a thousand moments passed since these fingers were driven to type... a thousand stories to tell..

ISCF gents weekend
i didnt know what to expect and what i really am supposed to do.. all i knew was that i am supposed to be a 'counsilor' to some 15 students, act as a 'kuya', be nice, follow some staff orders(slave-like.. haha!) and nothing more. we werent told what our jobs really are, what we are going to teach, etc.. the theme "Rising up to be men of faith" just gave somewhat a 'hint' taht i should be a Man of faith, as a counsilor.. and make those students 'rise up to be men of faith' too..

but i think i was lucky enough to know where the camp will be.. because my co-counsilors didnt even know where we will spend the weekend..! hehe.. but i think they were wise enough to bring their clothes and toothbrush with them.. >_<
honestly, i thought i really wasnt really prepared to be a counsilor for the weekend and i didnt have enough time to fix myself from all my mess.. thursday morning - my cough worsened (because of a complicated but a very funny story.. hehehe.. but i still have coughs til now) and before i even got up my bed, i was thinking like crazy of different excuses i can say to kuya mark if ever i dont make it on friday.. and from two sundays before that, i was worrying a lot about our LC-DC because we were raising our camp fee and til that time, we only have P600 in our pockets - we needed P16000.

FRIDAY 14 Inspite of those turbulence in my head, i still managed to arrive early at the IV bldg by 2pm - we waited for the students at SM north by 6pm, we (counsilors) scrambled our way at sm to look for and buy the materials we need - and left for the campsite by 8pm against the planned 6:30pm ('Filipino Time' as you might think, but il try to write about it in another article if i find the time..)
Traffic wasn't really bad and we thought that everything was going smoothly after all the chaos.. the dark sky begins to dress itself with its stars and the wind slowly changes from urbanly warm to forestly cool in little time.. we chatted for some time during the travel, to ease the silence - i still didnt know some of them students..
we were almost at the campsite by 10pm.. well, Almost.. we had a stop because vehicles arent allowed to go in the Pacific after 5pm.. all of us felt the agony of waiting.. but finally, at about 11pm, we arrived at the campsite - in a God-crafted mountain, with trees and everything that will make you give a sigh of relief - everything looked and felt different, and twas like we travelled to a different world.. the air was cold but it tasted different compared to the smoke-infested city air and inhaling as much of it until you feel that your lungs will explode will not be as bad.. we saw the dorm, and all of us felt like just throwing all our things then diving off to bed - but there is much more to do - like what happens in stories, when you travel to a different world, time doesnt matter much..
our supposed schedule was badly delayed but time didnt matter.. after a while, we were at the 'church' at the top of a hill (or it looked like a hill because it is higher.. we are on a mountain anyways..)
(by the way, this is a Gents weekend story so i wont get much into detail, and this post is getting longer anyways..)
almost everyone including me was sleepy, but i still managed to hear (and understand..) some of kuya jeff's message.. and i remember hearing one of my favorite verses :

"Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king. 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But, even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3:16-18

that was a wonderful verse, but hearing it again in a beautiful place makes it more wonderful..
i had my sleep at about 3am, after doing some counsilor things.. and it was good that there are no beds - only foams, available, and sleeping on the floor makes you sleep with ease. But it will also make you wake up early - i woke up at 6:30am..
when sunday came, i had to leave early for the 'BOT meeting' at church.. so they said goodbye to me (i didnt.. hwehehe.. >_< ) by the way, everything went well anyways, but as i said.. theyre 'gents weekend' thingys.. ;b
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next story..
i walked down the 3km steep mountain road (and i really walked 'down') and after 45minutes of walking, being lost, being barked at by dogs and even stared by some mountain dudes, i finally reached the gate, bade the mountain goodbye, then headed for the big city..
i didnt think about the things i was supposed to do and 'worry about' during the weekend but it all entered my head again. i had a coffee break at Mc Donalds, SM north before riding a bus to church. And there it was, an overwhelming view.. some of our LC-DC sponsors are present and actually attended CBC that sunday.. i didnt expect them.. i didnt expect very much on what God can do.. i was so happy deep inside, even tho i knew that we still need more bucks.. then after sunday school, thanks to honey ;b, bucks did came, sometimes in small amounts, and sometimes in a munchkin bunch.. and after little time, we had abt P13k in our pockets! (sadly, 2 campers cannot join so we only needed 12k)
and then God strike me hard.. like a bears fist on my head, i thanked him, but after all this time, i didnt put all of my hope in his power, i didnt expect that wed collect enough, i even thought of making other campers back out so we will need less bucks.. i realized, i wasnt much like a man of faith.. and i thank God.. for the bucks, and for the change in me.

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thats it for now.. tomorrow the LC-DC!! i wont be able to touch this site for, maybe a week and a day.. by the way.. i have a new phone!!! muhahahaha!!