Circumnavigation

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. But in the last five months things have changed for me. In my last post I said that I was in Manila. I accumulated an almost two-month stay there looking for work and spending Christmas with family. But this second venture turned out to be something I didn't expect.

For a while I thought that the job climate in Manila would be better than that in Singapore due to the recession that hit Singapore harder than it did the Philippines. But I wasn't prepared for the job culture that was in place. In Manila, people were not compensated based on their education and skills. Those two things are a minimum requirement to get you shortlisted. Companies hire you and try to compensate you for as low as possible. This would be based on your previous salary. They don't want to raise it too far in your next job. This is my opinion but I think I've had enough interviews to draw such a conclusion. Let me say one more thing -- for those probinsyanos like myself who have worked in other places in the Philippines outside Metro Manila have experienced a low-cost of living. Our low salaries in the provinces count for more than they do in Manila. That's why Manila companies should not base your salary on the previous one alone, especially if it was given in a place with a lower cost of living. Given the adjustments of relocating -- traffic, pollution, high crime rate, and in light of the low compensation given in Manila, I decided not to pursue my career there, at least for now.

To backtrack a bit, I visited Iloilo City in November for my girlfriend's birthday and our third month celebration as a couple. It was a time of refreshing for me after a month of living in Singapore and almost a month living in Manila. I was also able to meet an old friend, Neil, again.


I was also able to teach two midweek Bible studies at Calvary Chapel of Iloilo.

Two weeks later in December I flew back to Manila for a job interview in Makati. I almost got hired, except that I wouldn't budge from my stance in favor of open source software. This was a Microsoft-oriented company, and they didn't hire me because of my software philosophy.

I continued my job hunt in Manila and had interviews with companies such as IBM. I stayed longer than expected since it was very difficult to fly back to Iloilo in time for Christmas. I spent Christmas with family in Manila and not with my parents back in Iloilo. I was also able to celebrate my niece's 2nd birthday, as well as my cousin's wedding, in Manila. So I was in Manila for almost a month on my second trip.

On January 1, my birthday, I flew back to Iloilo. I celebrated it with my parents, my girlfriend, and the Suñaz family (the family of Dr. Mark, one of my closest friends).


I stayed in Iloilo as a freelance programmer working online for projects overseas. I've been here for more than three months now, and I was blessed to see certain things take place.

For one thing, I was able to relax and reduce my stress level careerwise. Second, I was able to spend more time with my girlfriend. We continue to celebrate God's goodness in our relationship every month.



I was able to celebrate our first Valentine's Day together.


And I met two old friends from elementary, TJ and Orange, whom I haven't met in more than 15 years. TJ (the guy) is now based in New Jersey, USA. We spent time together. They were able to visit our church, and we also visited our old school and our old teachers.




And my sister and my niece came over for a short visit. I was able to spend time with them.



And my mom celebrated her birthday. I'm glad I was here for it.



Our church celebrated its 7th year anniversary. We celebrated God's faithfulness to us. We had worship, special presentations, the preaching of the Word of God, a baby dedication, a lunch fellowship, and water baptism. You can read more about it if you click here.


We were able to do two youth outreaches in West Visayas (click for more details) and our church sanctuary (click for more details).


Visitors from MV Doulos, the world's largest floating bookstore, also came to our church. Plus, we were able to visit their ship that docked in Bacolod in the neighboring island of Negros.




God has been faithful to sustain me back in my home city. Until when I'll be here I don't know. I believe God is not yet done with expanding my borders. Till next time...

The Venture 10-29-08

September 21, 2008. I landed on Changi Airport and finally reached foreign soil. Singapore, so-called "The Little Red Dot" was finally in view.

One of the first things I did was look for the hostel where I was booked to stay. The first night I stayed in a hostel, and my brother-in-law accompanied me.


That same day we went to Lucky Plaza and I needed to get some supplies: a SingTel SIM card and a travel adaptor for electrical outlets. Buying a SingTel SIM, they had a promo where you get to spin the wheel for a chance to win free tickets to the F1 Race, worth 900 SGDs. I won.


The next day I moved to another house. Kuya Manny and Ate Arlene were kind enough to accommodate me. I was a stranger, and they took me in. The house was in Bukit Panjang where I stayed longer than I expected -- more than a month. I settled well with the 4 dudes, their sons, and they were a wonderful Christian family.


The first week I had a job interview with a representative of Xpand SG, my first. I found out that IT hiring was not that much during this season due to the economic crisis in Singapore.

I spent the weekend watching the F1 Race, the first night race ever in world history. It was something I didn't want to miss and besides, the tickets were free.


Looking for work and going to two more interviews, I got a job offer. But the company that gave the offer later changed their mind about hiring me.

Adjusting to the life in Singapore is not that hard. The transportation is very efficient, there is low crime, and everything is so systematic and organized. I had to get used to the "Land of the Left" where everyone drives on the left-side of the road.


