Around Town

Last week, we took the kids on a ‘quick’ trip around the city. We brought them to the city hall, the city park, the mini zoo in my father’s school, the children’s playground and Jollibee!

Here are some of the photos :)

Enjoying Spaghetti and a burger at Jollibee. Something special for them.

Hugging Jollibee ;)

We love Animals :)

This is a proof of growth. I used to 'not like' animals. Now, I'm talking about them to kids :D

Daniel's lions? hehehe!

BARNEY... the one in brown? !!

Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil

at the city hall with Gladys

Just in time for the city Festival.

Guaranteed safe TRIKE ride ;) 

That's why I wear a smile :D

Praise God for the wonderful time!!!!

My Poems and My Nose

How did January fly by and I didn't notice it? Whew!! Thanks to Jaycee, who buzzed me and informed i just GOT A BLOG AWARD from her, I paused to doodle something tap my keyboard for some pieces. I love Jaycee, you must go follow her blog.

I put my 'Acceptance Speech' on my other blog. I was hesitant at first to let out into open my poetry blog (since I parked VenusSpeaks) because I still want to keep a portion of me to myself...but i figured it is silly. People already know me. So, here, welcome to my poetry blog:

A November Miracle

Everyday, on my way to the center, I pass by two of the smelliest places in our small city. (1) the dumpsite, where all the garbage from everyone in the city is deposited laid-out in the open to dry and (2) the Ugahan or the dried fish ‘factories’ where tons of fish are (you guessed it) also laid-out in the open to dry. These two places are not so far apart that it seems like the aroma you get when you drive by is one distinct smell on its own.

The UGAHAN 

You really have to get here to know what I mean.

I already outgrew my impulse to cover my nose when I pass by these places. My nose automatically shuts off. My daily travels have immunized me that it no longer bothers me…well, except on rainy days.

Again, you really have to get here to know what I mean.

And then I’m reminded of that one cold night in an animal shed where bleating and mooing were silenced by a baby’s cry. I am reminded that this baby was welcomed not by the clean smell of sanitation but by an interesting mix of animal dung, hay and whatnot. I am reminded that this was no ordinary baby – He was the son of THE KING. Most of all, I am reminded that He didn’t have to be born like this, but he chose to.

I am having post-Christmas thoughts of the manger and the man who was born there. I am having repentant thoughts of how easily I can rant about things that cause me discomfort. I am having thoughts of how this world has lured me into thinking that comfort is a right not a privilege. I am having thoughts of how I padded myself with things and fleeting endeavours to be at par with the world’s standard of comfort. And my mind thinks back again of that Man who was born in the manger.

This man...

Who took up our pain and bore our suffering, 

Who was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities

This man, Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

This man who went through all these yet he did not open his mouth; was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 

And this same man who said “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

  

I close my mouth, and forget about what goes through my nose. :)

BLESS Updates: Our First One and a half Months

The dawning of each year is a reminder of the chances we are given to live life better than how we did the year before. I believe the way to live a better life is to live beyond yourself. After all, the great commandment is about two selfless things: Love God above all, Love your neighbour as yourself.

Our BLESS Center requires a lot of selflessness to operate. We have been blessed by partners who not only support us financially but more than anything, uphold us in prayers.

Learning the Alphabet Sounds

We started operating last November 29, 2010 and 9 kids are presently under the program. It is amazing to watch God work in the lives of these kids everyday. Not only do we see changes in their intellectual lives but we see changes in their behaviour as they come to know more about Jesus everyday. We witness how they learned the meaning of words such as Please, Thank You, Wait and God Bless you.

We had our Christmas party on December 22. The kids had so much fun with the games, the singing and the eating. They also received gifts from special people. Our food were also graciously provided by some of the BLESS friends. Some young adults from the church volunteered to be our guests-slash-nannies for the day.

Getting ready for the game

The kids went home that day with a smile stuck to their faces. They had a wrapped gift on one hand, an apple and an orange on another and a cupcake on…well, two hands were not enough. It was awesome to see how the kids were blessed. We all got an extra hug from them before we said goodbye.

