to the person who has inspired me in so many ways, this is for you:

• thank you endlessly for helping me adjust in my college life — for if it were not for you, i’d still be a wallflower, like how i was in high school. 
• thank you for being my senior. thank you for always being there when i had breaks that were longer than my hair. 
• thank you for always sticking up for me & although you joked about my height all the time, i like that you always stood as my big brother. 
• thank you for accompanying me during my interviews when we were still part of the school paper. i would never have done my dream interview if it were not for you. really, i would never have the courage to stand up for myself. 
• thank you for all the lunch breaks and the sit-ins you spent with me. i’d like to think that we’ve grown close through all those liempos, dumplings and gummy bears we ate. 
• thank you for the fights we had because if it were not for those fights, our friendship never would have grown stronger.
• thank you for watching cheesy and kiddie movies with me at the lance office! i know you enjoyed Monsters Inc. so much and we both know that you’re Sully & i’m Boo. :-)
• thank you for inspiring me to travel a lot & that i could do wonderful things with my camera. thank you for inspiring me to write & write whenever i don’t feel like it. thank you for adding up to the people who made me strong in such troubled times (like when my mom died), thank you for being there as well.
• thank you is an understatement to what i should be telling you. 
• thank you endlessly for all the love. may you continue to depend on God in all the things that you do because yep, you should know that we can do all things through Christ who will give us strength.
• a little tip from your little boo: people will come in & out of your life, they will either break you and make you stronger but in the end, put in mind that nothing will ever be permanent in this life, they will leave you, yes, but when they do, believe me, you will grow stronger and once another person comes in & knocks inside your heart, you will always be ready to love again. 
• aja, kuya John, you are loved. ♥

hi, lessthanthreeis :)

your earthly father might have failed you countless times but your Heavenly Father and the love He has for you… it`s immeasurable. believe me, i`ve been in your shoes and i used to hate my own father so much. the world will fail you, dear, but God`s love won`t. continue to depend on His strength, lovely. i know you are better than this. 

God gave us desire so we could desire Him. ✞

The retreat was exactly what I needed: a refreshment. With all the school requirements, due articles, family stuff & the problems, my relationship with The Boyfriend, I sure had a hard time balancing my relationship with people and my relationship with the One who I’m supposed to concentrating on, Jesus Christ. ✞ 

I admit, it wasn’t the best retreat I’ve been to but it sure has created a lot of moments I will surely treasure. Nine of us were sent, yes, not six - but nine. We had a great time discovering new things about our friends and I knew from the start that when Beshai, Sep & I were separated into different cabins, God had a plan.. and a purpose, of course. ✞

When we arrived at the place, only a few people were there. The retreat wasn’t a big event, they only expected 8 campers but praise God that when we got there, 21 campers arrived at around 3 in the afternoon, plus 10 from our church (including our pastor). All in all, we were 39 campers. My friends and I thought it was a good thing since the councilors could focus on us individually without having hard time. 

Beshai & I were assigned to one cabin, along with Joally and Sep was assigned to another cabin, along with Alyssa. At first, all of us were struggling since our trio was separated and same went with Joally and Alyssa. We were all not used to being away from each other. 

But God had a purpose and well, it dawned on us when our first night happened. Beshai, Joally & I stayed up late, talking about our own lives, our issues & insecurities, our desires and all the stuff we could think about. We slept at around one in the morning and when we woke up at six, we found out that Alyssa & Sep, also slept late because, they, too, were talking. 

We learned a lot. No, we were reminded of a lot of things because we already know almost all of the discussions. Salvation, Idolatry, Desires, Dating and all of that stuff. It felt great to be reminded of these things because most of us (including me), we forget most of the time. So I’m really thankful that I got to attend this retreat. 

And our favorite part was when we had a lot of free time — as in, 2 pm to 6 pm, we had the pool, the soccer field, the basketball court, the zip line, the confidence course and the snack shop all for us to enjoy. We had five sweet hours of freedom! 

