Jade's Appendicectomy

Previously on Jade' Appendicectomy...

On the dawn of December 15, as the lights in the neighborhood turned off one by one, the village wrapped in silence and enveloped by the crickets' snore, I received a message that gave the reason as to why I am being interrupted in my slumber.

Wendy, my best friend's sister, beeped me saying that her brother's in the hospital and might undergo surgery in the morning.

At the 11th hour of December 15, the operating room ate my angkol, eating his appendix and leaving his body without it.

On the night of December 15, I came over with some of our friends, visiting him in the hospital. There he was, trying to pee avoiding the tube that the doctor was planning to insert in his ureters.

Read More

Sometimes You Need to Stop

It doesn't mean that when you stop doing something, you don't like doing it 'nymore, well that's what I think. Same happens to people and relationships...

I missed blogging, I really do, but sometimes I need to stop it because I don't want to end up writing non-sense blogs and writing so much that I don't make any sense at all.

Anyhoo, it's gonna be Christmas soon and I'm looking forward to seeing friends whom have gone for a long time and giving presents to my "inaanaks" and to few people that have been a blessing to me in their own little way. I just hope I could give 'em something before the year ends, if funds permit. I'll see you all next year! A good year to all of us!

Read More

"Forgot Your Password" ?

Well what do you know, who could ever thought the most widely used password recovery procedure would be exploited? Who could ever thought that a security procedure would not be that secured at all?

I was checking my mails at Hotmail and bumped into an article in MSN. There was an individual who just stole somebody's identity just by viewing the victim's profile that is freely available online! With the flooding rise of community sites on the web today, like Facebook, Friendster, even IMEEM and others, your information is freely available and who ever bumps into your personal information would use what they see to access your bank accounts, email accounts, and other vital information they could get.

I am talking about a man named Herbert H. Thompson, a professor and software developer who was able to spent a career in software security. In his article, he said, "I decided to conduct an experiment to see how vulnerable people's accounts are to mining the Web for information. I asked some of my acquaintances, people I know only casually, if with their permission and under their supervision I could break into their online banking accounts. After a few uncomfortable pauses, some agreed. The goal was simple: get into their online banking account by using information about them, their hobbies, their families and their lives freely available online."

Some security researchers are beginning to sound the alarm about "password resetting" tools, suggesting they could be the weakest link in Web security.

If you try looking for your friend's information, you could simply Google their names and without invoking a magic word, or waving a magic wand, there you see a list of sites where your friend's information is freely available and worse freely exploitable! I tried Googling my name, and there it was, a list of the sites I am currently subscribed and with all the correct but undated information. I tried Googling Himura's name and that's how I found out when his birthday was! (I won't use your information against you Himura.)

When Paris Hilton's cell phone was famously hacked in 2005, some tech sites reported that criminals simply used her dog's name, easily found online, to break in. That theory was later discredited, but it likely sent criminals scurrying to find famous people's dog's names.

It also prompted researchers to study the issue, which is also known as “fallback authentication.” Ariel Rabkin, a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, is probably the first to attempt to quantify the problem.

"Security questions are getting weaker over time," he said. Mother's maiden name, for example, continues to be asked even though it's often now available from various online sources. "We can’t seem to get rid of that question. … If we do nothing this will get steadily worse."

Red Tape Wrestling Tips
Researchers like Jakobsson are looking for new ways to authenticate consumers. One obvious area of potential is biometrics. The chief criticism of this technology, which uses people’s eyes, fingerprints, etc., to verify their identity, is the “doomsday” possibility that once such information is compromised, it could never be trusted again. You can’t change irises, for example. But Thompson points out that the same is true for personal information such as your first pet’s name or you mother’s middle name. While biometrics has potential flaws, new systems will soon be necessary, Thompson said.

Of course, these security enhancements are still in the future, so for now, consumers must fend for themselves. When answering password recovery questions while registering for online banking and other Web sites, don’t always pick the most obvious question. Consider what someone might be able to find about you on your blog. Better yet, consider not disclosing any personal information on your blog.

Alfred Huger, a security researcher at Symantec Corp., offers this suggestion: Some sites now allow consumers to make up their own question. While that might be a hassle, it’s probably much more secure. Again, think of a question only you can answer, and something that’s unlikely to be in any database. That probably means the name of your first girlfriend or boyfriend won’t cut it.

So the next time you post your information on the web, maybe it's good that you lie about it...just to be safe. If you don't want to lie, you can still post real information on the web but you would not give them "possible answers" to the "Forgot Your Password" link...

