Send me...I will go XD

Guys, mapapatawad nyo ba ko? 

Maniwala kau, I just cropped and saved the edited pic at ung original lang ung dinelete ko. Really. (Sobrang nakonsensya nman ako dun ... ung isa kc jan mukang iiyak na e, hahaha)

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I came late on purpose but somehow Kuya Marvin and Dave they still managed to find out that I was already there, just chillin in the kitchen with Kuya TJ, Poleng, Kristian and Edj.  So in the end, I still found myself in front of the whole youth service congregation while Kuya Marvin announced to everyone about my upcoming trip to Japan. I have no idea what my expression was the entire time I was up front (because I was busy chewing the bread that's in my mouth haha). Was it surprise? Awkwardness? A get-me-out-of-here look? XD Aw man, idk...being in front is definitely not one of my strengths.

But I'm thankful for the prayers ^^ Especially when Kuya Romy mentioned something about my being a missionary there as well, apart from being a student. That's actually part of my deal with God so I was surprised!

After the prayer though, I quickly returned to the kitchen to avoid any further 'exposure' hehe. But people still found me there with reactions ranging from surprise (Jasmine), sadness (Christian, Rose) and support (Haj) to it's-time-to-take-a-selfie (Kristian, Poleng ... everyone).

Right?

To be honest, I don't know how to deal with so many people trying to say goodbye to me T_T sorry Jasmine, I didn't know what more to say =/ And also because Dan has told me to hurry up a hundred times as they're already set to go. (I was expecting pizza so of course I'd hurry up haha.) Shoutout to Jaden, and to Joshua who told me he almost cried awhile ago hehe. Same to Aaron and Deejay who admitted to being more emotional than I was during the prayer. Man, I'm really gonna miss these people T_T

As soon as we got out the door, we quickly fled towards the gate (even if it was raining) because I didn't want to linger there and go on a drama about my departure. And again, because dinner is already waiting.

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Thanks to the person who sponsored the whole dinner in Jollibee (not gonna say who -- it's better you just receive your reward from God than from people, right?). Also, thanks to Carlo and Junex for being there early, haha. And to Marvic, Nelson and Jude for being there even though they were late. Just kidding; it's no big deal. XD

Salamat sa mga kapatid ko (na hindi nakalimutan ang promise ko last year that I will take a picture with them just before I go) : Dan, Sam, Ron. Continue being faithful to the Lord.

What can I say, it was a dinner full of ... picture taking. And we even have such a strict cameraman/director *coughdancough* who was always chastising me for not smiling enough in the pics. We don't have the same level of expression for happiness, remember? =p  (And if you still can't move on dun sa 'nawalang' picture, there's Mark 11:25 hehe. Again, I did not do it on purpose guys. I really just cropped it.)
 

 You know, up until this point I was still hoping for a pizza.... XD

Then Ronnie produced a framed drawing from his bag. And my first reaction was: Huh?! 

I just couldn't believe they managed to get hold of a decent picture of me! They proudly said it's all because of an 'accident' with Google. Oh. They must have discovered the STI news page where my graduation pic was posted. And I was right *facepalm* Apparently, they were just messing around with Google search one day while trying to search for their names. And because I was just there near them at that time (imagine that!), they also tried my name and boom!  Note to self: Never underestimate possibilities (and the power of Google).

Ok na sana kaso kumanta nman kayo ng 'happy sendoff'....mejo nalungkot nman ako dun T_T    

Until we meet again ^^,

I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.’ 

 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned, that I will do.

-Isaiah 46:10-11

I will miss this...

Well, let's just say I didn't expect this evening to turn out the way it did XD

Bro, you almost made me cry. No seriously.

First off, people often stopped me to say goodbye and stuff which totally made the thought of leaving sink in to me. Edj even gave me a shirt and told me not to forget him T_T

Then when Poleng found out that I'll already be going home tomorrow, she hugged me so tight I had to back off and plead "wag mo kong paiyakin" hehe.. Even Junex already thanked me for everything and reminded me to study well.  

What's up with people trying to make me cry, huh? *teary-eyed*



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Birthday celeb

Anyway, we managed to pull off the cake surprise well after LAYF. I asked for help from Meg and Pia to get the cake while Merry Joyce made sure Kheyna (the birthday girl) waits by the stage. We even had to light the candle several times because it keeps on getting blown off XD 

Unfortunately, singing Happy Birthday while holding a cake drew a lot of attention and Kuya Marvin was instantly beside us with his cam. Of course they would insist on getting a group picture -_- And being the cell leader who's about to say goodbye in a few days, I had to oblige them. (Which got me in a lot of trouble later as some of my friends saw what happened and promptly chided me for not ever taking a picture with them. Uh-oh.)

#wishyouwerehere Armina, Lady and Debby

I'm really thankful though that we're able to have dinner together ^^ Thanks Pia, Meg, Joyce, Kheyna, Llyana and Tin!

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Neil's fake-sounding-but-totally-genuine-laugh

Because we're practically neighbors now, Aaron, Neil, Kurt, Deejay and I often travel home together (but not before stopping by 7eleven). This time was no different as we found ourselves back to our favorite hangout place XD 

As expected, Aaron and Deejay have a lot of stories to share, especially when it's about Neil (apparently, Neil is easy to make fun of because he doesn't get mad). To be fair, Neil is really hilarious as he often fails to correctly hear what's the topic of our conversation.

