Yesterday I got the chance once again to watch one of my favorite shows “Kwentong Disyerto” in TFC (The Filipino Channel). This show is hosted by Mickey Ferriols and TJ Manotoc. I used to watch this show before every Friday but it’s been months since the last time that I watched it.
Anyhow their topic yesterday is about retirement. Their topic is so timely because we got a lot of OFW’s who is about to retire in the near future. I am also planning to retire from being an OFW and start a new career in the Philippines.
One of the things that inspire me is the program of Philhealth. Majority of us OFW may not have the knowledge of the Philhealths’ program. All we know is we kept on paying the Philhealth of P900.00, an amount that covers one year of medical insurance and we get nothing from it. Besides who wants to be sick, just to enjoy the benefit from the agency? No one would be willing, right? I consider my contributions to Philhealth as my thanksgiving because I am not getting sick as well as my beneficiaries. That alone is enough for me. But yesterday Philhealth announced that there is a program that an OFW can enjoy provided they met the two requirements by the agency. First requirement is if an OFW reaches the age of sixty. Second is, the OFW must have completed the 120 monthly contributions. As I understand it, Medicare contribution is counted.
The 120 monthly contributions is equivalent to ten years of religious paying of your contribution. If you are working abroad for more than ten years now then you already got one of their requirements. All you need to do is to wait till you reach the age of 60. That’s good news for everyone, isn’t it? After all it is at this age that one start to become a frequent visitor of the hospital. According to Philhealth, it is through this program that they can return the benefits that the contributor did not enjoy when he is paying his contribution while he is young and energetic. For more information about the program, you can email them at owp@philhealth.gov.ph Also Mr. Ringo Danao, Philhealth representative, will visit Saudi Arabia this September to talk about the Philhealth program among the OFW.
For the younger generations of OFW’s their advice is to start planning for their retirement on day one of their career and I agree to that. Lessons must be taken from previous generation in which majority of our OFWs don’t have a retirement plan. One reason for this is the belief that when we grow old, the younger generation will take good care of us. This is because Filipino have a very close family ties. So we tend not to plan for the future retirement and concentrated all of our resources to our immediate and present needs.
Another reason is most of us are “SSS” (Social Security System) members. We are contended to live our golden years on SSS pension. But come to think of it. How much is your SSS pension when you retire? Is that enough for your needs? I know a lot of senior citizen today and they are having a hard time with their small pension to cope up with today’s standard of living. If an OFW is paying the highest amount of contribution today, then he can expect around ten thousand pesos (P10,000) up to eleven thousand pesos (P11,000) pension when he retires. If that amount is not enough to sustain your monthly needs today, then how do you think it can sustain you in the future. In order to supplement the pension benefits of their members, SSS offer another product, the SSS Flexi-fund. This is a voluntary, provident fund for OFWs. For more information on flexi-fund, feel free to visit their website, www.sss.gov.ph
OWWA and Colayco foundation have their own programs for the OFWs as well. OWWA is providing different kinds of assistance to an OFW retiree while the Colayco foundation offers seminar about financial literacy to help an OFW where they can invest their hard earned money. You can know more about OWWA and the Colayco foundation by visiting their website, www.owwa.gov.ph and www.colaycofoundation.com
So if you are planning to retire in the near future or had just started your career abroad, then this is the right time. As Mr. Armand Bengco, Colayco foundation representative, says “it is never been too early, from day one of your career you must think of your retirement”. Given the proper instrument, the right agency and organization like OWWA, Philhealth, SSS and Colayco foundation, an OFW can prepare for himself a better retirement plan in the future.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
THANK YOU
If we will just stop for a while and think of the things that we need to give thanks, I am sure we will have an endless list. Saying “thank you” for the things that we receive means a lot for the giver. It shows our heartfelt appreciation for the things given to us, no matter how small or big it is.
Thank you is a simple phrase, consisting of two words, eight letters put together. The two words represent the two entities involve herein, the giver and the receiver. Eight means “wala lang”, it is my favorite number. Why? It is because I was born on the 8th day of May. Now you know my birthday so I would like to thank you in advance for your gift to me.
