PROFILES: Roxanne Grace Camaclang

This is a long overdue post already.

I have promised Roxanne to write about her since last month but haven't had the chance to do the feature article on her. :))

Since you are going on to a new journey in your life, I am making this for you. More of a late birthday gift and despedida post for you. :D

Roxanne, Rox, Roxer - these are just the names that i usually use to call her. The name 'Roxanne' is of Persian origin and its meaning is 'dawn' (of the dead... lol.. joke!). In history, 'Roxane' (another derivative of Roxanne) was the Persian princess married by Alexander the Great during his travels of conquest.

Much like a princess, Roxanne is a priceless friend! 

So how did I get to know her? Hmmmm... I'm sometimes not too good with memories, especially first encounters. But if my memory serves me right, I got to meet her first when we went to watch the Chris Brown and Rihanna concert at the Fort last 2008. Bro/Bryan introduced me to her.She was with Cay and Ross and I was with Bro that time. I thought we wouldn't really click because I thought she was a snob (well, i thought right.. ahahaa.. joke lang). After several meet-ups and Friday dinner and movie nights with the group, I got more chance to open myself to Rox and found out what a true jewel she is (naks!).

The Coron trip with her was my first trip with their group of friends. Bro, Rox, Simi and Cay are actually the original members of the friends' circle (parang Gimik lang... jolina, ikaw ba yan? ahahaha). I was just a new addition to their 'barkada'. The Coron trip with them made me understand and appreciate Rox more and find out her very endearing personality.

The Coron Trip was followed with more trips with the group. We had the Vigan-Pagudpud-Laoag adventure, EK trips, karaoke nights at Bro's and Cay's place. Then we also watched several plays and concerts and there were the countless dinners and movie nights together. All in two years time, Rox and I became very good friends and we became more comfortable with each other. Much comfortable that she always MCs (more like making me 'kulit'... ahahaha) me everyday during office hours and we often have lunch outs and eat her favorite sisig at PacStar. :))

If I would describe Rox after knowing much about her, even if we've known each other only for 2 years, I would say that she is one of the sweetest friends that I have, she may seem very 'makulit' but deep down inside her is a very soft person who is very caring to her family, especially to her brother. I find Rox a very strong person, so strong that she can always pick a fight with anyone that messes with one of her friends. She knows what she wants and she gets it. She is a very good friend and lover. How do I know? Hmmmm... She went to SG before as a DH - all for the glory of love... (ahahaha... joke lang Roxer... :D). I would say that Rox is one of my friends who will always be dear to me because of her very good nature and good heart. (ayan ah... bentang-benta ka na.. ahahaha).

Last February 24, she just turned 24 and along with it came one of the biggest decisions that she'll make in her life.

On March 7, she will be making a move in her life. She will be making a decision that she has been wanting to do ever since. She will be moving to Singapore to find herself a better future and find the career that she deserves well.

As friends of Rox (you, I know you are reading this because I told you so.. hehehe), we are very happy for her but at the same time, we feel a bit lonely. Roxanne leaving to another country is like losing one of the petals of a beautiful red rose. Her endless calls to remind us not to be late during dinner meet-ups and her unending stories about her celebrity Twitter friends will be missed definitely. Her noisy laugh and friendly banters everytime we are together will now be replaced with silent whispers of the wind during Friday nights. Her 'kulit' moments online and even when we are together with the group will now be missing in action when she gets to Singapore. But even if she goes there, we, her friends, know that she is going to the right path in her life. In her Facebook page, she wrote, "If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere, that's what they say." We know that she (you) can make it anywhere. Be strong and we know that you are doing the right thing. You tweeted that you are having qualms going there, but we say that you can do it. You have what it takes. You just have to take the first step and the rest will be history. :)

As for our next meet-ups and Friday night outs, we know that we will now have one missing seat at the table. As for our next WOW Philippines tour, we know that we will now have one ticket less to check in the airport. But even if you can't always be with us every Friday just like before, we know that you are partying in Sentosa (sosyal!) and making more friends there in Singapore.

Wherever you may go Roxanne and wherever life may take all of us, remember that you will always be a friend and thanks for being one. 

Here's a picture to remind you of friendships that you can always come back to in the Philippines. :)

See you soon, Rox! :) (Patulugin mo kami sa sosyal mong condo sa SG... ahahaha....)

