HE > i

Greater is the One living inside of me THAN he who is living in the world! 

There'll be days I lose the battle

Grace says that it doesn't matter

'Cos the cross already won the war!

Amen! Amen!

My God is greater!

Kairos Asia Day 5 (Journal)

May 31, 2015

Today is the day. The day which I think everyone of us never wanted to come. It’s the last day of Kairos. Tears always win (but not for me). Some Indian delegates needed to go early. We said our goodbyes. Before I went down for the mass, I arranged my things and prepared it for departure. The mass started and was presided by a former CYAer. Words that I can’t forget that time were: “do not be afraid, the Lord said: I will be with you ‘til the end of time”, “never give up”, “always get back to God”, “protect your mission from other priorities that compete”, and “keep wasting for the Lord”. These words served as reminders for me of how God is ever faithful to me despite my unfaithfulness, that He is always there ready to welcome me with open arms, that it’s okay to fail as long as I decide to return to Him and offer my brokenness. 

I wasn’t ready for departure yet. I wanted to stay longer but everything really ends. But this time it is not the end, it is only the beginning, the beginning of living the life God wanted us to live, of letting our lights shine to others who needs it. We said our super final goodbyes and we took pictures, exchanged numbers and fb username. We wanna make sure we’re still connected ;) 

*****Set a fire down to my soul that I can’t contain, that I can’t control because I want more of You, God! I want more of You, God!

Arise! Shine! For the glory of God has risen on you!

Kairos Asia Day 4 (Journal)

May 30, 2015

Rise and shine! I mistakenly saw the time. I thought it was already 6:40am only then after I took a bath realized that it was still 10 minutes past 6 :’< I wanted to go back to sleep but can’t. I went out and saw ate Krish. It was a good thing though that I woke up early because I was able to have my prayertime with ate Krish at the amphitheater. We had breakfast and afterwards the plenary talk #4. I didn’t get enough sleep for the past few days and I was really sleepy during the sharing and talk. The talk was actually interesting and I tried hard to keep myself awake. What really struck me most during Jean Barbara’s talk was that we need to give our all on our mission. Our heart, mind, body and soul. We need to excellently contribute to humanity. We need to stop mediocrity and mediocrity lies anything under our 100%. If we didn’t give that remaining 1% of ours, it’s like a fly in our soup. We don’t want that. It’s not the best anymore. I was really struck by this because I think there were really times that I’m just too passive with my service or that I don’t really give my all, it’s just for the sake of doing. It was really this talk that motivated me to give my all in service especially that I only have 1 year left in CYA because I will be graduating this school year. It’s never too late. I was also assured by God that I am never alone. I have my 700++ brothers and sisters who will support and encourage me plus I have Him. I just have to take courage. It was repeatedly stated on the sessions: take courage! I had my lunch together with CYA Davao and had a quick sharing of what happened during the day. We prepared for our next track afterwards. DSL: Desire, Sex and Love. The theme is somehow catchy. What happened during the talk were purely testimonies and advices from 3 couples with successful marriages. The main point was to really wait. And love is not actually the “you complete me” thing. It’s actually “you complement me”. We should control our emotions and of course do first the SOL or State of Life Discernment. We need to listen to God because even marriages should also bring glory to Him. I also thought that waiting is really hard but hearing the couples being happy and stable I could say that it’s really worth the wait. I recalled what kuya Biboy said that love should not be in a rush. Rushing love is like farting in a hurry and only poop will come out. Haha.  I also realized that I’m still too young to enter in a relationship. I am even not yet stable financially, emotionally and mentally for that. Some would say just experiment, life is short. But nah, I think it’s more fun being single and I would rather build and establish my relationship first with the Lord. SOL first! Haha. We ended by 4pm then got ready for the Lord’s Day. When we were done, we went to the amphitheater for our final prayer meeting. We were seated by tribe and by discussion groups. We weren’t able to find one of our DG, Sam. So it was only me, Rex (CYA Valencia) and Laryssa (India). We had our time of worship and prayer. Then John Keating gave the final talk. Arise! Shine! For your light has come. It was really overwhelming. Again, it was reiterated: Take Courage! Do not be afraid. Let your light shine so others can see. When we were told to light our flashlights, I was really amazed by how great God is to each and every one of us, for touching our lives, for renewing us, for being ever present in us. These people love the Lord so much and I myself was also encouraged to love Him more everyday. It was really a different night. It was happy. Joyful. Promising. Overwhelming. Every day I spent there in Tagaytay was really becoming better and better. The present days get the better of yesterday’s best. We had a praise concert afterwards and I was really singing and dancing. I can’t contain my happiness. Another best thing that happened during that night was the FIREWORKS. I was really surprised and happy because I was at the right place to see its beauty. I was screaming. In my 18 years of existence, it was my first time to see fireworks! Oh, God gave me a lot of first times already! It did not end there because there was bonfire. Since it would be the last night of Kairos, we had longer fellowship. I didn’t even wanna go to sleep but mass would be early the next morning. I went to bed at around 1:30am.  God is really beyond amazing! 

