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puffyatcw
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Name: Patrick
Gender: Male
Interests: Anything Catholic, Traveling, and Missionary Work
Expertise: Cooking
Occupation: Running a Homeless Shelter
Message: message me
Member Since:
7/17/2006
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| Wow!!! It's been forever since I posted anything: January to be exact. I could say that I've been busy with school, but I haven't done any homework for almost two weeks. Marriage Prep classes...no, those have been over for a couple weeks too Wedding Organizing...no, Henny is doing all of that The truth is I'm in a awkward place right now. Things are in that weird transitional phase at the Catholic Worker. Everyone knows I'm leaving (to marry my sweet Henny) and have started treating me different. I guess this is a good thing because I have more freedom to leave the house and pursue personal interests. Yet, my departure date is over a year away and not ready to be cut out of the picture. What to do? Any suggestions? Please pray for me. On a positive note, my first semester at CSUF is almost over and I think I managed to keep my 4.0 GPA. That's incredible, from high school dropout to college honor role...God certainly works in mysterious ways. | | |
| Wow!! It's been a long time since I posted anything. It has been a very busy holiday season at the Catholic Worker and I seem to always having something going on that keeps me from the computer. So, I guess I have a lot to fill everyone in on (most of you already know but now you get to hear it from me). Since Thanksgiving, Henny and I have been very busy. First, we took our first trip together and spent four days driving around Arizona. Henny met my parents (they loved her) and we had a mini-Christmas with the family, we drove through and saw alot of cool towns, including Sedona (thanks for the tip Lucy), and I got to spend an entire uninterrupted four days with the woman of my dreams  Then I spent my first Christmas with the Setiadi family and got to take pics with the family. I think my favorite gift was a card from one of the Setiadi's welcoming me into the family...and to top off this perfect evening I got my first hug from Henny's dad. Yeah, pretty cool Ha? Then, the week from Christmas to New Year's Eve was spent in a constant state of anxiety. Forget the planning of parties and the feeding of hundreds of homeless people, I was about to ask one of God's Angels to spend the rest of her time on Earth with me. So, at about five minutes till twelve on New Year's Eve 2006 I asked Henny to be my wife!!! Most of you already know she said YES!!! WOW, GOD sure is great!! What I did to deserve this most precious person and God's incredible Blessing and Grace I will never know or understand, I will always be grateful. Thanks God. Finally, today Henny and I opened a CD account that will be used to pay for our wedding and honeymoon. I can't wait. To all those who have been there with us as we have come to experience this most perfect expression of God's love for us, I would like to say Thank You for your support and love. You will always be in our thoughts and prayers. | | |
| Although I spent the entire Thanksgiving week in the kitchen, I have to say I had a great Thanksgiving. This has been a year filled with many blessings and I used my time in the kitchen to reflect on some of the gifts God has given me. Early this year, I was blessed with a new group of friends, the gang at Search. At a Search retreat I experienced something powerful enough to bring me to tears and something I feel more now than at any other time in my life...I experienced Love. The Searchers took in a complete stranger and made me a part of their family. I will never be the same. Thank you Searchers!! Thank you God!! This would have been enough, but God decided to keep blessing me. In June I spent a month doing missionary work in Africa and was able to experience a different culture. These were some of the most hospitable people I have ever met and I was touched by each one of them. Also, I will never forget the awesome African landscape. The most rewarding part of the trip was the ability, with tons of help from friends, to send almost 2000 lbs. of books and supplies to the school that hosted me. Thank You my African Brothers!! Thank you God!! In Africa I racked up quite a phone bill talking to someone who would become the years greatest blessing...Henny. The months since Henny picked me up at the airport have flown by and we will be leaving in a couple days to go on our first trip together. I'm excited, not only to be going on a trip with my angel, but also to see what the future holds for the two of us. Thank You God!! I am officially a student at CSUF majoring in Comparative Literature. Not bad for high school dropout. It has taken years to get here and I finally made it out of Santa Ana College (with a 4.0 :-0) I have a feeling my new courses will be more challenging and rewarding and can't wait to get started. Thank You God!! Man, what a year. Why God has poured down his blessings on me in such abundance I will never know, but I am eternally grateful. | | |
| This weekend I celebrated my 32nd birthday. I had a great time the entire weekend. Henny took me to the State Line for a little shopping, eating, and gambling. By the time the day was over I was only out 100 bucks. $98 on shopping for new clothes and a whopping $2.00 on gambling. Dinner was free, courtesy of the tour company. All in all, the trip was really great and for those of you who want a fun and relaxing day, try the turnaround trip at St. Barbara's through Search. That's not all Henny got me. She is a really great listener and picked up on something I was telling her one day when we were out. She remembered that I liked the childrens poetry of Shel Silverstein and got me A Light In The Attic. I had a great time reading it with her and remembering back in the day when I first read poetry (wow, that sounds weird). Did I mention that I have the coolest friends ever. Sunday morning I went to a Search meeting and when it was over we had lasagna, garlic bread, pizza snacks, drinks, and all the trimmings. Thanks Mike for picking up all the stuff, Sandy for cooking and letting us use your house, and all those who were there for helping celebrate all the October birthdays. God is truly great and has expressed his love for me through those he has put in my life. Happy Birthday Nap!! Happy Birthday Angie!! YEA!! Let's all remember to welcome Serena Abigail Luna, who was born on October 16th to Frank and Cecilia, to this wonderful life and keep her in our prayers. | | |
| Well it's been a while since my last entry...I guess I've been a little busy lately. dosen't seem like that much now that I look back, but with the help of some friends I managed to ship 1000 lbs. of books to Africa. Now, we are in the process of shipping 500 lbs. of medical supplies, books, and school supplies. By Christmas I hope to be done with the book project and on to the farming, HIV, and School Building Projects. I have also recieved a copy of the newest newsletter from Kasupe Ministries in Africa. Good News...The Farming Project is under way. Through the generosity of others, Kasupe has recieved the funds for three irrigation pumps. The pumps are now set up and the first farm is already using one. God is truely great!! Finally, I have a talk to give tonight at St. John Neumann in Irvine so any prayers would be greatly appreciated. May the peace of our Lord be you always! | | |
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