Lenten Special: Bridgemaster

I got this video from a friend and I was deeply touched with the video's message.

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that He gave up His only begotten Son."

In this season of Lent, we need to take time to reflect and recollect with ourselves. We need to honor again what He has done for us - sacrificing His Son on the cross so that we may be saved from sin.

A blessed Lenten season to everyone.

Intramuros Walk

This is a late post already but thought to still write about this.

Last February 6, my officemates and I went to Intramuros to  tour our foreign business counterparts who . This was my first time to get inside the walled city of Manila and visit the Spanish-inspired structures and buildings.

My officemates and I decided to meet at the office (Petron Megaplaza) around 8am. When everyone was already in, I then went to the Manila Peninsula Hotel to fetch Tami and Adrian, our foreign guests. We rode a cab going to Intramuros. While on the car, I acted like a tour guide inside the taxi and started blabbering and explaining about the streets and areas where our taxi passed by. :) 

It was around 930am when we arrived at the Manila Cathedral Church. We started the tour inside the Manila Cathedral Church. I got to see the tour group of Carlos Celdran. We originally planned to joined the Celdran tour but decided against it at the last minute because it was a bit pricey for us. We were all on budget mode that time. :) So to improvise, Angeli, one of my officemates, acted as the official tour guide for the group. ;)

The Manila Cathedral is a really majestic church and through time, it has preserved the Spanish colonization influences in the structure. When we went there, there was an exhibit that was going on and we were able to read the history of the Manila Cathedral Church and the Catholic Church as a whole.

 

 

Above are some of the pictures that I got from inside the Manila Cathedral Church. After about an hour, we decided to leave the Manila Cathedral Church and head off to Fort Santiago. 

The Fort Santiago was where the richest Spaniards lived during the Spanish occupation in the Philippines. It was brick-walled and you can still see the opulent design of the garden and houses inside. There were also several Fort Santiago staff who were role-playing and dressed as guardia-sibils and roaming the fort. I was able to get some shots inside the Fort and capture the scenery and garden inside.

   

It was already lunch time when we left The Fort Santiago. Since we were all starving already from the walk, we then decided to grab lunch at Greenwich.

After a sumptuous meal, we resumed our Intramuros tour and went to the San Agustin Church and Museum. But there was a wedding that was ongoing. That's why we were not able to get inside the church and museum.

We then headed off to Casa Manila which was an apartment for affluent students during the Spanish colonization. Picture taking was prohibited inside the Casa that's why I was not able to take some shots with me. But the furniture and the furnishings inside the Casa were all very intricate and grand. It showed signs of affluence and granduer. 

After a good 30 minute tour inside the Casa, we all decided to cap off our tour and went back to the Manila Cathedral Church.

Above is one of my favorite shots from the tour where it shows the grand facade of the Manila Cathedral Church. If i hadn't known, I would have mistaken it as one of the churches in Europe.

The tour that we had in Intramuros, Manila brought me back to my history and made me appreciate more what the FIlipino heroes did to emancipate our country from the Spanish rule.

Above all, our foreign guests enjoyed the tour very much and had a wonderful time. Below is a picture of my IDS team with Tami Scheben, our counterpart in Cincinnati (L-R Jeline, Tami, Christiane, me).

Below is the picture of everyone in the tour.

Mahal Kita Kasi

I happened to watch the video below from Youtube and I must say, it's very cute, funny, cheesy and 'jologs'. :)

Mahal Kita Kasi
by Nicole Hyala

Bangin ka ba? Kasi
Nahuhulog na ako sa ’yo, naman kasi
Unggoy ka ba? Kasi
Sumasabit ka sa puso ko, naman kasi
Pustiso ka ba? Kasi
You know I can’t smile without you
Pagod na pagod na ako
Maghapon ka na kasing tumatakbo sa isipan ko
Kasi naman kasi

Mahal kita
Bagay tayong dalawa
Papicture nga
Para mapadevelop kita
Hindi tayo tao, hindi rin tayo hayop
Bagay tayo, bagay talaga

Papupulis kita, kasi
Ninakaw mo ang puso ko, naman kasi
Kuto ka ba? Kasi
Palagi ka sa ulo ko
Naman kasi
Apoy ka ba? Kasi
Alab-alab I love you

Magsalbabida ka nga
Kasi baka malunod ka sa pag-ibig ko
Kasi naman kasi

Mahal kita
Bagay tayong dalawa
Papicture nga
Para mapadevelop kita
Hindi tayo tao, hindi rin tayo hayop
Bagay tayo, bagay talaga

