Debut Diaries IV: 18 Thousands for 18 kids
as i turned 18, i want to grab this opportunity to not just celebrate legality but actually doing something that could benefit other people. throughout the whole summer, some friends and i will be fundraising so we can give 18 kids new shoes, new bag and school supplies. each child would be alloted 1,000 pesos each.
as of now, the funds we have haven’t reached the target budget yet so we are currently asking for anyone who wants to donate. each donor will be entitled to getting updates about the program and also a thank you card from the child who benefited from your money. also, we are selling peanut butter in which all the proceeds would be used to finance the program.
on May 29, 2013 is our target gift-giving day. we don’t like to give their shoes, bag and school supplies just like that. that’s why we decided to organize a small party for the kids.
if you wanna help and be part of the cause. just inform me! we’d love to have you! :D
PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR THE FULL STORY OF THE PROGRAM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyKmhGL9-UU
DEBUT RELATED POSTS:
Debut Diaries I: Invitation click here
Debut Diaries II: Preparation click here
Debut Diaries III: Programme click here
Debut Diaries III: Programme
the party started with dinner as the guests came and then my entrance came next. i don’t like to have that “senti moment” that much, you know the usual part of the debut where the debutante would enter and everyone would just jaw-drop or something. for mine, i’d just like it to be chill and laid back, so it started with a dance number by my cousins (both from my Parangan and Dalangin side), and i entered and joined them dancing in the later part of the song. we danced with “brighter than the sun” by colbie callait.
after the entrance, my mom gave a few words and then the 18 roses kicked off. i wanted it to be fun. so instead of using 18 suitable songs for slow formal dancing, i picked 18 songs in random genre. there were still some songs for formal dancing though, they were also dance-craze songs like YMCA, Gangnam, Azonto and even the epic tagalog dance craze song, otso-otso. it made the crowd go loco! well, what could you expect? a crazy debutante will most likely pull through a crazy debut, right?
and speaking of crazy, i just got that from my dad, you know! so after we danced our formal dance (cinderella by steven curtis chapman, such a beautiful dad-daughter song with absolutely beautiful lyrics. check it out!), we danced a fun dance!! weee. to most who went to my debut, they said this WAS THE MOMENT. we danced to “i gotta feeling” by black eyed peas and “blue suede shoes” by elvis presley. my gosh! you could’ve seen my dad’s elvis presley moves. it’s EPIC!
18 Roses and 18 Treasures followed.
That day wasn’t just mine, because two of the most important people in my life, my parents, were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. So Together with my “partners in crime”, tita Cathleen had to investigate about my parent’s love story and she told us about all of it. my mom’s brother also prepared a cake, wine and flowers. i also prepared for them an AVP with the background music “Grow old with you”. and all these were SURPRISES! my parents had absolutely no idea about this. <3 <3
after this, some videos were shown. videos about Project 18 Thousands for 18 kids (i will blog separately about this).
i also sang two songs. the first one i sang alone, “Stay” by Lisa Loeb and second “Don’t think twice it’s alright” by Bob Dylan, and i sang it with the man who taught me to play the guitar, my dad!
Photos by: Karen Lopez Photography
DEBUT RELATED POSTS:
Debut Diaries I: Invitation click here
Debut Diaries II: Preparation click here
Debut Diaries IV: 18 Thousands for 18 Kids click here
Debut Diaries II: Preparations
i am very much blessed with family and friends whom i can say “has it all”. like what i said in the post before this one, my mom made the invitations herself, my mom’s brother cooks very well and thus took care of the food and the desserts, my mom’s other brother together with some C.Y.A. brothers and sisters (and of course some staff from the place where i held my debut) took care of the arrangement, and our very close community and family friend, Tita Cathleen Arcadio is an event coordinator and an emcee. need i ask for more? they’ve got it all, right?
so, we had to run through all the preparations from day one to pack-up all by ourselves. and i think, there’s nothing more beautiful than to have people very close to your heart working for your special with love. :)
take a look at some preparation photos!
photo credits: Karen Lopez Photography
my GLAM TEAM, headed by mother Sabel
there we’re absolutely a lot of last minute concerns, i was just very restless and panicky. haha. look at these candid shots! i find them so funny!
Debut Diaries I: Invitations
i have always been the type of girl who doesn’t want to settle for the mainstream. i always wanted to go for out of the box, different and unique ideas. i also always believed that whatever you do, reflects your personality. so, for my debut invitations, i wanted it to be so ME, i wanted it to represent my personality.
i had a lot of ideas in mind, but thank God for giving me a super talented and creative mom who helped me and actually MADE MY INVITATIONS. my mom used to own a shop which makes invitations for different events. so, for my debut, i know i couldn’t trust anyone more than her.
since, the theme of my debut is whimsical, we decided to make invitations with my pop-up photo on it. so here’s how it looks like!
photo credits: Karen Lopez Photography
btw, my real birthday is on April 6. but i was out of town that time, so we decided to move it to April 17th instead because that’s my mom and dad’s 20th wedding anniversary, and we rarely celebrate it this much.
