EN2010: Day 1

It is a privilege to be part of the EN2010: Come Together event held at The SMX Convention Center. Representatives from 47 Nations all over the globe came with one purpose: to Come Together and Worship God!
During the celebration, majority of the people were jumping and we all could literally feel and see the floor wobble and shake on Level 3. That was a good experience!
The two powerful speakers today were Grace Aiyegbon from Nigeria who talked about The Table Banquet of the Lord in Mark 7:25 and Rice Brooke who focused on Every Nation, Every Campus.

(To hear Podcast click here)

I can't wait for tomorrow! Day 2 for EN2010! wohoo!!

Some pics from my camera:

Being part of the Parade of Nations was a once in a life time experience!
with Qatar!
w/ representatives from China!
Met new friends from Nepal!

Japan!
Lastly, with Mom(Right) and Tita Ditas (Left)

To be continued...

Leaving the comforts of home

A month and a half ago I got in a flight from Cagayan de Oro to Manila for an indefinite stay. Having a vague picture of the future and feeling uncertain of what will happen is definitely valid yet I should not focus on these thoughts but rather focus on what I can do where I am.

Leaving the comforts of home was a tough decision that I had to make. And as I write I remembered the boy in the book "THE ALCHEMIST" who searched for his hidden treasure. He would just go for it. And at every point in his life he would make it a point to excel, help people along the way and never fail to seek advice.

I can relate to the story of the book. I can recall a quote in the book that said,

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure"

Yes, I admit. I am afraid to fail. But without failure, I will not grow. And I know that If I constantly seek advice from the Word and ask advice from other people then there is a greater possibility of succeeding than failing.

Leaving the comforts of home could be one of the best decisions I ever made. I know I'd still go back to Bukidnon, 'cause that's where my heart is. But for now...I'm hoping to make my dream become a reality, one step at a time.

Home School College

These questions often pop up every time people ask me the type of schooling I do. So I decided to make a write up about it.
I do Home-school education. Some call it distance learning or correspondence with PENN FOSTER COLLEGE

Really? Going to school at home?
Yup! Going to school at home!

How does it work?
Once enrolled Penn Foster sends your materials at home via DHL. Some books can be downloaded through your Penn Foster account via E-book. Exams can be submitted in 2 ways. First, you can use snail mail or you can use the Internet. Either way is okay. For convenience I use the Internet. Right after clicking the submit button I can immediately results of that test. At a glance I can see my lesson average, monitor my progress, check my payments, see school bulletins and announcements.
You Study at your own pace. No competition! If you decide to study at 3am, No problem! If you want to study for just an hour of two, that's fine! Distance learning is designed to fit and adjust to your schedule. The best thing about it is YOU'RE IN CONTROL OF YOUR OWN TIME!

What's the difference between HOME SCHOOL COLLEGE and going to a regular SCHOOL?
These are the benefits I am experiencing while doing Home Study.

1. No FARE or GAS expense
2. No BOARD and LODGING expense
3. You’ll save good money on Food Expense!
4. NO AGE LIMIT! You can be 17 or 71 to enroll. As long as you’re willing to put time and effort into it.
   

So with these reasons alone, I was convinced to enroll myself with this kind of education. On a personal level, it’s really more economical. And I can use the saved resources for other needs and activities. Like travel, sports, etc. while doing my course. That’s the beauty of it, you can be anywhere in the world while studying.
Some ask, how about your social life?
I know I had to sacrifice the social life of college. But I can still see friends anytime of the week. I meet other people through other social activities.

What kind of certificate do I receive once complete?
You will receive an ASSOCIATE DEGREE. (Click on the link to read more about it.)

Why do I prefer this?
This is my opinion based on experience. Since this is my blog, I can write anything I want! (haha!)

Home school has helped me push myself to do more than what I’m required to. Since there is no one physically watching me, I have no choice but to push myself. Cause If I don’t, I won’t be able to complete the course and I’d only waste resources. I’ve learned to persevere through my studies.
I remember asking my instructor about memorization of terms and formulas for exams. She replied “Don’t worry, exams are open notes. We don’t push for memorization, we push for understanding.”