Sources: Red Tape Chronicles, Scientific American Website

Read More

Ho Do I Know That I'm Ready for Another Relationship?

When do you really know?

After a breakup, is there a time span when to start all over again?

How do you know that you won't mess up this time?

How do you know if she's "the one"?

Where do I start looking for her?

I had the urge of writing about this after watching the Sex and the City film. I thought that film was full of the sex and not much of the tissues. Yeah there were some awesome sex but really more on relationships.

Just to give you something of what the movie was for me, for me, it was more about these people facing another phase in their lives. From "labels" to real relationships. Living the New York life, some may say people come to New York looking for "real love" it's a melting pot of people who had broken relationships and trying to build it over again and find the real thing.

Yesterday after work, I went downtown, without really knowing where to go and what to do. Landed on the mall, saw some familiar faces from college, some married, some with their other half. And who am I with??! It strucked me that I was alone, being a born-again Christian as I am, I am well aware that I am not alone, but God did not make me to live alone...I know I have to look for...love, the love of a woman whom I can share my love, thoughts, time, and attention.

So how do you really know that you're ready for another relationship?

• Well, my thought is...I need to think of what went wrong with my past relationship yes it was long distance and most people say it would never last, but things happen differently for most people right? So I think it may or may not work...it just depends on how you both do your part in the relationship. So how do I know that I'm up for grabs and ready to meet another lady? "You can't give what you don't have", do I love my self more than any body else? because if i don't then how do I know how to love? I must love my self and get to know my self for me to be ready to share love to someone who's worthy of that love and would gladly accept it.

Is there a time span?

• I don't think there is, well they said it has three phases before you start all over again, you can start all over again if you're willing to, after you have forgiven yourself and admit that you failed, and that you have forgiven your "ex" for her lapses.

How do I know that I won't mess up this time?

• Again, YOU DON'T KNOW. You never will know, entering a relationship is like getting into something that's uncertain, all you know for sure is that you are in love and that you're vulnerable to fail at some point. You can't please every body as hard it is to please your self, you don't know when you'll mess up or when she does...but the question would be, how will you handle when she or you mess up during the relationship? How quick are you to judge? How quick are you to listen? How quick are you to forgive?
• If worse comes to worst, that's when one of you will say, "We need to talk..." that would be the scary part, better prepare...

I can't answer the rest, I dunno the answers...if you think you know, lemme know...

Read More

A Moment of Silence

A lot has happened in the past few days that it would take forever for me to write everything here. I even sent my friends a "text-blog", a 5 part text message of what I've been wanting to spill in the days that passed.

My grandmother died, August 23, 2008, my mom and the rest of my uncles and aunts are grieving but in a way happy that they can't see my grandmother suffering in her bed. She died in my aunt's house at Digos City at 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

I never had the chance to visit her while she was still alive, I don't even think she remembers me, I don't have any "emotional attachment" with my uncles and aunts, honestly, I was so insecure that I can't step my foot at their place. Yes, I was insecure...

On the day of her burial, I left the house pretty early in the morning to travel to Digos, and when I arrived, my aunts and uncles were there that I haven't even met. I just met them that day, and I discretely looked for my cousin/friend (he's the one closest to me) but haven't found him for some hours. I saw his sister (who's really really pretty BTW) so grown up and turned out to be a pretty lady. There were a number of people that day that I really don't know, and I don't know if they also know me...i don't know anything about them, nor do I know something about them...

My insecurities left a mark on me, "I missed knowing my aunts and uncles and especially my late grandmother..."

As we were walking on the road bound at the cemetery, I had some chat with my cousin, I don't know if it was just me or he's aloof. I haven't talked nor seen him for months and a lot has happened since we last met. It was like a reunion but never really knowing what to reunite to. I felt no link between any people at all. I felt out of place.

After my grandmother was buried, I asked for my cousin's father, and he said "you don't know my father?!" and I was just like "I don't know anybody here at all!", so he pointed out to me who his father was and saw him.

I felt this urge in me to reach out to my relatives, really reach out to them like they are really my relatives! But I think it's kinda too late for that now...or is it?

With the past few days, I felt that I have to do something with my relationships with my relatives, my family, my friends, and every body else, not knowing where and how to start.

I missed not knowing them...i think I just lost the opportunity of knowing them deeper like I should.

