What’s Happened to You?

Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with you?,” we should be asking, “What’s happened to you?” This is what I learned in a seminar entitled Trauma and Emotional Healing. The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists just held their first virtual camp meeting this past weekend and they offered a lot of seminars on health.

The presenters’ focus for that specific class was to be empathetic with people and understand their background instead of being judgmental and critical. A lot of times people act “differently” than we do based on their upbringing, culture, values, and past experiences. The presenters delved specifically into people that have dealt with trauma and how everyone reacts differently to the same situation.

For example, they showed a picture of a rod of cinnamon. To the presenter, seeing the picture reminds her of Christmas cookies and being home with the family and being all warm and fuzzy with family over the holidays. However, for her friend, cinnamon signaled triggers of a time when her house burned down and the whole place smelled like cinnamon. Two completely different reactions to the same picture.

Another picture that they showed was about two dogs who just crossed through a puddle of mud. One dog was tall and one dog was short. Although they both went through the same puddle of mud, their experiences were different. The short dog got mud all the way up to his chest while the tall dog only got mud up to his ankles. The caption in the picture said, “How deep is the mud? Depends on who you ask.”

We are so quick to judge and be irritated by people who are different from us. We often fail to see the deeper picture and ask what has happened to cause such a dramatic reaction to the simplest things.

I recently learned that heart and thyroid issues can cause people to be hot-headed and pessimistic. The chemical imbalances in the body literally dictate our behavior. I heard that after a man had heart surgery and got his heart fixed, he stopped being so aggressive and hot-headed and actually dealt with people in a more calm way.

My husband and I recently bought a house and the seller has a nasty attitude. I kept muttering under my breath how bad of a person she is and how unpleasant she is to her husband, but I don’t know her entire story. What if she has a heart problem, or maybe a thyroid problem? What if she was abused as a child and now as an adult needs to be in control as a way to protect herself? What if she had a bad day at work and needed to blow off some steam?

I am 31 weeks pregnant with our second child, and I haven’t been the most pleasant person to be around with, either. This baby’s kicks hurt a lot more than my first born, and it likes to chill all the way down to my pelvic bone or all the way up squishing my diaphragm. Not only do my hips and butt muscles hurt from the big belly and holding my one-year-old, but also it gets hard to breath when the baby kicks the diaphragm. I find myself getting cranky, accusing my husband for not helping take care of our child, and wanting to hurry up and and end the pregnancy. I cry a lot and sometimes my husband thinks I do it to manipulate him into doing things for me. Because of my physical situation I don’t treat others as nicely as I could have.

My personal experiences of crankiness should tell me to be more understanding of people who are also cranky. They might be in a lot of physical pain just like me. But it never occurred to me to be sympathetic until I heard the seminar on trauma and emotional healing. Hopefully from now on I can be more patient and less abrasive with people who are “difficult” and “different” than me. I pray that I can emulate how Jesus treated people with such kindness and patience, and just show them unconditional love. I know it’s not an easy road, but we are called to walk the narrow path. May we follow Jesus’ example in all that we do.

How I Became An ASL Interpreter

My career path was not something I had always dreamed of, nor was it something that ran in the family. I didn’t have any deaf friends or family growing up. I didn’t even know Interpreting was a real thing!

I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Communication from the Adventist University of the Philippines in March of 2011. A month after graduating I came to the United States to be with the rest of my family. Graduating with a foreign degree didn’t do well for me in terms of finding a job. I applied for various positions, among such were a truck driver’s secretary and a gas station cashier. I received no call backs and no interviews.

After two months of a seemingly hopeless future, my grandmother suggested that I take sign language classes to pass the time. Her house was only 15 minutes away from the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf located in Big Spring, Texas. She said she was even willing to pay for the classes. I decided to take up her offer. I was always interested in learning different languages, so I thought this was an opportunity not to be wasted.

I survived two months of the crash course in American Sign Language 1 and 2, which were classes condensed into a single summer program. It was fascinating and terrifying at the same time! My teacher was fully deaf, and so my first encounter with deaf people was a complete immersion.

I continued applying for random jobs in Big Spring all throughout the summer. The plan was to land a job and continue with sign language classes. Unfortunately I never got hired, and I ended up moving to Los Angeles, California with my parents in September.

We stayed in LA for almost a year. I didn’t get a job there either, so my life was filled with watching anime and the Game Show Network. My mom decided to “hire” me as her driver to and from work, since she worked night shifts and got too sleepy to drive. In exchange for driving, she would buy me things like clothes and accessories when I asked for it.

Fast forward to August of 2012, we moved to Tucson, Arizona after my dad found a pastoring job. On our first day at the new church, I noticed a deaf couple in the pews. I didn’t see any interpreters around. After the service I approached them and said a shy hello. I had forgotten what I learned a year ago, and all I could remember was fingerspelling, so I pretty much spelled the entire conversation. Both of them seemed ecstatic to talk to me! After a few more sabbaths of getting to know them, they told me that I should become a professional interpreter and they would help me with whatever I needed! All they wanted was someone to interpret the church services for them.

We found out that the local community college was offering sign language classes and my dad suggested that I continue learning while looking for a job. I decided to enroll and give it a shot. Since we only had one car, I ended up taking evening classes so my parents could have a car during the day.

Even though I barely knew enough ASL vocabulary, each sabbath I would sit in front of the deaf couple and fingerspell away. The couple would teach me signs with each new spelled word, and eventually I was able to give them a paragraph or so of the sermon. It took about two hours just to get them two paragraphs. It was rough, but the couple was grateful for the effort.

I finally finished the Interpreter Training Program in May of 2015. The entire time I would interpret at church for the deaf couple. They invited some friends who became permanent church members, and all of them taught me and supported me and helped me grow throughout the years. We currently have five deaf church members! We get more deaf visitors too on occasion.

I started working professionally in August of 2016 and finally got my certification in April of 2018. I absolutely love my job and working doesn’t even feel like working. I actually get excited to go to work everyday. It was worth the wait, the heartbreak, and going to college for eight years.

All I wanted was a job that paid me for talking. I was thinking radio host, tv host, or maybe even a voice actress for cartoons. But, God put me in the course of becoming an interpreter. He knew best where to place me in this world. When I think about it, I did end up getting my dream job. I DO get paid for talking – with my hands. And my voice too. Praise God for leading me here!

Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25 is a chapter that relates the kingdom of heaven to several different parables. The parable I want to focus on for this reflection is the parable of the talents. You can find the parable written in the next paragraph.

Matthew 25:14-30 KJV
“[14] For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. [15] And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. [16] Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. [17] And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. [18] But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. [19] After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. [20] And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. [21] His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. [22] He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. [23] His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. [24] Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: [25] And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. [26] His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: [27] Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. [28] Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. [29] For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. [30] And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. …”

I decided to replace the word “talent” with the word “people.” Talents back in the Biblical era were money, but we can apply this parable to our time with talents meaning our gifts and skills and abilities. People who are recruited to be actors and artists are also called talents. Therefore I tried to read the parable again with talents meaning people.

I imagined that the servants in the parable were entrusted with people, and that the people were under the servants’ care and the servants needed to train and grow these people in the knowledge and ways of the master. Once trained, these people then went and found other people and trained them as well. Thus, because each of his five people trained another person, the first servant ended up with ten people ready to be servants for the master.

I imagined the same thing with the second servant who was entrusted with two talents. He trained the two and gained two more, making a total of four servants.

The last servant “hid” the talent; in other words, did not enlighten his person about the wonderful opportunities of serving the master. The servant did not feel the need to do anything with the talent and did not grow his abilities, leaving the talent in the exact same shape as he was when given to him.

Obviously the master was pleased to see that two of his servants could be trusted to carry out his will. They were not afraid to do something with the things entrusted to them, unlike the last servant.

I started to wonder what I would do if I were in their shoes. Would I be excited to train someone in the knowledge of the master? Or would I miss the opportunity to witness to someone because of fear?

Our Great Commission as Christians is to go out into the world and teach people about Jesus (Matthew 28:19,20). God, our Master, has entrusted us, his servants, to multiply his disciples and tell them the wonderful Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are many ways we can share the good news. Some people do evangelism, others do Bible studies, some have music ministry, others are in the medical field or in nutrition… the list is endless! But for some reason, I feel like the secret standard for successfully creating a new disciple is by bringing someone to church and having them get baptized. I have not yet invited anyone to come attend our church; how much more influenced someone to be baptized. I also noticed that I’m afraid to admit that I’m a Seventh Day Adventist and I always generalize my faith and say I’m just a Christian.

Reading Matthew 25 has made me even more afraid to be afraid of sharing my faith! But now is not the time to shut down and hide, especially with the second coming of Christ being closer everyday. I can’t sit back and hide and waste my talents. There are still people out there who have not been introduced to Jesus. God has entrusted me with this work and I need to do something about it.

I also realized that it would never be about MY works that would create a disciple. I just have to do my best and the Holy Spirit will be the one to grow the seeds I plant. I just pray that God continues to give me courage to share my faith and not be afraid to talk about it with others.

Arise

After attending GYC (Generation Youth for Christ) in Phoenix, Arizona, I really wanted to do something in response to the overwhelming love of God. I decided to share my experience that week in a form of a sermon at my church. Below is the actual word for word script I said in the pulpit last January 13, 2018.

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Thank you, Quartet. That song was the theme song for this past GYC up on Phoenix. Did any of you guys go up for Pathways or GYC? I saw Eric and Winona, and a few others. Let me tell you what my experience has been that Christmas week. But before we do shall we pray. [pray]

First off was Your Best Pathway to Health. As you know it’s an SDA organization that provides free medical, dental, and vision services. As a whole we were able to serve more than 6k patients in two and a half days. It opened Monday that Christmas morning, but people were lining up and setting up their tents on Sunday afternoon. The lines were so long it went around the Phoenix Convention Center and across the street. One patient was in line with his family since 7am and they did not get to registration until 230pm. He really needed dental work, but dental was not seeing any more patients that day. They had closed admissions at noon. There were many others who powered through the cold night just to find out that services were no longer available, and they had to line back up the next morning.

Once you get through the doors, the patients go through two sets of downward escalators to the basement of the building. Inside, there were many things happening at once. People singing for patients in line, health lectures were being taught on various stages, free clothing and free lunch was given out to thousands of people. There was also haircutting, massage and hydrotherapy, X-ray, surgery, mental health and counseling, and all patients were given a wristband for a one on one talk about NEWSTART. My cousin volunteered at food services and he said by the end of the day he refused to look at another sandwich since he made as what he felt like was a thousand sandwiches. I volunteered with interpretive services. I did interpret for four deaf people. If I wasn’t with a patient I was at dispatch sending Spanish interpreters and French and Arabic and Kinyarwanda to whichever station is needed. I’ve learned new languages I never knew existed such as Trigrinya and Urdu. Sometimes we were desperately in need of interpreters, but none were found so we resorted to google translate to at least get some basic communication happening. Sometimes I would see a request from Primary Care and it was Justin who would make the request. Him and Ailee were both working at Primary Care. I was so busy that I didn’t have time to go visit them. The only time I saw them was when my patient was in line to see a medical doctor. The only time I got to see Kaloni was when she texted me asking what the sign for diabetes was. That’s when I knew there was a deaf patient at dental triage.

Anyway, amazing things were happening for the Lord. People were signing up for Bible studies, people were getting treated and were grateful for the services they got. One deaf patient of mine said he wanted to see a doctor because he fell off his bike a year ago and he thinks his clavicle is broken. He was never treated due to miscommunication. We put him through an X-ray and everything was fine. Then when we went to the therapist, she told him to lay down and asked if he could move his arm around his head and see how high he can bring his arm. It didn’t go very far. Then she pushed down on his shoulders and asked him to try moving it again. He could finally move his arm around his head and backwards! We found out that His shoulder has been dislocated this whole time. He has been walking hunchback to lessen the pain and I guess he just got used it. The therapist gave him muscle strengthening exercises and told him to walk with a straight back. The patient was beyond grateful that he finally got the medical attention he desperately needed.

Pathways was such a blessing, even though it was very tiring. Volunteers had to be at the venue by 6am and we didn’t get out until 7pm. We only had one meal which consisted of one sandwich and a few carrot and celery sticks. I was working 12 hour shifts with only 5 hours of sleep. It’s funny because that’s my mom’s normal schedule. I don’t know how you nurses survive such a busy life. But being there from start to finish was not only eye opening but spiritually refreshing. To be able to be God’s hands to help these people in our own personal way was a blessing for me.