Kamukha mo si Papa P, Papa P (Ding Dong)
P Papa P, Papa P
P Papa P, Papa P (Dingdong)

Exam ka ba, kasi
Sasagutin kita agad-agad, naman kasi
Drugs ka ba? Kakaadik ka kasi, kasi, naman kasi
Kulangot ka ba? You’re really really hard to get
Posporo ka ba? E di posporo rin ako
Para match
Kasi naman kasi
Mahal kita
Bagay tayong dalawa
Papicture nga
Para mapadevelop kita

Hindi tayo tao, hindi rin tayo hayop
Bagay tayo, bagay talaga

Pustiso ka nga, kasi
I really really can’t smile without you.

Movies: Paano Na Kaya

Minsan natanong mo na ba sa sarili mo, "Mahal ko ba talaga siya o mahalaga lang siya sa akin? Hindi ba pwedeng maging best lover ang isang best friend? "

Just when Valentine's Day is around the corner, my officemates and I decided to watch the Star Cinema movie offering for January 2010 which is Paano Na Kaya.

You would normally think that for a 'jologs' movie, this will not be majorly patronized in upscale malls. But there were a number of people in the Rockwell Power Plant Mall who were screening the movie. The moviehouse was almost full. 

With little to zilch expectations for the movie, I obliged to be entertained for the next 1.5 hours. 

The movie's storyline is a typical plot that you always see in Filipino films. Girl falls for guy friend but guy friend falls for another girl. Girl friend loves in silence while guy friend flirts with his girl. Girl friend is always there when guy friend needs him even if it means mending his broken heart. Eventually girl finds the courage to express her true feelings and guy friend makes girl friend as rebound.

Kim Chiu's character, Mae, gives justice to the bestfriend role that she portrays- the one who will always be there even if it means sacrificing her own interests. The friend who is always ready to wait forever to be noticed. The friend who loves silently without expecting anything in return.

Gerald's character, Bogs, is verging on exaggeration. I find Bogs' character immature and insensitive. Bogs is the typical rich-kid-with-broken-family-who-hates-mom guy. 

In the acting department of the movie, I would have to say that Kim was better than Gerald. There were moments where Kim was very natural in delivering her lines and portraying the role. I am more comfortable watching Kim in fun and sassy roles than seeing her in melodramatic scenes. Kim is just more natural when she is bubbly and funny. Gerald needs more acting classes. One thing I noticed, he seems to modulate his voice and making it sound deeper which is annoying. When there are heavy scenes, he has this squinting-eye school of acting method where he tries to evoke tears and project a melodramatic facial expression. It's just plain distracting. Nonetheless, Kim and Gerald have oozing on-screen chemistry. They are the new breed of the Jolina-Marvin loveteam of the 90's which reminds me that Jolina and Marvin also had a movie with a similar plot before.

Story-wise, I felt that the movie was all over the place. I was expecting better transitions from one scene to the next. There were several fun and 'jologs' dialogues that were used in the movie and evoked guffaws from the movie audience. Also, there were just so many characters who were included in the movie but were underutilized in terms of subplots. The movie could have stood alone with minimal supporting cast and could have focused more on the rise and fall of Mae and Bogs' relationship.

While watching the movie, I somehow felt what Mae has been feeling - falling for someone close to you but not being reciprocated with the affection that you are giving. Sometimes no matter what other people say about our stupid actions, it still does not matter because it's what makes us happy everyday. Even if it means always being the disadvantaged and looking like a fool. Mae's fault was to fall for her friend and at one point in our lives, we may have fallen for someone close to us. We were afraid to confront our feelings for fear of rejection and losing the current friendship. We find ways to convince ourselves that somehow if we wait long enough, the person will be able to realize our importance. In Mae's case, Bogs realized soon that it was Mae all along that made him complete and happy. It was Mae who makes him laugh, cry and smile about a lot of things. But sometimes, in real life, the unrequited love will forever remain unrequited and the only choice left to do is to accept reality that the love that you may be hoping for a long time will forever remain in your dreams.

Over all, the movie did not disappoint and stayed true to the friends-turned-lovers plot. But I would have liked it better if they went their separate ways and then at the end realized that they were much better persons because of what happened. It would have been more realistic if that was the ending. But hey, it's what movies are for, right? It's meant to turn our fantasies to realities.


