We 26 x!

happy birthday to jan, bads, cherry, lengleng, arlene ulibas's college roommate and anybody else who shares august 2nd.

started my day off with mama's cheesesteak, watched the simpsons, got a haircut and will hopefully chill with good friends tonite.

shoutouts to everyone who remembered...you're much better friends then i am.  to everyone who didnt, no hard feelings...i probably forgot yours too.

in reflection, i am filled with hope for the future. 

Lord use me, humble me, polish me, break me, mold me, burn me, fix me, test me...force your way into my heart....and allow me to fall even deeper in love with You.

party in jersey city tonite.

Who said you was dead x?

What the deeeeeeeeeal.  What an amazing 11 months its been!! Hahahhaa….this might be the longest update drought ever for me.  Oh well here goes:

From last we spoke i went to: (in order)

1. Costa rica
2. Nicaragua
3. Mexico
4. LA
5. Vegas
6. Houston
7. Jersey
8. Seattle
9. Mexico
10. Ecuador
11. Belize
12. jersey
13. Europe
14. DC
15. Jacksonville
16. Miami
17. Bogota
18. Panama
19. Costa Rica (present location)

So maybe I’ll just run it down per place cuz I know you’re all DYING to know every detail of my life.  Ok fine….maybe that’s just for all my online stalkers out there…..OK FINE…maybe its just my mom.

1. I don’t remember.
2. no clue
3. that was way too long ago
4. LA is always good times for some reason.  I don’t ever remember having a bad time in LA….it always seems to be a time where I can catch up with really good old friends….meet new friends….get to know other friends better…..have fun with the youth….eat good food….cruise around in good weather.

On this particular trip a couple of things stood out:

1. staying with the de Jesus family.  Talk about the cutest family ever man.  the way they all act and talk and treat each other its like geez.  I’ve never seen their bedrooms…but part of me thinks they all sleep together on one king sized bed, sleep in size order and hug each other till the morning.
2. Staying with kuya Red Sioson.  Wow…talk about your boy’s boy.  This guy is like…on a different level.  Its isn’t really something you’ll understand till you meet him….but man…I felt like his long lost son….that finally reunited with him after 20 years…from being off at war.  That’s how he treated me anyway.  By far one of the coolest hosts I’ve ever had. 

He’s a crazy eater too!! He took us out to a buffet….and he filled up this giant bowl with wasabi & soy sauce like it was his morning cereal.  I was like uhhh…whats this guy bout to do.  Then he started grabbing sushi and like…triple toetouch axle doubledutch diving it in there like there was no tomorrow.  He’s no mild dipper…he was bringin these sushi pieces up and I was like damn….that sushi looks like it just got penalized by marc summers on double dare. AAAAND….he taught us how to eat steaming hot soup!! No matter how hot whatever soup it is that you’re eating…you can go at it.  Im telling you man….i thought I knew how to eat…I met the freakin scientist that day.

3. One of the funnest kfc trainings I’ve ever participated in.  if you still haven’t been formally trained for kfc you need to check yourself.  Everything from learning how to tell stories, act out skits, sketches….i was like man…I wish I could work with kfc more.  Shoutouts to all the youth that came that day….goodtimes with good laughs.
4. Random Norwegians? So weird…but cool.
5. Learning swimming pool party culture.  Holy crap who knew how great it is to have a pool.  I never realized how to enjoy a pool party LONG TERM.  We definitely don’t know how to do it right in jersey…I learned first hand at berthie’s clp pool.  First of all, you stack the place with good eats and drinks….start early and give yourself time.  What happens is, you swim…then get tired of it…and get out….then you eat.  Then after sitting around…you get dry and hot…and you end up wanting to swim again. And BEFORE YOU KNOW IT…..its 8pm and you repeated that process probably a dozen times with no regrets.  ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.
6. Catching up with my college friends.  Its so funny….whenever we hang out it feels like we haven’t changed...only this time we were hangin out in LA instead of Newark.  Funny, weird, cool.