We finished pathways around noon on Wednesday and then GYC was starting that evening. I think all of us took that time to catch up on sleep but sure enough Thursday at 8am we were back up and running. At least these sessions required more listening skills than physical skills. If you’ve never been to gyc, everyday there’s a morning devotional, and then breakout sessions where you get to choose what “class” you’d like to attend, or testimonies in the main hall, and then lunch, more classes then evening devotional and repeat the next day. On Friday however we go on an outreach. Everyone gets on a bus and is given a pack of glow tracts and people go out in pairs knocking on doors and taking surveys asking who is interested in bible study and then they pray with them and leave a glow tract.

Well since this is my 5th GYC, Justin and I decided to volunteer as bus leaders for the outreach. Actually, he signed us up without me knowing. But what bus leaders do is basically to be responsible for everyone who is on your bus. You bring everyone to drop off locations and then after an hour you pick them back up. We are also encouraged to sing with our bus mates. We were really blessed to have people who were enthusiastic. We sang so many songs like Allelu, Allelu, Praise ye the Lord, and it would be boys vs girls, and then we would sing Oh fill it up, and then we taught them the welcome table where D1- D4 meaning the different destinations had a line in the song, anyway it was amazing. Thank God, they were willing to sing coz I don’t know how Justin and I would have handled a duet on the bus for around 30min. Our bus was assigned to go to Chandler. What I learned that day was that people in Chandler were receptive to the truth! Our people were calling us asking to bring them more glow tracts. We were also giving out great controversy books and we ran out of those too. Never did I first-hand experience the phrase “the harvest is plenty.” I hope we can pray for all our leaders and pastors in the Arizona conference to follow up on all these Bible studies and visit these people who want to know more about God.

We don’t have to be in Phoenix or chandler to help out in the harvest. God placed us here, in Tucson, to be beacons of light starting in our own homes and then out to our coworkers and friends and to our circle of influence. This is the very reason why I responded to Gods calling to speak to you today. At GYC, they are very mission field minded. They have many altar calls for people who want to go overseas or to another state and be a missionary for 6 months to a year. I’m not one of those people who immediately get excited to hear an opportunity to go overseas. But I remember after one devotional while they were making altar calls for baptism and missionary work, I prayed and asked God where He wanted me to go. All I heard was the word “preach.” I am glad God has work for me to do right here at home.

So, to respond to God, I am going to share with you abridged and adapted versions of the sermons of Chris Holland, the director of It Is Written Canada. He was the main plenary speaker for the entire GYC session. Our topic is “Arise.”

Turn with me to Isaiah 60:1-3. “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Before you arise and shine, something must happen. Verse one says, “FOR your light…” Arising is a response to something that happened. Before we go we must wait for God. Before the Israelites went to the Promised Land they were first dedicated. Before the outburst of the Pentecost was the prayers and outpouring in the upper room. In other words, verse one says, “Arise and shine because…” we don’t have any light ourselves. We must wait for God’s light to be in us.

Did you know that I am afraid to share the gospel? One Sunday morning four of us went hiking, Jim, Justin, Genevieve and I. Afterwards we ate at Coyote Pause Cafe for breakfast, our favorite after hiking spot. I never told Jim or Justin about this but while we were waiting for our food we were talking about Eileen’s sermon about the ecumenical movement. There was a lady sitting at a table across and diagonal from us and she could hear everything we were saying. She was alone I believe. Yet when I realized that she could hear our conversation I suddenly froze and could not contribute to the topic. I was somehow ashamed and felt that we shouldn’t be talking this loudly, that we should be quiet and keep this to ourselves. I was afraid to offend this stranger and get in trouble. I wanted to tell them to stop but I caught myself and thought, why? Why am I afraid? So what if people can hear us? Don’t they deserve to know the truth?

While we were in outreach at GYC, my family stayed behind at the hotel. When I came back, I see a microwave sitting at the table that wasn’t there before. I asked my grandma where she got it, and she said the cleaning lady let them borrow it. She even gave us a lot of extra shampoo and fancy floor towels for our convenience. I asked grandma why she was so nice, and grandma said it’s because she asked the cleaning lady if she knew Jesus and offered her Bible studies. The cleaning lady was actually interested, and she gave her phone number to my grandma. And just like that she was able to share the love of God. Within minutes! Talk about being bold in the gospel.

Sharing has honestly been a struggle for me for many years. I always believed in the concept of living out my faith, that I don’t need to preach it. There’s other people who could do that. There are plenty of evangelists and pastors out there. My job was just to live out my life in Christ and hope others would see through me. Yet since I’ve moved to Tucson and have made many secular friends, (because I’ve always grown up in an Adventist environment), no one has responded to the lifestyle that I try to portray. I feel like I’ve somehow failed because no one has accepted my invite to come to church, no one has ever asked me for Bible studies, no one has ever been curious enough about my religion to actually test it out. Not until this past GYC did it finally click. I wait for people to ask me about Christ and I don’t take initiative to tell them. I need to assume that they don’t know who Jesus is and be excited to tell them all about Him, just like my grandma. I have been trying so hard to convert people my way. I have not let God arise in my life and let His light shine through me in order to touch others. I figured I’m a good enough Christian, I have a light to shine, and it is my Christian duty to collect souls. NO, first of all it isn’t my light at all, it is God’s. My duty is to empty myself and let God live through me and let Him collect souls through me. I am to be His vessel, so His light may shine through me.

Let’s move to verse two. It says, “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.”

Notice that there is darkness and deep darkness. Darkness equals lawlessness and lovelessness, it is an obstruction to our relationships with other people. Deep darkness is what veils God’s glory. It is an obstruction to our relationship with God. The world is darkened to the character and love of God. We need to show the world the glory of God which is the character of God. God’s counteract to darkness is His gospel which will be revealed through us. God’s solution to the dark world is that He must arise. For us to rise and shine, God must arise in us. However, the only way for God to arise in you is for you to first die to self. In other words, die to self-reliance. The call to arise is to die to old ways and God will arise a covenant established in us. We are to cast out anything that hinders us from living a new life in Christ.

Let’s go to Ephesians 5:8-14. ^“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” This is how you arise from the dead, you expose the darkness. You have the fruits of the spirit and you walk in the light. Isaiah 60 is not an invitation for you to try to shine. The passage simply says, “shine.” It is a promise because God is present in our lives, and if He is in us we will shine. If you are not shining, have you really laid everything down?

