First Hike For Christ

I wanna set the world on fire

Until it's burning bright for You

It's everything that I desire

Can I be the one You use?

I want to put  the lyrics of  one of my earliest favorite Christian songs - Set The World on Fire by Britt Nicole in this post because it's been my anthem since I heard it in a youth service. I loved and prayed this song.  I believe that God used this to give me a vision that one day.. He will use me, one day, I will be beyond myself, one day,  I will set the world on fire. That's a big vision though and I felt so small...

Just like how it is in the song:

I, I am small but

You, You are big enough

I, I am weak but

You, You are strong enough to

Take my dreams

Come and give them wings

Lord with You

Nothing I can not do

Nothing I cannot do

...but He is big enough and strong enough.


Last Saturday (February 10, 2018) marked my first participation in an out of town outreach event. It happened over at Sitio Banawen, San Felipe Zambales.

My journey towards this event and the event itself was simply amazing.

Last December, we had a dinner bonding with my Kids ministry family. I wanted to give something to my co-volunteers to remind them of God's faithfulness over the year 2017.  I thought of giving them printed pictures of some of the highlights of their year. I visited their timelines and chose pictures! One of the pictures that I loved was the picture of the children smiling in Teacher Jayson's post (he's a part of a movement called Hike for Christ Movement  and they had an outreach event in a community last December). I chose that picture and gave it to him. He talked about it and the movement over our dinner and in my heart, I uttered "Dad, I hope I could also do something like that".

I wanna feed the hungry children

And reach across the farthest land

And tell the broken there is healing

And mercy in the Father's hands

Days after, my grandmother passed away and the brevity of life was taught to me and I also eventually discovered the beauty of outward-focused life . I really wanted to do more for Him in this lifetime. It became a faith goal to serve more and to do more for women, children and the Gospel.

I liked the facebook page of Hike for  Christ Movement (HFCM) sometime last year and I started to see their posts. I was thrilled to discover that they will have an event soon and it's an "Engage" event!  Children + Evangelism! Oh, my heart. Hehe.  "Dad, can I be part of that?"

I remembered  this Word:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10

He planned for me to do good things. He created me anew for these things. WHOA.

I sent them a message, clicked going, last two slots na lang but still can't help but be so excited!

But a few weeks before the event, doubts crept in and so does fear.

I doubted  my motivation and intention. Am I really doing this for Him alone or am I just gonna do it for myself? :"( I needed some time to think about that because, I'm not so sure of my heart.  I needed  to surrender to Him and to His purposes and will alone. "Dad, I don' t want to go if this is just about me and my selfish desires."

Fear crept in too. I talked to my friends about it and one well- meaning friend asked me if I'm sure about it  because she heard some volunteers  died few years ago while crossing a river for an outreach event. The other volunteers were also traumatized.  She asked if we have to cross a river, and I said I'm not sure. She advised me that if we have to cross a river, please, if possible, ask for another route.

I started asking, "Dad, is this wise?Should I back out if we have to cross a river? Is this really Your will for me? "

I'm really amazed when He let me encounter these words:

"...stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

Princess. in awe. indeed.

GRABE. Okay, so stand firm daw. Trust tayo.

He knows I needed more encouragement so eto pa..

 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:11-12

For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. Revelation 5:9b
The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."  Exodus 33:14

YAY!!!! Okay, Lord. Let's do this!!!!

Along the way, I'm amazed at how supportive my friends and co-workers are. They gave hygiene kits and donated. I'm beyond grateful for their beautiful hearts! This made me so excited.

Feb. 9    Prepared and slept for an hour
Feb. 10  Walked around Cubao at almost midnight. I'm not sure kung may jeep pa from SM Fairview na dadaan sa may P. Tuazon. Inhale. Exhale.

And, yay! Meron pang jeep! I had a little accident though. Biglang nag preno yung driver because of a cat. Hindi ako nakahawak. My right knee hit the metal at the back of the driver. Huhuhu. "Dad, please. May it not be serious."  I started to kinda panic because it's painful nung tatawid na ko, bigla pang may truck na mabilis so I had to walk faster. Wahhhh! Whew. Great thing that I could still walk well. (Right now, I noticed na may pasa pa din yung knee ko. hehe)

Anyway! I arrived at the meeting place (Jollibee) and awkwardly asked a woman  inside if they are from HFCM. She  shaked their head though. Texted someone from HFCM and asked where they are. He said that they're outside near a speaker.

Yay! I found them! I met Grace and Mat (Hi girls! It's so lovely to meet you!) . It's Mat's first time too and we had good chat. I also met Van and eventually, Jayson arrived and introduced Pao to us. It's her first time too! She is such a sweet young woman. I'm so happy that we're on the same van - Van 1!