We had classes during the Christmas break. The kids didn’t have anything to do during the break so we asked permission from their parents if we could have them at the center instead. The parents, of course, gladly agreed.

We are a happy lot, aren't we?

Our greatest challenge right now is getting the parents show up at meetings. They know they have agreed on it but most times, only a few attend, even after constant reminders. Please help us pray that God would teach us how to reach out to them so that they too can experience the blessing that their kids are experiencing right now.

Everyday, Gladys (my assistant) and I give each of the kids a big hug before they go home. Just recently, one of the kids blurted out “Palangga ta ka bala Ma’am” (which means “I love you, Ma’am.”) on his own. Then the rest of the kids started saying it. We didn’t teach them to say it. They just did it on their own. I guess, in the eyes of these kids, love has already took on shape.

All of us who are in this ministry represent Jesus Christ to the kids. Thank you so much for your love, your support and your prayers. We are serving a Big and Loving God. The kids can tell.

Peace, and the Sound of the Sea

The sound of the sea was the first sound I heard today, the first of 2011.

We live about 150 meters from the shoreline. I grew up liking the sea but I never polished my swimming strokes. I thought, I naturally float so why bother. *insertlaugh*

Our community is interesting. We pay a premium for the land our house stands on so technically, we are not squatters. BUT, all around us, its almost like that. Houses are all over you couldn’t sketch a decent map. Streets are not named (which usually causes delays when waiting for some delivery) Some houses are wall-to-wall close, open sewer, animal dung sunbathe on the pavement. It’s a melting pot of people from different walks of life, with different cultures. Some houses have tall fences and iron gates with elaborate details. Some don’t have fences. People spend more time talking on the nameless streets than inside their houses. It has been known too as the refuge of wanted criminals. It cannot be described as anything else but VILLA BARBAS.

On normal days, we would hear the neighbor’s TV, radio and their amplified blabber. It is also ordinary to hear motor engines, hammer sounds and well, occasionally, gunshots ( as with the case of our neighbour committing suicide).  But today, it was not a normal day. The moment I was conscious, I ONLY heard the humming of the sea.Yes, ONLY the humming of the sea.

I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving. It is not everyday that it gets to be this silent.

Silence is golden. It doesn’t imply peace. But I believe silence highlights the presence or the absence of it.And today, in that solitary moment, I am glad I found PEACE:

I don’t have a bank account that would last me for the next ten years, and I’m fine with that.

I don’t have a job that would guarantee that I’d get a paycheck twice a month, and I’m fine with that.

I don’t have a car nor the mileage that would take me places, and I’m fine with that.

I don’t have a jaw-dropping resume that I could flash at anyone to get a job, and I’m fine with that.

And here’s why.

I knew what it was like to have money (that would make me last for about a few years.hehehe)  but it didn’t make me feel worry-free.

I knew what it was like to get paychecks every 15 days but it did not give me any guarantee of the next bite on my plate.

I knew what it was like to go places (no, I don’t know yet how it feels to drive my own car. Hehe!) but it only made me feel like a stranger.

I knew what it was like to get a fine job without having the need to apply for it, but it did not make me feel like I was at my best.

Peace is knowing that Someone feeds you, even if He has to send it through a raven.

Peace is knowing that Someone has already given you what you need, even if its not exactly what you want.

Peace is knowing that Someone will bring you to the right destination, even if you don’t see where you are headed.

Peace is knowing that Someone wants you to DO what He had created you to for, even if it means quitting what you think you are best at.

Peace is knowing that Someone has a perfect plan for everything, even if means ruining yours.

In 2010, there were days when ‘ravens’ fed me.  I didn’t get the ‘things’ I wanted. I boarded buses and planes to some unheard places. I lessened my ‘stage’ time and ‘parked my pen’ for some needful service. I saw precious people walk away. I watched my dreams dissolve into thin air.

But, unlike the chaos of my environment that has now gone back to normal as I write, the chaos of 2010 is never to return. Peace is knowing that 2010 didn’t go well as I wanted it, BUT being fine with it.