Thank you can be spoken in a different language, like “Merci”, “Gracias”, “Danke”, “Shoukran”, “Arigato”, “Kamsahamnida”, “Sheshe”, “Donnobadh”, “Sukria”, “Salamat”
Today I would like to make a list of the things that I want to give thanks to and I invite everyone to share their list here and let’s start making an endless list of the things that we need to give thanks to.
1. I would like to give thanks for my family. They are always safe even though I am not around with them.
2. I would like to give thanks all my answered prayers and petitions.
3. I would like to give thanks for the health that I am enjoying now.
4. I would like to give thanks because I haven’t been involved in any vehicular accident whenever I am travelling.
5. I would like to give thanks for the financial knowledge that I had learned.
6. I would like to give thanks for the job that I have now and thank you that our company is not affected by the financial meltdown.
7. I would like to give thanks for our investments.
8. I would like to give thanks for all the reminders that I receive through my dreams. For all the things that I must do and the things that I must not do.
9. I would like to give thanks for the people around me. For the help and assistance that they have given to me when I needed it most.
10. I would like to give thanks for the inspirations I am getting from my five year old son.
11. I would like to give thanks for the little things in my life that gives me comfort.
12. I would like to give thanks for the trials that help me grow and stronger.
13. I would like to give thanks for the wonderful time I had with my family during my vacation.
14. I would like to give thanks for the 3 days off from work.
15. I would like to thank Bro. Bo Sanchez for the daily inspiration that he sends me through Kegyrma.
16. I would like to thank Sonny Lanorias for the help on his post about setting up the Networkedblog widget.
17. I would like to thank Blogging Experiment for the help on his post about the stand alone pages.
18. I would like to thank you for sharing your list here. God bless.
Thank you is a simple phrase, consisting of two words, eight letters put together. The two words represent the two entities involve herein, the giver and the receiver. Eight means “wala lang”, it is my favorite number. Why? It is because I was born on the 8th day of May. Now you know my birthday so I would like to thank you in advance for your gift to me.
Thank you can be spoken in a different language, like “Merci”, “Gracias”, “Danke”, “Shoukran”, “Arigato”, “Kamsahamnida”, “Sheshe”, “Donnobadh”, “Sukria”, “Salamat”
Today I would like to make a list of the things that I want to give thanks to and I invite everyone to share their list here and let’s start making an endless list of the things that we need to give thanks to.
1. I would like to give thanks for my family. They are always safe even though I am not around with them.
2. I would like to give thanks all my answered prayers and petitions.
3. I would like to give thanks for the health that I am enjoying now.
4. I would like to give thanks because I haven’t been involved in any vehicular accident whenever I am travelling.
5. I would like to give thanks for the financial knowledge that I had learned.
6. I would like to give thanks for the job that I have now and thank you that our company is not affected by the financial meltdown.
7. I would like to give thanks for our investments.
8. I would like to give thanks for all the reminders that I receive through my dreams. For all the things that I must do and the things that I must not do.
9. I would like to give thanks for the people around me. For the help and assistance that they have given to me when I needed it most.
10. I would like to give thanks for the inspirations I am getting from my five year old son.
11. I would like to give thanks for the little things in my life that gives me comfort.
12. I would like to give thanks for the trials that help me grow and stronger.
13. I would like to give thanks for the wonderful time I had with my family during my vacation.
14. I would like to give thanks for the 3 days off from work.
15. I would like to thank Bro. Bo Sanchez for the daily inspiration that he sends me through Kegyrma.
16. I would like to thank Sonny Lanorias for the help on his post about setting up the Networkedblog widget.
17. I would like to thank Blogging Experiment for the help on his post about the stand alone pages.
18. I would like to thank you for sharing your list here. God bless.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
DAYS OF FISHING
I grew up in one of the coastal town of Bataan. During my childhood days the main source of income in our town is fishing. It is the same with the other neighboring towns. It is normal that every family owns at least one “banca”, a small fishing boat. However, we don’t own one because my father is not a fisherman. He is a security guard, but he always goes on fishing during his day off.