We also met the other volunteers  inside the van and prayed before we go.  It was kinda hard to sleep. I don't know.. did I sleep? Maybe I did.Hehe.   It was cold and I regret  not bringing my sweater. :"( Anyway, I'm happy that the other volunteers could finally have a good rest. Hopefully. Hehe.

Ate at Jollibee for breakfast. (I don't know kung saang Jollibee na haha)
Chaye (HFCM's founder)  said something that made me blush. HAHAHAHA.  Ayoko na sabihin. I'll just keep it in my heart. I'm sooooo grateful to finally meet her!!!! (Hi Chaye, if you're reading this, I also want to say to you what you said to me (I hope you remember)  and even more because I also saw a glimpse of your beautiful heart!!!)

Went  back to the van. Tried to sleep and the sun is rising.

Eventually, we're there! The mountains greeted us.  Had a huddle time.Prayed. Got my shirt (Oh, the shirt's awesome!). Carabaos arrived and flashback starts. I remember riding it when I was young in a harvest season (pauwi galing bukid at nakahiga sa mga sako ng palay). Hehe. This time,  walang palay (just our bags) and sumakay kami. :") It's wonderful to experience it again.


Nung tamawid na kami ng unang ilog (eto na, yung ilog!), I was riding the carabao and I was staring at my feet and the water. I remember His word for me:

 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:11-12

Biglang nagkapakpak yung kalabaw sa paningin ko. It's like an angel used by God for me at that time. HEHEHEHE. Kasi nga na amazed ako na nakaangat yung paa ko sa ilog habang tumatawid!

Glad to have good chat and hugot with other volunteers too like Dina, Albert and Earl!

Pao and I  eventually walked and encountered yung iba pang mga  ilog  na mababaw lang.  I thought,
"eto ba yung mga ilog na kinatakutan ko? Awww Dad, sorry."

Now, when I close my eyes I can still remember the lahar on my feet, the clear water, yung mga talahib and the mountains!!!!

We arrived at Sitio Banawen at around almost 11 AM. We had  our morning devotion and I'm amazed that Lorainne shared the Word that God gave to me for the new year - Ephesians 2:10!!!!!

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. :")

We had a delicious early lunch (tinola and tilapiaaa)!!!! And I got another answered prayer (It was a prayer to Daddy to really help and not be a burden)! Earl asked me to help him as he share the Bible story to the kids. (Earl, I hope I did help you. HAHA)

Find Me. HAHA

Had a huddle time with the kids! I talked with two girls and three boys with random ages. It's warms my heart  that they know Jesus. I think when they know Him and call unto Him, they are rich in life already. Why did I say that? because I experienced talking to well-off children who doesn't even know His Name. One once told me, "Jesus, what's that?" That's  one of the most heartbreaking thing and worst than being poor for me.

Okay so back to our  huddle time, I pounded more how great God is in creating things and even greater because He sent Jesus for us. He gave His best for us and nothing is impossible with Him. I wanted to inspire them to keep on dreaming and lift their future to Him. I asked them what they want to be and they answered that they want to be a soldier, policeman, teacher and ...a Pastor! An 11 year-old boy said it! WHOA. Oh, I really hope he would be!!!

We had a group picture and we started giving the hygiene kits, Chicken Joy, toys,  juices, Bibles and some clothes. It was challenging at first to keep things organized because the people we're pretty aggressive and ... excited? hehe. Eventually, it was okay and I had a  little chat with other kids as well. I met Aileen, a pretty girl and had a small talk with her and her sister-in-law too.  I'm surprised when she asked for my number. hehe. I also had a chance to talk to a grandmother. I asked her if she's happy that we're there and she smiled brightly with her yes.  :")

We ate an egg sandwich, cleaned the place, took some pictures, took the group picture, more pictures and rode the carabao again going home.

After 2 and a half hours of staring at the mountains, sharing stories, jokes (HAHAHA PAO!!!!!) , sound trip, praise and worship, we arrived where our vans are. Changed clothes, went inside the van, prayed and exchange stories and funny moments.

Slept and woke up to eat dinner. We ate at Rico's (I think that's in Subic).  Listened to a love story and ate Sinigang na Hipon after a long wait. We went back to the van and sleep... ... .... ....woke up at times and then sleep... ... ...sleep. And tanannnnn! Hello Cubao! :")

Thank You Daddy God for our safety!



Awww. It's time to say goodbye to one of the best 24 hours of my life.  Bid goodbye to the other volunteers  and I'm sad. I walked with Van and Renjo going to Farmers. Arrived at home at around 1 AM and slept  with a supeeerrrr happy heart. :")

Oh what a privilege!
 I'm excited to go and make JESUS famous again in the mountains!

