Active Hyperemia

The start of 2008 has been a blast for me. =) The thought increases the congestion of blood in my face which causes active hyperemia, also known as blushing (although I'm not sure if it's obvious because of my skin color =P). I'm really thankful to God for all the things He has provided me the past year and I'm grateful that He continues to give me life so that I may enjoy the blessings that He has to offer.

I was appointed to be a Sabbath School Superintendent, a chorister, the head of the Sabbath School's Investment Committee, and head of the Youth Ministry's (YM) Nurturing Committee in our church (Seventh-day Adventist Church, Pasay City) for the year 2008. I just pray that God would continue to guide me so that I would be able to fulfill my duties and serve Him & the church to the best of my abilities.

I also thank God that we were able to push through with the first dinner of Adventist students at UERMMMC. I prepared a simple dinner that evening but it was made extra-special by all of the people who attended (some of them, I just met personally/formally that night even though I've been texting them for quite some time already like Ate Leony, Kuya Don, Tanya, & Lhex; the others who came were Kuya Marky, Ate Len, Ate Ging, Ate Donna, Wayne, Kitkat, Ate Lennie, Dr. Avila & his wife Dra. Grace, Lhex's gf Roanne, & Kuya Jorge) and of course, by God's presence. It felt really nice bonding with them. I pray that we would be able to have our monthly prayer meetings so that we could continue praising God together and strengthen each other's faith as we serve our Lord through the medical field.

Ate Lennie, Dra. Grace Avila, Ate Donna, Kuya Don, & Bam singing "Sa Iyong Mga Yapak"

Click My Multiply Site link for more pictures of our dinner...

As part of my goals as YM's Nurturing Committee head, I want to focus on enhancing the personalities and skills of the members of the Teens for Christ (TFCs). I believe that they are the future of the church. I want to be able to encourage them to continue serving God and be able to find joy in doing so. Last Friday, I was able to have the first meeting with some of the TFCs (Thank you Francis, Barry, April, Maybelle, Kristel, Roger, Chester, Michael, Cas, Dianne, & Lhesdee. Thank you also to Cas' mom, Sharlene & Kuya Wilson for joining us.) and I really thank God that everything went well. What we did was we gave a brief introduction of ourselves and each of us had to pick a question from the Icebreaker box (a Christmas gift from my bro which I also used during the dinner with my Adventist schoolmates...It's really helpful...thanks, bro! ;P) Each person in the group took turns in sharing their answers. Some even had additional questions...the teens even asked me about my lovelife! =) I told them I had none at the moment but I'm happy focusing in my studies and in serving God. I said that I believe it will come in God's perfect time. And even if I'm not in a romantic relationship, my life is still filled with love - from God, my family, & friends. =) If ever God will give me that bonus of having someone to share my days with...that would be another wonderful story/blog post to tell. =) The TFCs and I also had the privilege of talking about something we were thankful to God for that week then we ended the activity with a prayer. I think most of us enjoyed the session and I am really happy to get to know all of those who participated. =)

The theme of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, General Conference for the Youth in the year 2008 is "The Year of Sacrificing". I pray that I will be able to sacrifice more for the Lord this year so that I may be able to grow closer to Him. I pray that I may be able to live my life according to His will; that my words and actions be acceptable in His sight. I also pray that He would continue to use me so that others would see His wondrous love and that they may also have the eagerness to know more about God and His amazing grace. =)