Celebrate joy!

So just before the year ends, here's the part 2 vlog of our Taiwan trip! :) I shared here our sky lantern experience and the beautiful Shifen Waterfall! Enjoy!

Since everyone seems to be flocking to Taiwan since they declared their country visa-free for tourists, I am sharing with you our trip's itinerary. We were there for 5 full days and my Intsik mode kicks in whenever I am in a foreign place because I would always want to maximize whatever experience the place has to offer so kung ano pwedeng magawa, tara! Game! Mhe and Kimmy are also game for anything (which makes them really great travel buddies) but even though they give their full-on support to my travel wants, they also expressed their longing to just sip milk tea somewhere and chill on some days (#sinongmatanda haha) , so what I did was an itinerary that has both. DAY 1- CITY TOUR Visit Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall and Songshan Cultural and Creative Park   Daan Forest Park   Learn about Qingtian Geo 76 as you pedal along a quiet lane to the Japanese-era building   Take in the views of Taipei 101 City skyline from Elephant Mountain  

Here's the first part of our Taiwan trip last September! This post has been a long time coming! :) I had this uploaded in Youtube last October but only figured out this morning how to turn the privacy settings to public.  #Anubey We arrived in Taiwan in the wee hours of the morning so after having midnight snacks (milk tea + dumplings), we had ourselves set up at the home of Kimmy's auntie (thanks so much for your hospitality)! So the next day was full-on tourist mode, these are the places we went to...  - Chiang Kai Shek Memorial - Daan Park - Elephant mountain (sweats and large amounts of it! That was really a steep climb!) - Taipei Enjoy! Part 2 coming up before the year ends!

Taking a quick break from the devo and travel posts lately and just letting my thoughts run and pour over this (digital) space! I feel like 2017 went by too fast, don't you? We are now on the last two months of the year! But I take it as a good thing, you know what they say, time flies when you're having fun! It was my first time to go to Prayer Mountain last Wednesday and as I was sitting there surrounded with the lush forest and bamboos (and many mosquitoes lol! it's part of the experience), and I was going through my faith goals for the year... I am amazed how God has been so faithful in my life.

A few weeks ago, we went to Mt. Nagpatong in Rizal... if you're looking for a quick getaway climb, Rizal has a lot of mountains, peaks and formations to choose from. This one's a day trip and since I love falls, we also decided to take a side trip to Tungtong falls. Yahoooo! Ang tanong ng bayan: Ano ba ang pagkakaiba ng trek sa hike?   (thanks Mhe for this phone in question) Googl e says:  Hiking is an outdoor activity of walking in beautiful natural environments on pre-charted paths called hiking trails. There are day hikes and overnight hikes. Trekking is a long journey be undertaken on foot in areas where there are usually no means of transport available. Trekking is not necessarily mountaineering; it is walking for a number of days, usually on uncharted paths, in challenging environments which are likely to be hilly or mountainous. In short, mas mahirap at pang-Amazona ang trekking. #yunlangyun The crew: Mhe, Kuya Tour Guide, Dennis, Fevie, Jib, Me a...

Hello! I haven't been updating you guys with what's been happening lately! But I have pending posts on Taiwan and our recent hiking experience to Mt. Nagpatong Rock Formations in Rizal... and then it's off to Baguio for me for the weekend! I'll post more on those in the next few weeks! In the mean time, here a few Taiwan photos as a teaser! Yehessss.... Miss nyo na ba mga travel posts ko? hehe!   Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Park... that's not the memorial though... 

Connect Have you ever seen someone so passionate for Jesus? We say we're passionate but then you look at Paul and we start to rethink our answer to that question. What was the craziest, most passionate thing you did for Jesus? For Paul... he who was beaten, put in prison, faked death his way to go to yet another missionary journey... all the while writing letters to the churches, never failing to correct, encourage and build them up in the faith.