Let’s now go to Romans 13:11 “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” This is actually a reminder of Isaiah 60:1. It is a call to action. Arise and shine for your light has come. Our role is to announce that Jesus is coming again. Isaiah 60 is truly a last day altar call.

Jump back to the third verse of chapter 60 in Isaiah. “The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Because God has arisen, we are to empty ourselves of our old ways and let God’s light shine through us. And then verse three says that Gentiles will come to our light, meaning we now have the attention of the world around us, our sphere of influence, we can no longer stay silent but carry the responsibility of ministering unto them who do not know our loving Savior. We are to arise and shine.

2 Cor 2:14,15 describes shining as having an aroma that leads people to life. Our problem is, we are Laodecean. We don’t have the aroma. Have you ever wondered what you smell like? Spiritually? The stench of death is like living with pigs where we get used to the smell and you become one with them. Once we immerse ourselves into the stench of this world we don’t realize that our souls are actually rotting, we are senseless to the sweet aroma of the Holy Spirit. But praise God He can change that. Pavel Goia says that the more we walk among flowers, the more we smell like flowers. The more we spend time in God’s glory, the more we become glorious.

The Bible says that God wishes that we Laodeceans were either hot or cold. Hot obviously means being on fire for God. Hot can be used to soothe and to heal. But cold water revitalizes and refreshes the soul. We are to reveal to people that there is hope, that there is a Savior that loves them. We are to recharge their spirits to look forward to His second coming. Ailee even explains and says we can be so cold, so far away from God that cold should make us realize we are in dire need of a Savior. God wishes we were either hot or cold.

We have been called to arise and shine and reach out. Maybe our calling here is to stop converting people and start searching and connecting with those who are already converted. Let us work together to bring the gospel to the world. If we wait for our church board to do something about it, we will be waiting forever. Change doesn’t start with leaders, change starts within ourselves.

As we enter this new year, think of the calling God has entrusted to you. Will you be the extension of Jesus to someone today?

 

 

Creation Vs Creator

Last Sunday, Nanay was teaching me how to paint. I have no talent in that category, and I have always appreciated her paintings and have attempted a million times to buy some of her art. I guess she decided to just teach me instead of selling her works because I was really persistent.

She gave me an apron and set the table up with lining, paint tubes, water, various brushes, and practice paper. She then randomly started painting flowers, of which I thought were some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! Her strokes seemed professional, and the way she handled the brush was flawless. I could not help but admiringly watch her get in the zone and just paint away. She told me to copy her, and then she coached me a little on how to stroke the brush and produce a flower.

After a few more practices, she asked if I was ready to paint on the canvass. In my head, I was freaking out because I assumed that once it touches the canvas, there is no turning back! That would be the final product! She calmed my nerves down by saying that I can always paint over the canvas and turn the whole thing black again so I can paint on it once more. Recycling! Awesome. So, she told me to go ahead and start making leaves. I just looked blankly at the canvas. She took the brush from my hand and started painting. She made the leaves, did a few flowers, then gave the brush back for me to do at least two or three. My first flower came out really good! But the second one was iffy. She gently retouched it and made it look presentable. Amazing! She took control of the painting while making me feel satisfied as if I had created something on my own. But if it wasn’t for her help, it would have been just blobs of paint on a canvas. Now that I own one of her paintings, or better yet a collaboration between her and I, the artwork in my room has much more significance and value than something I would have just bought.

Seeing the painting makes me think of the creator behind it. I can’t just appreciate it without Nanay popping in my head and me visualizing the process of how the product was made. I wish for the same appreciation to happen when it comes to real flowers. Whenever we find ourselves lost in fascination with nature, let us remember the God who created them all. He intentionally made them beautiful for us to appreciate, and at the same time be reminded of God’s love and presence. Not just with flowers, but with all kinds of creation like animals, vegetables, fruits, and people.

Adam and Eve enjoyed such a beautiful garden in Eden. They were given the awesome responsibility of being overseers of all of God’s creation. If Nanay were to entrust me with all her paintings, without a doubt would I make sure to keep it varnished and clean and presentable 24/7! Knowing who the Creator is really makes a difference on how you would treat the things around you. Unfortunately, Adam lost sight of his Creator when the fatal day of sin fell upon the earth.

Eve came running to him to share the forbidden fruit that she had just taken a bite out of. Adam immediately felt despair and was extremely sad when he saw that Eve had transgressed. He mourned for her, and he knew that they had to be separated forever. However, Adam loved Eve too much that he could not bear losing her. Plus, there was evidence in Satan’s lies – she still looked beautiful, there was no evidence of death nor deterioration, and he felt that her love for him had increased. How could he let her go?

Adam chose to partake in the same fate as his lover. He lost sight of God’s love; what only mattered to him at the moment was Eve. He would rather choose to die alongside her than to be separated from her forever. He chose to love the creation more than the Creator. His great love for her caused him to think “Wow, she’s beautiful,” rather than, “Wow, God really made her beautiful.” Acknowledging the creator when appreciating things gives us a different approach and mindset. And because he chose to love the creation more, he was forced to be separated from the Creator of both Eve and himself.

Job, on the other hand, choose to love the Creator much more than the creation around him. When Satan started taking away his belongings one by one, Job’s love for God increased moment by moment. He received even more beautiful daughters and even more cattle and oxen as a reward for being faithful. Many times we humans do not understand that God can replace our lost and fallen valuables with something even greater, even two times the amount and value. After all, God is the one who created it. He can created it again – better the second time around.

I know it is hard at times to trust in God, but we can start taking baby “trust steps” in order for our faith in Him to grow stronger. We can start by appreciating awesome creation and realizing that there is an even more awesome Creator behind it all. I thank God for making all of you handsome and beautiful people. 🙂

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My inspiration behind this blog is from Ellen G. White’s book entitled “Daughters of God”, Chapter 2 “Women of Note in the Old Testament” under the subsection “Eve, Mother of All.”

Tucson

Yesterday was my mark of living in Tucson for one year! I’ve been here since August 15, 2012. It’s been a blessing so far, and I trust God that there’s still a reason why I’m here.

Tuscon is a city unlike any other cities I’ve lived in. And I’ve lived in a lot of cities. All of them have their unique traits and in-state rules. For this blog, I am going to share with you what I have learned and observed here in Tucson over the past year.

