A Summer Surprise from God

God has a wonderful way of answering our prayers.  I firmly believe in that because I can't get enough of experiencing God's awesome and mighty ways of surprising me with blessings beyond my wildest expectations.

Early this year, I was already preparing for another trip to Sablayan, Mindoro.   I thought I'd pack my bags come holy week and join my bubbly church friends to DJ Beach Besort and Pandan Island, where we spent seven full days last year enjoying crystal-clear blue waters and white sand beaches.  That part of Occidental Mindoro was quite raw and undiscovered, but it was very beautiful, and I wanted to relive my very good experiences in that part of our country.

However, our graduation was set for April 5, a Monday, and I couldn't definitely be absent from this affair, being the Chair of the Program Committee.  I couldn't take an earlier vacation leave either, because even as of this writing, our plans for the big day aren't yet final.  So I kissed all hopes of going out-of-town this year and resigned myself to the fact that I'll be waiting for another year to sunbathe and snorkel in Southern Luzon, or anywhere outside of Manila, as all of my friends are pushing through with their beach outings minus me.

But God had other plans.

One night I went home very tired and very stressed out. I was ready to plunk down on my bed and forego my dinner, when mom popped the question:  "Would you like to go with me to Boracay for the holy week?  Three days, two nights".  

Would I like?  But of course!  Who wouldn't refuse such an offer?

I forgot all about office bickerings, politics, and all the stresses that came with them, and sat down on my pc to scout for the available flights that would make our dream vacation true.  Cebu Pacific and PAL were already fully-booked, while others charged way too expensive for our budget.  Thankfully, we found early morning bookings with Zest Airways.  For about Php 3000++, we had our round-trip airfare deals sealed.  Yey!

So we got the airfare covered.  But what about the accomodations?  Well, this is one where I was totally floored by the goodness of God.  Wonder of wonders, we are going to stay at Fairways and Bluewater, a triple A resort in Newcoast, Boracay, just a stone's throw from Puka Beach and D'Mall at Station 1.  Fairways and Bluewater boasts of being the only resort with an exclusive cove and closely guarded, privately secured, perimetered white beach front.  It has a par 72, 18-hole golf course, an athletic field / beach soccer, and volleyball areas.  The resort owners proudly claim to have the largest fresh water swimming pool, and if that is not enough, it also has a horseback riding field and trails ---- talk about bringing Tagaytay to Aklan!  The place also has a chapel, a natural cave, an open-air amphitheatre and park, a spa (!), all terrain vehicle field (ATV), and a zipline!  Click here and here to read more about zipline, and why backpackers and tourists are raving about it. 

God just keeps raising the bar when it comes to surprising me.  Did you know that for all the first-class, triple A facilities I mentioned that we'd be enjoying in Bora, we paid a mere Php 4, 410 per night for the hotel?  We were given 40% discount on accomodation, and where on earth can you find a deal like that when it's supposed to be peak season? God is truly good and great!  I'm really just amazed at how He orchestrated everything for me to enjoy all these perks.

In six days, I'll finally be seeing the famed Bora sunset and feel the white powdery sand on my feet.  I am just so thankful to God for this pleasant, unexpected summer surprise.  It's far better what I have ever planned and conceived, and truly, when it comes to Him, I can only imagine!

Take me to paradise:  Did you know that in the native language of the Aklanon tribes, the word "bora" means cotton, in honor of the soft, powdery sands of the island?

I'd be glad to walk these shorelines!

It'll be nice to pray, meditate and read the Bible in a beautiful place like this!

I'd like to go island-hopping and have my picture taken in this place.

How's that for a view?

This magnificent sunset reminds me of God's pleasant surprise for me this summer.

All images were taken from here.

Japanese for A Day

with my close friend/classmate Edward of Torres HS

experiencing authentic Japanese tea ceremony

healthy green tea from Japan

making onigiri or rice cakes

Remember my previous post?  I believe I'm turning Japanese!  Hehehe.  

