Why I chose to live and work in "Greater" ("motown" Morris) Minnesota?

Interview Q&A email with Jenna Ray, e editor/writer in University Relations at the University of Minnesota, Morris:

Cool name Jenna! :) How are you? Yes, this is a very humble invitation that I feel very honored and definitely interested! I get this question a lot since I've graduated back in 99' and still ponder about it. As I was riding my bike this evening to my job, I decided to reply with these answers:

Why do you choose to live and work in greater Minnesota?

Journey on finding my identity (purpose in life) ("One won't know where to go in the future, unless they know where they came from (past)")

I never expected to "stay" in Morris this long. In fact, when I graduated from UMM in 99', I took a summer job to get me through the summer during this "ministry school" my current local church offered. I was then planning on moving to the Twin Cities to do "God's work" or something. Well, as you know, I'm still here :) I somewhat fell in love with my then job (group home with Prairie Community Services)-more of the "people" I work with (both co-workers and "clients" or "consumers"). I got involved with various church "outreach' activities: See You at the Party (annual "new year's eve" event for youth in the west-central and surrounding area), Special Touch Ministries (once a month activity event for developmentally disabled adults in our county and surrounding counties, Good News Radio Show (did this for 2 summers via KUMM), Iglesia Nueva Vida (e.g. inviting friends to just one of many Spanish service opportunities) , etc.. Then a guy from my local church asked me to be part of this community "discussion" (Blandin Foundation group that now started the PRCA -Prairie Renaissance Cultural Alliance or Art gallery in town). From there, it just went from one "community forum or group to another" (e.g. All American City Finalist in 04' (attended a conference in Atlanta, Georgia: to share why I stayed in Morris because I wanted a "better" community after my past racism experience), Blandin Community Leadership 2004, COPC: Community Dialogue on Cultural Diversity (partially sponsored/funded by my employer-PCS to attend a COPC Conference in Baltimore, MD: asked to do a Diversity in the Workplace session to PCS employees afterwards), Stevens County Youth Mentoring (didn't "bear fruit", but would share experience with now then Kinship county-wide mentoring program that's "developing" right now), similar with the Morris Area Elementary School Property Vision; Morris Community Ed: started as a volunteer (offered part-time teaching "paid" position just the past 2 years or so) back in 04' due to my commitment to see "we" as a community can "reach out" to the growing "Spanish-speaking" community via literacy project: ESL, G.E.D.-help young "adults" and others get that high school diploma and continuing ed topic (e.g. computer, skills, driver ed, etc..), Hersehys Track & Field volunteer; Stevens Forward, etc.., etc..

"Pic taken by West Wind Village during Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service (January 19th 2015)

After I wrote the above response, I thought about the college years that was the "backbone" on getting me "prepped" to "stay" in Morris. It all started my freshmen year, when we had to do some "community project". It's been a long time, so I can't really remember the details on how I got involved. However, I remember we went to some neighborhood and helped planted a tree. This is why I bring a digital camera with me everywhere I go now, so I can remember where and when. Anyways, it was some neighborhood (new development in the outskirts of "suburbia" Morris). This was just the beginning of the many community projects I participated (e.g. Campus Compact with "community connector" Carol McCannon of Student Activities-this prior to the current UMM Community Engagement that "awesome" Argie Manolis runs now!) in as a college student. I would then meet many people from the local churches in town that invited me to their "church activities" (e.g. Catholic Campus Ministry, Morris Evangelical Free Church Bible study, Morris Community Church services-potlucks, Hossana Worship Center (a.k.a. Assembly of God-name back then) services that were at the Science Auditorium, etc..). Just meeting people in the "community" outside of campus just built a lot of relationships that was very helpful as a college student away from my "family" back at my "other" home in St. Paul. Then I was involved with MCSA as a rep and the year I joined (97-98'), we went over to the Capitol and lobbied for the Regional Fitness Center. This was probably the biggest community project that I feel very grateful to this day as I'm an avid user and blessed to "stay" to see the "results". There has been challenges, but it's "not" "I", but "we" that works together for a better campus-community.

One of the the "other" reasons for "staying" here are the many benefits compared to where I grew-up ("bigger" city of St. Paul), such as: less traffic, so I can ride my bike (great exercise, save gas, etc..); meeting "all types" of people in our small rural college town community: elderly folks that have taught me lots of "wisdom" in life and love meeting WWII Vets, who has inspired me to re"search" my own parent's WWII past back in the Philippines; my current involvement in the community that has made it harder to "want" to leave with all what's going on. I current rent my bedrooms, which I love meeting and getting to know the "mostly" college-age students (particularly international students). I'm not as "busy" in the past, so I'm doing more of "discovering" and "practicing" my creativity (e.g. drawing, singing at my local church and making music-art videos on various topics that I have a passion for, etc..->sharing it via blog)

How do you think you are making it a more resilient place?

