at first i thought three weeks’ stay in California will be a bit too long to be away from my Dersky (my significant other) who is in Beautiful British Columbia, where we are based. my trip was kind of a snap decision, but God knows better, i had a wonderful bonding time with my two sisters and their families as well as with my brother and sister in law, shirley, and nephew, Kiko.
the highlights of my stay were, spending thanksgiving with my two sisters, bonding time with my special niece, Teresa, who is almost a daughter to me,
and last and most fulfilling of all was joining the 2014 Christmas Labor of Love event that happened on December 5th and 6th.
not only that i witnessed the preparation of the care boxes, i also went with the picking up of donated items/goods courtesy of In-n-Out burgers and Coca-Cola, two major partners of L.O.L., as well as picking up the apples at the produce market (Choppy Produce) in downtown Los Angeles. staff of In-n-Out were unbelievably kind and all smiles while we were there… such a heartwarming encounter!
since i have been remotely maintaining the blog for L.O.L., it was a wish for me to actually be present in any of their events, Easter or Christmas, and this trip has fulfilled my wish 🙂
it is very humble of my sister-in-law, Shirley, and my brother, Tony, to open their home to strangers, who in the end become friends and part of family of L.O.L. i have seen what they had to do before opening their doors to those volunteers arriving early on Friday, December 05, up to the time they clean up and call it a day. moving furniture, arranging tables, setting them up so that preparing the care boxes will be like an assembly line, and making sure there will be enough snacks/drinks for the volunteers and cleaning up the house after everything is over… of course, kudos too to volunteers, young and old alike, from different ethnicity, profession or what nots, who shared not only time, but also their financial or any kind of contribution.
and, to top it all, very inspiring that they offered their vehicles to drive to downtown L.A. and areas where the care boxes will be distributed, i saw the cul-de-sac, all parked cars waiting to be loaded up with the boxes… isnt that ah-maaaazing!!! but this time, more cars but not enough boxes eh??
as for myself, i did hand some boxes when we went to the area they called “skid-row”, i even listened to a homeless lady telling me she was drugged, beaten up and face slammed on the concrete floor… so sad. all i can do is pray for the poor lady.
overall, my trip was all worth it.. i thank God for my family, i thank God for taking care of them, i thank Him for my sister-in-law’s compassionate heart, i thank God that He allowed me to be with the destitute, God put them there to teach me humility and compassion. i thank God for all those who worked hard too for this cause. i am JOYFUL! it is an early wonderful Christmas gift…. A BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO ALL, from B.C. with love,
To God be all Glory!
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” ~Acts 20:35
M.
LABOR OF LOVE 
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