It's been ten months since I first went back to the classroom set-up and taught Japanese language and culture.  Yes, I know.  What is an English major like me doing in a Japanese language and culture class?  It all started in 2007 when The Japan Foundation Manila decided to conduct a Nihongo Caravan in our school.  It's a variety show combining Japanese language and culture meant to generate interest in all things Japanese with the aim of encouraging students to take Japanese as an elective for the incoming school year.

So when classes opened in 2008, I offered Japanese language and culture as a club in our school.  However, the program was a bit disappointing since attendance waned.  Students were constantly busy with their academic pursuits, and since a club isn't a graded activity, naturally the attendance wasn't given much priority by the students.

I was discouraged.  But then God had other plans.  Last summer, my school sent me to JFM for a fresh round of training.  This time, we decided to offer Japanese language and culture as an elective.  It was graded, and so none of my students would absent themselves from the class, lest they miss out on some of the best things happening in this side of Pasig.  

How time flies!  One moment I recall walking into the classroom and introducing myself in Japanese, and now, we just ended our own version of the Nihongo Caravan in our school (which by the way, I'm still having last song syndrome hahahaha).  Teaching this year had been so wonderful for me.  It was fun, and I always looked forward to Thursdays and Fridays to see my Japanese counterpart, Ms. Mayu Suzuki, my Filipina co-teacher, Ms. Lyn, and my class (naks!), I-Pythagoras.  There's just too many things to talk about and to explore on, and it's always exciting to share cultures and understanding between different languages and races.

Over-all, I had pretty good memories with Pythagoras.  And now that the School Year is about to end, I kinda miss my Thursday-Friday routine.  I wish I could repeat June again, and relive some of the most precious times I spent with the class, Ms. Mayu and Ms. Lyn.  

I'll let the pictures and videos re-tell my memorable moments with my CJH class this 2009-2010.

getting certified by none other than the top honcho of JFM, Mr. Ben Suzuki

chance pic of my Japanese quiz bee team and some models for Japanese street fashion

posing with the class and Ms. Mai Nakamoto, one of the Japanese senseis

learning to write in Katakana

Japanese-related art

read their names (hehehe, in Katakana!)

I call these girls the Cherry blosson ladies hehehe

a pose before the show

happy feet in Japanese sandals

the cute obi fashioned the Japanese way

Ms. Mai Nakamoto with Francis (in crazy hairdo), Eloi and Ali

Japanese exhibit

some Japanese stuff on display

my boys resting awhile

Yeba!  Curtain call!  We made it!

And here's their final dance number for the show, the Yosakoi Sooran or fishermen's dance.

Sayonara!

What I Am Really Looking Forward To...

White sand...
Blue water...
Clear sky...
Lush greeneries...

 

 

Boracay, here I come.  Oooohhh, bring me some!

:-)

Epicenter, and Why You and I SHOULD take this book seriously

Last Christmas, I began reading a very intriguing and exciting non-fiction entitled EPICENTER: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future by Joel C. Rosenberg.  The book, a New York Times bestseller, is a treasure trove of historical and politico-economic analyses tied up with Biblical end-times prophecies.  Don't worry, it's not just for geeks and nerds.  It took me about three nights to get to the last page, and to say that I love it and regard it as the best non-fiction I've ever laid my hands on is an understatement.  I just couldn't put it down from the moment I leafed through the first page. And to think I hate politics!

Grab a copy now!  Best deal ever:  for only Php 300 
Available in all major and Christian bookstores.

Truly, we need reminders every so often.  This book reminded me that life is short, and that Jesus is coming back again. We don't have much time left, and we better make the most of it, because when Christ returns, He will judge each one of us, and we will have to give an accounting of our lives to Him.  And so, I now pose the core of this post's message:  are we ready for Christ's return?

“In the last days...There will be great earthquakes, and in many places people will starve to death and suffer terrible diseases. All sorts of frightening things will be seen in the sky...Strange things will happen to the sun, moon, and stars. The nations on earth will be afraid of the roaring sea and tides, and they won't know what to do...People will be so frightened that they will faint because of what is happening to the world. Every power in the sky will be shaken...Then the Son of Man will be seen, coming in a cloud with great power and glory." (Luke 21:11,25-27, CEV)

That Jesus Christ is coming soon is inevitable.  The Bible says so.