Connect When we look at the life of Paul, we are quick to see a man who is so passionate for Jesus, who lived a life worthy of the calling of the gospel... but it wasn't always like that for him. Paul (previously known as Saul) was probably the last person you'd think would follow Christ -- he was a Pharisee, a Roman nonetheless, who persecutes Christians for a living... But then God chose him, and when God chose him, there was no turning back... Word Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples.... As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied." "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Acts 9: 1,3-6

Word Our story picks up when Esther was crowned as the new queen... all seemed to be going well until Mordecai, her cousin, refused to kneel down to Haman, a man that the king elevated to a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. When Haman found out about this, he was so enraged that he plotted to kill not only Mordecai, but all of Mordecai's people, who are the Jews. Talk about ego issues, eh? When Mordecai found out about this, he persuaded Esther to help and it would have been an easy feat since Esther was alreay Queen at that time so she already had access to the king, but here's the clincher:

CONNECT Trivia: Esther is the only book in the Bible that made no mention of God. Gasp!! Really? Yes!  So who is Queen Esther and what makes her so special? When I read Esther's story, it reminds me of a Disney movie -- the plot and the characters are all there -- a simple Jewish girl, a coronation waiting to happen, a supportive cousin, an arrogant villain... and in the thick of it all, is a God that weaves everyone's story to showcase His power and glory to save His people.

It was at a funeral, no less, when we shared our love for writing and drawing. Mine was the former, hers was the latter. Her talent is apparent in her beautiful watercolor works and her amazing sketches so I had this crazy idea to ask her to illustrate this poem that I wrote. So I gave her the poem and asked her for a picture that God will impress on her with the words that I had strewn together. Since she moves in the prophetic gift, I knew that God will give her a picture that will minister to many just by looking at her sketch. About a week after, she handed me her work... it was on a piece of paper inserted between the pages of a magazine and it was a sketch of a ballerina... and well, this is her side of the story:

Connect When I was a little kid, my parents promised that we will stay in a nice hotel as a family and I was so excited as I waited on the fulfillment of that promise. Days and weeks passed, and no matter how much my parents really wanted to fulfill that promise, they just couldn’t find a common schedule to make that short trip a reality.

How can someone  so powerful Hold someone so small How can someone  so good Embrace someone so evil How can someone  so beautiful love someone so unfaithful I hope to someday understand the breadthe the width the depth of Your love I hope to one day grasp Your infinite goodness Your immense strength Your magnificent power I see specks Shadows Hints Of Your love for me Right now It is enough My heart is settled It is finished I am complete. Words by Joy Buena Illustration by Donna Tan

Connect We have heard the story countless times before and sometimes our familiarity on the gospel strips it impact in our lives. “Yes, I know the story” “Yes, he died and rose again after 3 days” – we know these things and we can recount it to others without a moment’s thought, but really what is the implication of Jesus’ resurrection? How do we live out this truth in our lives daily?

Aside from slathering ourselves with a good amount of sunblock (evenly please, which I keep forgetting for my past 2 climbs waaaah) and bringing x liters of water, wearing the right gear is important if you're going on a hike soon. Here's a quick checklist for a sunny climb like Mt. Talamitam or Mt Batulao : Dri-fit tops and pants, sunglasses, cap, hiking bag, hiking shoes, non-slip socks & sports bra

Connect The light turned red and the little girl, without even looking at the incoming traffic, crossed the street with confident strides. Seconds after, she emerged to the other side holding her lollipop with her right hand and her father's hand with her left. She didn't need to look at the traffic lights, she just follows where His father will go and she knew that she will be alright.

Two Saturdays ago, we went up Mt. Batulao for a day hike. We were praying for good weather because it has been consistently pouring for days. So as a semi-newbie group of hikers, we knew it would be more challenging to take on muddy and slippery trails so we were hoping that the skies would clear that day. Thank God that it did! Of course, I am now typing this with uneven tanned lines (sumobrang clear naman ata ng skies haha) but my sunblock-lathering skills were more to blame than the sun. (I'll post tips on what to wear and what to bring on the next post) Quick Deets Jump-off point: Evercrest Golf Course, Nasugbu LLA: 14.0408 N 120.8011 E 811 MASL Days required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 2-4 hours Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 4/9 Trail class 3 with 60-70 degrees assault Features: Open trails, rolling slopes, scenic views of Batangas

Connect In a sea of billions of people, it is amazing how God sees and cares for us in a personal way.  He has taken so much care in the details of who we are, even before the moment that we were born. The way we talk, the way we see things, the way our personalities are wired, who are parents are going to be, the people we will meet along the way... So it makes one wonder, how is it that the creator of the universe would care for a speck in the universe like me?

