Destiny Church Manila: Most Dangerous Place in the Metro

It has been roughly an hour since I received their text. I don't normally feel like this whenever I receive this kind of message. My heart is pounding really hard and I started having a lot of mixed emotions. Why do I have to go through this?

It was usually easy for me to turn down opportunities like these. Last year, I was asked by my Prof to give an inspirational talk in UP. I decided outright that I wouldn't do it. A few months after that, another opportunity came knocking at my carefully-sealed door, it was a training opportunity with other medical professionals. I turned it down immediately. I did not know what my problem was, I just knew that there's something wrong.

But something has changed...

Let me tell you what brought about this change.

A year ago, some time in August, I met my college best friend again in one of my rare jogs in UP. She excitedly invited me to a Destiny Sunday Service. I was so reluctant but I had to say yes (c'mon, she's my best friend, i had no choice). It was not my first time to hear the Senior Pastor preach. I've heard him many times and I even saw him on TV once. One thing has not changed, it was my reaction to his preaching. "What in the world is he saying?" or sometimes,"Is he serious?", and even worst, "Is he really a Christian? Is he allowed to say those things?". I mean, wow! His preachings are so mind-boggling and very uncomfortable but somewhere deep in my heart, he really made sense.

Long story short, I attended a session of a pre-encounter, followed by a next one (she was really persuasive), until I just woke up and found myself going to the Encounter Weekend for three days. Those were the days that ultimately changed my life. I became a new me and I found a new family. The Destiny Family...

See what I just did? I did not call it a church. I called it a family (so much for Captain Obvious, eh). This family made me discover myself more, and most importantly, it became a bridge to deepen my relationship with God. Destiny gave me a sense of what a true church should be.

When I was a child, I always thought that church is only for gentle and well-behaved people. But when I came to Destiny, I realized that the church is like America's Next Top Model, it is FIERCE. The church is the army of the living God. A community composed of people with a heart of a soldier, strength of a horse and intensity of a lion. These are dangerous people, armed with the armor of the God, always ready for battle and most of all, willing to die for the cause  that they are fighting for. Then it came to me. Indeed, this place is the most dangerous place in Manila, a place full of light-bearing and self-sacrificing warriors, committed in doing God's vision.

So, anong konek? (So, what's the connection?). Before, I was really careful in making decisions. I usually have plans (plan A-D, and sometimes extends to E depending on the gravity of the situation) before I venture into something. I don't trust people easily, I size them up first and see what they are made of. I was too careful that a lot of times, I let good things and good people pass by because I was so fearful of all the bad things that might happen. But then God taught me to live dangerously. Like His other warriors, I was created to conquer this world without any fear or reservations. He challenged me to take risks in life, in order to live it to the fullest. Now I know, I am also a dangerous woman of God.

Two hours after I received that text, I knew what to do. After a short prayer, I have decided. I will accept TV 5's offer to be the Resource Person in one of their segments in Alagang Kapatid (TV 5's morning health show). This would be my first time. If the old Rio was here, she would have killed me and dumped my body in the Pasig River for putting myself into such a stressful situation. But it is now the new me.


"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

2 Corinthians 5:17

Addendum

After the shoot (which I nailed, according to my researcher in TV5, yeah!), I was offered to appear on three more episodes from May-June 2012. Our Agency Director even included this as one of our Agency's accomplishments during his presentation in the Global Director's meeting in India.


Discover more about Destiny at www.g12destiny.com

Dream Book Item #5: Hongkong trip with Ate

After 6 months of continuous prayer, planning and extensive research, our trip to Hongkong finally materialized. I had to really convince myself that my dream is finally coming true. It was only until I am at Hongkong International Airport that I believed that I am really going to Hongkong. Memories of me as a child flashed back and then I started singing...

♫♫♫  Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin' anywhere .... ♫♫♫

I mean, seriously. I'm just a small town girl. Then finally, here I am, making it to another country, by my own salary. I mean, that's so awesome!