I am about nine years old when I first join with my father in his fishing trip. We use to borrow the boat of his “kumpare”, a friend of my father. He teaches me of how to properly handle the bait and wait for the fish to take it. And once the fish take the bait I have to pull it as hard and fast as I could. But since I am not yet that sensitive to fish bite, I would end up losing my catch most of the time. There are occasions that I am waiting for too long without knowing that I already have a catch. I am always reminded by my father to check on my bait and when I raised it up, there’s usually three fish dangling in my bait. It is because the fishing lines that we are using have three hooks attached to it.
I am always into a competition with my father when fishing. I used to separate my catch from my father’s catch. After fishing we will count our catch and whoever catches more fish is the winner. I remember beating my father only once, when I caught around seventy fish while he is five fish short. We had gone fishing for only four hours that day and we need to go back home immediately because the sea suddenly turns rough and a heavy rain is about to fall. But most of the time my father out do me in fishing.
Though most of the fisherman used to go out to the sea all night long, there is still a lot of fisherman who is out during day time. This is so because there are plenty of catch during those days. Even an inexperienced fisherman is assured of a good catch for the day.
The memory of a wonderful sight of the sea at night time is still fresh in my mind, where you can see a street of lights from afar. Those lights are from the fishermen, they will be staying there until early in the morning. And when the morning comes, there will be another batch of fishermen who will be out in the sea for fishing. Round the clock the sea provides a living for their family.
Today, there are still fishermen in my town but not as many as before. Most of the family depended now on employment, locally or abroad that offers much greater revenue than fishing. The reason for this is the development and advancement of technology. Our town now has become an industrial town.
I remember the song popularized by a local band, Asin, during my high school days. A part of the song goes like this,
“hindi na masama ang pag-unlad at malayu-layo na rin ang ating narating ngunit masdan mo ang tubig sa dagat dati'y kulay asul ngayo'y naging itim”.
(Advancement through development is not bad and we had achieved a lot, but look at the sea, the water that was once blue, are now polluted.)
The sea that once provides a living is still there. The fish is not gone but not as plenty as before. The family who still depends on fishing needs to go farther in hope of a bountiful catch.
It is also my dream that I can go out for fishing with my son. I want him to feel the joy that I felt when I had my first catch. He is five years old now and I hope that by the time that he reaches ten, we can go out to the sea on weekend and have fun fishing. I believe that the day for fishing is not gone and it will never be. The sea will always be there, the fish are waiting for our bait. And I hope we don’t have to go farther in order to catch one. Happy fishing everyone.
I am about nine years old when I first join with my father in his fishing trip. We use to borrow the boat of his “kumpare”, a friend of my father. He teaches me of how to properly handle the bait and wait for the fish to take it. And once the fish take the bait I have to pull it as hard and fast as I could. But since I am not yet that sensitive to fish bite, I would end up losing my catch most of the time. There are occasions that I am waiting for too long without knowing that I already have a catch. I am always reminded by my father to check on my bait and when I raised it up, there’s usually three fish dangling in my bait. It is because the fishing lines that we are using have three hooks attached to it.
I am always into a competition with my father when fishing. I used to separate my catch from my father’s catch. After fishing we will count our catch and whoever catches more fish is the winner. I remember beating my father only once, when I caught around seventy fish while he is five fish short. We had gone fishing for only four hours that day and we need to go back home immediately because the sea suddenly turns rough and a heavy rain is about to fall. But most of the time my father out do me in fishing.
Though most of the fisherman used to go out to the sea all night long, there is still a lot of fisherman who is out during day time. This is so because there are plenty of catch during those days. Even an inexperienced fisherman is assured of a good catch for the day.
The memory of a wonderful sight of the sea at night time is still fresh in my mind, where you can see a street of lights from afar. Those lights are from the fishermen, they will be staying there until early in the morning. And when the morning comes, there will be another batch of fishermen who will be out in the sea for fishing. Round the clock the sea provides a living for their family.
