Part-time Job

Last Saturday, I accepted the offer to work part-time as a pastoral intern at a local church here in Toronto. The church is a branch of the main church where I used to pastor back home in the Philippines. One of the things that I told the lead pastor here in Toronto was that I didn't want to work at the youth ministry. It was quite an odd request since I was a youth pastor for 2 years and the youth ministry will always have a special place in my heart. I just felt that I needed to be exposed to other areas of church ministry to broaden my experience. Besides, they already had a youth worker who's doing very well and I didn't want to take his job away from him. The church gave me the task of developing the small groups, training leaders, and overseeing the young adults ministry. I find the task quite overwhelming and challenging but certainly exciting. I'm open to God teaching me different things in the months or even years that I'll be working at this church. The only thing I don't like about it so far is the title "pastoral intern." I've already had that title for 2 years. I guess that's just trivial matters anyway. ;)

The Student Life

I never thought I'd become a student again after college. I'm no longer used to it having completed an undergrad 2 years ago. I guess the saying "never say never" appropriately applies here.

I stayed up until 3 AM last night working on a paper for a history class. I haven't done that in years. Although I didn't have to finish it last night, I felt like completing the paper anyway. It felt really good to place the final punctuation mark and sit back after a job well done--a sensation I haven't experienced in a long while.

Classes in the past 3 weeks have been very academic in nature. I'm learning a lot of stuff but most of it is really just for head knowledge. I'm trying to juice out as much practical stuff as I can from the lessons but there's really not much. I hope all my classes aren't like that. I'm really interested in learning things that will directly affect my ministry.

I had to wear several layers of clothes to school today. Tonight's outside temperature was a whopping 4 degrees Celsius. And so I put on a shirt, a sweater, and a jacket to escape the cold. I even turned on the heater in the car. The cold isn't so bad yet. I heard though that when the real winter strikes, it can get a bit crazy over here.

Setyembre '09

It's been a long while since I've posted anything. I was complaining weeks ago that I have nothing to write about--and it's true because there really was nothing happening to me. I wasn't going to write about "Bum Day #17." Now that seminary classes began last week, I have things to write about but unfortunately, I can't seem to find the time. Anyway, here's a summary of the things that happened in the past week or so.

Tyndale Seminary. School officially started last week. I find the idea of going back to school exciting but at the same time daunting since I haven't been back in 2 years. I guess that's fine considering I have classmates who haven't been back to school in 15 years. I'm wonderfully surprised to see many young people in grad school--people even younger than me. I met a Filipino who's a year younger than me. He recently quit his dreams of becoming a lawyer to follow God's calling--a story that's very close to my heart since that's exactly what happened to me too. There seems to be a growing desire among young people recently to devote their careers to God. It's something that I've already noticed at my home church in the Philippines.

Preaching. My speaking engagements have been piling up again. Last Sunday, I got the chance to speak at the 2 branches of my home church that are located here in Canada. It was a crazy Sunday morning. The 2 branches are 30 minutes apart from each other. The Peel branch ends their service at 11 AM which also happens to be the same time the Toronto branch starts theirs. Therefore, right after I spoke at Peel, we rushed over to Toronto so that I could get up on stage just in time. I spoke on prayer using Jesus as an example since the 2 branches are on a sermon series on building their relationship with God. I believe God did a wonderful job that morning. I'm also scheduled to speak at a youth event this Friday at a local church in downtown Toronto. It should be a fun weekend.

Driver's License. Until today, I don't have my upgraded driver's license. I need that upgrade to be able to legally drive alone. Unfortunately, all the testing centers that administer the exam for the upgrade have been on strike for almost a month now. Nobody is able to get a new or upgraded license until the strike is over. Only God knows how long that will take. I heard the last strike lasted for 2 months. It's such a hassle. I'm currently using my Philippine license to drive since the government allowed an extension to all out-of-country licenses.

I guess that's it for now. I'll try to post more consistently provided I'm not too busy reading that thick book entitled "Biblical Interpretation." Only God knows how long that will take too. :)

God's Forgiveness

I was contemplating yesterday on the ability of God to forgive people. Does God really forgive us for every sin that we commit? And does He really forgive us even if we've sinned against Him for the nth time (n being whatever possible number out there)? Doesn't He get tired of seeing us sin, say sorry, then sin again?

