"Nang Ikaw ay Marating Ko" (Laguna) ^

"Nang Ikaw ay Marating Ko" (Laguna) ^_^

October 30, 2011

4:20PM

Once again, the Lord has amazed me when He brought me to Mabitac, Laguna to give a talk to the SFCs from East 3 and East 4. The topic: Covenant Orientation Weekend Talk 7 (Loving and Serving the Poor) and the venue: Blessed James Cusmano Academy (Missionary Servant of the Poor). :) Thanks to Kuya Matt Angeles, who invited me back in Bangkok during the GLS. Well, the GLS fever is still on and will forever be on. :)

I am writing this blog inside the Nuestra Senora de Candelaria Parish Church, while waiting for the 5PM mass. What's amazing about this experience is that I got to travel to a new place, meet new people, and well, attend mass at a new church. I guess it's true that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies, never will be spent. They are indeed new every morning. And today, just like any other day, the Lord gave me something new to marvel at. To make this post short (I might not be able to stop myself again from writing. :D), I will just list down the little wonders God has revealed to me today:

1. For the first time after a long while, I rode a provincial bound jeepney filled with people and baggages and traveled along Manila East Road from Taytay to Mabitac.

2. Along the way, I learned from Lawrence that the markers indeed have a purpose. Before, I can only understand the number written on top (KM #) but he explained to me that the number below the marker indicates how far we still are from the next town proper. That's new knowledge for me and I highly appreciate that. :)

3. When we arrived at the venue, the Titos and Titas from CFC offered us a very fitting lunch, "sinigang na baboy". All the stress and tiredness from our two-hour travel were gone. :)

4. Tito Tom Concepcion, the Provincial Coordinator of Laguna, informed me that they have not implemented the Cornerstone Program yet and it's just a great opportunity for me to share to them the blessing of such program.

5. After my talk, we joined in a very powerful worship led by Bro. Hersey Hernandez, and I am even more inspired and empowered to discover new horizons and continue testifying to God's love even to the ends of the earth. :)

6. At the end of the retreat, we had the famous Puto Binan for merienda. :)

7. Tito Tom dropped us off here at Nuestra Senora de Candelaria (Mabitac Church) and we were able to verify that indeed, there are 126 steps to this beautiful place of worship. :) We took some photos and marveled at the beauty of the mountains of Jala-Jala and of course, the waters of Laguna Bay.

8. When we entered the church, we were greeted by a very solemn altar.

9. We took our seats on the third row from the front and Lawrence noticed that it's just across the 13th Station of the Cross. (13 is a very significant number for us.)

The day isn't over yet and the mass will start in 15 minutes.

Four more wonders, Lord. I will wait for them. :)

*****

10. "When you leave the mass, LIVE the mass." That was Father Jerry's homily, and true enough, we were given a practical exam on our way back to Manila. :)

11. In search of food and transportation, God brought us to the next town, Siniloan, where we dined at Jollibee! :D (Minsan ang sarap lang talaga ng Jollibee. :D)

12. We couldn't find a Manila-bound jeepney so we took the tricycle to Famy. We were just a few meters away when the tricycle engine stopped. The driver said there was no more gas. We had no choice but to walk along the long and winding road to the town proper. God knew we needed an exercise. :D

13. We boarded the Raymond Bus bound for Manila, filled with thanksgiving and amazement at how the Lord gave us such an adventure. :)

The road from Famy to Rizal (Manila East Road) was long and dark and the only light we could see was that coming from the headlights of the bus we were riding. But that light was enough to guide us as we traverse the challenging path. In our journey through life, the road may seem endless and most of the time, dark. But we need not look far, we need not look anywhere else. Because right in front of us is the light of Christ, and that light alone is enough for us to stay on the right course. That light will lead us home. :)

Comments

Understanding Lupang Hinirang

Every Filipino knows Lupang Hinirang (though some know it better as " Bayang Magiliw "). How can you not know it when it is the national anthem of the Philippines? But do we really mean the lyrics that we sing? Do we understand it in the first place? Photo Credit: http://diazi.ism-online.org This video has gone viral weeks ago. This afternoon, I shared it to my teammates, and one commented, "Yun pala yun . Ngayon ko lang naintindihan." He immediately downloaded it and converted to MP3. So for those who have not seen it, once again, here is Joey Ayala's version of Lupang Hinirang. And I agree, you would never want to sing it in another way. (But that's just me. :D) This rendition is simply beautiful. Truly Filipino. :) Of course that doesn't mean we need to revise our national anthem but maybe we can consider about correcting the way we sing it (read: proper pronunciation). Read more about the Philippine National Anthem here . ...

