Brother Nonoy

Roman "Nonoy" Mosqueda (February 16, 1950 - February 4, 2008). Recently, an old friend and brother in the Lord passed away while I was staying in another city.

I met Nonoy who was an attorney seven years ago. We even went to the same church for quite some time. I have seen his life and his example as he faithfully served the Lord. He encouraged people in their walk and was very warm and pleasant to fellowship with. He eventually went full-time in ministry as a lay pastor and preached the Word of God full-time.

He was running the race until three strokes took him out of this earth. One of the last things he did was worship the Lord in his sick bed singing "Jesus Loves Me."

He left behind his wife, step-son, and grandkids to go home to the Lord. Nonoy finished strong.

He had Philippians 1:21 written for his coffin and I quote it to you:


"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

The Source of (my) Strength

Before I went to Manila to take a break from work and regular ministry activities, I prayed that God would really speak to me and show me direction in my life for the present time.

A few things came up as I was listening to the Lord for His directions. And these I want to share with you.

1. Humility precedes honor (Proverbs 15:33)

In order for God to move us to where He eventually wants us to be, we must be faithful where we are. And that means doing the work that He has for us now, even when circumstances are unpleasant. It means not trying to insist on our own rights and trying to change our circumstances to suit our comfort and preferences, but to simply keep doing our work faithfully as unto the Lord. And in His own time, God will lift us up as we humble ourselves under His mighty hand, trusting Him. Remember, God is in control of even the "bad" times. And within our limitations and weaknesses, let us wield the powerful weapon of prayer.

2. Give the little that we have (John 6:1-14)

Jesus is able to multiply our resources to bless others, but first we must let Him have those resources. Let us use our talents and abilities to serve the Lord and He will do the multiplication.

3. Respond to His grace (Romans 12:1-3)

Let us always keep our salvation and first love foremost in our thoughts. Fixing our eyes on Jesus and how He has saved us from death, hell, and the grave allows us to respond to that grace in our service for the Lord. For all God has done in calling us His own and blessing us with every spiritual blessing, is it too much a sacrifice to serve and obey Him? Not a chance! This is the source of strength for our service to the Lord. We will not be weighed down by a sense of obligation when we serve the Lord as a response to His grace. Oh, the wonderful grace of Jesus. Grace, grace. Wait for His grace to fall like rain everyday. May it be your strength and power as you walk with Him. He has saved us by grace -- now let us live by His grace.

I agree with the apostle Paul and John Newton, and I can say this of my own life, in my own words:

Of sinners I am the worst,
but Jesus died for me.
I do not deserve His grace and love,
but Jesus died for me.
I deserved hell and death,
but Jesus died for me.
I do not deserve heaven,
but Jesus died for me.

And in His death and resurrection I have a new life, and an eternal hope in heaven. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! I have this as an anchor to my soul through every storm in life.

Drawing Charade and A Piece of Cake

It doesn't really take much to make my day. God has blessed me with a lot of stuff (a computer, money, a ministry, a keyboard, a good job, a laptop, a webcam, a master's degree, etc.) and yet little things still make me smile.

Today as I was online, my kid cousin Ryan invited me to play Picture This! which is an online game kind of like Win, Lose, or Draw. It was really fun drawing the thing the word described and also having to guess what he was drawing on his turn. We played it over our Yahoo accounts using meebo.com, and here is a screenshot of what it looks like:


Also, I was chatting with a friend and she said that she was baking a banana cake. Too bad I couldn't eat it, so she sent me a picture instead. I can't have my cake and eat it, too. This time, I have it.



All this happened at a time when I usually get sleepy on Saturdays and take a nap. But stepping out of your comfort zone to communicate and be a blessing to others is more rewarding.

"The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself. " - Proverbs 11:25

M & N

Today, I met two fellow Christians, both younger than me.

