galing sa Diyos, lakas ng pagbabago!

*serious blog coming up...

one week has passed since GK1MB Bayani Challenge in Southern Leyte... and i still cannot stop thinking about my experience and the fun i had there...

i know all of you would not understand that. most of you will be thinking "what the heck is so fun about building a house for 5 days in scorching heat with hellish living conditions?" or "ang babaw naman nito!"...

yeah, i know. no matter how much i attempt to explain why that is definitely the HAPPIEST moment of my life, i would not succeed in convincing you guys. i guess i could only say that during those 6 days, i felt accepted by EVERYONE, and these people are truly and sincerely grateful for what you did for them, tapos man ang bahay o hindi. as i told albert one time, "alam ko kasi na hindi lang ako nakatulong sa tao, nakapag pasaya pa ako. na kahit isang stroke lang ng pintura sa bubong ang ginawa ko, binigyan ko sila kahit papaano ng konting hope despite sa nangyari sa buhay nila. finally, merong mga tao na na-appreciate ako at yung ginawa ko, kahit hindi nila ako kilala. at don ko talaga na feel na sobrang happy ko, kasi nagpaligaya ako ng tao, nagbigay ako ng hope."

i came back to Manila a changed person. i have learned to appreciate my life no matter what people say, or even what i say. one of the landslide survivors there told his story, that he just went out to sea to fish for food for his family and when he came back, he can no longer find his house... it was already buried under 7 meters of mud, together with his wife and 5 kids. there was no hope left in him at all. and in his speech (indirect translation from bisaya) "at dahil sa Gawad Kalinga, binigyan nyo pa ako ng konting pag-asa kahit na matagal na itong nawala." at that moment i silently asked the Lord for forgiveness for all the complaining that i have done in my whole life, for the times that i did not appreciate the good things that He has given me. and then i thanked the Lord that He has blessed me with what i have right now, that HE made life comfortable for me. it also reminded me not to complicate simple problems in life. when i'm in my depressive mode again, i just pray and say to myself "mas marami pa ang mas matindi ang pinagdadaanan kaysa sayo. pasalamat ka maliit lang yang problema mo." it may seem selfish to other people, yes. but considering the perspective that i have about life right now, this is already a big change for me.

so have i convinced you guys yet? i'm not really sure. actually i couldn't care less if you do understand or not. let's just put it this way... for some of my friends, kung ano man ang feeling ninyo nung una niyong isinilang ang panganay ninyo, siguro ganon na rin ang feeling na naramdaman ko after ko manggaling ng Leyte... such a comparison seems so absurd to you, pero ganun eh. wala pa naman akong boyfriend o asawa o anak e... so this is the next best thing, para sa akin...

as what one of the survivors have mentioned ..."binigyan nyo pa ako ng konting pag-asa...", i know i became a part of their journey to rebuild their lives again. it makes my heart swell with joy because i realized that i made not only one person happy, but hundreds of people as well. and for the fact that i gave these people hope, i have come to realize... may silbi pa pala ako sa mundong ito...

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i also believe that my teammates play a big part in making this experience memorable for me. to eric, marlon, timm, nilo, frankie, vince, rex, kristine, joey, i am very grateful and very fortunate to have met and worked, and most especially the fun that i had with you guys. thanks guys! tama sinabi ni Timm, "the 10 of us did not meet by chance." destiny daw ba? hahaha! why not? Ü until our next GK1MB Bayani Challenge!

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this might not be a big deal to you but it is for me, so i just have to share it. one important thing that i have learned during this trip is how to deal with gossip. when i find myself indulging in useless issues, i need to ask myself "what's the point?" if it will not do me any good then there's no point in talking about it. thanks so much, Eric! i owe you on this, believe it or not! Ü