Mission Impossible...?? (Part 3) -Manila-

Ommo! This is like so late for Part 3, I know. Its been a while.. I've been busy this few weeks..Guess what, I'm into baking business nowadays..Yeay!!! Mom must be thinking, "FINALLY...!!" Yeah, it runs in the family..I mean my mom bakes, and all of us too but none of us thought of actually doing it as a business.., till now..hahaha...
Yeah.., so continue on to my part 3.

Third day, as usual we woke up real early to catch the morning mass in Malate Church. Then we had breakfast in the pension. Jude briefed us on our activity for that day. So after breakfast, we visited one of the local school for the poor and we played a bit with the children. It was around 10 am when we took an MRT a.k.a LRT in Malaysia (hahaha...XD) to our next destination. We went to another area in Manila to visit the people in another slump area which is also known as the 'smokey mountain'. It is actually a rubbish dump site where all the rubbishes from around Manila were taken and dumped at. Well because of poverty and vast population of the people,  there are actually thousands of them living in that particular area, around the dump site working as 'scavenger', searching for stuffs that can be sold for money and food. They have quite a big area of neighborhood where they all live with families and friends. Their main source of life is the dump site.

This place was the place when God really touched me, and showed me part of my life that I should change and how He plans to heal me. We went to this place with three other priests from the Marians Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Quezon Avenue. This was also their first mission and their first time visit to the area. It was really an honor to have them there with us.

We were showed around a little bit by the local parishioner before we carried on with our mission. At first I thought it would be impossible this time to reach out to these people because I can see how busy they were with their work. I entered a small fenced area and was asking for permission to enter but the owner was shouting back that his dogs might bite me..Ooo..rejection. Oh well, God bless him and I moved on. Just next to this house, I saw a narrow entrance to a doorway without a proper door. It was covered by a curtain. I can't really see if there is anyone inside, but my feet felt like it was being dragged to go there. So I went and I greeted just to see if anyone will reply. Then suddenly, a lady answered me and invited me to come in.

So Jon and I went in and there was this lady inside this small house, I swear the size of her house is only as big as my bathroom in KK. I'm sorry to say this but this is how bad the condition is for the people here. Then the lady was apologizing to us for the messy condition of her place. I felt sad and touched by her hospitality. She didn't even know us personally and yet I felt her warmth welcome towards us, strangers. Is this how Jesus accepts us all in His house? Is this how He treats everyone, strangers to Him yet very warm and loving? Even in her lacking of proper household, she welcomed us the way Christ would, and the way We SHOULD to other strangers. God really worked in His own mysterious ways.. Praise the Lord!!

Then we noticed a baby lying on a thin mattress on the floor next to the door. The lady smiled and introduced herself and her baby and told us that its her first born. However, we also noticed that the baby have a health condition which is very obvious. He is actually suffering from hydrocephalus. Well you can help yourself and google it if you are wondering about this health problem. She immediately told us about her baby's condition and we chatted a bit.

This is where I was touched the most. Do you know how hard it is to have a baby with a health condition? Do you know how much you have to spend? Do you know that based on personal experiences which I myself is still battling against, that there are thousands of mothers out there who gave birth to an abnormal baby and decided to abandon them or even abort them earlier during pregnancy? To make it even worse, those mothers are educated and have more than this lady here.

I was touched because this lady had nothing. Only her small family, her small house and yet she has the biggest heart and more love in her. Its like watching the baby as myself and the mother as Jesus, who loves me unconditionally. Even with all that I lack in and all my bad qualities, He still loves me and gave me a better life, a better home, better environment. I was immediately taken back to how ungrateful I was back home, always complaining on small stuff or bad things that happened to me. But this lady seemed like she accepted everything already and was very thankful with what she has. After a few minutes of chatting with her, we prayed for her family and the baby and she was thanking us all the way for visiting her in the first place.

We moved on to another family and did another session of spreading God's love and good news. How I wish we could do this more often. Then we went back to Malate after a fruitful visit to the dump site.

I wanna apologize here for not uploading any pictures at all when I promised to in my previous entrée. I still haven't revived my lappy and all the pictures are inside there. Sorry again.. Lets wait for part IV, okays.. :)

"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 

Mission Impossible...?? (Part 2) -Manila-

I hope that you have read my Part 1 so you would not be confused with this part 2.
So, we reached Clark or Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark to be exact at around 5pm and we immediately took a bus to Manila. It took us 2 hours plus to Pasay bus station in Manila where Jude waited for us. The journey was just okay and most of us slept along the way. Somehow I managed to snap a few pictures for my own collection..hhaha... here you go.

