Easter "Magic"

children are always entertaining and are easily entertained. sometimes, all you need is a spoon. see what my cousin beau started in our last Easter family get together...

first, the demo

then the assist

success!

the cousins join the act (with some cheating)

jyo becomes a pro

as does gueli

easter balut :)

A Triduum Martha

i've always been a martha. that explains a lot about my being a producer: always in the background, making sure that there are no loose ends and that everything runs smoothly.

this triduum, i was still martha, but one with more faith. you see, our triduum coordinator, tito eddie, has this bizarre prayer that we have a difficult time. he's not a sadist (at least, not that i know of). "all the better to rely on Him," he says. he says it each year and each year, the triduum preparations get more and more difficult.

this year took the cake. despite what we thought was an early start on preparations, we found ourselves grappling for time 'til the very end. tito eddie was having a dry spell and i (quite literally) could not find the face of Jesus for the reveal sequence. with less than 2 weeks to go, my lead dancer informs me that she can't make it to our planned rehearsal dates because of a conflict with a sudden school activity and so far, only 5 sisters had signed up for the dance (we wanted at least 10). eleven days before "show day," my assistant director backs out due to a family emergency. less than 24 hours later, my floral coordinator and supplier begs off as well.

i had no script, no lead dancer, no dancers, no assistant director, no production assistants, and no florist. what i DID have was faith.

had these been the circumstances say, 10 - 12 years ago, i would've panicked; not this time. strangely enough, i was very calm. driving from a meeting one day, i heard the Lord say that He was in control. all i could say was "amen."

it really helps when you have a friend in high places. the Lord had all the proper connections and He led me straight to them.

• surfing the internet, i found, of all things, a website specifically dedicated to images of the resurrected Christ where i found His face!
  
• a dear friend agreed to do my flowers at my price (with delivery) over a simple phone call. they were beautiful too! plus, she delivered 2 hours early!
  
• a simple e-mail to the sector youth workers instantly yielded the 15 kids we needed to dance the hora tambourine dance (18 actually showed up on rehearsal day!)
• on the day of the first dance practice, a sister called me up and couldn't believe what she was about to ask me: "could i still join the dance?" she then shared that during her morning prayer time, the Lord asked how she could dance for her health but not for Him. the moment she decided to dance for the Lord, her schedules cleared up, making her available for rehearsals. she was the 10th dancer that we needed.
• last minute, we decide to have kids wave ribbons during the Gloria. i asked the help of a brother who was at the rehearsals (for a different meeting) to do the recruiting and he and his wife got me 29 kids that same night (30 if you count the little boy who took his brothers ribbon and refused to return it. his mom waved it for him.)
• a brother and a sister in community (separately) helped me look for an assistant director. a week before show day, i had not one, but two assistant directors!
• better still, one of them recruited the four production assistants we needed (on the actual day, i had 3 additional volunteers!).

the Lord provided every need. every task that needed to be done was accomplished, even the unexpected. a third priest helped celebrate the Easter vigil mass (we were only expecting two). no one knew his name. mid-mass, i was informed that a sister knew him and so to get the priest's name (so he could be properly acknowledged), i needed to find her... in a sea of over 2,000 attendees! were they joking me?! while ranting, i turned my head to find, seated in the front row of the group of chairs just behind me, the very sister i was looking for! it brings new meaning to the verse "seek and you shall find."

i finally printed my final script 5 hours before it was to be executed. midway through my final revisions, tito eddie texted to ask how i was doing and i reported to him my status. he rejoiced with me and texted me a prayer for smooth transitions for the day. i replied that i was grateful that his prayer was not that i would have a difficult time. he said that it was no longer necessary because that was already an answered prayer and that i had truly experienced the weight of His glory. he's absolutely right!

when God is in control and ties up loose ends, Marthas get to experience being Marys too. what a glorious God we have indeed!