The first one was someone who I haven't seen in a long time -- I'd like to call him Marv. I met Marv when I was coming out of the mall after work. Marv serves the Lord as a worshipper, youth leader, and a preacher. I admire his passion for the Lord as well as his energy. He even works at a call center on night shift. The last time I lived like he did I ended up having Mild Leukopenia, but I eventually recovered from it. But God has blessed Marv with good health -- His ways are higher. I may never understand every question in life of why things happen the way they do but I rest on God's sovereignty. Marv is a pentecostal and he is on fire for the Lord. We exchanged cellphone numbers and parted ways. He's interested in coming to our midweek service soon and misses listening to Vineyard songs, since his church plays mainly Hillsongs only.


Afterwards, I went to my home church to prepare worship songs for our 6th year church anniversary. There was my pastor and he told me one of the girls in our church wanted to help. I'd like to call her Nic. Nic is an English major college student and has been coming to our church for a while now. She steps up to serve as a percussionist -- and what a percussionist! She learns the beat for every song so fast before you can say MJ. I'm blessed by her willing to help us with the music ministry.

I am blessed to see young people serving the Lord. I feel like I have been chosen by God to stand between the older and the younger generation. I'm 27 now and I'm somewhere between those who have the energy to serve the Lord fervently, but could use the wisdom of those of us who have more life experience with the Lord, and those who are way ahead of me in years and I look up to them for counsel and see their life persevering for the Lord as an example for my own walk.

CALLING ALL RADICALS... It's time to take this generation for Jesus! Are you up to it? If you are, join me. No, I'm not talking about another concert, though we could do that. I'm talking about being so aware of Jesus in your daily life that not only are you blessed and happy, but you're encouraging those around you to look to you for insight and direction in their spiritual walk. May God fill your life with His presence to overflow to a lost and dying generation. His kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.


M & N, may God bless them and young people like them.

2008

A blessed and happy new year to all my readers! 2008 is a new year, a new season, a new beginning.

First day of the year, I turned 27. It was nice for friends and family to come by our house. We had pasta, pancit, and tacos included in our merienda. Just a simple celebration of God's faithfulness in my life.

Christmas 2007

Christmas time, the season to be jolly, when people really make that effort to go the extra mile for another. Celebrating Christmas this year has been very animated for me. Seems like another season of 24. 12:00:01...12:00:02...12:00:03...12:00:04. Everything is rush, rush, rush. Of course I'm exagerrating. But it seems that as I grow older, I feel more of a sense of taking responsibility on how things run. That's when I get tired. Still, it was fun.

December 8, 2007
The following takes place between 7:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. (sound effect)

Cast: Matt, Ryan 1, Ryan 2, Ramises, Domels, RJ, Jollibee man.

Produced by DS

It was finally here, the Level 2 exam. The company president and I have been working on an incentive for programmers to prove their skills in order to increase their paygrade. The finale -- an 8-hour coding exam proctored by yours truly.

We called Jollibee and ordered lunch to be delivered to us. I made a mistake by ordering chicken for Matt who had a sore in his mouth. I said to bring change for 500 pesos. They missed that part. The Jollibee man didn't bring any change and had to go back and get some.

The exam went well, over-all.


04:20:01...04:20:02...04:20:03...04:20:04...


The following takes place between 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. (sound effect)
Cast: Pastor Mark, RJ, Chela, Pam, Leilah, other young people.
Produced by PM


The youth department at church did ask me to play the electric drums and lead some worship songs for their Christmas party. It started at 4:00 PM, so I had to be there around 5:00 P.M.

Play the drums, lead worship with the guitar. I was able to do that by God's grace.

I met a friend I haven't seen in a while -- Melford. It was good to seen him again.

Then I had to run. I still need to pick up my jeep from the shop. I had it cleaned and groomed since I was selling it.

05:59:57...05:59:58...05:59:59...06:00:00...

The following takes place between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. (sound effect)

Cast: RJ, Art, jeepney drivers
Produced by Art

Ok, I've been waiting in front of U.P. and still no jeep can take me to the shop. I had to take a ride to SM City and just walk from there. The walk was about 100 meters to get to the shop.

