hey

Oct 15, 2008
1:27am

Attended the Passion tour concert with my wife Diana. Many friends and family from Tokyo Baptist were there too. There were also many people from other churches in Japan. It was held at the CC Lemon Hall in Shibuya Tokyo Japan. The place was full and it was an amazing night of worship.

Here are some You Tube clips I found to give you an idea:

Plus my FAVORITE SONG from the Passion Conference:

Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and David Crowder Band led the people in worship. Louis Giglio, a very gifted preacher spoke from the heart and end talked about how we Christians should be a shining light to everyone. Show the light of Jesus Christ in our lives. That is the plan. The Passion Conference inspired me to be bold and to be strong in my faith. To express my faith as if it is on “high def”. Indeed in these trying times, God is our only refuge. What an amazing reminder that as Christians, we have a God that is alive and true, and real. Jesus Christ who has ALREADY won the victory for us, is our source of strenght. He is ON OUR SIDE. Jesus is for real. Jesus is my friend. We can call on Jesus for all our needs. Jesus CAN change our lives. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOUR PAST IS. It does not matter how messed up your life is right now. If you call on His name, He will save you. There is nothing impossible. I wish I could explain in more detail about God’s love and what He did for my life. It is my prayer that anyone reading this will come to know Jesus in a REAL and PERSONAL way, because He is indeed real. There is no greater JOY than in knowing Jesus Christ and understanding what He did for us on the cross.

It is NOT a fantasy story. It is not made up. It is not a RELIGION or a cult. Rather knowing Jesus Christ is a real way, is a RELATIONSHIP. When you have a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ, then you ARE a Christian.  And when you are in a relationship, how do you get to know them? You SPEND time with them. And how do you do this? Read the bible and spend time in prayer. The bible is the word of God and tells us of His love and salvation for all of us.

To put it simply, I know Jesus Christ personally. I really do believe that He died for me for my sin. I do believe that no matter what happens in my life, it will be OK because I have a God that loves me, and watches over me. I have a saviour who forgave me and my past. And by His word and teaching, I can live my life witha purpose.

Look, my life is not perfect. I am not a saint who does not commit sin. But what comforts me is grace. In Japanese it means “megumi”. GRACE.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God

-Ephesians 2:8

It is by GRACE that I was saved. And it is by GRACE that despite my inconsistencies, God carries me thru and sees not my imperfections, but my desire to live a life for His glory.

It is indeed a journey. Life is a race indeed.  And I cannot wait to reach the finish line.

At this point I do need to catch my breath(just like the song..whew). Seems like all my ideas are going in all directions. To be honest all I want to say is God is great. He is good. Jesus is for real and I hope that if you are not a believer yet, I hope and pray that you will know Jesus Christ. Alive, real in each and every way.

Hallelujah! How great and awesome is our God!

Have a blessed week! God bless!

Oct 7, 2008 
6:15am Tokyo, Japan

Not sure if you’ve heard, but there is a deep financial crisis that is impacting everyone. Needless to say, no one can be sure what is going to happen tomorrow. 

The bible says in Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ”

Indeed, the past few days have been quite stressful. As my sister would say “toxic”. So much stuff to do, in so little time.

Busy, busy, busy. 

I have been trying to improve my Japanese. Its quite shameful that after almost 10 years in Japan, my Japanese skill is considered “mecha kucha” (messy).

I have been putting in the time so I hope that it pays off.  My head sometimes hurts from trying to remember kanji and the proper stroke on how to write them. This time around, I do not plan to quit. Aghh…ugh…arghhhhhhh
(that’s the sound of me struggling)

ABOUT CATS IN THE CRADLE
Last Sunday our pastor at Tokyo Baptist Church delivered one of the most moving and powerful message I have ever  heard. He talked about the importance of being present in your children’s lives.  About letting them know you love them. About giving them a hug and kissing them. About encouragement and discipline.  At one point of the sermon, our pastor asked us to listen to a portion of the song “Cats in the Cradle”. The song basically tells the story of an absentee father and his son who craved for his attention and time. When the father became old, his own son was also too busy to spend time with his dad. In the end…his son was just like him.

9/7/2008
7:05pm

Just attended the fall concert. Good job by the choir, praise band/musicians and dance team. K…Teee…Beeeeee….Ceeeee…!!!

Very nice and a great and timely blessing for my heart. The message today was about whether or not you are an intellectual atheist (someone who believes in God) or a practical atheist(believes there is God yet lives their life as if there was’nt).

I find myself reflecting on that last definition a lot. Being a Christian is not easy. It is an everyday battle, and a battle where there seems to be so many defeat.