1. Driving. They say that once you’ve driven in California and in the Philippines, you can drive anywhere. Whoever started that quote has definitely not lived in Tucson! I’m from the Philippines, and I’ve lived in California. But I get so stressed when I drive here in Tucson. There may not be as much cars going 80mph, but there are a lot of drivers who always want to get their way. I’ve seen drivers cut other drivers without signaling, fishing through multiple lanes just because it’s free, tail gating, running yellow lights, speeding at construction zones, running over wild life,  unnecessary honking, and road rage and racing. I’m not saying that Tucson is a bad city to be driving in, these are just my observances of some people and instances that I’ve witnessed. One time, my brother saw two accidents happen on the same day at the same spot.

There are those drivers who obviously go way past the speed limit, and there are those who drive exactly the number of the speed limit. There are some who actually drive even slower. Then there’s the normal ones who add 5-10. It’s a lucky chance on who you drive behind if you’re in a hurry.

I should probably write a whole blog on driving. I’ll call it “The Language of Driving.” Haha, I don’t know if I’ll actually do it. If someone comments on this blog and asks me to do it then maybe I will.

2. Parameter. I drive an average of 80 miles a day. Tucson is 227 sq miles (588 km²). That’s big. My house is about 25min away from the freeway. I once drove from the West side to the East side, and it took me about an hour, and I was still in Tucson. Back in Texas, I would already be in another town within 45min of driving. Maybe because there’s no freeway from East to West, only North to South. So you have to endure all the traffic and stop signs and traffic lights and bus stops and school zones.

3. Education. Tucson is known for the University of Arizona (known as UofA or UA) and their Wildcats. I currently attend Pima Community College, which has multiple campuses around the city. They also have a school for the deaf and blind. I would love to work there someday. I’ve also seen several college prep schools and all other kinds of schools.

4. Entertainment. When I first moved here, some people said that this is a boring city. Well, in my opinion, I don’t think it’s boring at all. There are 4 major malls/shopping centers that I know of. I’ve been to hiking, laser tag, mini golf, swimming, bowling, skating, go kart, a car show, county fair, and all kinds of stuff. There’s family fun sites to visit such as the Botanical Gardens, International Wildlife Museum, Sonoran Desert Museum, Old Tucson, Children’s Museum, the zoo, and a lot more I can’t think of right now. I recently found a magazine that gives information on events that happen all year round, where to go, what to do, where to stay, how much, the contact number, and I’ve discovered that a year won’t be enough for me to experience everything, especially when you miss something that only happens once a year. I missed an event called “Tucson Meet Yourself” so I’m looking forward to going to that this year.

5. Churches.  There are multiple denominations in Tucson. I do not know what specific kinds, but I do know that within 4 blocks of driving I will see another church building. I like knowing that Tucson is a spiritual city, and I am very happy with the church family that I have met here. My church is only renting a building, but we’re working on our building fund so we can put up one of our own. Looking forward to it!

6. Food. There’s a street called Speedway. The thing about that street that stood out the most to me is that there is tons of eating places just on that street alone! I have not been around the whole city of Tucson yet, but as far as I have gone to, Speedway has the most for me. Out of all the cities I’ve lived in, I think Tucson has the most variety of food chains when it comes to ethnicity and flavor. Even the food trucks on the side of the street look pretty exotic to me. I really like the billboard of McDonald’s that has a picture of a fruit shake and is advertised as “Berry Exotic”. I like saying it in a Filipino accent. It sounds funny.

7. Weather. It is currently 108degrees as I write this blog. Very hot. My grandpa said that Arizona is the hottest state ever. Even hotter than Texas. I remember one time it was already 12midnight and the weather was still 90 something degrees. Super hot. But guess what? It snowed in Tucson this year! During the winter months, Tucson was blessed with snow for around 4hours. I am one of the privileged residences to have experienced snow in Tucson. I have a whole album of pictures about it on Facebook. But yeah, when it’s summer, it’s super hot. When it’s winter, it’s super cold.

I don’t like the rainy season. Some areas in Tucson can get really flooded, and the roads become uncrossable. Some people’s cars have been swept away by the current and some lives have already been lost. There are a lot of roads in Tucson that I like to call roller coaster roads, because you go up and down and the ditch parts of it is where the dangerous flood flashes happen. After the most recent floods, the government is now working on the drainage system on the sidewalks.

8. Wildlife. I am constantly surprised by the variety of wildlife that shows up or crosses the road while I drive across the city. I’ve seen javelinas, prairie dogs, quail, scorpions, coyote cubs, various lizards, and of course birds. I love watching the birds that just sit on the wires. For some reason I find that very entertaining. I’ve seen live deer when hiking up a mountain. I can’t wait to see what creature will pop out next!

Arizona is also known for it’s cactus called the Saguaro (sa-huwa-ro). Part of the Sonoran Desert is in Arizona, and it is only in this state will you witness a cactus that lives many years and is many feet tall.

This is just a peek at what happens in my life in Tucson. These are only a few of the exciting things in this city. Maybe next year I can add a whole lot more! I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying in this city, but I might as well make the most of it while I’m here. Please do come by and visit the wonderful city of Tucson!

Images from Google.

Devotional: Sons and Daughters of God, July 7

July 7 – To Keep the Sabbath

“You may have to suffer distress; you may go hungry sometimes; but God will not forsake you in your suffering. He will test your faith… We are here to manifest Christ to the world, to represent Him and His power to mankind.”  – Sons and Daughters of God, EGW.

I am a graduate of year 2011 with a degree in BS Development Communication. I now reside in Tucson, Arizona with my family and am currently seeking to do God’s will in my life.

For two years now, I have been seeking an opportunity to jump start my career. I know it hasn’t been a drastic loss of years, but to me it already feels like I’ve let too much time pass by. I started taking Sign Language classes to fill up my free time. But after a while, I started thinking, why am I still in school? Don’t I already have a degree? Why don’t I just start working now? I seriously ran out of money with only $24 in my bank because I help pay bills without receiving income. I felt so depressed that I started applying online for anything I could find. Although I was being picky at what I was searching for. I kept praying for me to get an interview, but until now I am still here at the house mainly doing chores. I even came to the point where I thought of just perfecting the art of housekeeping and making meals and just forget about employment entirely. I was willing to do everything in the house so that my family can focus on work and earning the money. But my parents didn’t agree with that plan, so I continued my search for a job.