Debut Diaries: Will be blogging soon…
hello my lovely readers!!
i’d like to apologize for not posting for a looooong time already! i have been really busy lately! i know! the last time i posted was the eve of palm sunday, i had a very meaningful holy week by the way and i had little-to-no access with social media the entire week. the week after that, i went to Davao to join the Mindanao Conference of Christ’s Youth in Action. i celebrated my birthday (April 6) there. not to mention, it was a blast! (i’ll find time to share it with you!). the week after that, i was unfortunately, bed-ridden the entire week because of hyper acidity. and again a week after that was the post-celebration of my debut/my parent’s 20th wedding anniversary. i promise to share every single detail of my debut here in my blog. assuming that you are curious, i will be posting A LOT of pictures too. so watch out! hihi.
tomorrow, i’ll be out of town again for a Kairos Camp wherein i’ll be a youth worker. so most probably, i’ll start posting by next week, hopefully, my photographer gets done in editing too. but for the mean time, i’ll leave you with this teaser collage first. may God bless you!
ask me questions! i promise to answer them! ;)
Choose Life then
So, as i was just doing my prayer time today, i was deeply moved and i really felt like posting the bible verses which i found so beautiful.
Deut 30:11,14, 19-20 ” For the commands which i enjoin on you is not mysterious and remote for you. It is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out… Choose life then, that you may live, by loving the Lord, your God; heeding His voice and holding fast to Him.”
Pearl of Great Price
I’ve read Matthew 16:24 (“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”) a lot of times already, but I felt like just lately I’ve realized the true essence of following Him.
To follow Him means giving up an unrighteous lifestyle which doesn’t glorify the Lord, maybe getting rid of friends who aren’t being good influence, giving up an addiction, thinking about what you can give and not what you can get… and the list goes on. Too much to give up, don’t you think?
Then I remembered Matthew 13: 46 (“When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”), and I realized that indeed, having a relationship with the Lord and really deciding to follow Him is like the pearl of great price that I am willing to pay no matter what. It is a bargain for a costly price. But there is NOTHING I would not give up for Him. The Lord is my all in all and my everything and if giving up all that I have is what it takes to follow Him, then giving up everything it is! And I’ll do it with a smile because I know I’m gaining so much more!
sheenalovessunsets asked: Hey Carmz! Thanks for all the love and support! I'm glad you showed me your page because I read about your story about France/Brazil (!) and I feel sad that you're not going but at the same time happy and proud (weird? Hehe!) of the way you handled it and surrendered it to God. Life won't always go as planned, but He has better plans. :) Always live for His glory!!
awwwe!!! thanks sheena! that’s so sweet of you to really read my blog! you have been one of my many inspirations!! thaaaaaaaaaaaaank you! :”>
Little Something
i just took a bath when i was told that there is a package for me. of course i got excited! who wouldn’t get excited when you get a package especially when it’s unexpected? i was told that it was from France. and it is. :’) i found out that it is a gift from my supposedly first foster family (we are supposed to be changing foster families every 3 months) in France should i have gone to my exchange student scholarship.
i opened it and found out that it was a towel with my name embroidered! how sweet! and there was a letter from them. i felt bitter-sweet. sweet because it was such a beautiful meaningful gift. bitter because i missed the chance of living with their family for three months. although again tying back to my beliefs, it was God’s will. :) but i sure will meet and see them soon… i’m sure of that. in God’s time. ;) here it is. take a peep! 
if you don’t know of my exchange scholarship and wondered what happened, you can read my post about it by clicking me.
Re-fashioned Top
so, one sunday afternoon, my cousin took her shirts out and asked me to re-fashion them. so i did! :D unfortunately, i do not have a tutorial for this but i will make one if you ask me. haha.
but yes, i just cut the back part of her top and kindah braided them but i was upset because the top part kinda got loose so i decided to tie it in the middle part for it to look like a bow. :)
here’s my cousin wearing the top i re-fashioned. :D
Anonymous asked: carm, im informing for my cousins predebut shoot. shes wondering if mahal ba daw ang cost every photoshoot? :/
hi! the photographer who shot my pictures are very competent and very inexpensive! :) do you want me to help you book your shoot? since naka anonymous ka, just message me anytime soon, mangutana ko sa photographer pila iyang rate para sa photoshoot ninyo. and i’ll tell you her answer the moment magmessage ka balik nako. :D
“Wonderful Future” I Thought That Was It. But I Was Wrong.
