Tonsillitis Be Gone.

I'm still feeling a little under the weather thanks to my tonsillitis. I really hope I get well soon. Like, tomorrow, ganyan. See, I'll be the Cantor for this Saturday's worship service (Salubong for the YLSS 12 SP) and obviously, I need to sing the Responsorial Psalm. The fact itself is a bit terrifying since doing Psalms is really my Achiles' Heel, amongst all types of singing. Wonder why? I myself do not know. Ha ha. Anyway, I hope my voice comes back soon so I can prepare for this Saturday's "big event". Ha ha.

Random blog post.

With Regards To My Bible (Facebook Re-post).

The following post was originally posted on my Facebook Notes' page last night.

As you've probably read in one of my posts yesterday (or a couple of days ago), I've misplaced my Bible.

I've misplaced (even lost) books before but somehow, this is different. This is entirely different. See, my mum gave me that Bible when my family went for a visit in St. Claire's Chapel in Cabuyao. That was May 1999. 10 years. Nearly 11, really. That long of a time that that Bible was in my possession. And yet I wasn't able to read the whole thing. Sure, I've read books and chapters of it, but never really the whole thing. Funny, how I can muster up enough strength and enthusiasm to finish a whole series from Rowling or the works of Coelho, Albom, and heck, even Encyclopedias and acad-related books, but cannot even finish reading the Bible.

Sigh. I'm disappointed, really, because I was planning on reading it this summer and also to help me with the YLSS, especially since it'll be my first time to serve as a member of the Pastoral Team. Perfect timing, eh? Ha ha.

I know I could just replace it, and believe me, I tried. I even got help from Vin, Vel, and Liz, but to no avail. I simply couldn't find a Bible "at par" with the one I've had. I know I sound silly because of course, the Bible's contents do not vary greatly (or at all). I almost gave up and I came to the point wherein I told myself not to get a new Bible because it wouldn't "feel" the same. At that moment, I felt weak. I felt vulnerable, since my "sword" is nowhere to be found, and couldn't be replaced.

I simply couldn't let go of the 10 (plus plus) years that I shared with my Bible. I became attached to it, without me even knowing.

But then it dawned on me. My Bible was just a book. Sort of like a package. What's important is what's on the inside. On the pages of the Bible. The words. His words. His words for me.

"My Bible" is not really gone. In fact, it'll never be gone. For as long as I believe in His words, I would have "My Bible", even if I'm not holding the same old, brown-leather bound Bible that my Mum gave me.

Now, the search for the next "My Bible" officially begins :)

P.S: I think this is one of God's ways to teach me the art of letting go and moving on. Ha ha!

All For Jesus' Sake.

I still can't get over the fact that we won. God be praised :)

You want to listen to it? Click here.

Enjoy!

Step One.

It's only Tuesday and yet my stress level is like that of a Friday already. There's TOO much to do and yet so little time. I've gotta get up and not slack off. I want to finish this sem. Not the sem finishing me. Haha.

For a change, I'm not gonna rant about what-nots that dampen my spirit these days. Last time I checked, I still have things to be happy about, and to be thankful for. And lucky you, dear reader/s (if there are any), because I'm gonna include pictures today. Haha.


My band, Switch'D, together with Remz (in blue shirt) managed to finish and submit a song for the song writing competition in St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish. Hurdles here and there while practicing and even on the actual recording day itself, but with His guidance, we were able to submit just in the nick of time. Good job, guys! We're already winners, remember that :) All for Jesus' Sake :)




Oh, I still haven't blogged about GeeKs right? Haha. Who's GeeKs (pronounced as Jiks), you might ask? Well, she's my new (not so anymore) guitar. Haha. She'll be turning a month old in 5 days, I think. Haha. GeeKs is an acoustic guitar with pick-up and an electric tuner. She's the one behind my calloused fingers. Haha! Here she is!



Just don't mind the blanket. Haha. GeeKs was very hard to find, but the experience was fun. Thanks to Vin, Ate Chrys and the Monsies for sharing that fateful day with me. Haha. I forgot to take a picture of her box and the writings on it. We wrote simple welcome messages for GeeKs while we were waiting for our food. Haha. Katopakan lang eh. Haha.

