Shindig in Malindig

Weekend Trek in the land of Bellaroca and Moriones.

2 land trip, 1 boat ride, 4 hours of catnaps, 1 easy trek.

Join me as I share my mystifying experience in Majestic Marinduque soon after the Coron series part 3.

(naks me ganong introduction pa!)

Superstitions!

Together with the coming of New year comes the age old superstition of our people and with our own families as well. Some of those superstition are wearing polka dots fort New Year (which signifies more money in the coming year), 12 sets of different round fruits for good luck (heck, we didn't ever complete this one since my sisters always ends up eating all the grapes before midnight!), blowing up firecrackers to drove away the negative vibes from your house (sayang ang perang pambili ng paputok!!!) and what not.

Anyhow, I list up some of superstition which I just learned last 2011....

1. Getting married in a church with very strong structure. Strong structure = strong married life.

I actually learned this info from my good friend Shane who was married in San Agustin Church. True enough it was an old saying that you should get married in a church with reputable and strong structure. One thing that comes to my mind is the mighty San Agustin Church! It was the only church in Intramuros that survives WW2. It's in my bucket list to get married here hahahaha.

All Hail to the Mighty Church!

2. The Lion Dragon statue of China

According to the receptionist at our hotel, the lion dragon statue means goodluck and prosperity to the owner of the house. No wonder every house/ building/ temples/ establishment in Beijing has this on their doorstep. Hmmm..makabili nga ng ga-higanteng statue para sa future bahay ko.

Lucky Me?!!?

3. Visit the Church first before going in a vacation
According to Kuya Efren, before daw kami maglamyerda sa Cebu City we should at least go to the Church first par ama-bless yung vacation namin. And so we did! Ayan may ibidinsha! LoL. It was indeed a fun filled vacation at Cebu and Bantayan Island. Da best!

Thank you Lord for the Blessings ha!

4. Wood carved gods of the mountains
I have a secret to tell you. Afraidy Aguillar ako sa mga ganitong bagay na makikita sa Banaue! Waaaaaa!!! But just the same, the time I went to this place (twice last 2011) I simply pay respect to them and asked for safe passage expecially when we do the trekking in Batad and Kalinga (will post the story soon!). Nevertheless with the help of prayers narin our trip was a success and accident free pa. Yay!

Hellowh powh!

5. Shiny, Shimmering Splendor! The golden door knuckles of Forbidden Palace

Well, technically it was not only in Forbidden Palace that you can find this huge door knuckles but in Temple of Heaven as well. I think most of the Palaces in China have these one. It was plain curiosity when we we're in Forbidden Palace that all the Chinese people who passed by the door simply touch or grasp the knuckles before entering the premises. Shempre hindi ako papatalo, I did the same when I passed by the huge door of F.P. And according to our receptionist (see item 2) touching the knuckles daw means good luck. Niaha! Buti nalang nakahawak ako kaya puro blessings ako nugn 2011. (note to self: magpalagay rin ng ganitong pintuan sa bibilhing bahay para swertihin, kasama ng higanteng lion dragon statue. pag hindi pa ako sinuwerte ewan ko nalang!)

Ms Olive and her trademark pose (i.e. pa-cute and innocent effect pose)

I Say A Little Prayer For You

Dear Heavenly Father, O glorious and Heavenly King.
And to Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father’s only begotten son and our savior
King of Kings. Heavenly Father. We praise you and we worship you. Your honor and glory are all yours our God.

Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for continually giving us blessing in our everyday life.
Thank you for the good health, as we progress in our everyday lie, you keep us fit and healthy the entire day. Thank you for the nourishment we receive, not only on physical nourishment but spiritual as well.

Thank you for the job that we keep. Even though we’re experiencing hard times, stress, pressure from our boss and expectations from our colleagues, still we believe that you are there who constantly guiding us and allowing us to shine on our job. And also we believe that no matter how mundane your work, as long as it is done for you o Lord, it is still for the greatness of your name. Thank for being the great provider.

Thank you for the gift of family, friends and colleagues. Most specially thank you for the friendships that we keep, friends who are there through thick and thin, from the lowest to highest point of your life I thank you for giving them to me.