I have a fascination with the sea. Some say the sea divides the islands. As I listened to it hum today, I’m reminded of what I believe about the sea: It connects them.

There are days I want the sea water to turn to glass so people don’t have to live very far apart. But, in Genesis, God said 

“Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.”

 And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.” 


So, I'm totally fine with that. :D

May you all have a PEACEFUL 2011!!!!

To READ?

I’m currently still reading John Maxwell’s “Put Your Dream to the Test”. Last night, I read the part where he tells about one time when he asked his friends this question: “If you could do one thing to change the world, what would it be?” One by one they answered. Then, they threw back the question to John and this is what he said:

“I would teach every child in the world to read.”

At the point of reading this part of the book, I stopped, closed it and read no further. I knew I had to meditate on that fact.

I was a teacher for six years. I taught 1^st graders and 3^rd graders. They were pretty challenging. But by the time they came to my class, they were already readers, thus, I have never experienced how it is to teach a child to read.

Not until today, DAY ONE of the BLESS Reading Program that we started in our outreach center. I have ten kids in my learning center, all of them eager to attach sound meanings to these figures we call LETTERS. After the first 4-hour class, when all the kids had gone, I sat on my chair and asked: “John Maxwell, is this what you want to do? Seriously?!”

Day ONE and my mind was already filled with things to map out: a disciplinary system, a motivational strategy, a fund-raising idea, a recording system, an accounting system, the parents’ Bible study, step-by-step toilet rules, manners, ..etc..etc..etc… So, John Maxwell, is THIS really want you want to do?

I giggled in the middle of these battling thoughts. Because the truth is, nobody talked me into doing this. Not even John Maxwell.

So, why did I decide to teach kids to read?

When I was little, before I could read, my mother would take out an old cover-less book of fairy tales. She would read to us the stories and my mind would go wild in imagination. From time to time I would look at the page my mother was reading from to see the pictures. But time after time, I would be disappointed; I saw letters after letters – clumped together, or better known to us as WORDS. Just words. No pictures.

That is how I became very eager to read. I wanted to ‘see’ what my mother was seeing. I wanted to unlock these symbols, to see the scenes behind them. I wanted see the pictures drawn by those letters, repeatedly scribbled in the pages like there was some pattern I need to figure out. I was dying to know what they meant.

When I finally learned how to read, there was no stopping. I have always been picking up a book. A friend of mine asked me what if the kids will forget ‘how to read’ and all my efforts would be wasted away. I told her, no one ever unlearns reading.

I picked up John Maxwell’s book again and continued reading. He wrote “ I believe the ability to read can open the door to all other learning and personal growth.”

These kids in my learning center are not guaranteed an easy adult life. No, not even a higher education, no, not a big-shot career. Everywhere they look -  in the four corners of their houses, in their flooded backyards, or the ‘mahjongan’ across them – they wouldn’t find a picture of a meaningful life.

But, one of these days, they will pick up a BOOK, unlock the pictures from these written symbols and they will see HOPE. They will decode these figures and find FREEDOM. They will read these red letters and they will find LIFE.

Meanwhile, I get them ready for that moment.

John Maxwell, I’m with you on this one! *wink*

Note: BLESS Program is a 20-week reading program for indigent children.

My Free Education

Most of the lessons I learned, I did not learn in school. BUT the things that gave me the CAPACITY to learn them, most, if not all, I LEARNED IN SCHOOL.

I completed 10 years of basic education at a laboratory school for teachers. Yes, graduating students who were preparing to be teachers practiced on us. I developed the skill of evaluating would-be-teachers long before I understood the meaning of the word evaluate. Before the class ends, I could tell whether he/she will get good grades for the demonstration or he/she will witness the supervisor walking out of the room. Our classes were unpredictable thus, the excitement everyday.

Of course, we had permanent class advisers and subject teachers that were responsible for most of the things we learned. They are the ones we remember the most.