First, I'm not doing it alone! I constantly get-together with folks in the community over a meal (e.g. Don's Cafe), emailing notes (e.g. websites I've made as an archive), and networking via (e.g. photography facebook groups, like "Community Needs" or blogs, like Stevens County (Alberta, Chokio, Donnelly, Hancock, Morris) Community, GoodnewsEverybody Com, Health & Fitness: Benefits of Biking,, etc..)

Cont...stay tune for more!

March 2015

I continued my "early" Spring-cleaning with the beginning of the month by getting rid more of the "junk" in my house. I was able to find someone (friend on facebook) to take an "old" recliner that I was about to throw away. Thus, I was able to save some money (cost of getting rid of it at the local dump). The next day (Monday, March 2nd 2015), I went to a community fundraiser with my housemate/renter at the local Pizza Ranch, which part of the proceeds went to the local Community Ed (the place where I work-volunteer teaching at).

A "praise report" to share that occurred on Wednesday (March 4th) with the timing of the UPS guy. In fact, this is the 2nd time of such kind that I can remember (1st was when I prayed with a former housemate of mine back in 2004 or so...We missed the UPS guy that was going to deliver a big package, but we weren't home. My former housemate was in need of this package "badly", so we prayed together that we will find the UPS driver. We drove around town and asking "God, is this the right street to turn on..". Well, He answered our prayer!..praise the Lord!). I ordered a bulk of soccer (a.k.a. footballs) balls to donate to a friend (pastor/missionary for "Outfitters for Adventure") that he was going to deliver on a mission trip to Kenya (see Good News Africa) . The email delivery notification said it wouldn't come till the day after my friend was leaving for Kenya. I was a little disappointed and did a quick prayer-"God if it's your will, please have these soccer balls come early". Well, I went upstairs just to check if they came early, and guess what? :)...yes, praise the Lord! :) I quickly drove to my friend's house and made it..actually, they postponed their departure from Morris till the next day. However, I was still thankful as it came earlier than expected. Plus, the soccer balls could've arrived after my friend left??...;)

I did more "spring cleaning" by doing more cleaning of one of my bedrooms upstairs on Thursday (5th) and then went to my last voice lessons (4 of 4) after work...thanks Kurtis! I did some more work in my garage by putting an extra shelf to be used for storage for my unnecessary stuff in my attic. I did more "spring cleaning" (Friday 6th) by putting wood polish on the wood materials upstairs (main floor).

During the 1st weekend of the month, I participated in our monthly "Toast to the Master" (speaking workshop) at my local church. We covered the book of Colossians (e.g. holy living). I was able to also get a workout by running a mile within 9 minutes on the treadmill, which is a sign of progress that my knee is getting better after my unfortunate knee accident (slammed on hard ice at a park) almost a year ago now.

A song I wrote and later uploaded on Monday, March 9th..

During the 2nd week of the month, I was challenged at my 2nd (part-time) job doing the overnight "awake" due to confidential work reasons. I never had to do an "awake' shift since the "early" group home days after college. It was touch, but eating healthy and scheduling when to sleep/nap and eat was critical . Fortunately, I just had to do 2 shifts of this and never had to do it while I worked my full-time day job. Despite the lack of "sleep", I was able to hangout with my renter/housemate (Jin from S. Korea) at Mi Mexico (2nd time to eat at the Morris location)...

Then I went to a "Men's Life" gathering early Saturday morning after less than an hour nap after "keeping awake" overnight! The next day was the same, which I took less than an hour "power nap" after my "awake" shift (11p-7am) and then went to church for worship practice before church service. I thank God for giving me the "physical strength" to get through this whole "awkward" weekend of less sleep and the change of my sleeping patterns. I would take a long nap Sunday afternoon and took advantage of the nice weather by laying on my patio chair as I listened to my Minnesota Twins on the radio out in my backyard :).

It was St. Patrick's Day on Tuesday (17th), which I wore green like many others even though I'm not Irish ;). I did more spring cleaning (attic) on Thursday (19th). I took a lot of totes to work this week to "recycle" the unnecessary "junk". Spring "officially" began on the 20th, which we already have had some nice spring-like weather prior already.

I went "home" (St. Paul) the 3rd weekend of March to celebrate my be-lated birthday and the annual Philippine Day. My parents treated me for lunch at a Cambodian restaurant (see dish). Then I would go to Philippine Day with my brother and his family. I had to leave after 2 hours because of a winter storm coming. Thankfully (praise God), I left in time before it got worst. However, I had to drive through the middle of it going from Alexandria to Morris. I just drove slow and made it safely!

The last weekend of the month, I went to Moose Lake to visit a friend as part of my every other month visit. We then went to my favorite restaurant in St. Cloud-N.Y. Gyro! Great middle eastern food! The following day, I went to church and saw a "friend" I've been praying for. It was cool to see him. The next day, I benched 185 lbs, which is the most I've done in years, probably since my college days! (join Good News Fitness!)

