Friday, December 12, 2008

find your angels

while on the net, background music was 'angels brought me here'. tis the season to be surrounded by angels. as they say, Christmas is for children and we are here to make it merrier for them. By saying children, we don't just mean our sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, godchildren or students... I mean, children with lesser things in life (or nothing at all except the shirts they are wearing). I mean the streetkids of Sampaloc and Aeta children of Barangay Diaz in Porac, Pampanga.

These kids are my angels and they surely brought me to a place where the true meaning of Christmas is found: our heart. In this heart we see our natural goodness, we just have to learn to nurture it well. If our hearts can only see that there are so many 'angels' needing our love.

On December 20, we will have this Christmas Party for 200 kids of Balic-Balic, Sampaloc, Manila. These kids are our 'students' in the various catechetical units in our Parish. These kids are mostly 'unschooled' and most definitely, 'unchurched'. As in they don't know Jesus Christ that much. So how can they celebrate Christmas without knowing the whole reason for the celebration? Thus, the weekly catechism. It's all about Him, Jesus Christ.

So far, so many friends have contributed for this party on the 20th. So many have responded to my request for toys and loot bags. Thank you very much to all of them but I also encourage all of them and all of you to PASS IT ON. Go, find your own angels. I'm sure nearby where you are living or working or studying, so many kids roaming around needing you. Embrace them, love them, make them closer to Jesus. And make yourself closer to Jesus.

It's not an easy task, I'm telling you. There will be doubts and people will misjudge you. People will question your intentions and will think you have hidden agenda. Despite of all these things, JUST DO IT. Just spread your wings and find your angels.

On December 21. I'm 'flying' to Porac, Pampanga to return to the Aeta community where I lived weeks ago. I'll be bringing little Christmas gifts to Aeta kids. But more than toys and dresses, I'll be sharing Christmas joy with them. This early, I can imagine their shrieks and giggles. This early, I anticipate their hugs and kisses. They will be singing songs, dancing 'low,low, low' (yes, they know that hiphop music!). They will be calling me Kuyaaaaaa! Ah, these angles of eate descent surely leave a big lump on my throat. They make me feel needed. They make me feel I'm an angel too.

Go ahead my friends, be an angel too. So many children are waiting for your love.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

living with aetas







breaking dawn last friday, we drove to porac pampanga to live with the aetas. our vehicle had to stop at villa maria resettlement chapel and we had to trek two mountains to reach barangay diaz, where the 'unadulterated' minorities dwell.






it wasnt an easy trek. while there was a helpful trail and guided by some natives, we were in for a rough and tough hike. we scaled, we skidded, we slumped. we fell, we crossed swamps and rivers. we cleared some pathways, we had to bear insect stings. we passed natural tunnels and manmade barricades. more than any obstacle, we needed to surpass our physical strength to make it.






the most difficult climb was the way to the top, where barangay diaz is situated. every inch became steeper, every step more challenging. when we thought we saw signs of the community, it was a mere case of 'so near yet so far' mirage. when we thought we heard giggles of kids making fun of us, they were birds actually, chirping enough jeers to wobble our knees.






i was panting like an old horse. a very old horse. my training in preparation for this hike was gone in the wind. i stuck my tongue like giving up already but the sight of a nipa hut confirmed it was no longer a mirage. i wasn't in desert of nowhere after all, i was in a verdant rainforest, all set to the summit.






when finally the nipa hut was clear to my view, i knew we were just more or less five hundred dreaded steps away. but each step was miserable. like you wish you were clark kent. or you didn't join the trip at all. but hey, no giving up, there's the sign of life already. the birds chirping were replaced by kids cheering.






i was among the first ones to reach barangay diaz. enough for us to call ouselves the pump squad. and you know what was the first thing we saw when we reached the gateway to the aeta community? a basketball court. yes, even aetas can jump and play ball. hmm, sounds interesting, basketball match with aetas!






the kids hug us like we were brothers. but yes, in the eyes of the Lord, we are equal. yes, we are brothers. we hug them back like we pump squad was being pepped for a big basketball game. indeed, it could be the biggest game of our life: living with aetas.






up there was baguio times twenty. very, very cold. but the smiles of aetas were warmer than the Sahara sun. they get to you not to scorch you but to make you feel home. it was home sweet home for an adventurous manila boy.






we were there for a purpose. aside from immersing into aeta life, we were there to start the chapel we want to build for the long forgotten aeta community in barangay diaz. there were so many homes and families there, and each one of us got a foster family. my foster parents were kuya robert and ate mariel. i refused to call them tatay and nanay because i thought they just a young couple. young couple with eight children. beat that. i lived in their modest abode. for aetas, i was lucky to be living in kuya robert's palace, it was one the biggest there was. hmmm, i will leave it your imagination how big is big for aetas. just a sampler, some homes have no walls, no ceilings, literally speaking.






no electricity, no bath, no water. they had to fetch water from spring 15 kilometers down. just imagine how we held dear the bottled water we brought all the way from manila. like a prized possession; you wouldn't want to waste a drop.






i ate whatever they had for lunch, dinner, breakfast. this is part of the whole immersion program. it wasn't a fear factor challenge, but a 'real' reality show. praise the Lord I was a salad-freak. I eat greens like a goat. And up there, were so many goats. I nourished like a goat for the longest two days of my life. I was so tempted to ask for goat.






in the morning, we started clearing the ground for the construction site. and what a sight it was. young students, all barely 15-16 started digging....