Being good, one student at a time

when i was a religion teacher, i preached that "religion is not a subject; it is a way of life." i remember how in sophomore year, our teacher, a nun, made us memorize the entire gospel of mark (because it was the shortest of the four). well, i made it through sophomore religion easy. did it make me a better person? hardly.

i am a product of 16 years of catholic schooling, but it was not until i joined a Catholic charismatic community that i finally met Jesus. after having met him, i thought to myself, "i wish that i had known him earlier." and that, ladies and gentlemen, was one of the main reasons why i went into teaching preschool. it couldn't be just any school; it had to be a school that knew Jesus, too. it had to be cradle of joy.

the school's tagline says it all: shaping young hearts and minds for Jesus. i made it my mission to share with kids that Jesus is real, not just a storybook character like snow white or the three little pigs. i wanted the kids to know early what i knew so late in my own life. and they got it!

a few years into my teaching stint, i was asked to teach at the grade school, at first, for english, then later, for religion. the lessons required more structure (no, i didn't make them memorize the entire gospel) and my audience was tougher, but i still taught what i knew and prayed that someone listened.

early this year, i met a COJ alumni after mass. i'll admit that he wasn't the brightest light bulb in the batch, but a good kid, nonetheless. he shared with me that he was doing pretty well in his new school except in 1 subject: religion.

aaaaaaargh! i failed him!

before i could ask him why, he went on to explain that his religion classes were boring and that all they did was memorize, memorize, memorize. (sounds familiar!) he ended by saying, "at least in coj, they taught me how to be a good person."

yesssss! one down, many more to go.

well, hello!

haven't done this in a while. ok. i haven't done this in a looooong while.

like riding a bike, i'm hoping that it all comes back to me... more sooner than later, i hope.

awed and inspired

the following is my entry to the cisv international people's project (ipp) blog that i posted after trekking a mountain to plant a tree and swim by the waterfalls. pictures to follow. to read other ipp entries, go to www.bayanihanipp.blogspot.com

i consider myself to be a spiritual person and in no other instance is God's presence made more evident than in nature. whenever i see nature, like we did today, i am humbled. i look at the waterfalls and i appreciate God's greatness and ingenuity; i see the mountains and marvel at how they look - molded by God's own hands and covered with a carpet of grass and trees. i am awed at how one powerful volcanic eruption can destroy a river, displace population, and change lives... forever. yet it is precisely that destruction 17 years ago that brings 24 people from 10 different countries together to rebuild a culture, a community, and many lives.

i am inspired by these people, who today, made a difference for others... and most likely, for themselves. i am inspired by their determination to push on, despite fatigue and heat, to dig a hole, plant a tree, or climb a mountain.

sometimes, God deals people (and at times, an entire nation) acts of devastation and we question the wisdom of it all. today showed me that perhaps it is not ours to question; the perfection of such an act was in the presence of each of the 24 people in this camp.

ninong benny

i attempted five times to finish this entry, and failed; each time ended with me sobbing. i still do. but this has to be done. below is my eulogy to my uncle benny whom i sorely miss.

it took his death to resurrect my blog. how ironic. part of me refused to write about him because part of me refused to accept that he was gone. it's like burying your father twice.

more than an uncle and a godfather, what he was to me, was a father. when dad passed, he stood as father, teacher, and counselor, not just to me and my siblings, but to the many whom his life has touched and changed. he was our patriarch; he championed family traditions and values that mark who we, as a family, are today. and though i know that many call him "ninong" as well, i'd like to think that i was the original. i was, after all, his godchild for forty years... and that for me is a big thing.

i share three things with ninong benny.

first is my name -- sulit. in the filipino language, my surname means "worth every centavo." it's not a very easy name to live up to, especially when those who precede you leave such big shoes to fill and cast huge shadows. dad and ninong benny were giants; imagine the footprints they left behind.

ninong benny taught me that anything worth doing was worth doing well. HE certainly did. he worked well, taught well, ate well, lived well, and loved well. just take a look at his house. it took him 10 years to "build" it, so much so that carpenters and painters became permanent fixtures and residents. he went through every meticulous detail and didn't stop until he was satisfied.