I’m writing this as an option to for high school students, for people who want to continue their education but can’t seem to leave work due to current responsibilities, for people who want extra credentials for their resume in the future, for people who want to make their time productive and achieve something in the end.
Ecclesiastes 1:13 says “I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men.”

Even King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, studied!

I hope this helps.

Other links below:
Pros and Cons
Pennfoster Career Programs
Accreditation
About PennFoster College

ERNO

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ERNO

One of the BEST BUYS ever!

When you think of a New gadget, do you feel like buying it ASAP?

As soon as you have the money, do you run off to the nearest store and buy "that new toy everyone's dying to have?"

I just had that frenzy! The gadget I sooo wanted to have was a digital point-and-shoot camera. But I remembered these principles as the urge of having one grew intensely.

1. SAVE..SAVE…SAVE

Have you noticed that money saved is hard to spend? Yeah! Imagine, you working you’re as* off, then in a blink of an eye you loose it. Guh!

I learned this when I started working at the age of 17. Earning money early teaches you to be frugal with your spending. Since I was receiving a minimum salary for a start, this taught me how to save.

20% of my earning automatically goes to savings.

Saving is for EMERGENCY. Instead of borrowing money, use your savings. Why?

If you borrow money you will be paying PRINCIPAL LOAN+ INTEREST. Which is more. But if you save, you may not have savings left, but it definitely is not borrowed money! Make sense?

Save for what you want. Set a target amount. For my camera I had a target amount of P8,000.

2. WAIT...ASK…THINK ABOUT IT!

Waiting is an essential discipline I learned while I lived in the Farm. I learned that prolonging my decision for a few more days or weeks gave me more time to think about an item I wanted.

While I was waiting I started asking people who are camera enthusiast, I started searching the internet and I literally went to Hidalgo, Quiapo to check what kind of camera I could get for P8,000.

I was downhearted after going to the camera shops in Hidalgo. The kind of camera I could get for P8,000 are good cameras but not exactly the kind of quality I was looking for. Still hoping to find ‘the camera’ I wanted, I checked eBay Philippines out of curiosity. Miraculously I came across this person who was selling a black CANON IXUS-100IS model. I fell in love with the camera the moment I saw it. Knowing that it was 2^nd hand I was hesitant. But I still called the owner to inquire.

Just to give you a little background on the CANON IXUS-100IS. A brand new unit costs P17, 500. When I went to Hidalgo, the black colored one was sold out and they were down to their last few units. I asked the clerk what their best-seller on the point-and-shoot was, he said “CANON-IXUS 100 IS was the best seller. And we will be phasing it out soon.” After hearing that, I was fully convinced that this was the camera I will be buying.

Like I said earlier, I called up the owner of the camera to inquire and asked if the unit was still available. He said that 2 people called earlier to check the camera that day. But I knew that camera would be mine! I just knew it!

Going on with our conversation I asked him “So where do you stay? I’m willing to get the unit if it’s still in good condition.” He assured me that it was hardly used and he was selling it to buy a DSLR. He gave me his address in Alabang! (an hours drive w/o traffic) good luck!

2 days later, I scheduled to drive all the way to Alabang to look for this eBay seller not knowing if I’ll be buying the camera and if I’ll be able to find his place. Risky huh?

Going there wasn’t hard. 11:15 I arrived at his place and we went straight to business. I checked the camera. I kept on asking the history of the camera. ASK ASK ASK!

After testing the camera over and over again I made up my mind. I was going to buy it! So asked him “How much are you selling this?”, he replied “P7,500. Mura nay an. (that’s cheap!)”, in response I added “What does this go with?”, he said “4GB memory card, charger, and a pouch.” Being kuripot, I still negotiated for a lower price. He smiled and said “Last price na po yan sir.” In my mind I knew P7,500 was a good deal. I paid him cash right there and then.

What lesson did I learn in all of this?

First I saved for something I wanted/needed. Second, wait and ask the opinion of other people. Never rush a decision! Proverbs 15:22 reminded me that “..with many advisers a plan succeeds.”

Remember my budget was P8,000? I bought the camera for P7,500. And I used P500 to gas up the car. TOTAL EXPENSE: P8,000.

SAVE…WAIT…ASK..THINK ABOUT IT!