Jesus Week 2015: A Time To HEAL ♥

I had the best, most meaningful HOLY WEEK ever, so far (the best is yet to come!). :) Thanks to Joy who shared the Jesus Week poster on Facebook. It was God's personal invitation, and I couldn't thank Him enough for the grace that He also gave me to respond. Everything is grace. It was not just my personal decision to join. It was God's grace that allowed me to. So how did it go? Well, as what I have told my friends, it was amazingly beautiful! The experience was priceless! On Holy Monday, I posted Fr. Jerry Orbos' acronym for HOLY WEEK . I experienced all of that and more! :) I won't be able to share everything as there is just a lot of personal, intimate encounters with the Lord. But if I were to summarize, it was a time for me to HEAL. :) H alt . Indeed, I was able to stop and just rest in the Lord. Before leaving Manila, I have already told myself that this retreat will be all about Jesus ( Jesus Week nga e :D ). No emails, no texts, no calls. I...

Thank You, Lord! :)

It has been a long and stressful day (the past three days have been lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng and stressssssssssssssssssssssssssssssful), but You are just so amazing, Lord that I couldn't sleep without telling You how grateful I am. :) Thank You, Lord for the miracle that You did yesterday. Break even and more. :) Thank You, Lord for the laughter and stories shared during the post-mission meeting with Team Thailand. :) Team Thailand - Princesses from SFC Metro Manila :) Thank You, Lord for Lawrence. He is just the (almost) perfect man. He has his flaws, but they are acceptable; he makes mistakes, but they are all forgivable. There are a lot of men but there can never be anyone else. He's really the one. And You know it very well. :) ♥ Nemo. Love. ♥ Thank You, Lord for giving me strength and endurance each day. :) Thank You, Lord for the short but restful sleeps. :) Thank You, Lord for every waking moment and every opportunity that You give ...

The Holy Spirit*

*Cluster 4 Household Topic Reflections from John 15:26-16:4 True friendship is strengthened in adversity. Jesus offers His disciples the best and truest of friends. Who is this promised friend? Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our Counselor and Advocate (also translated Paraclete or Helper). Counselor is a legal term for the one who will defend someone against an adversary and who guides that person during the ordeal of trial. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and Helper who brings us safely through the challenges and adversities we must face in this life. As Jesus approaches the hour that He was to be glorified - through His death on the cross and His resurrection - He revealed more fully to His disciples the person and the role of the Holy Spirit. What does Jesus tell us about the Holy Spirit? First, the Holy Spirit is inseparably one with the Father and the Son. It is the Holy Spirit who gives life - the very life of God - and who kindles faith in hearts r...

Interesting Facts Courtesy of Celebrity Bluff :)

I was writing a different post, but Celebrity Bluff is just so fun and informative, I had to stop from blogging to list down the fun facts that I learn from each round. :) Thought it would be nice to share them here as well. For future reference. :D Q: In 2012, what kind of animal was named after Beyonce? A: Horse Fly Q: What rare job in China will pay you US$50,000 a year? A: Fart Smeller Q: What alcoholic drink literally means "water of life"? A: Whisky Q: In which part of the body can you find the tragus? A: Ear Q: According to Merriam-Webster, what is the female equivalent of dude? A: Dudine Q: What is longer in the male turtles than in the females? A: Nails And the final question is... Q: According to Box Office Mojo what are the top four (4) movies of 2013 according to global profit? A: (1) Iron Man 3, (2) Despicable Me 2, (3) Fast and the Furious 6 (4) The Hunger Games: Cat...

These Little Wonders

Search This Blog