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.

Day 17/40: Exciting!

...but I can't share it with you yet because it hasn't happened yet and it might not happen. But still...I'm praying for it and I want it. But no matter what happens, I am grateful because I am surrounded everyday by people and colleagues who inspire me, I love what I do and I'm doing what I love. Tomorrow is another chance to become better, to pour my heart out, to love more and to give more. For God and country!

Day 11/40: What Lead Me Back to My 2012 Prayer

This day started as a mess. I set my alarm at 6:30 AM so I can start my day early...but in the end, I woke up at 9:10 AM. Really, Maymay? 3 hours later? I have a gazillion backlogged things to do and at this very minute, it still remained as that...a backlog. Good job! #sarcasm At naghashtag sa blogspot. Haha Well anyways, but this day turned out to be quite different...just like any other day...different and happy. Yay to spontaneity! No sarcasm there. :)

I love that I've been receiving calls and inquiries the whole day through about the Bayani Challenge from our teams preparing on the ground. I can feel the cramming and the pressure and the excitement. More and more prayers are needed! Please be our prayer warrior! :)

So, we left the office despite the many deadlines that I need to meet just so we can catch up our 5:30 PM Zumba class and it was one fun and rowdy class. Enjoyed it. One of the best I attended so far. :) 

Another spontaneous thing today...I've got a deadline tomorrow, the online toolkit for GK's roll out with our AC teams this month! Surprise! HAHA. So here I am, staying up all night to finish that one. And I have the Bayani Challenge registration process to finalize. Oh geez. 35 days to go! Crazeeeeeeee! Lord, keep me sane.

My day doesn't end there. After Zumba class, I accompanied Ate Tine, our chapter head who is now also working in GK (Yay!), to the first ever chapter Music Ministry meeting of the year and tadaaaaa....here I am, a new MusicMin member. Okay, I'll give this one a try...it makes me excited. Something new. Let's see where this will lead me to. It isn't in my list of things to do for the year but not closing my doors on this new opportunity to serve through music. 

My day doesn't end there pa. After the Music Min meeting, we head over to Conti's in Makati (their mango something cake is to die for!) to send off Kuya Carlo as he'll be married soon. So many getting married this year. I love! I get to meet his fiancee who happens to be one of the volunteers that we met (but not meet meet) in Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon 5 years ago. We can't forget her because she took a lot of photos of our kids during the Paraisong Pambata. Na-amazed lang ako how those people in your past suddenly appears from somewhere. Amazing how God leads people back into our lives. Na-amaze lang talaga ako.

So there. This mababaw post is not just for the sake of blogging but to remind myself too that God has His ways of making you feel loved and blessed in the simplest of things and sometimes in the craziest ways...just like the MusicMin story today. So many new and unfamiliar things happening and I claim that there'll be more. Exciting! He sure is starting to answer my prayer this year for myself and for my family that I'd like to share with you: The Prayer of Jabez.

Photo source here.

Together with the prayer above, I pray for strength, courage and wisdom that I may do what is right and pleasing to Him. It's just the first quarter but my commitment and passion and dedication is tested. At may theme song pa yan na kasama, Beyond the Borders by Jamie Rowe. I so love this song, a must listen. My favorite line:

"Lord, I want to be your vessel, and move beyond my fears...As I stand at the edge of my border, as I long to reach past the world I know, Lord enlarge my territory, open my eyes, take my life, beyond the borders!"

Day 8/40: The Season is Here!!!

I'm supposed to catch up on some backlogged work tonight but I just can't seem to move on unless I am able to catch up on my backlogged blogposts. Priorities, priorities. Haha. So here goes my first entry for tonight.

7 years ago, GK started another radical "event" that has been on my and my family's calendar for...7 years now too. The Bayani Challenge. What started as a simple call to heroism of going out of your comfort zones and daily routine for 5 days to create homes for those affected by the landslide in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte has become an annual thing. Not only for me and my family but for our fellow volunteers, advocates, missionaries, partners and those who wants to have an extraordinary summer adventure with friends and colleagues. Bayani Challenge is extra special for me because I always get to join with my family. I love out-of-town trips and mission trips with family and friends!

I only got to join 3 out of the 7 because of school. But now, I will get to join as much as I want. No summer classes to mess with my summer plans anymore. Mwahahaha! 

Bayani Challenge 2006 at St. Bernard, So. Leyte. Too bad 3 Balatayos were missing so they have to endure listening to the exciting stories of the little boys. Matt was still the cutest Balatayo back then! :) Unforgettable and the best Bayani Challenge for me.

Bayani Challenge 2007 in Sorsogon with only 3 Balatayos this time but the Paraisong Pambata team were also there minus Anne and Dawn. But another Scihi team joined us as well. Happy and fun and inspiring!

All of my Bayani Challenge adventures are on the top of my list of unforgettable moments in my 23 years of existence. Well, I actually don't have the list right now but I'm pretty sure they'll make it there. Last year's Bayani Challenge was held in Cebu so I was really, really excited because first, it'd be my first Bayani Challenge as a GK fulltime worker, second, it was held in my home province, third, my alma mater, USC, had a team for the first time, fourth, my bestfriends were there with us and fifth, the whole family was there!