Connect What do you consider the most important thing in your life? Which is the one thing that you fear losing the most? One way to arrive at an answer to that question is to think of the things that we spend the most time on... and those that we work so hard to keep because losing it isn't an option. For most, it may be  work  or their  business which provides for their basic needs and even luxuries in life. For some, it may be their  family  who has been a source of motivation for the things they do. For others, it may be their  name  -- the legacy that has been passed down to them from the earlier generations so they try really hard to keep that name honorable.

Who knew I would be taking cue from Emma Watson and the Harris brothers? Emma Watson with her #bookfairiesworldwide advocacy and her The Press Tour project wherein the former makes her hide books in the nooks and crannies in the world with the hopes that someone will find that book and it would speak to that person.  The latter, wherein everything that she wears in public is made of sustainable materials. And I just remembered thinking, with the many things under her belt, she still has time to put together such project to check every single accessory passes the 8 values to officially coin it as sustainable?

One of the questions I get asked most often in working in full time ministry is: "Do you get paid?" The person who asked me recently works in the insurance industry and is raking in millions a year so it's not surprising that was her top-of-mind query. I am not sure if I should be offended but I just remembered  smiling and answering "yes, it's actually a lot like a company." And it really is, guys! I am not sure what goes on in their minds after that but another question we get asked too often is "When is your off?" -- knowing full well that church is in full swing during weekends.

If there's Wong Fu Production, then there's The Ming Thing. It sounds like a meme for something but Ming is actually the name of the Malaysian brothers who founded the production -- Ming Han and Ming Yue. :) Ming Han:   Along my thesis year in my degree (my final year), I randomly decided to vlog about the horrible carpark situation in my university at that time. That required me to start a YouTube channel that I randomly named “dmingthing” because it rhymed with my name and “themingthing” was taken, so I had to use “d” instead.   Amazingly, my first vlog did amazingly well. I had a few thousand views overnight for a totally new channel (which was very very surprising). I tried a two more vlogs and it was at that time I got contacted separately by two different people, Raffi and Bryan. They were both pretty good videographers and both offered to try making videos with me.    The rest was pretty much history. I've only seen a few videos of theirs and it's...

Yes! That's right, after a year of hospitals, sitting in clinics, going through chemotherapy... my dad is cleared of cancer! We were declaring God to be cancer-free after his last chemo session last year but the doctor detected something in his lungs last December. And we have to wait 3 more months to find out what exactly is that in his lungs because it was too small to find out at that time. And I remember sitting there in the clinic, devastated as his oncologist says words that I was hoping not to hear any more -- ct scan, medicines, and possible chemotherapy are in the horizon once again. It was as if things were on repeat and the doctor seemed to be right -- we are in this for the long haul.

There are days when I just really feel tired. Sundays are our busiest at church and last Sunday, while I was figuring out what's wrong with our ID system, and I was eyeing the laptop and asking it what's wrong with you in my mind -- a woman approached me. She asked me what type of Christian church is our church. I smiled with whatever smile I could muster and said that it's born again. This is me that day.

As promised, here are more photos of our hiking trip last month. Aside from the two mountains we were able to climb (lakas! Haha! ...Which were actually just beside each other :)) , we also dropped by Layong Bato River wherein we washed our sweaty and muddy feet. When you have been walking for miles, you don't know how refreshing it is the moment you dip your feet into the water. You just want to bring out soap and shampoo if only that were allowed.  ...and buko juice is love! We were asked to carry at least 1 liter of water, which is not enough if you suddenly decide to climb two mountains instead of one (we did not think this through, guys)... So grateful that they sell buko juice upon descending Mt. Apayang for our thirsty throats.