 Happy that we arrived safely, but tired at the same time. This was taken right after we board the bus. Nice weather by the way. We were excited with what we're going to experience in Manila in just a few hours time.

 Snapped this while the bus is moving. :)
We reached Pasay at around 7.30 pm and Jude was waiting for us at the bus station. He took us to ride a Jeepney, one of the most popular public transportation in the Philippines to our lodging, a pension run by a catholic family in the middle of Manila.

 

 Pension Natividad, its a very nice place if you are looking for a cheap yet clean and comfortable place to spend the night in Manila. There is even a prayer room for the staffs and guests!! Yeay! 

So we checked in and Jude asked us to refresh ourselves a bit before going out for dinner. After dinner we had a short briefing on our mission exposure and off we went and officially started the mission at around 9.30pm. 

We were basically walking around the streets in that area. For the first time in my life, I saw a lot of homeless people that night. I did see a few back in my place but I never really walk and observe the homeless back home because I think it is dangerous to go and have a walk around these people. What more to talk or start a conversation with them. Just across the road where we stayed, a lady and her toddler son was sleeping in a pedicab, another type of cheap transportation in the Philippines. We greeted her and tried to make a conversation. She just answered us while smiling, but I can see that she was already in a deep sleep earlier and I felt that we were disturbing her precious sleep. So we just left her so that she can continue with her rest. 

Walking around the area, I can't help but notice that every corner, every street that we passed by, there must be at least a person lying there, sleeping comfortably on the cold pavement or stairs with either an aluminum sheet or boxes as their mattress. I was literally shocked and it took me a while to digest this new experience. Jude encouraged us to speak to these people and just be available to listen to their stories. I was paranoid at first that they might do something bad or they might chase us away or tell us to mind our own business.

 

But to my surprise, none of them did any of that. In fact, they were welcoming us and even asked us to sit with them on their small territory. Then some of us started to talk and we finally went in smaller groups to different families on the streets. We talked to them and introduced ourselves and told them our reason to be there. Then we shared about God and His love for each and every human being in this world. We wanted to share this to them because we encountered Him personally before coming for the mission and our main intention is to spread the good news to others and also to share to these people on how God also wanted them to have the same relationship that we have with Him.

 

This was our main activity during night time in Manila. The first and second day was visiting different slumps or poor areas around Malate. We also visited the local parish and church which is called as Malate Church. Its a very old church but it is a beautiful and big building. Even though there are a lot of renovations going on, the place still looks fantastic. We had our morning masses at the church and our mission reflections in the church's chapel every night before retiring for the day. Here's a quick snap of the church.

A little history on the church.

Church entrances

Some renovations ongoing to restore the church building to a better state

We did a little tour on our second day in Malate Church where we met with Father Martin, a very friendly person who showed us around the church and told us about the church history and how it survived the war back then. After the tour, we were brought to visit the slumps area. We visited some of the poorest housing area where the people have to build their own house and share it among a few families. It is very hard for me to describe it with words only. The area is not really big. It is right in the middle of the city and the gaps in between houses there were really narrow, that only up to one person can pass through at a time. 

I really wanna write more on this, but I think this entree is getting too long. So let me just put another suspense in you and continue the story in part 3.. hehehe..with more pics.. ^^

So, have a nice day!         

Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it.

    Psalm 119:35

Mission Impossible..?? Part 1

Wow..It has been quite some time since I updated my blog. My deepest apology.
However, This is my new and first entree for the month of February. Well, actually my precious red lappy crashed a couple of weeks ago. So its kinda hard for me to constantly update my blog. Sad but it was not really a big deal. Looks like I'm hunting for another notebook again..hehhehe..

Anyway, I had been busy with stuffs lately. I flew to the Philippines on the 20th of January recently with 6 other brothers and sisters in Christ for a mission exposure. So this entree will be chit chatting on the happenings during my mission visit there. Yeay!!! Claps~

First and foremost for all of you out there, I wanna say that I am a proud Catholic and FYI, a mission is an important assignment carried out for political, religious or commercial purposes, typically involving travel (google). So I went for a religious purpose mission. Let me just tell you how it all happened, how I suddenly end up traveling all the way to the Philippines and how God really provides. *winks ;)

I started my journey with my dear community in a local church about 4 months ago (October 2012 to be exact) when I participated in a seminar known as Growth in the Spirit Seminar or in short GSS. It was actually my first encounter with the Lord. It felt real and I know it is. Ever since that, I'm a true believer, worshiper, follower, you name it. I became so carefree even though I know I have loads of problems in my life. But all I did was surrender to Him and trust Him that everything will eventually be okay, and Praise God, it did. I never felt this happy. I was a very worried person back then, before the encounter. I worried all day and it stressed me a lot. I did not know that I can surrender my problems, my burdens and my whole life into His hands. But now I am grateful that I answered His call for the seminar. My life was renewed.