My spirit is strong, and it is not broken. For I know that God is with me. And I know that God loves me. He is my strength and my deliverer.

In the times where I lose my battle with sin, one question that pops in my head is this:

why do I do the things I do?

As always, I realize that man indeed is HELPLESS without God. And I know this to be true in my life.

Aug 26, 2008
4:07am

"My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.  "
(Proverbs 3: 1-2)

Well I am just going to go ahead and say it. Today is my birthday. So happy bithday to me. I am now 35 years old. Wow! Where did all the time go? As K. Reeves exclaimed back in the day…"Whoa!"

I woke up a bit early today to reflect a bit. And I can honestly say that I am a blessed man. Mabait si Lord talaga.

So many blessings this year, so many trials and test as well. I do believe that trials and difficulties mold our character and help us to become stronger. It also helps us to realize that we do need God and are dependent on Him.

As I look back, I cannot help but be thankful for the life that was given me.
My dad, who is now 71 years young, is doing well, and God willing, will be here in Japan for a visit very soon. He is funny, at times makulit, but I love him very much. He is a good father who did his best to provide for his children. And for that alone, I am very thankful. As a child he taught me the game of basketball. I still remember the day that he surpised me with my own basketball hoop that he nailed in our patio. I was about 10 at that time. Me and my Dad would play one on one and do free throw shooting contest all afternooon on weekends. He beat me EVERYTIME and he showed no mercy. He was really competitive too. He would often say "murder na! murder" to indicate that he was beating me THAT bad, that it felt like murder. hahaha. I almost felt like crying but I never did, and it helped my resolve to become better. Wow, those were the days. He was the same way with chess. He used to beat me all the time, and in the rare occasions where I did beat him, he would immediately ask for a rematch. hahaha, good times eh?

My sisters all seem to be doing fine. My youngest sister, who I fondly call "kamatis" recently gave birth to Jacob. I saw pics recently and I must say…very easy on the eyes. Very cute and cuddly!

My wife is here with me in Japan studying Japanese language. She is a blessing for me, and I really look forward to going home after work.  We often go out and eat, but last night she made a special sushi dinner for me. Wow!  Sarap naman ng may nagmamahal!
We talk a lot, and make plans for our family.
With God’s help and guidance, I think my dream to be with my wife and daughter permanently will come to fruition very soon.

My daughter who at the moment is in Manila staying with her grandparents, is growing up too fast. She is talking a lot now, and is more adoraable and cute as ever. I look forward to see her very soon. I saw her last night on the web cam (is’nt technology amazing?) and she was singing "happy bday ..da…di..". Such a cute kid. Buti na lang mana sa mommy! haha

I also have been blessed by being part of a small bible study group here in Meguro. They are my family in Japan. We have bible study together and as I have mentioned in a previous post, this is a group that really enjoys to be with one another. Praying for each other, and going out having dinner together.

I have also been blessed with good health. Although I still need to watch out what I eat, and have regular excercise, I think I am in reasonable shape. And for that I am really thankful.

It is my hope and desire that I never forget what the Lord has done for me. That I would not forget His commands. That I live my life trusting in God and obeying Him.

So thank you Lord for this life you have given me! And sa lahat ng mga nag greet, at nag send ng mga text messages in advance….salamat sa inyong lahat!

4/25/2008
12:46am

nakakaantok na parang hindi. hindi pa nga ako nakakapag-empake eh. pero the good news is ilang oras na lang ay makikita ko na uli ang aking mga mahal sa buhay…ang aking wife na si Diane and of course ang aking nag iisang anak na si Patricia. wow. ang sarap ng pakiramdam. corny siguro pakinggan, hahahaha, pero it is what it is. hindi ko na rin ma -explain sa words eh. ang takot ko lang siguro eh yung hindi na ako maalala ng anak ko. sino ba itong mamang ito? at hindi nya na ako tuluyang makilala. oo, aaminin ko…bad trip talaga ang maging malayo sa pamilya. minsan hindi ko rin maintindihan kung bakit kailangan maging ganito. don’t get me wrong. excited talaga ako umuwi. pero alam nyo ba ang nasa isip ko ngayon? pagkatapos ng dalawang linggo, balik na naman ako dito. mag isa. ang angal ko ano? hehehe. i realized na blessed talaga ang buhay ko, pero cguro ganun talaga na hindi talaga pwede sa buhay na lahat ng gusto mo at lahat ng plano mo eh masusunod. wala talagang dapat gawin kung hindi magdasal na lang, at huming ng tulong sa Diyos, ng direksyon kung ano ba ang dapat gawin. Siguro ang mahalaga talaga eh yung ngayon. So sa ngayon, malapit na ako magbakasyon, at makikita ko na mamayang gabi ang asawa’t anak ko. Sa sabado naman, magkikita kami ng tatay ko at kapatid. Sarap talaga ng pakiramdam ng uuwi. Sana kung pwede lang na pagbalik sa Japan, kasama ko na rin silang lahat. Wala naman sigurong masama kung managinip di ba?