5. first time in vegas! Vegas was awesome.  For a long time I felt like the only person that hadn’t been to vegas yet…so to finally see it was cool.  Met the youth, served at a brotherhood/shout thing they had…rolled with a socal service team….and it was awesome, praise God.  Also served for the cfc conference and did MUSIC for the first time!! I was like…uhh….you guys sure you want me to do music?? Then they were like..its either you or gelo…and I was like….TRUE..i’ll do it.

At first I was a little scared cuz the band was a cfc band….so for me to be like “excuse me tito…you’re off.”….i was like…Lord let this work out please.! Hehehe…luckily the band was freaking amazing....and all I had to do was coordinate their songs and stuff.  They were probably the best cfc band I’ve ever heard. 

Vegas itself was nuts….so many amazing casino/hotels….i tapped out at every buffet with what felt like a bowling ball in my stomach and a smile on my face.

6. Houston.  Wow what a conference.  I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.  Everything was just ON.  I especially loved that upper deck/tier/mezzanine/balcony joint….something about it…just felt awesome.

Sucks I almost died Friday night though.  I was zippin around in a golf cart, trying to find my dorm…feeling cool that I had a golf cart….when all of a sudden I was going through this narrow passageway….and the plaza opened up and there was this huge fountain…and I was like…wow a fountain…that looks nice…then I looked down…and seriously like 5ft ahead of me were these stairs going downward and I was like HOLY CRAP!!..i was going so fast!..i slammed on the brakes and cut the steering wheel to the right.  My front left tire went down about 2 stairs and came back up.  I seriously thought the golf cart was gonna roll over and slam me into the stairs.  I kinda just sat there for a couple minutes, breathing heavily…in shock.  Wondering how it would’ve been like…if my life ended in such a dumb way….via golf cart tragedy.

Was able to see san Antonio…beautiful beautiful city….everything from riverwalk, the Alamo and the missions.

Was able to see my favorite futbol club BARCELONA!!  They just so happened to be on a US Tour…and playing in Houston a mere 3-4 days after the youth conference.  I was like wow…God definitely loves me.  So I went with the Quirays, America's soccer family, and saw the team I was taught to love ever since I was 14. it was definitely a once in a lifetime thing.

7.    went home for a week to renew my license.  Apparently you cant do it through the mail anymore ever since 9/11.  ended up playing football EVERY night.  By the time I had to leave I couldn’t lift anything with my right arm cuz it was so sore. 

8. oh sweet seattle.  Where the fresh air feels like a brisk refreshing glass of lemonade for your lungs….every home feels like a cozy cabin in the forest…and the view of the mountaintops remind you of how great your God is.

Served at the sfc conference, spent some time in wapato (central Washington) for Hispanic missions, went up to vancouver to have some sushi….and played lots of basketball.  God is good. =o)

Weird thing happened the night before I left….got all these gifts from good friends of mine.  I wont lie…I was touched.  Everything from all you can eat clamchowder….tshirts…stuffed animals..scarves…movies...picture frames…a song.  I was like man…all of this for no special occasion…what great friends I have. 

9. back to mexico for the conference preparations.  Conference was awesome…even had youth and singles from the US come down and get their NW7 on.  Although there weren’t many youth/singles that came for the conference….it was definitely spirit-filled.

My mom even came and surprised me….was able to spend time with her at the conference, and the tour afterwards to the Aztec pyramids and all that.

10. went to Ecuador for the jpc/spc conference….it was a big one (for us at least) there about 200 youth and singles there….they had a praise parade for the launching of the 7 pillars and the new youth logo.  It was so much fun.  The youth leaders there are so strong.  Its very inspiring.

