Salamat Po

Dear All,

To all those who donated to BBBS through our Maia Outreach Programs, our sincere thanks to you. We have deposited our total donation of 7,600.00 Php to their designated bank accounts in order to support 2 volunteers and 12 student school back-packs this coming May 2012.

Please include all BBBS organizers and volunteers in your prayers for another successful and safe trip.

God bless your kind hearts.

In Christ,
Maia Outreach Program

BIG BROTHER BIG SISTER 2012

BIG BROTHER BIG SISTER

As the first rays of sun caught his eyes, Jose awoke and sat up on his wooden cot. Through the window, he could see majestic Mt. Halcon amid the morning mist and it promises to be a warm sunny day. However, he wants to feign illness and stay home today.

Teacher Emma reminded him yesterday that he needs to take down notes in order to review for the exams. What he didn’t tell his teacher was he didn’t have any notebooks in his plastic bag, which serves as his school bag this year. He knew that if he asked his father for notebooks, he would be told to stop going to school and help in the fields instead.

Through the Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) Community Outreach Program, children in such families get a chance to go to school without adding to their parents’ burden of putting food on the table. Each year, BBBS big brothers and sisters carry school supplies on their backs, trek through mountain trails and distribute them to the children in need. On May 12 – 13 this year, BBBS will benefit children in the Mangyan communities of Dulangan and Lantuyan, Municiplity of Baco, Oriental Mindoro.

BBBS invites you to be a big brother or big sister to FIVE HUNDRED children! How?:

1. Pledge to sponsor one child for P300 (USD 7.00) - Email to helpbbbs@gmail.com or contact Sherryl Gumban +639216012154 or Tina Palestina +639223393353.

2. Come and meet the kids yourself, sign up as a BBBS volunteer

3. Send this message to your friends, relatives or colleagues who might wish to help

Visit: http://bbbs2005.multiply.com or Facebook: BigBrother BigSister for more information.

Let’s keep Jose in school while his father tends to the crops ...

BIG BROTHER BIG SISTER

Big dreams begin with small steps!

2011 MOP Report

To all our Dear Good Friends,

Our Happy New Year Greetings to all.

May the start of the year be merry and full of hope to all of us giving praise and glory to God for His year-long guidance, healing and our eternal providence.

2012 will be our 4^th year, Maia Outreach Programs (MOP) and 2011 was another good year for all of us with so many blessings in spite of our own family concerns.

We want to give thanks and praise to our God for continuously providing us, protecting us and healing us again in the year 2011 that we may be able to share in His ministry. In spite of the financial crisis to everyone last year we were able to continue to love others in many opportunities that God is giving to us.

In May, it was our 3^rd year of joining BBBS (Big Brothers Big Sisters) project with 2 of our MOP volunteers sending the 18 pieces school bags we sponsor. http://maiaoutreachprogram.i.ph/blogs/maiaoutreachprogram/2011/05/13/three-schools-and-a-storm/ They went hiking to Marinduque, providing school bags to the students in one of the rural area in our country. http://maiaoutreachprogram.i.ph/blogs/maiaoutreachprogram/?p=48

In July, we were able to contribute a 500 pieces of bricks into the “Donate-A-Brick” campaign for the construction of 4-storey bulding to house the street children of He Cares Foundation. http://www.hecaresfoundation.com/

On December 2011, our small community Brgy China’s Christmas Party was not just full of fun with lots of good food to share but we were able to generate through kind donations and fund-raising raffle. As a result, we were able to transfer donations amounting to 12,250php to the Cancer Warrior Foundation (http://www.c-warriors.org) to support a cancer-stricken child with his/her expensive medical treatment. We were also able to provide Php 25,000 via Caritas Manila (http://www.caritasmanila.org.ph) to the casualties of Sendong Typhoon last month in our country which have taken away so many lives and their properties (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/113585/catholic-bishops-join-calls-for-more-aid-to-storm-victims). Let us all pray that this tragedy may not happen again in our country or any part of the world. These include also the “Noche Buena” yearly community service of Chua Family in Pasig City wherein our least brothers and sisters received a grocery gift bags. Distribution reached to about 97 families using a total amount of about 29,100php.