Matthew 18 shows us one of the most logical and reassuring proofs of God's unlimited forgiveness. In verse 21, Peter asks Jesus, "How many times do I need to forgive someone who sins against me?" Peter proceeds to make a suggestion, "Up to seven times?" If I'm not mistaken, in Jewish tradition, a person is required to forgive the one who sins against him up to three times. After the third time, that's it. He doesn't have to forgive him anymore. In Peter's suggestion, he plays it safe by doubling the required amount and then adding one more bringing the total to seven. Jesus gives a profound response in verse 22, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

Jesus isn't being literal here. He's not expecting us to count to 77. What Jesus is simply saying is forgive the sinner as many times as he sins against you. In short, display unlimited forgiveness. This is the standard which Jesus has placed upon the believers of God. We are to display unlimited forgiveness.

However, take a look at the other logical implication of this standard. If this is the standard which we must uphold, then that must also mean that this is the standard which God, Himself, must also uphold. Therefore, logically, God must also (and He does) display unlimited forgiveness!

And so going back to our original question: Will God really forgive us for every sin we commit? According to the standard of God which He, Himself, gave through His Word, the answer is a resounding yes.

Do Not Worry

I've read Matthew 6 dozens of times especially the part where it says "Do not worry." However, I never realized that the statement "Do not worry" was more than just a suggestion. It was a direct command from Jesus to his followers. Jesus commands believers not to worry.

There are instances when I do worry a lot. I worry the most during the days before I speak and in the moments before I get up on stage. It's nerve wrecking to say the least. This Sunday, I've been invited to speak at a youth service and so now is about the right time I start panicking about it. I've been worrying about it all day until a friend of mine pointed out to me this nugget of truth: "To not worry is more than a suggestion. It's a command." Maybe this time I'll take the advice of Jesus and try not to worry but instead "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).

The Sound of Music

My aunt took me, my mom, and my sister to watch the broadway rendition of "The Sound of Music". "The Sound of Music" was originally a music film released in the mid 60's. I never got to watch the original film but I've heard much about it. The broadway musical was actually very good. Kudos especially to the production efforts found in the stage design and lighting. The stage was a sight to behold. The company sang familiar songs such as "Do-Re-Mi," "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," "My Favorite Things," and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." A fantastic cast, an interesting story, and songs I haven't heard in such a long time will certainly make this performance one of the most memorable ones.

It's just not as exciting

To say that my one month stay here in Canada has been "uneventful" is an understatement. Truth be told, I find Canada life quite slow and boring. Time is slow. Days are long here in the summer. The sun comes up early (I've never actually been up early enough to see it though) and the sun goes down late at 8:30. Not much of a night life here--at least none that I know of yet. The only consolation is that the weather is great. Now if I could just find a couple of friends to share the great weather with.

I haven't made many friends yet. There's so little opportunity to meet new ones. I guess part of it is because school hasn't started (it starts in 3 weeks), I don't have a job, and I haven't found a regular church yet. I hope things will pick up when school starts.

There's also really not much to do here. Like I said, b-o-r-i-n-g. Even the malls don't manage to look cheerful. Malls are small and lifeless! They simply cannot compare to the malls in Manila.

I'm already starting to miss it back home. I miss my church and my friends. Of course I miss my family but my mom and sister (she happens to be studying here too) arrived a few days ago so that makes up for that. I especially miss the excitement of everyday life. Unlike here, there's always something interesting going on in Manila. In my one month of absence, here are some of the things that have passed me by:

1. One or two outings with friends. I see the pictures!
2. I heard that four of my friends have gotten into relationships! It's about time for some of you. ;)
3. A bunch of my friends recently attended a "singles" conference. I heard it was an awesome event.

Stories like these make me miss it back home even more. It's just not as exciting here.

Failure

I hate failing. Period. I try to do everything I can to succeed but I guess that there are just some instances in life when you can't avoid failure.

I took the road test today to upgrade my Canadian driver's license. I spent hours preparing with an instructor and I spent even more hours practicing on my own. I failed the 15 minute exam. Disappointing. I'm taking it again in a few days. I just hope I don't end up like that lady who took the exam earlier than me. It was her 6th attempt at it. She'll make her 7th attempt on the day I take it again.

Silly Sleepyhead

One of the funniest youtube videos I've ever seen is "Charlie the Unicorn." It's about 3 unicorns who go on this stupid journey to Candy Mountain--a land of "sweets, and joy, and joyness." A friend of mine sent me this picture a few days ago. "Silly sleepyhead" is a line found at the beginning of "Charlie the Unicorn." She would call me "Silly sleepyhead" every time I would yawn or show any hint of drowsiness. You can check out the hilarious video of "Charlie the Unicorn" below.

