Hi, all.
I realize that I haven't posted anything for the past few months. A lot has changed since then--one being our website. I'd like to welcome you to join us at our new blog/website
http://karismalaya.net
We decided that we wanted to have an actual site with a name dedicated to our Malaya Charis and all about our family (which, by the way, is growing!). The site is simple for now as it is still under construction and we are just learning how to put together a website/blog. All of the blogs on this kingandfaye.blogspot has been transferred over to that site.
Thank you for following our lives thus far and all your love and support. See you on our new website!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Friday, October 30, 2009
Gempa "earthquake" part 2
My friend just reminded me that I have not written part two of the earthquake story yet. So sorry to keep you hanging!
Okay, so like I was saying...the day after the gempa (Indonesian word meaning "earthquake" pronounced "guhm-pah") was interesting as we were able to watch people who were openly grieving about their city and their family and friends who they were either unsure of their whereabouts or were sure that they were underneath the rubble...It was difficult to totally relate and empathize as we have never lost anyone close to us in that manner. We had just gotten a taste of their culture from being there one day. We did not know these people, and yet the deep cries of sorrow from within we were all too familiar with. The anguish written all over their faces that might not have been able to see hope during those moments were saddening. Grown men were talking to the news reporters and tears streamed down their face as they attempted to recount what had happened and their losses. The news was in Bahasa Indonesian so we had NO idea what they were saying, but our hearts did.
We also got goosebumps when we were watching the news that said that the Ambacang Hotel was destroyed, with 192 guests in addition to the staff working there. This is because when we were at home we were choosing between staying there and a homestay (a house/hostel). The Ambacang was a bit pricier than the homestay, but it had wi-fi in the lobby...It was a real toss up, but the week before we left we just decided to choose the less expensive one to save money. Had we stayed there and had we stayed one more day in the city, chances are we probably would have been in our hotel room when the earthquake hit. Thinking of it now just makes me shake my head in wonder of how God saved/spared us. Amazing...
So, anyway, we continued to check our cell phone and tried to text and call out, but it took forever to have the signal restored. When we finally did have it restored we were thinking only of the people back in Padang, not so much back home in America. However, we quickly found out--through my uncle's, brother-in-law's, and parents' phone calls--that the people back home were quite worried about us. I found that my mom was so distraught that she was unable to go to work the day they found out about the earthquake. We really felt loved when we got calls, emails and saw all the updates on facebook about us. Thank you for your prayers, loved ones.
Back to Indonesia...We wanted to go back to the city, but we heard about the landslides that happened along the windy, mountainous roads that we had just taken. (We were quite protected as we also could have been on those roads during the earthquake and then stranded there.) So, we ended up staying down south for several days.
When we finally did come back, what we saw shocked us. We can only imagine what it must have been like when it actually happened, but the pictures I'll put up here might be able to tell a better story than my words (pictures coming this afternoon!):
Friends, I don't know why this happened. I don't know why it happened while we were there. All I know is that we want to go back.
Now, the city is on the map because before that day I'm sure most of the world had no idea where Padang was. There is even more work that needs to be done. King has told people that pretty much every building has some structural damage, so it will take years to rebuild. It will also take years to build hope into people's lives. Please continue to lift these people up to God. He is the one who can help them and give them the comfort and love they need.
We are also going to be sending out a general update about our trip tomorrow, so thanks for being patient. Things have been interesting and busy since we came back. :) More on that later, as well!
Okay, so like I was saying...the day after the gempa (Indonesian word meaning "earthquake" pronounced "guhm-pah") was interesting as we were able to watch people who were openly grieving about their city and their family and friends who they were either unsure of their whereabouts or were sure that they were underneath the rubble...It was difficult to totally relate and empathize as we have never lost anyone close to us in that manner. We had just gotten a taste of their culture from being there one day. We did not know these people, and yet the deep cries of sorrow from within we were all too familiar with. The anguish written all over their faces that might not have been able to see hope during those moments were saddening. Grown men were talking to the news reporters and tears streamed down their face as they attempted to recount what had happened and their losses. The news was in Bahasa Indonesian so we had NO idea what they were saying, but our hearts did.