But before I go on a little further, maybe you're wondering about the title of this blog. Well, it came from a book that I made at the beginning of this year (2012). The inspiration of this dream book came from a group that I am in right now. It's called a life group/LG (I'll tell more about LGs on my next few blogs). In short, I had 10 dreams for this year written in that book and of which is a trip to Hongkong with my older sister, Kris. 

By January, we both know that we have to secure a flight immediately to Hongkong to push through. So we availed a promo flight to HK (I think it's 50% off). Anyways, my sister is all in this with me also. She likes travelling so it's not a lot of problem with her. We then started saving and finally by the first week of June, I can just feel the excitement in my bones.

At exactly 9:15pm of June 10, 2012, we arrived at Hongkong International Airport. It was a bit weird because the weather is very hot and humid (it's even hotter here than in Manila @ 30 ºC). As we go out of the airport, I can feel my skin draining liquid out of my body (water will be my best friend here..hehe). Good thing we met up with Tita Malou (she is a friend in HK and she is letting us crash her apartment for 3 days for free! ) without any hassle.

She toured us around the city with this double-decker bus but since it is already 10pm, we hardly saw anything but lights and tall buildings (maybe if I was an architect, I'll appreciate this more). By 12pm, we got there at her apartment in Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon. Because we were so tired, we slept immediately without even checking out the neighborhood.

-End of Day 1-

Working @ CCA Manila (Save the cheerleader, Save the World)

Jason Castro Live in Trinoma!

 Since I am a graduating student, I am required to complete a lot of practicum, including a community immersion in Bulacan. I was in Bulacan for three long months so I didn't know about a lot of things going on here in Manila.

March 8, 2010. I arrived from Bulacan. After that three months of hard work, I felt that I deserve a lot of pampering here in Manila. So I went to trinoma. As I entered the mall, I have this weird gut feeling that I am going to find something interesting inside. Then there it was...

I looked up in the sky and saw Jason Castro's tarpaulin hanging at the activity center. It says "Jason Castro, Live at the Ayala Malls!". I didn't know what to do. I really freaked out since I don't have a ticket or something. This is the first time I heard about this (I'm gonna kill my sisters for not telling me this).

So there I go again, panicking and acting like its the end of the world. All I can think about is how can I get a ticket so that I can at least hold his hand. Whenever I get into this fangirl mode, I always remember that scene from the movie, "Another Cinderella Story". (It was a movie with Selena Gomez).

The lead actor there, named Joey Parker was a famous pop star and there was this fan girl who was so thrilled excited talking to him and she just said the funniest fan girl quote I have ever heard, it goes a little bit something like this...

You should freakin date me and we should freakin hang out together cause you're freakin awesome. You freak!


Whew! I wish that won't happen to me when I see Jason (I wish). But before I even get to that point, I must have a ticket...

In search for a Jason Castro ticket, I ended up looking for Php 10,000.00 worth of receipts from trinoma. Why?

I was actually trying to get an A-card, which I later found out that the registration has been closed. In order to register for an A-card, you must provide them with 10,000.00 worth of receipts for the past 6 months. But the registration has already ended last month. Fail.

Another option was to go to trinoma the day before the event (March 17, 2010) to get tickets. All you have to do is be there when the m all opens and present them a receipt from trinoma worth Php 1, 500.00. Unluckily, March 17 is the date I signed up to volunteer for a dental mission. So I crossed this option out.

Finally, it was the day before the event. I was losing hope. Then I just randomly did some research about the mall tour and found an ad in sulit.com. It says, "Jason Castro Ayala VIP Tickets for Sale!". So I excitedly texted the  number on the ad. She immediately replied and set a time and location where we could meet.

Re-Bonding @ Tony and Jackey's Part 2

I thought I was dreaming. But my eyes are wide awake. I tried to open up my mouth but nothing seems to come out right.