Bayani Challenge 2011 in Bantayan Island, Cebu. Balatayos: complete attendance! But we didn't get to have a family picture which I supposedly want because everyone (even Poipoi with Paraisong Pambata and spreading his cute-ness throughout the island) was too busy doing their own thing. Hectic! :)

This year's Bayani Challenge will be held in 5 provinces, in 6 different locations: Cagayan de Oro, Masbate, Iligan, Occidental Mindoro and Negros Oriental (Amlan and Dumaguete). That means six times the inspiration and excitement throughout the Philippines! Though I kinda am scared because I am part of the Secretariat and Online team and this will be quite a nightmare, but I trust that we can pull this off and because God is in control and this is His work, not ours. March is the time of GK's calendar where everyone is cramming, making arrangements, booking flights, team meetings, and registering for the upcoming event and so this is one of the craziest times for Team GK too but one of the most exciting as well.

If you haven't been to any GK activity, this one is a good first GK thing. If you're a GK volunteer and haven't tried this, oh em, are you kidding me??!! You're missing a lot kapatid! Haha. If you're in the state of searching your purpose in life and your soul and your heart's desire, this is a recommended non-silent retreat. Not necessarily will it lead you to become a die hard GK builder, but it'll definitely make you think through your priorities and see what's most important in your life, in one's life. If you're looking for inspiration, then be overwhelmed because you'll be seeing loads of those. If you're looking for love, well you might just find him/her there. Yihee! If you want a summer tan, well, that you will most definitely get. Sunburn pa! Bayani tan we call that. If you're a cynic, well, you have to keep an open mind and open heart when you join this one and allow the spirit to move you. If you're in for an adventure, this will definitely make it to your expectations. Sleeping on tents, waking up early, sleeping late, CR not CR-able (Haha), cooking food, dancing, singing, partying all night with the rest of the GK family and still have all the strength and energy to work and build the next day. Immerse with the locals, listen to the stories of the families, meet new people, share your story, listen to the inspiring talks, wag maging KJ, participate, run, laugh, shout, cry, love and have fun. It's just for 5 days but boy will you have a Bayani Challenge hangover after I tell ya! Other teams still meet up for the whole duration of the summer just to reminisce and deepen the friendship and the commitment. Tell me about it! I have met a lot of good friends from those 3 years of attending.

So head over to the Bayani Challenge webpage, over here, and join us for one heck of a summer of a lifetime! Not yet convinced, this post might help you decide.

I am excited just writing this post and anxious as well as I am quite sure that the Bayani Challenge gmail inbox is flooding right now. Haha. Okay, enough with the anxiety, focus on the goal, to allow more volunteers to experience this extraordinary adventure and share the GK spirit, the GK way. For God and country! Magregister na! :)

Day 4/40: Family

Right after the People Power EDSA celebration (which ended earlier...happy!), we all went straight home to get a much needed rest. It's been two nights in a row where we only had 3 hours of sleep at most because of rehearsals and production meetings. After 7 hours of rest yesterday, I decided to have a Saturday movie night. 

The first movie I watched was The Art of Getting By. It was a movie of a young guy who is about to graduate in highschool but have lost all motivation to live, lost all motivation in life. One thing he realized at the start of the movie was that what use is living life if at the end of it all, you'll die. But he found inspiration to start living and doing his school stuff and pursuing his passion for arts when he saw his mother struggling through life and meeting a girl.

The second movie I watched was the Change Up. It reminded me of the movies 13 going on 30 and 17 again where the the lead stars wished that they lived different lives. So that's what happened in this movie, the married lead star wished he had his bestfriend's single life. The married lead star who was already in his bestfriend's body found himself missing his wife, missing waking up at midnight to feed and change the diapers of his twins and listening to the stories of his daughter. And so at the end, his soul returned to his body and he was back in his crazy, married life. And I love that it was shown how he missed every single moment of it. The common denominator of the 2 movies: family.

Family studio picture. I love!

So I found myself missing my family back home. I visited them (a surprise visit!) one weekend ago. My father turned 50 and before his special day was over, I decided to book a flight home. That was my most expensive MNL-CBU-MNL ticket purchase but no regrets. I spent the whole weekend with them and loved and enjoyed every minute of it. I went to watch the basketball game of my brothers, John and Mark and cheered and took lots of photos! Stage Ate at that. Then attended John's Parents' Recognition in school where Mama, Inday and I get to dance with him and we all went to dinner afterwards with a family friend. The next day, we all went to hear mass at the Sto Nino Church...but we missed Nyn-nyn. She's been very busy lately (every weekend) for  out of town trips because of her school projects which requires them to visit forests, marine sanctuaries, mountains and islands. Fun noh? I love that she's loving (and enjoying every minute of it) the course that she chose. I'm praying and wishing that Arboy and Inday who'll be in college next school year to choose a course that they love or will love too. 

On a family mission trip. During the SAGIP Conference in Cebu.
Fun and everyone was in their GK shirts! 

Top things I miss about my family:

1. Waking up with breakfast ready cooked by Mama dear and waking up to the noise of everyone cramming and getting ready for school.

2. Papa tagging us along to wherever his work is taking him to. This is one of the reasons why we too became passionate about GK and now the environment. He would bring us when he goes on mission trips on weekends and on long breaks. I miss working and serving alongside with him. In the future, I pray I get to serve with all of them again! 