My favorite scenes and lines from the movie:

1. Bogs was drunk because he just broke up with his girlfriend Anna and Mae accompanied him home. Totally wasted, Bogs suddenly uttered to Mae, "Mae, Bakit hindi na lang tayo?" Then Mae, without any hesitation, answered, "Eh gago ka pala eh, ikaw lang ang hinihintay ko."  Then Mae, realizing that Bogs has fallen asleep already, went to say to Bogs, "Sana minsan makita mo rin ako, kasi ako, ang nakikita ko ikaw lang. Tayo na lang. Akin ka na lang." Mae may have sounded pathetic, but that's what she felt and I empathized with her. It's really difficult to be on the losing end of the scale. :'(

2. Bogs and Mae on the graffiti wall scene. Bogs was telling Mae to get out of his life if she feels tired already being his friend. Bogs was trying to recover from his break-up with Anna. Then Mae answered him, "Oo, Tanga ako. Tanga na kung tanga pero mahal kita!" awts! Then sabay kissing scene agad! :)

3. Mae was angry at Bogs because she saw Bogs and Anna together even if they were over already and Mae was already Bog's girlfriend. Mae said to Bogs, "Shinota mo ako Bogs eh. Shinota mo ang bestfriend mo!" 

4. The firetruck scene was just way over the top, both literally and figuratively. Bogs was trying to get back to Mae but Mae declined telling him that she needed to find herself and she needs to find her life without Bogs. Bogs was asking Mae to rekindle what they once had but Mae told him that it would be unfair for both of them to continue and hurt each other more. They need to live their own lives and find their own selves and if they are meant together, then the cosmic universe will find it's way to conspire and make this happen (parang Alchemist lang). :)

5. The ending scene was symbolical for me because it marked a new beginning for their relationship. The graffiti wall was already clean and they were able to realize that they still want each other back. (sobrang cheesy! lol)

All I Wanna Say Is That They Don't Really Care About Us

I just recently stumbled upon a news article on the Cebu Dancing Inmates. I have heard of them even before. They previously danced Michael Jackson's Thriller inside the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).

This year, the 1,200 inmates have done it again. But this time, they were visited by Michael Jackson's long-time choreographer Travis Payne and dancers Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid. The dance video was first shown in CNN which was to pay tribute to MJ and for the launch of his 'This Is It' DVD. The dance video was uploaded by Sony Entertainment in Youtube and, as of writing, it already has more than 1.5M hits in the video exchange site.

The message of the song 'They Don't Care About Us' is very apt not only to the Cebu inmates but to all prisoners, both literally and figuratively. Whether incarcerated by the judicial system or by life, everyone has the same feeling of guilt, shame and wretchedness. Prisoners feel that they are failures of the society and in the song, it challenges the way society sees and acts on them. The feeling of losing should never be the case. Specifically for the inmates, the song voices out their rights as citizens and as human beings. We hear of prison cells where prisoners are being abused and beaten to death. In the Philippines, some say that prison cells are worse than being in hell. There's not enough room for more people and food is very scarce. Clean and healthy surroundings are too much of a luxury to have and living conditions are horrendous. If only the government can also address the needs of these people. If only the government can see their sufferings on a daily basis.

"They Don't Care About Us"

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, aggravation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food
Bang bang, shot dead
Everybody's gone mad

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

Beat me, hate me
You can never break me
Will me, thrill me
You can never kill me
Jew me, sue me
Everybody do me
Kick me, kike me
Don't you black or white me

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

Tell me what has become of my life
I have a wife and two children who love me
I am the victim of police brutality, now
I'm tired of bein' the victim of hate
You're rapin' me of my pride
Oh, for God's sake
I look to heaven to fulfill its prophecy...
Set me free

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
trepidation, speculation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food
black man, black male
Throw your brother in jail

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

Tell me what has become of my rights
Am I invisible because you ignore me?
Your proclamation promised me free liberty, now
I'm tired of bein' the victim of shame
They're throwing me in a class with a bad name
I can't believe this is the land from which I came
You know I do really hate to say it
The government don't wanna see
But if Roosevelt was livin'
He wouldn't let this be, no, no

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, speculation
Everybody litigation
Beat me, bash me
You can never trash me
Hit me, kick me
You can never get me

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

Some things in life they just don't wanna see
But if Martin Luther was livin'
He wouldn't let this be

