“Seek the kingdom of God first, and everything will be given unto you.”
These are the words that Lovely Ross Ai Mendoza-Machica lives by, and this is exactly what led her to Ripple-- a company that puts God, not money, at the center.
Lovely is a virtual assistant at Ripple, and she is juggling it along with her education and married life. She is currently taking her Master of Arts in Literature degree at Cebu Normal University and got married two years ago. She is also the eldest of 6 sisters, and she dreams of nothing more than to see her family happy and thriving.
This aspiration stemmed from her most significant challenge in life, which was when her parents had separated. “It broke me seeing my family broken. The responsibility of my father was like a bag that I needed to carry in traveling the journey they called life,” Lovely shares to Ripple. She overcame this challenge by believing in God and knowing deep within her heart that God was protecting them and providing them with all they needed. “God allowed me to meet His people that helped me along the way. There is nothing impossible with Him. I lift everything to Him.”
She wants to achieve her dreams through serving God and serving people, which is why she is so happy and grateful to be working at Ripple. “It was God’s plan that I crossed paths with Jez, the CEO of Ripple. My employer before happened to be the professor of Jez when she was in college, and she let me meet Jez to be trained as a virtual assistant.”
Besides being a virtual assistant, Lovely likes writing Cebuano poems and listening to music (especially old love songs), as this satisfies the cravings of her soul. She also loves reading books, and her favorite is The Book of Man by Osho, which is profoundly philosophical and made her understand herself and other people more.
However, Lovely shares that there is something that people misunderstand about her. “People who do not know me think that I am “pabida,” someone who is ready for everything and who seems to know everything. But they do not know that I always say YES to anything, and then proceed to teach myself and learn along the way.” This mentality made her thrive at Ripple because open-mindedness, willingness to learn and to jump at opportunities are essential in being the best virtual assistant.
Lovely also shares that Ripple helped her so much when things got hard. “It is not only my financial needs that Ripple had given me but as well as my emotional satisfaction and spiritual healing. When I lost my child and struggled with my family life, I hated everything. I started asking God why He let that happen to me.”
However, when she met Jez, she felt at peace with her. “Her aura and personality are exceptionally light for me. She introduced me to Ripple, and I had a mentorship session with her that led me back to God. All the questions in my heart were answered, and it strengthened my faith more.” Lovely also expresses her enthusiasm for their weekly mentorship sessions because to her, it is like a “banquet of food for our spirit.”
Being a successful virtual assistant at Ripple, Lovely’s message to other freelancers is this:
“Love your work, and your work will love you. We may feel tired for some time, but it is normal because we are human. However, we must never give up. Instead of giving up, pray. There is always a rainbow after the rain, as all creatures need rain to grow.”
