"HAPPY TO LIVE. GLAD TO GIVE. Season 5"

HLGG went to Marinduque for another Outreach Climb,  but this time we chose a foundation to be our beneficiary. The Foundation doesn't have any website, so i created this post for them.

  HLGG 5 GROUP HUG

BENEFICIARY: 
Priaseland Foundation Inc.
Poblacion, Buenavista, Marinduque, Philippines, 4904
SEC Registration No. CN200255749
Celfon No: 0920 867 1445 0920 838 2495
E-mail: praise_mduque@yahoo.com

Foundation Profile:
Praiseland Foundation, Inc. is a non stock, non profit, inter denominational para church foundation with the purpose of serving the Body of Christ in and outside of Marinduque specifically through Bible camping  ministries, scholarship and feeding programs.


Praiseland Beginnings:
Our island of Marinduque is surrounded by the sea. Wouldn’t it be good and relaxing to hold Bible camps and retreats by the sea? But sad to say the Christian community has no seaside property for such activities. We hold youth camps and retreats in church buildings or even in public schools’ classrooms. In November 2001 the Lord gave Pastor Rogelio R. Brion this vision of a seaside Bible camp for use by the Body of  Christ. They were advised to put up a foundation which they named Praiseland Foundation Inc.

Praiseland Vision:
Praiseland envisions a Bible Camp where our Lord God will always be praised and glorified; where God’s Word will be taught and souls be saved especially the youth and they be challenged to give their lives to God and to serve Him; a Bible Camp available for the Body of Christ for their Christian activities; a foundation with holistic ministries for the Body of Christ and the community.

Praiseland Mission:
To bring souls to Christ, especially the youth, through Bible camping and retreats to be sponsored by the foundation.

As of present time, we do not yet own a land for the Praiseland Bible Camp. Prayers are always offered to God for the purchase of the Land for Praiseland Bible Camp. Praise the Lord however, because even yet without the land for the Bible camp, the different ministries of Praiseland are now ongoing:

Praiseland Ministries:
1. Sponsors camps and retreats especially for the youth
2. Sponsors scholarship to youth & children
3. Provides supplemental feeding to children
4. Conducts Bible Classes / Values Formation Classes and
Prayer Meetings for children and youth
5. Conducts Parents’ Meetings

Scholarship:
60 Elementary Scholar
30 High School Scholar

Volunteer Work:
All workers, staff, personnel in Praiseland render voluntary services but as funds are available they may  receive some love gifts.

Present Sources of Funds:
Membership Fees & Monthly Dues of members, love gifts and offerings.
 
Praiseland Foresight:
...Someday our scholars will graduate and some may become church workers and others may find good jobs and they will give their tithes and love gifts to support Praiseland ministries.
...Someday we will have a permanent place: the Praiseland Bible Camp. By then we can sponsor more  camps, retreats, seminars for all ages; full scholarship for students; a Praiseland Bible Institute; A Praiseland Day Care Center, a Praiseland Christian School; an orphanage; cottage industries; help support Bible school students and other church workers. Someday Praiseland will become self supporting. 


Government Registration:
Securities & Exchange Commission
S&EC Registration No. CN200255749
Date Registered: September 17, 2002
Bank Account:
Praiseland Foundation, Inc.
Bank Account No. 638-518365-6
Philippine National Bank
Boac, Marinduque Branch, Philippines 4900

…for the Glory of God….for the Good of His People

"HAPPY TO LIVE. GLAD TO GIVE. Season 4"

HLGG 4 GROUP HUG

 BENEFICIARY: 

School Name: Mongoto Elementary School

School Region: CAR

Barangay: Timbac

Division: Benguet

District: Kabayan

School Type: Public

School Level: Elementary School

Every outreach climb that we'd finished it was nice to hear that HLGG family were looking forward on the next mountain for us to continue our mission. Sir Ivan de Castro an HLGG member was the one who introduce me about Mt. Timbak, he proposed this mountain for our next HLGG event and because i was too excited, i can't help it but to continuously research about the beauty of this mountain.

