Good day lovely and awesome steemians, happy weekend to you all. Am sure you all are having a great day. Esther has been so busy incase you ever come around my blog to say hy and there have been no much posts lately. I told you all aboit my internship in my last #ulog post and that has been the main reason behind my unusual absence but realy I try to come on so I do not get to miss out totally. To be sincere, I miss you all and thanks to all those that took out their precious time to always check up on me and also rememmber me in prayers. I LOVE YOU ALL.
So today is another day the Lord has made and we shall rejoice in it. We have a gratefulvibean today and series of questions are in store for her, yes she is a lady and she is totally awesome. Presently in her country, this period is a very bad one for them. There is a war going on and so many lives have gone in the cause of the war which has caused so many sadness in homes and they all need our prayers.
In the world we are in, so many bad and terrible things happen each day but we are grateful to God for keeping us this far. It is time for us to take quality time out to pray for our loved ones, our friends and family, our community, our state, our country and finally the world we are in. Recently in nigeria, about a week now in a state called LAGOS, a tanker exploded on a bridge that affected many cars and lives were lost in the evening when some or most of us were on our way home from work or somewhere. There was another tanker explosion in another state the following day. I pray God comfort the families of those that have lost their loved ones around the world.
These are reasons why we have got to stand in gap for everybody and pray for them and thanks to our steemit church 
Hive account@steemchurch and it parishioners also for their time in standing in gap for everybody in the place of prayers. God bless you all.
I am going straight forward to our interview of today, with all smiles on my face am happy to have 
Hive account@cecicastor in our interview for today, even with all that is happening, she took out time for this interview, God bless you and also save your country.
Having found out some of her history on steemit:
She joined steemit on the 5th of june, 2017
She was the 180,250th person as at the time she joined, that realy awesome
She is awesome.
She resides in nicaragua.
She is a mom.
Let start the interview and I won't be taking much of her time.
Hive account@esther: How are you Hive account@cecicastor?
Hive account@cecicastor: I am doing fine.
Hive account@esther: How did you know about steemit, the first time you heard about it. Who introduced you ?
Hive account@cecicastor: I first heard about steemit through my son. I joined in June 2017.
Hive account@esther: What was your reaction, did you believe initially because there are so many false sites on how to make money and you end up wasting time registering only to know they are fraud.
Hive account@cecicastor: I knew this was legitamate because both my sons and I had done research before we joined. We are very careful about fraud.
Hive account@esther: Oh that realy awesome! We had love to have your son interviewed very soon. Finally, you joined steemit ! How was it like ?
Hive account@cecicastor: I was slow to start. I did an awful lot of curating and observing first before I really began to post. I was basically writing stories. I realy didn't know which Direction I was going to follow. I still don't know. For now I am posting about how life is in the midst of a war.
Hive account@esther: Hmm, that a great one. Do you still write like when you just started ? What are the differences between then and now ?
Hive account@cecicastor: I think I write differently now. When I started I tried to write things that I thought people would like. Now I write how I feel about things that affect me where I live in the present. I have found my style of writing.
Hive account@esther: am glad you found your style, I hope most of us do also. How was growth like on steemit ? Did you ever give up on it,then later gave it another thought ? Who were the first set of people you met that helped your growth and how did you meet them ?
Hive account@cecicastor: Growth was slow. It took time to build up followers. I slowed down a little in the New year because I had been on Steemit curating for 14 hours a day for four months trying to build up followers. I met many people through curating but two of the first people to really connect with me were 
Hive account@papa-pepper and 
Hive account@paradise-found.
Hive account@esther: How has steemit changed your life since then ?
Hive account@cecicastor: Steemit has made some large changes in my life. Since joining and this war has started, it has been a way for me to stay in touch with family and friends. It is a way for me to get the news of our situation out into the world. There is a media blackout imposed here so any news that gets out has to be via steemit and discord.
Hive account@esther: I can imagine what you all are going through. May the Lord grant you strenght to scale through.
Going through your blog, your journey on steemit has been great, what can you say about steemit in general ?
Hive account@cecicastor: My journey has been no more or no less than anyone else here who has put in the hours and the effort to get to know people. Nothing in life is easy. You need to work for your successes and learn from your mistakes. The steemit platform provides a way for many people to have success if you want it, but it won't be handed to you. Communities are forming here and there is a lot of support within these communities that you wouldn't necessarily have on other social media platforms.
Hive account@esther: What are your happiest and saddest day on steemit, your experience?
Hive account@cecicastor: This is difficult to answer. Happiest days are when I see one of my friends here gain some recognition for the work they are doing. Sad days are when I see some people complaining about the platform and that they don't feel that the rewards system is fair. Life isn't fair and no one promised you the sun and the moon when you signed up for steemit. They promised an opportunity. It is up to you to mke it work.
Hive account@esther: Who are your favourite persons on steemit ?