Read More

The Ensembles

en·sem·ble

n. A unit or group of complementary parts that contribute to a single effect, especially: A coordinated outfit or costume. A coordinated set of furniture. A group of musicians, singers, dancers, or actors who perform together: an improvisational theater ensemble; a woodwind ensemble. A work for two or more vocalists or instrumentalists. The performance of such a work. Music A work for two or more vocalists or instrumentalists. The performance of such a work.

After all of the rehearsals and silly moments at the Golden Palace Hotel in Tagum City, we finally had our first break, to sing in a wedding! We never really had enough time practicing all the songs, we practiced some of the songs during our stay at the hotel. We call ourselves The Ensembles, we sing in the funerals, weddings, birthdays, any occasion you want us to appear and sing, we would be pleased to serve you through our voices. The group is composed of people who can sing in Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass (SATB). Ms. Lalai sings the soprano, Miss Joy sings the alto, I sing the tenor, and John sings the bass though he sings tenor really and we wouldn't be singing without our pianist, Kuya Levi.

The wedding was held at the CAP Auditorium in Tagum City and so as the reception. When the wedding started I sang I Will be Here as the bride marches the aisle and as she approaches her "soon to be" husband waiting in the altar. We sang a lot of songs really during the wedding ceremony Mis Lalai sang Ikaw, Miss Joy sang Father We Commit to You, Miss Joy and I sang The Gift, and the most challenging song I ever sang but always thought of singing...The Prayer, a duet with Miss Lalai, too bad we weren't able to capture it on video maybe if we obtain a copy of the wedding's video coverage I could post it here and see how I was able to do it. We also sang together during the reception when the bride and the groom danced in front of the people.


The Ensembles

The above video was taken during our stay at the Golden Palace Hotel, Ate Lalai was practicing her piece, Ikaw, Joy and I were doing some interpretation of the song just being silly coz the song makes me yawn and feel sleepy but Ate Lalai really has a good voice that even made the song more like a lullaby! We have more wacky videos during our rehearsal at the hotel and if you want to check our own community site you may as well do so by going here to get a glimpse of our past, present and future engagements!

Now for some photos...

This is our picture together with the other wedding coordinators and the newly weds!

Joy and I are practicing our duet, The Gift.

(from left) Joy, Kuya Levi, and Ate Lalai

We were pretending shooting a new teleserye

A hostage crisis!

Ate Lalai took a crystal glass!!! "I didn't see anything..."

A rock star wanna-be.

The Ensembles
John, Joy, Me, Ate Lalai, & Kuya Levi

Singing You..."You are the one who makes me happy..."

Read More

Avatar: The Last Airbender

At last I finished the three-book series of Nickelodeon's awesome animated series! Avatar: The Last Airbender is about a young boy named Aang who's destined to save the world from the hands of the Fire nation's Fire Lord Ozai.

In Hindu mythology, gods manifest themselves into Avatars to restore balance on earth, usually after a period of great evil. The Chinese characters that appear at the top of the show's title card mean "the divine medium who has descended upon the mortal world."

In order for Aang to defeat the Fire Lord and restore balance on earth, he needs to master all four elements, air, fire, earth, and water. As the title says, Aang is the last air bender, meaning he can control air, and use it anyway he likes, but he still has to improve his air bending.

In the Avatar, the world is divided into four nations, each according to the four elements, Earth nation, Fire Nation, Air Nation, and Water Tribe. And luckily Aang found friends who could teach him all four elements, from each country. Katara, from the Water Tribe and her brother Sokka, found Aang, so Katara began to teach Aang water bending, because, Katara was the only one alive in the water tribe who knows water bending, the others and her brother Sokka, doesn't water bend. But as the story progresses, Katara was able to meet an old lady banished from the Water Tribe who knows water bending and taught her to master the techniques, and introduced to her Blood Bending, which has the ability to turn humans or anything that has blood into her puppets! (alright! that's awesome!)

When they got to the Earth country, called Ba Sing Se, Aang found an Earth bender, who also has the ability to bend metal, she's the only one who could do that from the Earth country, and guess she's blind! She calls herself the blind bandit when Aang was looking for her, she's Toph Bei Fong. She's pretty annoying in the beginning but as the story changes, so she does, she's really kickin' ass!

