My First Real Christmas in Dubai

i love christmas... i love the message it brings. i love the joy it writes on each ones faces. i love its power to bring together warring couples or friends. i love the cool breeze. i love the opportunity it gives to bring the family together. i love the laughters of the kids, the sharing of memories of friends, spreading thanksgiving, and sharing of the blessings. i love feeling His nearness...


and this year, for the first time in my stay in the UAE, i am having a real christmas. it used to just pass me by coz i usually work for it's not an official holiday here.


dec 7, we started with the distribution of the shoeboxes to the brethren, which went on until dec 21..

dec14, the church had the Christmas Cantata which paved the way to welcoming the season. we were serenaded by the angelic hosts from EBCI ;)


dec 15, had a sumptuous lunch at Boardwalk with the Edifice people, and our boss, Mr. Shahram Forouhgi...

dec 24, afternoon, we had our office party for the first time too...




dec 24 evening, went to a friend's family to celebrate christmas eve the pinoy-style way...


dec 25 lunch, long-distance calls to my family in the philippines...


dec 25 afternoon, bonfire at jumeirah with the church mates...

dec 25 dinner, with close friends mano, j, constance, kate and brett at mercato....

Hope you had a great christmas too!!! however which way you celebrated it, may we not drown the real meaning of christmas--- our Saviour was born so that He may give up His life and shed His blood for the rdemption of our souls... that is the best gift anyone can have!

The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

(Korea Times, Dec 30, 2007)

The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto last December 27 has plunged the Muslim nation into extreme chaos. The nation faces its worst crisis since it was founded in 1947. What is more serious is the current situation shows no sign of abating in the foreseeable future with possibly a far-flung impact upon the entire global community. The ``blitzkrieg'' suicide terrorist attack has darkened the future direction of Pakistan's path toward democracy.Concern is rising over the possible nuclear instability given the geopolitical location of Pakistan as the only Muslim nation to possess nuclear weapons. It would be a nightmare of ``nuclear terror'' if Islamic extremists take the nuclear weapons, dealing a critical blow to the global anti-terrorism efforts, led by the United States. Additionally, there have already been signs of fluctuation in the prices of crude oil, gold and bonds.

The killing of Bhutto occurred during stumping for the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) ahead of the general elections slated for Jan. 8. Her death is all the more tragic as it comes in the wake of the killings of her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1979 by the then military regime, and her two younger brothers ― one in a foreign land and the other by police. Pre-election surveys had shown that her PPP was looking to win a majority in the upcoming elections.

The real attacker has yet to be identified as there are too many of the usual suspects ― pro-government activists, Islamic extremists, informants and members of the military. Further confusion will also intensify terrorists' activities and weaken anti-terrorism efforts. The United States faces a dilemma since it has supported the current Musharaff regime in the fight against terrorism. Musharaff has been the target of growing public criticism for attempting to extend his stay in power in a seemingly inappropriate manner. The U.S. deserves a fair part of the blame for having excessively pushed for its anti-terrorism war in coalition with a Pakistani regime that lacks legitimacy.

What a shoebox can do

we usually throw our shoeboxes away after bringing the stuff home. but in our church, these boxes serve a greater purpose-- that is a means to express our love for the less privileged brethren during this christmas season. there are seven items inside: toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, towel, deodorant/perfume, call card and chocolate.

i did not know we had brethren in the outskirts of dubai, until i joined in the giving of these shoeboxes. and i have witnessed how this has equally blessed both the receivers and the givers. i know they were happy for the box, but more importantly, i know they were happy for what the box symbolizes-- the love and the fellowship of the brethren in Christ!

as for me, i have been blessed by their stories of faith. i have been blessed by their perseverance despite trials and difficulties -- real physical difficulties that i cannot imagine would exist in dubai. i have been blessed by their simple joys. i admire how they faithfully worship Him friday after friday, even if some will only have half-day off, and even if to some, this will endanger their lives. they sang praises to God as if the ceiling would fall down from the sheer engergy they give for each song. they listen to the preaching hungrily and anticipatingly, as if this will be the last they will hear. they hug each other so tight that love overflows the small meeting places.

i have been blessed by the generosity of those who gave these boxes and participated in the wrapping sessions. and i have been blessed with the presence of each brethren during the brief but meaningful fellowship.

even if we do not share the same language (we had interpreter), we do not enjoy the same privileges here, the good news is, we share the same Saviour, and we are all heading towards the same direction....

Youth Lock-In

i do not know what i was into when i volunteered to help for the youth lock-in activity of the church a few weeks ago. firstly, i do not know anybody among the adults nor among the teens, so i had my share of initial awkwardess and shyness (me??! yes! you bet!). i have rare occurences of social autism, and this is one of those. but by God's grace, He has dealt with me on ths. secondly, i've always been involved with kids and teens activities in my home church in manila, but overnight??? and locked-in to boot! this is my first time! 31 teens inside one house = chaos??? nah! i was actually pleasantly surprised at my experience...

attendance going 20... 21..22....28...31!!!!

during registration, i already felt the surge of energy... the teens were anxiously waiting for the list to exceed 20, and later 30. why? sometwo brave souls promised to have their heads shaved the mohawk style if the attendance count reach that number! haha! so can you just imagine when the last count was....31? they were all shrieking, clapping, shouting! and anticipating the moment the shaver will touch those precious hairs... haha! so after a few hours, after many games and activities, all the teens gathered around the kitchen to witness the moment of truth! there were mixed expressions of shock, excitement and fun. shock because they did not know they were serious about their promise. excitement because each run of the shaver on their heads is an inch closer to their request of mohawk style (one keeps the middle part, ala-Mr. T of the A-Team if you know this series), the other one shaved only the middle part! and fun because-- do i neet to explain?! hahaha!