Lord, as we go on with our daily life may you continue to bless us with your grace. Allow us to serve you more, to glorify you and to worship you. Make us an instrument of your love, to spread your love to mankind and to serve those people who are in need. Bless also our friends who are pregnant now, bless the newly born babies as well, those who recently tied-knot in marriage, May all of them have a healthy and fruitful life.

Bless our Family
Bless our Work, Colleagues, Boss, and Clients
Bless our Friends and Acquaintance
Bless our Community and the Brothers and Sisters
Bless our Service, the Kids that we serve in Tuloy sa Don Bosco, The volunteers and The Director
Bless the bloggers (and their family) who constantly drop by my webpage
Bless our Country and the whole world.

Amen.

"And by his wounds we are healed" (Is. 53:5)

Dear Lord, our heavenly Father

We thank you for this opportunity to listen and worship you on our retreat.

Thank you for the beautiful day, for clearing up our schedules, just to attend this retreat.

Lord, due to our hectic schedule in the office and personal life we often times forgot to talk to you.

As more and more time are being spent in the office, the less and less time i've been in touch with you with my prayer time and service.

Yet you never gave up on me. Your still there and waiting for me to be with you.

Thank you for sending me your servants, to constantly remind me that a prayer time is a good time to speak to you.

Thank you for giving me my friends who help me in my spiritual walk of life, most specially to Floro who 's always there through thick and thin. Thank you for the gift of friendship.

This retreat reminds me also the joy of serving you O Lord. I was awoken by the spirit of service and volunteerism once more. Thank you for showing me where my heart truly belongs O Lord.

Life has meaning when I help others, no matter how small or big it is.

Our life should be not centered to us. We belong to a community where we should care and be compassionate as Jesus was compassionate to others. Together, we will give glory and praise to you O Lord.

When you call us O Lord, you call us entirely. Even with our weakness and sins.

We respond to your call with astounding "YES" for we know you will take care of us.

  Thank you for realizing us that life is indeed beautiful. Being your humble servant we appreaciate more things about life.

The simple things in life is enough for us to be happy.

As we go to this journey, we will encounter trials and sufferings. We know this is worth fighting for. For we believe at the end of the day, your love will prevail like a flower in the vines.

Lord, lead us the way to your heart.

You have awoken my spirit, ignite the fire to serve.

Lord God I offer you my life, my strength and weakness, to fully serve you

and give glory to your name.

I am Ready Now.

AMEN.

(this is an excerpt of my prayer during our Lenten retreat last weekend @ Oasis Place of Prayer in Silang Cavite. May we all have a Blessed Lenten Season. Godbless)

Eto Na!!!

I have this weird feeling something good is gonna happen starting tomorrow.

You see, last Thursday and Friday, while I was deep thinking about the status of my life, i've learned that the reason why my problem keep on coming back is because I actually didn't let them go yet.
They're like a cold flu on a chilly December morning. They keep on coming back...or should I say they actually didnt leave me pala!

Last night, after contemplating about it, I decided to finally let it go.

Yes, go na go na, goodbye, arivederci, sayonara, kudafes, paalam, babay....

This morning I woke up happy and cheerful. Baka side-effect yun ng pagpapaalam ko.
(Dapat pala matagal ko na pala ginawa yun!)

Sa pagkamatay ni Hesus sa krus, isinama na ko narin ang paglilibing sa mga kasalanan na aking nagawa. At sa kanyang muling pagkabuhay kasabay nito ang muling pagkabuhay ng inyong lingkod.

Mas matindi, mas matibay, mas matatag. Hindi na magpapadala sa mga masasamang impluwensya.

Salamat Panginoon sa mga pagsubok na iyong ibinigay. Dahil dito ay muling napatatag ang kalooban ng inyong abang lingkod.

Balik blog na ulit tayo!!!!


P.s.
I would like to say HAPPY EASTER to my avid readers na walang sawang nagbabasa ng mga makukulit na kwento ng aking buhay. Sa iyo Dong, Doc Rio, Lawstude, Mr. Charmed-life, at sa iyo Ms. Stress (you-know-who-you-are) maligayang pasko ng pagkabuhay. Salamat sa inyong suporta!!

Bonggang-bonggang pagmamahal kay Hesus

Nabasa nio ba yung Gospel reading today (John 12:1-1) para sa Lunes Santo?
Kung hindi eh kwento ko lang ng maiksi sa inyo.