And the last but definitely not the least who joined his team, and became his fire bender teacher, is Prince Zuko, Fire Lord Ozai's one and only son, whom he banished from the Fire country because he's a disgrace to the empire. Prince Zuko wasted his effort on defeating the Avatar to regain his honor, but later realized that his honor could not be given by anyone, not even killing Aang could regain his honor, with his uncle's help, he changed into being a good friend of Aang. Though it was kinda difficult for them to accept Prince Zuko in the team, knowing that he's the son of the Fire Lord, he earned their trusts and taught Aang fire bending!

So when the time arrived for the Avatar to face the Fire Lord, it was one awesome duel, hope you could see the episodes too. If you want to you can go here. You can watch the episodes there via streaming. Aang, doesn't want to kill people, so he didn't kill Fire Lord Ozai, but removed his fire bending and locked him in the dungeon of his own country. Then, guess who took the throne, Prince Zuko!

Read More

WordCamp Philippines 2008

I read about this event via Henshin's post, here. And so I registered! Events like this should not be missed by all bloggers.

To know more about WordPress.com and the geeks behind it, look thru here.

Joining this event would be a great opportunity for me, personally, I want to know what WordPress has to offer to its consumers, I already ordered a shirt from them, weee! It's here at last, this rarely happens in Davao!

This event will be on 4 September 2008 (Thursday), at Toto's Bar in Casa Leticia, J. Camus St., Davao City. It will start promptly at 6:00 PM.

So what are you waiting for? Join now!

For more of the event visit the WordCamp Philippines 2008 or Mindanao Bloggers

The event is made possible by the following:

• i.PH: the Domain for Individuals


• Free Online Flash Games


• Wazzup Manila Philippines


• Real Estate CRM


• Real Estate Website Designers


• Orange County Real Estate


• Auto Insurance Quotes


• Lane Systems Inc.


• RedMedia


• Orange County Business Lawyer


• Cebu Pacific Air


• Buddy Gancenia Reality TV


• SmartBro Wireless Broadband


• SPOT.ph


• Make Money with Performancing Ads

See you on September!

Read More

Coeur brisé moi

No, this isn't a blog written in French, it's just the title...

I was trying to find the better words to say when i'll be writing this blog, I kept lookin' and lookin' 'till i couldn't find any. So I just have to spill it out. If you happen to see the video above, it might look funny, and the lines were funny but in a way, it makes sense...and i feel for the guy.

yes, i feel what he felt, the time his girlfriend uttered the words, "it's not you, it's me", this line has been used over and over again in scenes like this...a breakup scene. It's a cliché euphemism that has been around well since i guess our first parents, Adam & Eve, broke up!

I'm not going into details of how it happened, because I don't want to. I'm in the first stage after breaking up called denial. It's the stage that you deny to yourself and to the people around that you are not hurt, that you are "Ok". It's been 2 days, and I haven't showed pain to myself, and the people around me and I think that's denial. In Psychology, there are at least 3 stages that I have to go through before I could start another relationship, I haven't grieved yet, oh! how I don't want that time to happen where I would just wallow and pity my self.

I'm so much the guy in the video! Argghhh! Good for him that his girlfriend told him of what went wrong, unlike me, I never got the chance to ask why she broke up with me.

Well, that's how it is, you love, you get hurt, you cry, you'll live...

Read More

Back to the Stone Age

It's a rainy night, i'm alone in my room watching "Artificial Beauty", first time since that I've turned on the television, you may be asking why it's because I don't have a computer, and I'm a CAVE MAN!

I'm using my father's laptop, maybe he left it in my room because he's the one to blame why I've gone back in time. It's kinda boring when you don't have a computer at home, especially when you really need one. As of now, he's fixing a new CPU for me to use, I hope it works. The computer I'm using is pretty old, been using it when I was still in college, I just upgraded the RAM to 1 GB months ago. I'm really saving for a new computer, many recommend a laptop but for now, I want to stick on a desktop, yeah..i'm a mobile person (literally) but I'm not yet ready to have a laptop, maybe when I run my own business, i'll definitely buy a high-end laptop. For now, a desktop would be great, a high-end desktop...quad core processor, 8 GB of RAM...that's what I'm saving for and I know that would cost a lot.

So I guess I'll just stick to borrowing this notebook when I get the chance, if that desktop isn't gonna work. I'll see you around readers and bloggers alike.

Read More

Personality Test

While I was blog hopping, I read a blog from an ex-officemate of mine and followed a link for a personality test, below were the results:

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Very High
Schizoid:	High
Schizotypal:	Moderate
Antisocial:	Low
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	Low
Narcissistic:	High
Avoidant:	Low
Dependent:	Moderate
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Moderate
-- Personality Disorder Test -- -- Personality Disorder Information --

Is this for real? I'm a Paranoid!

