| Subject: Read all about it! |
Author:
Aie
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Date Posted: 21:18:03 01/29/03 Wed
Mga Kadugo,
Time does fly. I can’t keep relying on Daisy visiting you in your dreams , huh, Steve? Sit back then and be ready for a loooong report.
1. Foundation registration
With great cheering we received the peso equivalent (Pp106,000) of your $2,000 transferred Trust Fund from Adora (Winnie C’s wife), accompanied by Mamang Raning on the second day of the Family Christmas Camp. Thanks Steve for the quick action and to all of you out there for having contributed that much so far. Keep it coming. We are just starting!
We were all gathered in the Ramos farm bamboo grove for bible study focused on "prayer" when they arrived like an answer to collective prayers. The occasion was properly documented, of course. Bibsy will send you the photos as soon as she finds her way to our new site. Now we can fast track the registration of the Foundation.
I just talked to Bibsy over the phone. There are details to attend to like affidavits, etc. but it’s moving. Would have been a breeze if Daisy were still around. We are all crossing our fingers that we can lay first claim to "Dugong CYF Foundation" . Atty. Efren (Emy’s!) has reserved the name with the SEC. Adda aya ngata kapadpada tayo? Well, we’ll find out soon enough. Atty. Popoy (Atilinda’s!) will see to the final registration at the Baguio SEC branch.
2. Christmas Family Camp
It was a 3-day affair this time (December 27-29, 2002) at the Ramos ‘grounds’ in Natividad. Jaja, Dazha and I were first to arrive..long before all the others!
Nagyan kami amin iti tents (10 in all); napikus-pikus kami ta dadakkel metten daguiti ub-ubing. But no one complained. We had the luxury of a kitchen, a kiosk for meetings, toilets and bathrooms, running water, a bamboo grove, a bonfire area and wide are for tents (di mi napunno!) and playground for the children with swings and seesaws. To top it all we had the grandest view of sunrise and sunset complete with flying flocks of migrating tagak (!)
70 came in full force: 33 adults, 6 teeners, 30 children and 1 infant (yes, 4 months old apo ni Arnel, Andre’ of Chiqui ngem di pay latta na break ang record ni Dondon (he was 2 months old when he attended his first camp!) The age range of campers is getting wider and wider, indeed. We missed the families of Avelyn, Marma, Ludwig, Elsie and Dante who were all there last year. We actually expected more: Peps, Eva, Portia, Mildred, Del’s family, etc. but they were not able to make for various reasons.
Bishop Ben was with us. He led the bible studies and liturgical celebrations, among others. Yes, he came all the way from far flung Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental. We focused on prayer and you’re right, we will be never too old to examine our prayer life. The children were ably led by Emy and Ming into expressing their prayers in various art forms while the adults engaged in verbal exchanges. Insight-full all around.
We formed prayer cells of 3-4 so we can continue praying for each other’s concerns all year round. Dalawang tsikiting and kasama ko and we agreed to pray for each other everyday at 7:00 PM.
Vespers of the 28th was a Celebration of Innocence, in memory of Daisy. It was her birth day. Jaja and Dazha helped me offer memories of Daisy through a gift of Gifts of Grace Book 2 for each family present. And as Daisy would have it, there were children’s books for the children, too. Bishop Ben’s celebratory note invited us to ponder on the meaning of innocence as a dimension of faith. Often it is associated with "purity’. But like a child’s faith, it exudes ‘simplicity’….seeing things the way they are…saying things the way they feel…. doing things that give them joy….with the spontaneity that can only come from completely trusting that they are in GOOD HANDS. When we strip all the trappings (burloloys!), there we find the simple truths of our faith. Daisy’s own faith journey is littered with songs in her heart. That is how we have known her, and that is how we will always remember. May all our lives be a prayer and a song of celebration.
Evening of the same day, we had a big ‘neat’ bonfire that lit the dark night, courtesy of Manong Ped. And of course, we went through the ceremony of the fire with the same old fuss, Jaja taking on the age-old role of Dave. Such a simple ritual but the children were awe-struck as the small spark gave way to big tongues of fire. Manong Vic and Nel were around to grace the night filled with campfire songs, games and family presentations.
It was also Dondon and Dainty’s 10th wedding anniversary and we had an impromptu "renewal of vows" in the campfire’s glow, presided over by Bishop Ben who also officiated during their wedding. Kinankantaanmi ida iti love songs afterwards.
When the campfire was low and the children have been tucked in their tents, a small circle of adults kept a ‘spirited’ vigil under a canopy of stars. Bangka ni Bishop Ben! A lot of old CYF stories (kantiyawan) went around. But I guess age has crept in. Everyone’s down and out long before the first cock crowed!
The Go family (of Marilyn dele Vega of Macarang) sent a big bagful of 60 individually wrapped gifts for everyone. And everyone brought a gift for one. (Yes, Daisy, each one had a hand in the gift-giving this year)
Grupo-grupo ti in charge iti food. We had more than enough. . It was pot luck dinner the first night (Adda met balonko nga corned beef para kadakami ni Jaja and Dazha—awan met nangkuti, naim-imas ti dinengdeng nga awit ti dadduma!). During our last night, we had our fill of lechon na baboy and manok, adobo, etc., courtesy of the Ramos and Cachero families. Adora came not only to deliver the Trust Fund but also lechon. Yummy. Ever faithful Linda, with her family, was there to manage the kitchen Kanya-kanyang dala ng mga pinggan at kubiertos kaya wala na kaming inassign na taga hugas. Adu ti ubbingen nga asikasuen!
More tomorrow. I still have to take you to the Rev. Pedro Ramos Campground, the Tabitha Hideaway and the ‘miting de avanse’…but got to go back to work, too.
Stay well and happy. That circle of prayer? Please don’t break it. As our song goes.. "At the close of the day, when you (I) kneel to prayer……."
Till then, SHALOM to everyone.
Aie
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