As I looked at my jeep..WOW! It looks good. The chassis has been cleaned and painted, and the engine has been washed. There was even leftover paint to improve the front part. God is awesome!

(My face doesn't appear on camera)

I went back to the church to prepare for the next day's Sunday service.

06:59:57...06:59:58...06:59:59...07:00:00...


The following takes place between 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. (sound effect)

Cast: RJ, Pastor Mark, worship team
Produced by RJ

I went back to the church to prepare for our Sunday service for the next day. Being a worship leader, practice was very important to a music team.

We had some of the youth jam with us as well. It was fun playing music with new faces. It all just seemed fresh.

07:59:57...07:59:58...07:59:59...08:00:00...

(Maybe my face can appear on camera now)



December 16, 2007

The following takes place between 10:00 A.M. and 04:00 P.M. (sound effect)

Cast: Calvary Chapel of Iloilo plus guests
Produced by PM and RJ

Ok, my first time to actually teach on a Sunday service is here. We had to move the service to the nearby gym to accommodate plenty of people.



I played the electric drums for the worship team. We formed a special group just for that Sunday. After all, it was a Christmas service.



I was able to teach the Sunday message on Matthew 1. I entitled it "God With Us". I never realized what it was like to teach behind a pulpit until I experienced it for myself. Pastor Mark urged the people to receive the gift of salvation through faith in Christ. God is good. He moved through that service and people received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.



We had lunch after the service and also some Christmas presentations. Some of us stayed to clean up afterwards. Then we prayed together and blessed the Lord.

I went to SM City afterwards.

03:59:57...03:59:58...03:59:59...04:00:00...

(Camera shows me driving the jeep)


December 22, 2007

The following takes place between 1:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. (sound effect)

Cast: JK, May, former ROTC buddies, guests
Produced by: JK and May

Jerome, my long-time friend, gets married to his girlfriend of almost ten years. I was able to come to their wedding and it was a wonderful celebration to be able to share in their joy. I was also able to attend the reception, but I wasn't able to stay through the end of it since I still had to go to our company's Christmas party.

04:59:57...04:59:58...04:59:59...05:00:00...


The following takes place between 5:00 P.M. and 10:00 P.M. (sound effect)

Cast: ESS
Produced by: M2

I made it pretty early to the Christmas party. Registration was still open. The party hasn't started, and there was time to chit-chat, prepare the sound system, and get the program ready. Whoops, we forgot to record the song for our dance number. God is gracious, and we were able to find a copy of the song from the sound guy. I tried to breakdance on this one. I hope someone made a video of that so at least I can see if my moves looked good. I won a pair of sunglasses in one of the raffle draws. This kind really hugs your face and sticks. The following photo has been edited.



For the gift-giving, I received a pen with a laser light and a flash light. Now this reminds me of a light saber. Thanks to Russel.



Many of my co-workers went out for a night in the city. I didn't go but instead I went straight home.
09:59:57...09:59:58...09:59:59...10:00:00...


December 25, 2007

The following takes place between 12:00 A.M. and 1:00 A.M. (sound effect)

Cast: Family
Produced by: Dadi-lo




Christmas eve is here. The time of the year all of us Tagalogs are waiting for. We celebrate the traditional Noche Buena where we have dinner at 12:00 A.M.



At our house, I read the Scripture in Luke 2, where it talks about the shepherds seeing the angels announce the birth of Christ. We sang Christmas songs and had dinner together as a family.



We also opened gifts afterwards. I got some pretty neat stuff this Christmas.




The following takes place between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M. (sound effect)

Cast: Family
Produced by: Dadi-lo

This is Christmas day and we celebrate it with our extended family every year. It was also a birthday celebration for my niece since she was born on December 21. She already had a party in Manila, but we wanted to celebrate it here as well.


I woke up late, and I realized that the dogs have no more dog food left. I went to the store to buy some. The jeepney service was unusually slow since it's Christmas day. I missed my niece's blowing of the candle but it's a good thing we had it on video.