February 2015

I started the month by going to a friend’s house for a Super Bowl (football ) party. It was good to get together in this national “holiday-like” special occasion. I never watched a full football game this season and this was the closest as I watched the first half only. The game can get too long, so I watched the first half as I wanted to just hangout over "great food" (chips and salsa dip) with friends. I wasn’t interested in watching the half-time performance, so I left and decided to "last minute" workout at the local fitness gym. I would catch glimpses of the half-time show at the fitness center and would leave after a good short 30-minute workout!

The following day (2nd), I had to drive to Alexandria for our quarterly consortium training-meeting with my GED-ESL teaching. It was good to see several folks from the Morris area helping with our program at the meeting.

On Tuesday (3rd), it was that time of the year to donate blood, which is always a great cause. I also feel an need of a new replenishing of my blood in my body, so this is one of the reasons why I love doing this too.

Despite the below zero weather on Wednesday (3rd), we still had several ESL students that came to class at the local elementary school. It was good to see some students we haven’t seen for awhile due to the cold weather.

On Thursday (4th), I had my first meeting with my voice lesson instructor (Kurtis) as we talked about my goals and expectations I want to learn for the next 4 weeks. I’m looking forward to learning new tips as I haven’t had voice lessons for several years or so when I took it with another person (Bethany) in our church, but I did it for only 2 -30 minutes. I plan to do 4 weeks -recommended by Kurtis himself to get more effective. I then would come back to the church building for worship practice as it was my turn this weekend for my once a month worship team cycle.

On Friday (6th), we started our every other Friday fitness class with some clients from my workplace. This is the one of best parts of my job! :) It was more focus on watching the safety of the clients or assistance (e.g. wheelchair clients needed help getting some exercise equipment) during the 30 minute class. It was very fun to watch them participate and have fun!

I would do my "lower body" workout the next day at the local gym after playing basketball as part of my cardio workout too. As part of my singing leisure fun, I did a karaoke song to Backstreet Boy’s “I Want it That Way (Karaoke by Sal on 2.14.15)

On Sunday (8th), I was part of the worship team and one of the songs ("Jon Thurlow Mighty Hand".....Ring in my finger") would stick out to me (usually comes after singing a particular song many times after numerous practice). This comes an ironic time as I was currently working on a wedding video project for a friend/former co-worker. One of the pics was this "ring" on the finger, which is very symbolic of a committed relationship.

I would pray for one of the people I work with at the group home and his back wasn’t feeling good. Well, the next day, he was moving around (sometimes too much and got in trouble) and didn’t have any back problems! Wow…praise the Lord for God’s healing!!

On Tuesday (10th), we had a winter storm , so work was 2 hours late due to the ice and slippery road conditions. I took advantage of the 2-hour late start by cleaning my basement apartment. Later in the day, I went to this "Black Lives Matter" forum at the local college which was a huge turnout. They had to divide into 2 separate groups to be able to better hear everyone’s voices on the latest national issue of Racism and law enforcement (e.g. Ferguson in Missouri and N.Y.C.). I couldn't stay longer as I had to leave for another event going on that same night-Spaghetti Feed Fundraiser for local UMM-IVCF mission trip to Arizona.

On Wednesday (11th), I met with my financial adviser (Allan from Thrivent), which was a good meeting on future finances!

The next day was my first of four voice lessons, which I learned some great exercise tips for my voice. The great comparison Kurtis shared is , as an athlete needs to stretch before his/her competition, they need to "exercise/stretch" to get their muscles ready-similar to our voices !

On Friday the 13th, I would drive the workplace bus to the annual Valentine "theme" dance at Ortonville. It was sunny, but cold and windy-just like it has been almost every year lately. The dance was fun and it was always great to get out of the workplace and our routine. I thank God for getting use to and from the dance venue safety as it was pretty windy (kept moving the bus as driving the flat prairie land does that around these parts of the state).

It was cold on "Valentine’s Day" (Saturday), so I spent indoors at home finishing some errands (house rental stuff) and projects (wedding video). I manage to go to the local fitness center to do my tricep workout.

On Sunday (15th), we had our 1st church potluck in our very new building (opened last summer)...for indoors! We had a potluck like event during the Storm the Planet Conference early September last year, but it was outdoors in the spacious green yard along the side of the church building along California Avenue.

We had President’s Day (Monday the 16th) off for the first time since I started at the DAC, so I took advantage of this day-off by doing taxes. I don’t want to procrastinate like 2 years ago when I finished the day of the deadline..I think I had to apply for an extension since it took longer than I expected. I learned my lesson and try to do it during a winter storm day. It’s too nice to do it when it becomes Spring in April. I would finish filing after days working on it, which I finished late Tuesday/Wednesday morning (2ish). I wanted to finish it so I stayed up late and wasn’t able to attend the weekly Wednesday bible-fellowship group I attend at Neil & Ruth’s.

