Piyesta sa PICC

Alone among thousands of attendees standing up for one God.

I just got home from attending The Feast at PICC for the first time. ‘The Feast’ is a catholic prayer meeting of the Light of Jesus Family headed by its founder, Bro. Bo Sanchez. The Feast also welcomes non-members like me who simply wants to attend a mass, praise and sing for God and listen to testimonies and practical advice on becoming a holistically-better son of man and of God.

Fr. Tituz  Mananzan, SVD celebrated the Holy Eucharist. Before he asked us to sit down, he mentioned we were there- I was there- because God planned for us to be there. He wanted us to partake in the celebration. And then there came the first wave of my suppressed tears. I could not believe the feeling. I have been attending Feast at SM Manila for almost a year now and I am sincerely distressed by doing such, however, the PICC experience gave me an overwhelming sense of blessings and comfort.

YOUNIQUE

The title of the four-part series for the month of August is YOUNIQUE. In simple terms, it aims to help attendees identify the facets that make them unique; a standout; without having to neither conform nor imitate; uniquely created in the liking of the Father.
Part one is about my personality. I found out that mine is mainly Sanguine which is characterized by a great sense of humor, cheerful bearings, trustworthiness and loyalty. I totally affirm that. Part two talks about my birth order. Being a second child, I possess the ‘de-identify’ mentality. That is, not to take the same path that my older sister took. Again, I affirm to that. Part three is my childhood. In here Bro. Bo said that nothing just happens. Indeed, my past was not perfect, but it was perfect for my purpose. Now I am three times affirmative.


PART FOUR

The part four talks about my mission. In here, Bro. Bo identified the means of achieving my mission similar to that needed when playing a bow and arrow- it requires alignment. The bow is my passion, the arrow as potentials, and the apple (an ancient symbol for target in archery) is my purpose or mission in life. 

Here is how it works:

The bow is the passion. As humans, we possess this ceaseless desire to be good at something, may it be at work, in sports, in parenting, or in business-, among others.  However felt, it will not work if it will not be put into actions. A man need to fuel his passion, he needs motivation, the driving force. So much so that it is not enough to simply hold a bow, but to stretch it as tight as I can to achieve a powerful catapult. 

The arrow is the symbol for our potentials. I may have the abilities or intelligence to excel in one thing yet if I do not practice nor hone it, nothing will happen too. Like when using an arrow, an archer may have the perfect projectile, but considering that the arrow is bent or blunt, it will not hit the target.

The apple is the purpose. It is what we strive to achieve in life. When we stretch the bow hardly, achieve the perfect angle, fixate a sharp, strong arrow, we will hit our target. 


SUPERSTAR ME

Another notable point from Bro. Bo- he believes, and so do I- that God has given us a unique gift that make us a Superstar in our own world. He admitted that he is not the world’s best preacher, but to his own world, he is. He is the best when you look for a preacher who is (1) Lay, (2) Catholic, (3) Married, (4) Practical, (5) both Funny and Corny, (6) Storytellers, (7) English- speaking; he actually explained why he is poor in Tagalog, and (8) who have mole on the left cheek.

I realized that I can be a superstar, too. I may not be the best guy there is, but I am a superstar in the world of guys who are (1) bookworms, (2) honor graduates, (3) has many girl friends, (4) eligible bachelors, (5) with great sense of humor and entertainment, (6) life of a party, (7) writers, (8) sincere, (9) with edgy jaw lines, (10) not so tall at all. That is my niche! I am such a star!


CORE STRENGTH

Just a quick review of Bro. Bo’s talk regarding core strength; one must identify his strengths and weaknesses. In order to be a superstar in your own knighted rights, focus on your strength and forget your weaknesses. When one tries to develop his weaknesses, he can only be as good as C or C+. However, when one nurtures his strengths, he becomes an A or A+. 

I would have to say that while I agree that we should focus on our strength, it is also valuable not to forget your weaknesses because they make us more humane and vulnerable. They remind us of a gap that we are forever in search of. And whatever they may be that we lack in the physical world, God can provide.

He cited further that the problem with the education system is that students are trained to be a jack of all trades, but master of none. In this sense, students are being taught to be good at all subjects offered in the curriculum and they grow up being mediocre in all of them. With this, I instantly thought of thanking TESDA for providing technical and vocational skills to the underprivileged. Yes, it may be weird, but come to think of it, TESDA is very much appreciated by millions because it gives its students a chance to be skilful in something others are not. Given that most of them have feared the academe, they are being offered a detour on the way to a livelihood, hence stability. They could be superstars in their own world, too.


I AM FULL

Prior to going to the Feast, I have never felt so full (busog)- spiritually speaking. I was in a feast where everybody is invited. We were offered a buffet of faith, love, and thanksgiving. We said a lot of prayer during the three-hour meals. I chit-chatted with new found acquaintances.  And you know what’s forever good about this Feast- I will never get stomach ache because I know who the Cook is. 

Pencil Awareness 2


Kakauwi lang namin galing sa Manila Doctors Hospital. Hindi ko alam kung anong nararamdaman ko.Hindi ko talaga gusto ang nangyari. Nagpapasalamat na lang ako kasi naagapan ang mga kailangang agapan sa mama ko. Pero hanggan kailan aagapan? Hindi ba pwedeng sa umpisa ay iwasan na agad? 

Naghahanap ako ng 'funny moment' habang naka-confine ang mama ko, pero wala eh. Ang dami kasi naming hinarap- ung napakalakas na habagat na pumilay sa trapiko ng kamaynilaan (at ng halos buong Luzon at Visayas), yung schedule naming lima na nagpapalitang magbantay sa kanya, yung gastos na isang linggo lang tumungtong na ng otsenta mil, at yung pag-iisip na uuwi ka ng bahay at hindi kayo kumpleto- yung isip ko nasa Room 517A ng MaDocs.


