Bonchon Experience

Every time my cousin buys a box of Bonchon, I get curious about its taste. But I never had one.

One morning, I went to PRC to renew my license. When I finished doing the thing, I suddenly felt so hungry that I desperately wanted to find something to eat. Amazingly, I got to see Bonchon while walking on the street which gave me a relief. Thankfully, I got so familiar with it because of my cousin buying it most of the time. So without having any second thought, I entered the place.



Unaccustomed to the foods posted on the menu, I was thinking of what to order. So what I did was I asked the crew. She told me a lot of flavors they have for the chicken. I couldn't remember the all the details though. But the only thing I can recall is garlic chicken. Uhmm. Is it right? Not sure. Correct me if I'm wrong. When I firstly bit the crust, I was like... in so much amazement. It tasted so good. I have never regretted having one in my meal.

The second thing I asked her was the 'Chapchae'. At a first glance, it looked so ordinary. It's dark in color and didn't have anything so special about it. But when I placed it in my mouth, it gave me an awesome feeling. The noodle strip is a little bit thicker than the usual pancit we have. And its texture is a jelly-like thing.

Plus, the lightings of the place that makes it cozy, make the food more appetizing. Indeed, it's an amazing experience.

I feel like I want to go back with my family and friends.

The Winner

There’s a saying “The quitter never wins and the winner never quits.” By this, we can get an encouragement to strive even more because it’s true that an individual has to go through lots of disappointments and hardships but after that overwhelming wave, comes a great feat of victory. 

PRC License Renewal

If I am not mistaken, the renewal without the required CPD is just until the end of this month. To help you guys to process yours easily, here are some tips I can give you;

1. Bring your PRC ID and two passport pictures with your name.

 (You can have your pictures taken from the shops near PRC. Mine costs 60 pesos. It's a lot expensive than you can ever imagine. Haha. The pricing of the pictures sometimes differ, depending on the person's intended price for it.)

2. No need to photocopy anything as what I experienced.

3. Get the form from the help desk in PRC (not sure if that's what they call it though. I forgot about it already.)

4. Fill up the form. And in order for you to do this, you will need a pen. (So, don't forget it!)

5. Paste the the pictures on both forms. (You definitely have to bring your own paste.)

6. Go to 5th floor to have your signed by the personnel.

7. Go to the cashier for payment.

8. Go to Window 14 for the ID claim slip.

9. The slip indicates when you can get your renewed ID. Just personally present the slip on that day to claim it.

10. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS: Those who are not yet having their birthday this year won't be able to have their license renewed. They just allow until November.

I hope that this helps. Thank you and God bless everyone!

A Family of God

A photo taken 7 years ago in CNB mall Marikina Heights

Looking back to the beginning of my Church life, I am really amazed on how God has brought me and my family to the place where we are right now. 

I thought that it was impossible for me to have a peaceful family, until I gradually brought my family with me to Church every Sunday. God has put the pieces of my family's broken picture together little by little.

Back then, I was only praying to God to give me a united family. Though it wasn't an easy road for us, but God is graciously helping us every single day. This photo always reminds me of how WONDERFUL, POWERFUL, GREAT, FAITHFUL, and LOVING GOD is. 

Gil Gaudiano

I never thought that that small little kid, Gil, is now a grown up 16 year old young boy whom God showered with lots of talents that are being used for His Glory. Today, he is an active worshiper of God, playing the acoustic and electric guitar in the church.

Kristel Gaudiano

Though my sister is going to another church, still, I am grateful to know how God works in her life. I may not know what things she is always doing, but with her faith in God, she will never lose her way because our Father in Heaven will always watch on her.

However, my mom is not yet with me in the church. Yet, I still hope and wait for God's perfect time for her. I always declare and believe that my whole family is for God. We will all be united in Spirit and in Truth soon.

The woman in the middle is my cousin and
the other one on the right is my aunt.

Thankfully, my aunt who has become my mother in every aspect of my life becomes a believer. She struggled so much with a lot of frustrations in her life, but through time, God has enabled her to have a peaceful heart, trusting and knowing that God is in control of everything. God was and is dealing with her. She is currently an active woman of God.

I always believe that the key to a wonderful family is Jesus. He is the source of peace, so whatever difficulties you may be in, He will always run quickly to save your family from ruining. Once one of the members in the family got saved, he/she must work out to bring salvation to the other members by following what God wants him/her to do. 

It saddens me to see some other families with a Christian member who got to be so focused with their ministry, yet tend to forget and neglect their responsibility to be the light of their own household. Yes, they are good to share the gospel to others, but the sad thing is that their own family is becoming worse and worst. We must not take our ministry as an excuse to avoid the responsibility we have for our kins. 

