Project One Thing for Eca

[youtube=http://youtu.be/F5EUfb2wHEA]

This Project One Thing simply collates "that one thing" that each participant in the video see in ECA. It's funny I wasn't able to include my own thoughts in the video. ^_^ So here's my 2 cents about ECA's 1Thing (and more)...

ECA IS SO CHILDLIKE

[caption id="attachment_373" align="alignright" width="223"] I and Eca in our university uniform back in 2008. :)[/caption]

I've known her for 7 years (oh my gosh, that's too long!) to conclude that Eca is so childlike...and that entails the following traits:

Petite as a little girl. I need not say this because it's physically what we see right away, right? She's often mistaken as a highschool girl but I think that's a compliment and an asset since she works for the young people :)

Source of joy in a crowd.  Her energy level is just  unmatchable! She's just like a child who has gotten to eat chocolates and sweets making her hyperactive! As many of the people in the video said, her joy is so evident that people around her get infected. :) It's a good infection anyway.

Appreciates even the smallest learning. When she learns something from anything/anyone, even if it's as plain as how to properly clean her nails, she share'll share it with great enthusiasm! Haha

Stubborn. Of course being tagged as child-like would  definitely include this. Thank me Eca for not using the more appropriate term "BRAT". I guess we could blame your BELIEF theme for that.  If she wants something, she has to get it and it has to be NOW! (Shempre lalaglag din kita ng konte hehe)

[caption id="attachment_371" align="aligncenter" width="300"] We trip at times to wear similar outfits ^_^ Isn't that cool? :P[/caption]

A good friend. Any of you remember your childhood friends...when you'd vow to each other that phrase "friends forever"? Well even when we didn't vow it, God has like bound us to be friends forever. As I've said before, few among us find a friend who will really stick it out with you no matter what. So rare a friend is she that you could treat her no less than a treasure :)

Dependence. What is a child without her parents? I bet a kid would barely survive a day without a parent. That's exactly how she is in her relationship with God. She knows that she can't make it through anything without Him ;)

HAPPY 24th birthday Eca!!! Kelangan pa ba sabihin "I Love You"? Di na diba? Kita mo naman na eh ^_^

[caption id="attachment_372" align="aligncenter" width="470"] No, we didn't talk about wearing similar skirts, did we? We're all child-like after all :][/caption]

Dear Chu

Posting this Birthday appreciation letter I wrote for Carmen 1 year ago :)

Dear Chu,

You know that you’re one of the very few closest friends that I’ve allowed to really infiltrate my private life (and my heart for that matter). You know the depths of my heart next to God. Thank you for digging into my thoughts and allowing me to understand what they really mean. Trully, you’ve known me. You know what my actions mean. You recognize the feelings my expressions show. You discern even the things that my own heart is trying to keep from myself. Sometimes I can just wish that you make decisions for me. Haha. But of course I won’t let you, because you make decisions very slooow.

Thank you for the countless nights and overnights we’ve spent together, whether talking (your talking to be accurate), listening (that’s me), watching something that puzzles our heads, or just sleeping to regain strength from whatever fun activity/hang-out we had for the night. Thanks for sharing your room to me... It has kind of become a "city of refuge" for me. :)

You can speak words with tones that can pierce my soul yet I won’t get offended. But I’m thankful, too that we have that kind of special treatment to each other that most people cannot understand. ^_^

And of course how can I forget to thank you for having a great part of the change that happened to me over the years? I think I mean physical change. Haha I won't elaborate. ;) Well thank you for letting me better appreciate my femininity. :P

Thank you for almost four years of sincere friendship. We’ve been friends through our worsts and bests. I dearly pray to God that He’ll extend greatly our time together and that you will be always just around. Although I know that reality can bring us apart, let’s not allow distance to separate our God-bridged lives. I’m happy that someday in heaven, we can just sit together while enjoying the presence of God.

There surely are a million more to thank you about but let's just reserve that for the future. Love you Chu! When I marry, you’ll be my Wedding Planner-Organizer. YOU HAVE NO CHOICE. :P But ofcourse, your wedding first. ;)

P.S: I didn’t want to let your birthday pass without me giving you a personal surprise. Hope you like the collage. I’m sure you will... Ganda ko eh. Hahahappy Birthday ulit! See you!

-Jonai

Grasping for Breath

Last Summer I got to snorkel somewhere in the bays of Negros Oriental, Visayas, Philippines. Here's a life analogy I realized from my first Snorkeling:

[caption id="attachment_298" align="aligncenter" width="470"] You only go to a battle or adventure when you have the right gears![/caption]

Sometimes I'd struggle to breathe (because of the pressure or whatever) and I start to panic when I see that Im so far from the shore and water beneath me is soooo deep and I know that Im not a good swimmer. But realizing that "Hey, I wear a LIFE VEST. I can't sink!" makes me get my peace back, take off my mask and hose to breathe with my nose again.

Im so overwhelmed to understand how that life vest is such a lifesaver. Just like JESUS. Even when you get into the deepest situations, even the ones that could take your life actually, you just have to remember that JESUS is the ultimate saviour. You can't sink if you have him.