Due to insistent public demand...

...Here are more pictures!!
di na ko mang-aasar pramis...
hehe
grabe...they took FOREVER to upload!
-abby girl/eunice

Fuuuunnnnnnn Niiiggghhhhtttt!!!! ~ahhhhh~

Hi guys Abby Sison here aka Eunice aka Abby Girl.

yeah! This is the first event I've organized in my life!!
I'd like to thank the following people (I wouldn't have done this without you!!!):

Ate Abi at Vida sa games
Keneth sa food
Garn sa budget stuff at program
Ate Joan sa logistics
Howell, Hope at Ken sa pag host
Davie at Cha sa WONDERFUL supercalifragilisticexpialidocious performance!!!
Kuya Ram at Marlon din pala sa awit na handog niyo sa amin!! (rest assured kuya Ram na hindi mo sinira ang career ni Marlon. Lalo mo lang pinakita kung gano siya kagaling. hehehe...peace!!!)
kina Leov, Jam, Jen at Reicha sa pag asikaso ng Reg.
Sa ating mga dakilang Panelists na sina Ate Jean, Ate Jing, Kuya Woolim, Roy, at Cha!! Magaling! Magaling! Magaling!

At si God! Ay duh kakalimutan ko ba Siya?! He made things happen!!! I was not in control-freak modes. I thank Him for His grace, for allowing me to experience how it is like to coordinate an event, and to trust Him with it. And not to fret. Oh! I could go on and on but that would require a different article. Next time. ^_^x

Yuck ang jologs ata ng post ko.

Enjoy the pics!!ayan si kuya ram na-kanta

(boys + Kythe = ??)

(freshies!! Vida ehste Leov, Jen and Jam)

Bagong love triangle. (wala lang..gusto ko lang mang-issue. hehe)

pagpasensyahan si ate abi..first time nka tikim ng loaf bread. si kythe halatang nagmodel para sa Pullman's loaf sa previous life niya. hehehe

Hus dat ismayl?!!
yung putol sa taas si kuya ram yun. kung kilala niyo tlga si kuya ram dapat alam niyo na baba niya yun. ching.
sabi sa inyo may issue eh. ayun o. yung dalawa sa baba.
...
davie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ang mga dakilang speakers!! hidari kara migi made (from left to right): roy-kun, cha-chan, woolim-san, jean-san, to jing-san (roy, Cha, Kuya Woolim, Ate Jean, and ate Jing) (hindi po ito transliteration.)

PRAY WITH US!

■ The students - that they will keep walking closely with the Lord, as they grow in leadership, character, and spiritual maturity.
■ UPD Navs Alumni - as they meet regularly on Wednesday nights. Tara, lets joins thems!! :D
■ Post Valentine Gathering – February 20, at Balay kalinaw! May this event draw people closer to God’s love, especially new believers.

Big thanks to all our sponsors!!

We appreciate your help in building us up!

And of course, Special thanks to Garner, who devoted much time and effort to bringing this to completion (from collating the articles to layouting the newsletter format).
Thanks also to Roy and Kuya Ram for their assistance, and the contributors for this issue: Joan, Abby, Vida and Jeff :D.

My Beloved Navs Family

by Jefferson Tsai

Before I went to UP, I was very anxious because of the new challenges I’m going to face in a new school way far from home, also expecting a lot of adjustments on my part. One of the UP Alumni I asked regarding what it was like to be a student in UP was Kuya Sammy Lim. When I asked him what ministry he was involved in during his college life, he told me about the Navigators and referred me to Kuya Ram who then introduced me to the Navs family.

I was still unsure of what the University had to offer but I was glad that there is a Christian Community in campus. Time passed and I got my first taste of campus life. It was a big struggle, nevertheless God was still faithful and He kept on encouraging me to move on. With bad schedules, big adjustments and Kalai curfew, I wasn’t able to come to TNT meetings regularly at first. Other ministries have invited me too, but God put in my heart that I have to help out with the Navs and indeed by His grace, I was able to attend our meetings and activities in the ministry this year.

I have just been a witness to how God has been working in the campus ministry during the past year. There were a lot of struggles in the year 2006, struggles in leadership, unity, and commitment. It all pointed out to one thing and that is the utter need to acknowledge God and saying, “Lord, ikaw na po bahala sa plans namin.” And God has been very faithful and gracious. Never has He given up on the ministry and He continuously provides so much for us like the people, finances, wisdom, love, care, assurance, strength, and encouragement.

There are still things we can improve though, like coming early as well as praying for people we are going to invite. Jesus tells us in Luke 11: 9-10 that if we want something to happen, we can pray and ask Him even to the point of nagging so that He will give us what we want. But of course according to His time and purpose.

May we continue to entrust all our plans up to Him and serve faithfully in bringing God’s word to everyone we know. May we indeed share what we learn from our discussions and experiences so that people may know who our God is and how mighty He saves.

Jeff is now a 2nd year Chemical Engineering student. He is one of our one-man team because he's always on time while most of us are late...Hihi ;D

Leading by Relationship

by Vida Joan Gumera

Having to ‘look ahead’ and set goals, and to ‘look within’ and agree to common values is not an easy task. Taking on this task taught us independence (with thanks to Ate Abi and Kuya Ram), prompting us to be more responsible for our own actions in moving forward as a group. By voicing out our expectations and thoughts, we grew to be more attentive to each other’s needs, and learned to respect each other more.


