HK: Getting an Updated Passport at DFA, Manila

On the Value of Records: ”

The American writer, Bell Hooks, in her latest book, Belonging: A Culture of Place (New York: Routledge, 2009), gives us this interesting perspective on the value of the record: ‘In the past I have often scoffed at those folks who cannot go anywhere without a camera, a recording device, video, without some instrument to document for the future. Now that I have witnessed the deep pain and grief that can be caused by loss of memory, through illness, dementia and Alzheimer’s . . ., I can acknowledge the value of documentation for a future time. I know firsthand what a blessing it is to have a record – a way to remember that goes beyond the mind.’ ” (pp. 185-186). [from the blog, Reading Archives, by Richard J. Cox]

My Take:

You asked why 24 blogs regarding my family’s Hong Kong Tour? It cost me a lot of savings-and I need to extend its benefits by recording the memories and observation I had for future posterity and use.

But before that i have to mention that I almost got delayed and fleece by fixers outside the DFA. They will try to divert your attention before the gate of DFA. They might try to help put your picture into your passport a[pplication and then lead you to another building (not DFA) and then told you that you need extra time and money to have your passport completed. I did not show my anger but I returned to the real gate of DFA and from there line up at the verification. Can the DFA officials have an cleansweep operation of this swindlers and hoodlums just outside their gates? Are they inutile or in cahoots with these people? This is our country and yet we are being fleeced by our “enterprising” kababayans. Hoy Mahiya naman kayo-may mas mabuti pang trabaho kaysa magloko ng kapwa. (Please be ashamed of what you are doing -there is a better way to earn a living instead of taking advantage of your fellowmen)

Inside-you would have to queu for the verification of records and documents -which took up 1-2 hours. Then you can enter the DFA building for your passport to be assesed-then you need to queu again in order to pay the assesed value and to be interviewed by the DFA personnel and have your name entered into their  computer. I entered DFA by 9AM and left by 2PM. I ate my morning merienda, lunch and afternoon merienda by 2PM+. I paid 150.00 for the passport delivery-and got my passport at my house after 7 working days.

Here are some pictures of the location:

Verification inside the basketball court

DFA Basketball court

Some pictures of the requirements and steps for obtaining your passport (new and renewal):

Instructions

Passport Requirements

Procedure-Step-by-step

By the way-did I mentioned that I shouted to the guards inside the payment and encoding area because they do not how to process the lines-who to get first and who will be last. After I shouted-they corrected the sitiation. They do this everyday and yet  they have not done -more than basic improvements-for the sake of our kababayan-Sino ba DFA Secretary? Dapat siguro magresign na at better administrator who will treat our kababayan better and with more dignity.

Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park Tour

This was my family’s tour itinerary last November 4-7, 2009 at the Queen’s former territory-Hong Kong. Here is our 4 days-3 nights iterinary:

1 st Day

Morning

Arrival at Hong Kong Airport

Arrival at Park Hotel –Kowloon

Afternoon & Evenings

Tram Station and Victoria Peak

2^nd Day

Morning

City Tour- Victoria Park –Walk of Stars

Afternoon & Evenings

Disneyland upto Fireworks Show

3^rd Day

Morning & Afternoon

Ocean Park

Evening

Market Time

Science Museum

Concert of Lights

4^th Day

Morning

Jogging Kowloon Park

Market Time

Hongkong History Museum

Space Musuem

Afternoon

Hong kong Airport

If I will still blog this it will be as follows:

1. Getting a updated passport at DFA, Manila

2. Preparing for the trip

3.Early morning going to NAIA

4. Arriving at HK International Airport

5. Travel to Kowloon-Park Hotel

6. First Lunch-McDonald

7. The Peak Tower

8. Night Market

9. Avenue of the Stars

10. TSL Jewelry

11. Hong Kong Disneyland-The Rides

12. HK Disneyland Fireworks

13. Breakfast 3rd Day

14. Ocean Park Part 1-Below

15. Ocean Park Part 2-Above

16. Symphony of Lights-with my sons

17.  Space & Art Museum

18. Breakfast 4th Day

19. Science Museum

20. Last Day Lunch

21.History Museum

22. Travel back to HK Airport

23. Dinner at HK Airport

24. Trip back to NAIA

Preaching as if there is still tomorrow

James 4:13-17 

 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”– yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

 1Corinthians 2:1-5

 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

 1Corinthians 2:13-14

 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

 Preaching as if there is still tomorrow

 Some preachers will like to reach out to people-really- with the Word of God. Only they want it in bites and sizes that can be easily digested by their hearers. Nothing wrong with that-in fact it is commendable. It is when the content of such messages is change from what is urgent and essential to something contemporary and mundane.

 I have read magazine articles of cults like the old Worldwide Church of God and Jehovah’s witnesses discussing things regarding home life, personal enrichment and some political and economic viewpoints. They are in fact tailored and well edited articles and they are geared to the needs of their readers. Much like the Reader Digest or similar magazine. However, this does not addressed what is essential and urgent to the lives of unbelievers.

 I believe in soft selling the Gospel i.e. sugar coating the medicine of the gospel by contemporary concerns-but it must still contain the medicine. And there is no good news without the bad news. Or the hearers might think that the medicine is for something else more pedestrian or common-not the one that need surgery or organ transplant.

 Consider this also-not every unbeliever we meet still has their 1000 days to spare-maybe tomorrow or next week=they have to meet their Maker-and they will be found wanting or naked of the needed righteousness before the throne room of God.

 And even how much we change our language-our message is still on to rough translating by our hearers-they cannot really get it or understand it- There will always be a heart problem that only a fully proclaimed Word-then explained and then applied-will an unbeliever be forced to face his lack of Mediator before God due to his sins and transgression of the law. That is if they were also enlightened and reborn by the Holy Spirit. Without this rebirth-we will be only talking to dead spirits of living men and women.

 So-now-we must have confidence: to share the Word –interpret, explain, illustrate and apply. Our message must rely fully to the content and thought of the Word of God. Or else the conversion we thought that the unbeliever or hearer is undergoing or undergone may not be real conversion. Merely spurious or false. We might just delude them to eternal destruction. And woe to us if they stumble to the darkness because we are not faithful to the message. There are bare minimum in terms of the content and sooner or later-we must tell it to our dear friends and neighbors. They must not only know about Christ-they must be confronted by Him. And the only way is through the faithful preaching of the Word of God.

By the way- I am not defining preaching exclusively as church building pulpit preaching. I am more emphasizing the ordinary sharing of the Word in the byways of life. Brethren-we might have all the time in the world-but our unbelieving generation does not. And let us not be afraid of doctrines. It is just teaching-the INC,Jehovah,Mormon , Muslim and what have you-always thrive in this situation and they are  multiplying in adherents. It is cowardice that make us manufacture all these excuses not to share the Word. If you want training-there are many local churches and parachurch organization who are willing to teach us.