Read More

Opportunity to Serve

Exodus 4:13 (New Living Translation)

But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”

Last Sunday, at church something strucked me, it was an experience that came to me that I can't explain or put into writing how to describe...

It was a gloomy Sunday morning, was prepared to go to church, every time I go to church I always have this feeling that I should be perfect before the Lord, I guess that's just me and my melancholic nature. When really, if you go to church you must admit to yourself that you are weak and that you are helpless. It's only that you feel broken before the Lord that He can work in your life and if you allow Him to change you and mold you of who He wants you to be.

When Sunday School ended, was late then, my Pastor approached me and "appointed" me to lead the Offertory (offering) and without second thoughts, I gladly accepted it. Minutes passed she told me to also take the part in the Call to Worship! It's a part of our Sunday service wherein we invite people to pray to prepare our hearts to worship the Lord and to prepare us in singing praises. It was a daunting task! Personally, my conviction is, I really don't want to stand up in the pulpit "unprepared", both spiritually and mentally. I always see to it that everything should be in order and well-prepared.

I freaked out...I could feel it in my bones! And so I whispered a prayer, asking God to help me that He should do the Call to Worship and not me, to just make me an instrument for His people to be prepared. But before that, I really freaked out, was looking for Bible verses to remind people on each part that I would do, but then God reminded me to just be still.

Just like Moses' refusal, just like how he panicked when God chose him to do something for Him, he didn't believe he could do it...yes he really couldn't have, we could just do what we want to do if we ask for God's help...

John 15:5

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing."

As my boss would say that to know how to swim is to dive into the water. I wouldn't have learned anything if I weren't placed into a situation where I could learn. When the Sunday Service ended, I learned that I just had the greatest opportunity to serve...

Read More

100th - Centennial Clicks

Yes! I made it to the 100th's!


The first time I blogged was when I first joined Friendster. Then I stopped writing because I gave my self away so much into writing that I couldn't hide my self anymore. But here I am again...blogging.

Writing is an art, a way of expressing one self. And with it you have to give in and give yourself to your readers, pouring your heart in what you write. I think that goes to all aspects not just in writing, that we give our heart in whatever we do if you really want to achieve something.

With this cake, I share my achievement to my readers, and I give the first slice to Henshin, I owe you one, thanks for encouraging me to write again little brother. And to all my readers, enjoy this cake I am happy to share it with you.

...for your eyes only...

Read More

The Corporate Ladder

My first week at work at last. Learning new things, yes there are adjustments but that's just a part of learning. While pondering on what to blog, I came across on what my perceptions are on aiming high and living your dreams.

I grew up in a poor family, my father's a salesman, while my mom is looking after us and be the "ulirang ina". Even though we never had the luxuries in life, we're happy. And I think what matters is that when you go home from a hard days work is that you have peace and you end the day smiling. And yes, it's not always like that, there's always that what you call "spices in life". My father loses his patience when he got lots of stuff up on his head and I must say, it often times destroys that peace but he's a good provider in the family.

Enough of the blahs, with what you just read, and if you're like me - trying to live a better life and building a future, then you may read down (source: Gary M. Stern):

• Learn from others who have succeeded. Of my past employments, I never had the chance to know the story behind the success of my bosses or even their failures. My source was books, lots of 'em. From the Leadership of Billy Graham thru a series of books on Leadership by John Maxwell. These guys made it to the peak of their careers and are living the happy and contented life.
• Adapt to each corporate culture. Know the corporate culture of your company, what makes your company is it base on relationships? For instance, if you are working for an advertising company or even sales, you need to build a good relationship over your clients to win their trust and in turn give you some sales.
• Start looking for the next job as soon as you're hired. Moving around too much from one company to another can be detrimental and staying in a job year after year may also cause stagnation.Keep your ears open for new opportunities as soon as you're hired. Keep in touch with executive recruiters, former colleagues, and attend conferences aiming to network. After two years on the job, tap these contacts to see which challenging jobs are out there that fit your skills.
• Seek advancement from within. If you don't like "company hopping" try to seek other opportunities that you may find yourself fit within your company. You may move from Software Development to Software Sales Department, take yourself to greater heights. Do not be stagnant.
• Consider taking a risk. Consider, at least, going for an interview and seeing what the new company has to offer. Don't cut off opportunities and only choose the status quo.
• Keep learning. Always be better than yesterday!
  

