My 2012 Hightlights

I know I am a month late of sharing this but today's blog hopping inspired me. This is my way of looking back, reminiscing and thanking God for what 2012 has been to me and my family and to the people I love. This post is more for me though. Haha. Would want to look back what my 2012 looked like, say, 10 years from now, or even a year from now. :) 2012 was a year of courage for me and it has been filled with ups and downs, laughter and tears, goodbyes and hellos, learning and unlearning and facing and conquering my fears so I can expand my territory and grow. Just as what God wanted me to do. 

There's even a pre-work to this post. Backreading my tweets and browsing through my old photos. So effort! Haha. So me. Cramming and squishing all the small work, the last time, thus, the mediocre outcome. Must find the will and pray for the grace not to do that from this moment on.

 My New Year's Eve (Dec 31, 2011) tweet:

"Courage is not the absence of fear but choosing to act despite of fear" 

Highlight #1: Bentoa's goodbye :(

Farewell dinner for Bentoa with the roomies!

This was a sad highlight and start of the year. Our roomie for almost 2 years decided to go back to Mindanao but still working in GK. But we're happy that she's happy! We miss you everyday, Bentoa! :)

Highlight #2: Social Media for Social Change by Rappler(dot)com

Sharing with you my tweets below:
Big time journos are here! Excited to listen and learn. #MoveManila
We are in the era of radical transparency. #MoveManila
@maria_ressa at #MoveManila: Behave online as you do offline. I don't post what I cannot personally tell others.

Highlight #3: Welcome to Team GK, Gia Leanne Luga!

Tweeted:
Another taga-Scihi joins Team GK here in GK HQ! Yay! Excited! :) Always makes me happy to see people from my past joining GK! :)

Highlight #4: My first ice cream cake!

Tweeted:
Just had my first ice cream cake and loving Conti's Mango Bravo cake. Yum!

Highlight #5: Having social media marketing teachers in Crisely and Kuya Allan.

Highlight #6: EK (Enchanted Kingdom)!

I went there twice last year. First with our volunteers from GK Australia and the second time, with my college batch mates and both was fun, fun! And I got to check one item on my bucket list: be in a Zorb ball!!! :)

Highlight #6: Mission trip to Marinduque for their Kapitbahayan Assembly

Lunch before we head home!

Harana from the Kapitbahayans. Marinduquenos tradition for first time guests. So cooool!

Tweeted:
#NowHappening Kapitbahayan showing off their moves and their creativity and resourcefulness through their props.
morning "tambay" by the beach, biko and 3 in 1 coffee for breakfast. This is the life! 
Last night with the Kapitbahayan made all of us go aaaaaawww. It's what they call here "putong". A welcoming/honoring for guests.


Highlight #7: My first surprise visit in Cebu!

Around 9 AM in the morning, I tweeted this:
Should I have known earlier that my Papa is turning 50, like earlier than 10 minutes ago, I should have booked a flight home. Oh wellz.

Around 7 PM in the evening, I tweeted this: 

HOME. Impromptu visit and loving every second it. They were surprised! Thank you Lord for the gift of family and friends. :)

So, so happy that I got to celebrate with Papa and the family this major milestone in our family. Thanks for pushing me, Ate May! :)

Highlight #8: My first dance lessons...ever!

Chillin' at the studio. Naaaks!

My first and loving every minute of it! Hope we get to do this again this year...with the GK girls! :)

Highlight #9: Message Feature for Facebook Pages!

No, I'm not kidding. It is a highlight on my end so we get to receive queries and feedback straight from Facebook without giving our followers a hard time. Thank you for this, FB!

Highlight #10: Microsoft NGO Connection Day

I love meeting people who are in the same field as we are and learning from them! Thank you, Microsoft, for opportunities like this! :)

Highlight #10: Mindanao Mission Trip

At the start of 2012, I found myself praying that God bring me to our work in Mindanao. In my years of volunteering for GK, I've never been able to go there. Just once for a YFC Conference. But God can never be outdone. He blessed me with 3 mission trips in Mindanao last year. First leg was Davao-Bukidnon for a weekend. Second was a week and a half stay in Iligan for the Bayani Challenge 2012. And the third, was last December when Typhoon Pablo hit Compostela Valley and Davao City. Thank youuuu, Lord! This year ulit, please. :)

On our way to Bukidnon from Davao with co-missionaries. I love, love Bukidnon! And so happy to meet the Mercados! :)

At Tinago Falls with Team GK. So, so beautiful!!! 

With the igsuons in Maria Cristina Falls. Another bucket list item ticked off!

Bayani Challenge 2012 in Iligan with the Balatayos.

Highlight #11: College scholarship for Arboy and Inday

And I can't be happier and prouder!!! :)


Highlight #12: Meeting Chris Tiu!!! 

He has stolen my heart! Chos! :p

And dedicated a post for him! Haha. :)

Highlight #13: FIC Run

10k walk. Whuttup! Haha. :)

My first run...and probably my last. But, let's see! It was more of a walk for us though. Haha.

Highlight #14: GK won in the Skoll Award!!!

Yaaaay! And Kuya Luis and Tito Tony and Ate Ish flew to Oxford to receive it. Woohoo! Good job, Team GK! We've got a great, great God!

Tito Tony tweeted:
Oxford, March 26: Big hearts, big hopes bring people to Skoll. Great honor for Phil to win award this year. Great tnx to all GK heroes.