The Lord said in the bible that He has prepared a wonderful future ahead of me. I always trust the Lord and I do believe in everything that He said. I thought that the “wonderful future” he was talking about was already taking shape when I got the exchange student scholarship to France. Everyone around me also talks about the same “wonderful future” ahead of me. It was surreal, I know. Almost unbelievable. Imagine? The petite 17 year-old me was going to FRANCE? I was like, “oh yeah! That’s how the God of impossible works! He makes the impossible possible!” I was all out in praising and thanking God for giving me that opportunity and finally giving me a glimpse of the said “wonderful future”. I thought that was it. But I was wrong.
(As I have said before) I grew up in a Christian Catholic family. My parents were both leaders of Christ’s Youth in Action-Iligan when they were still young people (the community I’m actively part of). Being exposed to the community, I always had the desire to serve the Lord especially when I go to college (C.Y.A. is for college age students). I was looking forward to being in college and be a part of C.Y.A. In my random prayers as a child, I would tell the Lord how eager I am to serve Him. Then I was getting closer to graduating from high school. My parents and I would often discuss where I should go study for college. College? Oh yesss C.Y.A! I thought that was it. But I was wrong.
And then the France thing came. Going to France would mean my impermanent separation from C.Y.A. of course (because there’s no C.Y.A. in France). But I said, “Maybe the Lord doesn’t want me to get attached to the service (or the community), instead He wanted me to get attached to HIM. So maybe the Lord has something for me to do in France. Something to glorify HIM.” I came to the realization that wherever He will place me, nothing will ever come in my way of pleasing Him in whatever I do. I thought that was it. But I was wrong.
School year 2012-2013 began. I didn’t enroll for College because I might not finish the first semester because I was supposed to fly for France by end of August. Enrolling and not finishing the sem might ruin my college records. So instead, I focused in learning French lessons, being with my family and friends, doing volunteer work in a deaf and mute N.G.O, actively serving C.Y.A. Iligan, while being undeniably excited for France. I packed my bags. I got enrolled in L’Institution de Sainte Marie in France. I thought that was it. But I was wrong.
We waited. We waited for days, weeks, months. The French consul didn’t want to give me my visa for God-knows what reasons. Some people tried to intervene and help. Until I got the news that we should stop imposing political pressure to the French consul because He really wouldn’t give me my visa. That was a very very sad news. Imagine, the one thing you have prepared for, hoped for, spent for… and just like that, wouldn’t be reality. I’d think of the many things I have sacrificed for it. It got me frustrated. I cry to the Lord in my weakness. I thought that was it. But I was wrong.
There were people (from the same program which I got the scholarship) who believed in me. They tried endorsing me to other countries. After a few months, Brazil came replying that they are willing to host me despite the short notice and that I am very welcome in their district. I prepared again, re-packed, all hopes up again. I was happier because Brazil is such a beautiful country, one of my dream destinations, actually. PLUS! The world youth day would be held there this year! I was so thrilled. And thanked the Lord for what I thought was a better opportunity! I thought that was it. But I was wrong.
We waited for months, paid some fees again that have to be paid and found out that all of my documents took so long to be processed. I haven’t gotten my visa. We were in a dilemma whether I should pursue with my trip or not. There are only a few months left before the next school year. So my dad told me that I should concentrate on preparing for college instead of going to Brazil for only a couple of months. So the decision is now final and irrevocable. I am not going to France nor Brazil.
You see, friends, I’ve gone through a lot this year. My hopes were having a roller coaster ride, up and down. I often ask the Lord why He had to make me expect that much only for nothing. I’d grumble. Complain. Blame whoever can be blamed. But just today, as I am writing this during my prayer time, I hear the Lord’s answer to all of my questions. By not being able to go to France and skipping a whole school year, losing all the praises and hopes about my “wonderful future” from random people and now converting them into cynical, skeptic, “what happens to you now?”-kind of questions. I feel the Lord’s answer. While the rest of the world looks at my situation negatively, the Lord looked at how I developed a sincere anchored relationship with Him. And having that sincere anchored relationship that I was talking about, that was God’s definition of “success”. And if you may ask about my future? All I can answer for now is for as long as I am delighting in the Lord and continually seeking for His kingdom, I know I will be experiencing my “wonderful future”. Not by the standards of the world. But by God’s standards.
Indeed, I cannot fathom the Lord’s wisdom and thinking. He’s ways are far too different than mine. But although I do not understand Him (sometimes), I choose to trust Him. I choose to trust His love which surpasses all understanding.
And just as I would think this is it. I know I’d be wrong. He is not through with me yet. And so is He with you.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
