LA Lakers All The Way

Link Exhange

Hey everyone!

I'm gonna put links now. lol.

For those who want a link exchange with me, please give me your links here.

Comment on this post with your URL. Not in Cbox please. I'll have a hard time copying it. lol.

Thanks.

The Burning West

We went to Nadi, aka the burning west, last Friday night.That is like in the west side of Fiji and it was really hot.. That's the place where we got off the plane. lol. The International Airport was there. HAHA. I could have just ride the plane there and went home. But the prob is, I don't have a ticket. LOL. XD

So there. The church congregation left Suva, Fiji's capital and where our church is, at like 9am of Friday. We're gonna have an exam at 4-5pm of that day so we'll just go at nigh with the other USP students of the church. It just suck coz most of our real close friends are not there. They went off earlier that day so we felt left out.. Grr! I'm with my sis, just so you know. :p

I finished that damn exam in 15 minutes! Like seriously.. lol. It was just Computer man. But it just pissed me off because we have to stay for that exam. And because of that, it spoiled the Nadi Rally experience! The Nadi Rally is when the Suva church gathers up with the church in Nadi, the Potter's House Church. The Suva Church is the Mother Church here in Fiji. It a worldwide fellowship. Anyways... We missed the first service on Friday night and the free time in the aftie. We could have went around the city sana! lol. HAHA. Coz that's like the tourist spot here. lmao.

The road trip was like crazy and fun. HAHA. We were singing Christian songs. It was cool. I recorded some. lmao. :p

When we got there, we went to our room. Our mom is already there. Then we slept as soon as possible. We were tired. tsk.


In the morning, we had a service. 3 preachings. lol. Had some snacks. And after the last one, we went off the streets and did an outreach. You guys know what an outreach is, ey? That's when you preach the Gospel. Witness to people about Jesus.

I totally suck in outreaches. I still don't have the face to talk to random people and share. Maybe simply because I am a 'stranger' in a foreign land. Man, I can't just talk to them like that. Just because I'm a foreigner, do you think they would talk to me? lol.. Maybe. Maybe not. Sometimes, I just think that maybe I can do it---in Phils. Coz that is my home. I can talk to fellow Filipinos. Argh. This sucks. I can't take the rejection. amf. Hehe. It is tough, but that is a part of the Christian life. Dang. When will I ever learn to conquer it? God help me. =|

I didn't take a lot of photos. I know, it sucks. lol. Sorry! haha. I was really not in the mood. Everything was not that fine. lmao.

But the messages in the services was like God is talking to me. I realized a lot of stuffs! Oh man. It's very long to write. Maybe the next time I get the chance. Haha. ;p

We spent our free time at our Filipino friend's house while the others are like swimming in the hotel. HAHA. We watched a Fil series. It was fun. XD

The evening service started at 5pm. After that, we left na. The bus ride was damn tiring. The youths never went to sleep. There were some, of course. And I was one of those who slept. lol. They just sang all the time. HAHA. Got back in Centerpoint, Suva at like 10:30pm.

I missed the church today. Was supposed to wake up at 8am for the 9:30am Sunday School. But we overslept. Mom woke us up at 10:30!!! Like, hello! 10:30 is the service. And I'm gonna sing in the back-up!!! I was so pissed and it made me depressed. I missed it!!! I missed the time to go up there and sing for Him!!! Grrr.. ='(

When I went to the shower to take a bath, I was literally crying. For everything. I guess, I'm now lacking time for Him. I often miss my Bible reading and prayer. For some non-sense things like surfing this damn internet. lol. I know I'm wrong. Now, I'm suffering the consequences. I'm being punished, the hard way. lol. I thought of a lot of things happened, happening, and would happen in my life when I was in the shower. lmao. Gosh. That is another long story! HAHA.

Bottom line is... I wanna be a more effective Christian and I wanna be more responsible too. Hello, I'm 19! And I'm so irresponsible and lazy. I'm gonna have my MidSem Test next week in Accounting and Microeconomics. And I haven't studied yet. We aint attending the lectures and we often miss the tutorials. Just because, we're DFL students, we're getting more lazy. tsktsk.

Well I guess, one of the factor that makes me lazy and irresponsible is the fact that I no longer wanna be here. I so wanna go home. I feel and think that I'll do better in UST (my school), and in Jzone (our Youth Ministry). Haaaaaaayz..........

I need some big help. I should know my priorities and responsibilities. PRAY FOR ME.

So that's a short story about my weekend. lol.

Who Am I?

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wondering heart.

Not because of who I am.
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done.
But because of who you are.

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow.
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord you catch me when I'm falling,
And you told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again
Who am I?
That the voice that calm the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am.
But because what of youve done.
Not because of what I've done.
But because of who you are.

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow.
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord you catch me when I'm falling,
And you told me who I am.
I am yours.

Not because of who I am.
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done.
But because of who you are.

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow.
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord you catch me when I'm falling,
You told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cuz I am yours.
I am yours.

===========================

This is the new song in our church. It's by the Casting Crowns. I love its lyrics!!! Very powerful words. "Still you hear me when I'm calling, Lord you catch me when I'm falling..."

You can listen to it here:



It really touches my heart. :)

Remember these:

Not because of who I am.
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done.
But because of who you are.

Three Hundred Days

Well yah. It's been 300 days since I left the Philippines. I left like 29th of May 2007. Haaaaays.

Homesick level: 101% (lol)

Like seriously, I feel so homesick today. Haha. Slack. lol.

I don't know what to say.

I miss my friends so much.

I miss my Manila life. lol

Waaaahhhhh.....

One thing that sucks is that only few, really few people are keeping in touch with me!!!

That makes me more depressed. lol.

Well, maybe they are busy. No time for me. haha. Or have other friends that have replaced me. lmao

Well anyways, that's it.

This sucks.

But I still have God so I really don't feel alone. Of course, plus my family, specially my sis, my friends here, and some few friends in Philly who keep in touch.

I love you guys!

Why leave the Philippines?

From the 6th to the 12th of March, there were like three Filipino Kuyas (We called them Kuya) who stayed here in our house for a while. They were part of the 37 Filipino fishermen in three fishing vessels stopped over here in Fiji.

These Filipinos were in the ship for like a year or so. They weren’t being paid since then. They were supposed to get paid after the 3 years of service. I don’t know much of the details. My mom with other Filipinos here helped them by talking to the Seafarer’s Association, Immigration, etc… March 2nd when our whole church prayed for these guys. That they would be paid accordingly and get freedom from the job. Praise God, He immediately answered our prayers. They were paid, although they got lots of deductions. And their airfares to Philippines (which would cost them around USD900) and lodging were paid off by their selfish employer. Maybe he got afraid by the Immigration. Karma. Lol.

The Kuya 3R’s (Their names start with letter R) stayed in our house because they were the ones assigned to cook for everyone. They can’t cook in the hotel. And they wouldn’t spend their money for the food. It’s a bit expensive for them. I just felt sorry for the Kuyas coz we don’t have an extra room here so they slept in the lounge.

So yah. For a few days, we had new kuyas. Lol. Sometimes, we just talked about things. One of them was a Graduate of Marine Engineering but he landed on a fishing job. And there are some others pa. Tough life in Phils, I guess. Some graduates just land in a job they weren’t supposed to be in. They deserve something better. But just to get the heck out of the Philippines to look for the so-called greener pastures, they grab every opportunity that comes along. I heard they were recruited by just a person, not an agency. They don’t have a contract. But yah again, maybe they really wanna go abroad to earn a living for their families. They don’t mind even if their lives would be at risk. Like in their case, I heard two persons died in the ship, one is Chinese. And another one, almost stabbed to death. They were harassed. They pay for their white goods like shampoos and stuffs, their employer sells them. Heck diba? It should be the employer’s responsibility na. They can’t eat fishes they caught, even the rejected ones. I think they mostly eat noodles and biscuits. They bathe in salt water. Well… It’s just cool that when they got here, fellow Filipinos are willing to lend a hand until they get what they deserve.

Anyways, while they were here at home, it was fun. I mean, not like just us alone. Dad and Kuya got work, Mom always go to Immigration and Seafarer’s Assoc for their case. Imagine, they were the ones to cook for me and April (my sis) too. Lol. And it’s fun to have company, of course. They were just so kulet and fun to be with. Every night, we watched a movie. Haha. We go to the grocery. They bought us chocolates. Lol. As in parang kuya talaga. Man, I miss them now. Well, I’m happy for them coz they are now with their families, after a year.

Lately, I’ve been hearing some preaching about this search for greener pastures thing. Why leave your country and go overseas? Money? Could be. People want the best for their family. I know that poverty prevails in the Philippines. People leave the country to work odd jobs in a foreign land. My intelligent classmates and more other people get a nursing course for a hope to get a job abroad. Graduates getting odd jobs. People have a hard time finding a job they could fit in. Unemployment rate gets high. Professionals (like doctors, engineers, etc) leaving Phils for higher salaries. Stuffs like that. I remembered writing an editorial on Brain Drain on our schoolpaper in High School. It’s probably one of the nation’s crises.

Well.. In our case, we really didn’t leave the country for money. Maybe like 10%. Dang. Why would I (we) leave Phils for a no-namer country named Fiji? Dad was one of the highest paid employees of OTIS Philippines. His job here is just a few thousand pesos higher. Well, for those who haven’t read my previous blog, it’s for our family to spend time together. Coz you know, we seldom see each other at home. My parents are busy. Oh well. It’s a long story. Haha. So yah, not really for money. Actually, we’re leaving a tougher life here. Haha. The culture and stuffs. We earn dollars, but we spend dollars too. And the goods here are mostly imported. It’s expensive. A McFlurry is $3.95, around P105. We’re in the most prestigious university in the South Pacific. We spend around $3000 per sem times 2. So I think, we don’t have savings yet. Aside from dad’s provident fund (like SSS). Lol. But well, God is still sustaining us naman. Dang. I wanted to find a job like other teenagers. But I can't work coz I'm a stranger in a foreign land. haha. And well, as if I can. lol.

So, why leave the Philippines?

Family. Friends. Your life, our lives in the Philippines. God made us Filipinos, and Filipinos are for the Philippines. Yay, ang chaka diba. Lol.

I heard from one of Kuya 3R’s saying “Uuwi na nga ng Pilipinas, malungkot pa ren.” His wife is in Dubai, he has a daughter though. And another one said “Siguro nga mas ok na kasama mo pamilya mo sa hirap at ginhawa kesa malayo ka at hindi mo sila kapiling…” (And deep diba)

Which made me think…

God gave dad a job overseas wherein he can bring the whole family. We’re blessed, man. Unlike OFWs who leave their families behind. Parents working hard to send money to their kids. Wherein these kids get vices, entertaining themselves with worldly things (i.e. alcohol, drugs, etc) that their parents doesn’t know about. Kids that don’t think about how their parents are doing overseas, they just care for the money. Parents going overseas for a brighter future for their family. Is money really important over family? They miss the growing up stage of their kids. They both long for each other’s affection. Which sometimes leads to destruction. I thought that only happens in tv series and movies, but that’s really a reality. Lmao. Though my parents are not overseas, they are really busy several years back. My dad is often out of the country for seminars or out of town for projects, my mom is busy in the business. We rarely spend time together, just those holidays. It even came to a point where we almost had our family broken twice. Haaays. Sobrang thank God for the blessing.

Now I’m asking myself, with those things in mind, do I still wanna go back like now, or I’ll just wait til 2010 and go home with the whole family? Lol. We’re blessed that our family was granted temporary residency status, we’re all here. God really gave us this chance. I just can’t get it why does it need to be overseas pa. Puede naman in Phils diba. Lol. Well, God has a plan for everything. I know that.

Being here overseas for a temporary residency, this is not just a vacation. Those are different things. Lol. I think, I don’t wanna go somewhere else after this. I’ll stay in the Philippines. Sounds patriotic huh. Lmao. That is if, our rents would allow us not to come with them for migration. And if our government’s economy will change for the better. Hehe. Lol.

Well, for those planning to go overseas, think about those points. We really don’t have to go overseas to search for that greener pastures. Yes, you earn dollars, but you also spend dollars man. Got a car and a house? Must be from a loan. Credit cards and loans are neccessities everywhere, specially in foreign countries like America and UK. Those could lead to bankruptcy. When going abroad, think about your family and friends. Think about the life you would leave and the life you would live in another country. Open your eyes for options. You can just work hard or something. Let’s help each other for the sake of our country. Pray to God about your decision. Is it His Will? Money could be important but it’s not all that matters. I’ve experienced having money, but our family was like apart. Money is just a piece of a damn paper that people put value on.

It’s not wrong to find a better life, just make sure you always put God first. The best things in life are free. And the best life we could have is if we have Jesus in our hearts! =)

I wrote this blog for one reason... HOMESICK. XD

This is My Life, Rated

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7
Mind:	7.1
Body:	6.8
Spirit:	9.6
Friends/Family:	6.2
Love:	3.1
Finance:	4.8
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Sooo.. This is my life rated huh. lol. Lemme see. XD

My life, as a whole, is 7. That's my favorite number. lol. Well, I'm still young. haha. XD

Mind... 7.1. toinks. Been out of school for like a year and a half so it should be lower! lol. Wahahahaha! XD

Body. 6.8. Arrgh. I think have to get enough sleep at night. lol. I mostly sleep till the morning man. Coz my classes are in the aftie. And then, I sleep late at night to catch some friends online. My timezone is 4 hours ahead of Phils. lol.

Spirit. 9.6! Oh my gosh!! I love God! :) I could say that my faith is even stronger than ever. =)

Friends and family is 6.2? lol. Maybe because most of my friends are not with me. I mean like, they are in Philly. :P

Love. 3.1. Bahahaha! Yah maybe. I don't have a love life for now. So what? lol. But well, I LOVE GOD! And He loves me. That's all that matters... Mr. GB would come soon. lmao.

Finance. 4.6. toinks. I'm still dependent on my parents. So that explains my low score. Mwahahaha! XD Don't worry, time will come, it'll be 10. lol. Jokes. XD

So there.. At least, my life is at 7. I'm still young. I'm on my way to 10. lol. XD