Nagpunta si Hesus sa bahay ng magkakapatid na Martha. Maria at Lazarus(oo si Lazarus yung binuhay muli ni Hesus). Habang naghahanda ng hapunan si Martha sa kusina eh si Maria ay nilinis ang paa ni Hesus gamit ang sobrang mahal na pabango at ipinamunas pa nya ang kanyang buhok pra matuyo ang mga paa nito.

Parang hindi nagustuhan ni Hudas Iscariot ang ginawa ni Maria kaya tinanong nya ang Guro "sinayang lamang niya ang mahal na pabango. Kung ibinenta na lamang nya yon edi sana madami shang pera ngayon at itong pera na ito ay ipinamahagi nya sa mga mahihirap". Sabi sa ebanghelyo eh nasabi ito ni Hudas hindi dahil concerned sya sa mahihirap pero dahil sa corrupt at magnanakaw sha (guilty!)

Pero sabi ni Hesus, "hayaan mo shang gawin ang kanyang ginagawa hanggang sa aking kamatayan". (buti nga napahiya si hudas).

Ayun, share ko lang sa inyo ang aking personal reflection sa katauhan ni Maria at ni Hudas.

Si Maria, sa simula palang ay nakita na natin ang kanyang pagmamahal at dedikasyon sa ating Panginoon. Kung artista lang si Hesus eh sha na siguro ang pinaka-die hard fan nito, baka nga presidente pa sha ng fans club. Hindi lamang sha tagasunod ni Hesus bagkus ay isinasabuhay nya ang mga aral ni Hesus at ibinibigay nya ang nararapat na pagkilala sa kanya. Yung nangyaring paghuhugas ng mamahaling pabango eh pinapakita nito kung hanggang saan ang kayang ibigay ni Maria para kay Hesus. Kumbaga to the great extent na ito ng kanyang pagkilala.

Ipinapakita nito ang generosity ni Maria para kay Hesus. Dahil imbes na ibenta nya at kumita ng maraming salapi ay ibinahagi na lamang nya ang pabango kay Hesus.

At since wala naman si Hesus sa ating panahon ngayon eh ibaling nalang natin ang ating attensyon sa kapwa tao na nangangailangan ng tulong.

Remembe the famous quote: "Kung ano ang ginawa mo sa kapwa mo eh ginawa mo narin sa akin" - Hesus

Ano nga ba ang importante sa buhay mo ngayon na kaya mong i-share sa iba?

Kung mahalaga sayo ang oras, why not spend an hour doing volunteering works sa mga orphange, home for the aged or sa kulungan?
Kung mahalaga sayo ang pera, why not magbigay ka ng konting contribution duon sa mga nasunugan o di kaya ay apektado ng mga kalamidad o sa mga gawaing pang komunidad.
Kung mahalaga sayo ang pakikipag-usap, why not i-share mo naman ang iyong oras sa pakikinig sa mga kaibigang nalulungkot at gustong maglabas ng sama ng loob o di kaya sa mga nalulumbay at homesick na.
Kung mahalaga sayo ang internet, why not use it to spread the word of the lord, magbigay aliw sa ibang nakakabasa (wag naman puro emo o drama, pero shempre kanya-kanyang trip parin yun.suggestion lang naman ang sa akin), o di kaya ay kumustahin mo naman yung mga kaibigan mo na nasa disyerto at malay mo homesick na sha dun!

Ayun, so kay Hudas naman tayo, shall we (ang haba ng blog noh?pasensha na ha inspired lang kasi magsulat ngayon)

Kung si Maria eh saksakan ng generous sa pagmamahal kay Hesus eh ito namang si Hudas ay ganid na nilalang! Actually mukha shang pera (fyi:sha pala ang treasurer ni Hesus sa kanilang grupo). Hinid nakita ni Hudas ang pagpapahalagang ginawa ni Maria para kay Hesus, kaya nung nakita nya na sinasayang (kuno) ni Maria ang pabango eh nagreact ito. Kumbaga mas inisip pa nya ang kikitaing pera sa pagbebenta ng pabango kaysa sa pagkilala at pagpapahalaga na ginawa ni Maria. Nabulag na ng pagkaganid sa pera itong si Hudas kaya napakadali nyang itakwil si Hesus sa halagang 30 pilak.

