God so loved us that He created us in His own image and likeness, superior above all His other creations!

Whenever I look at everything around me, I always think about how fortunate I am not to be created as an animal that can’t speak for himself, as an insect that’s easily stepped on and killed by the human beings, or as a plant that doesn’t have the liberty to move its arms and legs like we do. These are simple facts that make me realize how fortunate I am that God loved me enough to create me as a human being.

There are instances in my life when I question the things that happen around me. When problems arise, I begin to feel some anxiety within me. But then, when I go back to the basic reality that we are God’s creations, and that loves us too much that He even gave up His only Son for us, I have to ACCEPT that He will never allow anyone of us to go astray. If God provides for the birds and the bees, the trees and the wild animals to survive, how much more can He do for us, the human beings that he created in His own image and likeness? All we need to do is to TRUST in Him, SUBMIT ourselves to Him completely.

Yes, God gave us the power to think and to discern, and the power to decide. But whatever we cannot do beyond the things that He has already given to us, whatever is beyond our human control, those are the things we lift up to Him. Trust Him, let Him do the rest.

At this point of my life, I have placed my complete trust in God. Yes, I do get scared sometimes. There are even moments when I let my human emotions overpower me. I am only human. God gave me these feelings. But when I feel afraid, when I feel that no matter what I do, everything is beyond my control, when I am uncertain, I pray. I talk to Him. I may not be able to see Him, but I trust that He is listening to me all the time. He listens, no matter what an undeserving human being I am. I have proven this time and time again, over and over again in my life.

God listens. God hears us. He answers prayers, if they are good for us. If they are not for us, they just won’t happen. All we need to do is understand, and to accept. We are only His creations. We don’t dictate what we want and demand them to happen. We let God have the last word in our life, for He gave it to us.

This is a prayer I would like to share to all. It’s a prayer that I live everyday of my life with. It’s a prayer that calms my fears, comforts my pain and eases the burdens that come upon me every now and then. It’s a prayer that makes each moment of life worth living..

My daughters just got their hands on the camera and picture-taking was uncontrollable! I collected the silly candid pictures the two girls took of themselves just to show off to the whole wide world…

ANGELA & ANGELEE

Sunday was another busy, but very memorable day for us.  We woke up at 4am, packed our clothes and food and waited till Mom called us up to get ready to leave.  At exactly 6am, we were on our way. 

Our first destination was at the Mt. Samat Shrine at Bataan. 

This was the shrine built to honour the memory of the soldiers that fought for our freedom during the World War II. 

Bataan was the place where the fight between American-Filipino forces and the invading Japanese forces occurred.   It was on April 9, 1942 when the Bataan defenders surrendered to the Japanese. About 70,000 U.S. and Filipino soldiers were captured.
The big cross, which is called the Dambana ng Kagitingan  atop Mt. Samat in Pilar, Bataan was built in 1966 in memory of the soldiers who died during the World War II.
Our next destination was at the Zoobic Safari, at Subic Bay.
This is one of the latest tourist attractions at Subic.  It’s a jungle located and built on the site of the former US Naval Magazine. 
Upon entering the Zoobic Safari, we were required to pay 395 pesos per head for admission.  We were assigned to a group, with a tour guide who took us through the entire place.

Zoobic Tour began at the Petting Zoo, which starts behind the Zoobic entrance. It is a path through the forest with different kinds of animals, a lot of which I’ve never seen before. There were pigs, birds, monkeys, deer, camels, miniature horses, sheep, porcupines, ostriches, white buffalos, and so many more!

Then it was the Tiger Safari time.  This is probably the highlight of the Zoobic Safari.

We boarded a jeep that had fences on both sides, in order to protect us from the tigers that moved around freely in the jungle.  We were offered to purchase some chickens to feed the tigers upon reaching the jungle.  
Inside the jeepney, we were with the driver, and another person who handed the chickens to the tigers.

As we drove around the jungle, there were tigers were lying under some trees.  The person who was in charge of the chickens, who happened to be sitting right beside Tahir and my Mom, then tied the chicken to a rope and tossed it onto the ground outside the jeepney.   One tiger ran for the chicken, and the man pulled the rope till the chicken was right at the window of the jeepney… I was so terrified!   Tahir took a few shots up close of the tiger while actually gnawing on the chicken right at the window of the jeepney.

We drove further around the jungle and other tigers were fed exactly the same way and each time, I worried that big cat would actually get through the fences of the jeepney we were in.   Boy, you’ll never know how relieved I was when all the chickens were finally eaten up!

After that thrilling adventure, it was time for an Ocean Adventure! 

Admission fee was 450 pesos per person.  It was way past noontime, we missed the dolphin show.  But there was another show to look forward to.  This was the Sea Lion show.

The sea lion show was a cute exhibition of 2 sea lions, who seemed to be so smart!  They were with two trainers who each had a sea lion they work with.  A girl was chosen out of the audience and was kissed by the sea lion. 

These sea lions are actually South American Sea Lions and they also perform in the Nautilus Theatre. The show was fun and enjoyable, and the trainers had some little lessons about how to take care of the environment.

Well, after that trip, we were all bushed.  It was time to get some rest. 

We proceeded to the Canoe Beach Resort at Pundakit, San Antonio, Zambales.  It was a beautiful, quiet and peaceful resort.  We rented 2 air conditioned rooms, at 1,300.00 pesos for each room.  There were little huts around the place were we could eat, relax and simply enjoy the place.  Food was affordable, and the staff of the Café Pundakit, who served our food were all nice and accommodating.  David and I intend to come back again sometime so the kids could experience the great time we had at the beach.

By 2pm Monday, we were on our way.  We passed by my mom’s hometown, Bacolor, Pampanga and stopped at the historic San Guillermo Church.
This is one of the one of the oldest, largest, and most beautiful churches in Pampanga.  More than half of the church was buried under tons of volcanic debris when Mt. Pinatubo volcano erupted in 1991.  What’s left of the church were the top portions of the windows which I was able to take some pictures of.  We walked around the church, and the museum at the left wing of the church.    
 
After that, we were finally on our way home.  We stopped by SM Pampanga for an early dinner, and of course, David had his ever favourite Triple cheese burger from Wendy’s restaurant.

It was a memorable experience.  A first for David outside Metro Manila, and I’m really glad he had a great time.

Here’s that little movie I made with all the pictures I took of this trip…

Just click the PLAY button to watch the slideshow!  ENJOY!

That’s all folks! See you tomorrow!