The weekly prayer time provided an opportunity for us to grow more comfortable in praying as a group. Also, it became another avenue where we could pray for the needs of the community together. It is really wonderful to listen to what each other has to say to God.


Last semester we officers had to struggle in establishing a working relationship. We had difficulty in making decisions and executing them because all of us were very busy with other responsibilities. Despite that, God eventually led us to the solution. Now, we try to find time to meet at least once a week not only to discuss work, but also for updates on what’s happening at each other’s end.



Needless to say, this academic year has been one big opportunity for me, and for us to grow more supportive of each other’s strengths and more understanding with each other’s lapses.



(Vida is now a 4th year Electrical Engineering student.She serves as the Vice Chair for Internal Affairs of UPD Navs. She’s actually a member of the family Von Trapp.)

Spell Victory

by Abigail Eunice Sison

(Abby is now a 2nd year Anthropology student
She serves as Secretary of the UPD Navs.
She was once a spelling quiz bee champion.)

Did you know that the word “victory” can be pronounced the same and yet be spelled differently?

Last semester is one of the highlights of my year 2006. I was elected to be one of the five officers of UPD Navs, and we were to choose the position we consider we can best serve in. Imagine five seats each intended for a particular person. We’d have to choose one we’ll sit on and we can’t try them out till we find the perfect fit. Instead, we’d have to look at them, think it over, ask God where He wants us to be, and then decide.

My thoughts then were like “I think, based on the past chairs I’ve sat on I’d have to take this one because it looks similar. Plus I think God wants me to sit here” and “Now that the rest of you have chosen a seat, I think I’ll take this one that’s left.”

So we chose and we sat. Strangely enough, the new guy (me) was chosen to be Campus Ministry Coordinator (CMC), the most burdened (in my opinion) of all officers. And so I thought, “Hey this is cool.” For a time. Until I realized that I wasn’t doing anything anymore and we were not moving. It took us almost the entire semester to realize that we weren’t quite doing what we were supposed to do. The chairs seemed perfect for a while, until our butts started to ache. We moved around uncomfortably, wincing as we did our jobs. I thought, “Excuse me. Help. I think my butt doesn’t quite fit in this chair right. What do you think?”

That’s when Kuya Ram and Ate Abi came along and suggested that we switch seats. Silence. We looked at our seats. After sometime, I cried, finally admitting to myself and to the others that I can’t do it anymore. Others cried, too. Because as it turned out, they could actually see that my chair was already hurting me.

Though at first reluctant, we switched seats. We eventually found our places, and man was there relief! It makes me think of how God spells out victory and I realize that though they sound the same, God spells it out so differently from how the world taught us to spell it. Victory to most people was getting the positions we wanted, grinning though it hurt, and bearing it.

And yet God would consider that a loss because we allowed our desires to drown out His voice and prevent Him from really taking over. But I think, for Him victory came when we threw our hands in the air, fell on our backs, bawled our eyes out and said, “God! We can’t do this anymore! It’s Your call! Do what You want! Have it Your way!”

I learned that God is not afraid of allowing us to experience pain because it will allow us to know Him more. We do get cramps once in a while (a smile there), but we’re functioning pretty well now, sitting with the cushions God gave us to go with the chairs. I also see how God worked things out. Then I think to myself, I deserved the ache in the butt, but these –new friends, stronger relationships, deeper understanding of responsibility, trust and, well, love – I don’t deserve these. Yet here they are, and I’m thankful – truly, sincerely, and nothing but.

Conquering the Blankets

by Joan Rachel Romero
(Joan is now a graduating Computer Science major. She serves as Vice Chair for External Affairs of UPD NavsShe currently owns a total of 32 blankets.)

My parents always thought me bold-blooded. I was convinced that I was; brave and unafraid. Not until the bigger realities of life slapped me left and right did I ever really know that I wasn't all that I thought myself to be. I wrapped the whole of me with blankets—persuading myself that it was below-zero-cold outside and I needed my sheets, when in truth, I was sweating beneath, fighting for life. I had been afraid to even take a step towards reality. So I stayed under the sheets. Slowly killing myself as I gasped for air.



It had to take several harsh nudges, disappointments, spanking, failures, and so much grace to get me to take that step. I have begun (and mind you, still beginning) to take those small steps. The fears still haunt me. It rages within me and in times I am tempted to go back to my sheets.That God will honor these small steps, is my hope and prayer. That these small steps be the droplets which, in time, will produce a fountain of faith—ever springing.I am reminded of this question: Who does God say I am? What God says of me are these:

I am fallen
but I have been saved.
Now, I am His child.
Now, I am more than a conqueror. ■



(November 28 2006 )This was written at a time when I was overwhelmed by the new challenges I faced- in leadership, in my Christian life, in my commitments, in decision-making, & in my personal relationships. During this time, the TNT study was on High-Trust Culture wherein, “Who does God say I am?” was a question that struck me and has since reminded me at times when I fall and am frightened, to come back to the foot of the cross.