The mountains were beckoning -- so we planned a hiking trip to Mt. Talamitam in Nasugbu Batangas. I almost didn't make it on this trip -- because I have been coughing like crazy days before. But good thing both my democratic parents and my stubborn will were at work on the eve of the trip so I was able to go! Hooray! We were all beginners so we were glad to take on the 3/10 difficulty level of the trail. When we arrived at the campsite however, the guide was happy to offer us an upgrade (nasa sales ka ba dati kuya?): Climb two mountains, instead of one, for the price of P500! Are we up for it?

Been so excited when I found out that Isa Garcia published her first book! I was a semi-stalker of her blog when she still had one and her words just resonate to you long after you read them because these are words filled with meaning, hope and truth.

Would you believe that we have almost reached the end of the first quarter? It sent me to a whoa-that-was-fast-mixed-with-a-semi-panic realization. So I thought of my faith goals for the year and how many of it have I checked already. So far, I have checked... one! Haha! #atleast #hindinamasama My achi is now pregnant! Whoohooo! As for all the other goals -- well, let's just say that God's plans are higher than our ways. So as I peruse my Plans and Purposes workbook, which I jotted down 12 faith goals at the start of the year, from which I picked my top 3 goals to focus on for 2017 -- fast forward to March and this verse holds ever true -- many are the plans in a man's heart but it is the Lord's plans that prevail. (hello, run-on sentence!)

I remember the first time I watched a movie on my own. It was about 3 years ago. It was a Friday night, and as a working girl in Makati who rides the MRT on a daily basis -- we know what this means. It will take me about 30 minutes to line up, 30 minutes more of waiting at the train platform and the journey to Cubao will take about 30 minutes at least (with possible bruises and minor injury throughout because of the shoving). And because I wasn't up to face the rush hour head-on that day, I just decided to watch a movie and wait it out --- the movie was Robocop.

"The standards are high because the stakes are high" - this truth told by Pastor Joe Bonifacio resonated to me the most at the last Teachers' Summit. And almost immediately, the picture of me drinking alcohol 2 years ago came to mind. (NO PHOTOS TO SHOW HERE) SO, I DRINK (USED TO) Yes guys, before I became a full time staff, I drink. I actually enjoy it more because it's an activity shared with friends over stories and jokes and I am a friends-person. (Is there such a term? lol! But you get what I mean, you're a person who goes out of her way just to spend time with her friends!)

There are days when I wake up and the first thing I do is compute. Excuse me, my math-hating self, lol! But the worrier in me finds herself whipping up a small notebook and she starts jotting down her expenses for the month as she tries to budget it accordingly. Said girl found herself waiting for the elevator in her apartment one morning and as she waits, she looked up in the sky and she saw 3 birds flew by. If there is one thing that arrests her, it's the beauty of nature -- one that speaks volume without doing anything. Nature says so much by just being there. It doesn't try so hard to be beautiful, it just is. The view from the apartment -- seconds after the birds flew overhead. And it was that moment that she realized how small her worries are compared to the magnitude of her God. Why spend all these time thinking of how to make ends meet, when her God supplies the trees its light and water for the day? When the birds of the air are fed and find shelter from t...

Just last week, I saw this documentary on Korean women and plastic surgery. (PS. I Witness really makes good documentaries, makes you proud to be a Filipino!) What the documentary showed, however, was not the drastic-Barbie-doll surgeries that we so typically think when we hear the word "surgery". Rather, they featured this doctor who believed that minor changes on the face is still the way to go, and what he does is just to enhance what you already have. He would make sure that his clients still look like themselves after the surgery -- only better versions of themselves. Mind you, this doctor also believes in God so it kind of throws the question to the audience -- if plastic surgery is just done to improve what you already have, would you do it? Do you think that this is the same way as putting on make up which is also done to enhance what you already have? So I found myself asking how I feel about it and whether I would do it if given a chance. And after thinkin...

I saw this repository of animated short films which are sometimes funny but usually touching. I swear if you're looking for a quick mind break, you'll be glad you tuned in to their videos. This one's my favorite! Enjoy watching!

This popular cat icon says hello! :) We just chanced upon this cutest cafe after our walkathon along Siam Square and we were greeted with everything pink. Come and see!