like him, i am a teacher. i remember him being pleased with my decision to leave my colorful and high-paying corporate job to teach. he too gave up a lot - an opportunity to raise his family abroad where the grass was "greener." but, no. wife and two young kids in tow, he came back, not just to build his medical career, but more importantly probably, to teach. he taught as a way of giving back to the country he so much loved. that passion made him a much sought-after mentor for only the brave. true to his name, he taught very well... but he also expected the same, if not more, from his residents. i guess he wanted everyone to be a sulit (and what's wrong with that?).

by my many conversations with him, i thought that there wasn't a question that he didn't know the answer to. what he knew, he shared to many... not just his residents, but to his children, grandchildren, and anyone who had the time and privilege to sit beside him and chat with him.

like him too, i am big... but ninong was not just physically big; he did everything BIG. he had a big house and threw big parties. he had to, because he was a man with a big heart. his annual birthday parties were were so well-attended that it went on for hours and was known to blow a fuse or two in more than one occasion.

he gave even when he had nothing to give. so generous was this man that he even shared his own family with me. many times he told me reassuringly, "alam mo naman na anak kita, diba?" (you DO know that you are my daughter, don't you?) THAT i knew, never doubted, and lived out. so enjoined am i to his family that often times, when aly and i introduce ourselves, we claim, "magkapatid kami; iba lang ang mga magulang namin." (we're siblings; we just have different parents.)

he was always known for his hospitality. of this, the bible says, "let brotherly love continue. do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." (hebrews 13: 1 - 2) safe to say that ninong did his Godly duty. i'd like to think that all of us who have benefited from his hospitality are "benny's angels." we should only be so lucky.

whenever i saw ninong, i would always greet him with a buzz on both cheeks. he would insist on it with his hearty line, "other side!" i know that i can longer do that to him... but not forever. i look forward to the day that i could do that again, when we meet "on the other side."

rest well, ninong. it's time to go home.

heroes - no relation to the tv series

history has come full circle... at least for some of my students.

once upon a time, every child's parent was his / her hero. there was also a time when athletes from all playing fields were placed on pedastals. when war came, heroes were made in a field of a different kind: the battlefield... and in comics. that was when superheroes came to be. superman, captain america, iron man... the whole lot of them.

people need heroes in their lives... to look up to, to aspire to become. back then, everyone wanted to be a baseball player, or a soldier, or a policeman... noble professions back then. realistically, no one could go faster than a speeding bullet or leap tall buildings in a single bound, let alone fly. but regardless of super abilities, heroes, back then at least, were looked upon and admired for what they stood for and upheld: concepts of justice and good triumphing over evil... those kinds of things!

sadly, i remember the time when many children (and adults) in our country wanted to be actors. wannabes, that's what they were. good looks were a ticket in; never mind that they didn't have talent. there were more than enough to fill in the daily slots of "that's entertainment" where televiewers suffered from watching the wards attempt to entertain with their skits, dances, songs, and on-the-spot drama classes. not to be outdone, the other channel had circles of so-called talents. some heroes they were. in an impoverished country such as ours, it was a get-rich-quick deal. fatalists that we are, we went for it, hook, line, and sinker. i remember thinking, "what will our country be in 10 years time? we'll have so many actors and no doctors, no policemen, no teachers..."

these days, a lot of people want to be nurses... not to be of service, but rather, as a ticket out of here and out of poverty. really, who can blame them? thought bubble: hmmm... i wonder if there are actors that became nurses?

i've always believed that to become a strong nation, we need strong leaders. after all, it is the leaders who pave the way, who give the direction. it's a simple matter of command responsibility.

my class discussed leadership qualities in religion class last quarter. we listed qualities we thought good leaders ought to have then evaluated leaders of countries (u.s.a. and the philippines) and our school against these. well, let's just say that bush and gma could not hold a candle to our school directress. we also evaluated Christ. Christ was definitely a good leader. He certainly showed people the way... it was up to them to follow or not. but i digress...

