From Politics to Sports

Char lang...this time, Joyfully Hopeful is invading the world of sports...hahahah i mean kids sports. Yesterday, i was offered by my sister to co sponsor the uniform of another soccer team. Since they are forming two different age groups of players, she was asking me to "adopt" the other kids group such that naming them THE JOYFULLY HOPEFUL KIDS soccer team...

I excitedly printed shirts for their uniform and of course showcase the shirts plus the streamer of the Joyfully Hopeful during their soccer game this weekend...whitweewww...



At this point, i guess, we need to look for other sponsors to support their needs (ug sugdan ko na hahahahhah). I need not act as the coach hahahaha over to the max...Dennis, my sis husband will do that for us...Amen...

...so how is that? ...from politics to the invasion of kids' sports - soccer ...Doing God's business ha...:-) At my end, i am slowly toying with the idea of giving them formation .....hahahahhaha ...pinaparaket ako ni God ngayon ...free raket hahahahahha

Evangelizing Politics

A friend named Mitch approached me for a request of printing campaign - shirts for his father who is running for "Kagawad" in the upcoming Barangay election - October 25, 2010. I have not really tried printing other than the Joyfully Hopeful Designs but this one may be a venue for evangelization. I did not really know how to come in as to putting in the JH advocacy prayer but when Mitch requested that the prayer be attached, my soul leaped for joy hahahhahah ..a new way of evangelizing politics...and our people...Amen ....


- The Candidate -



- The Joyfully Hopeful Advocacy prayer printed at the back of the shirt -

An Invitation

Dear Friends,

Just recently, we strove to translate the Joyfully Hopeful Advocacy Prayer from English to Filipino and Visayan versions (through the help of Fr. Frank, SJ - Filipino, Joepel Apdian Visayan and Fr. Rogel Abais, SJ for the Visayan translation) so as to ignite many of us to join in this advocacy. We are giving options as to whichever you find comfortable to use during your prayer time.

The following are the prayers...este..na hala pili namo hehe



- the English version...tada...


- the Filipino Version - translated by Fr. Frank-


- The Visayan Version ...translated Joefel Apdian and Fr. Rogel Abais, SJ


"We become what we pray" and so I believe as we faithfully dedicate ourselves to this daily prayer, our lives may change. So please let us know your story via email - joyfully.hopeful@yahoo.com. We will wait for you to say something. God bless us all!


The Joyfully Hopefuls

My "Graduation"

Last - October 3, 2010 was more than any graduations i had - elementary, high school, college and the graduate school. My 19th annotation graduation was like a preparation for the rest of my life.

Fr. Frank told me meetings before the ending that we will have the one-on- one mass. I haven't experienced such. It filled me with excitement and a little of anxiety since he asked me to do the homily with him. Charing...unsaon man na oi...na hala chikka na lang.

Though Fr. Frank insisted that i would have such a simple celebration...yes po obey beauty ko hehe...i want it simple din but then thematic charing...so the theme that i attached to this day was "SHARING GOD'S IMMENSE LOVE WITH OTHERS".

- The "Graduation" Uniform ...hahahha lingaw ko



- this was my gift to Fr. Frank...kunting pasasalamat for journeying with me -




The following were my preparations :

1. bought some red shirts to be used for my special day
2. made special designs for the shirts that would be worn for the day
3. Prepared special gifts for fr. Frank
4. Prepared for the food
5. Prepared for my homily (whaaaaaaaahhh kigulbaan ko ani da)

Gay, my younger sister brought with her the entire family - husband Dennis, girl2 and Anton. And as my friend Loling called up early morning of Sunday to check on my whereabouts... was held captive and "victim"....hahahha that was our private (now no more) joke.

During homily, Fr Frank stressed on staying faithful and the continuous stirring of God in my life so that there will be more things to come out ...from God's generosity being bestowed to my humanity (bitaw ako na nag sumpay char char aning humanity hahahahha).

At my end, i focused my sharing on being overwhelmed by the innumerable graces and blessings that God accorded to me during the 19th annotation, my gratefulness to God for Fr. Frank's inspiration and guidance, gratefulness to family and friends, etc. (actually i prepared such a lengthy homily but ended up being overwhelmed again and decided to settle with the things i stated).