We also got goosebumps when we were watching the news that said that the Ambacang Hotel was destroyed, with 192 guests in addition to the staff working there. This is because when we were at home we were choosing between staying there and a homestay (a house/hostel). The Ambacang was a bit pricier than the homestay, but it had wi-fi in the lobby...It was a real toss up, but the week before we left we just decided to choose the less expensive one to save money. Had we stayed there and had we stayed one more day in the city, chances are we probably would have been in our hotel room when the earthquake hit. Thinking of it now just makes me shake my head in wonder of how God saved/spared us. Amazing...
So, anyway, we continued to check our cell phone and tried to text and call out, but it took forever to have the signal restored. When we finally did have it restored we were thinking only of the people back in Padang, not so much back home in America. However, we quickly found out--through my uncle's, brother-in-law's, and parents' phone calls--that the people back home were quite worried about us. I found that my mom was so distraught that she was unable to go to work the day they found out about the earthquake. We really felt loved when we got calls, emails and saw all the updates on facebook about us. Thank you for your prayers, loved ones.
Back to Indonesia...We wanted to go back to the city, but we heard about the landslides that happened along the windy, mountainous roads that we had just taken. (We were quite protected as we also could have been on those roads during the earthquake and then stranded there.) So, we ended up staying down south for several days.
When we finally did come back, what we saw shocked us. We can only imagine what it must have been like when it actually happened, but the pictures I'll put up here might be able to tell a better story than my words (pictures coming this afternoon!):
Friends, I don't know why this happened. I don't know why it happened while we were there. All I know is that we want to go back.
Now, the city is on the map because before that day I'm sure most of the world had no idea where Padang was. There is even more work that needs to be done. King has told people that pretty much every building has some structural damage, so it will take years to rebuild. It will also take years to build hope into people's lives. Please continue to lift these people up to God. He is the one who can help them and give them the comfort and love they need.
We are also going to be sending out a general update about our trip tomorrow, so thanks for being patient. Things have been interesting and busy since we came back. :) More on that later, as well!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Gempa “earthquake” story Part 1
While planning we were faced with the choice of the Ambacang or at a Homestay (it's a home/hostel). We decided during the last few days at home that we would go to the Homestay to save money. We were also deciding on how long to stay in Padang and when to go to Muara Labuh. We decided that we wanted to spend the bulk of our time up there and then spend the last three days in Padang. A friend’s acquaintance has been in touch with us and had someone drive us up there. We arrived around 3pm or so. The gempa happened around 5pm.
I was taking pictures on a common area balcony overlooking the main road and the mountains. Really, I was just really playing around with the camera. King was inside our room. I had been dizzy from all the traveling we’d been doing and from jet lag. So I was just thinking that it was me being light headed, but it didn’t stop. King told me he was yelling my name and ran out to get me. He grabbed my hand and we started to run down the stairs. Before we got to the bottom a three foot vase fell and broke and blocked the path we should have taken to get out. We went around the side of the hotel and went through their kitchen to get to the open area near a field at the back of the hotel. King was barefoot.
It was just too uncanny that the two countries we were in both experienced a natural disaster. We looked at each other after we got to safety and looked at each other and couldn't help but let out a little laugh. I felt bad, though, after I looked at the people around us and saw how afraid they were. During the earthquake one man was running the same way we were in front of us and he was praying to All ah while I, on the other hand, was praying to Jesus to save us.
We had no idea what the devastation was or where the epicenter was because the people I was talking to couldn't really understand nor speak much English. In addition to that we were without electricity, water, or cell signal that evening and into the next morning. We wanted first to get a hold of the people we knew in Padang and couldn't.
The news the next morning broke our hearts and freaked us out as we still did not hear from anyone.
(More later...I'm soooo hungry!)
Monday, September 28, 2009
Oh, what an adventure!