3. Lazying around especially during Sunday mornings when we have no appointments to go to. Just talking, laughing, singing, hugging, asaran, kulitan, sharing stories and just enjoying laying down side by side with each other on our cramped bed...or floor. Haha

4. Serious talks with Papa while Mama listens. We have lots of this every now and then. When we have done a bad thing, collectively or individually, Papa wakes us up either very early in the morning or very late at night and talk to us. When Papa does that, it scares the hell out of us because Papa seldom gets mad so when he does this, he must be very mad and losing his cool. But there are those talks about mission, faith, hope, love that I always love.

5. Kissing the parents goodbye and magmano every morning before I leave for school and every night after I arrive from school or a YFC or GK activity. 

6. Late night talks with the siblings and Mama or Papa telling us to stop the giggling and harutan because we still have school the next day.

7. Kissing everyone during mass and going to mass together. 

8. Praying the rosary together.

9. Going on GK builds and GK activities together. Going on mission trips. Jumping, singing, dancing side by side with the family during worships.

10. Tampuhans. :)

On our way to a family gathering and even in the taxi,
 kulitan pa rin.

Though I never regret to be away from them for the time being, there are always those days like tonight that I wish I was back home in the comforts of the people who loves me for who I am and am not. I couldn't thank God enough for giving and blessing  me with such a beautiful family. As they always say, you never get to appreciate them until you lose them. I know I'm not losing losing them but I don't get to see them everyday as I used to. Makes me appreciate them more. Makes me appreciate and more thankful of the love that they've shown me all these years. I continue to pray that we grow as one family in mission, in love, in hope and in faith. That God will use us to inspire the families that surrounds us as well. I also pray for those kids of broken homes or of those absentee parents. I also pray for those parents with kids have lost their way home, figuratively. I pray for the families in our GK communities that they continue to strive and find the will and the grace to become better for their respective families. I pray for all families that we may be anchored in God, and find ourselves serving the families around us. AMEN. :)

A Firm Resolve for 40 Days

Marinduque mission trip...Sunday homily...quality time with the family...new online learnings. A few words (max of 140 words) isn't enough to capture all I want to share about my everyday adventures so I'm having a firm resolve. To write and be inspired by it. (here I go again with my...I will write more rant.)

Photo source

Tomorrow's Ash Wednesday, first day of Lent. I was thinking of what my fasting will be, to take it seriously and take it to the end. I was searching of what necessary everyday routine or pleasure to give up for 40 days. Sleep? I couldn't make it to 40 days...or maybe I could if I choose to...after 10 minutes of self-arguing and watching TV in between... Geez. Just writing this post made me discover that. See? Writing a.k.a. ranting (for me) can sometimes or always gives me clarity. I think I'm losing my point here. So back to fasting, I heard from a homily (way back) that fasting could either mean you take away something or you add up something to your everyday routine or schedule. It's either you give up meat or add attending mass to your everyday schedule. But we were exchanging insights and learnings about abstinence and fasting with my roomies a few minutes ago (yes, we discuss a lot of insightful theology stuff. Thanks to Ate May, we are learning a lot about our faith. Loving it!) and she said that in the olden times, fasting means NOT eating meat every Friday for one whole year or skipping a meal. But it has evolved into adding up instead of giving up. But I would want to do both. I know I haven't really been praying on what to fast but I hope to take this to end. When your fasting during the Lenten season, it should go with other 3 elements as well: prayer, almsgiving (not comfortable with this word...sounds too giving-one-time-then-am-good attitude) and scripture reading (from Ate May's notes which was expounded online). I too don't think it makes any sense that you fast without prayer.

Reading through here while blogging. Important points to remember below taken from the article:

Lent is a period of fasting which leads up to Easter. Lent recalls Jesus' 40-day fast in the wilderness, mentioned in the synoptic gospels. Catholic Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends right before the evening Masses of Holy Thursday, although Lenten penance continues through Holy Saturday.

The purpose of Lent is to be a season of fasting, self-denial, spiritual growth, conversion, and simplicity. Lent, which comes from the Teutonic (Germanic) word for springtime, can be viewed as a spiritual spring cleaning: a time for taking spiritual inventory and then cleaning out those things which hinder our corporate and personal relationships with Jesus Christ and our service to him.

Whatever you decide to fast from, remember, as Steven Clark likes to say: "Lent is more than a diet." Lent is about spiritual results, not material ones. So, while losing a few pounds may be a nice side benefit, all fasting should be done for God's glory and spiritual growth. 

Fasting VS Abstinence

Fasting: The Western Rite of the Catholic Church requires its members age 18 to 59 to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, unless a physical condition prevents otherwise. This means only one full meal is permitted in a fast day.

Abstinence: The Fridays of Lent are days of required abstinence, meaning meat, and soups or gravies made of meat, are not permitted. Abstinence is required of those age 14 and older.

Fasting should go with:

Prayer:
Lent is a good time to develop or strengthen a discipline of daily prayer. 

Almsgiving (Charity):
While Lent is about giving something up (i.e. fasting), it is also about putting something positive in its place. The best way to remove vice is to cultivate virtue.

Scripture Reading:
When facing temptation in the desert, Jesus relied on Scripture to counter the wiles of the devil. It is a formidable weapon for us as well.

Why Forty? The number forty, hallowed by the fasts of Moses, Elijah, and especially Jesus, probably influenced the later fixed time of 40 days.