So what's interesting about Mt. Timbak?

Mt.  Timbak is situated in the high altitude mountains of Cordilleras, 2717+ MASL it is among the top 10 highest peak in the country placed at number 9th and the third highest point in Luzon according to Pinoy Mountaineer, It is easily accessible by private vehicles or public transport and it is an easy mountain to climb which made it at a level 3 so there will be no problem if you are a newbie in climbing.

After all the research and contacting Ate Josie, a local who lives in Mt. Timbak, we decided to set the date for our outreach climb and it happened last Holy Week.

It was 11pm when we depart Manila going to Baguio via Victory Liner Bus in Cubao. Since were all tired from work we slept most of the time in the bus, but we made sure that Roy got the last trip of Manila-Baguio coz' he missed the reserve schedule.  Jeff, Cherry, Yang, Jet was already waiting for us in Victory Liner Terminal in Baguio and we met them around 4:30am. Thanks to Doc Yang and Jet that they found a rented jeep going to Atok. Roy arrived at 6am then we headed directly to KM 55 in Atok Benguet.

Thanks to Ate Josie and her husband, Kuya Ivan, Teachers, Rolly Magapayo, Mia Salavador, Jollibee, Blythe So, Driver, and to all HLGG 4 family and their friends.


THANK YOU JOLLIBEE FOR THE TOYS (PHOTO BY ROY OLIVER SADORRA)



YAN, JET, VERNZ, TITA ALELI w/ THE IBALOI KIDS (PHOTO BY: CHERRY MADRIAGA)

KIDS WITH THEIR STUFF :)
 

HEART LOLLIPOP CANDIES <3  (PHOTO BY: CHERRY MADRIAGA)

 TSINELAS FOR MORE!!!! :D  (PHOTO BY: ROY OLIVER SADORRA)

MT. TIMBAK (2,717+) - A Holy Week 2011 Outreach Climb

MT. TIMBAK/ MT. SINGAKALSA (2,717+)
Atok, Benguet
Jump-off point: KM 55, Atok, Benguet
Elevation: 2717 MASL (#9)
Days required / Hours to summit: 1 day / 2-3 hours
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 3/9, Trail class 3

Happy To Live. Glad To Give. (Season 4)
HOLY WEEK OUTREACH CLIMB
April 21-22, 2011
BENEFICIARY: Timbak, Mongoto Elementary School

_____________________________________________________

Limited slots only

NOTE: Each participant are required to bring their donations for Mongoto Elementary School, (in kind - preferably food, old clothes that are not being used, school supplies, books, raincoat, medicine, slippers, toys)
_____________________________________________________

EXPENSE

Php1500/pax

Includes Tranportation and Miscellaneous fees excluding food
_____________________________________________________

ITINERARY

Day 0 - (Wednesday, April 20, 2011)
1000 Assembly Time at Cubao Dagupan Bus Terminal
1100 ETD Cubao Dagupan Bus Terminal – Head to Baguio

Day 1 – (Thursday, April 21, 2011)
0500 ETA Baguio. Take early Breakfast. Proceed to Slaugher House
Rent Van going to Atok (1 1/2 hour travel time) or
1st trip of D’ Rising Sun Bus Line (2-3hours travel time)
0600 ETD via Van to KM55, Atok Benguet
0900 ETA KM55, Start Trek
1030 Mongoto Elementary School (drop donations)
1130 Mt. Timbak Summit, 2717 MASL
1230 Back at Timbak Elementary School. Proceed to visit the Timbak mummies
0100 ETA Burial Rock keeper's house; take pictures. Nice view deck.
0130 Head back to Mongoto Elementary School
0200 Lunch with the locals
0300 Donation Proper for the Elementary Students with the help of Ate Josie and teachers
0500 Set Camp / Stay in the school or host family, Rest, Prepare, Take a Bath
0700 Dinner
0800 Socials
1000 Lights Off!