When you want to achieve greater heights for a greener pasture, do not forget where you came from, and that's nowhere!

Reputation takes years to achieve but only a day to lose.

So be careful. Be content of what you have, share it to others. And give your heart on whatever you do.

Read More

Book Review: Your First Job

Friday, July 11, 2008, I bought a book from Nelson T. Dy, a Christian author of the book entitled, Your First Job - A Practical Guide to (Survival) Success, I bought it because I was kinda in a situation where I was "company hopping", meaning I jump from one company to another. And that is not easy for me.

So I decided to look for some book that may help me answer the question as to why I am where I am right now. And this book has blessed me in ways I never thought it would.

After working for so many years I never thought I'd ask my self again the question as to why I want to work? People look for a job after graduation to earn money and to save for their future. I know that most of you who are working right now that it isn't that simple. The book tells me that God is a worker Himself. You know the story of Creation? Read the book of Genesis, there you would see that God made the heavens and the earth, including man in His own image and likeness.

What if Adam and Eve "never ate the forbidden fruit"? Will man never work to provide for himself? If you know the story of Creation, there you would see that God made man to toil...painfully toil the land and eat from it. You may not be toiling the soil but you're still working and eating the fruits of your labor...that's hard work!

In my past employers, I learned a lot from being a slave to being a leader. The book taught of the life of Joseph the dreamer, he dreamed that his brothers would someday bow before him and during those years, dreams were something that are being valued by most people because it relays a message from the future. And people gives a big deal over dreams, but when Joseph told his brothers about it, they ridiculed him and made harm on him. He was sold as a slave to Pharaoh in Egypt.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

• When God gave you a job to be done, always give your best for His name to be glorified in you. When Joseph served as a slave to Pharaoh, he never murmured nor demanded to be free, he just "bloomed where he was planted" he served Pharaoh because he believed that God wanted him to, and that it was no accident that he was there.
• The same also goes to our jobs, after graduation, we pray for God to give us a job, we submit resumes to prospective employers and when we get the job...mostly what happens is we murmur more than we work.

Work is a Blessing, Not a Curse

• Most people here in the Philippines find it hard to look for a job or land on the job they've always wanted. If you have a job right now, you are blessed apart from more than a million of people who doesn't have any.
• When you work always aim for EXCELLENCE...if you want to get rich, forget it! Money is just a by-product of excellence. You get to enjoy more of your salary when you know that you did your best to get the job done!

I have learned a lot upon buying this book. And if you're like me, I'd highly recommend this book for you as well. Let's try to be more diligent and faithful in our jobs and be a blessing in our workplace. Don't think too much of promotions, a salary raise, recognitions, always aim to be excellent in what you do. If you think you know everything, believe me you don't. There's always room for improvement, mold yourself more and don't be afraid to try new things.

Don't ever be afraid of failing. In fact, the most successful person in the world are those who commit mistakes often but learns something out of their mistakes. If God is with you, you don't really have to be afraid of failing because He knows everything even before it happens.

Think out of the box. Don't just limit yourself because of how much you earn try to expand your sight in your workplace, run some extra errands even if it's not in your job description. Expand your horizons.

Read More

In the Midst of the Storm

If you haven't read my post about my previous trip in the B'Laan tribes in Saranggani, better read it here.

The typhoon "Frank" who recently flooded a lot of areas here in the Philippines also struck Saranggani province, there were some casualties, and the saddest was the passengers of MV Princess of the Stars a passenger boat of Sulpicio Lines, until now, they were not able to retrieve all the bodies trapped inside the boat.

The first time I visited the place, I was amazed by how it looked like at night, we arrived there during the night because we just came from another location at the other side of the mountains. The place was filled with fireflies and kids were serenading us with songs of praises sung in their native tongues. It was like Jesus' graceful entrance in Jerusalem...without the donkey.

When nature strikes, you can't do anything...but pray, for your safety, and that it would stop soon. When typhoon Frank hit Saranggani, the place where we were ministering were destroyed, homes, even the the church they use for their Sunday Service..destroyed, look the the images below of the church before and after the storm..

This was their church when we last visited. And this is what has been left now....

The Lao Church after typhoon Frank

When I saw these images from our Shamah Tribal Mission Coordinator, Rev. Wen Gallardo, I was moved and devastated with how much damage the storm caused. Damage and trauma...all in one place. The first thing that came up on my mind and I tried to ask my self these questions, "How are these people taking this?", "Do they feel that God has turned His back on them?", "What will be their lives like after the storm?".