I went to the cities the 3rd weekend of this month (20th-22nd), which was great weather for driving. On the day I arrived, I hung out with my brother and his kids. My niece gave me her favorite "hair dew" style. The the next day, I took my car to the shop to try to fix this on-going issue with my car stopping (engine shuts off at the stop intersection or just when I’m leaving my garage). I've taken it to the local shop in Morris and they couldn't figure it out. I even had a tune-up many years ago. I finally got it fixed after the folks in St. Paul looked at it. I found the solution after watching several videos on You Tube, which I credit the Holy Spirit (Counselor) giving me this "ah ha" moment! I had another encounter with "Folks with Signs Along the Highway Exit Ramps Part 2" as I was walking to the local auto shop to pick-up my car, but it wasn’t ready at the time. I feel like this area (East St. Paul) is a great place to "reach out". Later on Saturday, I went to visit my nephew and niece to "hang out" with them. I had some great quality time with them as Uncle Sal! :) The next day, I would order pizza (chicken pizza online (Dominoes) for my parents before heading out back to Morris in the 25-35 below zero wind chill advisory. I was prepared as I got my car ready in case I got stranded, but forgot to leave a sleeping bag due to the up and down winter season (warm and cold temp change). Thankful to God that I was able to get home safely! :)

On Monday (23rd), I attended the monthly Community Meal at Faith Lutheran Church, which I always look forward to a great "home cook" nutritious meal and getting to know my “neighbors” in the community. I had a great chat with a lady that I see at the local library all the time and her friend (who is the mother of a guy I know around town too)...small town!

I would eat out again the next day (24th) as I joined a couple of friends from work at Taco John. I lost a “friendly bet” on the Super Bowl, so I had to treat this friend a meal at Taco John. It was a good time to hangout! :)

On Thursday (26th), I attended a small workshop on "prophetic worship, which Cherish from that Storm the Planet conference equipped some worship team members from church and I. It was awesome. I hope to share some songs that God lays in my heart in future blogs as I’ve shared in the past already as God is always doing a “new thang” baby..Halleluah!

On the last day of the month (28th), I attended a ESL student of mine’s wedding at my local church, which was the first wedding of it’s kind at our local “very” newly remodeled church. It was a blessing!

January 2015

Happy 2015 all! How was 2014 overall for you? Got any goals for the new year? I've asked this question ("Made a new year resolutions?) to many people and the common reply is, "I didn't make one because every time I do one, I never do it". I think many people are afraid to make a "commitment". Are you? I started the new year with day off from my full-time job, but worked the overnight from my part-time job. I didn't mind since it was holiday pay. I took advantage of the time by working on a wedding video I made the previous day. It was too cold outside the first weekend of the year, so I did a lot of indoor "stuff" (e.g. watched MacGyver"). On Sunday (4th), temps got as cold as -39 F (wind chills)!

The next day, I had my evaluation at work and it was good overall. Looking forward to our new Executive Director (Charlie). The cold played a factor to no students on the 7th (Wednesday), which Rollie and I had a great discussion on Philosophy.

On Thursday, I went to see my dermatologist, which I haven't seen for 2+ years as I didn't see any reason. I'm glad I did as he found a growing biopsy mole, which I had it surgically removed right away. I would later get stitches 2 weeks later during MLK! I then went to a co-worker/volunteer from DAC's house to set-up her new flat screen TV. She is a "more mature lady", which she hasn't been much knowledgeable of the new hi technology. I would later go to her house next week as she had some technical troubleshooting issues.

On Saturday (10th), a friend/co-worker invited me to join some friends from his workplace to watch the movie "Hobbit: Battle of the 5 Armies", which inspired and "re" motivated me on the vision of "unity" (Jesus' prayer-> John 17).

I continued my "singing" for the Lord by being inspired this new year to "sing" the "red letters" (words of Jesus) of the Gospel. Here is the 1st of more to come as I plan to do one at a time as time permits..

We had a better turnout of students (ESL & GED) at the local elementary school on the 2nd week (Wednesday 14th) of the year. The weather (20's F) helped a lot compared to last week!

On the 15th (Thursday), it was the first day of fasting as church body for the team we sent out to India. This was the first day I've fasted for a "full-day" in months! I feel bad as I wished I did this more (I've fasted like 3 meals, but not within a day-weekly instead)., which I would end up seeing the "fruits"/good results/blessings (e.g. "breakthrough" that a sister in Christ (Vicki R.) prophecied/encouraged our local church body the following Sunday (18th)! I would hear some "positive" news at the end of the month (27th) at work, which was actually a "break through" (answer to a long prayer). This encouraged me to keep persevering in many of my other long prayers...so, don't give up!