I started asking advice from people; seeking comfort in what seemed to me a pitiful situation. But someone told me, “What/where does your degree get you into? Who hires Dev Coms?”

My whole world came crashing down after I heard that. It made me question everything I knew and believed in and hoped for. I truly believed that Dev Com was the course God wanted me to take. Does this mean I was wrong? Did I misinterpret God’s will? Did I waste 4 years worth of time, money, and education just to go back to school for a different degree? I already used up 2 years of my life not striving to improve it. Does that mean 6 years in total have passed with insignificance?

I now try to compare myself with Joseph, who was imprisoned for two years for something he did not do. It must have been frustrating for him to be locked up that whole time and not being able to continue his career with Potiphar. But despite those trying times, he still kept his character approved in the sight of God. Like what my friend said, “It’s not about why you wait, but who you become while waiting.” 

I am very impatient. I guess these so-called delays that I am experiencing is a lesson for me to continue to trust in God’s perfect time. He’s probably testing my faith and seeing who I would become during this wait period. Maybe He didn’t allow me to get a summer job so I can enjoy all the family vacations we have planned, and most importantly to re-connect with God. I forgot how closely I can feel God’s presence every time I write and how blessed I become after every entry. I probably don’t have my priorities straight quite yet, and so maybe I won’t be blessed with a world-challenging career until I develop an unwavering faith like Joseph and Joshua.

If I think about it, I actually do have a career ahead of me. Not one that gives salary, but one that provides unspeakable joy in service. It’s called Ministry, and it’s something I’ve been doing for a long time. I do plenty of volunteer work, especially in music, and I recently got a volunteer job in GAP Ministries in their administration office. The Lord has not blessed me with jobs that pay, but He has given me so much tasks when it comes to sharing His gospel and using my talents for His glory. I realize that I have so much going on my plate, but none of them did I categorize as a “real job”. Maybe I was putting money as a priority when I failed to remember God will always provide. It doesn’t matter if I don’t get the status in life that I want, or maybe it will come later, but what’s more important is using what you know to bring others to Christ.

Last night I watched a TED video sent to my Facebook by my friend. It was called “30 is not the new 20”. The woman’s emphasis was on not waiting till your thirty and just cramming and tying the strings at whatever status you’re on. Don’t just wait and let things happen. The time to act on your life is now. And just like it’s been forever since I put up a blog, I’m trying to follow her advice and act now. What better way to get out of my depression and make my life meaningful than using my talents for God and sharing it with you? 🙂

“You may have to suffer distress; you may go hungry sometimes; but God will not forsake you in your suffering. He will test your faith… We are here to manifest Christ to the world, to represent Him and His power to mandkind.” -EGW.

Images by Google.

August 20, 2011

Today I had a mini concert at Midland Church. My friend Marlo came and sang with me. We sang His Life for Mine, For Me Alone, Redeemer, Go Light Your World, and The Midnight Cry. It was kinda like giving the whole testimony of Jesus Christ on how He gave His life for us, resurrected, and He is coming again, and it is our duty to spread it throughout the nations.

I was personally blessed because Jesus delivered me once  again from unwanted crisis. I got sick this week and when I woke up this morning my voice was gone! I was really hoping that it wouldn’t go away, but it did. But I prayed that the Lord sing with me because although at first I was reluctant to do this mini concert, I still accepted and was willing to serve Him through singing. Maybe God was saying something like, “Because you didn’t want to do it, I’ll take your voice away. And through your flaws and shortcomings will I display my power and awesomeness and you will be my witness in telling people that I am the Lord God.”

It’s really amazing how God pulls through the hardest things. He uses our brokenness to show His divine power and to keep us trusting in Him with complete faith.

I really thank God for allowing Marlo and I to sing. We both had sore throats, but God made the people hear something else. Instead of broken chords, they heard God speaking to them with a tune. I presume that of course. ;p

Thank you Lord for always delivering through trials. Thank you for being an awesome God.

images by Google

Victory’s Appeal

It all started when my friend approached me and asked if I would like to be a part of the coming in-campus crusade entitled “The Promise”. She said the team prayed about it, and i have been chosen to be the official appeal singer for the next two weeks.

It only took me a few minutes to accept the invitation. First of all, i love singing. Second, appeal singing is an opportunity i cant afford to miss. it has a deeper meaning than any other kind of music.

i kept the news a secret until the first Monday started.  I wasn’t quite sure if the song He Will Carry You fit well with the Pastor’s topic. At first, I told myself “Bahala na”. But as i listened closely to the message, the words struck through and I realized the song fit perfectly.  I believe God made that piece to shine out so i would choose it, because He knows it would aid the message in reaching out to the people. The service was great, but i skipped the evaluation meeting and headed home because of certain things to take care of.

Unfortunately, i discovered a few days before the opening night of the crusade, that it was happening the same time as my thesis defense. The event was scheduled for Thursday morning, yet I still had quite to go.

My biggest enemy was sleep. I needed sleep for my voice to be in shape, yet sleeping hindered me from getting my thesis done in time. My faith was really getting tested, because I put my full trust in God that He would use my voice for His glory no matter how much sleep i lacked. And for the record, with only 4 hours of sleep every night, my singing never cracked – not even once. I praise the Lord for that. 😀

I told one my friends the situation i was going through that time. I mean, the honest situation. That I was having a hard time doing my thesis and attending the nightly meetings on the same week. But as we talked, she helped me realize that coming to the crusade was good for me in various ways. Not only did it allow me to serve the Almighty King of the Universe, it served as a break for me to get my mind off my thesis for a while, sort of like a break, relaxation period. And believe me, singing for the Lord gives you a calm heart and peace of mind like no other. It also proves that you can never be too busy to spend time with God, especially if He has taken over your heart.

Tuesday night came. I was distressed to discover i had no pianist. Thank God for guitars! A good friend of mine offered to accompany me to the song We Shall Behold Him, although it was a bit last minute. And I believe the Holy Spirit did His work just like He always does.

Wednesday was the main reason God gave me the idea to write this blog. I was prepared to sing No More Night, a common favorite. I figured that I would have enough time to practice with the pianist, so i became over confident that all would go well. The first two nights were good, what could stop me on the third night? I was on a roll!

