GRACE FOLLOWS ME

We are all afraid to commit mistake. I assume. It’s so annoying at times, but it is in those mistakes we learned our best. To business people for instance, making an error is a very delicate issue; so risky and expensive too. They’re careful enough because even a small mistake can become devastation. But even so, no one is perfect. We make mistake every now and then - major or minor. That’s when we realized we’re just mortals in need of the Grace of the Father.

I am not trying to be perfect but it is just so frustrating to be in such a situation. Again, that’s when I learned every precious lesson. If not new insights unlearned and unnoticed -at least in my case.

I am not ashamed to admit all my shortcomings for that’s when God’s grace always comes in. I don’t mean to make mistakes to feel His grace. What I am trying to say are unintentional mistakes.

I was heading to the hospital yesterday for a reason. Sure enough I took the right bus, but it took me to a wrong direction. So I got off and did what the driver advised me to do. It was annoying at first for it wasted my time, my effort, and money for nothing. What can I do? Nothing! I tried to relax and reflect on that simple mistake instead.

Surprised!

The bus I took the second time stopped in front of the hospital. It was not the way I expected. I have been taking this bus for ages. And it always went to different route. This is when I said “God’s grace always comes in.” I didn’t want to make mistakes, but it was in this scenario I felt His grace so strongly. And it is in His abounding grace I understand my limitations.

Isn’t it grace?

This wasn't the only situation caught my attention. I had so much to tell, this is just one of the latest stories I thought worth mentioning. I believe you sure do have stories as these to tell.

Yesterday afternoon two of my generous friends spent time with me. One prepared a very delicious dinner to rejoice the goodness of God over the year. And the other one simply expressed her support about my endeavor in the village - helping the kids. I call it grace...when no one really dared to care.

Minutes after I've written down my last draft for this article, a very thoughtful friend called. She invited me over for a meal. I went anyway. There with three more friends enjoying every Filipino specialty I haven't eaten for ages. And right there we prayed for one another and encouraged one another. We all felt assured of the Grace of God as we face another year in few hours time.

And then I went down to see my long-time land lady. She was delighted to see me with hugs and kisses. She is organizing a party tonight. She invited me over among with other friends. That's another grace specially when you have nowhere to spend the celebration - alone in a foreign land.

Grace, grace, and grace!

This year started with grace so abounding and so ended the same way. Even to this last day of the year, grace follows me. It was by His grace made every experience worthwhile. In good times His grace helps me become appreciative. In bad times His grace helps me understand all these.

There is nothing more I could say – grace follows me.

Have a Blessed New Year!

HEARTS OF THE CAROLERS

A message popped in while I was online on facebook. It was actually the third time in a while to send the same message. She had me informed about the caroling that was going on. Sad to say, I was far and could not join them in. But I can feel the excitement and the joy of a friend sending the good news. So touched!

Well, it wasn’t just a caroling- it was for a great cause. The proceeds of this will sure go to the following organizations – one of the orphanages in Vietnam, to the victims of the storm Sendong, and to the organization I work for in Cambodia. Thanks to the brilliant initiative of whoever came up with an amazing idea.

Thanks to their sacrifices and time singing from one house to another. The fact that they are busy people with responsibilities to mind, and yet were selflessly willing to be instruments of help. I have witnessed their tireless effort to this awesome gesture. You guys are so amazing!

Thanks to their thoughtfulness; and for their unanimous decision choosing my kids to be the recipient of this benevolent act. Rest assured that your labor is not in vain – this is a lifetime investment.

I was with them once in one of their caroling nights. That’s when I got to know their hearts deeper – full of compassion and care. As they brought the message of Christmas to every home, I was surprised how the household welcomed us warmly. They extended a hand without reluctance. For me, it was a corporate deed bringing hope to the less privilege ones.

It was well planned and organized. But there was nothing fulfilling and fascinating than knowing the hearts of every caroler – so speechless. Two thumbs up goes to every single person aside from loud applause.

Thanks to you!

December Meals

“Are you having a Christmas party before you leave?” my kids asked in excitement.

