Gratitude for the Year 2018

          As 2018 is about to end, I think that it is but fitting to express our gratitude for all the bountiful blessings that we received this year. Firstly for the gift of life that God has shared to each one of us that in spite of all the challenges and obstacles that we encountered this year, His love and comfort allowed us to be strong thus overcoming all those crosses in our life.

          All throughout this year, we also have encountered people who, in one way or the other, have taught us to be resilient with life. People who have encouraged us to stay grounded on our conviction that life is indeed a wonderful gift to be shared.

Photo by Chris Barbalis on Unsplash

And as we look back to our activities this year, we therefore acknowledged that we have journeyed on those days, weeks and months with a positive attitude and this enabled us to share our smile with others.

         Consequently, we have failed and we have misjudged certain events and opportunities yet we still discovered something positive on them and this realisation helped us to decide to hang on to life and proceeded with our life journey for we know that we are walking along the path of life hand in hand with our loved ones. 

                                                   

Go For Your Dreams

          Go for your dreams- a guiding principle of Loilyn Bubbles Jugan, our contributor at this time. She's an outspoken and an achiever young girl. She owes her existence to God and to the two wonderful people in her life- her father Luisito Jugan Sr. and mom, Helen Jugan. Their family resides in Sitio Pilapilan in Yati, Liloan Cebu. 

She has the following as her siblings:

1. Luisito Jugan  Jr.- a 26 years old who works as a trainer at Wipro Philippines. Like Bubbles, he also is dreamer who wants to be successful in everything he does. Apart from that, he also aspires a lot about financial stability. 

2. Loie Lyndon Jugan- Bubbles' 19 year old brother who is currently a student of Normal University. His aspiration in life is to be a good educator someday.

Seeing the exemplary deeds of his teachers while he was still in his elementary and high school days, he is greatly inspired by them thus moulding this dream somebody to be one of them. 

3. Loie Lyndie Jugan- a 17 year old student at La Consolacin College and whose aspiration is to be a successful individual in all her undertakings and also to land in an excellent job. 

          Meanwhile for Bubbles, as she is fondly called by loved ones and by friends, she is presently connected with the prestigious Lexmark Research and Development Corp. as its Deployment Project Coordinator. Being an achiever, this 30 year old lady is dreaming of experiencing skydiving one day. She could not help herself but be thrilled by this once in a lifetime experience. 

          She also believes in the importance of the family thus she dreams of having one of her own in the future. Her dream of a holiday place is Kenya or anywhere in South Africa. Furthermore, she wants to learn as many languages as she can and she shared her dream of building one day a beautiful home for her parents.  

Thanks a lot Bubbles for sharing your life and family with our blog. 

Being Selfless for Others

" Being selfless for others".....these are the wonderful words of Jake Bocado, member of our clan whom I will feature through this blog post. At his stage today, he has been to various challenges in life. Indeed, he is so grateful to all the examples of his parents, Rosanna Jugan Bocado and Ruel Bocado, for they raised him up as a loving and determined son. The following are his thoughts on my sharing with him:

a. In your stage now, what has been the greatest challenge that has come into your life?

Jake: In this stage of my life, being the breadwinner of the family has been my greatest challenge. Before, I thought that as I graduated in university, life would be easier. In reality, it is not. You have to consider a lot of things and you have to spend the money wisely. I become more selfless for my family.

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b. How did you face the challenge?

Jake: I lessen my time for myself. I mean, I have to give up some of the things that I love to do. I have become more focus on my job as an ESL teacher and even have rendered more working hours to have enough income. 

c. Who motivates you in your life?

Jake: The reason of all these things is my family. I am more motivated to see them happy. I am more motivated to see my sister who always does her best in order to finish her apprenticeship and earn a degree in college. Everything has become better when I see them like that. 

Those were his thoughts and aside from that, here are some of his achievements:

- Licensed Professional Teacher

- Trainer at QQ English Philippines

- consistent class valedictorian

- Cebu Technological University (CTU) Cum Laude

- 2014 National PACSA Poster Making Champion

- 2016 Outstanding Teacher QQ English

          Hence, all his relatives are so proud of all his deeds and aside from that, his examples are worth imitating most notably to the younger members of our family. 

                                        

Meet and Greet: Elmira Jaranilla Jugan and Family

          For our meet and greet on this post, let us have the chance to meet our brothers and sisters in the family of Elmira Jaranilla Jugan. 

          Their parents are Lourdes Jaranilla and Roque Jugan. The former, Roque Jugan, is the son of Dalmacio Jugan Sr. who hails from Luyang, Maravilla, Cebu Province. The siblings are Elmira Jaranilla Jugan, Delia Jugan, Rodolfo Jugan, Monica Jugan, Conchita Jugan, Vicente Jugan, and Reynaldo Jugan. 