11. after that went to belize…talk about the shock of a lifetime.  Im walking up in there thinking I know whats going on…and I definitely did not.  I thought it was a Spanish speaking country…turns out its 100% English.  Right off the plane im talking to the immigration guy in Spanish and he’s like “uhhh…how long will you be staying in belize?”  I was like what the!?  But whats cool about it is they sound Jamaican….they speak creole which im assuming is like how the English is all over the Caribbean.  Its weird cuz belize isn’t part of the Caribbean…its part of central America….yet all their literature/books is all from the Caribbean….and their music etc.  so they border mexico/Guatemala/Honduras….but yet don’t identify with any of them.  Its interesting. 

Whats REALLY cool…is that there have been so many people who have moved there from el Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras….so their kids end up being bilingual – Spanish/English.  I know that might not be a big deal cuz that’s present all over the states…..but the Belizean Hispanics….when they speak English…they sound JAMAICAN!! So its like…HOLD up.  Did that little puerto Rican lookin kid just say “awa see you PON da feeld bwoy.”  It made me do a double take every time…for that first week at least….i was like…where AM i?!!

The mission went well…thanks to the Lord we were able to have a great youth camp…and also attract a handful of people that will commit to SFC for the next clp.  Whats cool was from the youth camp, I realized half of them all went to the same high school.  So after some awesome meetings, support from the high school prinicipal, and the blessing from the parish priest, we have our first high school based YFC in all of central/south America!! Our Lady of Guadalupe High School.  =o)

I also got to do some really cool things like caving and swimming with sharks.  The caving was awesome cuz I got to go into some cave that national geographic went into….saw some stalagmites and stalagtites….saw where the mayans had their rituals and stuff.  Its so Indiana jones….cuz there were parts where you had to climb up stuff….climb down stuff….swim through things…swim underneath things…tip toe/scale along certain walls…and its like raining in there cuz its underneath a river…and it was all pitch black…aside from the headlamp you have on.  By far one of the coolest things I’ve done on mission.

The swimming with the sharks thing was a big letdown.  Only cuz I found out that im scared of sharks.  I thought I was all manly gangsta confident….but I realized when it comes to sharks…im a barbie girl.  I really don’t know what happened man…I was all amped up…excited to swim with sharks….im hangin off the side of the boat…I dip down underneath the surface of the water….and BOOM….about 6 inches from my face was homeboy from JAWS.  I freakin flipped out…started screaming and cursing…as I was tryin to get on the boat I could feel the shark graze my leg….and it was over....i was back on the boat….it was confirmed I was scared of sharks…I knew my place….on land.  Story over.

12. went home for Christmas…time with the family/friends etc.

13. went to Europe!! For a family vacation!  Just a random blessing that the Lord gave us.  Me, my mom and brother flew into Berlin and stayed there for a couple days.  It was so cool to see the berlin wall and all that.  From there we took the train to Prague to celebrate new years.  Prague was cool…but its definitely overrated.  I shoulda never seen that queen latifah movie cuz it brought my expectations way up.  It’s the one with ll cool j….eh whatever.  From there my mom flew home and me and my brother took the train to Switzerland….definitely one of my favorite spots cuz the alps were sooooo beautiful.  Things were definitely too expensive though…$11 for a big mac.  That’s a travesty.

From there we trained it up to Amsterdam.  Now THAT place definitely lived up to its expectations.  Animal chicks in windows….the smell of weed everywhere….every store selling pipes and bongs…its exactly what everyone said it would be.  I did like the city though…all the canals and stuff…its beautiful.  We got to see Anne Frank’s house….where my brother has a picture of her diary….the Rijks museum…famous for the Rembrandts…the van gogh museum….and my favorite of all – boom Chicago!  Boom Chicago is an American created/run improv comedy show that I saw….that was the funniest live improv comedy I’ve ever seen.  the actors are from the states and all they  do is crack on Europeans basically.  I was laughing so hard for the duration of the entire show.

Then we took the train to Copenhagen, Denmark.  Saw the statue of the little mermaid and left.  Copenhagen sucks.