I attended Calvary Chapel of Singapore and Pastor John Tan was kind enough to make me feel welcome. I was able to connect to the young people especially, and it was a good experience to be exposed to Christians in another culture. Only this time I was the foreigner.


The food is also great, and they have all sorts of Western as well as Asian food. I especially like the chicken rice and crispy chicken noodles. I wasn't able to try their mutton, the bulalo that's made from sheep. They also call their carinderias "Hawker's Centers".



October 24, 2008. I flew back to Manila. As I'm writing this, I'm already back in the Philippines. I'm staying in our nation's capital for a few weeks before I go back to Iloilo City. At the moment I'm setting aside Singapore. It has been a journey and a learning experience. And as the Calvary Chapel distinctive goes, a venture in faith can also mean a step back when things don't work out.


To all I left behind in Iloilo, see you soon. =)

P.S. I didn't take too many pictures since my camera broke the night before my flight to Singapore.

The Journey 09-19-08

It has been in my heart for a long time to move out of my home city, at least for a while. Last year God gave me a strong impression in my spirit to really move out. One confirmation came during last year's pastors and workers conference in Cebu. Since then the impression never left me but remained strong.


Sometime in February this year I started to think that perhaps the right time would not be too soon. I continued life as it was, working in information technology, serving the church of Calvary, and moving forward with my social life. I even became an elder in the church during that month.


As time went on the impression got stronger as I spent time in the Word of God. Finally in May I approached my pastor after our midweek Bible study and told him that I believed God was calling me out (of Iloilo City).


We prepared the church and the ministry for four months. This was the start of the ministry called Tim Time where I taught through the whole books of 1 and 2 Timothy on Friday nights. It was a discipleship class with the intent to lay a solid foundation for those who had a desire to serve in the ministry of Calvary Chapel of Iloilo.



I also prepared my work place in that I gave them enough time to look for a replacement since my position as Training and Development Officer for Eversun Software was not to be taken lightly.


A resignation would place the company in a transition. So two months before I quit I informed them of my plans, finally submitting my resignation on July 31 which was effective on September 1.


Come September I was no longer employed.

I had no visible confirmation of what God wanted me to move forward with until the first week of September. A contact from the U.S.A. wanted to start a new business and he considered me the co-founder since it was during one of our chats that the idea came to him and he was able to draft a business plan. The business is online so I can take my work anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. This is enough to sustain me as I travel. Thank God for Xoom.com.

August 29, 2008. I announced to my discipleship group during Tim Time that I was leaving and that the reason for the discipleship group was because I was leaving. I wanted them to be fully equipped to serve the Lord in my absence.

September 7, 2008. I announced to the church congregation that I was leaving for Singapore.

That Sunday morning I was also privileged to give the message while my pastor took a break from teaching.

After the message, communion, and worship I made the announcement.

The last eight days from September 7 to September 14 was my final preparation in Iloilo. I spent time with my girlfriend, church, and family as I was preparing to go.




September 13, 2008 we celebrated my dad's birthday. I wanted my trip to come after the birthday and not before.


September 14, 2008 was my last Sunday service in Iloilo. The church prepared a lunch fellowship in order to bid me farewell as I step out in faith. Pastor Mark released me to go and the church commended me to God's grace.


I'm glad my family was in front praying with me.


Before I left the church compound, I played my last song (for now) -- "This Man" by Jeremy Camp.

To all I leave behind, may God's grace sustain you. I will land on Singapore on September 21.


"And see, now I go bound in the spirit...so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." - Acts 20:22,24

Updates 09-04-08

It's been a long time since I posted anything here. During my last post Iloilo City was just recovering from a flash flood. In the month that followed we were anticipating four more storms but by God's grace the city was spared from calamity. In the following post, the descriptions appear after the photos.


My friend Neil celebrated his birthday on the 30th of June. We had dinner at Esca's.


We began cleaning out the new site for our church early in July. Because of the calamity, it was covered in mud.


We had plans drawn for the new church facility and construction began early in July as well.


The foundation was laid.

The restaurant we used to go a lot to was affected by the flood. They were flooded almost up to the level of the roof. But they were able to recover, and we were able to eat there again.


The church building construction progressed fast. It wasn't long before it was finished.


Before July ended I was able to bring a Eaves (a.k.a. "Twinkle" or "Twinx") to our midweek Bible study. She attends a Baptist church.


Later on Twinx and I we were able to bring Cay, my co-worker from the office -- surprisingly, she was an old classmate of Neil. Small world.

We had dinner together.

On August's first Sunday, two brothers from Dumaguete came to our church -- Micah and Noel. They were part of a debate team representing their school, Silliman University. The debate was held here in Iloilo City.


August 16, 2008. The day before our first Sunday in the new church facility. We had to get things set up and moved about. A lot of hands helped in our transfer.





On August 17, we moved to the new facility and had our Sunday service there. We had potluck lunch and fellowship time afterwards. Some of the youth were also music jamming. I joined in.


August 23, 2008. Twinx and I went out to see the sunset together. We then had dinner, dessert and coffee afterwards.


August 24, 2008. After Sunday service I had lunch with my parents at BBQ Park. That restaurant was partially wrecked to make way for a new road. The food is still delicious.


August 25, 2008. It was Monday, National Heroes' Day, a holiday. Twinx, myself, and a group of friends went to Sol Y Mar beach for a day of relaxation, food, and fellowship. That same Monday Twinx became my girlfriend.


August 26, 2008. The church lights are now functional since they were installed the day before. Now Bible studies can be done at night in the new facility.


August 27, 2008. We had our first midweek Bible study in the new church facility. Afterwards some of us went to Barrio Inasal for dinner.

I recently resigned from my work at Eversun Software Philippines Corporation to pursue another venture.



August 28-29, 2008. My last two days at Eversun. Just making memories of the friends I will leave behind. More of this in my multiply web site.



August 30. Twinx and I went to dinner at Esca's. We even took a picture together with the duo that performed that evening.



September 3 was barbecue night at the church facility as part of our midweek Bible study. The pork on stick and bread toasted on charcoal were good.

Tee Jay Returns

Here's a picture of me and my friend since high school, Tee Jay. He recently came back from taking his master's course in Oklahoma, USA. He will be working here again as a return service to BFAR where he is employed.

It wasn't planned, but he was the one who found me as we were both in the same line at an ATM. We had coffee and had a lot to catch up on.

Typhoon FENGSHEN

I live in Iloilo, the hardest hit area of typhoon FENGSHEN. In our country, we call it "Frank".

Thank God the area where I live had no floods at all, the church facility wasn't hit, and I can still work since the office is located in the city proper that wasn't hit as well. But most areas were hit. The above picture shows stuff that my uncle moved to our house to keep them from getting wet. Friends of mine suffered from the flash flood that resulted from the water from the dam. That flood wasn't even directly caused by the rain. Most parts of the city and some parts of the province became like seas.

Here's a news video about it from last monday:


For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV


Also, I took a video of the shoreline close to my house. It was badly hit as well, though only by winds and not the flood.



Brethren, pray for us. We need to rebuild.

Updates 05-14 to 06-16 '08

Oh wow, more than a month has passed and I haven't posted anything.

May 14. I saw God raising up another radical. His name is Kenedie, one of our young guys in church. He is a talented guitar player and singer for the Lord. Another man on fire for Jesus.


May 16. For a while this part of our office became a photo studio. The company ID pictures needed enhancement, so some of our employees decided to have their pictures taken again.


May 17. Dad showed me the shoes that came in from the U.S. that his client sent to him. I'm not the only one blessed by God with a pair of shoes. His was a K-Swiss. Woohoo!



May 18. Again my pastor asked me to fill in for him on a Sunday morning. I taught on 1 Peter 3:12-17 in a message entitled "Laging Handa". I exhorted the congregation to always be ready to share our faith, speaking the truth in love with meekness and gentleness.



May 23. We started a new ministry in church called "Tim Time" or "t2" to help people grow in their service to the Lord. We will mainly be focusing on the books of 1 and 2 Timothy.


May 24. The Bibles that I ordered from Amazon and delivered c/o my friend in the U.S., Felipe who came to visit recently arrived. Not all the Bibles were for me. The second picture below shows my friend Eaves with the Bible we got for her mom (picture taken days later).




May 25. We added four guys to the worship team in church. They can all play stringed instruments. Not all of them are in this picture.


May 30. We started a new ministry in church for the men. We called it "m@c" (pronounced as "mak" and stands for "Men at Calvary"). We are studying the book of Romans and I'm teaching it.



May 31. I took my camera to the repair shop since it was recording the pictures too bright, and with lines.

June 6. I took the Zend PHP 5 Certification exam in Manila. I had been preparing for this, and I gave my best. But my best wasn't good enough. I wrote more about it on My SpaceLeSs.

June 6-9. The rest of my time in Manila was spent on vacation. I stayed with my sister and her family. I got to visit and enjoy my cute niece.



June 10. Going back to Iloilo, I missed my flight and had to rebook. I came back in the afternoon. At evening time, I went to our church prayer meeting at the housing and got to see our church friend Cherry before she left for Manila.

Cherry

June 13. Our first worship practice in church on a Friday night. We used to practice on Saturdays.

June 14. I watched The Chronicles of Narnia (Prince Caspian) together with Ryan.

June 15. Father's Day. We celebrated it in church, and had a seafood lunch by the beach with my family. At dinner time, I got pizza and pasta for the family and we ate at home. I was also able to pick up my camera that is now fixed. Glory to God!


June 16. I registered my mom's car with the Land Transportation Office. I worked half of the day only, and had a company administrative meeting at dinner time.