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, segregation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food
Kick me, strike me
Don't you wrong or right me

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us

I, once, watched a Pinoy documentary on the juvenile prison system in the Philippines by Ditsi Carolino. The title of the documentary was 'Bunso'. You can feel the bleakness and dreary disposition of juvenile prisoners in the documentary. Juvenile prisoners, even unconvicted ones, are enjoined in the adult cells and made to do prison tasks that they should not be doing. They stay in dark and squalid quarters and are forced to mingle with long-time adult convicts. The documentary won numerous awards and citations both in and out of the country. But the most significant thing that happened was that it awakened the society on the way our country handles juvenile prisoners and how our government handles and manages our prison systems.


We need to recognize that each one of us has rights. We belong to the same world. We breathe the same air. We have one God. Society may brand us differently but we all go the same way after we die. As MJ has always shown in his music and videos, Equality to all mankind will make peace a lasting gift to everyone. Just like what the Cebu dancing inmates did in their performance - the peace emblem.

They may be prisoners and convicted felons. But they are still men of our nation and of God.

REPOST: Heart Console

I just want to repost this blog post that I made last year in my Friendster blog .

There will always be some things in life that you find hard to let go. And letting go is always never the easy way out. Though hard and devastating, it's the only way to move on and continue.

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I wonder if the human heart levels up after every heartbreak that it endures.

Just like in any console game, characters level up their skills and statistics in every level of the game. Their strength increases, their agility heightens, their stamina boosts up, their power magnifies and their character becomes less vulnerable than it was before. Is the human heart capable of this also? After enduring so much hurt and so much pain, will it ever be less vulnerable than it was before? Will it be stronger enough to withstand another heartache? Will it be powerful enough to shield itself from the tremors of failing to love?

If the heart is a console game character, it will seem easier. As each level progresses and the difficulty increases, the heart becomes stronger and willful to battle the challenges that it faces. 

If the heart is a console game character, it will seem less difficult to love. At each stage of the game, the fear of getting hurt becomes negligible.

BUT If the heart is a console game character, love will cease to exist and the heart cannot learn to love. The heart will not know the concept of losing and loving at the same time. The heart will not learn to understand the happiness and sadness in every tear when you love. The heart cannot love unconditionally and fears hurting itself when it loves. The heart cannot live to its purpose which is to give itself away wholly and never fear of getting itself back swollen and bruised.

The human heart does not level up after every heartache. It does not become less vulnerable after every pain. Sometimes, it becomes more vulnerable than it was before. The human heart continuously fears to love and fears the pain of loving. But the human heart remains to give itself away because it never ceases to love even amidst these challenges. It is in these moments where it learns more than the console game character’s skills. It learns to forgive, to love and be loved in return, to feel happiness and pain, to wait unconditionally and smile after every heartache and pain.

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Movies: Sherlock Holmes

Movie nights with friends are the best!

I just came from Ayala Glorietta and watched Sherlock Holmes with Sig, Rox, Bro, Weng, Simi and Da. Before we went to screen the movie, we went first to MetroBadminton to play badminton from 1PM-5PM. Then, ate at Giligan's in Glorietta 5 before going to the cinema. The screening time was 7:50 PM.

I really do not have a strong recollection of Sherlock Holmes and his many exploits. I just happened to have a book that has a collection of the famous mystery cases solved by Sherlock Holmes. Thus, I went to the cinema with little to no complete knowledge of what I will be watching. But I still obliged. I am particularly interested in Robert Downey, Jr.'s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and their on-screen chemistry of Jude Law (Dr. Watson).

I will not be spoiling the plot and climax of the movie in this post as that will make me a loser. Go see it for yourself. It's worth the bucks.

I am pleased in the way the story was delivered in the movie. For a non-Sherlock fan, I was able to understand the way Sherlock behaves and his social demeanors. Dr. Watson is Sherlock's alter-ego and this was pretty much evident in the movie. It's amusing to catch Law and Downey together on-screen. Their tandem works and it provided the movie a good balance brought by the two characters. 