FLIGHT and FLOOD
It just so happened that the day we are flying in to the Philippines is the day that the floods come in. We were initially supposed to fly in at 11:35 am, but it was so bad that we didn't get picked up by King's dad at 11:15pm. As we got near NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) the captain went on the PA and told us that we were going to circle for a while before we landed due to bad weather. You know the feeling you get when you go on bad carnival rides that make your stomach go up and down? Imagine that for almost 45 minutes. I had my barf bag ready and tried to avoid looking and listening to the girl five seats down as she spit and puked into hers. Ugh...I don't even want to think about it anymore! hehe. Anyway, after a while we were diverted to Clark Air Force Base and stayed there on the tarmac for a few hours to wait for the weather in Manila to let up. We finally flew back and landed thinking this was the last of our troubles. Nope. We had no idea that there were such bad flooding that caused road blocks or no passage. My father-in-law and his driver were in the car waiting for us for over 12 hours. The devastation, as we watched on TV, was quite sad...Let's continue to pray for them.
SINGAPORE
Singapore is a wonderful place to visit! Besides our swanky, bare minimums hotel, we have been enjoying the sights and sounds of this diverse city. Some of the main ethnicities here are Chinese, Indian, and Malay. We came in on the last night of the Formula 1 race. It took a little while to figure out the public transport, but we've loved it ever since. The Singapore Zoo is, hands down, the best zoo I've ever been to. This is due to the fact that the animals are a lot closer and it feels like they are more in their natural environment.
After the Zoo, we went next door to the Night Safari. It's the only one of it's kind in the world. We went in a tram that took us around the park and we also walked around the exhibit trails all the while looking at mostly nocturnal animals. Awesome!
Now we're headed for Padang!
It just so happened that the day we are flying in to the Philippines is the day that the floods come in. We were initially supposed to fly in at 11:35 am, but it was so bad that we didn't get picked up by King's dad at 11:15pm. As we got near NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) the captain went on the PA and told us that we were going to circle for a while before we landed due to bad weather. You know the feeling you get when you go on bad carnival rides that make your stomach go up and down? Imagine that for almost 45 minutes. I had my barf bag ready and tried to avoid looking and listening to the girl five seats down as she spit and puked into hers. Ugh...I don't even want to think about it anymore! hehe. Anyway, after a while we were diverted to Clark Air Force Base and stayed there on the tarmac for a few hours to wait for the weather in Manila to let up. We finally flew back and landed thinking this was the last of our troubles. Nope. We had no idea that there were such bad flooding that caused road blocks or no passage. My father-in-law and his driver were in the car waiting for us for over 12 hours. The devastation, as we watched on TV, was quite sad...Let's continue to pray for them.
SINGAPORE
Singapore is a wonderful place to visit! Besides our swanky, bare minimums hotel, we have been enjoying the sights and sounds of this diverse city. Some of the main ethnicities here are Chinese, Indian, and Malay. We came in on the last night of the Formula 1 race. It took a little while to figure out the public transport, but we've loved it ever since. The Singapore Zoo is, hands down, the best zoo I've ever been to. This is due to the fact that the animals are a lot closer and it feels like they are more in their natural environment.
After the Zoo, we went next door to the Night Safari. It's the only one of it's kind in the world. We went in a tram that took us around the park and we also walked around the exhibit trails all the while looking at mostly nocturnal animals. Awesome!
Now we're headed for Padang!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Woohoooooo!
We're leaving tonight at 1:00am! I haven't felt this excited in who knows how long! I let out a big, "Wooohoooo!" in my car today. I'm ready for the journey with my journal, books, ipod, and of course...my eye mask and ear plugs. :)
Allow us to share a huge blessing with you. With the Lord's leading we did not raise funds nor did we ask anyone for money for this trip. At first we weren't sure how we were going to be able to make ends meet--especially since I have taken a break from working to be able to rest, grieve, and heal. So, we just had to wait on God and say, 'You know what we need. Would You please provide for us?'
And He, in His tender mercy, has. These last two weeks we've seen God meeting our needs. We have had to continue to pay our bills and have also had to book and reschedule flights we were supposed to take earlier this year. So, some people have graciously given to us and our bills have been able to be paid. What has been coming in is pretty much the exact amounts that we need. Amazing! I told King the other day, "Look, the cost of rescheduling and booking flights has just been covered!" (I even got a random check in the mail for $17 from a law suit of a job agency and I had no idea I'd be a recipient. hehe!)