Highlight #14: Tatay Gilbert and Ate Zha got hitched!

Congratulations, Bustamantes!!! :)

My first SFC Household Head got hitched last year and can I just say, Tatay Gilbert did a great, great job with his vows! :)

Highlight #15: Innovate For Good Summit

Innovate For Good for Asia and Pacific Region.

With Team Philippines! Love this happy photo of us!

Innovate for Good learnings captured.

With my tour guide, Kuya Pedz!

Singapore. So my first out of the country trip was an all-expense paid trip. I am not doing any justice squeezing this amazing experience in one paragraph. But I had a blast meeting fellow changemakers (Naks!) from other countries! Hope there'll be a part 2! :) And enjoyed my 3-day extension!

Tweeted:
Met a lot of young and passionate people here in #InnovateForGood. All trying to make a difference in their own countries. Happy to be here!
Same beatings of the heart. Very happy to see that our generation are using all our youthful energy to good use. Woot!
Thank you Microsoft! We've had a blast learning and sharing and meeting passionate youth from other countries!#innovateforgood

Highlight #15: Luzon Mission Trips

Alaminos, Pangasinan for Freedom Day Build!

Masinloc, Zambales for a Kalinga sa Bayan Event.

With Team Marketing in Quezon for the Southern Luzon Leaders Conference. 

With Team GK of Central and Northern Luzon! 

Alaminos and Dagupan in Pangasinan, Subic, Masinloc in Zambales, Quezon. God has blessed 2012 with a lot of mission trips because that is what I really, really prayed for! :)

...to be continued.

Restore in Progress...

My phone crashed! Paniiiiic! The thought of losing my contacts and messages that I saved and memories captured for the last 2 months is unbearable. Yes, because 2 months ago I lost my phone of 2 years so that's equal to 2-yr worth of contacts and messages and memories. The phone, nah, replaceable but I get sentimental thinking bout all the memories captured and stored there...oh well. So here I am ranting while my phone is restoring...and I hope it does restore everything!

12 minutes later...done. And it restored my photos and my messages. But I have to build my contacts all over again and my apps. Sigh. But all is well.

But it also got me thinking...when our lives crashed, are we able to restore everything that we have and who we are, or we just allow ourselves to sulk in misery and stop living. Or do we allow God to fill those holes and allow Him to guide us through the process of restoring. I think what is important is that we don't lose the things that matters the most like our values and self-worth and persevere and rise again. Just a thought.

Well in my phone's case, the photos and the message are the most important and I'm happy that they're intact. Yay! Now, time to download apps and update my contacts.

Set the World on Fire

Photo taken at Punta Cruz, Maribojoc, Bohol. Our hidden paradise. :) Christmas 2012 with the family.

Faith Over Fear

The many things that happened this week with family, friends, and with work reminded me that:

1. Life is too short.
2. Prioritize your relationships. Always make time for your family and friends.
3. Things happen again and again in your life because you still haven't learned the lesson that you have to learn the first time around...even the second or the nth time around.
4. With change and strain comes growth.
5. Worry gets you nowhere. Trust. Pray. Continue. Press on. Be faithful.

Side note: Just warming up my blogging muscles...for the nth time. Hihi. Time to start sharing what's in my heart and in my mind, as long as I don't step on other people's rights and feelings. I am for responsible blogging and sharing. It's going to be a busy, a little bit scary but exciting months ahead for me and the Marketing Team and for the whole of Team GK. But as long as we're all in this together, we can do this. Really grateful for resources and opportunities presented to us for us to excel in our work for God and country. I hate it though when I let worry get hold of me and I end up crying til midnight. God has always been faithful and I have yet to remind myself again and again about that especially with blessing our family especially this year. I can already hear my father telling me that our family is enough testimony that He'll pull us through, every time, whatever we're going through right now. It is important too to be in touch with my heart (so I'm back to blogging or ranting), with the heart of what we do and with God. So this means spending more time with our communities, on ground work, prayer time and need to activate more prayer warriors! Giving my all.

Sharing with you these sayings that is apt for whatever I'm going through right now. Created by Works of Heart! I would want to meet the inspiring people behind these works someday. Hope you'll be inspired too.

Dropped by to say "Hi blog!"

Since my last post,

...two of my siblings graduated from highschool and one from elementary. 

...traveled to Iligan for the Bayani Challenge 2012.

...swam in the breath taking Tinago Falls and had a jump shot photo taken in front of the majestic Maria Chistina falls.

...visited the family for an advance birthday celebration of the June birthday celebrants.

...traveled to Singapore for the Microsoft Innovate4Good. My first out of the country trip. Yipee!

...attended the GK Leaders Conference in Cebu. And wrote my first ever GK1world article.

...grieved for the sudden death of a dear friend.

...mission trips to Dupax del Norte, Pangasinan, Lucena, and Pampanga.

...our baby brother just started school! Happy Ate! :)

...two of the siblings got a college scholarship. Woot!

...fun-est college get together with batchmates here in Manila.

...I turned 24. 

Looking forward to more of God's surprises. Embracing more blessings and more challenges with much faith, hope and love in my heart. Our Giver can never be outdone. Grateful and smiling ear to ear.

Leaving you with Tito Tony's recent quotable quote. A special reminder to each and everyone of us.