Questions that I really need to answer or at least find an answer, I needed to see for my self. The roads were vanished, the team who recently went there must take a different route to send help for the people of Lao and at least comfort them, and tell them that God would never turn His back away from them...they only need to believe that. And I don't know personally now, if they really would...

The way into Lao Tribe, eroded by the river



A different route to Lao Tribe

This little girl was fetching water to drink

Rev. Wen Gallardo contemplating on the debris..of what's left for the people of Lao



The team praying for the people of Lao

"For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”
- Matthew 18: 20

There were a lot of Filipinos who were homeless after the storm, a lot of people around the world looking for help after each storm, a lot of people needing food to feed their hunger, water to quench their thirst...and apart from those people...only care LESS...

If you care, kindly include them in your prayers...we know that God is always at work, and He allows things to happen for a specific purpose, for His glory to be shown for His power to be manifested in the midst of His people.

Read More

We Need Each Other: To Work With

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

*** *** *** ***

God put us on earth to do a certain work that only we can do. Ephesians says that God made us to do good works and that he planned in advance what we would live our lives doing. However, he didn’t plan for us to do that work alone. We need people to work with us.

You know the feeling you get when you do too much work on your own. You get exhausted and burned out. Why? Because you’re trying to do your work alone, while God never meant for you to go through life working alone.

God tells us in Ecclesiastes 4:9 that “two people are better than one, because they get more done by working together” (NCV). When you work as a team, you get so much more done. Plus, having good teammates alongside you is a whole lot more fun and less tiring!

Picture this: Individually, each of us is like a snowflake; on our own, we can’t make a big difference. However, when one fragile snowflake sticks together with a lot of other snowflakes, they can stop traffic. Like snowflakes, we can make a big difference if we work together, each one of us doing only our small part.

Did you know that when we work together here on earth, we’re actually practicing for eternity? In heaven, we will all have to work, but each of us will have just a small piece of work, so we’ll never get overloaded or tired. Still, though no one will carry a heavy burden as each one of us does our small part, all the work will get done.

As you walk through life, remember that you’re not supposed to do everything on your own. You need other people to walk alongside you, but you also need other people to work alongside you. As you share the burden of your work with fellow Christians, you’ll find that you actually accomplish more for the glory of God.

Read More

Risks in Faith: God Multiplies

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

2 Corinthians 9:10 (NIV)

*** *** *** ***

If you give God your time, he multiplies it. If you give him your money or energy, he multiplies those too. It’s like planting seeds. Farmers know that seeds must be given away – sacrificed by being buried in the ground – to do any good. If you keep a seed in a sack, it does no good, but if you plant it, it multiplies. For example, when you plant just one watermelon seed, you get a bunch of watermelons with hundreds of seeds in them. In the same way, God multiplies whatever you give him.

What’s the key ingredient in this seed planting? Faith. But we have to understand the difference between faith and bargaining. Bargaining is when you say, “God, help me close this deal and I’ll give you part of it.” But God doesn’t work that way. God asks for faith – he wants us to sacrifice in advance, not knowing that we’ll get anything in return –then he wants us to let him figure out how to repay us.

One of the great lessons that Kay and I have learned is that you cannot out-give God. Whatever you give him, he multiplies. Three different times in our marriage, God told us to give away our entire savings. Each time we obeyed, and each time God restored our finances in greater ways than ever before.

I’ll never forget one of our church building campaigns. Kay and I prayed about how much to give, and God told us to give an amount equal to one year’s salary. I didn’t know how we would live for an entire year without a salary, but we obeyed God.

About a month later, we saw God’s plan when a publisher asked me to write a book and offered an advance of $100,000. That book became The Purpose Driven Church.

Jesus makes us this promise in Luke 18:29-30: “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life” (NIV).

And 1 Corinthians 15:58 says: “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (NIV).

Remember, when you give a seed in faith to God, he will multiply it.

Read More

SPIRITUAL TENSIONS

“The father instantly replied, “I do believe, but help me not to doubt”

Mark 9:24 NLT

After spiritual birth comes the tension of spiritual growth. The new life imparted to us by faith in Christ comes into a consistent collision with the old nature that is still inside us, the nature that has governed all our lives in the darkness of sin. As light came into our soul by faith in Christ a real tension is experienced. Tension between the spirit and the flesh, between self effort and faith and the adjustment is never easy.

