Diario de Mascarenhas

Merry Christmas Christmas '07 at the Mascarenhas' home.

Steve and I went to the boxing day sale at Sylvia Park. I think half of Auckland city were there. It was choc-a-bloc!!!People go crazy with these sales. I confess I did indulge in a bit of shopping too. I was very happy with my bargain, a cardi worth $5. When we got home, I replied to my friend Rika's email. She had great news as she is on the way, with the baby due in April. It was good to hear from her.

So what are you up to these next few hours before Christmas? Have you finished your Christmas shopping? Have you wrapped all your gifts to friends and loved ones? Are you preparing the feast? And most of all, have you prepared your heart for the celebration of the birthday of our Lord, Jesus Christ? Sometimes we are all caught up with the busyness of the festivities that we now and then forget that Christmas is all about Jesus Christ. It is all about His coming into the world and helping us realise the purpose of our lives. So let us stop for awhile and greet our Lord, a Happy Happy birthday, and thank Him for the blessings He has showered us, in what ever form it may be.

(Picture by Paul James) There are some stories that tug your heart and you have to share it with other people. Here is one write up that touched mine. As you know, we have plenty of Koreans currently studying in the Philippines to take advantage of our cheaper tuition fees and learn English at the same time. This is an essay written by a Korean student i want to share with you. (Never mind the grammar; it's the CONTENT that counts) Maybe it is timely to think about this in the midst of all the confusion MY SHORT ESSAY ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES Jaeyoun Kim "Filipinos always complain about the corruption in the Philippines . Do you really think the corruption is the problem of the Philippines ? I do not think so. I strongly believe that the problem is the lack of love for the Philippines . Let me first talk about my country, Korea . It might help you understand my point. After the Korean War, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Koreans had to start from scratc...