On Monday (19th)-Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, I had my 1st MLK holiday off for the first time at my workplace. I didn't want to make this day as a "vacation", but a "day of service" that the local campus is encouraging the folks in Morris community to do. I decided to "volunteer" and participate during this annual event-> MLK Day of Service. It was a great time to serve with UMM college students (many from St. Paul) and the rest of the community.

The following day, I joined other "prayer warriors" as we intercede for the team to India and other community requests. After we prayed, one of my brothers in Christ shared about how he thought I was an angel, which I though was a compliment :)-> story

On Wednesday (21st), the Twin Winter Caravan (thanks Oray for taking these pics) came to the local school in Morris, which was the first time since 2 years ago. Last year was cancelled due to a winter storm (Snow Day), so it was good to see my co-worker bring some friends from our workplace. Later in the afternoon, I met with a couple of friends about starting a auto-mechanic business.

The next day (22nd), I went to a one-act play (Sally Wingert, lead actress in ROSE) that I saw "last minute" in the community "Friday Facts". I thought it would be very interesting and it was!I learned more about the history of Israel becoming a state hood and the personal story of one survivor of the Holocaust. I learned something new too, which was the British mandate somehow postponed the formation of the Jewish state. Jews tried to go to Palestine, but were turned down and sent back according to the play.

I did my once a month visit to the Cities on Friday (23rd) since it was my weekend off from my pt-overnight job. I had a great time spending with family (e.g. shopping with my mom, watching my nephew at swim practice, cheering my niece in her gymnastic competition in Rockford, MN, and celebrating my younger brother's early birthday at Buca's-first time here: Spaghetti Meatball Dish for 2-more like 4! ).

On the 28th (Wednesday), we celebrated the last day of class for one of our students (Coco) from China. She was here for 6 months and will be transferring to Waseca, Minnesota to continue her student-work agriculture program. We had a great party (e.g. Chinese food-> dumplings.

Since I had to work (every other weekend) at my other job the last weekend of the month, I went to Moose Lake for my every other month visit. It was a beautiful day for travel across Minnesota!

December 2014

I had another day off from my full-time job on the 5th (Friday) as my "last" days to take days off for the year. It was good timing as I took advantage of this time to "catch-up" (e.g. errands). I finished my last "CHRISTmas" shopping for family as I was able do it all in one website (family Christian store), which I wished they still had the Family Christian Bookstore in Morris (City Center Mall). It closed years ago, but it was a great place to go in my "early" years as a Christian.

The following day, it was a "packed" day as I had a list of scheduled events to go all day. I started the morning by attending a new "training workshop" my local church is hosting called "Toast to the Master" (parody of Toastmasters-see Good News Words). It's a 2 hour training workshop to be better public "speakers/teachers". I took speech classes back in college, but one gets "rusty" if one hasn't fine-tuned/sharpened their skills. It was a great workshop as I got great advice/tips (e.g. don't look at the sky, but look at the audience; begin your speech with something that will captivate your audience right away-getting their attention right away is key!, etc...). We all did 3 different speeches (e.g. I shared about my recent song writing, my recent weekend with parents to see "Cirque de Sol", and ?) in various lengths in our own groups (two) , which was very fun and informational.

Afterwards, I went to see the movie "Frozen" finally for the 1st time after doing various music videos (parody and the theme song-"Let it Go"). I invited some friends, which they were there too. It was fun to see and hear the kids present take part of the "sing-along" version. It was a pretty good turn out for a Saturday morning at the college.

I then decided to drive to Hancock for a special service of a guest speaker (Paul Rapley) on healing. We got "more" (been to Rapley's teachings before) "equipped" on this ministry gift area, which we then applied around town though "treasure hunting" in two different groups. My group went to Willies Super Valu and Regional Fitness Center. Great testimonies from this 2nd time experience as my group prayed for a lady that I know who was limping as she was pushing her grocery cart. Another guy was someone we just chatted with and he seem to want to just talk-great conversation with a guy that I've seen regularly around town. An advantage of living in a small town!

I took part of the worship team the first weekend of the month, which was always a blessing, which I just forgot to check my email of our monthly schedule as I wrote this (January 2nd 2014). Joining the worship team has given me the heart to sing more and practice wherever I go.

On Monday (8th), I celebrated a birthday with some friends (former ESL student of mine) at Bella Cucina, which is always a treat going there. It's the most priciest restaurant, which I usually don't go here unless it's a special occasion. I went to Insanity (cardio fitness group)at the local gym (RFC) a couple of times this month, which has been very beneficial (keeps me warm during the cold winter season, great for the heart, and it's probably the most intense work out with the help of a motivating instructor-I highly encourage this fitness group if your looking for one for the "new year".