So where does writing come in? Well, because I am resolving to wake up 6:30 AM everyday for the next 40 days (except for Sundays!), that means I'm giving up the pleasure of oversleeping. And I thought of adding in praying and scripture reading everyday but that doesn't count because both tasks (I didn't know til now) should go with the fasting already so I'm adding in writing everyday. But no rules like, it should be at least four paragraphs long, cause...okay now my brain's giving me a lot of ideas today. Not very helpful. Haha. Basta yun lang for now. Waking up early is too much of a sacrifice already. Though I'm not measuring Lord ha? You know me. But I think I would even go beyond that based on this first entry. 

My stirrings today lead me to fasting, then to this post. I like! Few hours ago, I made a resolve to find it in my heart to really write for the following reasons below:

1. My GK Ates aren't giving up their "hirits" of me writing. I don't really call myself a writer writer. But I know I can tell a story or two so I'm putting my writing muscles to work to help write stories for GK.

2. We had an exchange of thoughts during lunch time with Ate Tine and Ate Ja about not having enough of (written) stories on the ground to be shared both online and in our marketing materials. I've always believed that we have thousands (tucked in the hearts of our volunteers and partners but never recorded on paper) and it is in these stories where the magic and spirit of GK is best captured. So I shared that we have asked a number of volunteers and workers to do that especially those who are immersed on ground to write about their experiences or different inspiring activities but they shy away and are intimated by the term "writer". There already are a few starting to submit lately. We encourage them to write in the language they are most comfortable with and we do the revising and editing for them, just so they don't get all too conscious about writing (better to use "sharing" with them) which (always) results to letting go of the necessary and usually inspiring parts. So I made a resolve to write too and not be intimated about what a writer writer should be. 

3. For the people I love and who loves me, who wants to keep up with my everyday "trips" and encounters. I too want to inspire a couple of friends to write more so I get to be up to date of their everyday "trips" and encounters too. And my bestfriend Mishy is back to her 365 thing so I'm joining her for the first 40 days of that challenge.

4. Style bloggers. Food bloggers. Photography bloggers. Digital Marketing bloggers. Travel bloggers. Journalists/bloggers. Personal bloggers. Lifestyle bloggers. We have loads of those already. Individuals who blogs about inspiring stories and encounters with struggling families and individuals who wants to become and live better, not much. Individuals who write about stories of hope and transformation and sacrifice, they are slowly coming around. So I'm joining the latter. Hope you'll join me too. Calling (young) fellow individuals who love what they do and are passionate in changing the world one little step at a time. Join me. Join us! Bloggers Anna Oposa and Noreen Bautista are the best examples that I can find and you should head over and subscribe to their blogs to know what I'm talking about that. You will read a lot of other stuff her but I resolve to make this blog exude more HOPE and LOVE and sharing a cause that I share with the organization I am working in and team I am working with, ending poverty and help create an environment to inspire more individuals and groups to join us ending poverty and putting faith into action. God wouldn't want us to grow in faith as a country and yet a lot of people are still out in the streets and dangerous areas living difficult lives. As Anna Oposa said, " It’s so easy to say what we’re against, but what we’re FOR is far more powerful." So I'm all for hope and love and faith in action and first world Philippines for the next generation and utilizing digital technology for social change.

So it'd be 40 days of fasting, praying, scripture reading, giving, waking up at 6:30 AM and writing for me. I was thinking of asking a few people to join me in the next 40 days, so I'm tagging you Bestfriend Mishy, Purlalu, Kirstin, and YOU for fasting, praying, scripture reading, giving, giving up ________ and doing ________! :) 

Day 1 begins tomorrow. May the next 40 days be full of reflection, prayer, self-discovery, realizations and inspiration. We are created to glorify our Maker. May we be reminded of the reason of our existence and the implanted desire in our hearts to give back and reflect His glory, every single day.

God in the Picture of Life

• God has His amusing way of making you smile and excited...and smile some more. :) 
• "God's ways entails God's craze."
• Don't let go of your dreams...even if you think it takes a million years to make it happen. Or it's far from reality. Don't forget, God is in the picture. 

LIFE OF A NATION-BUILDER: The Beginning

Hello everyone! I can't believe I haven't written for months now. I recently came to a conclusion that I can't even write on this blog, so there's no reason for me to maintain a different blog for my GK adventures and misadventures. So I'm moving here all my articles in my other blog. There are only about 3, and just for the sake of a new post. Teehee. :D

10 years ago. A movement was born when a couple of selfless young people and those young at heart decided to go beyond youth evangelization and started building homes for the least then later on communities. They have chosen to leave the comforts of their family and friends out of great and selfless love for their fellowmen who have less and who have been stripped off of their dignity and called them family.

And 10 years ago, when families chose to spend their family day in malls and beaches and resorts, my family chose to spend most of our Sundays in the attention deprived leper community in Eversley, Mandaue City, Cebu.