O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
I would never come to the end of them. Psalm 40:5 New Living Translation (NLT)

My hands, my feet

My everything

My life, my love

Lord, use me


1st Photo by Les Anderson on Unsplash
Other photos are from Pao, Dina and Kuya Ronald :") 

In a journey of surrender

This season has been nothing but overwhelming.

Most cliches are being so real in my life , there are  lessons that I want so much to embrace and treasure in my heart and there's a  new revelation that makes me repent.

-  Cliche's being so real  in my life:

Jesus is everything.
Jesus is our all in all.
A life that's fully surrendered to Christ.
Jesus is in full control of my life.
Fully trust in Him.
All I am for You.
Take it all, take it all.
Only Jesus.
He completes.
He is our sole completion.
You can only be complete in Jesus.
Everything you need as a woman is found in Christ.
Jesus is THE ONE.
I am totally surrendered to Jesus.

Everything. All in all. Only One. The First. All. Fully. Totally.  Sole completion.

Those sayings and words sound so familiar and all this time, I thought I grasp

them well.
I thought I'm doing good in this, but not really. I realized that I'm still learning

and by His grace,  it's  becoming real. Like a flower's petals that bloom in it's time.


In the past, I had the tendency to just fit Jesus into my life, but now I realized that I should be building my life around Him. That He really got to be the reason for  living. Learning about the brevity of life made me think of my life and my  purpose more. In conclusion, life is still and will always be about Him.

Jesus, be my everything.

- Lessons that I want so much to embrace and treasure in my heart:

-Outward-focused life

When I'm so focus with myself, my problems, my issues, my pain, I noticed that I  was not being  productive and it feels like I'm not living out my purpose.  God just  recently opened my eyes to see the need of other people. I happened to stumble upon stories of some  Christian Women in history who changed the world  through their outward-focused life. Women like Elisabeth Elliot, Carrie Ten Boom, Sarah Edwards and Amy CarMichael inspires me in serving more and  in doing more. Their lives are really His and His purposes. They loved Him and others so much and made a great impact in lives of people. I loved this part while reading about the life of Amy CarMichael (a missionary to the children in  India in the 1900s):

"When the children were asked what drew them to Amy, they most often replied 'It was love. Amma (Amy) loved us".

Their lives and situation were not perfect but they trusted God and allowed Him  to use them. Oh to have an outward-focused life!

- WOW Project

This stands for Woman of Word Project.

We're learning about the Bible (it's authority etc.)  these days in the church and  the importance of meditating His Word was pounded on me. I learned that meditating is also repeating and memorizing. Thus, it became goal to memorize  at least one verse a week.

I'm happy that last January I memorized the following:

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God's masterpiece. Created anew in Christ Jesus,  so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 3:20

Now all glory to God who is able according  to His mighty power at work within us to infinitely accomplish more than we might ask or think.

Colossians 3:16

Let the Word of Christ dwell in your richly, teaching and admonishing one  another in all truth, singing  hymms, psalms, spiritual songs with thanksgiving to God in our hearts.

Revelation5:9b

For you were slaughtered and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe, language, people and nation.

This is not just for the sake of memorizing it is for the sake of future use. I'm also learning that  His word is meant to be used. It's not to be displayed. After all,  His word is our Spirit's Sword. We fight the lies using them and grow more in the knowledge of Him.

Let's be women of the word yeah?

-Life is Short

Finding it hard to breathe sometimes, my grandmother's wake,  a booklet entitled "Life is Short (enjoy mo ang buhay)" by William Girao and a talk in our Victory Group in the office about the brevity of life made me think more about life, my purpose and what I'm doing about it. It made me long to prioritize the activities that will just impact the eternal destiny of a person. I'm praying to share the Gospel more and to serve more. Nawa  ang buhay ko'y maging gamit na gamit Nya! Amen!


New revelation that makes me repent:

Proverbs 31: 12

Oh how I'm doing my MOG harm all this time.

Thinking and longing for someone else other than Him and him is not honoring at all. Imagine talking about your man about another man right? oh oh.  I've been writing to MOG about my crush weeks ago and God just made me realized that it's not right.  "All the days of her life" means even today, I've got to honor him. Yes, it's permissible to have a strong  crush on someone today but is it beneficial? I know it isn't. It just make me have unnecessary kilig , thoughts and pain. HUHU.  Nothing against crushes it's just that, I noticed  it's not good for me. Learning to just go and  focus more on what He wants me to do in this season.

I know it's easier said than done (like naiisip ko pa din si crush at times,  I have to just snap it and focus my thoughts on Him and  talk to Him)  I'm just really clinging to His grace in all these.


After all, all things are possible in His Name.  :")

So there, I pray that the cliches that I mentioned above to be more real in my life , for the lessons to be embraced well  and for my repentance to be proven true.

This season has been nothing but overwhelming.

                                                 ***Photos (first and last)  by  Larm Rmah and  Christopher Campbell  on Unsplash