On Thursday (11th), we had our annual "Christmas Tea Party" at my workplace (full-time job), which I didn't over do it this year with the "sweets" (gets me sick and seems like it does with everybody, which isn't good with the high rate of "flu" victims around the country lately). Later in the evening, the local "Morris Special Olympics" hosted a basketball fundraiser at the local high school, which was a great community promotion and awareness (e.g. disability) of volunteers needed.

The next day (12th), my workplace celebrated the retirement of our boss at one of my co-workers house after work. I'm very thankful to her for giving me this job since I was invited back in 2006. Thank you Emmy! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay longer as I had to leave for a friend's wedding party as one of the groomsmen. We had practice that evening and went to Bella Cucina..my second time within a week! What a blessing :) I had a chance to get to know both families of the bride and groom (both friends), which is always an extra blessing.

We had our (Morris Literacy Project )last class (ESL & GED) of the year, so we had a party! We celebrated the birthday of one of our students and made it a holiday party too!

The following day, I met up with a buddy from church as I'm trying to better on equipping other fellow believers through meeting ("discipling") one and one regularly. We ended up sharing our own personal testimonies and just building that bond as a family or brother in Christ.

On Sunday (21st), I did my first "share" at my local church's (Morris Community Church) annual CHRISTmas program (<-start 18:00-30:00 minute mark in podcast), which I never had the boldness to do since I've been part of the church. Two years ago, I shared about my trip to the Philippines, but I ended up doing it the Sunday after due to schedule problems. I ended up sharing a video I made a month prior with the theme...

Afterwards, I just shared a brief glimpse of my testimony (e.g. knee injury due to "pride" before the fall while downhill skiing at a nearby ski-resort during "financial" challenges in college). Then I shared about the abundant life (John 10:10) that comes after coming to Christ as one gets ride of their sinful nature (Galatians 5). I videotaped the other great performances/shares, which can be viewed in private settings via facebook if interested-contact me to be added.

I had my last day of work on the 23rd as we had to make a day up due to a "snow day" last month. It was fun as we had our annual Christmas part (clients opened presents). The next day, I took advantage of the start of my 2 week vacation by finishing some errands and going out with friends to do things I'm not able to do during my busy work schedule. On the 24th, a couple of friends and I checked out the newest restaurant in town (Mi-Mexico)...muy delicioso (very delicious in Spanish)!

I had to work the overnight (holiday pay..oh yeah!) on Christmas Eve and then went to St. Paul on Christmas morning after work. It was a pretty good drive (nice weather) despite a little traffic as I got closer to the Twin Cities. As I exited off interstate 94 (eastbound) in St. Paul on Ruth St., I had the opportunity to share some "Good News" with some "Folks with Signs Along the Highway Exit Ramps" (<-see blog) both on CHRISTmas day and the day after (after dropping off my car to get an oil change). We had a Christmas gathering at my younger brother's family house and enjoyed the company of the "whole" (in-laws) family as we did on Thanksgiving last month. My dad, mom, and I would end up going to a movie matinee of the anticipated showing of "Unbroken". We got there 15 minutes before the start and there were only 3 rows open up front as this was the opening day. It wasn't the most ideal seating, but we were glad to get in with the crowds. The movie was about 2 1/2 hours, which my mom got antsy the last hour-kept asking "when was the movie going to end". My dad was looking forward to this movie as I shared Louis Zamperini's amazing story online via facebook. I was so touched by the movie, I decided to listen to the audio book online after writing his blog...

Personal Life Messages from the movie Unbroken December 28, 2014 goodnewseverybodycom.wordpress.com

During my 4-days in the Twin Cities, I was able to do a lot of family quality time [e.g. ride my bike at Battle Creek Park in Maplewood with parents, who walked (26th-Friday); this is before the snow the following day (27th-Saturday, driving with bro and his fam to a couple of Christmas "Holiday" Drive-thru displays (e.g. Valley Lights at Rockpoint Church in Elmo Lake, sharing some "old" classic Filipino music with my dad, clean the house, etc...]

I had to get back to Morris on Sunday (28th) since I had to work the overnight at my part-time job. It was a good drive as I made a couple of singing videos along the way home with the CHRISTmas holidays (e.g. What Child is this?). I spent the last days of the year enjoying my last week of my two week vacation from my work by "catching-up" on some projects (e.g. multi-media projects). I ended the year with a "big bang" by videoing a friend's wedding ceremony and reception-dance party in town. I had to work the overnight that same night, so I entered the new year-2015 at work on the computer and went to bed!

More coming for 2015! Feel free to share yours too with me via in person (e.g. hangout over a meal), phone call, email (e.g. on facebook), etc... Keep in touch friends!