At 6:30pm, we went to the music building to practice. What i didn’t know was that a program was going on and would last until 7pm. My pianist said we could practice once their done. It’s an easy piece for him anyway.

So we stayed and watched the program (he also had to accompany someone), and waited. It ended on time but there were announcements for music majors afterwards, and it felt like it was taking forever. I was getting anxious and uneasy, because i haven’t vocalized or anything, and we haven’t practiced, not even a single note. And to top my misfortune, I realized I didn’t bring my notebook! I’ve always had a notebook so I say the lyrics clearly and correctly. Now i had to rely on my unstable memory.

The announcements continued as the 7pm school bell rang loud and clear. “Oh no!” I thought to myself. No more time for practice, service will start now!

We hurriedly made our way to the church. I stayed back stage for practice, vocalization, and for calming down my nerves. This is what i get for taking such a beautiful song for granted. I didn’t make ANY preparations for it at all! Good thing the pianist has perfect pitch, and so I asked the song to be played in the key of A-flat.

I also talked to the technical people in charge of the slides. It’s a good thing that they type down the lyrics for the audience to read the words of the singer. I asked them if they could show the lyrics on the screen in front of the stage, so i could read it as well (because if you’re on stage the screen is behind you so they put a tv screen in front of the stage for the participants to see). They assured me that they will project the lyrics on the front screen, so i calmed down a bit. I just need to warm up my vocal muscles and i’m good!

The last few slides showed; the Pastor was wrapping up his message; and i was called on stage once again. I see the crowd looking towards my direction, and i see the monitor in front. The piano starts to play the introduction, and i start with the first stanza:

“The timeless theme, earth and heaven will pass away, the……………………..”

oh no! i forgot the lyrics! my mind went blank! i look at the screen, but all i see is my face! no words! i try my best to keep a smiling face as if nothing wrong happened, but nothing clear came out of my mouth. i mumbled the next sentenced. I was freaking out under the smile i showed. Then, i heard the Pastor whispering the next part of the lyrics for me. He was standing right beside me, and he was telling me the words that came next. I relied on him, and i don’t think a thank you would be enough for his help. But at the same time i felt completely embarrassed! I’m the appeal singer, it’s my job to sing and know the words! But I messed up, and I failed to do my work. The worse part was, its a common song, and so majority know it. They know i’ve messed up. so much for taking the song for granted.

I sang my heart out one more when it came to the chorus. I knew that part very well, along with the 2nd verse. The Pastor then realized that i was back on track, and he stopped humming and resumed to listening to me intently.

The bridge of the song was nearing. Oh no! I forgot the lyrics again! I said to myself, i don’t care if people laugh, but i’m not gonna say made up lyrics again. So i literally turned around and looked at the big screen behind me to see what the next words were. I remembered it after a glimpse, and i faced the audience once again.

Luckily, i finished the song. The Pastor gave his nightly appeal, and ended with a prayer. What no one knows is, i cried while he prayed. I felt so humiliated and embarrassed and unworthy; i just wanted to run away from everyone. But i wiped my tears away before the Amen, and i walked down the stage with my head low.

I went to technical people. I wanted to ask them why they didn’t flash the lyrics on the front screen. Unfortunately they noticed i messed up, and they were not aware that the lyrics were not on the front screen. I felt frustrated. I told them next time I’ll make sure i wont forget my notebook. I then bid them good night.

Along my way out the door, several people came up to me and said that was a beautiful song, that they were blessed, and other comments. I just smile, and continue walking. I also received text messages concerning the same thing. I didn’t reply though; i didn’t know what to say. I messed up, did they not hear it?

I ran in my empty room and started crying on my room mate’s bed. That was the time I heard God talking to me. I discovered that only the crusade team noticed that i messed up. but everyone else? No one knew i mumbled, that i made a mistake. They heard everything clearly. (I asked some of my friends if they noticed. They didn’t) I then cried even harder, because I have just experienced God’s amazing power. Although i messed up, He turned the situation around and turned it into something beautiful. He covered my fault and blessed the people through His grace. The Holy Spirit filled their hearts with His glory, and I can only imagine they felt His presence close by at that time.

What an amazing God! Using a wretched sinner like me. I am not worthy of any praise, may it all be to the Lord above. I will never underestimate the power of Jesus again.

Now I understand why Pastor Randy Skeet always leaves the building immediately after preaching sermons. They are very influential indeed. I believe he leaves right away so that he wont hear the comments of the audience. He doesn’t want to entertain any form of praise, because the praise should only be to God. He’s avoiding the slightest chance of entertaining self-uplifting thoughts. When people come up to me after i sing to comment about my voice or to say i did a good job, i cant help but to think good of myself and think “wow, people like ME.” But the thing is, it’s not me, it’s God. I should not claim any credit for myself, but it’s really hard. I have been receiving comments all my life, and maybe i’m so full of myself these days. But after that Wednesday, i know that i’ll have to copy Pastor Skeet and run away for a while right after i sing. It’s to avoid self conceitedness and to stay connected with God. I don’t want to rob his worthiness.

On Thursday, my cousin played the guitar for me. While choosing what song to perform that morning, he was telling me about how he met a guy earlier that day and they were talking about struggling to give God your everything. One thing about ministry, you can’t convert the whole audience at once, but you’re planting seeds. And so we chose a song that we believed would help my cousin’s friend make a very important decision, “Here’s My Life”.

I fully practiced and wrote down the lyrics. I wasn’t going to make another mistake this time. I went early to church,and we practiced behind the building.

We sat outside at the back in the cool breeze and listened to the sermon while waiting for our turn. He then told me something important: to live the words i speak. Don’t just beautify the song with techniques; the song itself will be wonderful if you really mean what you say.

He’s right. How can i sing Here’s My Life when I myself haven’t given my all to God? I may know techniques on how to make it sound good, but God listens to our hearts. How can i convince that one person to make that important decision if I have not convinced myself?

For the rest of the waiting period, i really concentrated on internalizing the lyrics. I wanted it to be real, even in my life.

The next day was unfortunately my last day, because I had to leave for internship. The song to be sung was “The Savior Is Waiting”. I had a different pianist, so I was eager to practice. But unfortunately we never got the chance to. That’s when my faith was being tested once more.