Greediness leads to Selfishness. Selfishness leads to Envy. Envy leads to Pride.

(fyi ulit: pride is what keeps Satan in hell. His pride is so high that he doesnt want to ask forgiveness to God the Father for attempting to unseat him in heaven)

HALA! LAGOT!!

So ayun, sa mga taong greed sa buhay, sa work, sa mga kaibigan, sa pera, sa relationship, and what not, eh sana you may find in your heart to share what you have.

So, sino sa dalawa (kay Maria at Hudas) ang gusto mong maging??

P Power!

I'll let you in for a little secret. I'll share with you what im doing when i have free time here @ Saudi.

Nope it's not surfing the net or chatting @ YM.
Neither is checking and updating Facebook or Twitter (though i must admit this is my 2nd favorite pastime)
It's not watching TV or listening to music.

Sirit na?

What I love to do when i have free time is to PRAY.

What? Serious?? Mwe? Di nga?? Jologs! Corny!! Baduy. So uncool!

I swear ito ang mga words na naglalaro sa utak nio noh? Aminin!!

Kahit na isipin nyong "old school" or "pang-matanda" ang ginagawa ko di ninyo maikakaila na ang pagdarasal minsan ang the best way to talk to God especially pag marami kayong solitary moments (tama ba ako King??!)

I admit, i'm the least person in the world na mahihilig sa pagdarasal. A few years ago (especially nung nag-aaral pako) I only pray pag may exam, or pag maysakit ako, or kung gusto ko ng isang bagay, or pag nasa simbahan. You know, the typical scenarios where prayer is needed. Hindi sha pang-araw araw na gawain. We are raised though as a catholic, even studied in catholic schools, but the idea or logic of being a Catholic is just like the ordinary people lang. Nothing special nor extravagant, ni hindi mo ako makikita sa mga charismatic prayer meeting or makitang nagwawagayway ng mga panyo sa Luneta for El Shaddai (sa luneta po dati ginagawa ung prayer meeting nila fyi..) Heck, I dont even prayed that hard when I suffered depression nung 2000-something nor when I was in Iran where I get caught in a emotional roller coaster relationship. In short hindi ako madasalin.

Come 2008, i was exposed in spiritual awakening which leads me to my catholic community now and greatly affect my spiritual life (see my previous posts about it). And before I was assigned here in Saudi my bestfriend/brother/soon-to-be-priest Floro asked me to pray the rosary daily. He's a Marian devotee and he explain to me the wonders of praying the rosary. And i must admit he was right! I believe God has work his miracle now with me while im here in Saudi. With constant prayer + rosary I believe he leads me out from temptation and kapahamakan (teka ano nga ba english word nito?hahaha). So now, everyday(9except weekend) I always get up early just to say my rosary and morning prayer, para maganda ang simula ng araw.

Kapag nagpupunta ako sa downtown Khobar mula sa opisina namin, i make it a point to say the rosary. Mga 15-25 minutes din na lakaran yun and instead na mag-isip isip ako ng kung ano anong mga bagay eh minabuti ko nalang na magrosaryo. Minsan pag tapos na ang rosary ko at hindi pa ako nakakadating sa pupuntahan ko, i'll just sing (in a very very low voice shempre) yung mga worship song na natutunan ko sa community namin at yung mga kinakanta din sa simbahan. Funny kasi yung officemate ko rin ganun ang gawain (he's a choir member kasi) pag mag-isa lang sha naglalakad. He sing while he's walking pero silent singing ang ginagawa nya shempre..or else baka mapagkalamalan shang baliw or else hulihin sha ng pulis!

I think nakatulong din lalo sa faith ko kay Lord ang pagkaka-assign ko dito sa Saudi. Since bawal ang religion natin dito pinalakas ko nalang ang personal prayer and worship to him. Naalala ko tuloy yung kasabihan na "Pag pinipigil (ang faith) lalong nang gigigil (sa faith!).. Korni noh? Hehehe

Question: Teka, eh ano nga ba ang nagawa ng pagdarasal sa buhay mo except na nilayo ka ni Papa God from sins at hindi kana nagsusuffer ng depression emotional roller coaster relationship (teka may ganito bang relationship talaga!??)