November 2014

I began the month by putting up my new portable garage, which would take a week to finish (in-time before the early winter). After working on the portable garage (<-feel free to contact me for password to view pics) on the 3rd, I volunteered at Pizza Ranch to help with a fundraiser for our local church's future mission trip to India. Unfortunately, it was on a Monday, which was a very quiet. However, we were very thankful for them giving this opportunity to raise any amount for this cause. I would then return to the Ranch on Thursday (6th) for a joint UMM Alumn-Current Student supper. We were all given a discount (only $5 from our own-pockets) as a motivation to go to this annual event. I joined a couple of friends (Andrew and his dad) that I haven't seen or talked for awhile. It was good catching-up with them. On Friday (7th), I was hoping to finally finish putting the portable garage by strapping the cover that I already put the other day. As I was going to strap it, the wind started to blow hard and it took the whole cover off :(. I was so close too! If I just put one strapped in the right place, it would've held it. Unfortunately, the wind kept blowing and rained a little too, so I gave up! I decided to just work on it the next day. A friend (Matt) that was going to visit the area emailed me that he'll be in town, which I told him I wouldn't be able to meet with him with this portable garage cover dilemma. Matt offered to help, which I took that invitation and decided to "recruit" others to join us to make it a group project.

On early Saturday (8th) morning, I wanted to finish some last-minute fall projects before this impending snow storm. I finished early and I decided to do some prep work of the portable garage cover. Well, I felt God gave me this great idea to use my winter roof shovel poles to slowly gently move the covers-it worked! Praise the Lord! I told my friends that the cover was placed and we can hangout to do something more fun. I would hangout with one of them at a local fast food restaurant for lunch, but he wasn't up to hanging out with the others afterwards. Matt and I ended up getting together with a friend to fellowship instead. It was a great time hanging out! I would later join Matt with a couple of other friends at Bella Cucina to have a great talk and we ended up talking about our faith. It was a great unexpected conversation topic, which would be an endless continual topic and others via facebook.

I would do the finishing touches of the tie-downs of the covers on Sunday as the snow storm was expected the next day. I thank God I finished on time as the next day was a "Snow Day" (no work). I somehow was sick on Monday (10th), so I tried to sleep in a little longer with the day off. I decided to rest and watch a movie online.

On the 15th (Saturday), I attended Real Ministries, which was a great evening of testimonies people shared with the Thanksgiving theme. My housemate (Jin from Korea) would make Filipino Chicken Adobo on Sunday (16th). He asked me to give him some tips as he's really like this particular fish.

I went back into recording music again as I wrote "Shine Your Light for Him" on the 18th (Tuesday).

On Friday (21st), I used one of my vacation days to visit a friend in Moose Lake. The weather (30's and sunny) was considerably "perfect" compared to previous "winter" days the past 2 weeks. The following day (22nd-Saturday), I went to a one day Men's Life fellowship gathering at Hosanna Worship center. It was awesome to hear testimonies of men from the community I've known since living in Morris.

On (Sunday-23rd), I recorded another song called "My Christmas Story", which was my first "rap" song!

Thanksgiving fell on the last weekend of the month, so I went "home" (St. Paul) for the weekend. I was great to visit most of my family (including my Uncle Totoy at a senior citizen apartment residence) as my sister couldn't join us for the first time since she moved "out of town". I was thankful to God for a safe drive home as we had great weather most of the weekend.

October 2014

I started the month by donating blood as the American Red Cross Bloodmobile was in campus. I missed the last opportunity when I was in the Twin Cities during the summer due to miscommunication. I try to do this regularly as I feel a cleansing in my body and plus it benefits someone too medically. The next day, I went to worship practice at my local church. I also made a video of the song "Come Lord to Morris" as part of my recent songs inspired by God since the Storm of the Planet Conference.

The 1st weekend of the month was UMM Homecoming, which my friend Joey P. came to visit all the way from Jacksonville, Florida. It was the first year that our friend Shannon couldn't make it due to personal reasons. It was a great homecoming as I met old college friends, one from Louisiana.

On Monday (6th), I finally found the "water line" (just 2 inches or so next to the "sewer line") after getting some leads/advice from some local experts (e.g. utility guy that marks them and city engineer guy). This was such a relief as it helped me know where I can finally put the drain pipes in and what area to target whenever we dig to replace the sewer line. I also did another video "Don't be Afraid to Step in Faith".

On Friday (10th), I was so thankful to God for an answer to prayer (A "friend" that was in a vehicle accident late this summer is getting "better" and will be coming "home" soon after being in the hospital for awhile).

The following day, a friend visiting Morris from the Cities called me up to hangout with him and his family. It was a beautiful day to hangout at the WCROC Hort Gardens. Earlier in the day, I did Zumba with a friend/co-worker, so this got me "energized" for the day. On Sunday (12th), it was awesome to see a couple come to church for two Sundays in a row. What makes this exciting is this couple hasn't been to our "local church" for years. It's such a blessing to know how God has been working on them and never gave-up! Just like the story of the Prodigal Son. After church, I joined a "friend" for lunch at Don's Cafe as she shared about her trip this past summer to Honduras. Later in the afternoon, the worship team from my local church got together for a bonfire hangout at one of the family's place out in the country. We had a great time playing soccer and football before our "potluck" prior to the bonfire chat.