Went to Stockholm, Sweden and absolutely LOVED it.  Definitely one of my favorite cities.  Its just beautiful….i loved it.  Went to a museum that featured this MONSTER Viking ship that they pulled outta the water…and it was like 95% intact.  It was really cool to see….ate real Swedish meatballs.  Went to the Alfred Nobel museum, learned about the Nobel Prize and all the winners in the past…that was really cool.  Met up with one of the youth leaders from there…showed us the church where they meet.  Saw this international dinner show thing….that was so awesome…it was like a dinner show with everything…acting…dancing…singing…comedy…food etc.  really over the top…outlandish…some parts were weird and uncomfortable…you know…typical European.

Then went to oslo, Norway and met the youth/singles from there.  Listening to Filipinos speak Norwegian is definitely very weird.  Norwegian just kinda….sounds screamy and filled with consonants.  Its not as bad as Danish though (denmark)…that’s just horrible…the Danish sound like they keep almonds in their mouth..for fun.

And that’s pretty much it….europe was expensive but great.  Me and my brother got to spend some good quality time…mostly on trains and in hostels.  I was surprised at how easily you can survive in Europe since they all speak English.  I was even more surprised that there were Hispanics there.  Dominicans in Switzerland.?! Exactly.

14. Went to my very first Pro-Life March in Washington DC and it was definitely a very moving experience.  All my life I always knew killing babies was wrong…but I never totally understood how strong the calling is for us to save them.  The mass itself was such an affirmation.  We filled up the entire Verizon center…there were hundreds of priest and seminarians….the whole stadium was packed with prolife catholics.  It felt so good…to be part of such a huge movement to save the babies.

Then from the mass we marched out….and it was so much fun….meeting random people…praying the rosary with random crowds….seeing people carrying crazy signs like these women with stuff saying I REGRET MY ABORTION…I was like wow...thats nuts.  Then there were people with huge posters/paintings of our lady of Guadalupe.  It was just awesome.  Then there was this band set up singing Christian music etc.  it was simply a touching experience…marching with thousands of people who all believe in the same thing...and are proactively fighting (peacefully) for change.

15. Jacksonville was the host of our ftw recollection.  From the airport we went straight to playing kickball…east coast ftws vs. west coast ftws.  After 6 innings we ended up on top 8-7…due largely to unrelenting team spirit. 

As usual the sessions/worships/fellowships were awesome.  I must’ve drank about 10 gallons of sweet tea…not necessarily because I liked it…but because everyone else was doing it? Hahahha….played tons of pool cuz for some reason all jax homes come furnished with a billiard table I guess. 

After the reco, was able to serve the youth and singles in different ways…got to play football…have an awesome superbowl party with all you can eat wings…go to st. Augustine where the first mass in America was celebrated and stay with zel’s cheaper by the dozen family. 

Took a day trip to Atlanta and fulfilled my childhood dream…to see/visit the home of the ATLANTA BRAVES.  Went on a tour of turner field…everything from the press box, the announcer’s chair, the dugout, the locker rooms, the training rooms and I even got to step out onto the field.  The braves museum was awesome too.  I was like a little boy all over again.   

I also got to see a lot of the old school yfc Jacksonville heads…that was a trip.  Imagine not seeing a bunch of friends for almost 7-8 years….and then seeing all of them together at the same time.  It was so weird to see them…but yet something about it felt so good….like no matter what its good people…good times.  Reunions are beautiful. 

While I was in jax I also booked my ticket to panama….i just wish I knew how bad of a trip it would end up being.

So I flew southwest to Miami (16) from jax…cuz it was way cheaper to fly to panama from Miami…instead of flying directly out of jax.  I get to Miami and my guitar doesn’t.  they end up delivering the guitar to the house at 2am…and I had to be at the airport at 4am….so I got no sleep at all.  Flew to bogota,Colombia (17)….and had a 5 hour layover for my connecting flight to panama.  I went to the gate…fell asleep cuz I had no sleep the night before.  While I was asleep they changed the gate…I missed my flight.  Had to sleep in the airport the whole night till I could catch the next flight out the following morning.  Finally got to panama, only to find out the airline (avianca airlines) JACKED up my guitar case.  If you see it, it looks like some elephant used it for a step aerobics class.  The airline rep got my info….said they would replace it…and never did….and she never replied to my emails either.  Ended up waiting in the airport for like 3 hours…..ride never showed….took a taxi to my host’s….he said he was there when I was there….but we missed each other.  Finally was able to take a shower…ate…and went to bed praising God cuz I was just so happy to have finally gotten there.  What a trip.