Another thing to be happy about is that I was able to get back into dancing. I satrted attending rehearsals yesterday and I've managed to get back into "it". A little rusty but I'm sure I'll get my old dancing self again. I like how my body aches again. You know me, I like pain. HAHA. I still haven't transfered the pictures I took from yesterday's training so pardon me for not being able to post even at leat one here. I'm positive that there'll be loads of times spent with the Clan pa naman.

Reading those paragraphs above made me realize that I've managed to steer away from the negativity that I have, as exuded from my previous entry. All it took was that one step to begin. To start again. I veered away from fear of a literary death by helping out with the words of the song, and also by the mean fact that I'm bloggin again. I also managed to get my dancing shoes out and move again.

Bale, isa na lang naman ang hindi ko nasisismulan.

Err, change topic. Na-e-emo si Chris.

(30-minute break)

Err, can't really think of anything else to say or write, so I guess this is the part where I bid farewell to whoever's reading this. Haha.

So Far.

Rosegold Beach Resort in Sta. Ana, Calatagan, Batangas (April 1-2, 2009)

Certainly, the best sem-ender I've had since time in memorial. Haha. Rosegold Beach Resort is very picturesque, I tell you. Match that with an abundance of food, fantastic summer weather and very hyper-party-all-the-freakin'-time UPEC members and you've got the recipe for a perfect summer get-away. UPEC, We Are The Party!

BLD Youth Ministry's Summer Camp 2009 at Presco Resort, Puypuy, Bay, Laguna (April 3-5, 2009)

Three days filled with fun, fellowship and worship. I've been a member of the youth ministry for four years already but this is the first time I attended the summer camp. Haha. Though lacking sleep (thanks to endless "it's joke time" sessions), we were still able to get through the army boot camp inspired camp. I'm still waiting for members to upload the pictures so pardon this picture-less part of this entry. I'm now looking forward to the Youth Life in the Spirit Seminar 11 SP. Woot. All for the love of God :)



Bisita Iglesia in Zambales (April 9, 2009)

In lieu of the celebration of Lent and Holy Week, we again decided to join in IRRI's Bisita Iglesia. I was excited to go to Zambales but the travel was gruesome, I tell you. In more ways than one, our trip going to Zambales can be considered our penitensiya already. Uncomfortable seats in the coaster/shuttle service, OA traffic flow (yes, even in the North Luzon Expressway) and OA summer heat. Perfect. Haha. I enjoyed seeing the churches though. For those of you who are not familiar with the Bisita Iglesia, it is a pilgrimage done in the time of Lent wherein you need to visit a total of fourteen (14) churches and for every church, you must pray to one of the stations of the cross (so, 14 churches = 14 stations of the cross). For this trip, however, we were only able to visit 8 churches.

St. Nocholas de Tolentino Parish in Castillejos, Zambales (Stations 1 and 2)
San Guillermo Parish in Marcelino, Zambales (Stations 3 and 4)
Holy Infant Catholic Church in San Antonio, Zambales (Stations 5 and 6)
San Sebastian Parish in San Narciso, Zambales (Stations 7 and 8)
San Roque Catholic Church in San Felipe, Zambales (Stations 9 and 10)
Sta. Monica Parish in Botolan, Zambales (Stations 11 and 12)
San Augustine Parish in Iba, Zamabales (Station 13)
Poon Bato Independent Church in Botolan, Zambales (Station 14)

We arrived in Zambales at around 1 in the afternoon and we finished the Bisita at around 6 in the evening. We then headed off to Subic to grab some dinner before heading back to Laguna. We arrived in LB thirty minutes before 2:00 AM. The whole trip was tiring and nourishing at the same time.



Alfred's 29th Birthday Celebration


Surprise, surprise! We surprised Alfred Labadan III yesterday and thank God, the little presentation that we've prepared for him went well. We then decided to go night swimming upon Fidel's endless plugging of Villa Mejia Resort (owned by his girlfriend's family) in Pansol. Being the impulsive and fun-loving people that we are, we made arrangements and the trip was on. Haha. Mum was kind enough to prepare dinner for us here at home before going to the resort. We got there, swam for four hours and decided to eat in Kurger Bing before calling it a night. What was supposed to be a quick fix turned into a three and a half hour-stay in Kurger Bing. No complaints, though. We got to talk about a lot of stuff and talk of stuff and some other stuff. Haha. Next time ulit, Saturday Club :)


What a way to welcome summer 2009, right? Haha. Unfortunately, summer classes in UPLB will be starting in three days. I've got six units this summer (Math 26 and Stat 1) and my schedule is hell. I've got classes till 6:30 in the evening and I even have classes on Saturday mornings. Sigh. I pretty much had my fair share of fun these past couple of weeks so it is only fair that I "suffer" for a couple of weeks before plunging in again into summer goodness. Haha.