i next assigned my students to interview and report on a person whom they thought was a good leader. i would later ask them to write feature articles on their interviewees for english class. to my delight, i discovered that more than half my class wrote about their parents (most others wrote about their relatives - aunts and a grandparent; one interviewed our school directress). they admired them for reasons such as responsibility, diligence, and optimism. but what struck a chord with me was how my students looked up to their parents for traits like generosity, hospitality, piety, and trust and obedience to God. "my father lives his life for the Lord," said one. another mentioned how her dad could not live a day without praying, praising, worshipping, or talking to God. how awesome is that?! a few of my students refered to their parents as their idols and stated that they wanted to follow in their footsteps. and though their essays may be wanting in organization and spelling, they certainly were not lacking in inspiration.

to my students' parents, congratulations! i'm as proud of you as i am of your own children. it's times like these that i wish i had more than 12 students in my class. imagine what our country would be like 10 years from now if we had more of them.

COJ Concert

it is done. after months of discussions, weeks of preparation, and an overnight video production, it all seems like a blur. i really wouldn't know how the concert went because thanks to the rain, my students and I were "quarantined" to the backstage (actually, we were OUTSIDE the theater -- where the stagehands smoked).

the kids were great onstage and were behave offstage. this is the most i've seen my kids dance, i almost wanted to cry! hahaha! the concert, to say the least, was a huge success. so much so that gary v wants to do it again with the kids next year... in a better venue. naks! don't worry, we promise to remember you when we're famous.

more great photos of the concert on dennis pilapil's blogsite. one pair of hands in the middle of the black theater photos are mine. plugging! hahaha!

move over, jollibee!

i remember having jollibee, our local fastfood, as a client when i was an executive producer. i also remember the orientation we had. you see, it's mascot is jollibee, who is, well, by all visual definition, a bee.

but hu-wait! according to the client, who is always right, "jollibee is not a bee; he is your friend." i kid you not on this! confused? i'm not surprised. it's complicated.

i offer you something simpler and much cuter. meet jyo, my newest nephew. jyo is not a bee; he is adorable. (his parents don't look too bad either :P)

when ignorance is bliss

who would've thought that the next time i'd blog, i'd be forty. yes, forty... it's been THAT long (hahaha!).

officially, i turned the big 4-0 last thursday, but i celebrated that fateful number much, much earlier... four days earlier, to be precise. last monday, i was the pleasant victim of a surprise party. and WAS i surprised!

i was absolutely clueless to the conniving goings-on of the people around me... people at work, people in the community, my family, even CISV! the details, to this day, remain sketchy. from what i was told, planning started as early as 3 months ago. the brainchild was my pastoral leader, diday, ably assisted by my connection to everyone else, amy. how perfect is that? a control freak (and i say this lovingly, mother) and a wedding coordinator planned the party.

they planned everything... the guest list (which i loved! these were the people i wanted to see and be with), the schedule (down to the minutes of the program for the night), the script for my surprise (which i blew because i refused to open the door -- sorry), lootbags, and the food. more on that later.

in a matter of minutes, they transformed the terrace into a happenin' place complete with centerpieces and balloons... all in PINK, thanks to my loving neighbors. the moment i saw the tv, i kinda cringed because i knew that a video was afoot. gehd, had i known, i could have provided nicer pictures (hahaha!).

people brought my favorite fare for everyone to feast on... tocino, kare-kare, pansit pusit (thanks to the layas!), salad greens (yes, i am a leaf eater), diday's neighbor's leche flan, more tocino, and goldilocks mocha cake, to name a few. never thought i was THAT predictable, but hey, i was a happy camper that night!

people, by nature, are egotists. who doesn't want a surprise party?! it was everything i wanted and didn't. funny how people want attention yet shy away the minute it's given to them. that's why i know i can never be a celebrity (hahaha!). turning 40 was a blast! being surprised and surrounded by people i love and who have blessed me these first 40 years of my life have made ageing pleasureable. so pleasurable that i don't mind doing it again next year! *hint! hint!*