Kairos Asia Day 3 (Journal)

May 29, 2015

It’s the third day yet I feel like I haven’t stayed that long yet. I didn’t have enough sleep also. We had our breakfast at 7am then proceeded to the 3rd plenary talk. It was given by Mr. Ken Noecker. “You are the light of the world”. “Wait. Me??”  I haven’t really envisioned much of myself doing noble things. I mean, I’m just an ordinary girl living a simple life. When Mr. Ken shared that Emma Watson is fighting for women’s right, (which I somewhat knew already because of her tweets and posts on twitter and fb) I was amazed of how noble she is knowing that she’s still young. Unlike any other actresses her age, Emma did something unusual, something different yet noble. “If not me, who? If not now, when?” She’s right. Take courage and “let no one despise your youth. Let no one despise your weakness.” These messages always ring on my mind and I realized that I’m never too young to serve the Lord. When the plenary ended, we went to our DGs (and I found them finally! And my DGL was an Indian, Laryssa), had our lunch and then got ready for the WAR GAMES >:D While I was having my lunch, I was already nervous because it would be my first time and I’m not really that sporty and I might get injured or I might be the reason for the defeat of our team. HAHA. The war game was really intense!! I ran as fast as I could and killed as many as I can. I witnessed some brothers rolling and I’ve seen that even if the person is coming from a different tribe, when he falls, the other helps him stand. I liked our strategies and also how teamwork was really present on our tribe. We were all sweaty. The game ended. We took pictures. It was really fun and memorable. After that, (fast forward) we were getting ready for our dance for E-Night. We’ve been practicing this dance for almost a month. Finally we were able to perform the dance. We’ve seen the performances of the brothers and sisters also and what I liked most was the belly dancing of one Indian sister. Later part of the night was fellowship. This day was grand!

**photo credits to CYA Davao

Kairos Asia Day 2 (Journal)

May 28, 2015

It was a new day and I was really looking forward for the activities. We had our breakfast and it was also a good time to mingle with others. I even had a chance to dine with Mr. Jake Yap and Mr. John Rich. Afterwards, we went to the session hall. A video was shown to us on what happened last night. Then, we had our plenary talk #1. The speaker was Mr. Raoul Roncal. What struck me during his talk was when he said that “the light shines on people not by accident, but by choice”. True enough, choosing to follow the Lord was a decision and I came to remember the time when I chose to join CYA. I was in the light. God used me and enabled me to be a light to others as well through my service at school and in the chapter. Every day is a decision to seek for the light. And I realized that I should never get tired of looking for the light. It was also a reminder that I should be aware of the darkness. But I should be confident that together with the Lord, I can overcome it. We had an open sharing with our DG and again I was transferred to another group. We had lunch afterwards. After that, we went to our tracks. Mine was Power Punch: Effective Public Speaking. It’s ironic because I can’t even stand in front of a crowd. I thought it would help me overcome this stage-fright of mine. During the track, we were taught how to make a good visual presentation and of how essential the speaker (medium) is in delivering a message. And as evangelizers, we should be effective speakers to be successful on passing the message to the audience. We had a fun workshop. We were told to sell a product given to us in a minute, impromptu. Gosh, I was really nervooous. Our product was thumbtacks and it was really funny. I had a good feedback though. That’s what I call “fake it ‘til you make it” (smile and pretend not to be nervous. HAHA) We had our house games after that. It was fun and tiring at the same time. It was a good chance also to get to know my team mates. When the house games were finished, we took pictures of us in the place. Solo shots. Group shots. Jump shots. Selfieees. The view and the breeze were really relaxing. After that, we cleaned our filthy and sweaty selves then had our dinner.  The food was great! Then, we went to the amphitheater and had our next plenary. What I really love during plenary was the praise and worship. It was, I think, my first time to really feel so free and comfortable to lift my hands and clap and dance and sing aloud and really worship God. It was Mr. Bobby Quitain who gave the talk. I love his humor. He delivered the talk very well. What struck me in his talk was when he said we need to be the game changer. We are called to share the light, and the light is Christ himself. As Christians, we preach Christ to those who don’t know Him yet or to others who are likewise in darkness. We may have many doubts about ourselves and if what we are doing is worth it, but we need not be afraid and worry because God will enable us if we submit to His plans. My night was again filled with joy. After that, we had our fellowship. Again, time to meet others and break the holy huddle. 

**photo credis to CYA Davao

 https://www.facebook.com/cyadavao

Kairos Asia Day 1 (Journal)

May 27, 2015

Our flight going to Manila was at 10am. But we went to the airport as early as 7am to arrange some of the documents of the delegates below 18. Too excited to be early! :D It was my first time to ride a plane and I can’t stop thinking the possibilities of air crashing or air bombing. Haha! I was obviously overthinking. We had a safe trip from Davao to Manila to Tagaytay. And from Manila, we were accommodated by our very hospitable and welcoming brothers and sisters to the venue. Before we arrived at Manila, I had this awareness that it would be very very hot and very traffic. And I was right, though it wasn’t still really that traffic during that time. While travelling to CCT (Center for Community Transformation), I got a glimpse of the Mt. Taal and looked forward of getting a picture with the view. When we arrived, I was overwhelmed by the place and the crowd. There were really many of us and the place is really amazing. Our IDs and kit were given. Our room assignments were told to us. We were 7 in the room: 2 YAs from Manila, 2 from Malaysia, 2 from Singapore and 1 from Davao, me. Unsurprisingly, I really needed to speak in straight English and Filipino. ‘Twas really a struggle!! LOL. We were getting ready for the opening night or the BIG HELLO. We, the Davao delegates were dressed in our native costumes and had a 20-(or more) second dance on stage. After the opening night, we were grouped into our different tribes. Mine was tribe Kidlat, house Lawin. It was also that time that we identified our discussion groups. I haven’t found my DG so I temporarily joined the group of Icia, a UD from Manila. We introduced ourselves and got to know each other more. After that, I mingled with other delegates from outside the Philippines. I was reminded to break the holy huddle. It’s not easy, actually but I have to do it  Later on, I realized I needed to rest and so I went in my room and slept. My first day was really awesome! 

**photo credits to CYA Davao
https://www.facebook.com/cyadavao