I am an island girl at heart. In fact, if you were to ask me what I miss most about living in Puerto Rico, I would tell you, hands down, I miss la playa (the beach) with its beautiful blue and turquoise waters. Driving around the coast and taking in the salty air while savoring the local delicacies is life …
Though I would consider myself to be a world traveler and explorer at heart, I have not always been so adventurous or fearless. But then, I traveled to Korea once, twice, and now I am on my fifth trip, solo, with little planning, little funds, a small command of the language, with two large suitcases and a false sense of …
One evening, my youngest son, Julian, came to my room to talk with me about something serious. He was nervous and a bit embarrassed, but proceeded to tell me that he had fallen in love with a Belarusian girl he had met while attending the European Theological Seminary in Kniebis, Germany. I had met this young lady while on mission …
After seven days of quarantine on the outskirts of Seoul, I rode a taxi for about an hour and a half to the popular neighborhood of Itaewon in the city of Seoul, South Korea. Here’s how Trip Advisor describes the area: Neighboring the immense Yongsan American Garrison, Itaewon was once shunned by locals as a seedy, red light district. But …
When I am stunned by whatever life throws at me, I don’t always handle it well, however, I do try to. I just have to have a “pep-talk” with myself to look at the bright side of everything.
Since my book Chasing Life: Lessons on Suffering Well was released last summer, several readers have shared their own stories with me. Their journeys amaze me, and although I find it humbling that my experience can serve as inspiration beyond the page, I can’t help but draw strength from watching others learn to suffer well. I want to share one …
“You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.” ― John Green, Looking for Alaska My youngest sister, Yamila, is into puzzles. She has seasonal puzzles, strategic puzzles, and …
When my firstborn son, Matthew, was a baby, we took him to get his immunizations. When the nurse came in with the injections, she saw us holding a happy baby who smiled constantly as if he didn’t have a care in this world. Then she gave him the shot, and the look of love and happiness quickly turned into horror and pain. He …
“We have lost those we hold dearest. But we will endure the pain, for we have each other. Don’t we?” – King Jeongjo, The Red Sleeve After healing from a few weeks of sickness, I received a message that my oldest sister had been taken to the hospital with a concussion after suffering a fall when she fainted at her …
After a long and successful open heart surgery, we were about to call my sons on Skype. It was time to see each other and hear one another’s voices. I was beyond excited, but right before I heard the ringing on the other line, my brain went completely blank and I couldn’t remember my sons’ names. It took me a …