The path God takes us on is not always clear to us, it
doesn’t always make sense. Sometimes
amid the trials and roadblocks of life, we can even ask, “What can God be
thinking?” But every once in a while we
are given the grace to understand His thinking, to be enlightened to the wisdom
of His Will for us. I had such an
experience, and it has led me to where I am now.
When I was a young girl, I used to play "school" with my younger brothers
and sisters, my friends, and when they grew tired of me, even my teddy bears
and dolls! As the teacher, I used to give them
assignments to do and send them into the corner they were not acting like good
students…I don’t know why they put up with me!!
Because of this, I naturally was drawn to the field of education. I became an elementary teacher and taught in
Catholic Schools in Buffalo, NY for 10 years.
Gradually, I lost my spirit for teaching. I began catering for the events of my friends
and little by little, cooking took over my life. I stopped teaching and continued catering and
working in restaurants. I am sure many,
many people in my life were scratching their heads thinking, what is she
doing? She has a good career that she is
good at, why change? I couldn’t answer
them. Truthfully, I didn’t know why I
made such a drastic career change. I was
just following my intuition. Little did
I know it was the Holy Spirit preparing me for something more.A new desire entered my heart. I felt very strongly that one day I wanted to combine my skills in education with my love of cooking. I didn’t know how it would work itself out, but I kept thinking about it for quite a few years. Perhaps I would end up in a community center teaching young children to cook or work as a culinary school teacher, but the desire grew in me and I became restless thinking about it. Never in my wildest imaginings did I ever, ever think God would fulfill this desire in me in the missions…but He did! And when that happened, I could see the handprint of God on the twisty road that my life had become. No longer was I questioning why my interests changed so much. God was preparing me to be of use in His mission with His poor. He gave me the grace to see that.
When I became involved with the Oikos Mission here in Borongan, I was astounded at all of the ministries they have to help and love the poor. From medical assistance to feeding programs, educational sponsorships to building homes, their mission to be conduits of God’s love to His poor was, and is, absolutely amazing to me. I became involved with the Livelihood Ministry, helping to teach the poor new livelihoods because they had lost everything as a result of Typhoon Yolanda and Typhoon Ruby. The Piglet Recycling Program teaches beneficiaries how to raise and breed piglets and in FAITH, Food Always In The Home, the poor are taught organic fruit and vegetable growing. The participants of these programs are aided by Oikos. They may be given piglets, feeds, education and seeds, along with encouragement and support during the course of the program, but the beneficiaries have to do the lion’s share of the work. If they are unwilling to work, they will not succeed, but when they succeed, it is with a great feeling of pride in themselves, restored dignity and, most importantly, a way to provide for their families.
Little by little, I began cooking and baking for the members of the Oikos mission, and an inspired idea entered into the minds of the Oikos Sisters, who are always sensitive to the whispers of the Holy Spirit. They had been looking for a way to provide poor mothers with a livelihood endeavor to help their families, and once they saw all of the baking I could do, they quickly resolved to offer a baking livelihood to the mothers. Here with these hard-working women, I teach them how to bake. So far, we have made baked empanadas, pizza (American-style), a few kinds of cookies and a special bread that can be sweet or savory, cinnamon or garlic parmesan. We have been selling our empanadas in the city of Borongan with great success!! And we are on the verge of adding to our menu with the new things I have taught them. After writing about this new endeavor in my blog, a friend of mine from high school contacted me to donate a new oven to the mothers. We had been using two toaster ovens, and now we have an upright oven that can hold 6 large trays at once! I can see the joy on the mothers faces with each new recipe learned and perfected, and I can almost feel the hope they feel in the future, in really finding a way to help their families. With the help and support of the Oikos mission, these mothers have a wonderful opportunity to provide for their families and I have a sense of peace that I have found the desire I had all those years ago.
One of these days, I am going to stop questioning the workings of God and just live happily in His awesomeness... One of these days... xxoo
This is Nanay Norma, one of the Baking Mamas! Norma is a single parent of 9 children, 6 of whom are still in school. She is making boku empanadas (fresh coconut)...one of Borongan's favorites!!
To God Be The Glory!!!