We had lunch together with my relatives and we opened more gifts. My aunt gave me baby stuff by wrapping mistake. It was hilarious.



My niece is quite a dancer. We had a fun time as a family.

Baggages

During our recent trip to Cebu for the pastors and workers' conference, going back to Iloilo was a learning experience for me. As we went to the pier to get aboard the ship going to Iloilo, security had to inspect all our things for deadly weapons. As I was passing through the metal detector, it kept beeping on me! The guard won't let me pass through until there was no more beep. So I had to remove my cellphone...then my coins and keys...lastly, my belt that had a metal buckle. Finally, the detector went silent after I removed all the metal objects attached to me. The lesson: Don't carry too much metal on my next trip.

Sometimes in our walk with the Lord we carry too much extra baggage. This can come in different forms like bad habits, bitterness, or anxiety. But it can also come in good packaging such as activities that don't really help us stay focused on God's call upon our lives. Sometimes good things become the enemies of the best things that God has for us. Let's seek the Lord for His perfect will for our lives and lay down anything that can hinder us from running our race. - RJ Alobba

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” - Hebrews 12:1

Calvary Chapel Regional Pastors and Workers' Conference 2007

Last week, eight of us were able to attend the regional pastors' and workers conference in Cebu City. It was a time when we could meet up with other Calvary pastors and workers in the Visayas area. It was a blessing for us, being fed the Word of God, fellowshipping, and worshipping the Lord. It was truly a refreshing, recharging experience.

We left Iloilo City on the evening of October 15. We gathered at the church office at around 4:00 P.M., then went to the port at around 5:00 P.M. It was an overnight trip on a ship that lasted about 14 hours.


On the picture above, from left to right: Darel, Grace, Ryan, Vicente, Krishia, Rizel, RJ, and Pastor Mark.

We arrived in Cebu City in the morning and one of the people from Calvary Chapel of Cebu City, Kenneth, drove us from the port to the church where we were going to stay.


This was the place where we stayed. The church had a sanctuary, but not on the ground floor. The ground floor was used for Sunday school and housing guests. There was a kitchen, some bedrooms, and bathrooms.


Afterwards they took us to Eco Tech, a government facility where the conference was being held. We had time to relax and see the place.




Afterwards we had to eat something since we were getting hungry. We went to the McDonald's at the J.V. Mall, which is close by.












At the start of the conference, pastors and church workers from different Calvaries in the Visayas joined together in worship and fellowship.






































The churches in the Cebu island hosted the conference, and Pastor Tom Maxwell was the master of ceremonies for the whole conference program. There were different speakers in the sessions as well as in the workshops.































































































During the sessions, we studied the book of Nehemiah. Our theme for this year is "Rebuilding Walls, Rebuilding Lives".






At the last night, we had a time of waiting on the Lord and worship, or what we call "Afterglow". It was a very encouraging experience, especially since a lot of people spoke up and gave the Word of the Lord.

They also fed us well during our stay. The food that we ate was some of the best foods around. I think I even gained a few pounds.






















The Lord continues to raise up laborers for His harvest field. Those He raises up, He equips. We get our strength, our courage, and our comfort from Jesus Christ alone. He is the author and the finisher of our faith.












Please pray with us that God continue to raise up more workers for His churches here in the Visayan islands. We are many, but not many enough. There are still a lot of people and places unreached by the Gospel of Christ.







After the conference we had time to go to SM City Cebu, just to relax and have some clean fun. Below you will see us playing around with the bump cars:




Afterwards we took an overnight trip on a boat back to Iloilo.

The following Sunday, some of us gave our testimonies on how the Lord worked in our lives at the conference.

UseLESs rUsH

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." - Ephesians 5:15-16


Recently, I had to rush some errands for my office and I didn't have a lot of time in my hands since I decided to do it on my lunch break. I had to go to the mall to buy lunch, get a staple gun, swing to the other office to drop some supplies, pick up the laptop the company issued me, and go back to my office. All this has to happen in one hour.

