the old man and the c

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My name is John Ray Catingub, a 21-year old from Vancouver, Canada. I'm a product of the Canadian idea of the cultural mosaic: contemporary Canadiana, Filipino heritage, the arts, Catholicism, service in CFC Youth, and intermittent romanticism (both definitions).

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September 16, 2012

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I had a busy day yesterday. I wrote earlier about buying my laptop (which I bought from Joere in Richmond) so I had to start my day early enough to meet him by 10am. From there I went to the comic book store and then had brunch with my mom and brother. I was going to have breakfast with my brother anyway but my mom decided to tag along. I spent $50 on brunch which stung my wallet a bit but, in the end, I felt that I needed to oblige them sooner rather than later.

We had our monthly CFC-Youth Collective Household at St. Andrew’s around 1:30pm. I enjoy not being a part of the service team because I get to see how Vancouver 1 has grown and can continue to grow. The way they do things is definitely different from our way in Vancouver 2 so it’s nice to take a seat back and just observe. Francis led opening worship, Nikki gave the talk, and John led closing worship. I was asked to play for Music Ministry last minute, which was a surprise, but I said yes nonetheless. It was a short event but it’s always a blessing to both serve and observe in the capacity that I did today.

From there we went to St. Joseph’s Parish to sing for their 5pm anticipated mass. I’m starting to get used to singing in a choir and singing their mass parts. It’s always a joy to serve God musically, even if I’m not particularly experienced in a choir. One of the regrets I have about high school is not taking choir when I had the chance. That is, however, all the more reason to continue to participate now.

After mass finished we convened at Hoy’s on Kingsway for service team bonding for Camp Trinity I. Chris and I came late because we had to drop my mom off at her first session of the Couples for Christ Christian Life Program (although it was already the second week and session) and then pick up some food for the planned movie night. Our table amounted to about $10 a person, which was good, and we headed back to my apartment for the rest of the bonding.

If things had gone according to plan we would’ve watched a couple of movies following worship and mass song practice. Things didn’t—obviously—but I felt that we were able to bond sufficiently in that short amount of time. We had both worship and practice for mass but fell short of time and didn’t get to watch movies. It was okay because I know that we’ll continue to bond as a service team today when we visit Squamish for our promotional visit.

It’s been a long day so I’ll be turning in to bed soon. However, writing this, I was reminded of the blessings in my life. I know that I am bound by struggles, especially as of late, but I also know that God gives me these blessings, no matter how big or how small, to remind me that He is there to carry me along. I just have to come to Him first.