Tricia…Daddy’s coming home. See you soon anak!

April 14, 2008 4:00 am

Reflections for the past few weeks
As you may have heard, our church, Tokyo Baptist Church (www.tokyobaptist.org)  has an ongoing campaign called "Journey to Freedom". In this campaign, our pastor speaks on different issues that affect us in our everyday life. The past weeks, topics such as unforgiveness, depression, worry and lust have been discussed. Needless to say, I have found these messages to be very helpful and practical.

depression
hmmm. I do not consider myself depressed. Although when Ramiele Malubay was eliminated at American Idol, I found myself telling anyone who would listen "I am soooo depressed Ramiele is gone!". I do not think that qualifies since I was just making a joke. (insert peace sign here). ha ha ha.
But seriously speaking, I learned in this message that when things in life go rough, we are prone to be depressed. It is quite a difficult situation to get out off, and this is the reason we need God to save us. We really REALLY need the Lord to help us. Here in Japan, we hear so many people commit suicide because they became depressed after losing their job, or getting divorced etc. It is quite alarming. I think that this has a big correlation to many people here not knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. People need the Lord. They really do.
Worry
Worry is a failure to trust God. What if? What if? This message had a big impact on me as I am a big worrier. When my wife gets sick, or when my daughter gets sick, I worry. A lot. And my immediate reaction was to try to find ways to help or to alleviate the problem at hand. But I learned that the best way to deal with any crisis in life is by doing one thing: PRAY.

Here is a good memory verse:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Phil 4: 6-7)

Amazing is’nt it? Indeed,  God’s word is truly wonderful and comforting. The power of prayer is really something.

(to be continued…)

april 14, 2008
3:14am

92-51

Yun un score ng laro namin kahapon, sa Saitama. Sumali kasi kami ng "one-day basketball tournament". Yung tournament na kung talo ka, tanggal ka na. Well, gusto ko sana sabihin na yung team namin yung 92. At tinambakan namin un kalaban ng 41 points. Kaso hindi ganun ang nangyari. It was a massacre. Pretty pathetic. Pero may napansin lang ako. Ok lang sa akin. Hindi ako ganun ka-apektado. Seriously. I think this is progress, when you can learn to accept losing and take defeat graciously. Kung may regret lang ako, is Sunday kasi kahapon. So na-miss ko na pumunta sa church, although nag service na ako nung Saturday night. Wala lang, parang nasanay lang ako na Sunday sa church lang tumambay. To chat and hang out with my friends there.
I really felt I missed out on something. Hmmmm.
Although 4pm na kami natapos, (we played at 2:30), I was tired enough na I felt mas ok kung umuwi na lang ako ang magpahinga. Aga ko nga natulog, kaya heto ang aga ko na rin nagising. hahaha

SALAMAT
Nagkasakit yung wife ko ng tonsilitis, so I asked my friends at church to pray. She was under intense pain, for almost a week, pero I praise God na she is feeling better now. I spoke to her last night, and she sounded like her old self again. Inasar asar na nga nya uli ako eh, so I guess everything is ok na. So salamat sa mga prayer warriors! Thank you for all of you who prayed. Much appreciated.

BABY TALK
Nakausap ko din yung aking 2 year old daughter. Grabe, ang daldal na. She actually said "see….you…soon….Daddy". Now THAT is just amazing. Sobrang nakakatuwa. I’ll see you and mommy very very soon sweetheart! Two weeks to go!!!

3/31/2008
5:34pm

a few years ago I wrote several love songs. here is one of them. Its called "a glimpse of happiness". Looking back, I realize how much a force love is. How if we are not careful, it can grip us with its immense power, and actually drive us near insanity. Do not get me wrong, its wonderful to be "in love". It is like a drug that you cannot give up. Literally, when you find that someone special, you would literally want to spend every moment of your life with them. Its a wonderful wonderful feeling. You get inspired to look your best. perhaps even lose some weight. You want to buy clothes and be neat. You are motivated. You appreciate life more. Hmmm. Being in love is wonderful. But it can also be DANGEROUS. And I would have to agree that love, at the end of the day, should be more than a feeling. It should surpass emotions. There should be BALANCE. And most importantly, one should make sure that their happiness/joy in life not be DEPENDENT on that one person. I could talk for hours about this…Oh well…maybe more on that next time. In the meantime, here are the lyrics. This was certainly a point in my time when I was in that zone of being "in love". Whatever that means. Please feel free to comment or email me about what you think about my lyrics. I would definitely enjoy reading your feedback. Oh and perhaps one day, if I ever get enough mojo and muster enough courage, I might just post a "live" acoustic video of it in youtube. not that anyone really cares, haha. well..whatever.