Later as he was sitting on Mount Olives, his disciples approached and asked him, "Tell us, when are these things going to happen? What will be the sign of your coming, that the time's up?" Jesus said, "Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, 'I am Christ, the Messiah.' They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming. "They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name   And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other's throat, everyone hating each other.  "In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in--nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes. "Staying with it--that's what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, and you'll be saved. All during this time, the good news--the Message of the kingdom--will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come. "But be ready to run for it when you see the monster of desecration set up in the Temple sanctuary. The prophet Daniel described this. If you've read Daniel, you'll know what I'm talking about. If you're living in Judea at the time, run for the hills; if you're working in the yard, don't return to the house to get anything;  if you're out in the field, don't go back and get your coat. Pregnant and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Hope and pray this won't happen during the winter or on a Sabbath.

This is going to be trouble on a scale beyond what the world has ever seen, or will see again. If these days of trouble were left to run their course, nobody would make it. But on account of God's chosen people, the trouble will be cut short. "If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, 'Here's the Messiah!' or points, 'There he is!' don't fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I've given you fair warning. "So if they say, 'Run to the country and see him arrive!' or, 'Quick, get downtown, see him come!' don't give them the time of day. The Arrival of the Son of Man isn't something you go to see. He comes like swift lightning to you!  Whenever you see crowds gathering, think of carrion vultures circling, moving in, hovering over a rotting carcass. You can be quite sure that it's not the living Son of Man pulling in those crowds. Following those hard times, Sun will fade out, moon cloud over, Stars fall out of the sky, cosmic powers tremble. "Then, the Arrival of the Son of Man! It will fill the skies--no one will miss it. Unready people all over the world, outsiders to the splendor and power, will raise a huge lament as they watch the Son of Man blazing out of heaven. At that same moment, he'll dispatch his angels with a trumpet-blast summons, pulling in God's chosen from the four winds, from pole to pole. "Take a lesson from the fig tree. From the moment you notice its buds form, the merest hint of green, you know summer's just around the corner. So it is with you: When you see all these things, you'll know he's at the door. Don't take this lightly. I'm not just saying this for some future generation, but for all of you. This age continues until all these things take place. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won't wear out. "But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven's angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. "The Arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah's. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing--until the flood hit and swept everything away. "The Son of Man's Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field--one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill--one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up. "Who here qualifies for the job of overseeing the kitchen? A person the Master can depend on to feed the workers on time each day. Someone the Master can drop in on unannounced and always find him doing his job. A God-blessed man or woman, I tell you.  It won't be long before the Master will put this person in charge of the whole operation. "But if that person only looks out for himself, and the minute the Master is away does what he pleases-- abusing the help and throwing drunken parties for his friends-- the Master is going to show up when he least expects it and make hash of him. He'll end up in the dump with the hypocrites, out in the cold shivering, teeth chattering.  (Matthew 24:3-51, The Message)

When Christ returns, are we ready?

I am  :)

Don't Grow Up Yet, Little Ones

That my nephews and niece rock my world is probably inaccurate.
I say, we [in the family] adore them.
Every one of us is excited to see them all the time.
Don't grow up yet, little ones.  Please?

Ella Monique (in plaid pink and green dress) and Cousin Carl Ricah

Enrique Miguel

 

Franco David and Diego Reuben

Red-eyed: Loving and Hating It

Urgh!

Only seven days into the new year, I am stuck here at home.  The findings?  Conjunctivitis!!!  Sore eyes in layman's language.

I'm loving the fact that I can relax and just be laid back for a few days.  But at the same time, I hate taking breaks when I have all the adrenalin to face my workload head-on.

Urgh!!!!

My Ideal Vacation Activity = This*

Ultra fine, white sand and cool breeze....

Snorkelling all day...

Tropical weather perfect for swimming and tanning...

Private, secluded island...

Clear, blue-green, South China Sea waters teeming with diverse kinds of marine life...

...and simply enjoying nature and God's awesome creations  :)

* Pictures taken during my recent summer vacation in Sablayan and Pandan Island, Mindoro.