I was then a first year student but in my young mind, I know that there will always be someone or a family who out there who needs our love and "kalinga". It was my first experience of being exposed to those who have long been forgotten by the society because people are just too scared to just even be in the same room with them. But my papa and the GK team never had second thoughts of having the first ever GK village in that community. Their families have been looked down by our society for years just because a family member has contracted the disease. But the GK family stood by them and embraced them. They're eternally grateful for the love because it made them see their worth and brought back their dignity. Some have missing body parts brought about by the disease (but they're not contagious anymore) yet they chose to help in whatever way they can to "pasa-pasa" sacks of gravel and sand and painted their homes and their neighbor's homes, their chapel and multipurpose. I gained new friends and new families. I learned that loving my family means loving the least, the broken and the lost. I realized that my parents are the most generous and loving people in the world (I am very biased on this, i know, but hey, this is my blogsite) cause even if we have just enough resources for everyday, they still chose to share our blessings to these communities.

From that time on, GK has always been a way of life. Our family's way of life. A lifetime commitment. I will be forever grateful to GK for just bringing us closer together as a family. I see Christ in every GK volunteer and worker I come across. They are living witnesses of the love of God to the broken. GK has taught me to be braver and stronger and love amidst the pain and hurts. And as I continue my journey in this path I chose, I could not help but look back to the humble beginnings of being a GK advocate. I am still overwhelmed by the gift of GK to my family, to the poor, and to our country after all these years. And I promise to document and share every heart-capturing GK trip and inspiring GK story that I'll witness. All for the love of God and country! Yay!

Trivia: GK Sto. Nino, Eversley is one of the first few GK villages that has been constructed across the country. But it was in GK Ermita, Cebu which GK first existed. SIGA, the youth program of GK, was first launched there but the GK village for the residents there was not materialized since the residents refused to be relocated. GK Ermita is the most dangerous place in Cebu and is a den of thieves and serial killers, small time and big time. But the youth were quite welcome for change. It even came to a point that if you're a GK worker, and if you're wearing a GK shirt, Ermita will be the safest place for you. No kidding!

I can vividly remember there was this time that papa brought with him a youth who was shot (but he was actually innocent, he just came to their place because he left something...talk about bad timing, but he was a former thief and drug-user before GK came) because the place where they usually had a pot session was raided. He stayed at our place for a week. It was also the first time that I visited the police station because my papa was helping him work out his papers. GK moment: he was so touched of papa's gesture of having him stay at home for a few days that he actually shed some tears when he left. Personally, at first, I was really hesitant and scared that papa brought him home, a total stranger to us and a former criminal. Who wouldn't be scared? But then, I am just thankful that papa has risen above the norm and welcomed him. I was just touched and moved!

Blast from the past:

Team GK Cebu. Old school!

2011 Resolutions

I decided to come up with one and will try my very best to accomplish it. Reading this blog inspired me to have a one-year goal and planning out what I have to do to achieve such goals. For 2 consecutive years, I've been making "100 things to do for 200_". And for last year, I was able to accomplish 50% of it which is not bad at all. But still, it'll make you ask, how come I wasn't able to accomplish the other 50? Well, for some reasons, it is because I tend to NOT push myself when needed and I have this crazy attitude of sleeping things off. Literally, at times. I am aware that I have become so lazy that I tend to set aside a lot of things needed in my work, doing errands and achieving goals I've long set for myself. Yes, I believe being a sloth can cause such big personal rift and it affects your personal growth, gets in your way of wanting to be excellent in the work that you love and slows you down in achieving your dreams for yourself, your family and the people who needs you the most. It's getting way out of control so I am doing this 30 day thing. I just stumbled upon this blog and it actually contains a lot of good stuff. I am hoping to be able to follow some of those in the list (which requires me to do it daily) in the next 21 days, which they say creates a habit.

So I listed down goals/things to work on/things to do for 2011 below:

• Be on time.
• Wake up early everyday.
• Stop procrastinating in everything.
• Lose weight. I weighed myself yesterday and I currently weigh 56 kg/120 lb.Have a regular form of exercise.
• Track down all my expenses.
• Spend time with family when in Cebu.
• Go on mission trip with the family.
• Keep in touch with old friends. Greet them in their birthdays (which I suddenly stopped doing even if you see it in Facebook. Dunno why. I'm weird like that.)
• Meet new people.
• Write more often.
• Read a lot of books.
• Travel more. (CamSur, Bantayan Is, Cebu, Bohol, Puerto Galera, Iloilo, Boracay, Australia)
• Increase traffic of GK1world. Hits will be 250,000 at the end of the year. Registrants will increase.
• Have a regular prayer time.
• Learn a lot about online marketing.
• Find other source of income online.
• Laugh, hug, smile more often.
• Be more grateful.
• Take lots of photos.
• Pay all debts.
• Increase sales of human heart nature.
• Crush out 10 things-to-do in my bucket list.
• Minimize drinking sodas.
• Be a more positive person.
• Be organized.
• Stop complaining.
• Deliver best performance at work ever.  I want to be excellent, for God and country, for our GK communities.
• Take up a class in dancing. I miss!
• Drink more water.
• Stay away from junk foods.
• Learn from every struggle and trial.
• Take time out to rest.
• Be open to surprises.
• Adjust to changes.
• Live and enjoy life to fullest! And love in wild abandon! :)

Major, Major 2010

2010 is the best year of my life. I wanted THAT to be the title of my first post for my year end review. But a very inspiring man thought and wrote about it earlier than I did so I make do with a lame one. See his exceptionally inspiring write-up here. But I promise you, THIS, will be a great post! Well, I'll try. So here it goes...