         Monica Jugan is married to a certain Butalid and their children are Falcomery Jugan Butalid, Michelle Jugan Butalid, Vicmon Lloyd Butalid and Maywanie Butalid. Presently, their address is in Bago Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte. 

          Meanwhile, Rodolfo is married as well and has the following children: Marilyn, Rodolfo Jr., Michael, Gino and Jinny Jugan. And he has two grandchildren. 

         Next in the family is Delia Jugan and her children are Kevin Geme, Edgyp Grace, Hanna Marie, Ramonito and John Mark. Delia is based in Tophill, Lahug City.

         The next one is Conchita Jugan with her children Eunice, Ethyl Abegail, Franklin, Mizraim, and Noemi. She is based in Pinian, Zamboanga del Norte. 

         Next comes Vicente Jugan with his children Rechel, Raquelyn, Roldan, Robina, Russel, and Vicente Jr.. 

          Then the youngest in the family is Reynaldo Jugan who has no children. 

                                            

Being a Proud Father

          Just recently, me and my wife received the result of the 1st Grading Test of our only child, Kurt Kristoff, and we were both delighted on his achievement at that early stage. Kurt now is 3 yrs. old and 6 months and he is enjoying his time in school. Comparing to my early days when I was at his age, I could not even remember what I did at that age.

          But Kurt, seemingly enjoying the presence of the other kids in school, continues to be attentive on his time in school. At first, when his Lola Miguela shared with us that during their exams day, Kurt was the first one who submitted his test paper, I soundlessly told myself that maybe, he didn't have any more answers to the test.

          Me and my wife were both amused by this but, when we heard the news from his proud Lola again yesterday about his performance, then I again silently told myself that Kurt is such a talented and intelligent kid. How I feel so proud of him and I know it goes the same with his mom, Yanyan. I think one of those treasured moments of being a dad and a parent is when our kids perform well in whatever endeavour they are in. 

          On the other hand, I constantly told myself and my wife that we will refrain from making any demands on our kid, Kurt, so that he will not be stressed from it. I reckon it is  but fitting for them to grow in an independent way and really chooses things which are of their standards. 

By the way, he has 3 subjects for this grading and for the 2 (Math and Science), he received a perfect score while the remaining one, Language, he got 96. Congrats Kurt.....job well done! 

   
                             


                                      

Salute to All Mothers

             As the world celebrates and honours all mothers today, let us also remember our very own experiences with our own moms and reflect on how great this love for us. We may never have perfect moms but the very first time we came here on this earth, we already began to receive that unconditional love from them. 

          Thus allow me to share with you some quotes and experiences that our fellow brothers and sisters cherished with their moms. 

1.  " The best place to cry is on a mother's arms."- Jodi Picoult

A mother's love is everlasting. No matter what other people will tell you or say unto you but 
your mother will always shower you with the most positive things in life. 

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2. "A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she clings to us, and endeavour by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."- Washington Irving

           A mother's love for her child goes beyond any place, condition, weather, anything. She is the only person who can understand a child's tantrums, swinging moods, irrational bursts, and all other negative reactions. 

3. "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."- Abraham Lincoln

Whatever one achieves presently is greatly influenced also by the presence and energy any mother can give.

4. " When your mother asks, " Do you want a piece of advice?' It's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway." - Erma Bombck

          A mother could and would always makes herself available for the sake and welfare of a child. Never it happen that a child is left unattended and unloved if the mother is still present. And no matter what will be the reply of child to her affection, either positive or negative, yet she will go on and on to provide protection and education on the child. 

           Thus, let us all express our gratitude to our mothers for being there when everything seems to be out of control and goes beyond our imagination.  

Source: Julia Glum  @superjulia  j.glum@ibtimes.com


                                         

Ma. Leomie Bunayog Lagrosas and Family

          As we have known from our previous posts here that Jugan family have been growing every now and then. As a matter of fact, its members are everywhere like in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao of the Philippines as well as outside of it. 

          Well, that is a blessing indeed for all of us that we continue to grow as one family.Thus it is but fitting for us to know each other and at this time, it will be our privilege to receive information regarding the family of our beloved sister, Leomie Bunayog Lagrosas.

