Cousins Day Out!

Last Sunday, my cousins visited CDO and it was so fortunate of me to have joined them (finally!) in their escapade. Well, I’ve always been absent in most of their bonding sessions, so when Jongkoi texted me that Sunday afternoon, I immediately called him up, ‘coz I wanna make sure I wouldn’t be left out for the nth time, hehehe!

A few minutes of joyride within the city had brought us to the house of Jojo and Micmic’s friend where we took some wacky snapshots. Bahala ug gisingot na sa kainit sa panahon, hala pose lang gihapon. Pastilan! Walay lingaw!

Still undecided where to go next, the driver of the group, Kuya Jonard, had finally stepped the break at Limketkai. Ayan, pabugnaw kuno sa mall kay grabe kaigang! The original plan was to watch a movie, but when we passed by the World of Fun arcade, we ended up joining those little ones playing kiddie games, hahaha! I forgot the name of the game though. Basta kana bitaw maghulog-hulog ug piso, then kung maka bonus ka, you’ll get tickets equivalent for souvenir items which are to be claimed at the booth nearby. We were having so much fun with the game, we hardly noticed we had spent more than 200 bucks, just by merely dropping peso coins every now and then. And our prize? Tsadaaan! Pagka haba-habang rolyo ng tickets, worth 400+ points. And since I’m the only rose among the thorns, they decided to turn over all those tickets to me, and had me choose whatever souvenir item I want! Wahhooo! Tenk yu mga pinsan!

Still mesmerized with such winnings from that kiddie game, we went on strolling around the mall, hopping from one tech store to another, eyeing for some prospect tech gadgets to buy. Kuya Jonard’s prospect was the same as mine – a computer set with flat screen lcd monitor . We only differ by our pockets – his was full, mine was empty hahaha!. Siya, pwede insigida palit that day, ako sunod tuig pa siguro!

After some few more minutes of mall strolling, our reverend cousin Fr. Arnold called us up, saying he’s gonna treat us out for dinner. So our hungry stomachs then brought us to SM City. Ba’t ang layo? Well, just to drop by and eat some more, ‘coz we’re heading to Talakag afterwards, and there we would spend the night at the palace, hehehe! Bitaw, sa kumbento, ang pinuy-anan ni Kuya Dodo (Fr. Arnold), diin siya na destino pagka kura paroko.
We had much fun at the convent. Kaon-kaon, storya-storya, picture-picture… uban si Jongkibark, Kuya Jonard's holy dog, hehehe! Makalingaw! Hope to be back at Kuya Dodo’s place before he ends his term in Talakag on June this year and be assigned in another parish in Bukidnon. (Just hoping his next assignment will be in my beloved hometown Malaybalay!).

A Blessed New Year

New Year’s Eve -- I’ve had my first flip on the 2007 Bible Diary my friend Judith had given me last Christmas. I was quite eager then to know the very first message in store for the New Year. And behold, was I that inspired by the passage: “This is how you shall bless… The Lord bless you and keep you!” (Numbers 6:23-24)

While the common greetings we usually exchange at the strike of 12 midnight were “Happy New Year! Have a prosperous New Year! Mabungahong bag-ong tuig!”, the day’s passage tells us how God would have us greet each other. “The Lord bless you and keep you!”

The best way to greet one another this New Year is to invoke God’s blessing upon one another. Instead of simply “wishing” for one to have a prosperous new year, invoke God’s blessing upon that person. We petition the Lord to bestow His complete blessings on each one. In this manner, we can be sure that God’s grace will rest on us for the rest of the year.

Have a blessed New Year, everyone!!