Over these last months I've been confused about why we lost our daughter and out of that confusion, some doubts in His love for me arose. I wondered if He cared for me...I mean, I knew He did in a large scale sense, but for me, personally and intimately. Him providing for us has truly softened my heart toward Him. My life is in His hands and He HASN'T forgotten us. :)
Thank you to those of you who have given financially to us. Know that your giving is answered prayer. He does hear and answer. And this has just fueled the flame in our hearts of knowing that He loves us and is faithful.
To those of you who have committed to praying for us, be blessed as we update you (when there is internet access!) on what is happening through this blog.
Rejoice and praise God with us, friends. This trip has been a desire of our hearts and it's finally here. And that calls for another, "Wooooohooooo!!!" :)
Allow us to share a huge blessing with you. With the Lord's leading we did not raise funds nor did we ask anyone for money for this trip. At first we weren't sure how we were going to be able to make ends meet--especially since I have taken a break from working to be able to rest, grieve, and heal. So, we just had to wait on God and say, 'You know what we need. Would You please provide for us?'
And He, in His tender mercy, has. These last two weeks we've seen God meeting our needs. We have had to continue to pay our bills and have also had to book and reschedule flights we were supposed to take earlier this year. So, some people have graciously given to us and our bills have been able to be paid. What has been coming in is pretty much the exact amounts that we need. Amazing! I told King the other day, "Look, the cost of rescheduling and booking flights has just been covered!" (I even got a random check in the mail for $17 from a law suit of a job agency and I had no idea I'd be a recipient. hehe!)
Over these last months I've been confused about why we lost our daughter and out of that confusion, some doubts in His love for me arose. I wondered if He cared for me...I mean, I knew He did in a large scale sense, but for me, personally and intimately. Him providing for us has truly softened my heart toward Him. My life is in His hands and He HASN'T forgotten us. :)
Thank you to those of you who have given financially to us. Know that your giving is answered prayer. He does hear and answer. And this has just fueled the flame in our hearts of knowing that He loves us and is faithful.
To those of you who have committed to praying for us, be blessed as we update you (when there is internet access!) on what is happening through this blog.
Rejoice and praise God with us, friends. This trip has been a desire of our hearts and it's finally here. And that calls for another, "Wooooohooooo!!!" :)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
How you can pray for us
We pray that God would open the limits of all of our hearts (limits that may cause us to live our lives for our own gain) for the purpose of entering into the freedom of loving people on the other side of the earth because He is worthy of our worship. Will you join us in prayer? If you so choose, you can print out this page and put it in a place where it will help you remember to pray for us.
How you can pray
Before we leave (Sept 18 to Sept 25)
- Preparation: Pray this week that we would take time out to prepare our hearts and minds to be able to listen to God while we are in country.
As we travel (Thurs, Sept 24 to Tues, Sept 29)
- In Transit: We will be going through four different airports before we reach our destination! Pray that all our baggage arrives and that none of our flights get canceled.
In Country (Tues, Sept 29 to Thurs, Oct 8)
- Open Doors: Pray that we would find favor with local officials as we meet with them to discuss possible ways that we could help in that specific area.
- His Direction: Pray that when we are there that we would be sensitive to God’s guidance and walk where He leads.
- His Glory: Pray that whoever we meet and wherever we go that God would be glorified and that people would be drawn to Him.
- Our Fears: Please pray that our fears of not knowing the language, the culture, the area, and of our safety would be dispelled as we trust in Him.
- Our hearts: Pray that God would enlarge our hearts to start to love the people in that area.
After our trip (Oct 8 and beyond)
- Clarity, Wisdom, Strength: Pray afterward, that God would make things more clear in terms of the next step He wants us to take and that we would follow accordingly.
- Your involvement: Pray as to the way He might have you be involved whenever our plans are more concrete. That could entail being committed to praying for us, supporting us financially, or even joining us!
Thank you in advance for the time that you may be spending interceding to God on our behalf. We’ll let you know how everything goes by the end of October.
Until then, check our blog for updates. http://kingandfaye.blogspot.com
With much hope, King and Faye Sacramento
Email letter sent out to friends and family
Here's a copy of the email I just sent out in case you didn't get it via email:
Dear Friends and Family,
Hello! We pray that this letter finds you in a place in your lives where you are very much aware and living in the fact that you are loved by our wonderful God.
