celebraTINg exisTENce

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Here are the churches we visited for last year's Visita Iglesia hehe posting this now because Lent 2016 has started. I'll be linking at the end of this post our other Visita Iglesias or just click the church tag in sidebar for all the churches that I've posted about.

We were only able to visit 4/7 but I'm giving you the complete list.

The churches are located on the areas where the stars are just to give you an idea but I have also embedded an interactive google map below.

For the churches, what we visited are part of the Laguna Loop or those found near/surrounding Laguna Bay. The churches are all decade old churches (built during the Spanish Colonization Era) so history-wise they're very interesting to visit as well. Even if there are a lot of stories these churches have, I won't mention their history because my goal is to just identify churches that are part of the loop.

St. John the Baptist Church
Calamba, Laguna

When we got there, it was only the time did I realize that we've already attended a mass there after swimming at a hotspring in Pansol, Laguna.

St. Agustine Church/ Simbahan ng Bay
Bay, Laguna

Interior of Simbahan ng Bay

After this, we were supposed to go to St. Anthony de Padua / Church of Pila but ironically we lost our way when we were about the visit the patron saint of those who have lost things.

We found a church on the way but it isn't a part of the Laguna Loop so I am not posting it here.

So went to Pagsanjan which turned out to be our last stop for that day because of the heavy traffic in the area. One national government official and one local government official (not naming names but may God bless their souls and their heartfelt desire to serve us Filipinos!) were there that time so they had a lot of escorts and guards that made the already crowded area more congested.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
Pagsanjan, Laguna

Do you also believe that lighting up candles of different colors (based on what you're praying for) is more effective than just lighting a white candle?

Altar of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

Here's an interactive google map for your convenience because I'm feeling extra helpful today. Charot. :))) I'll try to embed maps in my travel posts from now on.

I've plotted the locations of all the seven churches.

You may click on the letters to know the names and details of the churches.

The URL of this map link: here.

Visita Iglesia in Manila
Visita Iglesia in Tagaytay
Visita Iglesia in Batangas

Regina Rica, Rizal
Kamay ni Hesus, Quezon

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Di na 'ko tinantanan ng mga PREX-like encounters.

If you've been reading this blog especially posts like this, there's a possibility that you know/understand me better than most people I know/meet in person. There isn't enough time for heart to heart talks especially in groups and this is where the therapeutic properties of blogging comes in for me. I don't tell everything here but the process of putting thoughts into words without caring if somebody's going to read it or not is something that had helped me whenever I'm feeling unwell - just like now. Ka-level ng heart to heart talks eh. It's already 3 AM and I can't sleep but I also couldn't do the things that I should be doing.

Anyway, this morning my Aunt called us for a reunion and meeting because she's self-publishing a book later this year and she's looking for a family member who would like to publish as well. I am putting this here since her book is going to be a public thing soon (bili ka ha? hehe). I'll tell you a little background of our mother side's family. My mom is the youngest in the family and that's the reason why those members that are of my age range are not my cousins but their sons and daughters whom most are not close to me. Most of my cousins grew up together while we were born in the time when they were also busy with their personal lives that get-togethers were never done up until last Saturday and yesterday upon the invitations of my aunt.

One activity we did was answer the questions, "What good did you do for your family, friends, strangers?" "What was your biggest mistake and what did you do to correct it?"

My biggest mistake so far is.... and what I am doing to correct it is still ongoing haha. My reason for sponsoring a child in World Vision, which I have been doing for more than three years now, is a way of paying forward and to give my child hope and the chance to do things as well.

In the process of answering questions, I told the daughter of my cousin whom I see during some celebrations but we never held conversations, "I feel you." Understandable because we are both in the stage wherein a lot of transitions are happening. You can't force everyone to understand your struggles but you can find someone who's experiencing the same things. Right at that moment of instant connection, I have again allowed someone to know me more and see beyond the thick and high walls I built for bottling up my emotions. It's never easy to let someone see our cracks and hear the stories that we have withheld but the freeing act has to be done and this, I think, is what the universe is trying to teach me. Maybe it's about time to allow myself to feel that deeper form of intimacy and greater love from more people - things I am always trying to get away with because they're uncomfortable. But I think I should try to feel more comfortable, diba? It's not like I can be this way forever. Haha.

Our lives crossed at this very moment probably because you were looking for reviews, itineraries or anything under the sun that I have posted about here. In the course of your life, you got to meet me somehow and find out my thoughts. There's a common thing that led us to each other's lives but unless we make an effort to reconnect then "our path" is only up to this point. I won't know about how you came across my blog (or sabihin mo kaya?) but I am glad for this opportunity to have you in this one-sided talk. So for the people that we are going to meet, exerting effort to understand and find more things in common are better than just knowing him/her on the surface. In Filipino Psychology we have this term, "kapalagayang loob" or your confidant. 'Yan ang one goal we should have in this life. Ang magkaroon ng mga taong pagbubuksan natin ng loob at makapagpapalagayan ng loob.

Thank you for reading and I'd like to tell you that I hope that we can both meet people who will 1. accept us despite knowing our stories that aren't pretty. 2. connect with us and love us even after sharing our weaknesses. 3. be inspired by the life we live and vice versa. I'm not saying that you should tell all your vulnerabilities, regrets, and weaknesses to everyone you meet, meron lang talagang special encounters and appropriate timing.

As for the person my aunt's looking for who can author and publish a book in the future... hahahahahaha. Ansabe. Paka-loyal na lang ako sa blogosphere. Apat na taon na nga oh. Baka pag nag publish ako ng sarili kong libro, mabaliw na lang tayong dalawa. hahahahaha.