What makes YEAR 2010 the best one I've ever had in my 22 years of existence? What sets it apart? Well it had some highlights that beat the highlights of the rest of the 21. Know what I'm saying? Read on...(not in any particular order)

1. Turning 18. My sister turned 18 last year and so did the rest of her barkadas. Her highschool barkada had become one of mine since I've spent almost every other weekend with them since they all got involved in GK and YFC. I've seen them grow and bloom for more than 3 years now and I can't imagine my sister's life, and my family's too, without them. So I was present in every one of them, well except when I moved here in Manila for work last April. 

Lynlyn's bestfriend, Totot, turned 18 last January at Crown Regency.

My sister, Princess Lynlyn (in pink), turned 18 last February in VDR's Multipurpose Hall.

My sister's barkada in Deedee's 18th soiree in Waterfront, Lahug.

2. Finished college. And I finally did! Nightmares totally over! Woohoo! I hated that I have to wake up feeling uninspired and uneasy just because school days meant facing scary professors and difficult course subjects. But knowing that I need a diploma to pursue the path I want to take, I don't really have much choice but to keep on going. And having smart and witty thesis mates and batch mates makes school more bearable. It pushed me to fight the urge to just give up and skip classes more often. Teehee. I will never forget the feeling of hearing that I passed all my subjects and finished our incredibly cool thesis which is one of the major, major requirements to walk through that long aisle of our school gym for graduation. See our thesis story here.

With my thesis mates Mayang, Knyl, Me, Twinkle and Jorge  in our thesis defense get-up.

With my supportive parents during my graduation day.

 3. Working full time for GK. My life long dream. True story. When others dream of becoming an engineer, or a doctor or a celebrity, I dreamed of being able to touch and inspire people in a massive way, thus my choice and life long commitment. It was not really difficult for me and I thank God for supportive parents who never asked me for anything in exchange of the years that they took care of me, showered me with love and provided me with good education. I was blessed that I was given the free will to choose the path that I want to take. A path less traveled but I truly love and I know I would be able to give my best. Read about my adventures in the first few months of working for GK which brought me to Subic, Camarines Sur, Tarlac and Laguna.

Our Subic Adventure. Water and Rescue Training.

Our Laguna Adventure. Turning over of new GK homes and ended up that day trekking and riding rafts alternately.

Our CamSur Adventure. We ended up walking the 3 km run. Haha Long story.

 4. The Moving Out. This I have to do after I chose my GK path because I'll be assigned in the main office which is in Mandaluyong. It wasn't difficult than I thought it should be. I just have to keep reminding myself that I'll have long Christmas vacations to be reunited with the family again. The urgency of the work and the "biglaang" decision pulled me out from the comforts of family, friends and the familiar environment of Cebu which allowed me to grow as a person and as a Christian. I am grateful to my GK family for being always there to guide and watch over me as I dock on a new chapter of my life. And not to mention my roommates and my teammates/office mates. Thank you y'all!

My roomies, ate Melai, Joyce and Ate May.

Team GK Marketing (where I belong) and GK Partnerships Group.

5. Ultimate Family Time. I am super happy that in a span of one year, I was able to visit my Mama's hometown, which is in Iloilo, and Papa's, in Bohol, again. Haven't been able to visit Iloilo that much since we moved in Cebu 9 years ago. Our cancelled Palawan trip turned out to be a blessing in disguise (but at that time, I wanted to swim all the way to Puerto Princesa just to attend the Bayani Challenge). I miss living in my grandparents' farm and doing farm chores like feeding the chickens and ducks, sending the carabao and goats to their grazing area, climbing on our siniguelas, mango and santol trees to name a few. So ecstatic to see my Nanay Estelita in Iloilo after almost two years! We also just recently spent our Holidays in Bohol which made us spend time with the Balatayos, see my Nanay Odag whom I miss the most and reconnect with nature.

With Nanay Estelita, my mother's mom, who I haven't seen for 2 years already. It's great to be reunited with the rest of the Laridas.

With Nanay Odag, my father's mom, which we never fail to visit every year since Bohol is a P150.00 boat ride away from Cebu.

6. GK's 7th Anniversary! The culmination of the GK777 campaign last 10/10/10 which gathered about 60,000 people from across the globe. Happy 7th GK! I am very proud to be part of such inspiring movement!

7. Faith Journey. I am officially a member of SFC. Yes, I finally am. Thank you Kuya Fredney for the invitation and for SFC Makati for taking me in and allowing me to grow and deepen my faith slowly, but surely.

...those are the major, major reasons why 2010 will be majorly special and the best. But I wouldn't mind if 2011 could beat that! 2010 has allowed me to grow as I adapt and adjust in the many changes that happened and that will continue to happen. But I am grateful for everyday that I am able to say "thank you" to our Maker for sharing every waking and sleeping moment with me, for just abundantly blessing me. 2010 held lots of surprises, new learnings, many firsts, and a dozen adventures. A year of forgiveness and moving on. A year of taking a leap of faith, making sacrifices and making bold decisions. A year of conquering my fears and pursuing after a dream. A year of creating new and keeping the old relationships beating: meeting new people, having a new family away from home, being in touch with those who drifted apart, and keeping in touch with those who are miles away. Indeed, it was a year full of love, inspiration, hope and faith. And the greatest of all of these is...LOVE.