One thing, though, that I had a hard time while watching was catching up with the lines thrown by the movie characters. The lines were either delivered very fast or very soft. I definitely need to watch the movie again with subtitles. This way, I can really make out the dialogues in the movie. It would also possibly help if subtitles were allowed in the cinemas. =D

Over all, the director, Guy Ritchie (Madonna's husband), made a decent film out of a very popular book hero. I give it a 3 out of 5 rating. :)

Below is the movie's official trailer from Youtube:

 

PROFILES Blog Series

I love magazine shows especially those that center on people - their achievements, life, career and success stories. Don't mistake it for gossip shows. I'm not really fond of rumor mongering. It's just plain waste of time. I prefer educated discussions on people, places, things and events.

With my affection for these kind of shows, I have become an avid follower of several TV programs - both local and international. Just last Wednesday, I watched the 'Profiles' show in ABS-CBN Manila which featured US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kelley. It narrated Kelley's childhood to married life and her career as a foreign service officer. I always wanted to be a foreign service diplomat since back in college. But let's not delve yet into that in this post. That will make up a separate entry. :)

This, then, is a spin-off - my own version - of the 'Profiles' show. These will be a series of blog posts made to pay tribute, homage and dedication to some of the people who have touched my life in one way or another. These people may be my family, friends, people who I look up and adore, or people who I love to criticize or bash (not necessarily hate :D). These series will be one of my ways of saying 'Thank You' for inspiring me, helping me, irritating me and even pushing me to my limits. After all, life is so short to have the opportunity to say everything to those people who you care much about. So, this will be a start.

First off, I will be featuring a very good friend. She is none other than Roxanne Grace Villanueva Camaclang . Watch out for my profile series on her as I unravel her crazy, bitchy yet very endearing and friendly character.

Keep posted! :)

Larger than Life

I made a pact with myself that 2010 will be a year of new challenges and new discoveries. And one of those is opening myself to a more frutiful and intimate spiritual relationship with my God.

I have long been a follower of Bo Sanchez ever since I was in high school. Let's not delve anymore in the year it was. I started to know Bo Sanchez through the Catholic magazine Kerygma. My classmate used to bring these monthly Kerygma journals with her at school and I happened to like the stories and the articles in the journal. That led me to be a fan of Bo Sanchez. Years later, I went to Manila and started my career in the metro. I have heard of the ministry that Bo was leading, The Light of Jesus Community, long before but it was only last year that I was introduced and started joining the Catholic Sunday ministry through my friend, Bro.

I was really biased against Catholic or Christian ministries before. It was because the only way that I knew of praising and preaching was by attending the 1-hour mass every Sunday. And that was it. All other methods of preaching that includes singing and dancing were just not my ways. I do not have anything against it actually. It was just the way we were brought up. But part of growing up is also having a wider representation of different things and becoming more open-minded. And I soon realized that it wasn't that bad after all and singing and dancing are one of the many ways that can be done to praise and worship.

Last Sunday, I was able to attend the Sunday mass and service in THE FEAST. The theme last week talked about "Your Future is Brighter than Your Past". I was really touched by the theme because it reaffirms the purpose of our lives which is to serve the Lord and not only ourselves. No matter what our past is, a bright future still holds for everyone of us.

This Sunday, the theme talked about "God's plans are bigger than your past mistakes". I reflected on this for a long time and realized that this affects everyone of us. At some point in our lives, we had some downfalls, made bad decisions, did crazy things and suffered the consequences of our ill actions. But what the statement tells us is that whatever errors we did in our lives in the past, it should not be the reason for us to stop believing that our lives will be better in the future. Sometimes, we tend to wallow in self pity because of guilt and the sin of our actions. We think that because of this, we will not be blessed anymore in life. But what Bo shared was that no matter how big these past mistakes are, God will always find a way to bring us back to him. When we fail God in his PLAN A for us, He will always have an alternative plan prepared. He never leaves us to rot in guilt and shame. He always gives us options. All we need to do is hope and have faith.

I remember the story last week about a rat experiment. The experiment was to test how long a rat can survive in a room without a light and with a tiny hole of light. In the first test, Rat A was placed in a pail of water and stored inside a very dark room without any lights. It only took the rat 3 minutes to stay afloat in water before it died. In the second test, Rat B was also placed in a pail of water but was stored in a dark room but with a tiny hole of light. Surprisingly, Rat B was able to stay afloat for 36 hours before it died. Rat B's faith kept it alive longer and can be interpreted that somehow if it struggles to stay afloat and swim, it may reach the small tunnel of light. This is a very amazing testimony that if we have a strong faith, we can go where we want and go a long way in our lives.

Happy Sunday everyone! ;)