A GLIMPSE OF HAPPINESS
I would do anything for you
Anything you say I’d gladly do
Close my eyes, think of you all day
You take my breath away
I know its all cliche

For you, saved me
From my loneliness
And you, gave me
A glimpse of happiness….
Unknown….before  (yeah)

Can’t believe you calling out my name
Steroids for my brain I’ve gone insane
kind of dumb, having too much fun
Although I always knew, I’d come undone

For you, saved me
From my loneliness
And you, gave me
A glimpse of happiness….
Unknown….before  (yeah)

Happy Easter to everyone!
The Lord is risen…He is risen indeed!

I spent the weekend mostly at Tokyo Baptist Church to celebrate easter with my friends (family, basically). I was also given the privilege to play a small part in our Easter "drama" as part of the Easter celebration service. My role was that of a "villager" that was accompanying Jesus while he was carring the cross on the way to Golgotha. It was all very exciting as I had to wear a costume. I also had to "act" in a way that was not distracting and not removing the focus from the character playing Jesus. Needless to say, I think I did a great job of not getting noticed.

Oh by the way, here’s a shout out the AMAZING and CONSTANTLY improving Glorious Teams Dance Team. Props and respect to Janis, and Mayen(the choreography was nothing less than brilliant) and the "Adrenaline Angels"…France, Ness and Joy, who injected an energy rush that drove the performance to levels that were never reached before. Yasuyo and her excellent ballet skills blended seamlessly with the group, as well as the breathtaking routines of the child prodigy and rookie member Jera (boy, your mom Lisa must be so proud). To sum the whole thing up, the Glorious Steps Dance Team was simply….magnificent. I am sure that many were blessed.
To God be the glory! I cannot wait for the day when my own daughter, who as we speak, has started to work on her own dance moves, will join this dance team that ministers to God’s people through their dance. With their continous improvement and their , they might as well change their name to GLORIOUS LEAPS.
What do you think?  (O Mayen, wag lalaki ulo ah..hehe)

But the most important part of the Easter Service was the message regarding UNFORGIVENESS by Pastor Dennis. Did you know that in the bible, the only time that God tells someone to STOP praying was when there was unforgivness involved? How can we worship God when in our hearts, there lies unforgiveness, or someone has a grudge or unforgiveness towards us. Hmmmm…
How hypocritical it must be when someone claims that they are a Chirstian, yet holds grudges against others. How can we DENY forgiveness against others when we OURSELVES were forgiven?
I highly recommend that you dear blog reader, go to the following link to listen to Pastor Dennis message this week:

http://www.tokyobaptist.org/magnification/sermons/

The Lord is risen..He is risen indeed!

Happy Easter everyone!

Feb 17, 2008
7:46pm

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength"
-Philippians 4:13

Almost a year ago, I made the decision to run my first ever marathon. I don’t know the reason why at that time. Perhaps I wanted to see if I can do it. Perhaps I wanted to see if, at age 34, I can overcome a tough challenge. In any case I applied to run the Tokyo Marathon, won a slot to run it(done by lottery since there were too many applicants and only 25,000 people were allowed), and started preparing for it.
Here is a running diary of what happened today.

5:25 am
The alarm clock rings. I was not able to sleep well because of the excitement.  My left knee is a throbbing a bit right now from playing 4 hours of basketball the PREVIOUS day. Somebody hit me in the head please. Not a good sign.

5:52 am
I leave the house with my gear on: cycling shorts, basketball shorts, dry fit spandex top, windbreaker and my red winter jacket on. Its about 4 degrees celcius right now. The train leaves my station at 5:58 which means I only have 6 minutes to catch it. It usually takes me 10 minutes to get there by walking. I have no choice. I warm up by running to the station. I barely catch the train, and I am almost out of breath. DEFINITELY NOT a good sign.

7:02 am   
I arrive at Shinjuku station, the starting point of the race. I go look for the designated area to check in my stuff(bag and dry clothes). I will then be retrieving this later at the finish line, after the race. The place is easy to find, and although there are already a lot of people, I find no problems depositing my stuff and proceeding to my starting block. I will be starting at Block "G". I have to hand it to the Japanese people. When they hold events like this, it is like a military operation. So efficient and organized.