“Yes, of course!” I replied without thinking; caught surprised with the question itself.

I actually had a plan. And so intended it unmentioned. But I didn’t want to lie to keep it a secret. So I had the plan announced a week before the anticipated celebration.

I thought they already have forgotten last year’s party. But it was too short a time to forget. So glad they asked which encouraged me to pursue the plan – it means they liked what I did previous year.

And this time I wanted it slightly different. By the way, I was a bit disappointed of the party last year. But it surprised me how these kids loved it.

Again, this time I needed doubled amounts to make it merrier and enjoying. On the one hand, was worried a little where to get the budget for this seemingly unnecessary party. That’s why it was a secret at first.

Blessed enough, one generous giver came to the rescue. A big THANK YOU to Miss Ice! She wasn’t told about in fact but she gave the exact digits for such a need.

When I finally told my friends about it, one more generous giver gave in-kinds. Another big THANK YOU to Ate Vilma!

I went back to the village very happy with an answered prayer. Then I told my kids about having it soon –so soon. But when I was about to organize it, a total shift happened. I decided not having a BIG party anymore instead a week full of meals – December Meals. I have few important reasons for such an abrupt change.

One is to break the typical breakfast – porridge every morning. I’ve been doing this since I got here. Providing them with hot drinks and delicious noodles is another story. With these simple provision of in-kinds always brought happy smile aside from burps. Who would like to eat porridge every single day? So daddy has to find simple means to make these kids blessed even with small gesture.

Two is to introduce meals and sort of drinks from different origins. Basically they haven’t tried so far; fortunately they don’t have to go to fancy restaurants to have some; surprisingly no need to go out of the country enjoying such delicacies. I brought them all within a week -they craved for more.

Three is to learn unfamiliar things. One day when they are out the country and have unfamiliar meals with people of different heritages, they will not find it hard to adapt. They’ll enjoy meals of other kinds as well.

Four is to simply be practical. Instead of having an elegant party for a night, a week meals is a lot better. There they’ve enjoyed all meals served in several times, not just in one-time gesture. A week meals is far different from a day’s meal. It was more impacting to be honest.

“So where is the sense of Christmas there?” in case one would inquire.

“Feeding the right people –the less privilege instead of greedy ones; the demonstration of generous giving by friends; the good intention of making the kids happy; the example of love through an action” my response.

Keep blessing. Happy Holidays!

AT THE FEET OF GENEROUS ONES

This is just one of the books I have authored. And so I've decided to give my readers a glimpse of what this is. For those thousand miles away or more, so sorry that I could not send the book itself. One day,when you bumped into me, you can have me reminded of a copy just for you. I would love to give one. But for now, let me just encourage you with this tiny portion - the INTRODUCTION.

INTRODUCTION

A busy-college-life of mine began in rainy season of June ‘93. That was eighteen years to tote up. Back then, if there was such a subject like Generosity 101, I’d fail without a doubt. You heard me right. This is no exaggeration. It is but an honest-to-goodness confession.

What do you expect?

I grew up in a house where kindness didn’t exist or rarely gestured. And if it did, then it would have been manifested in me all these years. I remember stealing a box of crayon in first grade for a desperate necessity. My father could have had bought me a box or two with his job. Maybe it was not his priority to sacrifice an amount for such a need. Not that I know of.

“So here you are – a big F!” uttered an expert professor as he handed back my class card on a particular subject.

Why not?

I had a different nurturing back in our dwelling place. Sad to say generosity was not engraved on a tablet of everyone’s heart. If it did so, I could have had developed such virtue within me. Over the years of broken relationships among my parents and their siblings was driven by greediness. A supposed happy-big-clan swallowed up by selfish intentions over inherited lands. Greed, greed, and greed!

“You failed the subject???” asked a curious classmate!

“Yes, I did!” I replied in frustration.

Thank God it was just a made-up dialogue. But if it happened for real, I’d still give my defense. As curious as he was, he would probably inquire after me for a reason. And so I am giving him this straight answer: “That giving is only understood out of responsibility by my family - nothing less, nothing more!” I was fed, clothed, and sent to school because I had to. What difference it would make to me anyway? I was just a child living under the roof of ungenerous parents.

