Hi, I’m Hazel!  Originally from the Philippines, I moved to the US at age nine and have been living in Jersey City – except for the first two years of my marriage – ever since.  Growing up I believe that God has always been calling me to Himself; even while I was in the Philippines at a young age, I remember times when I would question why we did certain things at church and what the purpose of life was (no joke!).  Fast forward to when I finally arrived here in America, I surrendered my life to Christ on February 21, 1996 and started following Him.  Life after that has definitely not been free of problems or stress; it’s had its shares of ups and downs, much like everyone else’s life – the main difference is I know I don’t have to strive to live on my own and earn anything but instead I can rest, knowing that I am so very loved by Him and fully immersed in His grace ❤

I met my husband Paul in Sunday School class about a week after I arrived in America. I guess you can say it was love at first sight – according to him, anyway! We remained friends growing up, didn’t start dating until we were in college, got engaged exactly five years later after dating, and have now been married since April 2011.  God has blessed us with our son Joshua Timothy (JT) who was born October 2015!

Formerly working in HR for several years, I’m now a stay-at-home mom and learning the new ‘normal’ life I have. My husband is a church pastor/planter. Right now we’re in the early stages of starting a church concentrating in the West Side of Jersey City. So if you’re looking for a church, we’d love to meet you!

A little bit more about me: I can say the alphabet backwards _ Washing the dishes is my favorite chore, with vacuuming being the least _ When I eat different dishes at one time, I go through my plate clockwise, making sure that my last bite consists of my favorite dish _ Ferrero Rocher is my favorite chocolate but I don’t like Nutella spread (go figure) _ If I became a rapper, my rap name would be Off Da Hazey _ I drink milk like it’s water _ I had a You’ve Got Mail day with my husband wherein we (mostly me!) recreated some scenes.  We had so much fun – well, I did anyway.  My husband agreed to do it because he loves me =P

I hope you stay awhile so you can get to know more of who I really am as I share bits of my life here ❤