Hive account@cecicastor: I honestly say I don't have anyone person that is a favourite. I will tell you the same thing when you ask who is my favourite of my children. I don't have a favourite. Each person is unique and each has special gifts. I value each one for who they are. And I love them all equally. It is same with my friends on Steemit.
Hive account@esther: That an awesome response. What are you grateful about in your journey on steemit ? Let us go into gratefulvibes, how did you come across it ?
Hive account@cecicastor: I am gateful for the many freinds I have made all over the world and from different walks of life. I am grateful for the things we share, our joys and sorrows. I was introduced to gratefulvibes by Hive account@paradise-found, Papa Bear.
LETS TAKE A BREAK FOR A GOOD NEWS.
steemchurch philippines
@Steemchurch is the first ever church of the blockchain and we stand in gap for everybody and pray for our loved ones, we are lovers and promiters of the world of God. Hive account@steemchurch already has it branch in NIGERIA, GHANA AND VENEZUELA and now we are having another branch in PHILIPPINE, did I hear the filipinos well?
There is a platform called STEEMCHURCH BINGO where all steem power raised are used to establish steemchurch philippian and there are a lot of thngs you can do to get rewarded for, like make a flyer, do something unique that is related to the filipinos and get rewarded. Where are my filipinos friends? click here to make things clearer about the good news and about steemchurch bingo
WELCOME BACK FROM THE BREAK.
Hive account@esther: How has this community helped your growth on steemit ?
Hive account@cecicastor: I have many friends through Gratefulvibes. I have learned to be grateful for so many things everyday. I started a Daily Gratitude Journal because of my contacts on Gratefulvibes. I have learnt to be grateful for everything in my life, the good and the bad. The bad is there to teach us.
Hive account@esther: I love this statement "the bad is there to teach us", great one mom. Who is 
Hive account@paradise_found to you ?
Hive account@cecicastor: I met Hive account@paradise-found long before grtaefulvibes. Papa Bear is a warm, laving, kind and generous human being and I am proud to have him as a friend.
Hive account@esther: Knowing how awesome this community is, How has the community changed your life ?
Hive account@cecicastor: I have gotten to know so many people from around the world and have learned that many of their struggles are the same as mine. We share a lot of the same beliefs. Our lives aren't so very different even though we may live on different continents.
Hive account@esther: If someone should ask you what the gratefulvibes community is about, what would you tell them ?
If you introduced someone to steemit and he/she was not earning, how can you help such an individual ?
Hive account@cecicastor: To succeed on steemit you need first of to be honest. With yourself and others. You need to be yourself not what you think others would want you to be. You need to curate (read others posts and comment) and engage with other people. Find the community that resonates with you. For example you don't join a sports community if you don't like sports. Find a community that has similar interests to you then engage with them. Make honest comments...not"good post!" You won't earn if you don't do this. It takes time. Learn to walk before you run. Everyone advances at their own speed.
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Quote of the day!
Hive account@esther: If you were to be another steemian, who would you be ?
Hive account@cecicastor: I am happy in my own skin and niche on Steemit. I don't need to be anybody else. I don't envy the success of others because they worked for it. If someone wants my opinion on what they need to do to change, I can only give an opinion. It is up to each person to find their own way on their life journey.
Hive account@esther: What are your word for upcoming steemian trying to make their stand here on steemit ? What are your advice ?
Hive account@cecicastor: Don't expect to be an immediate success. Don't expect to make lots of money. Expect to work hard and create good content. Engage with people. Read their work. Give honest comments. Spend more than a couple of hours here on Steemit. It is just like a job. If you treat it like a hobby, it will be a hobby. It depends what yu want out of the experience. Do you want friends? Do you want to learn? Do you want to be entertained? When you can answer those questions, then you will know what you need to do to succeed. There is no magical formula.
Our lovely and awesome guest of today also laid down some prayer points for us and all we just have to keep doing is pray for them.
We need prayers for Nicaragua that the may have a peaceful resoluton to the conflict.
Prayers are requested for those that have died and their families. So far over 320 people have lost thir lives, icluding children.
We also pray for those that have been injured and are sick due to the lack of medications available in the country.
We pray that we will have enough food to feed the children and the elderly who are living in abject poverty.
We pray for that the news of our situation here in Nicaragua may reach the ears and eyes of others. It is a wake up call for the world. These conflicts can happen in any country at any time. We need world peace.
CAN WE ALL STAND IN THE GAP FOR THESE ONES AND PRAY FOR THEM. CAN WE ALL JOIN THE CRUSADE FOR FREEDOM ALL YE PARISHIONERS OF #STEEMCHURCH. GRATEFULVIBES COMMUNITY AND OTHER COOMUINITIES, I TRUST US ALL TO PRAY FOR THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD.
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Our prayers can go a long way, we need one another to make the world a better place and to our beautiful mom, our guest, only trust in the Lord, HE will save your county.
KINDLY RESTEEM TO GET EVERYONE INVOLVE IN THIS GENERAL PRAYER.
MANY VOICES. ONE LOVE!
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