There's One More Angel In Heaven

A while back, I wrote a post about a little girl named Lizell Jane.  You can read the post here.  The Oikos Sisters along with Mary Jane Trinkus and me were on our way to a short two-day retreat in one of the northern towns here in Eastern Samar.  We were in 2 cars because   there were so many of us and were all excited for the time away.  The car I wasn't in was in an accident on the way to the retreat.  Our driver Joey was passing a tricycle, which is like a taxi cab, when a little girl ran out in front of his car suddenly and he couldn't avoid hitting her.  She had some cuts on her face and bruises along her side, but she was ok.  After taking her to the hospital and making sure she was ok, the Oikos Sisters assured the little girl's great grandmother that they would not abandon her and her family.

The story behind the girl, Lizell Jane, is that she was 6 years old at the time and she was abandoned by her mother.  Her father went to Manila to find work.  He did find work and would send money home to the great grandmother whenever he could, but it wasn't often.  He left the great grandmother with his 3 children, Lizell and her two younger sisters, one of which has cerebral palsy.  They lived literally in a shack with no electricity or furniture and shared a bathroom with 8 other families.  The grandmother, the very day of the accident, woke up begging God for help.  She couldn't do this by herself anymore and was in desperate need of help.  Well, God did send help...probably not the way she was hoping it would come.  Having your great-grandchild in an accident doesn't seem very helpful!  But God's ways are mysterious and the encounter brought the Oikos Sisters into their lives.  From that day on, the Oikos Sisters helped the family...even to this very day.

Well, yesterday Lola, our term for grandmother, came to Oikos.  She often comes when she is in need of something and it is always nice to see her.  She always gives me a kiss when she sees me!!  But yesterday was different.  This is what Lola told me...

Lizell Jane and her sisters were sent to Manila to be with their father.  The Oikos Sisters continued to help them from afar as well as they were able to.  The girls were going to school and living with their father.  But a few months ago, the father was on a construction job and fell off of high scaffolding.  He died instantly.  The girls were sent to live with some sisters who live in Manila and have a home for children.  Well, last Wednesday, Lizell Jane was leaving school.  As she was crossing the street, she was hit by a truck and died instantly. 

It was a hit and run, no one knows anything about the person who hit her.  Lola came to Oikos to tell us and to ask for fare money to Manila so she could attend the funeral.  Oh my, she was so sad.  As no sisters were in the office yesterday, I tried my best to offer comfort and love to Lola in my broken waray waray... there's not much you can say anyways in that situation, just hold her hand and offer a shoulder to cry on.

...but I wanted to cry too... sometimes God's ways are too mysterious.  Why was she spared a few years ago only to be killed now?  How much pain can Lola take on, abandonment, death, extreme poverty...all of the things people say at a time like this are running through my head... at least her suffering is over, she is gloriously happy now in heaven, Lola has a special angel in heaven now... it's like putting a band aid on a gaping wound, it doesn't really help. 

I have faith, I have hope in the resurrection, I trust in God's promise of eternal life, but all that doesn't make this any less sad.  It didn't make sitting with Lola yesterday any easier. 

Eternal rest grant unto her, Oh Lord, and my Your perpetual Light shine upon her.  May she rest in peace.

Please pray for Lola, who is in Manila today to grieve with her family...thank you!!

ADLAW HAN MGA KABLAS (Day For The Poor)

 

This past May, I was blessed and honored to be able to travel to South Korea with the Oikos Sisters to have an immersion/retreat with a Catholic congregation called Kkottongnae through the generosity and support of the Diocese of Borongan.  There we attended the “Love in Action” school that taught the importance of loving and caring for everyone, especially those who could never repay the generosity shown them, namely the poor, disabled and elderly.  We participated in a festival in honor of the poor and homeless of Seoul called the Pumba Festival.  The Holy Spirit struck straight to the hearts of the Oikos Sisters and, almost immediately upon returning home, they began planning their own festival for the poorest of the poor here in Borongan, a barrio fiesta called Adlaw Han Mga Kablas.

The Oikos Sisters were founded out of a need they saw to help the poor.  In 2018 they will celebrate their 20^th anniversary!  Since their inception, they have been caring for the poor in countless ways.  What we participated in with Kkottongnae was a celebration of and for the poor people.  A festival where they can laugh and dance and sing and eat their fill…a day of joy for them.  That is the spark that ignited within the Oikos Sisters and fueled our Adlaw Han Mga Kablas fiesta.

A few weeks before the event took place, the Oikos Mission was in high gear preparing for our fiesta.  The Oikos Sisters called upon their co-workers to assemble gift packages for each adult, child and family who would come, to build “houses” where the food would be served and to help on the fiesta day.  They also requested help from the Borongan community for donations of food and drinks for the poor.   Invitations were made and given to poor families and Oikos scholars together with Caritas and Diocesan scholars helped to decorate our venue, the Don Bosco Youth Center.  They also helped to pack up the gifts and were an enormous help the day of the event.

On Saturday, September 30^th, our Adlaw Han Mga Kablas, the sun was shining outside and Christ the Son, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, was beaming through the faces of each Sister and volunteer .  It was an early day for all of us, and yet we were all blessed with energy and joyful spirits throughout the entire day.  We were expecting around 250 fiesta guests, but the count nearly tripled as more than 600 people came!!  We were astounded and worked quickly to make more gift and rice packs for our guests as they were singing, dancing and having such a fun time thanks to our talented MC’s and house band.  But God, our Abba Father, shed His light and His miraculous mercy on us as each child who came received a party bag and each adult received a grocery pack with rice. We had just enough! And the food?  It was like being on the mountainside near the Sea of Galilee 2,000 years ago…not only did we have enough food to feed everyone, but there was more leftover, even after all of the volunteers ate after the event!!  We were all praising God for His kindness to us!!

We were so blessed with the presence of Father Roneil Canillas, Father Roberto Picardal and Most Reverend Bishop Crispin Varquez who celebrated a beautiful mass for us.  We were aided by many of the mothers whose children are sponsored through the Oikos Sisters, the CRLJ Charismatic Community, Sister Bing of the Living the Gospel Sisters and many past and present sponsored scholars.  Truly, each person was a gift to us and not only helped to make the day run smoothly, but made it fun too!

One of the high points for me was when everyone gathered in a circle and sang “Hawak Kamay” together, which means holding hands.  Being a foreigner, I was unfamiliar with this song, however, with a friend’s help, I learned its sweet meaning…You are never alone, no matter what happens.  Not only can you look to God in Heaven, but you can always depend on me to be there for you, to hold your hand, to help you in this uncertain world.  You are never alone.  As the words were translated to me and I looked around at all of the people standing and holding hands, singing with everything they had in them, it really moved me.  To me, that is what Oikos is all about…being there for anyone who God sends their way, bringing God’s love to the poor and giving others the opportunity to do the same.

It seems that for the Oikos Sisters, and for me, it was the very fruitful trip to Kkottongnae in South Korea that led to what we hope will be the first annual Adlaw Han Mga Kablas!!  TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!