I did the necessary preparations – vocalizing, massaging my face, writing down the lyrics. But i had no idea what the intro was going to sound like. I kept praying that God would help me. But I was also reassured that it was going to go smoothly. Why should I fear when my pianist is Ma’am Heidi Cerna? It was both a privilege and honor to work with her.

I was literally shaking while walking to the microphone on stage. I had to put my full trust in her and in God. Once she started pressing those keys, the room was filled with awe, and I knew everything would be alright.

We all might not get the opportunity to sing an appeal song, but we all have the capabilities of influencing people to accept victory’s appeal. We may not know it, but our smile might be appealing to the lost soul to come back to Christ. The delicious meal that we unselfishly shared with an acquaintance can tell them that Jesus loves them.

Let us all invite and appeal one another in our own simple ways to come on the side of the Victorious King of Heaven. The Savior is waiting to enter your heart. Why don’t you let Him come in? 😀

 

(images by google)

Deciding my Collegiate Path

Honestly, BS in Development Communication was not my first choice. I didn’t even know such a course existed. With so many ambitions in life, I really had no idea what to be as a profession.

The fatal day arrived when I had to make my final decision. I had roamed around the campus of the Adventist University of the Philippines with my brother’s help and had asked crucial questions that will influence my decision.

Loving the art of language and editing, I chose AB English as my course because I believed it would enhance my skills in creating novels and poems and interpreting literature. I was fascinated with things like that, and all during enrollment I was confident.

Later that day, I was walking near the library with RJ when I saw three female Dev Com students sitting down near the stairs, hanging around and talking cheerily. Apparently, one of the girls we saw was RJ’s best friend, Lhiz. So they started talking, and I got involved into their conversation; finding myself being pressured under their convincing statements that I should take Development Communication. All three girls were trying to win me over to choose their course since it wasn’t too late. I only finished half of my enrollment anyway; I haven’t reached the encoding of subjects part. It would be happening the next day.

They were really nice yet persistent, but I ensured to them that I have chosen AB English as my course. I had made up my mind, and I had to stick to it. But for some reason, I started to think twice. “Lord, I’m really confused right now. I am choosing between Dev Com and English. Please give me signs on what you think I should choose.”

I headed back to my dorm later that day. My roommate had not moved in yet, and the place looked a bit empty and spacious with lots of faded white paint on the walls.

A knock on the door got me up from my bed; Jonjie, one of the girls I saw earlier near the library, showed up. She turned out to be my neighbor at the dorm who lived left to my room.

I went to the other side and hung out with her and her roommate for a while. We were casually talking and having a nice time. Then Jonjie suddenly took the enrollment papers I was holding from my hands and started changing my entire schedule.

“What are you doing?!” I exclaimed. She just wrote and laughed and wouldn’t let me get the papers back. Lovely, Jonjie’s roommate, joined in with giggles and started to convince me to take Dev Com as well. I asked if she was also Dev Com; she was taking Nursing. But Lovely’s persuasion was pretty strong, like a solid sales woman who has never lost a customer. I found it kind of weird that she was telling me to shift majors, but I still attentively listened to what she had to say. I allowed Jonjie to change my schedule, but I also kept the AB English curriculum with me.

We talked until around one in the morning. I went back to my room very much confused and without focus. I sat for a few moments, and then I started to check my room for any stuff that might have been left by the former occupants. I only checked my side though – I was going to leave the rest of the room for my new roommate to inspect.

I opened the left side drawer under our table for the first time; my roommate and I decided that the left side would be my side of the table. Little did I know that opening that drawer would make a huge impact on me. Inside was a brochure about BS Development Communication – description, course offerings, advantages, and all the basic things you need to know about this degree.

“Wow, Lord. Is this Your sign for me?” I silently prayed with my eyes wide open from the shocking piece of paper I held firmly in my hands.

I instantly thought of the most common thing people usually do when in desperate measures – I wrote “AB English” on a small torn up paper and “Dev Com” on the other. I rolled them up and put them in a box. I decided I’ll be drawing lots in the morning. ‘Whatever I choose, this will be my final answer.‘ I whispered a finishing prayer then went to bed at three in the morning, anxious to discover the answer.

By eight o’ clock I was up and ready for the verdict to be revealed. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, reached in the box, and pulled out a folded paper. And guess what? I got Development Communication.

“Oh man,” I shrieked as I snickered in disbelief with a smile. “This is it. I’ll have to shift majors.” I headed down to my brother’s dorm to tell him the news. Unfortunately, he just woke up and wasn’t willing to help me anymore with my enrollment since I was changing my mind. I shrugged my shoulders and headed straight to the Registrar’s Office to break the news.

I was feeling a bit scared and insecure because I didn’t know how to change my course. But I still went up to the Registrar window and asked the lady if she could change my course from AB English to Dev Com.

“Huh? But your transcript already says that you’re taking Dev Com. There’s no need for changing.”

Immediately, the state of being shocked returned. Eyes open wide and my jaw dropping a bit – it was time I accepted that Dev Com was the course I was supposed to take. A hint of distress came upon me for a while, but I was willing to embrace the change.

I should thank those three persistent ladies for changing my mind. Now that I am a senior Dev Com student, I can say that I have no regrets. God made a way for me to realize that He wants me to excel in this area of profession so that Imay be of help to whoever needs it. I don’t mind being the only Dev Com student in my dorm, or in my circle of nursing friends, or in my Pasay alma mater. At least whenever they need someone to write a script or edit a video, they can count on someone who had certified training.

It’s nice to be different from the norm sometimes. You get to lend a hand in ways other people cannot. You’ve got an advantage, and people would thank you for it.

Of course, disputes and conflicts will always come; we’ve experienced plenty of that already. But one thing I noticed that my Dev Com Family has that I can’t find with my other friends? No matter what the situation is, we all stick together. Seriously – if someone has something to do, the whole group would tag along and join or help out. And if another person had something to finish, the whole gang would go as well. We would literally end the day all together; except if there’s an emergency.

Most people that I know would rather be alone and do their stuff and then just meet up at a certain time or place. Or, if you’re together the whole day, the other person would leave or go ahead because he/she had something to do.

So when I met fellow Dev Com students, I was a bit culture shocked. I wasn’t used to it, but I liked it. I learned to give up my time for them and help them in whatever way I can. It’s a different experience to set aside time to be of help, especially when you know they’ll do the same for you.

“Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together,” says Woodrow Wilson. I know I can count on these people to back me up and to be my friends for a lifetime.