It’s not going to get away as long as we are in this mortal body. Somehow the tension between faith and doubt exist as a persistent reminder that it is not our design to be independent from God. And that our freedom in Christ is not a declaration of independence but a declaration of dependence on Christ alone. This is the way we overcome the tension not by getting rid of it but by total surrender daily to Jesus. It is a timely reminder of Chuck’s Swindoll that our goal is progress not perfection. This is really comforting as well as convicting.

The statement of this nameless father in the gospel of Mark is not only true for himself, in the same manner I think if feel the same. Part of me says God is trust worthy and then a moment later I doubt his trustworthiness. Like ants in the pants doubts keep faith moving. Yet to a certain degree it’s so frustrating that we are unable to really become stalwart saints of great faith. I think progress starts when we admit the tension instead of hide it. It’s called vulnerability.

The existence of such vulnerability must not be used as a license to remain hostage of fear or to wallow in unbelief rather it is a jumping board to find help from God that we may live by faith. And by that we mean trusting that God will do what is right in his own eyes, that’s faith! The naïve ones have tried to erase the tension by giving false hope or putting the blame to someone’s defective faith, especially when things don’t turn out the way we expect them to be. Because of the tendency to doubt many chose to doubt the authenticity of their faith. It’s comforting to recall that Jesus did not rebuke the man for his statement.

Admitting doubt and desperately asking for help is the beginning of victory over the spiritual tensions. Yes it won’t go away, but God makes a way that we overcome and experience victory in Christ. The tension is dealt with when we admit it and CRY to God for help! As we probe deeper in this new life we see more spiritual tensions between our ways versus God’s way, our desire versus God’s design and many more. Again what matters most is as we face these challenging and irritating tensions we can rely that our Lord walks with us! It really helps when we say admit our helplessness that we may find help from Jesus! The goal is progress not perfection and pretending we’re strong won’t help!

Rev. Arnel Tan

Read More

Here I am, Lord; Send Me

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8


The world offers a lot of things or circumstances to worry, unpaid bills, even..deciding what dress to wear for the day. But does it really matter? What do we get from thinking all of these? I guess that's one purpose of wrinkles...they grow, they start as thin lines, crossing your face and the more worried you get the thicker they become. After all the days work is over, we worry again of what to eat, the money to buy our food, wahhh!! a never ending list of worries!

Last February 25, 2008, I was given an opportunity to serve at a remote village of the B'laan tribe at the province of Saranggani, Philippines. The ministry was named Shamah Tribal Ministry during my participation, it was led by the Church of the Nazarene ministers, Rev. Wen Gallardo and his wife, Rev. Nick and Sylvia Cacho, Rev. Nelly Loyola and her husband, and with the coordination of the East Mindanao District's Superintendent, Rev. Pastor Irene. This ministry is also supported by people who was touched by the Lord to do the Lord's work.

With me were a group of young people who never expected what the message of this trip would be to them, personally.

As we traveled, with a view of majestic mountains and vast oceans, words could never describe how beautiful the sceneries were. I was sitting at the top of the jeepney to have a better look of the virgin forests around us...I was just stunned.

When the team arrived at the site, we were unloading all our stuff to prepare to climb and cross the mountain to get to the next valley on the other side of the mountain. But before that, we enjoyed the river flowing from the other side, it was crystal clear and cold, it gives you the chills when you dip your feet in it. We noticed that the road was widened already, and it was confirmed by a local that bulldozers came to widen the road but thankfully, the river wasn't destroyed. I can't wait to dip myself in the water and refresh my self..

Just before we do things for ourselves, it's time to leave the camp site and climb the mountain...
With us are our personal belongings, kitchen utensils, food for the feeding program, stove, generator, and LPG tank. Thanks to the locals we didn't have to carry the heavy stuffs like the tank because they volunteered to carry the heavy stuff.

When we arrived, people gathered in the sanctuary, with their torn clothes, dirty faces, smelly bodies, and desperate souls. Seeing them like that lead me to see another version of suffering, poverty, and pain...

Living in the city where everything is available blinded me of this version of suffering...their are a lot of people out there who're very unfortunate but yet happy...and contented.

This child was enjoying each spoon of arrozcaldo he ates! I personally don't like arrozcaldo that much, but seeing them, it was like a slap on the face...

Coming to that place became a challenge to us, that we need to let the world know of the God that we are serving. He is the God who provides for those people in the mountains, and the exact same God we believe does exist here in the city. I think those people in the mountains knows more of Him than the people around us.

Read More