Sagot: Sa sobrang dami ng blessings na binigay ni Lord sa akin for the past 2 years (from 2008 till now) baka mabored kalang sa kakabasa nitong blog ko. But the BIGGEST blessing that i've received na pinagdasal ko din naman talaga eh nung mameet ko yung taong maituturing kong tapat na kaibigan...okay in lay mans term eh bestfriend (chessy!!!!) ika nga. Siksik liglig at umaapaw na kaligayahan nung araw na dumating sha sa buhay ko (ok sobrang cheessy na ito!!). I'll not go into details kasi makokornihan na kayo pero one thing for sure, God do really hear our prayers.

So ang advice ko lang sa mga ka-bloggers ko, pray always to god, and when your prayer is answered dont forget to say thank you to him ok =D.


theonoski


p.s.
i pray to god also before i go back here sa saudi na sana makalusot sa xray ng saudi ung mga devotional books ko.sana hindi maconfiscate.lalo na ung christmas gift sa akin ni bestfriend na rosary at daily bible reading. and thank god nakalusot naman sha sa airport.yahoo! god is great talaga!

Sibol kids + Me = Happiness

A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to be a pre-school teacher for one day (well, basically it's for 1 hour only lang pala) but the experience and joy it has given me last for a lifetime.

Funny but I don't consider myself as a teacher material. Tutor material i can be as I am doing it now in Tuloy Foundation but teaching 30 kids in one room, ibang usapan na yan! What made it even worse was informing me about the teaching gig 15 minutes before office hour ended. To avoid panick i immediately prepared impromptu teaching materials for the kids to learn and some song skits for us to sing as well.

Saturday come, as I walked into the small classroom of Sibol (*) a warm smile greeted me on the door. It was their substitute teacher who greeted me and introduced me to the kids. The mothers/sisters/siblings of the pre-school kids was also there, perching on the wooden windows of the classroom. First thing to teach the kids was how to sing, luckily I still remember what we've sang on the Mongolian night at Anto's night, and the song was.......

"MAKING MELODY IN MY HEART"

O diba, parang it reminds you of your cathechism days nung bata pa tayo =D.

After singing this song FOUR times, i paused for a while to catch my breath, and after a quick rest we resume our class. but this time it's stortelling time naman. Thank God I still remember what i've learned on the storytelling workshop that I've attended before and I must admit I did very well!

Hahahahaha! Ako pa! Try me and see for yourself! =P.

Indeed, this experience with the kids makes me long to have my own kids narin. I believe I will be a good Father and a great tutor as well. Ang tagal naman kasi ni Ms. Right....

Let me share you a verse in the bible referring to how can we enter the kingdom of God in heaven.

[The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven ]
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

True? why not!

(*)Child & Youth Development GK provides value based education for pre-school children, aged 3 to 6 years old through its program called SIBOL, which means “to grow” in the Filipino language. GK provides a support program for street children of elementary age, from 7 to 13 years old. They are provided with academic tutorials, sports and creative workshops as well as a very solid values formation program through a program called SAGIP, which means “to save a life” in the Filipino language.

Welcome Back!

After staying in Baguio for 5 days, eto ang mga napala ko

1. Headache
2. Sipon
3. Body Ache
4. Pagod
5. Teary Eyed
6. Soar Throat
7. Aching Legs

But wait, there's more:

8. Spiritually refreshed
9. Feel God's love throughtout the conference
10. Blessed by the service done by the brother's and sisters of Northern and Central Luzon.
11. Meet the wonderful persons like my breakfast buddy from QC, Ms. Secretariat, who is a deadringer to Pia Guanio, of Angeles, Roomies from Angeles,Greenhills and Dagupan.
12. Bonding time with the Alabang Brothers.

Hmmm...mukhang okay narin.Sulit naman pala ang pagod. Watyathink!?!?

theonoski

An Ultraelectromagneticsupercalifragiliciousexpialadocious experience

Last Sunday, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend Lingkod's anniversary in Makati City. At first I was excited to be a part of the activity of our community, to be familiarize with other branch's members and also be a part of the celebration for Lingkod. But my excitement turned into worry when they announce that we should be at the place at 8:00 am on a Sunday morning and also we need to do a presentation (i.e. we have to dance) at the afternoon affair. O.K. i said to myself, the waking up in the morning on a weekend we can dealt with but the dancing part....uh-oh...hmmmm..."houston we have a problem, a dancing problem that is"!

