MIL-to-be :)

I haven't been blogging too diligently in the past few days (or weeks).

To my beloved prayer partners, mentors, mentees, close friends and family members who always read my blog for updates so that you can pray for me - my utmost apologies! I certainly hope that I'll be able to blog more after my November mission trip! :) Keep my team in prayer please... We will be in Sarawak (Miri and Long Lamai) from the 23rd to 30th of November. Almost half of our team is ill too - probably some kind of spiritual attack.

Something on my thoughts lately...because of a bout of illness (another acute exacerbation of asthma secondary to upper respiratory tract infection) - Ben has been sick for quite a while too (resulting in more than 3 medical consultations). Subsequently, Ben's mum has been double-boiling loads of delicious bird-nest soup for Ben and myself...traditionally believed to help nourish the lungs (and from what I know - bird-nest soup is a kind of beauty potion, haha!).

I am just so thankful that I have great parents-in-law-to-be...

Well, I did have my share of difficulties in my courtship. No wonder they say that marriage is the most difficult relationship in the world - loving one another and being faithful requires both parties to work hard at it sometimes... However, I am blessed that God chose to bless me in this area - with regards my in-laws. That I do not have to play hard to impress them or win their acceptance. And my children will not have to suffer from any bitterness/hurts incurred from my bad relationship with my mother-in-law. The typical stuff you see on Asian drama series... :P
(You can tell that I'm an avid fan of those!)

Ben's mum for instance - I think she would make one of the best M.I.L's in the world. She never expects me to help out with the housework whenever I drop into Ben's place. The house is always super clean and neat (that I am often afraid that Ben might expect me to keep our future home the same way too :P) and I am always well-fed and well-nourished with the best homemade food in the world! Whenever I am sick, Ben's mum always invites me to their home so that she can fuss over me. Whenever I use the swimming pool downstairs, she'd wash my wet things even when I try to hide them from her. Then she always takes my side when Ben bullies me and chides him, "Don't bully her la! She has no mother!" LOLx.

Then of course, Ben being 'Ben' would retort: "If she has a mother, then can I bully her?"

Also, as some of you know, I have been giving English tuition for the past 2 months or so - and the cash has helped me tremendously with my monthly expenses. Last week, my student decided that she would stop the tuition classes - because she was going to fly back to Korea for good. So there went my wages too! :D When Ben's mum heard about that, she secretly told Ben, "You can give me less allowance each month - and give her some of the money you usually give me la..."

Of course, Ben did not do that! I wouldn't have allowed him to do that anyway... Besides that, we are not married yet - so there is no need for him to provide for me at this moment in time. :D

These are of course just a few examples of how amazingly kind she has been to me. I admire her giving spirit - coz she gives even though she doesn't expect any benefit from the giving and she jolly well knows that I won't be able to repay her anytime soon - at least not in cash! She is really a mother to me.

Then again, it always touches my heart and blesses me to see how happy and thankful she is every time I try to do something nice for her.

Recently, I've been on a mission to help her understand the Bible. OK, not exactly in the Bible-teacher sort of way.

You see, my MIL-to-be loves reading God's Word, copying them down in a notebook and meditating on the essence of the Word (her devotion puts me to shame)... but she often struggles with the English vocabulary in her Bible. By God's grace, I was sitting down at the table where she usually does her Bible studies, enjoying a bowl of fresh bird-nest soup - just perhaps over the weekend... when I happened to turn over a page in her Bible. There were some underlined words (which she did not understand) and above these words, Ben's dad had written some simple explanations of those words... some in English and some in Hokkien! I laughed at some of the explanations of course... My MIL-to-be also laughed because she saw me laughing. Then I realized that the highlighted words in her notebook were words that she did not understand.

That was when our merciful and gracious God planted a brilliant idea in my head...

Why not write down simple explanations for those chim English words - in expressions that Ben's mum can best understand? (For example: 'Gossip' means "talk (bad) about people behind their backs whether true or not") Or even draw pictures to illustrate those words? Perhaps, she won't let me touch the housework or help her cook or give her money... but surely, the much-needed explanations of these words so essential to aid her understanding of God's Word - she would accept? :D

God is amazing!!!

It has been awesomely fun. Praise God!

It was even more rewarding when Ben sent me a text 2 nights ago saying, "Dear, you made my mum so happy. Haha!"

It's Ben's dad's birthday today. We are all going to celebrate by eating out at Song River.