I thought that all is well and that is what I have to do all my life. Serve Him, follow Him and just be available for Him. Honestly, there are still times that I am ungrateful with what I have or whatever bad things that happened to me. Even after the seminar, even after the encounter. Anyway after the seminar, I heard that a mission is being planned for January. So when I heard this, I get a strong feeling, its more like a calling to say YES! So with a simple yes and no expectation of what might happen during the mission, I was already included in the team.

A few preparation was needed for the mission. We did a fundraising during Christmas (I did an entree on this if you scroll down, you will see it..hehhee..) and a few good friends (God bless them~ ^^) donated for our fund. Praise the Lord that we managed to prepare everything well. The preparation went smoothly and everyone was anticipating to start the mission. I must say that God is good all the time. He made sure that our preparation period went smoothly even from the smallest thing like our passport to the most important part, our flight tickets. We planned for the mission to be carried out later in February. But something made us booked the flight slightly earlier, by end of January. Right after we confirmed our booking, Airasia (the airline company) officially announced that they will be closing their route to Clark, Philippines commencing in February. Unfortunately for those who made their bookings in February, their flights were cancelled. Nothing comes by accident or co-incidence. God's will for my team to carry out the mission is greater than Tony Fernandes..Sorry to say..hahaha..

Spiritually and mentally, we were very not prepared. Or at least I can say that for me. When we saw the schedule that was emailed to us a few days earlier, all 7 of us freaked out when we found out that we were to be "main speakers". We did a gathering with the whole mission team and we spoke of our concerns and expectations from the mission. I think most of us were intimidated with the 'main speaker' thing. However, during our praise and worship session, the Lord kept on saying to all of us to not be afraid. All seven of us affirmed this. So I submitted to Him. I was like 'whatever happens, happens, and it happens because of Your will. I surrender myself to You, Father'. I think everyone was praying the same thing. I think everyone surrendered wholeheartedly, and off we flew to Clark.

p/s: Part 2 coming soon with pictures!!!woot woot..!!  :) 

  

Hugs & Kisses (XoXo)

Hi.. So yesterday I found my old organizer cum personal journal that I used back in 2009 when I was still a college student. You know how sometimes inspiration can just pop-up anywhere and anytime? So this journal that I carried along everywhere I went will be the place for me to pour out all the inspirational thoughts that I had back then.

And so, I found a very interesting write-up, a so-called poem for my high school friends. I never really share it with them. Now that I'm writing an actual blog that I can be proud of (LoL..XD), I decided that I can finally share this with them all.

So here it goes:

It was 2002 when we first met,

Everything was not the same,

New faces and friends,

Can't believe its been long since..

Knowledge is not the only reason,

To keep us present in school,

It's friends that kept us going

Friends who we think are smart and cool..

We share the laughter and the pain,

From jokes and from the sun and rain,

Every little memory we gained,

Is the only thing remained..

When the time came for us to choose,

We went through different path, different route,

Though we knew that this will be our end,

We will remember the times we spent..

2006 is the year that ended it,

Said good luck but not farewell, 

For we'll meet again I'm sure of it,

'Till that day comes, Hugs and Kisses,

and wish you well...

That's all. I have a few more poems, and I would share it some other day.. It's getting late and I need to run.

Anyway, I really hope that my highschool friends will enjoy this..Thanks for being a part of my life dear friends.. ^^

5 Craziest Things I Did in Life

You know when I start writing with numbers, I am officially bored. Hahaha..
So here is the next random list. The 5 craziest things I did so far, in my 23 years of life. Enjoy the ride peeps!!