Wild Weekend

Here are the highlights of my third weekend in Canada. Last Monday was a civic holiday and so it was a long and wild weekend over here.

Friday

My aunt took me, my mom, and my dad out for the evening. We had dinner at this fancy restaurant called "Baton Rouge." I ordered a steak. She then took us to watch a broadway musical. One of the great things about being in Toronto is that you get to watch some of the best stage performances. Years ago, I watched the live broadway musicals of "The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Mama Mia." Last Friday, I watched my fourth broadway musical entitled "Jersey Boys." It's the story about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Apparently, this singing group was a big hit in the 1960's. I don't know most of their songs but I did recognize popular ones such as "Walk Like a Man" and they're extremely big hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You."

Saturday

I was invited to be the guest speaker at a youth camp hosted by a Chinese church here in Toronto. When they said "camp", they literally meant "camp." My aunt who invited me to speak warned me days before that we were going to "rough it out" at the venue. I didn't know what she meant by "roughing it out" until I got there. The venue for the youth camp was camping grounds designed mainly for boy scouts. All the facilities were what I would call "basic." It makes every youth camp venue I've been to in the Philippines look like a five star hotel.

Cabins looked like army barracks with bunk beds as amenities. There were two showers in the vicinity. The two showers were supposed to be good enough for the 75 campers and 10 staff at the site. Some campers eventually ended up skipping one shower, or showering in the river, or who knows, maybe not even showering at all. We also had to cook our own food and clean the place ourselves. In fairness, the food was really good. The cooking team did an excellent job. It was an interesting experience to rough it out in the wild.

That evening I delivered the first message. Half of the campers didn't exactly know who Jesus was to them and the other half, in my observation, wasn't serious about a relationship with Christ either. I recounted for them the last moments of Christ and showed them what Jesus had to go through for our sins. It was quite an emotional moment for some of the kids. I could see tears in some of their eyes especially after I showed them a short video of the death of Jesus made by my brother. We ended that night with a bonfire and marshmallows.

Sunday

On Sunday morning, we had a simple service at a beautiful outdoor chapel near the river. I delivered my second and final message about trusting God with everything. The camp planning team informed me days before that many of the campers struggled with confidence issues. So I explained to the campers that confidence to go through whatever life hits you with comes from trusting in the one and only Creator of the universe.

A few parents came all the way to the campsite to hear me speak that morning. I was flattered that they would drive two hours to the venue to listen to a 30 minute message. They told me they weren't disappointed. It looked like God did a fantastic job that morning.

After finally completing my tasks, I was able to relax the whole afternoon. The campers went canoeing. I decided not to canoe which was actually a smart decision. The canoe route they took was a tedious five hour journey. I opted to take the motorboat instead. We spent two hours rescuing canoes that tipped over and teaching people how to canoe properly.

After the motorboat ride, I decided to help at the kitchen. I don't know much about cooking but they had me cooking fried chicken. I fried 300 pieces of chicken. That was a lot of chicken. The campers ate them all. It was good chicken. We had a workshop in the evening and we ended the day with a bonfire and marshmallows again.

Monday

It was the day we headed back to civilization. Before we left, we had to clean everything--as in everything. Beach front. Kitchen. Mess hall. Cabins. Toilets. My team was assigned to clean the toilets. "Lucky" me. Real "lucky" too because my aunt decided that we should leave earlier due to a dinner we had to attend that evening. I didn't complain. ;) We left right after they announced the cleaning assignments.

Thanks for being my #1 fan

In the Philippines, whenever a person would approach my desk at the office, I would occasionally give them a post-it with an autograph saying, "[Name of person], thanks for being my #1 fan." This picture was sent to me about 2 days ago by one of my "fans" back home. ;)

Success

I just started reading the book of Joshua today for my devotions. I got excited to read the book because my NIV introduction stated that "Joshua's remarkable life was filled with excitement, variety, success and honor." I want a life like that too. Here are some of the things that I learned from the first chapter.

1. At the very onset of the book, God promised Joshua success and God also promised that He will never leave Joshua. When God makes a promise, you can bet He will see it through. That's why Joshua didn't have to worry at all about his assignment to be the leader of God's people. All Joshua had to do was be strong and courageous. God already paved the way for Joshua's success.