18. panama was a routine pastoral visit…just meeting up with the youth and singles, helping in whatever I could.

Took the bus here to costa rica (19) to meet the 10 filipino missionaries that will be serving here in latin America for the next 2 years….but their flight has been delayed 4 TIMES!!  They were supposed to arrive February 28.  =o/ please pray for them to get here.

And that’s it…please pray for Guatemala / El Salvador and Honduras.  That the Lord can bless us with contacts for these countries…so that we can open them. thanks.

If you wanna see pics or videos of these places I visited….you can see em here.

Peace.

Que paso x!

Its definitely been a while since i’ve updated so im hoping i can make up for it all with one big entry. Hehehhe.

Lemme just do a quick runthrough of what I did since the last time we spoke:

1. in november went to ecuador to help with various things that they had.  Helped serve in an sfc clp, did some youth camp trainings and helped them prepare for their first ecuadorian jpc conference.  We werent able to stay for it, but I heard it was awesome.  (They had 150 youth all dressed in white for the 100% pure launch etc.)
2. early december went to houston for a jpc visit.  It was awesome meeting the group that they have.  The jpc brothers are all funny and the sisters are so committed to jpc that they said they wanna bring their entire marching band to the next camp. Hehehhe.  They’re always crackin on their high schools though…its pretty weird….high school rivalries in texas are heartfelt.
3. mid december went to LA where we made some concrete moves for JPC.  I was only there for a week but it was dumb productive.  Not to mention I got treated out to a brasilian bbq.  Now DAS wassup.
4. spent a week at home for Christmas.  I dunno what it is….but I think im getting so used to my normally crazy travel schedule that im not even trippin anymore.  Sure I still love to sleep in my own bed and drive my car and eat at colonette, but for some reason im just chill about it all, since I know im gonna be leaving again soon.  Its weird.  I guess im being taught not to get too attached to things…since im not meant to stay in one place right now.
5. the day after Christmas my family and I flew to the philippines for what I thought was just gonna be a small 2 week vacation to spend time with family for new years.  Little did I know God had a plan much cooler then mine….

I realized in the philippines that my next mission trip to south america wasn’t until mid february….so I asked permission to stay so that I could train for SFC and KFC.  It was approved and boom.  I got to stay and learn…train…serve all over again.  It was awesome.  Im you sure you can get a feeling of how it all went through lenes and errka’s entries..but one thing I’ll always remember are the indians. Hehehhehe. 

For the first time in my life I was joking around with an indian accent IN FRONT OF and/or DIRECTED AT people from india and they were there and it was ok!!  It was the WEIRDEST feeling hahahha…there were 3 ftw’s from india that were there for training and they were soooo cool.  I freakin love those guys man.  In the states you NEVER use the indian accent in front of indians.  But in the philippines forget about it….it was allllll buttered gravy.......on my curry chicken. hahahahha.

Late february i found myself in caracas, venezuela and the first words that came to mind were HOLY CRAP. Why? 2 reasons.

[1] Holy crap = good:  its so beautiful there man.  Everywhere you go theres a view of these huge mountains.  Caracas is a city built on and around these gigantic mountains….so its crazy..everytime you look out the window its like MOUNTAIN!!!

All female humans are beautiful there.  If they’re my age they’re drop dead shocking mcgorgeous.  If they’re older you’re like wow….thats a really beautiful older woman.  If they’re really young you’re like….when she grows up she’s gonna be so pretty.  Its utterly ridiculous.  I went through 4 stages:

Stage 1 (week 1) :  SHOCK.  Simply. Couldn’t. believe. it.

