Courageous

Let me share this beautiful speech from the movie "Courageous." 

As a law-enforcement officer, I've seen first hand the deep hurt and devastation that fatherlessness brings in a child's life. Our prisons are full of men and women who lived recklessly after being abandoned by their fathers, wounded by the men who should have loved them the most. Many of these children now follow the same pattern of irresponsibility that their fathers did. While so many mothers have sacrificed to help their children survive, they were never intended to carry the weight alone. We thank God for them, but research is proving that a child also desperately needs a daddy. There's no way around this fact.

As you know, earlier this year my family endured the tragic loss of our 9-year-old daughter, Emily. Her death forced me to realize that only had I not taken advantage of the priceless time I had with her, but that I did not fully understand how crucial my role was as a father to her and our son, Dylan. Since her passing, I’ve asked God to show me through His word how to be the father that I need to be. 

I now believe that God desires for every father to courageously step up and do whatever it takes to be involved in the lives of his children. But more than just being there or providing for them, he's to walk with them through their lives and be a visual representation of the character of God, their Father in Heaven. A father should love his children and seek to win their hearts. He should protect them, discipline them, and teach them about God. He should model how to walk with integrity and treat others with respect and should call out his children to become responsible men and women who live their lives for what matters in eternity. 

Some men will hear this and mock it or ignore it. But I tell you as a father, you are accountable to God for the position of influence he has given you. You cannot fall asleep at the wheel only to wake up one day and realize that your job or your hobbies have no eternal value, but the souls of your children do. Some men will hear this and agree with it, but have no resolve to live it out. Instead, they will live for themselves and waste the opportunity to leave a godly legacy for the next generatio

But there are some men who, regardless of the mistakes we've made in the past, regardless of what our fathers did not do for us, will give the strength of our arms and the rest of our days to loving God with all that we are and to teach our children to do the same. And whenever possible to love and mentor others who have no fathers in their lives, but who desperately need help and direction. And we are inviting any man whose heart is willing and courageous, to join us in this resolution.

In my home the decision has already been made.

You don’t have to ask who will guide my family, because by God’s grace, I will.

You don’t have to ask who will teach my son to follow Christ, because I will.

Who will accept the responsibility of providing (for) and protecting my family? I will.

Who will ask God to break the chain of destructive patterns in my family’s history? I will.

Who will pray for and bless my children to boldly pursue what God calls them to do? I am their father. I will. 

I accept this responsibility and it is my privilege to embrace it. I want the favor of God and His blessing on my home. Any good man does. 

So where are you men of courage? Where are you, fathers who fear the Lord? It’s time to rise up and answer the call that God has given to you, and to say:

I will! I will! I will!

Gawad Kalinga 2011: Heroism

There is nothing greater than the heart of a volunteer.

It started with a simple thought. I was in one of my tranquil soliloquies when this question suddenly sprouted in my head: What are you planning to do on your 25th birthday? I thought about it for weeks. See, it has always been my tradition to give myself something good, expensive and tangible during my birthday ever since I started working. It’s equivalent to a tap on the shoulder for a job well done.

The answer came to me one day and in a weirdest possible way.

I was driving home from work when I stopped at an intersection to allow pedestrians to cross. When I looked to my right, Tito Bebot Sarmiento, our former CFC Provincial Area Director, greeted me with a smile. Being the SFC that I am, I forced myself out of my motorcycle to talk to him for a while. I wasn’t in a hurry anyway. Our conversation was short. He asked me if I had been to Bantayan Island in Cebu. He told me about the white sandy beaches. He further told me that he will be going there to participate in a weeklong Gawad Kalinga activity. He invited me to join him. He must have known that I love the sea.

I am familiar with Gawad Kalinga (or so I thought); I’ve participated in many works in our local GK sites, mostly during Sundays, here in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur. And in those works, all I got in return were backpain, a bucketload of sweat, sore muscles, some scratches, and a severely-tanned complexion. Back then, my perception to GK was as shallow as a puddle of water on the side of a road. I worked for GK because I was an SFC; I worked for GK because our Chapter Head told me to do so; I worked for GK because I enjoyed being with my household.

It took me quite a while to convince myself to join the GK build in Bantayan because I knew that I was in for some hard labor. But I joined anyway. I was more excited to see the Island itself; the GK Build was an excuse for me. Maybe this was the birthday gift that I wanted. I imagined myself walking down the beach, taking photographs of the sea, and bragging about it later on when I return. Yes, I think I was being selfish. But now I prefer to look to it as God working in His mysterious ways.