In conclusion, the verse below will prove that God doesn't want an individual to get salvation personalized but shared.

1 Timothy 5:8 New Living Translation (NLT)

But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.

Star-shaped rubber band

Today, I will show you how to make a star shape with a rubber band. This will be very useful and helpful even in an online video class. You can show this when kids are doing good in the class. Surely, just like me, they would love it and get amazed with it.

First

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth

Sixth

Seventh

Eighth

Ninth

Tenth

Eleventh

Twelfth

Lastly

We finally did it! Now, you can teach kids with another fun and exciting reward for them in class. Enjoy teaching fellas!

A Teacher's Life - A Reflection

Being an online English teacher makes my life a lot brighter. It may seem to be an easy task to do but it needs lashings of patience and dozens of understanding. It is apparently easier than a formal classroom set up but it has its own difficulty. Since I'm  only given limited time per each class, twenty-five minutes is sometimes not enough for me to let the student understand what the lesson is really about. Every student has their own learning style and pace after all. However, this given time for teaching the lesson is not what matters most to me. What I care about is how will I be able to reach out to my students needs. And doing this in twenty-five minutes is literally not sufficient. I have to go extra-mile to do this. Indeed, it takes time and comes naturally.







It's difficult to know my students well in a virtual classroom than in a physical classroom where I can talk to the student face-to-face and know how they actually behave. So, I have to be more creative in reaching them out. Sometimes, I message their parents through social media, knowing what interests the kid. But most often, I ask questions about what they experienced and thought about something related to the topic of the lesson.

Some other teachers had bad experiences with their students: telling them some curses, doing some improper actions, and even worse than that. So these teachers may have thought of anything they could do just not to have this kind of student in their class again. Not having them in our class may seem to be a good idea but is that how a teacher must think or behave? Being a teacher is not a duty. It is a priviledge. I once learned in college that teachers can either make or break their students. Yes. Their future can be in our hands. One word that comes from our mouth can either bring life or destroy a kid's future.

I remember when I was in elementary. I used to say that I would study hard to take revenge to my elementary teacher. I thought of that because she used to bully me in front of my classmates. Since I was a naughty kid in the class, she once said to my classmates not to go near me because I was gay. Those words melted my confidence and trust to anyone. But this had become my fuel to study hard and to prove her that her way of teaching students was wrong. Though time, I was able to forgive her. I was actually thankful that I became the person of who I am now because of this dark moment of my life that served as my stepping stone to victory.

Fortunately, this kind of negative situation that happened to me long time ago brings something good to the present. But what if, I ended being hopeless at that time. I would have killed myself for sure. I would have stopped going to school and ended up ruining myself forever.

Now that I am a teacher, I want to grab this opportunity to help students hope for the future. My goal is to mold not only their minds but also their hearts. Knowledge can anytime be acquired. But a broken heart must be recovered right away. It can only happen when someone becomes a teacher of life.

I always pray that God may always open an opportunity for me to touch each of my student's life. I would be more than happy to see them having a hopeful life forever than seeing them being successful with their endeavors yet having broken lives.

Finding Tita

We were just having some fun in the mall when we finally noticed that my aunt was not with us anymore. So, out of desperation to find her, we got to make a video entitled "Finding Tita". The title was inspired by the movie "Finding Nemo". We never planned for this. It's really amazing how we came up with this idea out of a sudden. We had a lot of fun because of this.

Keeper of the Time

When you decide to submit something to God, DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN.

When everything seems to be okay and smooth, BE ALERT. 

When your prayer is answered, BE CAUTIOUS. 

When you started to feel the burning desire in your heart for God, BE STILL. 

When you say 'yes' to God, STAND FIRM. 

When you desire to dig deeper into His Love, STAY AFLOAT ON THE TRUTH. 

When things become clear to you, REMAIN HUMBLE and BE WATCHFUL.

Satan will never stay silent. If God knows when to act in times of our troubles, Satan knows when to ruin us in times when feel safe and strong. God is perfect in timing. So as Satan finds perfect time for his evil schemes.

What amazes me is that, though Satan finds the right time to destroy us, God is not reckless to let him do something to us. Every act Satan does is in God's control. God is still the One who holds the Time. Even the time of Satan to attack us is the perfect time for God to HELP us, DELIVER us, COMFORT us, and HEAL us. 

When Satan torments you with guilt, that's the time when God lets you know how vast His love is in spite of these deficiencies.

When Satan puts doubts in your mind, that's the time when God acts to let you see the truth of His deliverance.

When Satan discourages you with insecurities, that's when God lets you see how He wonderfully made you.

