It's been ten days since I gave birth. I just want to share my first photo of our newly completed family! It's been such a struggle at the same time joy to go through birthing, nursing and being a mom to a newborn again. I forgot how hard it was to breastfeed, worrying about the amount of milk you produce, strugggling with people's comment about how you are not producing enough milk. It's been  tempting, tiring and even depressing ten days.

But today, I just felt the Lord calling me to go to Church. One thing is that I really deserve to go out. I havent had a decent sleep for ten days- waking every hour to feed. I deserve to go out. And what better thing to do- than go to Church. The Lord reminded me today that He is everything I need. I just need to walk with Him, be filled with Him and just trust Him. 

During the message, I just felt my agony turning into joy and celebration, my fear turning into peace. I just praise God that He is indeed everything we need. It's such a beautiful Easter. 

Before we go through the Holy Week, I just want to share great inspiration and speaking I had today. God is in control. God will take care of us. I am just amazed to listen to the story of JC Penny- about his rise, his fall and his turning to the Lord. Indeed, there is no need to be anxious. We just need to trust the Lord. :) Happy Holy Week!!!

It's that time of the year again when everyone celebrates their children's achievements, posts their children's "first honor" thing on facebook. Dont get me wrong! I actually appreciate achievements and conquests. But life is not all about their being first honor in second grade. life is about training the next generation to be problem solvers, resilient to change and competitive to face the real world. What we had seen all over the news for the past few days about the UP student who committed suicide because she was not given the financial grant (scholarship) is just a wake up call that we need to stop fooling our children, praising them too much on small conquests. We need to prepare them to face the realities of life- train them that life is difficult, and that the only thing you can do is find solution. Suicide by the way is not a solution. In fact, it manifests how weak the person is, how fragile her foundation was. Raising children and raising the nest generation of GREAT FILIPINOS should be about resilience to change, because there will be a lot of changes in our society if we really want progress.
Having a conversation with young great men who the government has tasked to fix some of the "internal" stuff in the system, I have seen how crucial it is that they were trained to be men of steel. Two of them were UP Law graduates, who got shouted at by professors after professors, ridiculed and even put to shame. But thats what we need. We need to train our kids to stand up on their own feet, be strong, be resilient and find solutions.
This March, Im celebrating my Oakridge kids' achievements. But its no big deal. No first honor, no  Magna Cum Laude in Grade 6 graduation. Those are just silly. This year, I celebrate their strengths- each one of them and their strengths, train them to face the complexities of life and prepare them for the future.

Dagupan City play a vital role in the revolution during the Spanish colonization. A couple of battles were fought in our very own city. But the sad thing is that today, no sign not even a statute or story can be found in the City.
The train station in the city was so important to commerce and trade - that British engineers came and stayed in Dagupan for the construction and opening of the station.

After writing about Old Manila, I want to write about my town, my city- Dagupan. Last month, i was tasked to finish a video on the history of Dagupan (well, the Chinese Migration in Dagupan City). And ended up learning more, falling in love with Dagupan heritage and history, and at the same time develop that kind of yearning to teach, preserve and pass on what I have learned and saw.

Dagupan used to play such a crucial part in trade and politics in the North. Not only is it strategically located to control Northern Luzon, businesses and trade are so progressive that it has the second most number of banking transaction in the country. 

Culturally, Dagupan plays a vital part as well. We have great cinemas and hosts premiere nights during the 60s. thats how great it is to be in Dagupan. Its the "it" place. 

I woke up today reading a surprising news- they're tearing Phil am Life Theatre down. I cannot help but be super affected on how we- Filipinos take care of our heritage. We don't restore our historical places, put value on our lineage and appreciate where we came from. Worst, we prefer building malls and condominiums. What does that tell us?
I always have a hard time planning field trip for Oakridge. One is that most of the "sites" are not worth visiting as its very commercialized. The places that are worth seeing are either unsafe, closed or torn down. Whats that??? Whats that tell about us?? Like for this school year, I wanted the students to ride the Pasig River cruise, see the beauty of old manila, know the importance of Pasig River in Pre-Colonial trade and development of Manila. But Pasig River cruise is now closed. Sad isnt it???
Since I've been waiting for my baby's birth, Ive been reading a lot about old manila - Escolta and its former role in trade, entertainment and culture. Now, Escolta is a den of robbers. Its former glory has faded, forgotten even by Manilenos and even government officials.

You know how amazed I am to find out that we had our tram before. Its such a feeling of pride that we actually had that kind of colonial experience. Escolta houses the building with the first elevator in the country.
Now, look at Escolta. How can we show our children the rich heritage we have if this is the environment they will see?? Sad

I really praise God for being the center and the goal of Oakridge International School. My stay away from Oakridge made me realize so many things - things that are the core and that are important to Oakridge. I've realized that Oakridge is not about great people working toward great things. We are all ordinary people working towards God's commission and purpose. And I appreciate that because we have nothing to boast. Being a graduate of a prestigious school doesnt made us worthy to prepare young leaders for God's move and purpose. We are just ordinary, simple people who are willing to be used by God. You know how often I wanna give up in this mission. How often I felt tired and restless (when I fight with the Principal), but at the end of the day, Its God's mercy and grace that makes us move forward because He has called us for this purpose. Thats why when I worry about the future, God hits me in the head with a gigantic rock to remind me of His faithfulness and purpose. That all I have to do is trust Him, be willing to serve Him and stay on the course (never deviate). I really praise God! The teachers- my co-workers and co-teachers are all ordinary people willing to be used by God.