1. When I was 19, I was studying in KL and I had crazy friends. Well its normal for teenagers to go through this, but mine has a crazy zest to it. We heard of students studying far away from families will eventually go for clubbing and some crazy night out with college friends. Just a 'normal' hangout in an 'abnormal' place. So the story goes that me and a few friends went for a sleepover in a friend's house. Our main intention was actually to finish up our group presentation project. However, this was during the weekends and some of us decided to stay longer. Friday night was quite boring and we decided to hangout at a cafe with a Wifi service and to have dinner at the same time. So off we went and after dinner and surfing the net, one of my friend asked if we wanted to go and check out this new club that opened recently nearby her place. We agreed and went to the place she was talking about. We were not dressed up for clubbing and the plan was just to look around and immediately go back home to continue our work. However, upon reaching the place, my friend was giving me signal that we should totally hang out in this club. So everybody agreed and we went back to her place to change. It was already 11pm when we returned to the club and more people are showing up. There were not many ladies there and so to attract more people, the owner of the club asked us to sit at the bar right at the entrance door. This was supposed to be a way for them to attract more ladies I think. So we sat there and they gave us free vodka flow until 1am. We sat there and chat with the club owner. After a while, we became friends and he decided to show us his gratitude by mixing up his signature cocktails and put it in shots and asked us to try it. I'm telling you, the best cocktail ever! Its sweet but yeah, when you drink sweet alcohol you will get drunk faster. So happens, one of my friend and I were already tipsy and felt like sleeping. The friend that brought us there were still chatting with the owner when my other friend and I went to the empty dance floor and sat on a sofa there. We immediately dozed off. Thank God that the club closed earlier and only a few of us left inside. The next thing I remember was my friend waking the both of us up and said, 'Oh my God, wake up! Lets go home, its 6 in the morning!' I was immediately on my feet and my friend was laughing so hard at us. So we went back to her place and had a good sleep. But my friend kept on saying 'I can't believe you guys slept in a club, just like that!'. Well I can't believe that my friend chat with the owner that long. And yeah, I myself can't believe it! Laughs~   


2. The second craziest thing that I did was when I was 20 years old. I bet some of you out there have a to do list before you turn 21 or 22 or whatever age you are. So before I turned 21, one of my to do list was to get  myself a tattoo. I had planned about this since high school that I wanted to experience the process of getting a tattoo. Then suddenly one day, a friend of mine whom I call my soul sister decided that she's gonna get one the day after. I was shocked and she asked my other friend to accompany her. I heard and decided to tag along. When I saw her moment, I was like going crazy. I want to do it so badly that the next thing I did was I called my mom to ask for permission. At first both my parents were furious. They never expected such requests, moreover from their youngest daughter. I was upset with their decision. However, I was not ready to give it up yet. The next call, I brought up the request again and to my astonishment my mom agreed to discuss this with my dad first. After a while, my mom called me back and she said that they will agree only if I follow some of their conditions, to which I agreed and the very next day I went for to get my very own tattoo. Its a celtic cross tattoo on my right back and I am so satisfied with it. So in conclusion, yes I have a real tattoo and I have the best and supportive parents ever! I can count on them like YEAH!!


3. I don't wanna talk much about this one. I'm still not sure why I did it but I never really regretted it. I'm kinda thankful and grateful that I did it. Here's what I did, I quit my 3K++ job just like that for a life that I never really thought of. I admit it was a sudden, immature decision but I believe that it was a good hunch and that God has a bigger plan for me.


4. This one happened when my course-mates and I were conducting an orientation session for our juniors. One of our activities were to visit the zoo and do some activities there. What the juniors were supposed to do was to walk around the zoo and look for the rest of us, the seniors who will be scattered around the area and they have to ask for our signature. So it's kinda like an ice breaker among the seniors and Juniors while sightseeing the animals in the zoo. It was really a good idea. It was super fun. Then here comes the crazy part. My partner and I were so tired walking and we decided to take a short break. We were still walking and looking for a bench to sit on. Then we found a bench right in front of the lion's area. Both of us were stunned when we noticed that. Then it became interesting. The lion was only sitting on its place without moving a muscle. So we decided to take our break there until the lion decided to roar. After 5 minutes, no sound or even movements seen. We were thinking that we could get a longer break and decided to wait longer. After 20 minutes, no roar, nothing. Then we decided to move on. As we walked 200 meters away, suddenly we heard the lion's roar. We were like looking at each other and laughed all the way. What a waste of time. Lol..


5. Remember the first story about the friend that brought me to a club? Yeah, her birthday came so she invited all of us to celebrate in a fine dining restaurant in town. Guess what was the party's theme..'House bunny' and she expected us, her guests to appear as bunnies. So she made a few bunny ears by herself so that her guests can wear it during the party, instead of the normal,boring cone birthday hat..huhu.. So, the crazy part was the getting ready part. I wore a really short black hot pants with black socks and killer heels, with a pink bareback top. This is the craziest outfit I've ever worn my whole life. I was quite an embarrassing experience to walk in in that outfit to a fine dining restaurant. But I guess most of the guests were wearing almost the same, so it was not really that scary. I guess the only thing that was missing that time was a bunny tail. If I had put it on, it would be EPIC!! hahaha...Miss the good old days though.. :)


For me, these are the crazy things that I did so far in my life. Not to say that I'm proud of it,  it's merely my past experience. I'm just sharing it with you people. So I hope you enjoy that.