The last time you may have heard from us was in the midst of one of the worst, and most sorrowful situations of our lives. These last nine months have been heart wrenching as we had to say goodbye to our baby daughter Malaya before we even had a chance to say hello. We have faced these last few months realizing that the rest of our time on this earth will be lived without her.
Our hearts have broken and so many times the air around us has been filled with weeping. Oh, but this has not caused us to lose our hope in God. We’ve been witnesses of His great faithfulness. It is true what the Psalmist penned. This year we have walked through the valley of the shadow of death and yet…have felt no evil. And it is really because God has been with us. He continues to be near us and hold us close as we miss our daughter. We’re comforted knowing that every day is one day closer to being with her in Heaven.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support and love. Your prayers, emails, cards, gifts, and presence have shown your compassion and we will remember that always.
We are very much aware that your prayers and partnership will also help get us through this next season of our lives. We are writing you because we believe that God is redeeming something that we felt like we lost in January. We will finally be flying across the world to go on the vision trip that we were supposed to take earlier this year. We will be in a restricted access country from September 29 to October 8 of this year. (That’s just a little over a week away!)
The last time we were going to leave we were going to join someone who had lived there for over a decade. This time, however, we will be going on our own. (Don’t worry, we DO have contacts within the country who will be helping us.) We are planning on discussing possibilities in the area that may help boost the local economy with some local government officials. We are wanting to let God do His thing and open doors if He so chooses.
As the days get closer we are more and more excited to be able to see what God is already doing and finding out how He might have us join Him there. After having not gone on our initial trip this past January, God has restored this vision with a renewed passion for His glory and love to be spread among these people. Again, we are seeing that God doesn’t show us the whole path of our future, but is showing us just the next step in our journey.
Oh, friends. This is a difficult, complicated world we all live in. We are messy, imperfect people who are in need of such grace for our souls. We, as a couple, are convinced that God is truth and He is worthy of our worship. His love for us is so great. So amazing…
Dear Friends and Family,
Hello! We pray that this letter finds you in a place in your lives where you are very much aware and living in the fact that you are loved by our wonderful God.
The last time you may have heard from us was in the midst of one of the worst, and most sorrowful situations of our lives. These last nine months have been heart wrenching as we had to say goodbye to our baby daughter Malaya before we even had a chance to say hello. We have faced these last few months realizing that the rest of our time on this earth will be lived without her.
Our hearts have broken and so many times the air around us has been filled with weeping. Oh, but this has not caused us to lose our hope in God. We’ve been witnesses of His great faithfulness. It is true what the Psalmist penned. This year we have walked through the valley of the shadow of death and yet…have felt no evil. And it is really because God has been with us. He continues to be near us and hold us close as we miss our daughter. We’re comforted knowing that every day is one day closer to being with her in Heaven.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support and love. Your prayers, emails, cards, gifts, and presence have shown your compassion and we will remember that always.
We are very much aware that your prayers and partnership will also help get us through this next season of our lives. We are writing you because we believe that God is redeeming something that we felt like we lost in January. We will finally be flying across the world to go on the vision trip that we were supposed to take earlier this year. We will be in a restricted access country from September 29 to October 8 of this year. (That’s just a little over a week away!)
The last time we were going to leave we were going to join someone who had lived there for over a decade. This time, however, we will be going on our own. (Don’t worry, we DO have contacts within the country who will be helping us.) We are planning on discussing possibilities in the area that may help boost the local economy with some local government officials. We are wanting to let God do His thing and open doors if He so chooses.
As the days get closer we are more and more excited to be able to see what God is already doing and finding out how He might have us join Him there. After having not gone on our initial trip this past January, God has restored this vision with a renewed passion for His glory and love to be spread among these people. Again, we are seeing that God doesn’t show us the whole path of our future, but is showing us just the next step in our journey.
Oh, friends. This is a difficult, complicated world we all live in. We are messy, imperfect people who are in need of such grace for our souls. We, as a couple, are convinced that God is truth and He is worthy of our worship. His love for us is so great. So amazing…
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