2014. What was I doing?

To those who still follow this blog, thank you and I do apologize if the activities that have happened in this blog has been close to zero for 2014.

So what have I been up to in 2014? A lot.

Mid-year 2013, a close friend of mine asked what I used to do in the call center (which was what I was doing before I went full time painting), and he mentioned about putting up a BPO in Cebu that would help individuals who come from challenging backgrounds. Aside from thinking about it, he asked me to pray hard about it, since the company would launch either late 2013/2014.

So I did work some paintings before the end of the year (which you can view here, here, and here [hehehe]) and then came typhoon Haiyan.

We had our relatives from Tacloban stay with us in Manila so I had a lot of training with taking care of children and senior citizens. Just very thankful how God took care of them (by June 2014, I got to visit Tacloban because we had a family reunion. You can find photos that I took here).

Then my friend got in touch with me before the end of the year and asked for my work details to give them an understanding of what kind of person they would need. Then, he asked if I wanted to join since they couldn't find anyone with the same experience.

I prayed hard about it since I was very comfortable with what I was doing. So I prayed, and prayed, for direction.

I looked back at how faithful God has been and how He has made things fall into place. It was no coincidence that I would be led to my friend after how many years of not meeting when I was at my previous work, the whole experience I had i the BPO industry, even my travels to Cebu back then, and all the other experiences I had with church work, has led me to where I am now. 

The work that I am involved with now helps those who come from challenging backgrounds: labor/human trafficking victims, orphans, ultra poor, traumatic experiences, and so on. 

Isaiah 1:17 - Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.

Isaiah 6:8 - And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Hebrews 13:16 “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

The whole of 2014 was definitely an experience. I arrived in Cebu with just one luggage and a backpack (and a projector for the office). Created training modules, set up the office with computers, met a lot of great people, experienced my first Sinulog, took a lot of photos as a stranger in my own country, and finally started to paint again after how long.

What I learned thru this experience is that if you must remember the things that you went through which is part of what God will lead you to. And when He leads you to a place: trust in Him, and go!