God Works in Wonders

I first arrived in Singapore in March 2005. Yes, that was 8 years ago. I was holding a Special Pass and worked as Dental Treatment Coordinator then. October of the same year, the husband who works in Qatar at that time followed me here without an assurance that he will get a job. 5 days after his arrival, he was offered a job and also held a Special Pass.

K at Changi Airport during her first visit in Singapore

December 2005, my mom brought K to visit us here in Singapore since we couldn't take a long leave from work. She was 3 years old then, look at her priceless innocent smile in the photo above. From 2005 - 2008, she travelled to and fro PH-SG to be with us during school breaks. Every time we send her back to the airport to fly back to the Philippines, my heart breaks as she clings on to me as tight as she could.

I gave up my blooming career in 2008 (I was upgraded to Employment Pass by a Swiss dental company and they sent me to Switzerland for training) and stayed for 3 months in the Philippines to gather K's pertinent documents while M processed our Permanent Resident (PR) application here in Singapore.

Some concerned people thought it wasn't a very smart move as it was too risky but we surrendered everything in God's hands. The battle here is career versus family. I chose the latter with the hubby's full support. We submitted our PR application May of 2008. Fortunately, we got the approval in August - K and hubby's birth month. In fact, the approval letter was dated exactly the same as their birth date. What a sweet and precious gift!

September of the same year, Singapore and the rest of the world was hit by a bad recession. From then on, most foreigners who apply for PR were rejected. We are truly blessed. K celebrated her 6th birthday in Singapore and she never left our side from then on.

Everything happened in God's perfect time. August was also the month for registering Primary 1 students. I was able to get K a slot in a local school and we moved to our own rented flat (hubby and I used to live in a rented room).

Fast forward...
8 years after I first landed my feet in the land of Singapore, we now have baby G whom we have prayed for fervently for many years. We now have a place we could call our own though we never thought our dream would come into reality so soon. We renewed my mom's long term visit pass and she was given another five years to stay in Singapore.

As of this writing, the hubby just called to say that he renewed our PR online and it has been approved. God truly works in wonders. To God be the glory always and forever.

PS
I skipped all the trials we've been through all these years as I prefer dwelling on the good things. As Glennon of Momastery would put it, life is and will always be BRUTIFUL.