ice breaker and a lot of push-ups

not all were friends yet when the program started, as obvious from the cliques i've seen during registration, so games ensued to break the ice-- it's called, name game. each person needed to recall the names of those to his/her right, so if you're the last one, you have to memorize all 31 names! i can't believe the memory banks these teens have! i am so amazed! but there were also some where their memories failed them, and had to do push ups!

of prayers, songs, inspirational words and sharing time...









after the name game, the teens girded up for the praise and worship. as they sang those solemn songs, as they meditated on each word, i can't help but have goosebumps as i see these young ones embrace the songs wholeheartedly. and as the word was preached by pastor david on the identity, i can sense God working in their hearts, God challenging their thoughts, God making Himself known to these young people. when we had the chance for smaller group talks, i knew that He has special plans for these teens. as Phil 1:6 says, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. "

pizza, pizza, pizza!!! need i say more?

one...two...three...GO!!!!they had more games, and more games that really tested their mettle. i liked the treasure hunt in the nearby mall, with the goal of solving the puzzle of the new name of the youth group. 10 groups of 3's were scattered all over the mall searching for clues. can you just imagine how suspicious that looks-- teens in 3's roaming around the mall with pens and papers, and 8 adults waiting by the escalator?? there were a few who even asked the security guards?! well, well, everything went well and we did not have any discussion with the guards nor the police. and finally, some groups solved the puzzle right. and the name is.... 180 degrees. it represents the change in a person when he is in Christ. nice name. figurative and very descriptive.

more games...

at around 2 am, when i thought they've already fizzled out their energies from endless games and activities, they still wanted more! we adults were already knocked out! we still watched movies after the games, until around 6 am!!! and we had to wake up at 730am to taste pastor dan's sumptuous pancake delight!;)

when's next??

i'm sure all the youth have enjoyed this great lock-in experience, as they were asking when's the next one already? haha! as for me, i equally enjoyed it! i thought i volunteered to be of help. but in the end, i think i was the one it helped... it helped me appreciate more God's dealings with our youth... it helped me be blessed by the whole theme of the event... it helped me find my gifts once again which has slept for a long time... and last but not the least, it helped me open up opportunties for new acquaintances which in God's time may turn into good friendships! so... when's next?? ;)

That's very Adultish!

and when i say "adultish", i mean it in the same negative way we regard being "childish". i wish we never have grown up with this, but i guess, adulthood brings with it some forms of moral recession...

when my nephews and nieces quarrel, though it happens always and can really wear down the person tasked to watch over them, they are easy to reconcile. i easily know who are fighting, why they are fighting and what's the degree of their fight is. why? because they speak their hearts out, they focus in the current situation, they recognize the 'reconciling' authority, and it is finished when it is finished.

that's how different some adults are, and here is where i think we must emulate these little ones.

they speak their hearts out. kids would say what's on their mind, which is oftentimes out of line. and what i hope adulthood would achieve, is for this talk to be seasoned with maturity and civility. but oftentimes "adultishness" swallows us. we do not speak, we engage in psych-war, and worse, we masquerade our true emotions with poisonous friendliness which is just waiting to explode. i do not know what prompted us to become afraid of expressing ourselves. but this has oftentimes led to unnecessary strains in relationships.

they focus in the current situation. they say when people become hysterical, they usually become historical. true. adults seldom fight compared to kids, but when we do, we're sure to open a can of worms! some are related, but more often than not, it just makes the situation worse!

they recognize the 'reconciling' authority. even if kids go out of hand in their expression of anger, kids usually quiet down when the authority is mediating them already. we adults usually lose this perspective of authority, usually jaded, and we even question the impartiality. that's how "adultish" we are.

it is finished when it is finished. when it is my turn to end the quarrel talk with our kids, i am amazed at how they instantly pick up from where they left off before the fight. i admire that. unfortunately, experience has somehow eroded that ability, which gives birth to the dangerous 'vengeance'-- either in small ways or big ways.

i've dealt with so many of these adultishness, both mine and others. i've been in the midst of these misunderstandings too. and i can't stop myself sometimes from saying "how adultish!" oh, how we love to complicate things...

Let the Master Do it!

i've been wanting to cut my hair for the longest time ever. been flipping on mags to check out the style that i want. been asking around for good salons.

and then one weekend, a hairstylist went to our villa. he is a kabayan who just usually does home service to our staff. should i let him do it, or should i scout for someone really good? i thought, 'well it's just hair anyways. and the price is darn cheap!'. i did not ask anymore how good he was, and so that evening, at 1am (we went home at 12 midnight), we were all lined up for our tress cut! he did the one before me in 5 minutes tops! and he did mine the same! i guess the others too. i thought since he did it fast, he was really good!

the next day, the verdict was clear! i made a mess! i thought it was just a small hair mess, you know, something really not worth a worry. but i was wrong! it wasn't called a crowning glory for nothing. now, the real master stylist would have a hard time working on it, compared to the raw, unadultered hair.

just like in construction, many engineers and architects told me it is better to demolish an old building and work on an empty space, than try to work around the existing structure.

i should have been patient, i should have let the master do it... i guess not only to the matters regarding my hair, but to other aspects as well, moreso about matters pertaining to my life plans --> i should let Him freely work out His plans in me...