During our time here in Manila, we have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with our wonderful friends from church. They have been such a delight and a blessing to our family these past few months.:-)
You may remember some of them from some earlier posts. With these friends, we have explored a coconut exhibit, traveled to the Taal volcano in Tagatay, and visited a nearby bee farm. They are so sweet and we have treasured every moment that we have spent together!
Last Saturday, we had these friends and their family members over to celebrate some birthdays! Throughout the afternoon, we visited and went swimming in our apartment pool.:-) Because community pools are not very common over here, our friends were thrilled to have the chance to go swimming here at our apartment complex.
About a month ago when these friends invited us over to their house, they cooked typical Filipino food for us. So, hoping to make them feel special, we decided to prepare some of our favorite family dishes for them, such as tasty meatloaf, a colorful salad, a sautéed potato dish, delicious asparagus and mushrooms, and juicy lemongrass chicken.
During our meal, we asked our friends if Filipinos had any specific birthday traditions. Although each family has their own way of celebrating birthdays, they all agreed that it is very common in their culture to have a theme centered on long life.
Our friends explained that many Filipinos serve noodles dishes at birthdays, because—for their culture—it symbolizes long life. Even during the meal preparation, they carefully avoid cutting the noodles in any way, because it would be “bad luck,” or a short life. Of course, this is just tradition…. our friends do not really believe this.:-)
We had such an enjoyable time with them. It was interesting to learn about Filipino birthday traditions. As we thought about birthdays, noodles, and long life, God reminded us that only He knows the length of our years.
No matter what traditions symbolize or what people think, we cannot change how long we will be here on this earth. Our life is in God’s hand. Only He knows how long we will live, and our responsibility is to use every moment and opportunity to glorify Him from our heart. :-)
"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him," - Col. 3:17
2 comments:
Hi there. I will use this spot to communicate, since i don't think you are receiving my e-mails. I have sent 3 this past week and all 3 have come back "undeliverable". Are you having trouble with your computer? Let me know.
Cathy
What fun, and what a yummy looking cake!
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