Bae Yong Joon is my ultimate Korean crush. I loved him from Endless Love: Winter Sonata. I was just in high school during that sensational korean drama in GMA 7. I remember trying to stay up very late at night (I'm usually asleep by 8pm, so it's really late for me) just to watch that show. He used to be a dream, now he is a reality. Now is my monent, now is my time. And now, he's right in front of me..Or is he?

Oh well, like any other Koreans, they look pretty much the same. But of all the koreans that I've seen here in Manila before, this is the first time that I saw someone who looked exactly just like him. Carl, my hair stylist, is a tall and lean korean guy with cool glasses. Who looks actually just like this



Yes he does. He looked so fine, I was drooling all over. However, I was a bit disappointed cause he's realy busy with his other customers (he seems to get a lot of 'em). So I don't get to talk to him a lot. The worst thing is, whenever I get the chance to talk to him, I always can't find the right words to say. He's just that irresistable.

After that 5 hours of rebond, I only get to spend a total of 20 minutes with him (yes I counted) and half of this time is with my hair all over my face. But this Re-Bonding experience is not just about Carl and my ultimate Korean crush. It's primarily about my hair.

After the two treatments, I finally saw it. My awesome and tousle-worthy hair. The instructions for me is to avoid clipping my hair or doing anything to it that would bend it. Amazingly, all of my day-to-day activities involve hair-bending. So I just sighed and said, "nice, this will be an awesome treat for my neck." I'm sure that I'm gonna break my neck because of flipping it like crazy.
I'm not gonna wonder that after one week, I will be in either two places. It could be either at Tony and Jackey's asking for my hair to be repaired or it would be at a hospital for a neck surgery.



Korea - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture

Re-Bonding @ Tony and Jackey's

Never in my wildest dreams would I even try to consider having my hair rebonded.

 But now, here I am, with the man of my dreams standing right in front of me, touching and sort of surveying my hair. I've never felt so thrilled and so reluctant at the same time. How did this happen? I don't know. All I can remember is that my stupid feet brought me here.

Today is exactly a week before my graduation. To make it easier to style my hair, my sisters advised me to have it rebonded. I totally agreed since I do not want my hair to be a show-stopper during the ceremonies. I wanted it to be plain and simple...and straight. So I was caught up with two options.

Option 1: Php 1, 500.00 at Reyes Haircutters Salon near our house (my sisters both had their hair rebonded there and I also had two of my haircuts done at that salon).

Option 2: Php 1, 500.00 at Tony and Jackey's at SM North EDSA Annex.

So being sort of a korean drama fangirl like me, I chose option 2 (which is not really bad after all). Then I went to the Annex around 3pm with my sister to have it done.

We went straight to the receptionist and asked how much the rebond will be (just confirming). When the receptionist tried to examine my hair, she said that it was so dry and that the korean rebond (Php 1,500) will just make my hair worse instead of making it look really good. She suggested that I avail of their second package, the Loreal rebond (Php 3, 000) because it's supposed to moisturize my "extremely" dry hair. Since hair rebonding is not in my budget, I decided  to stick with my decision and go for the korean rebond. But I was so shocked when the girl said that they will ask me to sign a WAIVER stating that they have already oriented me of the possible outcome of my korean rebond and that they will not be accountable for the damages that will happen to me.

I don't really intend to harm myself so that trick got me. I was so afraid and tried to call my older sister for extra money. But my little sister (the one with me) told me that she have already experienced that same modus operandi. When she had her hair rebonded at Reyes' they told her that she will be needing to sign a waiver if she would pursue to avail the lower-cost rebonding package. Since they have been advising her to avail the higher cost package since according to them, her hair was "extremely" dry.

Taking that advise from my sister, I went back to the receptionist and told her that I have already made up my decision. I will go for the korean rebond. The receptionist gave me an assistant who will wash my hair. After I got  my shampoo and sat down, a familiar looking korean guy approached me. Then my heart started beating like hell. It was Bae Yong Joon!
Johnson's No More Tangles Leave-in Conditioner, 5-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 6)