03 April 2009

I received a text message from Ran asking if I could come and meet them at Andre's place so we could practice for tomorrow's Christian Life Program. I wasn't able to attend the orientation last week and I have been missing quite a lot of Singles for Christ's activities, I knew I had to attend this one.





Ran and I met by the entrance of the village, and together with Marvic, we walked to Andre's house. Soon after, Daisy and Arnel arrived, followed by Nino and El then we started to practice songs. Because we were the newest graduates and we haven't been in the community that long enough, we need to practice the songs very well. Ran is the head of this CLP's music ministry, so he wanted to coordinate the vocalists and the guitarists. I admit that some of the songs I haven't memorized yet, and entering the vocals after the intro was where we were having difficulties with.

Daisy provided the snacks - a box of Dunkin' Donuts munchkins while Ecko provided the drinks. In between songs, we shared some stories and recommendations. It was also the first time I saw Ecko after two months. Following my trips and his hiatus to the community, I can say that there was a gap between us, but after a while the invisible wall has been lifted. He apologized for not answering any of my text messages, and it was just fine. I was just a little disappointed and hurt in a way that he "excluded" me from his friends list during his hiatus. I wish the man well - he is set to get married in May, and I wish the best for him and his future family.

We practiced three songs for the first week of CLP, but we also practiced other songs for the future weeks. We were still having problems with the tempo - some songs need to fast, but we were singing it a little slower than it should be. The intro problems were still there, too, but overall, we could say that we can teach the songs to the participants. At around 8:30PM, we called it a night. We were walking out of the village when Goody passed by with his tricycle, and it was so funny and amazing that we were all able to fit inside the tricycle!


DeeJay's review materials, taken on September 2008
Anyway, I was a bit sad today - because my very dear friend DeeJay didn't pass the Bar Exams. I didn't know how to console him so I just sent a text message. He responded with, "Wala tayo." I asked what he meant and he said, "Wala tayo... wala ako... I didn't pass." Sad as I am, I felt happy, too, because he used the word "tayo" (us). Happy because he included me in this journey, happy that he made me part of this. I am not sure if he would take the exams again, but I do hope his spirits weren't badly hurt. It had been a long and winding journey for him, and whatever the reasons were, I hope he would have enough strength to get up and carry on with the battle. I know how much this meant to him, and if ever he read this, I just wanted to say that I will always be a friend. In joys and sorrows, I am here for you.

*** Jenn ***