Micah’s infamous tumbling shot. :)

Excuse my big forehead. Hahahaha. 

This was the zip line for kids, there was even a higher zip line that starts from the mountain and goes all the way to the auditorium but I didn’t go for it since all of the campers were trying it and my friends and I got to try it last April. 

Micah, Lemz & I on the kid’s zipline. :)

Toto, planking!! :)

Mon, giving out his praises and thanks to God, during the bonfire. ✞

Meet Shane, one of our cabin’s councilors. I can’t believe she’s only seventeen. She has an amazing voice and she, herself, is amazing. She wanted to be a soldier but God had a better plan for her and she’s currently waiting for God’s will while she’s studying there. ✞

And meet Ate Sophia, my personal councilor there in the retreat. We talked about a lot of things, my issues & my problems, her life in Korea, my career & how I could still glorify God through it. Ate Sophia’s an amazing person because despite the language barrier, she tries to relate to us and she’s really patient. I learned a lot from her and I sure will treasure all the advises she gave me. Saranghae, Ate Sophia! 

Our group, together with the camp’s program people. :)

Funny thing, Pastor Dane was often mistaken to be a camper because he also had an ID. 

I thank God for: 

• my life. 
• the gift of salvation and that I am saved, I am being saved and I will be saved. ✞
• an amazing set of encouraging and Christian friends. 
• Pastor Dane. Our favorite bagets pastor ever. ✞
• my family, despite everything that is happening. 
• my boyfriend, even if we’re in a rough path right now. 
• all the blessing I’ve received in the past week. 

I’m so grateful for all the things that has happened. Thank You, Lord. ✞

Shoots, jam sessions and laughter.

Friends came over for merienda + jamming. Originally, Micah & I were supposed to shoot but well, since we had very little time, we cut out shoot short and we tried doing a cover of Taylor Swift’s Today Is A Fairytale. We pretty much failed but I’m still going to upload it if I can. I had a pretty good time with them even if Beshai and Boyfie wasn’t around. 

We’re going to Calauan, Laguna tomorrow for a retreat. Six of us are going so I guess we’re going to meet a lot of people there. I hope it’ll be worth it. I miss being on fire. Oh well, so that’s it for this post… I know I’m not making sense anymore. 

Adieu!  ♥ ♫

11+ years and counting. ♥

Dear best friend, 

Scheming your surprise party was pretty hard but I believe all our efforts paid off when we were able to accomplish our mission: it was to make you cry. 

We have been through a lot especially during the past few months. I know that in some ways, I have caused you pain and during those times, I took our friendship for granted.

You made me realize a lot of things, Besh - and if I’d put them all here in one blog entry, they might not fit so I’ll mention a few. 

• Like how I’m always the talker and never the listener - which isn’t right because all relationships work on a two-way process. 
• Whenever I’m a downpour and I try to seek solace on other things, you are one of the people who made me realize that its only Jesus who can truly put my soul to rest and who can restore me and give me strength. 
• You made me realize that if I don’t use my talent in singing, God might take it away from me. You made me sing again. 

You’re more than a best friend to me, you’re more like a sister. You listen to my rants even if they’re pretty much the same every time. You give me the best advises when I’m confused. You cheer me up when I feel unappreciated and every time you say ‘Aja, Beshai!’, it never fails to give me hope. 

You’re my own personal diary, my confidante, my favorite duet. 

We’ve known each other since we had our diapers and I’m pretty sure God will allow our friendship to grow. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 years - forever best friends, Besh. I love you so much and I promise, I wouldn’t trade anything for our friendship. 

You’re amazing because you are the daughter of the King. You weren’t born to blend in but you were born to stand out. Besh, continue to serve and grow in His presence. God has given you the gift of singing and we all love your voice. I’m sure God’s smiling in heaven every time He hears you sing. Keep the faith and hang in there. :)

Love, 
your Beshai 

P.S. Remember our mission when you and Micah graduate? Aja Korea! :)