To close, i presented the song "Glowing Inside" with the following lyrics read to Jesus and Fr. Frank :





Happy, to let you know
You make me glow
I feel so good, it's true
So glad that I have you
You love me so
Now all is bright

I'll always thank you for the glow
And thank you for the joy
Thank you for the love you give to me
I'm glowing, glowing inside
With your love shining through
Thank you for everything you do
I'm glowing inside because of you

Remember, my growing years
They're filled with joy
Because you're there for me
You cast my fears away
You wipe those tears
You gave me strength each day

I thank you for the glow
And thank you for the joy
Thank you for the love you give to me
I'm always glowing inside
With your love shining through
Thank you for everything you do
I'm glowing inside because of you

Who knows of what tomorrow brings
My glowing wings can make me fly
I'll reach and now I touch the sky
Because of you I'll sore up high
So I must

Thank you for the glow
And thank you for the joy
Thank you for the love you give to me
I'm glowing, glowing inside
With your love shining through
Thank you for everything you do
I'm glowing inside because of you

....Well that was how it was with me in this journey with Jesus and my SD...
Thanks to you My Lord for sending Fr. Frank...I look forward to working with You in this mission of making You visible in this world as the prayer that I and Fr. Frank composed says :


Lord our God, we come to You in this mission of bringing Your light to the world through this visible sign of hope. We have seen the distress of human condition. If we would allow them to overwhelm us, they might consume our being and, thus, stop living anyway. But our hearts are telling us that there are things we can do to be Your "hand" in the world. Make us Your channel of hope. Prepare our hearts so that we may become Your instrument, Your walking presence. And ultimately, may our lives be the message itself that You are bringing in this ailing world. All for Your glory here on earth. Amen.

The Product Samples

The Designs

The Advocacy

I did not imagine something like this can and may happen. What i thought to be just a "simple" participation in Spiritual Direction with Fr. Frank Savadera, SJ that started last January 2010 brought out the "fruit" of an advocacy called JOYFULLY HOPEFUL... which he himself coined from the life experiences i initially shared in the earlier part of the encounter.

Sharing my life here would be a long - long story. i would rather state the fact that from the dirt, scratch, loses, pains, etc. i learned to rise... Fr. Frank (i believe) inspired by the Spirit, suddenly stated in one of the sessions we had, "i feel hopeful for you...joyfully hopeful".

And, that's it, i picked up the line in one of my prayer times and attached it to the "accidental talent" that i engaged in during my period of "career inactivity" hahahahha in short...walang trabahao. walang magawa sa buhay kundi mag browse ng internet - t shirt designing with the sayings that have become instrumental (in part) for me to "pick up" again from life.

And so the advocacy called JOYFULLY HOPEFUL was born on March 2010. A prayer was also composed to highlight the said advocacy. With the effort to introduce it to the public, it has slowly gained its momentum through the t shirts that were first released the recent Holy Week (2010)at the Divine Mercy Shrine and Malasag, Cagayan de Oro city. Some were also sold to particular individuals who have appreciated the messages plus the prayer uniquely attached to the shirts. Those who bought including Fr. Frank (actually his idea to attach the prayer) himself, commented that they never found such a style in a shirt.

The recent effort of a medical doctor named Dr. Catherine Verendia (provincial hospital, cdo) who believed in such advocacy brought out a "miracle" through several doctors who have purchased the shirt with the message "DOING GOD'S BUSINESS WITH PLEASURE". She said that the message itself was a challenge to their practice at the hospital. Moreover, it surprised us to receive orders from 2 Muslim doctors who expressed their interest to wear the shirt bearing the same message.

And so the story of the advocacy continues to unfold from the sharing of different individuals whose lives have been touched - from the seller of the shirt last holy week that stated "if not for the shirt, i would have not joined a healing session at the Divine Mercy Shrine"....to a friend that stated "thank you for bringing your spirituality to our family".

Recently, Fr. Frank included the advocacy in his homily at the Carmelite Monastery in CDO, that led to another breakthrough (charing...grabe talaga na partnership....amen!!!)of shirts being sold by bulk through the nuns. And from these the production team (another char char...hahahhah...nang Vangie, ging2, reynante, jr, my sister gina and my honey mike are into an innovative work of creating more new products by contacting suppliers for key chain, mugs, tumblers, and nang vangie doing the bags and a lot, lot more...kahit ano daw pwede pasukan for the apostolate. Amazingly, the team has so much fun creating the products despite some difficulties encountered. The same team serves as the advocacy's prayer "warriors"...amen (para battle ano? hahahhaha)

i thought then, this can't be an accident, right. Well i was presented with an idea from Fr. Frank himself, that there is no such thing as accident in life. There can be reasons for why things happen. And i believe, it just can't be anyone else's reason...but God's...


...and i can't just end this with the last statement above. i feel i can't thank Him enough for my SD Fr. Frank that have patiently guided me towards finding Him that i miss so much all these years. And of course.. i thank Fr. Norlan Julia, SJ that started such assistance last year ...for his warmth and confidence sa akin and who initiated and introduced me to another spiritual director :-) ...

Salamat sa inyo duha ka mga SDs nako heheh...talawan kaayo ko sa una to engage in spiritual direction. Ang galing galing ng Panginoon to send you both to me...my guardian angels dito sa lupa hehehheheh ...Amen.