Whew. Long entry. Not. Haha.

Hallelu- YE! (Youth Encounter 10 experience)

"If anyone declares publicly that he belongs to me, I will do the same for him in Heaven."
- Matthew 10:32

I seriously can not top the whole experience I had just this last weekend. I was fortunate enough to be one of the participants in BLD Youth Ministry's Youth Encounter 10. Believe me when I say I had a blast. For a person who loves telling stories, I'm finding it hard right now to relate to all of you dear readers (if there are any) of what had transpired this past weekend.

The point is I had fun.

Also, I was able to conquer my fear of sharing (see my new life verse on the top of the entry). I learned how to listen, and listen well. Actually, I learned a lot, but I'm not gonna write all of 'em here. Dapat mag- YE din kayo! Game!

I've been a member of the ministry for over three years now, but I only had my YE last week. My December schedule for the past couple of years did not permit me to attend the Encounter, but thankfully, all my efforts payed off and I was able to free my schedule for the weekend encounter. Sabi nga sa Ecclesistes 3:1

"Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses."

He made sure that I'd be able to attend this time. For that (and everything else), thanks, Kuya JC.

Thank You for a wonderful YE experience. I wouldn't trade it for anything else :)

To BLD Youth Ministy SP: Congratulations guys! Thank y'all for the hard work each and every one of you put in just to make this year's YE possible. Keep serving the Lord. Keep inspiring :)

To the YE10 Class Shepherds: Worth it ang dugo at pawis niyo (Madamba, 2008). The YE10 was not only fun, but also blessed. You guys did very well!

To the Team Faci Accredited (TFA): You guys were awesome. As in. No words can amount to the greatness that the Lord has bestowed upon you so that you can share with us His word and your experiences. Mag TFA din kami someday! Haha!

To the Sponsoring Class, Auxies and others who served: Salamat sa pag snob sa'min. Joke. Haha. Thanks for always (as in always) praying for us and looking out for us. Mami-miss ko ang "lights out" and "gising na" moments. Till next year, alright? :)

(Tama si Patrick, nakaka-inggit kayo kapag naririnig namin kayo nag wo-worship sa Vigil Room. Nakaka-high!)

To Team Hippo (Alyssa, Avram, and Jenelyn): I thank the Lord for you guys. Thanks for all the sharings we had. Thank you for listening. You're an inspiring bunch of kids (Oo na, ako na pinaka matanda sa group). Keep the faith burnin' y'all. Kuya's always here to listen :) Text-text ha.

To Team Blue (Patrick, Kai, Joem, Bernard) and our Muses (Gen and Ekay): Wala. Walang makakapalit sa inyo. Salamat kasi kahit sa sasandaling panahon na magkakasama tayo eh naramdaman ko yung pagiging totoo ng pagkakaibigan natin. Yihee, dramarama. Minsan lang to. Haha. Salamat sa tawanan at lalung lalo na sa iyakan. Walang iwanan :) Sobrang nagpapasalamat ako kay Lord at nakilala at nakasama ko kayo. CAnton sa Thursday ha. Haha.

***Brief background kung bakit Team Blue

Noong second day namin sa YE weekend (December 6, 2008), by accident eh ako, si Patrick, Nard, Joem at Kai ay lumabas ng cr pagkatapos maligo at lahat kami ay nagulat dahil lahat kami ay naka blue. Astig no? But wait, there's more, pagbaba namin sa Mess Hall, naka blue din si Gen at Ekay. Ang bangis no? Haha.

Last but not the least, to JC: Thank You for gracing us with Your presence the whole weekend. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. You deserve all praises and honor, seriously. Haha. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. It's amazing how You work with and through people. Lord, use me as your instrument. Than You for the gift of listening and sharing and courage and confidence. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.

Hallelu- YE!