Stage 2 (week 2) :  JOY.  I liked it.

Stage 3 (week 3) :  ANGER.  I was like what the heck man.  This isnt funny anymore.

Stage 4 (week 4) :  WHATEVER.  Got used to it. Didn’t care anymore.

Sounds crazy. But its true.  And that’s all im gonna say about that.

[2] Holy crap = bad: if you havent heard yet our theme for this year is from tobit 13:6 - Show His Power and Majesty to a Sinful Nation.  Venezuela is the sinful nation tobit was talking about.  I have never been so spiritually bothered by one place before in my life.  Venezuela should really secede from south america and join europe cuz that’s where it belongs.  The best way to deal with a problem is to at least centralize everything and deal with it within some definitive parameters.  So in order to evangelize venezuela we’ll have to literally cut it out…and tow it via tugboat to europe.

But after everything things still turned out awesome.  Because of a really awesome/supportive priest, we were able to have a youth camp and an sfc clp.  Plus, one of our sfc members from ecuador moved there so he’s kind of taking care of everything since he knows the ropes etc.

Venezuelans don’t talk to you by the way. They YELL at you.  Its so weird.  They’re constantly yelling and screaming and wailing their arms.  And their spanish definitely ranks #1 on the Hardest For Me To Understand list.

They also have tons of rats.  One night I couldn’t sleep cuz I could hear the freakin GK Build the rats were having in the kitchen.  I was like crap….dont tell me these jerks got a freakin bayanihan line going.  I didn’t get up to get a drink of water that night.

Oh yeah, if you’re looking for ways to save money on gas, buy a really big SUV.  Then when you’re done move to venezuela cuz gas is only 17 cents a gallon.  Not kidding.

From venezuela we separated like the Great Commission.  Alberto and Magdalena (cfc missionaries from ecuador) went back home from going to cuba and venezuela, Angel and Giana  (missionaries from ecuador and nicaragua) went to dominican republic and I went to panama to meet up with paul. (missionary from ecuador, son of alberto and magdalena)

Which brings us back to panama, of which we all know as the hood.  This is the spot.  It may look like panama city, but it has the soul of jersey city.  Allow me to randomly give examples as to why:

From top to bottom they look just like us.  The crisp fade with detailed shape up.  The quarter in the ear for the next 25cent purchase.  The gear is worn the same.  They’re even down with the various ways to tie shoelaces.  Our corner store juicy is usually CLINTON…theirs is ESTRELLA AZUL.  Icees? Yup. They got em.

Hip hop, rap, reggae.  All of it.  They’ve got all the dancehall….reggae gold classics.  Every basement party joint that made you do the butterfly….they got.  They even have new amazing reggae that we don’t have. 

Everytime I come here I see so much of us in them.  This is the closest I can get to being home.  Now just throw in a few thousand filipinos and a diner near my house…and we’d be straight.

Here in panama I experienced one of the most manliest things I’ve ever done on mission.  Second only to eating a guinea pig in peru, what I discovered as being dumb manly here in panama was showering outside.

I dunno.  It seems like nothing big but when I did it I was like holy crap this is so manly!!! Pitch black darkness outside…nothing but the bright moon/stars above you….and there you are….showering in the great outdoors accompanied by the sound of criquets and frogs singing together. A real life irish spring commercial.  You gotta try it.

I realized that much of what I do is comparable to a video game…like super mario bros or something.  Each level is a different place (in my case, country) and theres usually a goal...to reach the end…attain something or whatever.  (in my case, it’s a youth camp/clp/or trainings etc.)  all the while dodging bad guys in order to survive.  In the Venezuela level the bad guys were rats….i died in that level since I couldn’t kill them.  But I’m definintely mastering the panama level.

Over here its roaches.  They’re everywhere….all over your clothes/stuff….they crawl on you at night too.  One time I found a bunch of little ones all over my toothbrush.  When grace and I were here last time we tried to do battle with raid…spraying them or spraying the floor so that they’d somewhat be effected.  But it was far from being fully effective, and if you know me, you know I hate sprays….so the effort was futile.