When Satan provokes you to ruin your life, that's when God open the doors of hope.

When life turns upside down, that's when you have to kneel down and pray to God.

There's no one who can do great things but God. Jesus is the One who can deliver us all.

Praise be to the Deliverer of my soul!

Self-centeredness into God-centeredness

Self-centeredness not only happens when what you only do is the bad things to others. It is not also just limited to negativity. But in some ways can be sealed by kindness and goodness. It is deceptive in some manner. It's venomous through time. How pitiful humans are. They mostly do things out of self-gratification.

You become self-centered when:

you only think of yourself,

you don't give chance to others,

you only care about your own feelings,

you don't see other people's needs,

you don't want to listen, you don't yield,

you don't think of the consequences,

you don't forgive,

you think negatively of others,

you think negatively of yourself,

you want to be noticed by all,

you do good things just to get something even at the expense of others,

you don't appreciate,

you just see wrong things,

you think you are always right,

you think that you are the only one hurting,

you want to end your life,

you don't want to work hard,

you don't think before you speak,

you don't want to have a better life,

you only want to go on your own way,

you don't move on,

you stop dreaming,

you stop hoping,

you stop believing,

you just stay at your comfort zone...


How amazing Jesus is. He gave His life for us to take away this dark side of human race. Every day in my life, I pray that God may change me into His likeness. Jesus came to the world to turn our SELF-CENTEREDNESS into GOD-CENTEREDNESS. The Holy Spirit is going to teach us how to live a holy life with God. We just need to trust everything to God.

I know. It's easier said than done. But trusting takes a lot of patience and courage to someone whom you think can do something good for you. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)

Spot the Difference - Number four

We just randomly picked some posters to capture. We had a lot of fun in the mall. Glad to be with this fella. Thanks James!

Spot the Difference - Number three

The guy on the big picture is Richard Reyes Faulkerson Jr. known by his name Alden Richards. He is a model and a good actor. He is advertising a phone here. I don't remember the brand though. The guy on the left is James and the other one is definitely me. We are just trying to see who's the best person to imitate the picture, though we knew we couldn't do it. Hello to his fans!

Spot the Difference - Number two

This is obviously me. I just tried to imitate Nam Joo-hyuk poster. This is just for fun. Nothing so serious. So, I just like to say hello to his fans out there!

Spot the Difference - Number One

He is Gil, my brother. He is a shy person. But it's so amazing to convince someone to do crazy things with you. After this pictorial, he got to like it. He actually said "Wow" for this picture.

A Friendly Tragedy

Sometimes, tragedies become a helpful tool to make people friendly.

Encouragement

It is wonderful to think that you can encourage someone mostly, when you are also in pain, you are both having the same situation, and you are hurting as well.

Indeed, we are created for one another.

The Sheep

I am a sheep. I always follow my Shepherd's voice. When I am with Him, I feel so secured and safe. I eat on time. I sleep comfortably. And I walk safely.

One day, while I was in the moment of slumber, I was awakened by a strange voice. I knew it wasn't the voice of my Shepherd. As I opened my eyes, I heard him saying,

"Wake up."

 At first, I just ignored it. I was finally convinced that it wasn't my Shepherd because of his different look.

"How long will you be staying here?" He persisted.

"Who are you?" I eventually retorted.

"It doesn't matter who I am," he replied.

"Get away from here! I don't know you," I insisted.

Suddenly, a thought popped out, "Just stay in my care and you will always be safe," The Shepherd reminded.

"You think your life was already good enough. But it wasn't. The places behind these bars are far more beautiful and astonishing," the man said.

"But the Shepherd told me that staying in His care will keep me safe," I demanded.

"Staying in His care may probably keep you safe but, did He tell you not to explore the far side of the hills?"

"No, but..."

"I'm sure you're also curious how the beyond looks like. You would never know unless you go. There, you will experience something new. Something you have never seen before. Don't worry. I will guide you in your way. This will not take too long."

"Are you sure about this? I engagingly uttered.

Enticed and persuaded, I came with him. On my way, my heart wanted to back out. But, when I saw the green field which was covered with colorful flowers, I danced with gladness.

"I never thought there's such a wonderful place like this!" I ran and bumped my head into a tall tree.

"Ouch!" In my dizziness, I tried to open my eyes and look above. "Wow!" I said in amazement.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The man butted in. He plucked one of the tree's fruits. "Go and taste it. This will make you happy for sure. If you want, you can bring some for your master," the man said with a smile.

"That's a good idea! He will absolutely be happy!" So, I ate the fruit. Slowly, I got dizzy and fell asleep.