Day 2 – (Friday, April 22, 2011)
0600 Wake-up Call
0700 From school, start descent
0830 Back at KM. 55; Visit Highest Point in highway then or await Baguio-bound bus
1130 Baguio then head to Manila or you may still stay in Baguio
0500 ETA Manila

For more info just email at whitebeagle@yahoo.com or feel free to leave your message on this post. Godbless!!

A DAY HIKE AT PICO DE LORO 664+ MASL

Ternate, Cavite - Nasugbu, Batangas Traverse
Major jump-off: Magnetic Hill, Ternate
LLA: 14° 12.855 N; 120° 38.785 E; 664 MASL
Days required / Hours to summit: 1-2 days / 4-5 hours
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 3/9, Trail class 1-3

Mt. Pico De Loro is 2 1/2 hour travel time, it was very accessible from Manila. Its a popular hiking site both for amateur and newbie mountaineers. The place is a part of protected forest in Ternate Cavite, called Mt. Palay Palay and it is the highest peak in Cavite.

Few weeks ago, a friend invited us to join their open climb.. and since i had nothing to do on that day and Tsunami in Japan was still on the headlines and our company outing was 50/50 based on the tragedy happened in Japan. So i decided to join the climb up to the last minute, I left the house at 3am going to Baclaran, we met at Baclaran McDonalds facing Roxas Boulevard besides RCBC bank at 4am which is our assembly time. It was nice to see again my old friends, some of them are my old time fave travel buddies and some are freelance mountaineer from Cebu. While we waited for Vernz' friend we ordered our breakfast and packed lunch at Andoks and McDonalds.

It was 5am when we took the Jethro Liner Bus that will take us to Ternate town proper, bus fare was Php75.00 per pax. From Ternate town proper we hired a tricycle that will take us to DENR, fare is Php75.00 per pax. At the DENR we prepared our things and we paid Php20 for the registration fees.

Then we started the trek at the jump-off point 5minutes walk from the DENR. Thank God that he granted us a very good weather condition during the trek. It wasn't too hot and it also didn't rain, which was my worry because it rained on the past few days.

It took us 2 hours when we reached the base camp 1 and it was an easy trail, At the Camp 1 there are houses and comfort rooms, chairs and tables in case you want to eat and spend a long time on the camp. This is also where your tents can be set up and buy some refreshing drinks like softdrinks, except water.. they don't have it.. it's always better to bring at least 2 to 3 liters of water. We also paid Php20.00 per pax for additional fees and we ask the caretaker if we can hire some guide that will lead us on our descent to Nasugbu and were lucky that we got our guide, Kuya Topher, Son of the caretaker. Then we started the trek. As we get nearer to the summit the climb is getting more difficult, trail was very steep but with ample bamboo to hold on while the wind was blowing so hard and we need to crawl just to make sure that were able to get to the summit safely. Finally we reached the summit Peak 1 at 10:30am and it was really awesome as it offers a 360 degrees views. All of us was too excited to take photos. After 15minutes of resting, we went down on the steep path to make our way to the famous peak. We're 24pax in a group but half of us pursue to be at the famous so-called Parrot's Beak..and yes we did it despite of having a problem on the rope w/c is a bit short.. I'm grateful to be with my fellow climber who always there to help us whenever we feel that we can't make it. And yes, it was a nice feeling being on summit of peak 2 and were lucky because not all of us made it.. that's why were thankful to them for giving us a nice photos at the Parrot's Beak.

