to Pasadena to visit with some other friends. We met up with Dave, the guy that married us and his coworkers at the US Center for World Mission in Pasadena. Dave founded an organization called Imissions and has his office there. I had a great time getting to know Susan and Helen. We shared our hearts and prayed for one another. It was definitely an unexpected blessing being among kindred spirits.


For dinner we drove over to the Jakubiaks in Pasadena. Jenny and I met each other when we began our master's program in Mill Valley. We bonded after our first class session and have been friends ever since. She and her husband, Nathan, also went to India last summer. It was fun connecting over stories of what God did last summer. We also spent time praying together and headed off to Whittier where we spent the next 2 nights.

My cousins, Jim and JoAnn Hammer, live in Whittier. Ate JoAnn (that's a term we use in Tagalog that denotes respect for an older female cousin or sister) works part time teaching 5th grade. Her husband, Kuya Jim (that's the Tagalog term for older male cousin or brother), works for CalTrans in downtown LA. They had a pretty eventful year or two, so we stayed up late talking and catching up. They have both been featured on television shows- Ate JoAnn, on the Filipino Channel, and Kuya Jim, on the PBS show, California's Gold. It was pretty cool to be able to watch them both on TV! They have 3 kids ranging in age from 17-21. Another highlight of our time there was playing DDR with their son, Jimmy, and their exchange student, Janna.

posted by Ana & Wilbur @ 3:03 PM