I'm Ivy ... pleased to meet you!
Welcome to Bright Spots!
I hope this space will allow you to focus on the bright spots around you and look beyond the noise and chaos. Stay positive, grateful and hopeful always!
​
Let me give you a bit of a background of myself and my life story. I was born in Negros Occidental, Philippines. My father is a self-employed farmer and my mother was a teacher turned full time housewife. I have an older brother. We both grew up in a rural setting – our house was along the highway road and was surrounded with sugarcane fields. Inspite of the laidback provincial life, our parents made sure we get the best education and provided avenues for us to widen our curiosities in life. They were instrumental in building our confidence and self-esteem by giving us the best love we can possibly have.
​
Our glimpse of city life would be our monthly trips to the nearest largest city, Bacolod City (2-3 hours travel by bus) to do our groceries in bulk. During summer vacations, our prize for doing well in school was a vacation with relatives in Manila (18-22 hours of boat travel) and stay there for several weeks. Manila is the capital city of the Philippines. For both my brother and I, these were priceless adventures and helped open our minds to a bigger world outside of the four corners of our house. Simply going to malls, arcades and carnivals were memorable treats for us!
​
I left home to pursue my college education at the University of the Philippines Los Banos. It was a long way from home - 18-22 hours of boat travel to Manila and another 2-3 hours bus ride to the Los Banos campus. This was my first taste of independence. It was nerve racking but also liberating. I lived in a ladies dormitory in a small space with 4 other roommates. During my university life, I am blessed to know friends who gave good influence to me and help spur my spiritual growth even further. I joined Campus Crusade for Christ and have developed lifelong friends who continue to give me positive influence and strengthen my Christian faith. University life was tough and brain draining, but the challenging experiences helped me appreciate the meaning of perseverance, hard work and determination. Meeting and working with various people, shaped me in dealing with different personalities and handling conflicts and misunderstandings.
​
After graduation, I worked in multinational companies and resided at the business district of Metro Manila, Makati City. This was the most urbanized city among all cities in the Philippines at that time. For me, I enjoyed this chapter of my life as I started earning on my own and enjoyed countless adventures – be it trying out new restaurants, watching concerts/musicals to weekend getaways with friends within/outside the country. Through my job, I was able to go on business trips to Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. My vacations back to our home in Negros Occidental during Christmas time always gave me the breather I needed, away from the noise of the city. It kept me grounded to appreciate the setting I grew up on and enjoy the city life that I always dreamed of.
​
I pursued my Masters in Business Administration at the Ateneo de Manila University and now that I look back, I would appreciate all the more the energy of being young – juggling a demanding work with masteral studies. There were periods of being burnt out as I have invested so much on my career and higher education. The lure of getting ahead of my career over my Christian life, resulted in bouts of pain and bewilderment. I had a taste of love relationships that also held me back from my Christian growth.
​
I would say 1999 was the start of a dark chapter of my life. I lost my mother that year to a major stroke. It happened so fast that I did not even had time to say goodbye to her. My best friend, my biggest fan, my greatest cheerleader suddenly gone. Reeling from the pain and loss, few other setbacks came soon after as I was diagnosed with Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) – in layman's term, there was a hole in my heart. Through this, it brought about subset of diseases – hyperthyroidism and endometriosis. Due to hyperthyroidism, my emotions would be all over the place – I could be happy, depressed, angry. My heart disease also rendered me physically exhausted at all times.
​
God has a way of bringing us to our knees. He always initiates to bring us back to His fold. He brings these tragedies as wake up calls. He does not want us to suffer any longer but wants to be part of our lives. As this realization came to pass and mending my way back to Him, brought my life back on track. In 2006, I was offered a job to work in Macau. This was totally unexpected and was my first experience of living on my own outside of the Philippines. This job enabled me to save up for my open heart surgery. In parallel my immigration application to Canada was ongoing. In 2007, I had my heart surgery, it was as if a huge load has been lifted out of me. I was given a new lease on life. I worked at IBM Philippines, a few months after my surgery then in late 2008, I received acceptance of my Canadian immigration application. I landed in Toronto on May 2009.
​
Until now, I can still vividly remember my first night in Toronto at a friend’s house where I temporarily stayed. My friend was so kind enough to create a space for me at her apartment for the first 3 weeks. I was staring at the ceiling, glancing at the 2 luggages I have, my only possession as I start my new life as an immigrant. I remember my prayer to the Lord that evening. "This is it Lord, I surrender everything to you!" It was the culmination of the dream that me and my Mother had. Though I could not celebrate the joy of achieving our dream with her, I would imagine her smiling down from heaven.
​
Life has not always been easy living so far away from family and close friends especially in a new country with winters that can be cruel and harsh. Again, my connection to a church Greenhills Christian Fellowship and later on Portico Community Church were God's avenues of keeping me on the right path. In 2015, my brother and family joined me and a year later, my father followed.
​
As I look back, my heart is overflowing with praise and thanksgiving. I never knew that I can step out of our little town and get to see the world. Through all of my experiences, I have learned that one can never limit God. If you put Him first place in your life, you will just stand back and be in awe of His Power and Sovereignty. Praise be His Name!!!