So I turned out not a generous child to say.

And again, if Generosity 101 was a required subject in college, most likely I’d fail – but not this time. Things are no longer the same undeniably. I have come to grasp that life isn’t that harsh despite awful pasts. In one way or another, the sooner or later, people will discover every precious lesson along the road. And I truly did!

It took me years to learn though - nearly two decades to sum up. But that better-late-or-never situation turned into a wonderful-life-encounter with people of good hearts. There I have witnessed incisively every tremendous gesture of selflessness and philanthropy more than just sitting at their feet to learn. I have not been astonished as this my whole life.

Proud to avow, I’ve learned a lot even from ungenerous lifestyle in the past. Now so grateful to generous individuals who had taught me embrace a way of life contrary in days of yore. From simple admonition to hard-knock; from self-humiliation to humility; from selfishness to selflessness – all these turned out as golden-rules-to-live-by in my pursuit embracing a life of kindness.

To a large degree, it was because they demonstrated generosity first. Not just few times in consistency but countless times to be honest. More than my big eyes could see, I personally testified each breathtaking example of kindness, and of life-infecting generosity they have before me and to others.

This is the book all about! My first book on generosity – honoring every generous giver has touched my life fully to the brim. So worth it! After several attempts – there it is. In one sleepless night a way, a final thought was organized - it paid off.

Honored, excited, and pleased.

This book will leave you amazed. I promise! As you read every tremendous story in each chapter, you will soon ascertain that one can truly live a generous life. Find out from chapter to chapter. Please, come! Hop on with me in this class of a lifetime – At the feet of Generous Ones.

P.S. For the sake of information, the sequence of this book is not based on who gave the most. It is but a chronological order of time when each story happened. And also each story differs. Hence it has nothing to do with connected series.

Enjoy your reading. Be blessed!

INTEGRATED LEARNING – IN TWO DIFFERENT COINS

This is one side of the coin - circumscribing it.

Twice or more, I’ve been to several International Schools including Intentional Kindergartens just to observe the learning environment. Each of these institutions must conform to a standardized curriculum - to keep going; to keep a good reputation; to earn more eventually.

To those who could not afford such an education are threatened financially – in short, it’s very expensive. And lucky are those who could take this challenge in their desperate desire to give the best education for their kids.

Good for you!

And those who could not get into such an institution should learn to be content – in other words integrated learning is way expensive. Aside from sounding fancy and unaffordable, every poor individual has no room for such a thing.

That’s reality!

Every time I happened to pass by any of those prestigious schools, I couldn’t help but ask my self “Why these people are always having the best thing in life?” So back off, and so threatened my self as well. Sad to say though, but if one has no sufficient wealth education is always in the limit.

Integrated learning is a very good thing so to speak, but it will take a lot of money to indulge in such education and to have such an educator.

And this is the other side of the coin – not circumscribing it.

I could demarcate more by giving all the disadvantages for such a learning strategy but I prefer not to – no benefit anyway. And if I did, it would only trigger a thing. Maybe I’d end up believing that integrated learning is only for the rich.

But I don’t think so!

For even poor kids deserve such kind of learning. This always goes back to the teacher himself or herself. Working for this unsustainable organization always put me to the limit - financially wise. I have big dreams and a lot of good programs for the kids. But I am always challenged on how to implement everything just to give them the best education.

Not anymore. I figured out many good things in the process. After designing and redesigning the curriculum, they too can now have an integrated learning. Happy to say, even the less privileged kids can now study this standardized program without leaving the center.

The second two pictures above are explicit example to this. Instead of learning new vocabulary in a very old-fashioned way or remembering all the words through a spelling, I had them used the word factory. As I say the word, the first player picks the letter to form the word. If one picks the next letter wrong, another player continues. So on and so forth. When one forms the letters correctly, he/she gets the point. And then I explain the meaning of the word and its proper uses.

This breaks the norm.