Today, there are still fishermen in my town but not as many as before. Most of the family depended now on employment, locally or abroad that offers much greater revenue than fishing. The reason for this is the development and advancement of technology. Our town now has become an industrial town.
I remember the song popularized by a local band, Asin, during my high school days. A part of the song goes like this,
“hindi na masama ang pag-unlad at malayu-layo na rin ang ating narating ngunit masdan mo ang tubig sa dagat dati'y kulay asul ngayo'y naging itim”.
(Advancement through development is not bad and we had achieved a lot, but look at the sea, the water that was once blue, are now polluted.)
The sea that once provides a living is still there. The fish is not gone but not as plenty as before. The family who still depends on fishing needs to go farther in hope of a bountiful catch.
It is also my dream that I can go out for fishing with my son. I want him to feel the joy that I felt when I had my first catch. He is five years old now and I hope that by the time that he reaches ten, we can go out to the sea on weekend and have fun fishing. I believe that the day for fishing is not gone and it will never be. The sea will always be there, the fish are waiting for our bait. And I hope we don’t have to go farther in order to catch one. Happy fishing everyone.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
MY FIRST SHARE
It’s been more than a year since I started to invest in the “stock market”. And I should say
that the return is satisfactory. My desire for investing started after I
read the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert
Kiyosaki.
At first I ask around through friends about the treasury bonds. Getting not so much information about treasury bonds, I shifted my attention
to mutual funds. I spend about five
months monitoring the mutual funds
through the NAVPS website. A mutual fund is a good “investment
scheme” because it is a pooled fund and your investment is managed by
the fund manager. This is good most especially if the investor don’t have much information on which share of stock they
should buy.
Then through some forum in the internet, the “stock market” got my attention.
I should say that my introduction to the “stock
market” is timely because of the recession. The stocks are all
undervalued at that time. It’s like entering into a market and all the goods
that are for sale are in a bargain price. Since I am new and I’m not familiar
with the real value of the shares in “stock
market”, I did found it hard which share I should be buying. To ensure
some profits I bought the company that is about to give “dividends”. At least
through “dividend” I can have an outright income.
There is a feeling of delight when finally I was able to buy
some shares with my initial investment of PHP25k. However, that feeling
suddenly change when the value of the share went down the following day and I
am losing 3% of my investment. And to make the situation worse, it
continue to go down on the first two weeks since I made my first purchase. I am
losing around 25% of my investment. There is a panic inside of me. What
if the price continues to go down in the coming days?
As I have learned, those losses are only paper loss as long
as you keep your share. But something inside of me, is asking, for how long you
want to keep it. I have to sell my share right away in order to minimize my
loss. But deep inside of me I want to keep my share, somehow the price can
still recover, and all I have to do is to wait. In about a month after my first
purchase, the share price of my stock started to recover. That’s the only time
that I got relieved and I am happy because I didn’t sell my share. I did
receive my “dividends” and earned more because my share continues to
appreciate.
I treasure that experience of holding on while my whole self
is in the panic. As Mr. Robert Kiyosaki
says in his book, we need to master our emotion. “Stock market” sentiment is volatile; when the “stock market” dives, it sinks
with your investments. So is your emotion. If you panic and sell your
share then that is the time that you had a real loss, but if you keep your
share, you will only have paper loss.
I let my wife to do the “stock trading” in our other
purchase, so she can also experience the same thing that I had felt. And when
she is in the panic mode I told her to hold on and do not sell. I shared to her
everything that I had learned from Mr. Robert
Kiyosakis’ book. And it’s good that she listens to me.
Now she’s doing most of our “stock trading” activity in the “stock market”. I just give her some
advice on which share to buy and which share to sell. We also kept on buying
the shares with “dividends”.
SISIW
“Pa, ibili mo ako ng sisiw.” (Papa, buy chicks for me.) That is the request of my five year old son to me during my vacation. I was so delighted by that request. It has been my desire to have poultry in our backyard, but my wife strongly disagrees with the idea. The number one reason is our son is asthmatic, second is our neighbor might complain of the unpleasant odor coming from the chicken dung.