Online Conversations with a Mentor

[edited]

EIA: unsa imohang 3 goals for this journey man.. what do you expect to find? what do you expect to gain
EIA: it seems to me hap..from a quick look.. you wanted to do some things which you used to do..then you tracked it down..only so that you have more reason to do it.haha so in that case ang imoha rang goal is obey oneself
ME: actually, partly, mau na ang reason. pero naa man na that I don't do. like waking up early and being excellent
ME: 1. find myself again and forgive myself.
ME: 2. change bad habits of procrastination and waking up really late
EIA: cge.. in what way have you lost yourself?
EIA: #1 sah
EIA: ahahaha
ME: ay. maybe naingon na nako because at times, I find myself not giving my best despite doing what I dreamed of doing, which is work for GK.
ME: *this is mind boggling*
ME: haha
ME: and I keep comparing myself to others.
ME: which I find myself doing, sometimes unconsciously. pwd na? hehe
ME: Maybe because everything is new dri and I find myself drowning and adapting what the people around me expects me to be
ME: *lawm2 lagi ni. haha)*
EIA: 2 ways to be lost.. you dont know where you are and going and/or you know that you are in the wrong direction
EIA: you cannot just do something and hope it gets you somewhere you wanted to be..when in the first place you do not know where you wanted to be
EIA: so..how or when can you say that you have found yourself?
ME: amazing lagi ni but kay akong God whispers karon noh kay similar sa imung gsulti.
ME:
Dear Maymay,

Success breeds failure.  Because success makes people complacent.  Don't make that mistake.  No matter how much success you have (and you'll have a lot of it, believe Me), never forget to keep growing and changing.

Watching you with love,
God

P.S. Break what's not broken, Maymay.  What brought you to where you are now may not bring you to where I want you
EIA: so..what is your answer?
EIA: ahaha
EIA: kuwangan mna ug false after sa dear maymay..
EIA: false success breeds failure
ME: I can say that I finally found myself when I'm able to give my best in what I am doing right now.
ME: Mau ra baya na ang nakasuwat but
ME: ako ignon si Bo. Tsk
ME: haha
ME: Pero sakto. kay naglibog sad ko ganina ngano SUCCESS breeds failure.
ME: Kung naay FALSE, it makes more sense
EIA: how do you measure your best?
ME: when I am able to give my all. be able to push myself to wake up earlier, go an extra mile learning all about online marketing and HTML codes. be excellent in my deliverables and be able to deliver them on time.
EIA: ahh.. break between. separate best effort and best results
ME: unsa imung hint. puro ra gani na GK related pero kung apilon ang relationships, I want to able to give time to call up my family and friends as well. to make extra effort to make them realize that they're important to me
ME: hmmmm. lisoda ana oi. haha. mas gusto pakog calculus da
ME: haha
ME: best efforts ---- giving your all.
EIA: that what makes math easy..it does not change..it repeats itself and the results are known
EIA: so what is your best composed of? effort or result?

ME: best results ---- you may come up with one when you give your best efforts and you are doing something that kahibaw gyud ka kay gstudyhan gyud nmu or you've been practicing it for a time now.
ME: actually, currently, i am not being able to give out both.
ME: LIKE: that what makes math easy..it does not change..it repeats itself and the results are known --- TWEETABLE. Haha
EIA: we will eventually find a lot of tweetable, statusable combination of words, phrases that people will like.. but they cease meaning unless they effect in a us more than just being likeable.
EIA: so..moving on.. what best do you want to see in your self - best effort or best result?
ME: both.
EIA: the answer is simple
EIA: in what comparison do you recognize your best?
ME: when I know I am able to push myself to give my best
EIA: like better is between two comparisons.. with what do you compare so you can say that it is now your best?
EIA: example.. just as u use a ruler for measuring..with what do you measure your best against?
EIA: asa nmo gicompare..
EIA: sa imohang answer karun..it seems to me that you mean..
maymay balatayo: aaahh.
EIA: dli na best imong effort if dli pa best ang result..
EIA: the problem that goes with that is you measure your height using a bathroom scale. it can build frustration
EIA: expand - you measure your input effort by the results.. it produces a problem because you will not be able to identify the problem which is a bigger problem..
ME: aaahh.
ME: ing-ana baya ko but. usahay.
EIA: i-research rgud ng metrics.. its how bpo measures themselves.. its a way of measuring what used to be vague by placing parameters
ME: bpo?
EIA: that is my question.. unsa man imohang parameters sa pagmeasure nimo sa imohang best effort?
EIA: bpo - call center gd in usual words..
ME: best results!
EIA: business process outsourcing
EIA: imoha pd nah..pero i suggest, measure effort differently..and measure result
EIA: nganu..because if result ra imohang imeasure..ma-false success pd ka pdung.. it will breed complacency
EIA: because sooner.. some works gains automation/or becomes highly processed..and the result is still the same..but the effort is now lesser
ME: hmmm. sakto pud.
EIA: one streinous thing worth doing..is compete with ones past actions
EIA: in comparison to how you effort before..only then can you say nga ahh best ni nko..ahh.. better ptong ghapon..
EIA: mao man toh ang tinuod nga gibuhat sa fireproof
ME: so lain2 gyud ang pagmeasure sa best gyud.
EIA: he bested himself in the challenge everyday
EIA: if he had did this one before..he did it again and added some more into it
ME: lagi. and bsan lisod buhaton kay buhaton ghapon niya.
EIA: it was least on the difficulty of things..it was on the intensity of doing each one over again..perfecting the demand of love, he was beating his older self
ME: so do we the day 1, day 2, day 3 and so on challenges?
EIA: we can do a lot of things.. but if we keep busy ourselves with the wrong things..we are wasting precious time 