          The heads of their family tree are Geminiano Canares Jugan and Emeliana Tuling Jugan who hail from Luyang, Maravilla, Cebu. Their marriage is blessed with 9 children:

1. Mercedes Jugan Estanero

2. Felix Tuling Jugan

3. Vesitacion Jugan Lumacad

4. Isidro Tuling Jugan

5. Gerardo Tuling Jugan

6. Jovita Jugan Tuico

7. Deograsia Tuling Jugan

8. Milagros Jugan Bunayog

9. Juliano Tuling Jugan

From the family of Milagros Jugan Bunayog and Leoncio D. Bunayog came the following siblings: 

1. Janet Bunayog Macoy- she graduated from MSU-IIT with a degree on Bachelor of Science major in Mathematics. Presently she is a professor at MSU-Marawi City. She was married to Manasse Y. Macoy and they are blessed with 3 children. Manasse is presently connected with the Hall of Justice of Oroquita City.

2.  Engr. Arfel Jugan Bunayog- a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at MSU- Marawi City. From the year 1990 up to 2012, he was working with Philippine Coconut Authority in Gingoog Branch. He married Maricar Mantillo and from 2012 up the present time, they are based in England. Maricar is employed as a Registered Nurse IinEngland. Their marriage is blessed with 3 children.

3. Ma. Leomie Bunayog Lagrosas- she has a degree in Bachelor in Physical Education from MSU-IIT. Presently, she works as a Physical Education instructor at Saint Michael's College in Iligan City. She is married to Efren A. Lagrosas, a BSBA marketing graduate. The couple has one daughter.

4. Wilma Bunayog Kuo- a graduate in Medicine at Cebu Institute of Medicine. She presently works as a pediatrician. She is happily married to Huang Tang Kou and they have 2 chilren. 

We all wish this branch of our Jugan family the best of everything especially as we eagerly await the commence of a new year 2015. 

Special thanks to Ma. Leomie Bunayog Lagrosas for sharing your story with us. 

                                                  

The Challenge of the Modern World of Today

         Have you contemplated on how the world of today differ from the kind of world that we had before? I'm not that sure if our traditional practices and games have been preserved and have been introduced to the children of today. Mostly what I notice nowadays is that our present day children are very much engrossed and exposed to the modern world of technologies. From what I could think of, I remember when we were still children and we used to gather in unison to play basic and simple games making use of our local gadgets such as bamboo, paper, rubber bands, cans etc..

imagecredit: Erwin Doriman

          Nowadays, children are introduced at an early stage to the electronic technologies. I'm not saying that this is bad or good but somehow, the challenge now is on all of us on how we, adults, accompany our children during this modern era. On the other hand, I am thankful for the latest technology since it personally helps me and my wife to communicate with our kid who is miles and miles away from us. 

          Anyway what is important in our world today is that we make use of all these modern technologies to our advancement and never to our failures. Thus we must make it sure that they would not hinder us to personally communicate with our loved ones. One among the many essential things in life is creating, building, maintaining, and developing harmonious relationships with our families, with others, with the world around us and with our Creator. 

                                         

Share Your Blessings

          Blessings in our life just come and go...some stay for just a second, others may stay for a while ......and then there are those which leave imprints in our hearts. To recount significant blessings in our life, we can think of the talents, skills, capabilities, resources or whatever we may term them that we treasure in our life. 

          Moreover, they have come to us and enable us to move higher in our standing in life. We have attained dreams goals in life by utilizing these blessings. However, let us also bear in mind that we are constantly challenged to be generous to others. 

imagecredit:
http://www.freeimageslive.com/galleries/buildings/abstract/pics/buildings01844.jpg

          If we are sensitive to what's going on around us, we will obviously notice that many of our brothers and sisters are left hanging in the dark. Many among us are confronted with the sad reality in life that they have nowhere to go except to hide those dark spots in their life deep inside themselves.

          Thus, let us also think about these people and by our blessings, let us open our hearts and minds to them and in whatever simple yet creative ways we can think of, let us allow ourselves to become beacons of life and hope for others.

                                  

HAPPY WEEKEND TO ALL MY LOVED ONES

          Today as I enjoy my weekend, I come to think of the many members of our clan, Jugan family, then I realized that members of our family have been scattered all over the world. Yet in spite of this reality that sometimes, loved ones are separated by miles and miles away from each other, the LOVE that binds us all will constantly strengthened the relationship against all odds.

          From the early beginning of the clan in Cebu City, generations have come and go and still, the foundations brougth along by the very first generations unceasingly serve as anchor to this family. Just like any ordinary family, at times the relationship among the members is challenged by misunderstandings, misconceptions, quarrels etc but similar to a hardened stone, the family hurdled them one by one. 

          Thanks to the wisdom of all the elders of the family who facilitated discussions, processings, meetings and other initiatives to patch out differences. On the other hand, the members also cherish together the wonderful and fun moments which also reflect the bond of true blood within them. Today's young generations will consistently have something to look up to from the elders. Thus, what is the joy and pain of every member becomes the same with the rest of the family.

                               

                                                          

APRIL MARIE JUGAN TAYONG AND FAMILY

          May we have the privilege at this time to know information on the family of April Marie Jugan Tayong. Epoy, as she is fondly called, is married  to Rudy Louie Borres Tayong. Their marriage is blessed with one child named Pacis Lux Jugan Tayong who is 5 years old. Pacis Lux's name is derived from Latin which means The Light Of Peace. He is presently studying at St. Albans school in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Epoy and family in Christchurch, New Zealand

         Epoy has three siblings as follows: Anna Marie, Alfredo Jugan III, May Marie and a half sister, Catherine Cabahug. Her parents are Alfredo Salibongcogon Jugan Jr. and Josefina Versario. On the other hand, Alfredo, Epoy's dad, has the following as siblings: Fe Jugan, Helen Elma Maglasang, Annie Edano, the late Edgar Jugan, Jory Jugan , and Luisito Jugan.

           Epoy's grandparents are Alfredo Jugan and Concordia Jugan who are both from Liloan, Cebu. Originally, they hailed from Luyang, San Remegio, Cebu. Epoy is a registered nurse (RN) in the Philippines. She finished her nursing studies from Southwestern University. 

Epoy and family in Liloan, Cebu

          Presently, she and her whole family is based in New Zealand. To hone her nursing skills, she had her training with Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand. With excitement, she is waiting at the moment for her annual practising certificate from New Zealand Nursing Council.  

          Epoy and her family decided to settle in New Zealand to have a better life and a brighter future. And soon, she will realize it by becoming a full pledged registered nurse. She started to realize her dream by studying Aged Care education 1 then followed it up with Advance in Aged Care Education. She worked as a health assistant/team leader while pursuing her dreams. Meanwhile, her husband works as a quality assessor in a manufacturing company named SKOPE Industries.

Epoy with proud Dad and Mom as well as siblings

          As with our other family members, let us include in our prayers Epoy's family so that they will reach the summit of their dreams. 

  

NICOLAS BULIBULI JUGAN and FAMILY

          Our featured Jugan family at this post is the family of Nicolas Bulibuli Jugan. He came from the family of Agripino and Prima Jugan. Dodo, as he is fondly called, comes from Luyang, San Remegio, Cebu Province. With all the joys in life, he is married to to Ninfa and their relationship is blessed with five lovely children.

           The members of the family are: Gesele, Agripino, Jupiter, Genalin and Nesadura. Nesadura or Nessan is based in Cebu City while Genalin currently works abroad. Nessan will soon reach her goal since she will have her graduation within the year.

          We journey with the whole family in all their undertakings. And just like any big family, we entrust them to our prayers that may their dreams and goals in life will be attained.

The Triumph of a Great Champion

          One of my favorite tennis players is Rafael Nadal and he did it again this time by topping the recently concluded Roland Garros tournament- the second of the annual four grand slam tournaments. He defeated his fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the finals with the score: 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. 

          Just to share with you a little background of this annual event, here is a part of an article of this famous event:

from: www.kozzi.com

          The French Open, often referred to as Roland Garros (French: Les internationaux de France de Roland-Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros,  named after the French aviatorRoland Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June inParis, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are the Australian Open, US Openand Wimbledon. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam event held on clay and ends the spring clay court season.

          It is one of the largest events in tennis and by far the largest clay-court tournament.^[2] Because of the slow-playing surface and the five-set men's singles matches without a tiebreak in the final set, the event is widely considered to be the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world. (Source-Wikipedia the free encyclopedia)

          Thus, the recent victory of Nadal is a major one since it happened in one of those major tennis annual events. What made it more historic and meaningful for Nadal is that it marked his 8th triumph of this said tournament thus earning him the title of the first player to win 8th titles on this famous tournament. 

          Moreover he is such a powerful player that his arsenal is consists of the following: "His formula includes speed, balance and steely defense. It features a left-handed forehand that he can curl inside every line with sonic speed, or hit with so much topspin on it that it’s near impossible to respond to with a winner off of it if the shot lands deep.

from: www.kozzi.com

It includes a twisting serve that usually results in a weak reply that can be buried for a winner. It includes a competent net game, an efficient drop shot, a steady, effective and improving backhand and a library’s worth of strategic knowledge." - Roland Garros 2013 official site.

          Thus, the world celebrates with this great Spaniard as he reasserts himself as one of the greatest players of the game. He joins the likes of those great names in tennis such as Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, John Newcombe, and many more. What made it sweeter for him since he just came back from a long break due to his injury. Welcome back and congratulations Nada.