Dirk and the Whale Shark

The Best Resort Ever

Hello My Dear Great Ones,

I think I have found paradise.  Coco Grove Beach Resort, on Siquijor the nicest island in the Philippines,  is IT!  Set in a beautiful garden filled with a variety of incredible tropical plants and hundreds of coconut trees it delights the eye.  The air is fragrant with the sweet smell of hundred different types of blossoms.  There are three pools nicely dispersed throughout the property, and an 800 meter beach bordering the Tubod Marine Sanctuary.  The sanctuary is astounding.  I snorkeled there for hours never getting bored. Celia and I went to this paradise for a week with her family and enjoyed every last minute of it.  Here are a few photos to give you a little glimpse of paradise:

The island of Siquijor is located pretty well in the middle of the Philippines.

It was nice to be with Celia's great family.

Coco Grove has very nice buildings.  Spanish style.  Very clean and very nice.

Celia on our room's balcony.

Despite the resort being fully booked there was tons of space on the beach and I often was alone snorkeling in the sanctuary.  No problem.

Some great views of the resort....

Temperatures during our stay was in the 30's.  I really enjoyed the pools.

At night we often had dinner on the beach followed by fire dancing.

Staying at Coco Grove was awesome,  but we also went off site to see and do amazing things like...

Swinging into the water under a waterfall.

Swimming with turtles!

And swimming with 20 - 30 meter whale sharks!  

Stay tuned this is all coming up in the next three weeks!

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

Jesus Christ. The greatest gift of all.

John 3:16 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16-18 The Message (MSG)

^16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.


I pray that this Christmas season you have a revelation of who Jesus is.  That He is God and His love for you is infinetly larger than this 108 foot statue of Jesus located in Poland.  May you expereince a taste of that love as you ponder God's greatest gift to us.  

Jesus Christ our King, Saviour, Lord of our life, lover of our soul.

Amen.

Merry Christmas,

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

Some Selfies in Hong Kong

Hello My Dear Great Ones,

Hong Kong, after eight years, still amazes and intrigues me.  There is always something interesting to see or do.  Here are a few selfies of what I mean:

 Helping out with a ministry that visit homeless people.  Very good.

 Worshipping Jesus at school with a pile of grade twos.

 Cool statue.

 Christmas balls hanging over a pedestrian walkway.

 Banyan tree in the middle of Kowloon.

 Interesting ad.

 Steps with places to sit.

 When a new business opens people sent flowers as congratulations.

 Dark highrises.

On the top of Needle Hill with a view of Shing Mun reservoir and Tsuen Wan.

Have a great week.

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

A New Quadragenarian

My Dear Great Ones,

Celia has reached an age milestone.  An age where "life begins."  She has requested that I don't say what that age is, so I will try to be very subtle and just hint at it.  Needless to say reaching four decades is a big deal.  In celebration Celia had basically a birth-week.  Here are a few memories: 

 Cards for the birthday and engagement anniversary.

 Students provided cupcakes.

 A new Kate Spade bag!

One of the birthday dinners was outside on a terrace....

 ...with a view of Victoria Harbour.

 A collage of dinner parties with friends, student pizza parties, ballet time with friends, spa time with mom, roses from hubby.  Not a bad  four and zero milestone celebration. 

Have a great week!

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

Views from on High

Hello My Dear Great Ones,

Below are some pictures from our flights this summer to Tacoma and Hong Kong.  Nature is a work of art.

 Flying into Hong Kong in the evening.  Nice.

 Lamma.

 Hong Kong Island.

Have a great week everyone!

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk