Like you, there have been many times and instances in my life when things fall into place and dreams become realities. They can be simple things or they can be big-time goals. They go by different names - luck, providence, divine intervention, fate, destiny, positive thinking, and the like. No matter what you may want to call them, they always give you the feeling that you are blessed. You almost want to shout from the top of the roof and say, “Thank you!”

In November 2007, I had to look for a new apartment here in Hanoi. Hanoi is known for its lakes and so I got excited about the idea of having a house that has a lakeview. Michelle and I looked at many different houses. A lot of them were nice but as always, quality has its price. Knowing that renting a house is not often a good investment, we told ourselves, “If we rent an OK and cheap house, then we can save some money.” The optimistic side of me argued that maybe, just maybe, we can find a house that is nice and also affordable.

December came and because it was almost year-end, I was doing my year-end evaluation of my personal goals. I was getting pictures from the internet of things I want to achieve in my life. And then I thought, “Why not get a picture of a view of Hanoi lake?” And so I got this from the Internet:

Michelle and I kept searching for the house that stood out among the rest. As the good book says, “Seek and ye shall find.” By God’s grace, we found a place that’s nice, has a lakeview, and best of all, affordable. Here’s a picture of the view we have from our second floor balcony:

That’s not all. My colleague who left for Australia last month sold his satellite tv dish to me. I had it installed this week in my new place. Guess what?! I get local Filipino channels and other international cable channels 24/7. I love it! But I can’t help but wonder why on earth I can get this kind of quality tv reception here in Vietnam, while in the Philippines many rural areas are lucky to have two channels. Could it be because two of the biggest cable TV operators are owned by the same company? I hope the great tycoon Gokongwei will also get in to the tv broadcast industry and cable services to make sure that there is enough competition with large companies that have cartel-tendencies. Mr Gokongwei deserves a lot of praise for entering the cellular phone market (Sun Cellular) and the airline industry (Cebu Pacific) and making sure that there is fair competition. Anyway, back to the good news:

After a nice Christmas holiday in the Philippines where I was able to spend quality time with my loved ones, I’m now back here in Hanoi in our new house. This whole experience of achieving my goal of finding a new house and moving into it this week, got me thinking - If it’s possible for me to have this nice and affordable (a unique and rare combination) house here in Hanoi, can I extend my wish and ask our Lord to find my place in my true home, the Philippines?

I have it all planned out in my head and I can see how it will all happen in the near future. I long for the day when I can come back to the place where I belong and say, “I’m here for good.” I will embrace that day with arms wide open. And as I wait for that day to come, I keep the vigil and I continue to ask for blessings, to seek the right path, and to knock on the door of our Motherland. In my mind and in my heart, I’m already there. I am home.

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