For example:
Aaron: Kelangan natin bumili ng unan.
Neil: Ay, meron pa akong naiwang  bigas sa lingap!
(See what I mean?)

Or that time when Kurt lamented that they have an English exam the next day and Neil just responded with an apathetic "Aww".  *rofl*    He's quite the accidental comedian I tell you.

And as if that's not enough, he suddenly burst into his staccato laughter that sounds fake but is actually real. I still can't get over how contagious it was XD I don't know if it's because it sounded so fake and ridiculous or what but I just found myself laughing so hard my stomach was literally hurting. Aaron was also finding it hard to stop his laughter while Deejay had to go outside just to make the laughter subside. By the end of the laughing fit, all of us had teary eyes.

I'm afraid the people who saw/heard us tonight must have thought we're a bit drunk because of our antics and nonstop laughing. Don't worry, I won't even tell about Aaron peeing by a tree on our way home because he really had to go. I'll never ever talk about that.

Romans 1:16

It started as a mere what-if.

After our respective cellgroups last night, Neil said that he's really looking forward to having more cell members. Well, what if we share the Gospel? We can start right after we had dinner!

Honestly, even I was surprised that he readily agreed. XD But thanks to that, the habit of sharing Jesus to other people has started again. 

And so, after eating dinner and doing a little review to brush up on the outline of the Gospel, we went out to fish.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

- Romans 6:23

We met Christian who was sitting alone in USSC at that time and Neil shared the good news of salvation to him. Turns out, he's a Baptist Christian and he has heard the Gospel shared to him many times. I told him that perhaps God just wants to challenge him to do the same or just remind him of His love.

 

Afterwards, we walked around for a bit more until we passed by the lagoon again and saw Kuya Joe sitting by himself. We half-jokingly told him that we almost shared the Gospel to him. XD Anyway, Neil was evidently very excited with the prospect of Gospel-sharing so I totally took advantage of that and suggested that we should share again tomorrow. Haha. (Aaron's declaration that Neil would be a 'pastor' might just come true!)

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Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

Isaiah 40:1-2

I was supposed to meet my Monday cellgroup but since they're not available, I pushed through with the planned Gospel-sharing with Neil. Even better, Junex and Rey was able to join as well. After praying, we went out in pairs to Matthew 28:19. 

Rey and Junex shared to a group of people sitting near the infirmary while Neil and I each shared to a couple sitting by the lagoon. Both of us were nervous at first though. He was very vocal in saying that it felt like he can't breathe and he actually looked like he's about to hyperventilate but thank God he was able to do it. Tbh, on my part, I also felt unsure at first because it's going to be my first time to share to a couple. But I just took the plunge.

The couple I talked to are 2nd year Psych students named Crystal and EJ. They were attentive and really paid attention to what I was saying, and for that, I'm really thankful. Just beside us is the couple that Neil was talking to and all seems to be going well on his end, too.

Little did we know that our brothers on the other side were having a hard time. 

Apparently, Rey was caught unawares because one of the people in the group they approached is a foreigner. And he's really not comfortable speaking in English. Apart from that, the group seems to be in a hurry. Still, they're thankful that they were able to finish sharing the Gospel. Also, they learned in the end that they were talking to believers already.

Rey lamented that he felt he was not well-prepared for it and that he realized that the best way to go is to rely on God's power and not his own.

When we returned to admin to share our experiences, we met Jude and Nelson who also joined in. Jude told us of his first time sharing the Gospel just this afternoon with Dan. He was really in awe that just by sharing his testimony to the couple they approached in the "Chinese temple", the guy they were talking to started to cry. Indeed, God uses us, His children, mightily for His purpose of making Himself known to the lost.

All in all, we learned a lot from each other tonight. Questions were asked. Explanations and clarifications were shared.

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One of the biggest answered prayer for today is that it didn't rain! Just before I left the house at 5.00pm dark clouds can already be seen on the sky and it looks pretty obvious that rain's about to pour down but I still prayed fervently (as I'm sure others did) for it not to happen. Thankfully, the day ended and it did not rain (well, aside from the few droplets that did fell for a few seconds) in CLSU. What made me extra thankful was the fact that it rained downtown as proven by the wet roads when I walked home.

P.S. Kuya Joe, I'm really sorry I wasn't able to attend the SP Fellowship, hehe. (Anyway, I'm an undergrad once again so...) I guess I was more productive out on the field today.

Tbh

It's hard to pretend everything's fine with you when actually something's bothering you right?

Idk. Maybe it's just me.

At first you can still shrug your shoulders and say "no big deal" and believe it will eventually pass. After all, you have faith.

Then before you know it, you're already neck-deep. But being the "mature" person that everybody thinks you are, somehow you just always end up crying on to God about it. The thing is, God seems silent too. Well, you've heard it before: The Teacher is always silent during a test. Knowing that doesn't make it any easier though.

You still long to hear a clear word of instruction from Him because, you know, you don't want to return to the old you who just decides on her own. You want to consult Him now every step of the way. (Dare I say,) why couldn't He make it easier for you to know His will?

God is sovereign.    His grace is made perfect in weakness.    Be thankful in all circumstances.    Consider it pure joy when you experience trials of many kinds. ...

You know all the right words for this. In fact, you can quote verses to yourself that seems applicable to the situation. But for some reason they just ring hollow to you. 

It's a good thing then that even though you feel like that, His words never cease being true.