Psalm 34:18

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
   and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34: 18

I am traveling back to St. Louis Friday after I get out of class. I wish that I was going home for anything else besides a funeral. My heart is still broken for the Ocuaman family after the loss of Minda. Out of respect, I usually called her Tita Minda, which is aunt in Filipino. She really was like a relative to my family and me. I will always remember the Filipino congregation when I was a child in the days when it was called FAIC (Filipino American International Church). 

She was such an inspiration to so many of us. In times like these, many (including myself) question why God has to take His children away from us so soon. It really hurts to know that she is gone and I quote my dad in saying this seems like a nightmare that we should be able to wake up from but it is actually real. However, I still truly believe that God still has a plan and purpose for everything - even in the midst of this tragedy.

Please continue to pray for the families. Pray for comfort for Romy, Minda's husband and their children Jes and Junior. Also pray for the Muthkumaru family as Margie and Raina are still recovering from the accident in Louisville.

The funeral arrangements for Minda are as follows:

Schrader Funeral Home

14960 Manchester Rd.

Ballwin, MO 63011

Viewing - Friday February 25 from 2:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Funeral service - Saturday February 26 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Lastly, I want to share a song that I find most touching and uplifting for right now. It's called "Homesick" by Mercy Me.We are sad, yes, but we must celebrate the life that Tita Minda had on earth and rejoice that she is now in heaven with our Savior! Let us lean on Jesus for He can provide us the ultimate comfort. 

I cannot wait to join you in Heaven, Tita Minda.

Urgent Prayers

A tearful, heartbroken plea from my family and I. Please pray for the Ocuaman and Muthukumaru families.

A dear friend of my family, Minda, passed away last night in a car accident on the way to Louisville from St. Louis. She was driving and her friend Margie Muthukumaru was in the passenger with their daughters Jessica and Raina. Margie is in the ICU. Jes (Minda's daughter) had some staples on her head from a cut and has bruising on her body. Raina had a fractured arm, clavicle, and cut in her liver. She had surgery today.

They are all close Filipino friends to my family and I have grown up with them. Minda was like a sister to my parents and even helped start the Filipino church my dad planted in the early 90s. She was definitely a strong woman of God so at least I know she is up in heaven and not suffering. My heart is broken for this family and mine as they mourn this loss.

Minda's husband is Romy and also has a son, Junior. Margie's husband is Raja and they have a son, Shaan.

Please pray.

New Days, New Experiences

My apologies for not writing since Christmas! Honestly I have no legitimate excuses except for my laziness. I completed my first January term and am  now at the start of the spring semester. In January, I took Photojournalism 2 and Opinion Writing. So while I only had those two classes for the month, I still had a constant pile of homework. I ended up getting some pretty good photos taken in my class. My trusty new camera is great! Feel free to check out my Flickr page to see some of my work.

I am in my second week of the spring semester and I already have a LOT of work to do! I am now a page editor for the A&E section of our school's publication, Cardinal & Cream. While I'm excited for the opportunity to be in this position, I cannot help but be a little nervous and intimidated by feeling like I have a lack of experience. I know that God is in control, and these negative feelings will go away as I continue and get used to it. My professors and the staff are all great and have been more than willing to help me out which is such a blessing. I have written two articles already. Even though it is busywork, this issue was such a treat to write. One of the articles was about the upcoming concert at our school. I even got lucky enough to be in contact with the artists! For those of you that may not know, I am a huge music and movie buff! Even better, my second article was a review piece about the Academy Awards. Every article I write may not get to be that fun, but I am sure glad I got these two articles.

On top of article writing, I have a full course-loaded semester that I am sure will bring my sleep deprivation levels to greater heights. I am probably most excited about my two photojournalism courses - photo editing and social documentary. I have come to really look up to my professor and cannot wait to continue learning new things about photojournalism from him.

Some other great/scary news I have just received is that the editor-in-chief of the newspaper has asked me to go to the Southeastern Journalism Conference in Alabama. It may not seem like a big deal, but as a new student in this department, I am honestly pretty nervous about it. There are competitions involved. Our newspaper is up for awards that we have already submitted entries for, but there is also an on-site competition. There are 13 possible categories and only one student from your school group is allowed to do each category. If I do participate in this event, I do not know which will be assigned to me. EEK! Anyway, the conference is Feb. 17-19. Pray for me.

All in all, it's good to be on campus. We have a snow day today which is partially why I am making time to write.

I do have one urgent prayer request. My Great Uncle Mario (who we call Tito Mario), is having open heart surgery in St. Louis as I write this. He suffered a heart attack last Thursday. I do not know any other details at the moment, but I do ask that you join me in prayer for my great uncle and the surgeons who are working on him at this very moment.

Peace,
Katlyn