April 4, 2011, Bantayan Island. The first thing I noticed upon arriving at the dock was the tarpaulin that greeted us. Written in clear letters, it said, “WELCOME, MGA BAYANI!” It gave me a slight chill in my spine because I knew that I wasn’t physically prepared for the tasks in store for us. But I was optimistic, nonetheless. The GK Team of Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, was composed of only ten members, most of which are SFC members, and some have already gone to other GK builds prior to this one.

We set our tents at an elementary school nearest to the venue. Yes, we lived in tents for the entire duration. The ironic part of it all is that the empty classroom meant for us to occupy was beside our tents, and we only used it to hang our clothes. We were practically roughing it! It is only in GK where I get to sleep with a shovel beside me.

I was amazed because I thought I’d be with people who are used to hard labor (construction workers, plumbers, masons, etc). Instead, I found myself surrounded by thousands of volunteers who, I think, most of them don’t even know what a broom looks like. I’m not kidding. Most of the volunteers were teenagers coming from private schools in the Luzon area, specifically, Manila. There were students from Ateneo and UP, to name a few. There were Filipinos families from abroad who returned to the Philippines just to build. There were even foreign delegates. And they all looked battle-ready. This gave me a smile.

It was in this moment when I was reminded of what Tito Bebot Sarmiento told me days before we travelled. ALLOW GAWAD KALINGA MAKE AN IMPACT INTO YOUR LIFE. LET IT SINK INTO YOUR HEART. LEARN TO KNOW WHY WE DO THIS AT OUR OWN EXPENSE. I’ll never forget those words. Never.

 I was even more astonished when I learned that a Mayor from Sulu and the Governor of Compostela Valley are also present, along with their band of volunteers. It was my first encounter of politicians who were not afraid to get dirty, who were not surrounded by heavily armed men, who weren’t dressed in Barong Tagalog, politicians who were literally in the level of the people. This gave me a bigger smile. There is still hope in the Philippines, after all.

Our team was assigned at the GK Village in Mojon. Due to our lack in number, we weren’t asked to build a house. Our first assignment was to dig the ground to make a pathway for water to flow freely when it rained. Along with us was the GK Team from UP Los Banos and GK Team Bacolod City.

As we began to dig the ground, kneeling on the dirt, sweating furiously, time flew so fast. There was activity everywhere. Everybody was doing their own part. No task was too big because it was a sure guarantee that somebody would always be there to help you carry a bucket of water, or a can of paint, or a large rock. I can see that all of them were shedding the same amount of sweat that I was shedding. In that moment I began to look at them in a different way. They were heroes. And the heroism went on for the next five days.

...TO BE CONTINUED...

Brady Bunch Dilemma: The Reproductive Health Bill

Who are we again?

Lately, I’ve been bothered by text messages regarding my stand on the ever-famous Reproductive Health Bill. This bill has caused such hysteria in the country that even foreign nationals are bulging in.  I, for one, wouldn’t have wanted to give my statement because to do so would cause headaches. But, as a citizen of this country, it is my right to know what this bill is all about and how its approval or disapproval can affect me. It is after all stated in Article II, Section 11 of the Philippine Constitution that “The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights.”

Now that I have established my legal capacity to tackle with this issue, I shall try to come up with an unbiased statement. It certainly wouldn’t be as easy as making an essay about my summer vacation (although I wish it were). There are many factors that I would like to discuss. I’ll try to explain this in simple English. So, here it is.

Boulderism: The tiring process in making boulders

“On being a rock”

“Nobody’s exempted from having a broken heart.” – Eleonor Lada, 2009

It is said that a person in love can do all things, even attempt to do the impossible. True, love is such a wonderful feeling. It’s a many splendor things. Many have died for love’s sake. It is the most common subject in literature. Countless songs have been written in honor of love; accompanied by the soft blending of melodious instruments that truly melts even the hardest of frozen hearts.

My Pagadian

 "My Pagadian"

I was recently on an out-of-town trip where I was mixed with peers from different places in and outside of the Philippines. When I introduced myself to the rest of the crowd, I noticed that some of them (excluding the foreign delegates) had question marks on top of their heads when I smilingly said, “I’m from Pagadian City!” They actually thought I’m from the USA because of my nosebleed American accent. What a compliment! But I am a proud Pagadianon.

It was then when I realized that only a handful know Pagadian City. To some, it’s like the lost City of Atlantis – only heard of but never been there. Thus, I’ve come up with a small list of signs to let others differentiate Pagadian from any other city: