Sunday School

Today I taught in Sunday School! I handled the young ones from 3 - 6 yrs old. Vecky, one of the Sunday Schoolers innocently asked me on our way to our room, "Teacher, are you wearing lipstick? co'z I don't see one!" hahaha I was caught offguard by a 4 yr old little fashionista that we have. Well, she was right, I didn't get to put on my make-up not even a lipstick because I was so busy preparing for my whole teaching agenda.Guess I need to be prepared in "all aspects" next time. Thanks to Vecky!

Our praise and worship time was a blast. I was having a hard time getting the attention of everyone but when the music started, the kids were magnetized. hahaha It's amazing how music can really attract attention, kids and adults just the same.
During our bible story, we talked about the lame man at the pool that Jesus healed. I find it so funny and cute listening to kids answers as to what happens to them when they are sick, one girl kept on saying, "i'm not sick teacher", She just couldn't grasp why we kept on talking about "being sick" when she is not sick at all. hahaha :-)

As always, I enjoyed teaching and working with the kids. They are so adorable!!!! (obvious ba, napapasayaw pa ako! wohoo! )

ANNA VS. ANA

I find this so cute and interesting! I was going through the book, WOMEN OF THE BIBLE and I saw the name ANNA as part of the list. And since it's very near to my name, I started reading the book by going through her story. And to make this a little more interesting for myself, I decided to somehow make a comparison of her life to mine. Read on.......

ANNA - Her name means Grace

Her Character: Married for only 7 years, she spent the long years of her widowhood fasting and praying in the temple, abandoning herself entirely to God. A Prophetess, she was one of the first to bear witness to Jesus.

Her Sorrow: As a widow, she would probably have been among the most vulnerable members of society, with no one to provide for her financially or to take care of her if her health failed.

Her Joy: That her own eyes beheld the Messiah she had longed to see.

Her Story: For most of her eighty-four years, she had been a widow who spent her days praying and fasting in the temple. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Anna, a widow and prophetess from the tribe of Asher, had just experienced the very presence of God. Her eyes had seen the the promised child; whose briliance would scatter the darkness and bring deliverance for all God's people.

She was a woman with great spiritual appetite, who abandoned her life to God and was rewarded by meeting Jesus and his parents just forty days after his birth, during the presentation in the temple.

Her Promise: That she will not let anything bind her devotion to God! No rules or restrictions. No past mistakes or sins. No life situations that she can't overcome. She will not let anything get in the way of worshipping her God and recognizing her Saviour.

Her Legacy: A woman of Prayer who fasted DAILY for the coming of God's Kingdom. God was her family, the temple her home, and prayer her occupation.

Wow! ANNA is such an inspiration! Here's mine:

ANA - Her name means Grace or Graceful

Her Character: She is courteous and well-mannered; she is popular for her cheerful personality; she is in tune with nature; she cares for others and shows it; is willing to aid others in their trials; she is very good-looking;knows how to bring out the best in everyone;she grows in all she does; a teacher, a trainer, with gifts mainly of prophecy, administration and teaching.

Her Sorrow: She has no kids yet until today! hahaha She finds it sorrowful not to apply her gifts to her own kids as she still does not have one at the moment.

Her Joy: That inspite of being single since birth, the Lord made her purpose in this world very clear. And that is to serve him through perfroming arts and to teach and train God's people; to inspire them and bring out the best in them.

Her Story: She got saved when she was 11 years old and God's hand was upon her since then. She served as one of the jeepney captains at Sumulong Baptist Church and was doing bible study for kids in squatters area every Saturday. At 3rd year high school, she started teaching in Sunday School, joined the drama team and was appointed one of the leaders for SUMAYA Youth ministry; eventually she joined Voices of Glory Quartet and the Praise Team of SBC. Several years later she bacame the Sunday School director and handled a couple of DVBS(Daily Vacation Bible School) and also became one of the board of directors for Breaking Point International. Then she also got affiliated with 2 external ministries for drama; YESHUA and STAIRS. In 2003, the Lord gave her the vision of starting her own Drama Ministry and that's when ACTS(Artists called to Serve) was born. Her vision and aspirations as an artist of God is still very evident even while she is in Singapore preparing for a higher calling.

Ana, as a teacher and servant of God continues to experience God's presence in her life. She is a woman of passion and she longs for the day when she will have her own business that will glorify God and continues to spread the gospel through performing arts. (coming very soon! and my story has not yet ended; Praise God!)

Her Promise: That she will not let anything bind her devotion to God! No rules or restrictions. No past mistakes or sins. No life situations that she can't overcome. She will not let anything get in the way of worshipping her God and recognizing her Saviour and that she will serve Him until He comes!

Her Legacy: (well, this is somehow what I want to be remembered when I'm gone!:-) A woman of passion who would continue to spread the word through performing arts. A woman who will never stop learning; finding creative ways to share to other people how much Jesus loves them.

She will be like tree who would bear much fruit, and those fruit will continue her legacy.............. Amen!

WORSHIP MUST BE AUDIBLE

Calling all non-singers!!!!!!!!

A common misperception about singing is that one must have a good voice to worship. Even some artists who are not vocalists share this misconception.Since they don't sing well as the "worship team," they don't fully engage in corporate worship.

I can't help but noticed that during a retreat or even on cell group meetings, a handful of people would be hanging out in the back and when you invite then to join and come nearer for worship, they would reply good-naturedly. "I'm sorry but singing is my thing or I might just ruin the worship for everyone else!". I can certainly relate to this reticence. Though I am an artist and I can follow a tune, there have been several occasions when I feel like singing is not for me. I can get so frustrated when I do my private worship and I am unable to sing the song that I like beautifully:-( And so I was relieved when I learned that God doesn't care what I sound like.He looks at my heart, not the quality of my voice.

Fortunately, worship is not confined to those who have beautifully trained voices. Scripture invites all of us to sing, shout, or make a joyful noise unto the Lord (Psalm 35:27; 66:1;81:1;95:1-2;98:4;100:1) I can't sing that well, but I can certainly shout or make a "joyful noise". While those upfront leading worship are expected to have good voices, the rest of us are off the hook. So DON'T HOLD BACK YOUR WORSHIP; BE VOCAL, LET IT RIP! :-)

If you love the Lord and you are grateful for all He's done for you, sing His praises at the top of your lungs. That's the spirit behind Psalm 13:5-6 : "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me." Psalm 89:1 adds: "I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known though all generations."

Remember, it's not enough to feel affection for God. As Psalm 66:8 points out, worship must be made audible: "Praise our God, O people, let the sound of his praise be heard."

OVERLOAD

Waaaaahhh, I never felt so loaded and pressured until today! How come I suddenly have lots of assignments and almost everyone reminded me of my deadline today ha? Grrrrrrr..... I really am having a hard time catching up. First, I need to submit the sponsorship letter for Theodore's concert launch, then I need to send the reservation letter for GCF for the concert venue to Weng, then I need to prepare for our d-group as I lead the worship this friday, then I'm teaching Sunday School this weekend so I need to study my lesson and prepare my songs and materials for my art activity, then I was asked to submit suggestions already for the Single's retreat this May, then I received an e-mail from my staff in ACTS asking me for the line-up for youth camp this April, and finally, my officemate approached me this afternoon asking me if we could meet up and draft the program for her wedding already. Waaaaaahh!!!! bakit biglang sabay-sabay???? Isa-isa lang please, mahina kalaban! :-(

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMU!

It's my mom's 59th birthday today! Eventhough we are not together at the moment, I know she is happy and blessed. I thank God for her and I admire her in so many ways. I honestly don't remember a time when the two of us fought or argued on something.Tampuhan yes, it happened 3 times on one same reason and that is NO FOOD WHEN I GET HOME from work.hehehe It's normally not her fault but the funny thing there is whenever she finds out that I was upset, she will immediately cook for me.hahaha, I told her that next year, on her 60th birthday, I will make sure that she will have one memorable celebration! Bongga! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA! luv yah! muah!

A NEW LOOK THIS VALENTINE!

It's Valentines Day! And I honestly forgot about it until someone greeted me, hahaha :-)
(someone I didn't really expect to remember me kasi ang layo ko! But the Lord is really full of surprises, I was happy he remembered:-) pero hanggang duon na lang 'yun.Bow!

For the longest time I have been wanting to perm my hair and now that I got the chance, I did it! I pampered myself by going to the parlor and I had my nails polished and my hair permed.

I also bought 3 new blouses and another dress for office.What an excuse to spend! weeeeehh!!!!

Anyway, I had work today so I didn't get to join the Single's activity at botanical garden but I catched up with the single ladies for dinner eventhough I was so tired already.

Well, new look for 2009! It's time to try new things!

Land, Water and Air Transpo

I can't believe I rode all of these last weekend! Take a look!

going to KL and coming back to SG
train in Malaysia
bus going to Alor Star

cute miniature cars during the wedding
from Langkawi to KL
ferry from Alor Star to Langkawi

speed boat during island hopping
cable car in Langkawi

Wow! Aliw di ba?

Day 4 - Trip to Malaysia

My last day in Malaysia is one the most exciting and most adventurous day of my life. Last night, Jade and I were really dissappointed that there were not much things to do in Langkawi and moreso, the water was not really inviting. But before we slept, we planned our day. We told ourselves we will never go home without accomplishing anything and after looking at the activities available at the resort, we decided to go on island hopping. I used to go island hopping in the Philippines so I thought this experience will just be the same. I was wrong!!!!

First thing, we rode a speed boat and it was just so fast that Jade and I kept on screaming! (I was infront you know, sino ba naman ang hindi mapapasigaw nun! hehehe)

Inspite of, I managed to take photos and videos. Aliw!

this is me, before we left our hotel

Our first stop was the GEOFOREST PARK. There were lots of monkeys. But they were not so nice ha! They bite and would run after people especially if you are carrying a plastic. hahaha

cute ng monkeys no?

there's a lake where people can swim and do water activities

jade and moi

pa-cute lang! hahaha

Second stop was the area for eagle feeding. There were not much eagle though when we visited.

Third and last stop was the beach area for sun-bathing and swimming. I enjoyed the water but I was devastated when I saw someone doing para-sailing. I have been wanting to do that since August of last year and I inquired from our hotel if they do offer that and they said they didn't. Waaaahh, when will I ever have my turn??? :-(

In the afternoon, we went to Langkawi Cable Car. This is really one great experience I will never forget. I am not sure how we made it to the top, but I tell you, it was awesome up there!

ain't no mountain high enough! hahaha grabe!!!!!

I can't believe I rode that cable car going up! whoa!

652.5 meters above sea level

710 meters above sea level

Our adventure didn't end here. My gosh, the most stressful part was going back to Singapore because our connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore was just an hour apart. Air Asia was delayed for a few minutes but the worst thing that happened was that, our luggage were delayed! I had Jade run to Tiger Airways counter to inform them that we have arrived but might checked in late due to our luggage. We ran and ran and ran but by God's grace, we made it on time!

We were very tired when we got home and man, the next day our whole body was aching! waaaahhh!!!!

PS> I have made a video of our cable car experience. Watch this at http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=803fdbacf1cadcee6b485a&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Day 3 - Trip to Malaysia - LANGKAWI Island

I had mixed emotions on my third day in Malaysia. I was sad because it was my last day in Alor Star and it's time for me to say goodbye to my friend Esther. She will also fly back to Finland on the 8th and I'm not sure if we will ever see each other again after this.(sigh)

Anyway, on our last day, I ate lunch with her and Jermo's family in a Hongkong resto. Evelyn was kind enough to be with us as well.

huge bottle of iced tea no? and it's super sarap!

the newly wed wearing the couple shirt given by Ken!:-)

Evelyn drove us to Jetty, thanks for everything dear! :-)

our last hurrah! hehehe

Inspite of sadness, Jade and I left Alor Star with excitement as we travel to Langkawi Island.This is a side trip and stress reliever for both of us.We love exploring and going to the beach. Wohoo!!!

We arrived an hour and a half later at Langkawi's Jetty and headed straight to AWANA BEACH RESORT. The place was really nice! I enjoyed the set up and basically the whole ambiance. Grabeeeee!!!! eventhough I was very tired already, I still had the energy to join Jade to the beach.

AWANA BEACH RESORT

the view infront of the resort
sunset
We went to Cenang beach and we were very disappointed that the water is not clear! booo!!!

After the beach, we went to visit the nearby shops to get some souvenirs!

nice hotel no! mukhang OLOPPS nga lang! hahaha

At dinner we took more pictures of the resort. It was really a very nice place and the food was great too!!!

si Jade, dalaga na! hahaha

my tago moment in Langkawi! hehehe
this is where we had dinner!

feeling photographer lang! hahaha

dinner is served! yum, yum!

I will never forget what Jade did this night. I badly needed a password to get connected to the Internet and in this resort, they will only allow you to get connected if you order a drink. And so, I did order but I didn't check carefully. When my order arrived, I took a sip and I knew from the taste that there's alcohol in it. A little later I found out that I actually ordered a cocktail drink with Vodka! hahaha :-) I'm so sorry, I didn't know! And since I don't really drink any liquid that has alcohol content, Jade took it (Sayang daw kasi 'yun money!hehehe) Guess what happened a few minutes later? Her face went so red and I couldn't speak with her sensibly anymore. NALASING ANG LOLA ko! hahaha wawa!