So, what i did was for the dancing part, we've practice the dance the day before the event (i.e. Saturday) and boy did we preactice very hard talaga! Thank God for JC, Ian and Sheena for patiently teaching us how to dance and the blockings! Eventually, after the gruelling practice we did master the dance steps! Yey! Hooray for Theo! Hahahaha.

(c'mon the last time i did dance with choreography was in first year high school pa, not counting the kotilyon and js prom dance ha! and the rest of my life i just dance in bars and disco where as you probably know, ,dancing there doesn't need choreography. jologs pag choreograph sayaw mo sa dance floor.lol)

So, the dancing part is done. Next to do thing, wake up at 5:45 a:m. Boy, this was really really tricky. Me, waking up at this time of the day on a weekend means away! But being a good servant and a little bit excited about what's store for me at Lingkod anniv I obediently alarmed my phone at 5:45 am and diligently stood up when it alarmed.

I must admit i'm impressed at myself for waking up early and not being grumpy/cranky, maybe it's a good sign that this day will be ah-o.k.

Oh, one more thing, another thing that dreaded me in going to Makati was for me to drive in EDSA. Nyahahaha! I've only drive there once and i had a ka-rellevo (no pun intended) with me but now wala! It's me who will drive all the way to Mayor Binay's Kingdom without any reliever in driving. But hey, luckily i did made it safe and sound to Makati. Maybe God really want me to go there and experience his love and to praise him, nowithstanding the early morning meet-up, the driving along edsa and the dance presentation.

The anniversary start with a mass and guess what, I've been chosen among so many people inside the training area to read the Responsorial psalm!!! I was shocked, happy, scared, doubtful all in the same time. Shocked kasi why me? Happy because i'll be serving the Lord. Scared coz it's my first time to do such a thing! Doubtful, kasi baka joke lang pala to! Well it turned out it was not a joke and i did my part (according to the priest in the mass) very fast! hahahaha! It's not my fault if i read fast, ang mahalaga they heard what I say di ba?

After the mass, its workship time. It was pure joy to worship the Lord and I must admit it was my first time to really sing out loud, raised my hand up high, joyfully sing to the lord in all my life! Sobrang saya ng experience,i cannot explain in words how happy and contented i was during the whole sessions. And the talks was amazing as well, the speakers really inspired us to be a good brothers and sisters not only to ourselves in the community but also to others as well.

Afternoon come and the presentation of each branch was held. We we're the first one to perform, in fairness to us we we're great! Hahahaha. The impromptu cast was fabulously great! Well we did lived up to the title of our song (joyful joyful of sister act 2) kaya we were having fun and joy talaga while we dancing. Nakakapagod but what the heck, we had fun naman, worth it parin ang pagod =D.

I went home very very very happy and feel blessed and yes until now i still had this so-called lingkod anniv hang-over (it's already thursday btw) but i must admit It was one great experience, pede ko pa makwento sa mga taong gustong makinig (or forced to listen to me hehehe).

Dear Lord, Thank you for the blessings you have given to me, thank you for being my saviour, my companion during loneliness,my bestfriend who keep on telling me that everything would be when im depressed, my buddy when i'm desperate for friendships, my conscience when im dealing with mortal sin, my buddy when i needed someone to talked to. Thank you Lord.

All of this I offer to you my Lord. My life and my profession I offer to you. What I do to my brothers and sisters in servicing them and my achievements in my work I offer to you, for you alone are the greatest and the most loving God. I am nothing if you're not here in my heart.

AMEN.



(note:title was inspired by the Eraserheads and the movie Mary Poppins)

Gawad Kalinga Gig (Build a Home, Build a Muscle)

Our cute little office here in Alabang recently team-up with Gawad Kalinga Las Pinas to build homes. We've pledge to build 30 houses in 3 years and the village will named after our company (conceited di ba?) Eversince i've heard the news about it thru Ate Evelyn I was so excited I nominate myself to become our department's representative! Well, ganun nga nangyari, I was assigned as coordinator and core leader of this group, even landing me the rights to be the assistant leader of the powerful food committee hahahaha!