12:00:01...12:00:02...12:00:03...12:00:04...

The following occurs between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.

Preparing to rush out the door, I picked up the plastic bag that I thought were the supplies I needed to deliver. I got to the mall parking lot and I took a good look at the bag -- it was the wrong one, since I picked up the plastic bag containing the trash instead! I then had to go to plan B.

12:59:57...12:59:58...12:59:59...01:00:00

In the world we live in today, things are rushing. Even on this remote island in the Philippines were I live in, things are already starting to be fast-paced. Life just keeps demanding, doesn't it? Still, we are called to be wise people. We Christians live by a higher standard and we live by faith. No matter what happens, let's take time to wait on the Lord, to pray over things, and to make decisions based on a Biblical world view, and not the view the world tries to plunge down our throats.

RJ
Iloilo City, Philippines

Making History

Ok, I admit it -- I live in an island probably 90% of the world has never heard of. But what I do know is I serve a great and awesome God who's bigger than the universe. Everyone of us believers are called to be history makers. In life, there are times when our presence becomes public. That point is critical, since our witness will greatly impact those around us, whether for good or for bad. Let's be good witnesses for Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

Below is a part of a local newspaper called Panay News that I scanned. And yes, I am in this picture. Try looking for me if you can. It's like finding Waldo, but much easier. Clue: I'm in the middle picture. This was during the 2nd IT Week in Iloilo City.



More pictures from the following albums:
http://radical81.multiply.com/photos/album/11
http://radical81.multiply.com/photos/album/12
http://radical81.multiply.com/photos/album/13

All This Tagging Bit

Ok. This is for Tint, Donnabel, and Avegail. I owe you my tag.

1. I always sleep at around 11pm and wake up 7am, though I usually set my alarm to 6:30am. When it goes off, I instinctively grab it and shut it off and put it near my head pillow. That's when I sleep again and wake up late.

2. I drink about 5 liters of water a day.

3. I'm a geek. A computer geek. The real thing. =)

4. I have 3 dogs, and they're like my own children.

5. I speak Tagalog at home, Ilonggo outside, and English at church.

6. I have a terrible handwriting.

7. I like superheroes.

Normalization

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. -Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

After my grandmother passed, I thought about getting back to a normal life. But then I started to wonder what a normal life is without her. Although I grew up in Iloilo and my grandma was in Manila, I always had the assurance that she was there. She was only a phone call away. She spent her last year in Iloilo, and that was the most I've seen her all my life. Still, her passing seems to let me see the world as no longer normal.

Things have happened after she passed. Independence Day came, which is a national holiday.



Father's Day came, and I was able to treat my dad out to lunch.
















Church is still church, except that I see life now from a different perspective. Grandma's passing seems to have given me the "growing up overnight" experience. I feel like an adult now more than ever. I also had the opportunity to do the Sunday Scripture reading. I made the mistake of asking the people to read the "evil" verses while I read the odd verses, when I should have told them to read the "even" verses while I read the odd verses. And also, the worship team is still growing.




























It's good to be reunited with old friends. Dr. Mark has been a best friend since we were in elementary school. He visited Iloilo for a week.


Family life is still family life, except that my sister, brother-in-law and niece came for a visit. I spent time with my baby niece and now I miss her more than ever before now that they left.




















I also was able to drive them to the new Iloilo airport for the first time. I think it was the longest distance I've ever driven a car.

Daily work is still daily work, except that my job description may soon change, and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of my two officemates who got married to each other.




I gave them the Topical Study Bible (New Living Translation) as a wedding gift. We then had barbecue chicken plus other courses for lunch.








My pets are still my pets, except that two of them are under medication for skin problems.

And my heart is still my heart, except that I think God is giving me courage and getting me ready to step out of my comfort zone and talk to... somebody =) .

So, what is normal when things are different? What is normal when you step into a new season? Just the same as before -- being normal is following Jesus and being the person He made you to be.