Agad- agad

Gawa nga ng trabaho ko, kinailangan naming tumulong sa mga nasalanta ng baha sa maraming lugar sa Luzon. Bumili kami ng mga relief goods, nag-compute, nag-impake, bumiyahe nang pagkatagal-tagal, at nag-abot ng 400 relief bags- paumpisa lang yan. Maganda sa pakiramdam ang nakaktulong, pero kung may pagkakataon lang, ayoko na muna, mas gugustuhin kong magbantay sa mama ko sa hospital. 

Itong buwan ng Agosto, medyo hindi ko nagustuhan ang mga kailangan naming pagdaanan. Ako at ang mga magulang ko ay kinailangang magpa-check up para sa kung anu-anong kumplikasyon na baka nga isang sakit. Salamat na lang at wala namang nakitang malala. At yung kay mama- uulitin ko- naagapan ang sa kanya.


At 21

At 21 years old, nagulat ako at kinailangan ko nang magpa-ECG at 2DEcho para masolusyunan ang occasional chest pains at shortening of breath ko.Aba, teka?! -laging reaksyon ng mga doktor- ang bata mo pa?!

After all the medical procedures, wala pa rin. Normal naman daw. So ano ito? ah alam ko na-STRESS. Napapansin ko nga, sa tuwing hindi ko nagugutuhan ang mga nangyayari o ayoko na ng ginagawa ko, may nananakit sa kin-puso, batok, utak...kung anu ano.


Hinga.Kalma.Dasal.

Sa kabila ng lahat ng hirap ko, lagi kong iniisip na importanteng wag kong makalimutan ang huminga, kumalma, at magdasal. Ako ay isang anak ng Diyos- hindi niya ako pinapabayaan. Wala siyang problemang ibinibigay na hindi ko kayang solusyunan. 

Sabi nga, Why worry when I can pray? at tsaka Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH).

Anu pa man ang kailangan naming pagdaanan balang araw, tatapatan ko yan ng panalangin at pasasalamat. 


Haaay...may the best procedure (medical vs. spiritual) wins!


Hindi ito ang first time na dumaan na naman ang utak ko sa kahirapan- eto yung una na nai-blog ko  http://whenpencilwrites.tumblr.com/post/14055799037/pencil-awareness 

My 5-in-1 Summer

Do you know what I did last Summer? Well, I went on outings- yes, with an S. I beat the summer heat with five of them :)

Harley's 7th Birthday at Pansol, Laguna (Apr 21)

Harley is my first god son from a cousin. During his birthday's prelude, we partied overnight at their place. Honestly though, I only enjoyed the eating and picture takings. I did not drink. Instead, I finished reading "The Giver" by Lois Lowry- one of the finest childrens' book author I read.

The morning after, I simply enjoyed the day with both Sarabia and Figueroa clans. Of course, we were delighted by the children surrounding us- especially our favorite nephew- Howen :)

Baby Precious' Baptismal/ Porwan Trek at Cuenca, Batangas (May 20)

Baby Precious is the first born of my high school friend, Rose. We were invited to be her god parents. We saw it as an opportune time for a mini-reunion. There were eleven of us during that two-day trip.

The highlight of our trip is the Lumampao Trek- going down to and up from the foot of Taal Lake. We devoted thousands of steps to and from the location but given the chance, I would surely do that again. 

It was such a stress- reliever and I am so grateful to be with nature during that time; especially because the day after, I turned 21.

 

Megaworld's Company Outing at White Rock, Zambales (May 25)

This outing is the farthest yet the most boring among the five I have been. Why? Because we served as organizers for this event. We catered to the needs of more than a thousand employees of our company.

Unlike other outings which overemphasize DISTRESS and LEISURE, I had to hurdle with 2:00 A.M. call time, transportation committee duties, and whole day (pre,during, and post-) work. No swimming, only working; all for their happiness.

Nevertheless, it is one way of God telling me to work hard first, and I knew that there will be another chances for me.

Megaworld's HR-CSR Outing at Pansol, Laguna (Jun 23) 

A month after organizing an event for the company, we had our own. It is a simple gathering in very child-friendly private pool. If I would rate this event with 10 being the highest and 1 as lowest, it would be:

6 for satisfaction/ 10 for the billiards/ 9 for the food/ 5 for the bonding... it's a so-so.

I am just thankful to at least be given another two days to relax together with life-size characters from disney, nickelodeon, avengers, and real-life HR-CSR peeps. By the way, I will not discredit my time with CSR while we were preparing the lunch.

Megaworld's Audit-CSR-Executive Team Building at Shercon Resort, Batangas (Jul 28)

And to put an end to my long-lived summer, I joined the Audit-CSR-Executive team building activity. I have to be honest in saying that prior to my participation, I was pissed off with my team- because all of them have other things to do/ in mind. Hence, they were not able to experience what I did. It is indeed ironic to join a team building without all of my team mates.

What made me decide to join is my craving for new acquaintances and the exciting part of being a stranger for two days among bonded groups. I told myself to be real and find time to enjoy and relax. It was just hard because there were moments when I wish my teammates could have been with me, too.

Nevertheless, I eagerly participated in the activities and the bonding sessions. I was also pleased to make friends with some of the scholars of Megaworld Foundation. 

Overall, it was such a great way to end my summer spree.

Prior to having my first work, I saw summer as a means to relax,free your mind and spirit, and get gladly,soaking wet. Never did I imagine that there will be one summer when I will be experiencing all of these for five times, technically speaking.

With this blog and the heavy rain pouring on to the Philippines today due to hanging habagat (not typhoon yet), I officially bid summer goodbye!

'Til we meet again, sun!