Playing UNO for instance – this is one way to help learners remember colors; even learn to follow sophisticated instructions such as draw four, reverse, skip, change color, say UNO, pick a card, etcetera. Instead of doing the norm like present the vocabulary, you can do a twist or a change. And then assured that an integrated learning takes place.

This is when learning aside from banking method strategy or a traditional way becomes fun.

I believe that familiarity or mastery is one of the goals in integrated learning. And there are like hundred ways or more to attain this goal. And this is what I usually do to my kids – creativity.

This time I followed the amazing race strategy. It’s a corporate task finding each clue and doing every order. Instead of doing a normal routine reviewing previous lesson, I had a shift (as always). For example, in one of the tasks given was to explain each part of speech. But the leader must see to it that each member in the team had understood the lesson by heart before performing the task corporately.

Again, instead of giving a usual worksheet, I had them do it by group (one of the tasks in the amazing race) so they will learn to contribute ideas among themselves. Most importantly each one can learn from each one specially these new kids at the center.

It helped a lot. But I leave it to you to predict the rest of the benefits for they are too obvious. This is when learning aside from rote style or memorization becomes absorbing.

Well, I don’t need more highlights to give my defense. This is not my intention!

For now, I would like to encourage each educator that integrated learning is not always associated with sophisticated technology, with an air-conditioned room, with International schools, and the like. You can use whatever simple resources you have in your hand right now. Nature for instance - it’s free but you can take a wonderful lesson experience out of it. That’s what it makes an integrated learning.

Which of these coins would you prefer? Up to you!

SIMPLY FATHERING

Not a parent yet, but having a huge responsibility more than one parents can do. Every moment with these kids not my own is but facing different challenges. And who would have thought I would end up my life here – not in my wildest desire. That’s why I am still single.

I used to call it a forced parenting. For some reasons – at first, I came here to train teachers (TESOL) and not family planning; secondly, I was only asked to help revised the curriculum, nothing else; finally, I was hired as an Organization Consultant, then as a Program Director but not a Daddy. None of these responsibilities is at least closed to the definition of parenting.

I used to call it this way, a forced parenting - not anymore.

Now I’m having the privilege in the world, when no one is willing to do so. Life in here is undeniably bittersweet but that’s when I learned generosity and fathering after all. A lot of times I asked “why me?” when I don’t have all the wealth and riches. But then I am reminded of things I have basically – my love for the children, and the love of the Father. And so here I am simply fathering.

Not a parent yet, but it doesn’t take marriage to be a father. Marriage is not the ultimate guarantee to raising kids. Sad to say there are lots of failed marriages out there which also affected their own children. Explicit examples to this are my kids – many of them are growing up having no father around them.

Now I’m joyfully sharing my life for a challenging task – simply fathering. I am so blessed to know that each kid calls me daddy, and that each one of them respects me this way.

Not a parent yet, but I have knowledge to share.

I may not be one of those fathers constitutionally decreed or declared, but I know what a parenting is. I know for sure the importance of not abandoning any child. I know very clear the ultimate purpose of raising-up children in the why they should grow as exhorted in the book of Proverbs.

Not a parent yet but I am simply fathering.

SMILE

Eight years ago, I wrote an article about “LIFE WITH A SMILE” exemplifying the life of Filipinos facing every crisis creatively. Amidst all these seemingly awful economic upheaval and political controversies, we have learned to stand strong and face each issue - with an endless smile.

Two days ago, a friend commented on one of my recently uploaded photos on facebook expressing her amazement about the simplicity of life in the village. There my kids enjoying what she called a simple snack (a papaya fruit) without grumbling, and yet so satisfied - with an endless smile.

The world nowadays is so tough. This can be valid reason for not smiling. But if we consider every situation optimistically, it’s going to be another story. It’s going to be a day full of smile still.

Look at these kids for instance. Do you think they are exempted from all these problems? Kidding me! They have more serious issues than ours. But they always look at the bright side of what life can offer…with a sincere smile. And I am challenged, myself.

Sometimes I wonder what future has in stored for them. But even if I keep worrying on what lies ahead, I would not have any answers to that. For now, I am focusing on what help I can offer. I am encouraging each one to learn chase their dreams with a hopeful attitude. With this they will understand that no one is a loser.