We took our lunch at the foot of Parrot's beak, then we start our traverse at 1:30pm, nasugbu trail was not that easy as we needed to trek in different moves and four of us was lost for 10minutes due to wrong trail that we went through..and thanks to the locals along the way that they lead us on the right trail. It was 4:00pm when we finally arrived at the Nasugbu highway.. we took our rest and waited for the jeep that we can hire but since some of the locals were overpricing the fare rate we decided to walk at the highway until we found a jeep that gave us a very good deal that will took us to the Nasugbu Bus Terminal. We chose to try topload (Yan, Vernz, Jet, Jay and Me) and it was fun since the view was very relaxing and the road is not rough. Then 5:30pm we arrived at the Nasugbu Terminal and had our dinner at Mang Inasal as requested by Yan.. it was my first time to eat at Mang Inasal, Chicken Inasal never tasted that good as i was so hungry on the descent. We left Nasugbu at 6:30pm, most of us slept on the bus and woke up when we arrived at Pasay Rotonda 9:30pm.

Overall, it was really a nice and fun-filled climb and i miss every moment of our climb experience. Thank You so much to Marje for inviting us. :) ITINERARY 0400 Baclaran, Board Bus going to Ternate/Maragondon 0700 ETA Ternate Town, Ride Tricycle to Magnetic Hill 0745 ETA DENR / Pay Registration 0800 Start Trek. Jump-off point 10mins walk from DENR 0845 ETA Base Camp 1, Rest, Pay another registration 1130 ETA Summit. Lunch 0130 Start Descent to Brgy. Papaya, Nasugbu 1630 ETA Sitio Hamilio, Brgy Papaya, Nasugbu, Rent Jeep going to Nasugbu Terminal 1800 Nasugbu Terminal, Dinner @ Mang Inasal 1900 ETD Nasugbu to Manila 2100 ETA Manila

SAGADA, revisited

Sagada is located in the Cordillera Region of Northern Philippines and one of the town in Mountain Province, known for its terraces, pine scenery, caves and cold weather. It is the perfect place for the adventure-seekers who love trekking, spelunking, rapelling and rock climbing due to its mountainous regions that are perfect for these kind of activities. It is 14 hours away from Manila. According to the numerous writing of Dr. William Henry Scott who is a historain by training and a missionary by profession, as well as an Igorot at heart, the people of Sagada are called as Igorot, which is derived from the root word "golot" meaning "mountains".

Two years ago I went to Sagada with my friends, but this time, I and my photographer friend and  some religious educator travel buddies decided to make a side trip to this place just after our Bauko journey for us to relax and enjoy the serene and solemn place of the town that one can go to when the stresses at work and the frustrations of city life seem too much. :)).. From Bauko it took us 1 hour going to Sagada, thanks to Sir Rolly's group of religious educator friend for arranging the rented van.

We reached Sagada at around 10:30am and we booked our room at St. Josephs Inn, the largest guesthouse in town. The rooms and cottages are made up of pine wood set in beautiful gardens over-viewing the town. We got our room at the 1st floor with private comfort room and hot shower. After unpacking our things, we went directly to Sumaguing cave and we decided to go there by foot.. yes by foot.. :) I love walking, taking advantage of the time and seeing everything whenever i travel. For me Sagada is like a big nature park, it was so relaxing to explore the place by means of walking..this is because of the atmosphere and the scenery along the way. It took us almost an hour when we reached the cave and our travel buddies are patiently waiting for us.. Thank You guys! :)

As far as i remember according to Gareth Likigan, my guide on my first visit way back 2008, Sumaguing Cave is very popular in Sagada as well as the Lumiang Cave, it became the burial grounds for the people of Cordillera during World War II and served as a hiding place of Filipino Soldiers and Guerillas. Upon reaching the Cave, I and Rolly decided not to go inside the cave since we've done it before, instead we just took some snapshots on the mouth of the cave and waited our travel buddies to finish their spelunking activity.