It is probably my exposure to these would-be-teachers that contributed to my desire to become a teacher myself. It may have been my desire to redeem the whole education system from these ‘not-so-ready’ teachers (as I thought at that time). Or, I may have thought pasting manila papers and asking “Who can point at the carabao in the picture?” when the animals in the drawing all looked like dogs is really a cool thing to do. It must be fun playing tricks on the kids. Well, whichever it was, 8 years ago I became one of them. I now hold a license that says: PROFESSIONAL TEACHER.

My expired license. hehe!

They didn’t specify teacher of which lessons. So I guess, that gives me the liberty to teach ANYTHING and claim: “I’m licensed. Want to check?”. I might as well teach music, dance, French, Swahili, Karatedo, boxing. I have the license to help me get a way with it. Haha!

But of course, my oath of professionalism wouldn’t allow me to do that. I can only practice what I was trained for: Elementary Education.

I was trained in the best, (yes, I’m serious) teacher-training institution in this country: Philippine Normal University. I had four years of excellent instruction from exemplary educators. I had 5 months of laboratory experience in the most challenging labs one could be in. I was assigned to teach English to 6^th graders of a public school. No, not to the ‘bright kids’ class. To sections: 13, 14 and 16. Some of my kids were only two years younger than I was, have criminal records and can hardly read.

Today, I have countless opportunities and experience, and can do many things that are in no way related to the professional license I am holding. Although most times I say “ I didn’t learn this in school!!”  I am certain that the things I learned in school staged me for these experiences. Even the ability to determine that is a skill I learned in the classroom.

But what really blows me away is that the wealth of these instructions and experiences came to me at a ‘discounted price’. Yes, in this world where quality education comes with not less than 5 digits, I got mine in three. As I mentioned, I went to a laboratory school for my basic education. What does it imply? Yes, free education! And college? How’s Php335.00 per semester? (At that time my friends paid 19-22k per semester.) Yes, almost free!

Almost.

Because the truth is, the university I attended is state run. Every penny spent for me was taken from every hard working, honest tax payer. I enjoyed it because someone already paid for it. I mean, seriously, where can you get fine education for the price of 7 Jollibee Yumburger Meals  or 2 sips at Starbucks or 1 meal at Twist? And when I say FINE EDUCATION, I really mean it. I seldom say this – Phil. Normal University is THE institution for would-be-teachers. (Oh, I must add: results vary on students’ commitment. Hehehe!)

Sounds a lot like everything about my life. I live a life free of worry about tomorrow. I can sing, dance, sleep on problems, love without fear and live like a human being. Because the supposedly payment I need to make for being human has already been paid for.  

No, I don’t ‘purchase’ a slot for an audience with God for half the price.

No, I won’t get to heaven at a ‘discounted’ price.

I get both free – compliments of the ONE who paid it on the CROSS.

I paid Php 335/ semester for my education.

He paid with His life my salvation.

Now, this education has become my stage to tell you of His Salvation. :)

You Spoke

There was darkness

and nothing more

You spoke

and light came forth

(Who says You cant light up my momentary sadness?)

There was water

no land, no soil that gather

You spoke

divided, the waters broke

(Who says You can't gather the waters one one side

and let me cross the continents on low tide?)

There was no green, no grass

no vegetation. no patch

You spoke

and the leaves sprouted forth

(Who says someday there will no longer be food on display?)

The sky was empty

no sun, no moon, no stars in the heavenly

You spoke

the sun showed and the moon overtook

(Who says they can't be together to amuse me with a soulful rigodon?)

The waters were deep

void, black and no creatures creeped

You spoke

on the ocean beds, the sea animals nooked

(Who says the oceans do nothing but divide?)

And the earth was barren

no single thing was roaming

You spoke

and the earth was filled with noisy bleating

(Who says the world can never again be silenced?)

There was no image of You

no one to dominate the flock

You spoke

from the filth broke-

Adam

And out of Adam 

she came

and offsprings they bore

generation to generation

until

I came forth

and I ask

Who is God?

What is God like?

You spoke

and silence overtook