And for now, I am teaching my kids how to face obstacles with a smile. With this, they’ll learn that crisis is just part of life. And with this, they’ll learn to work diligently with smile on their faces instead of sitting at the corner downcast.

I live with them.

I take care of them.

And so I am in the right perspective commenting about their situation – these kids are living in a small basin of no opportunity but not hopeless. All I could do is to pray for abounding grace as I set myself an example in diligence, in happiness - a life filled with smile.

Look around keenly, and you’ll not miss to see a lot of greedy people - so discontented, so unhappy, and yet they have every thing they needed.

Listen attentively to the cries of greedy people, and you’ll hear but their endless complaints- so envious craving for more; so desperate to have all the world has to offer.

Now look at these kids. Have them remind us that even with a simple thing; that even with a simple lifestyle; that even with a simple snack on the table (a papaya maybe) - life can still be beautiful, full of smile. It’s your call.

Be blessed and keep smiling!

HIT THE ROAD

For as long as I am in this country and so hitting the road every now and then is part of it. It’s a beautiful thing in fact, but not when you see fatal things along the way – God forbid. It’s a no-choice- situation as well… to hit the road.

Now I believe it’s my destiny. No matter how I tried avoiding such a journey, I always find myself in it. And just when I thought of having a break from this sort of thing, there came another convoy.

And there another one!

And there another one!

As always we take advantage on every holiday marked in our calendar. And hitting the road is an unavoidable means. Then we must follow the track to see different things out there. It is not easy for it takes risk. But thank God for his sufficient grace and protection.

Whether for serious matter or just for fun thing, we must hit the road to get what we wanted. At times it is very inconvenient especially for me. As I hit the road, paranoia hits my mind as well. I could not stand looking at the dying bodies in the street.

And so I must hit the road, and then hit the road, and then hit the road.

Every time my visa expires, I needed to leave home and hit the road. It’s an hour motorbike drive to get to the border. And then another hour drives to get back home. This is when I said before about the hassle of visa issue. This driving seems short hour but it is like forever. Thank God for his protection.

Whenever there’s an invitation to another village, I’ve to take the risk and hit the road on a motorbike ride. This is my very life here. It’s not like eight years ago when I still had two cars and drivers driving me anywhere. For me to see different lifestyles in villages is but taking risk at the same time.

On every occasion big or small, I must hit the road again in order to share good company among my hosts. As always I see my self in a long and winding road. But it doesn’t matter because beautiful memories await me at the end of that road.

I don’t know when this scenario will end. For as long as I am in this country, so hitting the road is truly part of it. Next week is another big holiday anticipated. And so another thing on the go – HIT THE ROAD!

SOMEONE’S FRIEND, MY INVESTMENT

Some people invest wealth. Others invest property and land. The rest invest depending on their preferred interest. And I invest friendship – one that lasts eternally.

It is a priceless treasure the world can offer. It is a wonderful gift from above. And so every friend along the way is worth investing.

Today I am so blessed in the presence of these friends- old and new. Another bunch of joy my heart cherishes. Two different individuals have come around this table through a common link – ME.

The guy in white shirt is Nhan. He is an old friend. He used to be my student for few years. And then became one of the staff at the English club we established (still existing). Now he’s very familiar with Filipino culture and food for his strong attachment to us. And he knows us by heart more than just his friends. Through thick and thin he stood by us.

The first time I met him he was just a student but now a very learned person. Speaking of success, he is now a man with a career working in one of the biggest hotels in the country. So proud!

Another friend is David. I met him three weeks ago at the fellowship. He is also a local in this country (Vietnam). He has been attached to Filipino friends and community for quite sometime now. I like his enthusiasm serving the Master. He has a great inclination in music, and awesome baritone voice.

He is a person full of big dreams, and has a big heart serving the needy. I wish him all the best in life. I can’t wait to see all those desires fulfilled.

Two friends old and new are both blessings from God.

Each one is someone’s friend – my INVESTMENT.