As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Church Time... Sunday, December 30

The last Sunday of the month and my church has no service today, so I went to a different one.  I went to a different service today and realized how good my little church in The Fort is.  It's not this overly populated church that's loud and in your face (like the one I went to today).  And while being what I'd label as "showy" and "loud" is liked by many, obviously, it's definitely not by me.  

I went to a church today that I've been to before and it reminded me of all the reasons why I had decided not to continue to go there.

For me, church is about connecting with not only God but also with other people -- making a community.  And, as far as I'm concerned, it's super hard to make a community and be part of such community when you don't even recognize people because there are just too many of them.  I'm not interested in getting lost in the crowd at church nor am I very fond of a church that has numerous services.  It only serves as even more chances for me to get lost in the crowd.  No thanks.  

I miss my church in Canada.  And while the congregation was at maybe 80, everyone's face was familiar because everyone came to one service and, for the most part, everyone sat in the same pew every week.  There was a community vibe, a feeling of familiarity and closeness.  People commented that they didn't see you on weeks you weren't present and people asked about how you were doing because they honestly cared.  

It was a community and there was love in that community.

I rarely missed services at my church in Canada, at Grant African Church, because I really felt it revived me for the upcoming week and the energy was so refreshing.  I loved that church and I loved all the people, the staff and the pastors there.  

I'm starting to really like my church here in The Fort but I don't love it yet, though perhaps today it did push me to like it more because of how much I didn't like today's church.  Ironically enough, the pastor preaching today was from my church in The Fort.  He preaches at a few churches actually and I'm quite familiar with him.  

I don't consider myself to be a very religious person, I'm more spiritual, but I do think it's important to have a place to question your faith, your beliefs, and help them grow.  Up until the church at The Fort though, I felt that part of me was really starving.  It's hard for me not to compare every church here to Grant African in Canada but I just felt so at home there... so fed.

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