After the cave trip, we went back to our guesthouse to had our late lunch at Cafe Saint Joe, we ordered chicken with rice and drinks, they also offer extensive menu whether it is fresh vegetables, meat, chicken, bread and sweets. The Cafe is open all day located in the same ground of the guesthouse. What's nice about this Cafe is the beautiful setting, lovely veranda upstairs and the outdoor seating. You can never complain about the food in Sagada, it is fresh with reasonable price. Most of the restaurant has a very cozy and beautiful country style interior and they serve the food with such an impressive presentation you'd think you're in a fine-dining in Manila. Aside from Cafe Saint Joe..another must try restaurant is the famous Yogurt House where we had our dinner, we ordered stir pan fried beef and their famous yogurt. :)

The next day we woke at 5:00am. We waited for sunrise at the garden of the guesthouse, and it was very cold. Sunrise came but it was very foggy. The mountains showed for a few minutes then disappeared because of the fog. When the sun totally came up we went to Episcopal Church and took some snapshots on the place but we didn't stay for long since we have to pack our things to catch the 10am bus going to Baguio. I also had a chance to drop by at Bana's Cafe and bought some coffee for pasalubong. We left Sagada at 10am bound to Baguio, its a 6 hours trip. Then we reached the Victory Liner  Baguio Terminal at around 4:30pm and we have no choice but to get the available trip to Manila at 10:50pm  but it was okay since i had my iTouch and  Sir Rolly was there sharing some funny and interesting stories on his travel and photography experiences.

 "Anti-Social in Victory Liner Terminal" by ROLLY MAGAPAYO

I'm thankful and happy, Shangrila indeed! :)

BAUKO, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE

I had a chance to visit the most populous town in Mountain Province, Bauko. It was a great opportunity to be invited by Rolly Magpayo together with Cherry Madriaga, a photographer friends from Digital Photographer Philippines forum. I think the most exciting part here was I'm with a new set of travel companion. It was our first time to be with each other on this kind of trip and i enjoyed being with them because I was able to gain more insight into a place and share travel experiences with them, this is exactly what travel companion provides..and I'm happy with it. ^_^

Bauko was created as a regular municipality in 1911 and it is the 4th class municipality in the province of Mountain Province, Philippines and subdivided into 22 barangays, divided into the upper and lower areas. Getting there takes 12hours from Manila and 6hours if coming from Baguio. One of the famous resident is the late Marky Cielo, the first known Igorot-actor in Philippine showbiz. He is notable for his win in the reality talent competiton StarStruck (March 12, 2006).

Rolly and I left Manila at around 11:45pm going to Baguio via Deluxe bus of Victory Liner and arrives 4:30am. We waited and meet Cherry at the Terminal then we proceed to Slaughter's House to catch the 7am last trip of bus going to Bauko. Were lucky enough that we got the three last seats of the bus. It took us 6 hours from Baguio including two stop-over.

We stayed at the house of Rolly's friend, It is a two-story house, more modern than the tradional Igorot houses. When we arrived there were many people around the house and they were busy preparing for the next day wedding of Rolly's friend.

There were pigs and cows that has been butchered as there were tremendous numbers of people expected to be around during the celebration. The relatives and some friends share their helping hands to do all the cooking, serving and all that what was to be done.

It was a great experience for me since it was my first time to witness a traditional with slightly modern-like wedding of Igorot. The celebration last for about 2 days. It was not just for direct relatives and friends, almost the whole community was welcomed to join, and as a custom, they have to be hosted and food was distributed to people who came in because they need to be fed as well, at the same time, those people was generous enough to gave money or gifts to the couple.

Celebration includes the traditional wedding dance of couple by the used of Gong, food was served in different menu of pork and beef as a main dish, macaroni salad for dessert, and tons of rice wine.


How to Get there:

1 Take Victory Liner Bus bound to Baguio (6 hours travel time), departs every hour.

2. Take a bus at the Slaughters house in  Baguio bound to Otucan Sur(6 hours travel time), departs 6am and 7am.

Thanks to Rolly for inviting us to this trip. Cheers! ^_^