Celebrating Jeanette

I have only two main weekly events in this blog, the Tea Talk I host on Thursdays which is a celebration of friendship in general by having a some kind of virtual tea party, and Celebrate Friendship which I host on Saturdays. This one is for celebrating a particular friend by writing a post about the person, sending a virtual gift and an open letter to him/her.

Today, I'm celebrating Jeanette. She was the administrator of the school where I taught before. She's a soft-spoken and gentle person who's faith in the Lord is steadfast and firm whatever continent she is found. She's a beautiful lady and with her petite appearance one could not imagine how she could "steer a big sinking boat back to its course". She did that to my former school. Her strong determination, discipline at work and commitment to excellence made her stand out among brilliant others. I'm proud to be counted one of her friends.


Dearest Jeanette,

I know you didn't need a public recognition but allow me to celebrate your friendship in this way.
The first time we were introduced to each other, I was quite feeling uneasy because not only of the fact that you were the first British I came in close contact with but also because your very good reputation was already heard even before we arrived the country. You were an excellent administrator who spoke perfect English and there I was to work as a teacher of your own language! But I soon feel comfortable in your company as I saw your humility by the way you try to immerse into the culture, eating local food, learning their language, spending time with local friends and living with them as roommates. Life in Asia was very different from yours but you embraced it as the way you extended grace and patience to people who came from a slow-pace culture orientation like myself.

Thank you for the help you extended to our charity work here, even from the beginning when we were yet on the planning stage. The feasibility study and plan you did for the learning center has taken us many steps forward. We are very glad that we kept in touched even when are now in separate fields of work. Your recent email has brought us joy. It's good to know you are having down time from work and study and enjoying the company of your sister and newly-born twin nieces. You deserve this break for you have been working hard. Here's a virtual treat for you.

It would be lovely to enjoy a real chocolate-cheese cake with you again. (((hugs))

Ruth xox

Thank you for taking time to read my tribute to my friend Jeanette. I invite you to join me and other friends in this special celebration. Please see the guidelines on the right sidebar. You'll find more friendship celebration by visiting the links in my MckLinky list.

My Cup of Tea

I'm having... Eagle's American Ginseng Tea which is given to me by my Chinese friend. It's not the kind that I love because it has a bitter taste but I know it's a healthy drink so I'm kinda okay with it. My teacup... is color bright yellow with red letters that says "Lipton". Yes, it's Lipton's novelty design which I got free for buying several boxes of tea bags. I like it's elegant design and the size is just right.

On my mind... how we urgently need more bookshelves for the 109 books we got last month and for the 146 books that DH and I have gotten today for our Community Library.

I'm feeling... excited! I always have this kind of feelings when I'm surrounded with books or whenever I buy a new book. Imagine how happy as a clam I was when I received the book "If Teacups Could Talk" sent by a friend.

"Life is a cup to be filled, not drained."
Anonymous, If Teacups Could Talk, p.60

Thank you, dear friends for having tea with me. I was rushing today but because I have a commitment to have tea with you, I'm happily obliged to slow down a bit. I know I needed it. By the way,if you haven't read my recent post Act of Kindness in my main blog, I mentioned there that I'm adding a little excitement to our guidelines by sharing a bit of our teacup/mug story. What color is it? Is it chipped by time? Is it a treasure found in 1-dollar store? I got this inspiration from the book If Teacups Could Talk which I recently received from my friend

If this is you first visit here, you are very much welcome to join us every Thursday. Please find the guidelines in my right sidebar. I also invite you to have more tea by visiting more friends on the list below.

Friendship Without Barriers

Do you want to bless your friend in a new way? Try joining this meme on Saturdays. Please find the guidelines on how to join in my right sidebar. You will surely be blessed as you bless a friend.


It's been a long time since I last saw my friend, Mary. But every time I remember her, there's always a bittersweet feeling. I don't even know if she would be able to read this but I'm hoping against all odds that this would somehow reach her.

We lived in the same campus many years ago and when Mary heard that there was a newly- arrived English teacher, she and her boyfriend came to see me and asked if we could be friends. What a sweet welcome that was! They were shy duo but because of their strong desire to learn English, they overcome their shyness and that was the start of a beautiful friendship. DH and Don became very close like brothers, and Mary and I became special friends. In fact, they soon became like a family to us. But when they both graduated from college, they had to go back to their respective provinces and that was the last time I saw Mary.

Today, as I am recalling our time together, I remember that my friend hasn't seen a beach yet. Her province is the the world's farthest province from the sea. So, this is my virtual gift for her. I want to give her a tour to one of the beautiful beach resorts in my home country.



Dearest Mary,
I don't know how to begin this letter. There's so much to say for it's been a long time we haven't seen each other. There's so much I wanted to know. What happened to your wedding plans? What province did you settle down? How many children do you have now? Did you continue to learn English? You and Don are always remembered here. The times we spent together were precious. Although we were not able to share all that was in our hearts but I believe our friendship has overcome that language barrier. So, I'm hoping now that as the world is getting smaller, our paths will cross again. That would be a precious gift from God!
I will continue to uphold you in my prayers my dearest friend. And if this letter did not reach you, I will show this to you when we meet again so that you will know that on this day you are my celebrated friend and that your friendship is always cherished.

Missing you,



Thank you for celebrating with me this week. Please read more celebrations on the list below. I'm sure you'll be blessed as I am when you read different stories of hearts knit together by a special bond called friendship.