EIA: a marathon does not start at gun point..
EIA: it starts with the wanting to run
Last message received on 12/9/2010 at 3:05 PM

DAY 4: Journey

It's 10 PM and we're on our way to CamSur to prepare for the International Marathon. Just finished watching SALT. Makes me miss watching Jackie Chan movies with all the kicks, punches, and rollings and the fact that he does all the stunts excites me. Good thing the bus is "sosyal" so I don't have to bear watching those Japanese movies with morbid scenes that buses usually play on their TV. Rejoice! It's gonna be an 8-10 hour travel so that means I have time to blog and to pray and well, time to sleep. Woot!

I loooove and miss travelling and that's what makes me excited for this trip too! I think the love for travelling began way back then. Road trips, boat rides, those were my first forms of travel. Riding a plane cost a fortune back then. But we were so lucky that we have a number of relatives in the Air Force so we get to ride a couple of military planes more than I've ever ridden commercial planes as of the moment. But airports truly fascinates me and I can stay in one for long hours. I think. Haven't tried it though. I just love how airports are able to bring out different emotions in people. The heaviness in one's heart when a loved one has to depart and the anticipation and rejoicing that awaits the arrival of a loved one.

We were lucky to have an Ilonggo and Boholano descent so we get to travel a lot since we were young.My family just loooooove road trips, may it be just short or long hours spent on the road. We would tag along with Papa in his mission trips as this is his way of introducing us what he really is passionate about: God, country, family.

Travelling opened my mind and helped me learn a lot of new things and that's why I want to travel more. It has opened my heart to endless possibilities of being able to reach out and serve others. Travelling in groups gets me all giddy and I cherish those times that I get to travel alone. And I dream of travelling the world! Who doesn't? But I would very much like to be able to see and explore every island here in the Philippines too!

And as they always say, life is a journey. I too believe it is. To reach the final destination is the goal but it is important that we'd allow ourselves to enjoy the sights and scenes as we go through life. To overcome the bumpy and muddy rides, the traffic jam, the pitfalls, the scary waves, the raging wind and the storms. Make time for those that matters most which for me is my God, my family, my friends, the people who have been there for me, and those that need my love the most, the least. I am but a storyteller of these wonderful lives that I get to encounter from day to day. 

Take time to read a book, say a prayer, thank a stranger, thank a loved one, say sorry, write a letter, draw, dance, bathe in the rain, sing, walk, run, jump, stargaze, start a conversation, laugh, cry, breathe, and love. For when God welcomes you in your final destination, He will surely ask you if you were able to open your heart, if were you able to love. So as we continue to search and take our own journey, may we always be grateful and be reminded to love with all that we are, not counting the cost. For He first loved us.

DAY 2: Life-long Dream

5 months. Away from home. It's been five months and three days now that I've been away from the family, friends and environment that I've spent my last 11 years of existence. Homesick? Totally!!! There are just those mornings that I wish I have my younger sisters and brothers beside me especially on Sundays when we all decide to sleep in.  I miss hearing my mama's voice call us for breakfast and this I miss the most, waking up unusually a little earlier than we used to because Papa's booming voice just wouldn't stop 'til everyone's up. Haha. Difficult, yes, but every difficulty can be surpassed, with God's grace. Thankfully, the foundation was planted deep in my heart that this is really what I wanted to do.


This I often shared when I was still in school, that all I want to do after I finish school is become a missionary. Nothing more. I remember the many times that I was asked over and over again if this is what I really wanted, and without hesitation, I would enthusiastically replied, YES. No if's and no but's. My life-long dream has always been to give back the glory to the One who planted this desire in my heart, to work in GK. And I have my family most especially my papa to thank for. My lifetime and years of working as a missionary will surely not be enough but I am hoping that the love and the divine providence that He has blessed me and my family with will reach the people who is after His own heart, the least, the wounded, the lost.


The voyage will not be smooth sailing. Who says it is and will be? Being away from the comforts of home and the people who loves me is not easy, but who says the journey towards heaven is? I am just hoping and really excited that one day, when my time will come to meet the Great Guy up there, He'll be the one to welcome me in the pearly gates of heaven with His dazzling white robe with His arms wide open saying, "Well done my good and faithful servant. You have loved! Good job, Maymay! Welcome home, welcome to paradise."


But for now, I'll take in what is set before me. The unbearable pain brought about by the wounds of loving, the immeasurable joy of being able to share all of me without expecting anything in return, the ginormous tank of blessings waiting to be poured so that I can have so much more to give. The gift of family, friends, and fellow missionaries in Christ's vineyard. The gift of loving and being loved unexpectedly. Surprises, surprises. They just doesn't stop coming. And may all of us be blessed and confident in knowing that we have God up there who is gazing at us every single minute of our life here on earth, crying and laughing with us and awaiting our return to everlasting life.


From The Right to Write (Chapter 4): 
"Taking the time to write in our lives gives us the time of our lives. "