Few hours later, I regained my consciousness. I felt so strange. I opened my eyes but all I could see was darkness. From the left, right, no, it’s all around me. There were so many strange voices all around me.

“I need to get out of here. My master will surely be so worried about me,” I thought. “Hello! Is anybody out there? Please help me go back to my master,” I cried.

They all laughed and said, “What a cry lamb!” “My master will be looking out to find me. He needs to see me,” I retorted.

“Do you think your master will be pleased to see you after you disobeyed what he said? He will definitely say, ‘Don’t come near me! You shall not come back here. I don’t need you anymore!’” They said in chorus.

“But… (cried) Maybe, you are right.”

The man put me in a cage. And at that moment, I was full of regret.

“I should have followed what my master told me. This would never happen if I just listened to Him,” I sobbed. “Perhaps, this is just right for me. I deserve this punishment. I would rather be in this cage than hearing my master saying hurtful words,” I wept.

Seasons passed by. I grew weaker and weaker.

Then the man said, “We need to sell this sheep. It’s already useless.”

Then my cage was taken to the wagon. After a long journey, we stopped mobilizing. The cage was handed over to the new owner. And I heard the man saying,

 “Are you sure about this? Your pay is far beyond its worth!”

As I was listening to their conversation, I heard nothing from the new owner.

Later, I felt a gentle touch on my body. As I tried to look upon the new owner’s face, I hardly see anything because my sight was sealed with thick mud. With a gentle voice, he whispered,

“Welcome back, my sweet little lamb.” My eyes started to flood with tears and my heart began to shrink.

“I knew that voice. I know it,” I cried loudly.





____________________________________________________________________________
I am so amazed that God has enabled me to make a story like this showing his Love and Compassion to every mankind. This reminds me of many of His promises in my life. I was making this while waiting for the contest that I was going to evaluate. To God all the Glory and Praise!

PS: I am not really a good artist when it comes to drawing so kindly bear with the illustration above. I hope there's someone out there who can make it for me though.

Lingering Thought

I talk. I laugh. I eat. I work. I pause, then go back to what I was thinking.
This lingering thought is always with me. Soon, I have to let you go for good.

Routine

Wake up. Eat breakfast. Work. Eat lunch. Take an afternoon nap. Work. Sleep. The cycle goes round and round.

My classmate once said, "My life just goes like this: Wake up. Sleep. Wake up. Sleep." She saw life as colorless material. It didn't have a meaning. She felt like, a person would come into her life just to pass by. So, she thought that she wouldn't have to get attached to something or someone that would just soon leave her. 

At that time, I wasn't able to grasp this thought. But when my life revolves to the responsibilities I have to carry on every single day with my family, my mind got so occupied with several thoughts. Out of the sudden, I thought, "What's new?" "Everything is just the same." I was terribly disappointed that I saw myself empty and somehow lifeless. I hated this feeling. I felt like I was forever trapped in the cycle of despair and desolation. 

I was always calling someone with a voiceless speech. I almost regretted this very day I stand today. "Who could ever save me from this great unexpressed grief?" I thought. "Who could ever fill in this vast hole I created in my heart?" I pondered. 

No one could ever put me out of the cycle, unless someone breaks it. I am still holding on to my only hope. I still wait for God to find me in the midst of the darkest road. He is the Savior I always look up to after all. 

"There is a season for everything." I remembered. 

45 Days

Who loves eating chicken?

Science says that chicken's meat is good for health. It is a good source of protein which helps you and me to grow strong muscles. But who cares? Who cares having strong muscles? This meat is my lovely chicken! No one should touch it! No one!

This chicken was given by my brother. He told us to take care of it. He said that it is a '45 days' chicken; Meaning, this must be raised only for 45 days. But this has been with us for several months already. In short, it's kinda old.

Seeing him eating feeds and drinking water makes my heart moved to tears. Just kidding. So, it's somewhat very close to my heart already.

Therefore, if people would ask me to eat this tiny thing. No way! That's cannibalism! I won't never eat a friend.

Dot

Everything just started with a small dot-

From there, the spiral of confusion began

It's nothing to be noticed-

You thought

But the fiber of arrogance mount you on the web-

Where such trap was set before you

Once a small thought

You never imagined how big it became

This day you remember

How useless the dot was

That little thing you once thought worthless-

Was the cause of all miseries and despair

When will you ever get off the cycle?

Who can rescue you from its adhesiveness?

Go back to the dot of fire, the LIGHT once gave you-

Recall how that dot of life changed you-

Do not struggle!

Let Him unstrapped you-

Deliverance is indeed at hand!

Goodness

Wanting something good can be tough.

When you want something good, get ready to face toughness.

Indeed, it is true-

The gate to heaven is narrow to pass through.