On Monday (13th), I was relieved to hear another prayer answered after sharing a facebook post on praying for friends in Japan. There was a forecast for the "world's largest storm" to hit this island country, but I believe many prayers (mine included) were answered as the storm downgraded-Praise the Lord!

After some dialogue on the "bullying" issue, I decided to write a blog about it-> "Ways to deal with Bullying as a “former” victim and bully too"

When I went to my part-time (overnight) job, I was asked by my co-worker for prayer (health issue), which I told him I'll gladly pray. The next day, he would tell me that he feels better, which was an answer to his prayer-healed! On the 16th, a friend I've been praying for almost a year declared that he's "cancer free". This was such a faith builder as another friend shared recently online declared this too.

I took my 1st week of vacation from October 18th-26th from both jobs, so I decided to head to St. Paul to visit family for a week or so on Friday (17th) after work. I enjoyed taking pics of the Fall color changes along I-94, particularly during a long traffic delay (1 lane only) around Rockville Minnesota. I'm always thankful to God for the safe drive home every time when I drive from Morris. The 1st full-day of my vacation, my parents and I went to this Vietnamese restaurant, which I like the soup. Unfortunately, my parents thought the sodium or MSG was too high (Seafood) for them as they didn't feel good afterwards. In the afternoon, I drove by Mounds Park to take pics of the fall colors around downtown St. Paul. I would end up taking more pics throughout my vacation of the fall colors as I drove around the Twin Cities. On Sunday (19th), I decided to check out this church (Church of Acts) along White Bear Avenue I've frequently drove by every time I'm visiting the area. It took awhile to start as the 1st service (8am) was just finishing and the 2nd service (10:30am) didn't start a little after 10:45am. It was a great service as the worship was rock music and there was a lot of dancing and interaction. The people were very welcoming as almost every member came to welcome me. I didn't get out of the service till a little after 1:30pm, which I decided not to stay for the potluck with time.

It was nice to stay in the cities during the weekdays as I was able to hangout with my niece and nephew after school. I would play soccer out in the back (Battle Creek Middle School Playground) a couple of days during the week as it was a warm fall week. It was still chilly as I had pants, but moving around kept both of us warm. On Wednesday (22nd), I took my mom to the Mall of America after picking-up my smart phone to a techy to diagnose the problem of my smartphone that stopped working, which I ended-up paying $40 to find out the "SIM card portal had some H20 and is not fixable" (found out a month later I just needed a working SIM card from my network service since it expired). Prior to driving up to M.O.A., we stopped over at the new outlet mall in Eagan, which I wasn't really pleased as there wasn't much compared to Albertville.

On Thursday (23rd), I decided to attend at least one of the three days of this conference on Islam at Grace Church in Eden Prairie. There was high security due to the prominent speakers (e.g. former Muslims that became Christians) sharing. I left the conference early so I can pick-up my niece and nephew from school. We had a great time later in the evening watching Veggie Tales videos and skyping with their parents (vacation and work related trip in Las Vegas, Nevada). My niece would end-up doing my hair, which I didn't realize what she did until afterwards. I thought it was so funny, that I had to take a selfie->

On Friday (24th), I rode my new used bike for the first time around Battle Creek Park. I brought my nephew to this school's carnival fundraiser. It was fun to see him having fun and playing all these games. The past two days has been great picking-up and dropping off both my niece and nephew to and from their individual schools. I told my co-worker the following week that this was great training to be a father...someday!

I left to go back to Morris the next day for a friend's pre-wedding party get together at the local bowling alley, which would be cancelled. It was good to be back "early" still as I had to do some yard work (mulch leaves before the coming winter). I was blessed to have a former neighbor (Craig) mow part of my yard. I also came back early for the 2-day conference Passion for Jesus w/ Bob Sorge: Day #1-Oct 25th 2014 "Covenant", which would be another faith-challenge-builder in my life!

I would come back to work on the 27th after a week long vacation. It was great to be back as many from work showed how much they missed me. I would follow the World Series and the Kansas City Royals lost a close one (2-3) against now 3x World Series Champions (the last 5 years or so) San Francisco Giants. I was a little disappointed as I was rooting for the Royals (hasn't won a World Series Championship in 29 years). On Thursday (30th), I attended a community gathering called "Estar in el Prairie Reception and Artist's Talk in Morris at the local art gallery (PRCA). It was great to see some people from various parts of the community and a friend (former resident) too...

It's been awesome to see the Spanish community slowly becoming more integrated here in Morris, Minnesota!