8:15 am
I am at my starting point at block "G". Joining me are the other runners. Our starting block is determined by the amount of time that we estimate to finish the race. For G block runners, the estimated time is 5 hours and 30 minutes. I will later find out that I, um, overestimated my abilities.

9:15 am
The marathon starts! However it is so crowded that you can barely move. I follow the speed of the crowd until after about 20 minutes, there is more space and then I start to run at my own pace. People who ran marathons have given me the same advise: Take it easy. It is a long race. DO NOT overexert yourself at the beginning. Just jog at a comfortable pace.

10:02am
I have reached the 5k mark. And have made "time" with 30 minutes to spare. The rules for the Tokyo marathon indicates that you need to finish running 42km within 7 hours. Else you will be disqualified. But the other thing is that they have placed TIME LIMITS at every 5km point in the race. For example, you need to reach 5k by 10:30 am, 10K by 11:04 am, 15k by 11:49, 20k by 12:33, and so on and so forth. However I feel great. I made time with 30 minutes to spare for the first 5k. The good news? I do not feel any discomfort at all. I am running at a comfortable pace. I feel good about myself, but I know its a long race.

12:20pm
I pass by the half way point with almost 13 minutes to spare. I still feel good, but I am terribly hungry. I pass by a convenience store and buy a snickers bar, a pocari sweat drink, and an onigiri (rice bowl). I am full and full of energy again. I am pumped up, for I am halfway there! And talk about perfect timing, my ipod player, starts playing my "power song", Bill Conti’s "Going the Distance", from the movie Rocky Balboa. Now, if that song does not get you pumped up, I dont know what will. I pick up speed and imagine myself as Rocky training for the fight against Apollo Creed. I mutter to myself "no pain" as the theme music plays at full volume. NO PAIN. NO PAIN. Within 4 minutes I am at the 21k mark. Wow.

1:56PM
I have gone to the bathroom a couple of times. The lines were’nt that bad. But I feel my feet and left calf starting to cramp up. I just pass by the 30K mark at 1:56 pm. However the cut off time for 30k was 2:00 pm. Which means I only had 4 minutes to spare and I would have been disqualified. I start to get worried. And the buildup of the pain on my calf is’nt helping.
Cut off time for 35k is at 2:42 pm. I start to question myself: "what the heck was I thinking running this race"

2:40pm
I get to the 35k mark! I am ecstatic because I only had two minutes to spare. My feet and legs feel like solid cement blocks. I drink the amino fluids at the water station. I also drank lots of water. It may have helped prevent the cramping of my calf. It feels like I survived. The good news? The cut of time for 38k is 3:33pm and for the 42k at 4:10 pm. Which means I MAY be able to finish this race after all. If I finish by 4:10pm, that would have been a FULL seven(7) hours. Sure that is way off my 5hours and 30minutes estimate, but who’s counting? he he he

3:00pm
I legs have become solid quick dry cement blocks at this point, only they seem to be attached to the road. I can barely lift my feet, and I have no option but to just walk. I can’t run anymore. But I feel comfort from the crowds who cheer me on. They high five me, and it gives me some energy. "Ganbare! Ganbare!" (translation to "do your best, don’t give up). After passing by the 36k mark, I can sense that I am almost there. However after a few minutes, I notice something behind me. The big yellow bus! Which means that I am actually in the LAST group of runners! This is the bus which carries the runners who they think will not be able to finish the race. I feel fear. I do not want to be picked up by the bus, for any reason at all. I decide that I will give it my best shot. I run. I keep on running. I close my my eyes and I run.

3:57pm
I can see the finish line. Its there. ABout 100 meters away. I slow down, and make adjustments to my ipod. I play "Going the Distance" again. It pumps me up with adrenaline instantly. I start to run, really run this time. Fast and strong. No pain. No pain. I actually feel no pain for the last 100 meters. What is that I hear? The crowd is applauding suddenly and egging me on. I ran faster and faster. I hit the finish line and I race my hand in triumph. My officical time is 6hours and 50 minutes. I later found this useful link which tracked my run:
http://tokyo42195.org/numberfile/39648.html

Wow!  Its over. Its finally over. There are no words to describe the feeling. This was easily the toughest physical challenge that I have ever faced. Wow, thank you God! I could not do it without your help, and I know that my friends and family were praying for me.
Its really over. I have run the Tokyo Marathon 2008 race.

And I went the distance.

UPDATE (3/24/2008):  Here are some pics taken by the offical photographer of Tokyo Marathon 2008:

http://tm2008eng.allsports.jp/photo/photo_list_tag_search.php?tag_code=zekken&tag=39648