This time I’m with paul from ecuador and we found another weapon thats utterly amazing.  Its called COCAINE.  Commonly called “crack,” you can buy a tiny bag of it at any pharmacy for 25cents…spread it around your room….and the roaches eat it and die cuz it burns holes through their HEART!!!  Heheheh….ok fine it really boric acid….but to me it looks like crack.

One thing I realzed from working with grace and now working with paul, is that they both have their personal ice-breaker tactics that they use with people hehehhehe.  When we’re with people we’re meeting for the first time and we’re hangin out at the house or stuck in traffic, and its really quiet we often try to break the silence so that we can also get to know them better.   

Grace always breaks the silence by turning to someone and saying, “Whats your favorite food?”  hehehehhe

And then Paul’s is “What kind of tree is that?” or “Do you guys have ( insert any fruit here ) heehehehehe

And then before you know it this huge conversation about favorite foods or trees/fruits starts up and im sitting there astonished like wow….it really freakin worked. 

Its funny cuz I can always see it coming.  Whenever its dead quiet sometimes I just wait for it. Heheheh..im like cmon grace….ask her what her favorite food is….do it…cmon do it…YES!!! Hahahha….or with paul im like….crap theres no trees around here….he cant.

Hehehe…just thought id share that.  I need a personal ice-breaker.  Suggestions welcome.

If you have a lot of stuff to think about, you should really buy a hammock.  Aside from napping, hammocks are so great for organizing your thoughts.  Id say try it but if you don’t have one you cant.  So if you want one lemme know. I’ll see what I can do.  You gotta gimme the money though.

One unsolved mystery I’ve come to notice is the whole Chinese corner-store empire here in Latin America.  I mean….who set it up.?  Who’s the guy that got the inside scoop….came here….scoped out the real estate…evaluated the needs of all these tiny communities…went back to china and said: “GUYS.  I GOT IT.  We’ll move to latin america and open up corner stores and/or laundromats.  TRUST ME.” 

Its just crazy.  They literally own every single corner store here.  The locals don’t even call it the store or bodega…they call it the chino.  meaning, the CHINESE.  Its just weird!  How did one ethnic group move to one country and build a huge business empire on CORNER STORES!?!  Who’s the chinese bill gates up in here.  I gotta know how he did it…and how he still hasn’t shown up on the cover of forbes is beyond me.

by the way...quick NW7 update:

1. jpc and solteros para cristo (spc) formed in caracas, venezuela!!

2. spc formed in panama city, panama!!

3. jpc formed in dominican republic!!

aaaand more to come soon...just in case anyone was wondering.

check the new spot for pics and vids here.  having a camera is GREAT.

Godbless!

wussup x!!

oh snap we back for another update.  here we go...random and purely off the dome:

- i loved the SFC conference in orlando.  i love being SFC.  hehehhe...for a long time i rep'd sfc without any real umph but now its like SFC IN YA MOUTH!!! hehhehe....that conference was seriously exactly what i needed...at the most perfect time too.  for months i had been questioning where i was going....what God wanted of me etc.  but in Orlando it became clear as day.  felt so happy to finally be at peace.  with acceptance comes peace.  to have peace you must have acceptance.  thats what God told me.

- i love how SFC listens!  and they dont just listen.....they listen HARD.  i lead a workshop on hispanic missions and these guys were like burning holes in my face!  i remember during one of the sessions i saw one guy recording the talk....AND taking notes.  its like damn....not only are you recording it...but you're taking notes at the same time....it dont get more thorough then that.  i love SFC....they're like that one older guy in class in college...who went back to school.  hehehe...you know the type....right smack in front...center...with the eternal handraise.

-not to say that the Youth don't listen....they do.   its just that you'll almost ALWAYS catch that rare few either asleep or goofing off...and you're like....cmon guys this is good stuff!! don't you wanna learn about your valleys of temptation!?! hahahahahha........sigh.....yeah me neither.