"Never erase your past. It shapes who you are today and will help you to be the person you’ll be tomorrow."

- Author unknown

Happy Sunday!
Cheers and God Bless~

Wonderful Afternoon With U.. :)

I had a wonderful lunch yesterday afternoon with 2 of my besties. Its been a long time for the 3 of us to gather and meet up with each other. I was staying out of town ever since I graduated high school. The same goes to my other friend who is currently working in one of the big city in Malaysia. Another one stays back hometown for her family and work.

The three of us practically grew up together and we know each other like the back of our hands. Ever since kinder-garden, we have known each other and we went to the same primary school and even high school where we started to become closer and eventually BFFs..

We went through a lot during high school and its the best memory ever. They said that a true friend is very hard to find. A friend who will laugh and most importantly cry with you. Well folks, these two did cry and laugh with me. Not many can do that for you. I would do the same for them. In short, I love them like my own sisters. Lucky enough it took me 7 years of my life to realize that they are my besties. 

School is where you meet a lot of new friends with different personalities. I heard a lot of people saying that you should choose your friends wisely. I am blessed to find these two in high school. Until now we still keep in touch and when every one of us is in town, we would meet up to catch up and hangout like old times. 

I noticed that the three of us were smiling non-stop yesterday and I can see that everyone was so excited to see each other. I really missed them a lot. Too bad we forgot to snap a picture of the three of us together. What a waste. :(

Anyhow, I am so grateful and thankful that we were given a chance to meet up and enjoyed our lunch together. Even if it is such a short time, its really meaningful and awesome. I pray that we will be able to do it again soon.

Happiness is the right word to describe the whole thing. To the two of you, thank you for our great friendship! I hope and pray that this friendship will never end. God bless the three of us.. :)

The Old Fashioned, Communication..(??)

I heard a very familiar word just now from a movie which reminds me of the old days. The days where the word 'internet' is not really popular yet. This particular word brought back memories from the past. Are you familiar with the word pen-pal?

Well back in the days, we have one whole page in the daily newspaper filled with addresses and short profiles of people from around the world. I can't really remember which particular newspaper it was and when I learned about it, I don't really understand the concept of this pen-pal. I have to ask my big sister to explain it to me. After all, she was the one who introduced this to me when she received a few letters from her pen-pal from the US and Nigeria. Her pen-pals even sent her photos of them. When I saw it, I was like 'hmmm...interesting!'..Then I started pen-pal--ing..

For those of you who are not familiar with the concept, its actually just a simple letter writing to a new friend from anywhere across the globe. Put it simple, just take the word itself 'pen-pal'. 'Pen' as in a pen that you use to write, and the word 'pal' as in friend. So that is how you get the word 'pen-pal'. Simple as that.. :)

During those days, the only way of communicating with friends from across the world is by letter. Even we do have phones back then, still it will cost you a lot. So letters are the most convenient and cheapest medium of communication in the world. I wrote three different letters to three different people from three different places. Then I had to anxiously wait for their replies. Amazingly, only one replied. It was super fun when you get your very own mail in the mailbox. Even interesting when you see your very own name written in handwriting on the envelope. My heart literally jumped up and down when I saw that. However, that was my first and last pen-pal letter in my life. Afterwards, I was not able to commit to it due to my active schedule in school. Too bad for that.

Even though most of us prefer a fast medium to communicate with each other like what the internet can offer, when you write a letter, there is always a sentimental value to it. You can see the sender's own handwriting and there is something that you can hold in your hands from the sender. You can smell it, taste it and keep it for your own letter collection. As we know, the world is changing fast and less letters are sent around nowadays.

More people are using the internet for formal business and even when they wanna say Hi to each other. Its fast and convenient and enables fast communication. Everything is possible at the tip of your fingers when using internet. However, you won't be able to really feel it.

For me, old ways or old fashioned communication is of course slow and  not relevant in our modern world. However I believe that one day when everything uses internet as the main way of communicating with each other, somehow, letters will still be around even at the smallest area in the world.

What do you think? If there is no more letters i this world, will it be the end of paper productions? Will there be more electronic devices created? Will human no longer use paper and pen at work or even in schools?

This is merely my own thoughts..Thanks for reading! :)

Cheers~