Finally, last weekend, it was our department's schedule to build the home. The day starts very very early at 8:00AM! Again, me being a non-avid fan of early-morning-wakeup-pag-weekend have to drag myself to the bathroom at 6:30. After eating my breakfast and driving my sister to her house in Sucat little did I ralize i was sooo late! 8:30 na pala and here I am, the leader of the group still in Alabang. LOL. Di bale they can't leave without me. =P. Supringsily I was not that late, mas mas late pa pala =D.

So, we all go to the construction site, all in happy faces and very eager to help and to work. After we arrive at site and made some short briefing, introduction, teaming-up, etc. we start our work at 9:00.

Our group did a lot of work in fairness, merong taga halo ng semento, taga bitbit ng hollow blocks, nagpipintura, assistant ni foreman, taga pahid ng pawis, etc. It was hard but hey we had FUN FUN FUN! After 2 hours we had our recess break of ginataan (kulit noh, mainit na nga panahon and here we are eating ginataan!), then after eating work ulit!

After half a day's work, 2 recess break, 1 plastic gallon of mineral water, 6 bottles of POP cola, 2 liters of paint, 10 bags of sand, 2 bags of cement our work is done. Everybody was exhausted but i can see in their face (except for the emo guy) the emotional gratification of finally doing something for others. Sabi nila they we're so happy to be a part of Gawad Kalinga, and kung may chance pa ulit in the future for them to join sasama ulit sila.

Then it strucks me. Ang pagtulong ay dapat bukas sa puso hindi sapilitan sapagkat sa bukas na kalooban mararanasan ang tunay na kaligayahan.

(yikes, ang lalim nun!)

Ang sarap talagang maging bata, di ba? =D.

Demanding

While I was driving earlier on my way to work I was listening to maxfm 103.5 and their topic caught my attention. They we're discussing about "rock stars/singers demands before doing a concert", and they inform that:

a. jennifer lopez wants white flowers, white linen sheets, coffee to be stirred COUNTERCLOCKWISE

b. marilyn manson demands a bald hooker without teeth before he starts his concert (yuck!)

c. madonna wants weights, massage, luxurious pampering and a phone call from her kids before she hit the stage.

according to the dj's, these singers actually demand this outrageous whims to test how far can their producer go to satisfy them. most concert artist's alibi is that we're here to entertain you guys, giving you all our best talent, in short "mahihirapan kami dito tapos kayo naman kikita, swerte nio naman' (this is the artist telling the producers of the show).

while pondering on this thought (re:being demanding), i remember the chat i had last friday with Fr. JV of San Agustin parish here in Pque. He told me that the priest's living condition now is not so good, they live on the second floor of the church wherein they slept on wooden floors and they don't have much on their place. I know some people might think its ok for them to live in that way pero at least naman sana they have a comfortable living space sana =(. they are requesting daw their officials for a better living condition but knowing their parish na salat din sa pera their reqiest will automatically shot down.

this thoughts leads me into this: why is't we can't provide our priest, who serves us and make us more closer to god, a better living condition. after all our priest help us to live an eternal life in heaven. hindi ba malaking utang ng loob natin sa mga pari kapag naisalba tayo mula sa tiyak na kapahamakan ng impierno (uh-oh, i sound preachy na dito ah!) pag namatay tayo? kaya hindi na ako nagtataka why some parish priest end up being corrupt, coz the people who are suppose to take care of them didn't do anything to help them!

it really saddens me when i hear fr. jv's story last week, and it cross to my mind as well kung sila fr. jv are having a hard time here in metro manila what more are the parishes in the province..let's say sa mountanous region of benguet or sa southern leyte????

well, siguro it's already included in their duty being a priest to live in a modest life. i just hope they can cope up with their way of life, free from harm and sickness. for you father jv, i admire you're courage and strength, may god continue to bless you and your parish as well.

AMEN.

p.s.
to father jv: i enjoy your talked last friday at our PM. you're one of the best speakers that i've heard. also i enjoy our conversation and the jokes you shared when we're in the car going home. super saya! i never expect this to a 34 y/old father.

i hope we can meet again father!