- from orlando we went to Nicaragua for the latin american conference entitled SOLO DIOS BASTA (God is Enough) it was awesome to be able to see a bunch of nicaraguan and costa rican youth pledge to be 100% PURE.

- from nicaragua we went to costa rica....had an awesome camp of about 55 participants.  we also had like 12 members on the service team!!  we were so proud of them as they gave talks and sharings and lead discussion groups and all that.  the leaders of costa rica are really strong.

- now we're back in the hood. hehehe....i love Panama.  it reminds me so much of Jersey City.  the music....the way people act and dress and look....the haircuts/barber shops are just like home.  it might be a much poorer country....but i like it here.

- so yeah...i think its funny how NOBODY in all of latin america burps or farts ever.  like EVER.  i mean dont get me wrong, im not trying to say that in the US we burp really loud or fart in public cuz we dont (or most of us at least hehehe)....but sometimes when you're chillin with friends in somebodys house......you dont care.  over here never.  ever.  its really taking a toll on me.  now i do the whole close-mouthed burp with blowout.....and i guess my body's so used to holding in farts that by the time i go to the bathroom it sounds like an ak-47. straight up BRATATATATATATATTATATAT. just an observation.

- you ever hold somebodys hand for the Our Father and get way too much thumbrub action? i freakin HATE that.  its the most distracting/disgusting thing ever.  i mean really....unless you're my mom or my girl....you should really freeze that thumb up.  dont move it. not even a little.  forreal man....there you are trying to pray to the Man...and you're gettin this smallscale hand massage from somebodys thumb.  i hate it.   next time im standing next to a thumbrubber and its prayer time....im just gonna put my whole arm around that person for the buddyhug.

- all in all things are going good.  still inspired by october 16th.  what a day to be in LA.  i prayed so hard that day for the heroes....but for my mom as well.  she lead the praisefest at the hold conference in riverside....and im sure if i was little more sensitive, i would've cried.  knowing that not even a year and a half ago she wasnt even part of the community....that she finally joined after 8 long years.  plus my brother is now training for the heroes run in philly.  i can truly feel God renewing the hearts of my family.

- well we're here for 3 weeks.  with limited internet access since its a half hour bus ride away.....no service so that means no more texts.  so just pray for us.....and im sure God'll remind me of you in some way.  i believe that too....cuz i always think about my mom....and i know she's always praying for me. hehehe

- after panama we go to ecuador....then houston....then LA.  then its home for Christmas.  =o)

-so to finish off....i might as well do my five, as tagged by steve.

1.  growing up i never really sang in the shower.  i danced. furiously.

2.  i usually dont touch my drink till im done eating all my food.  i didnt think it was so weird till people mentioned it.  what can i say....i like that cool refreshing waterfall feeling.  like ahhh....foods done......now its time for the cool refreshing tall glass of whatever.

3. i hate it when people use spray deodorant (or any spray for that matter) when im in the room...and all the doors and windows are closed.  and theres no fan/vent/ac going.  im like ?!?!?!....where do you expect the smell to go man?!....its not just gonna evaporate! it needs an escape route!! it seriously feels like its choking me.  like i start gagging and choking.  i get real serious about it too.  all throughout college i made my roommates spray their deodorants or cologne outside the room.  cuz i hate it.  if theres no air circulating and everythings enclosed....you might as well just spray it in my mouth.  cuz its the same feeling.

4.  dont ever use my guitar with a sleeveless shirt on.  thats just gross.  your armpit hairs are way too close to where i sometimes rest my face.  thats you CARLO....and PHIL ALVARADO....you jerks.  i saw pictures.

5.  i can never sleep for 8 hours.  its either gotta be 5 hours or less.....or 10 hours or more.  anything in the middle just makes me feel groggy and weird.

and with that im tagging zel, alan, sbff, lenes, and erika "i grow all my food" castro.