And the primary beneficiary of MOP is the Bethany Orphanage House in Guiguinto Bulacan accommodating abandoned children under the care of Sister Shirley together with all her volunteered assistants providing them a sack of rice regularly.

In addition, we also support other ministries of Kerygma Family as a member.

Thank you again for your unending kindness and generosity, our prayers for you all.

May we continue to love God by loving other and share our blessings to them.

(originally posted on January 5, 2012)

26 Pages

In our present age of internet and electronic banking, more and more people are into paper money as growth instrument of their personal riches and treasure.

Some people have a portfolio list of their blue-chip stocks purchases.

Some people hold onto their investments in mutual or hedge fund management.

Some people safe-keeps a folder of land title certificates of properties they own.

For me and my wife, however, our most prized possession of paper record consists 26-page deposit of “wealth” that we are keeping and which we traditionally review once in every year for the past three years. Each passing year, it is becoming clearer to us how we can still consider ourselves to be one of the richest family despite losing one of our priceless treasures. Tears still run across my face every time I re-read each and every single page, while the pain and deep longing surfaces up from their very long slumber.

Yes, three years ago, we lost our daughter Maia.

But that devastating moment also made us realized how enormously loved we are by God, by our families, our relatives and our friends.

Matthew 5:4 says “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Yes, our greatest paper treasure is the 26 pages of double-columned compilation of all loving assurances, spirit-filling empathies and advices, strength-renewing anecdotes and faith-building messages that we received from a lot of close people and even from people we never personally met before. Actually, this compilation did not even include those who personally embraced us, condole with us and cried with us, but this is enough testament for us on how God can send and use willing people to be sources of comfort in times of distress.

So to all our dear friends who allowed yourselves to be God’s instrument of comfort during our desperate time of grief, once again, our sincerest gratitude.

We may not be able to thank you enough but we will do pay it forward to others who are in need.

Sirach 6:14-17

Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one finds a treasure.

Faithful friends are beyond price, no amount can balance their worth.

(originally posted on October 26, 2011)

United in Faith

Joel, an OFW band artist in Shenzhen suddenly felt intense chest pain on August 5 so his friend rushed him to the nearest hospital where he was confined in ICU for several days and subsequently diagnosed with a heart problem that needed immediate surgery. However, being relatively new in his job, he is without any financial capability to support his astronomically-high two-part surgery to literally extend his life. His kind employer offered to shoulder a large part of the cost but the balance is still beyond his means. And so, his kind-hearted friend, who has been taking care of him ever since, make the desperate yet humble move to reach out for help to one of the Pinoy she met before in the Philippine Consulate.

Before everyone knew it, the prayer and donation campaign has started. Small groups, and friends of friend of friends of this small group started to give their individual support in whatever simple way they can. Some are campaigning persistently and liaised with consulate officials who promised to extend assistance in the coming days, some people donated outright, and most have offered prayers.

During these few days, I can’t help but recall the biblical story of the paralytic man who was bodily-lifted by his friends to be healed by Jesus.

Matthew 9:2 reads, “And behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy, “Be of good heart, son, your sins are forgiven.”

Seeing their faith.

It’s a humbling revelation that when humanity unites for a Godly purpose, God who sees this collective faith, in addition to the faith of the ailing individual, hears and answers their prayers.

Joel’s first-part operation last Friday was a success and his second operation will be this coming Wednesday, Aug. 24. You too can be a part of this unity in faith.

Please offer a short prayer for Joel Oliva.

PS.

Another former OFW in China is also battling his stage 3 cancer in Philippines. His name is Ben Ducusin.

Please include him and his family in your prayers, too.

God bless us all.

(originally posted on August 22, 2011)

Three Schools and A Storm

For this year, Remir and Bles Cueto, our MOP volunteers for the BBBS Project in Marinduque, were in for marathon treks together with the other volunteers.

On the morning of May 7, they went to BOI Elementary School to give the school bags to the student beneficiaries. After a simple program by the teachers, then huffed to another school, the Tambunan Elementary School where due to time constraints, they only made a brief stop to hand-over the 144 sets of school bags to the schools. And off they went for another 2-hour hike under the rain that seems to announce the landfall of typhoon Bebeng into the country. They took the jeepney ride to Poctoy Beach where they spent their night camp. Early at 4:00 am, they woke up and prepared to go to their final destination – Sihi Elementary School where they met Ate Gina (Marinduque governor’s daughter) who also contributed 300 school bags for this cause. After the program and lunch, all the volunteers found themselves the need to be stuck for another day in Marinduque because signal storm no. 1 was already hoisted up and no RoRo boats are allowed to travel anymore. But thanks to the kind-heart of Ate Gina, they were accommodated in a private resort in Boac with free dinner and breakfast whereby the weather is already clear for them to travel back to Lucena Pier an into the waiting arms of their family and loved ones.

For this year, MOP has contributed 18 school bags which were all donated by our generous and humble friends (they want to remain anonymous in their kind donations).

To all our friends, our sincere thanks in behalf of those children who will have another exciting and learning year in their school this coming June.

Congratulations to BBBS also for another worthwhile annual project.

God bless us all.

(originally posted on May 13, 2011)

Easter is About Kindness

Springtime is nearly over in China.

The cool breeze of air can now only be felt during the early morning.

And it’s the perfect time to do my morning jogs.

A few days ago, I came across an old man who was staring straight at something on a stone wall fencing with metal grills. He was alone and with a rather untidy clothes though I doubt it if he is a street beggar looking for scraps on the other side of the fence. Curious at what he would do next, I walked slowly as I came near him. And there he was, with his frail hands he reached out for a dangling vine whose tiny green rootlets has lost their grasp of the wall. The old man simply wanted to help the poor vine get back on its comfort zone to continue its growth. A very simple gesture that spoke a volume of kindness.

With this I remember some of my shameful and unkind acts that I committed as a young boy. I know I like hitting tree branches with a sturdy stick until all their leaves have fallen. I would kick our banana trees on our backyard just to mimic fighting scenes I have watched in cartoon shows. Oh and about those dragonflies that we caught, we would remove one of its wing and tie a string on its tail so we can still easily catch it back after it desperately tries to fly away. Well, in my lame defense, I would say those actions of mine were ignorant acts borne from curiosity and an equally ignorant peer crowd (we were all neighborhood kids then free to play in vast fishpond grounds without adult supervision). My bad.

But now that I am a grown-up, I have no more excuse to be unkind. Well, that seems to be the norm but the reality is I actually noticed myself finding more lame excuses for my bouts of unkindness. Safe to say, that a lot of us are guilty as we have the following often-used excuses as well.

“I have no time.”

I got deadlines and meetings to attend to. I got products to check and projects to manage. I must bring my son to the barbershop. I got to buy groceries. I must repair some broken house fixture. I need to read my emails. I am so busy that I simply have no time to pause and think of anyone who might need my attention in a particular moment.

“I don’t have enough.”

I once heard somebody said that if he wins the lottery he will give half of his winnings to charity. And so everyday, he places his bet in the hope that he finally gets his wish as a pre-condition for his kindness. Surely, all of us got bills to pay, mouths to feed, children to send to school, families to support and some vices (e.g. chain-smoking etc) and fads (e.g. IPhone4 upgrades etc) to indulge to and that leaves us with a few clanking coins to put into our piggy bank for the next IPhone release.

“It’s not worth it.”

To re-phrase that – “they are not worth my effort.”. Beggars will continue to beg even if they have chance to improve themselves. Worst, some begging are already a part of a syndicate that actually victimizes human kindness. Almsgiving nowadays is just the lazy way to earn money to support their own vices as well. Mendicancy is a lazy man’s career.

Which brings us back to the old man helping the vine get back to its clinging position. Time for him is important as he too old to walk fast enough to get back to his home. And yet he stopped. He didn’t have any special tool to fix the vine. He used his only available tool – his frail hand. The vine, for what its worth, is just an ordinary looking vine which would be easily cut and discarded by the gardener at his next cleaning round. And yet he did not mind at all.

More than two thousand years ago, God showed and fulfilled His ultimate selfless kindness we will ever see. God made the time to plan and perpetuate our salvation by sending His only begotten Son. He gave his all for the ransom of all. And he did this despite our perceived unworthiness of His mercy and love.

The greatest act of kindness to each and every one of us was consummated on Easter Day.

Hopefully, we all learn to show some semblance of this kindness to those around us.

Happy Easter to all.

(originally posted on April 22, 2011)