2. However, the success that Joshua was going to attain came with a condition. God said that Joshua must "be careful to OBEY all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left that you may be SUCCESSFUL wherever you go (Joshua 1:7)." Success seems to be a direct result of obedience to God.

3. That's why it was so important for Joshua to meditate on God's Word day and night. The Bible states the reason. "So that you may be careful to do everything written in it. THEN you will be prosperous and SUCCESSFUL (Joshua 1:8). Again, success seems to be a direct result of obedience to God.

4. The last thing I learned from this chapter is that having a good relationship with God is incredibly essential for a leader. People will follow a leader whom God is evidently present with. Soldiers in God's army were willing to do whatever Joshua commanded and go wherever Joshua directed. And they did that for good reason. "Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. ONLY may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses (Joshua 1:17)." The soldiers followed Joshua because God was evidently present with him. Having a good relationship with God is incredibly essential for a leader.

I miss you too :)

Sent to me yesterday by a friend of mine back home.

Introducing the New 2010 Toyota Corolla

About 2 days after landing in Toronto, my dad bought me a new car. I picked the color. ;)

The Search is On

The search is on for a new church for me to attend and to serve in. Last Sunday, I visited the church my parents attended when they resided here in Canada years ago--Toronto Chinese Community Church. It was a typical Chinese church. Slightly old fashioned for my tastes though. A dozen or more churches in my area seem to be Chinese churches of this nature. The reason might be that in the town that I reside in, almost all of the residents are either Chinese or at least Asian in ethnicity. In fact, I've seen very few Americans so far in my stay here. I've actually met more Filipinos. Because of the demographics, I guess that's the reason why so many Chinese churches sprung up within driving distance of each other.

One of these Chinese churches already invited me to speak at a high school/college camp next week. They're considering me for a part-time position at their church. I want to be able to work part-time, preferably as a pastor. God hasn't said much about that though. I hope I get a clear answer from Him soon so I know where to spend most of my extra time. I'll be visiting other churches in the coming weeks in the hopes of finding the one God wants me to give my life to.

The Race is On

Upon landing in Toronto, I must complete the following to move on to the next leg of the race:

Unfinished

1. Get a Canadian driver's license.
2. Re-apply for health insurance.
3. Look for a church (which I'll do today).
4. Register for classes at Tyndale University and Seminary.
5. Learn how to cook, do the laundry, and iron clothes (haha).

Finished

1. Unpack.
2. Sign-up at a gym (I feel like Im getting fatter already).
3. Buy a car!
4. Get a Facebook.

I hope I didn't miss out on anything important.

Welcome to Toronto

The journey from Manila to Toronto was grueling.

My mom insisted (I insisted otherwise) that we leave for the airport 4 hours before take off because of the typhoon that struck Manila. We left the house at 3:30 PM and we got to the airport an hour later. It took us another hour to process everything at the airport--check-in, terminal fees, immigration, etc. When everything was completed, we ended up waiting for 2 hours for our departure to Hong Kong.

The flight to Hong Kong was relatively quick. We got there in about 2 hours. It was 9:30 PM. We had to wait at the Hong Kong airport for our flight to Toronto which was scheduled at 2:30 AM. Insane, right? Like I said, grueling. Grueling is definitely the term to describe the journey.

It gets worse. The flight from Hong Kong to Toronto is a whopping 15 hours. No stop overs. And as if that wasn't enough, we got delayed at Hong Kong by 30 minutes because of several problems in refueling the plane. God was definitely testing my patience. He's been doing that a lot lately.

Unsurprisingly, I couldn't sleep very well on the plane ride to Toronto. I estimate that I slept a total of about 3 hours. I had to fill up the rest of the time with other things to do like watch movies, play games, stare at children, go to the toilet.

I watched Troy and New in Town on the plane. Planes today are very sophisticated. You can choose from a wide selection of movies and TV shows and it plays on the screen right in front of you whenever you want it. Each seat even has its on power outlet so you can plug in a laptop if you brought one. I brought a laptop but my charger was in the check-in bag. Real smart. At least I wasn't bored to death on the way here. I would of forgiven everything else EXCEPT being bored to death.

The journey from Manila to Toronto was grueling but I'm relieved to finally arrive here safe and sound. I'll tell you more about Toronto tomorrow. Right now, I need to make up for some lost Z's. Welcome to Toronto!