I replied to that request of my son with a big “YES!” Luckily, my brother in law has a chicken cage that’s idle, so I took that after getting his permission to use it. Then we went right away to buy fifteen chicks. I let my kids to choose those fifteen chicks. You can see the joy in their eyes as they took turns in picking the chicks. After buying the chicks, my kids are too eager to go back home so they can start feeding them. But my wife needs to go and attend to her commitments, so I have to convince our kids to be patient and besides the chicks are not yet hungry.
My kids are a natural pet lover. I guess most of the kids are like that. We have that same nature when we were as young as them before. We got dogs, cats and birds as pets before. We even have turtles and “golden kuhol” (golden snail) as pets. Though I doubt you can call snail as pet. Anyhow we give too much care for them that’s why they become our pet.
Let’s go back to my kids. My kids, most especially my son, is not allowed to have pet, because of his condition, though he love it so much to have one. They only have a dog named “Patchi” in which my son used to kiss and hug whenever my wife is not around. They are contented of sharing with our neighbors pets from time to time because we cannot have more pets at home.
There is also one occasion that my kids spent all of their money in “pabunot” (this is a set of small rolled paper with number inside, if you get the same number as tagged in the prize, then you win that prize) in which the prize is a chick with different color, this is now popular most specially during the town fiesta. The man with the pabunot took pity to my kids because they didn’t win any prize at all, gave them one chick as a consolation. They are very happy at that consolation. They would carry the chick wherever they go. They would let the chick to sleep in their bed at night for fear that the cat might eat it. But since the chick is not designed to that lifestyle, it didn’t survive for another week.
Now that we just bought fifteen chicks, my son was so happy. He immediately calls all his “kalaro” (playmates) to show them his new pets. They began giving names to each chick. All the fifteen chicks got named in less than a minute. They even want to put a lace in each chick’s leg in order to identify them among the others but I told them that it is not possible. When evening time comes, my son told me to put the chicks inside our house. Maybe he is worried to leave them outside all night. I told him that they are safe because the cage is their home.
For the days onwards we would be spending our time watching the chicks grow. Every morning, my son, straight from his bed, would go to the cage to check on the chicks. My wife who used to disagree with this idea now enjoys spending time with the chicks. This becomes one of our bonding moment as we clean the cage of the dung, replace the feeds and the drinks of the chicks and we would record their weekly weight gain, one by one.
We even set up a place near the cage in which we can have our breakfast and lunch. Our auntie was so inspired by this idea that she also bought 10 chicks and give to her brother to raise. When I returned here in Libya the chicks are about three weeks old. I did missed them as well that I would regularly ask my wife of their weight improvement. They would even show one on the cam for me to see. I was so happy because all of the fifteen chickens did made it up to their 45th day, there was no casualty.
It was holiday in the Philippines, when the time comes to dispose the chicken and my kids are at home. They cried when they saw what’s being done to their pets. My son run to his bedroom and wept. My wife had a hard time explaining to him that it has to be done. That evening, my wife prepared chicken for dinner. The kids asked if that was their chicken. My wife says no, though it was.
Today my wife bought another fifteen chicks to raise just in time for her and our sons’ birthday celebration next month. I was surprised because she doesn’t want it before. She told me that she enjoy raising the chicken because time passes so quickly and that helps her a lot in coping with her longing for me. And unlike before that she thought it was so difficult raising the chicken, she told me, “Sisiw lang pala mag-alaga.”
I replied to that request of my son with a big “YES!” Luckily, my brother in law has a chicken cage that’s idle, so I took that after getting his permission to use it. Then we went right away to buy fifteen chicks. I let my kids to choose those fifteen chicks. You can see the joy in their eyes as they took turns in picking the chicks. After buying the chicks, my kids are too eager to go back home so they can start feeding them. But my wife needs to go and attend to her commitments, so I have to convince our kids to be patient and besides the chicks are not yet hungry.
My kids are a natural pet lover. I guess most of the kids are like that. We have that same nature when we were as young as them before. We got dogs, cats and birds as pets before. We even have turtles and “golden kuhol” (golden snail) as pets. Though I doubt you can call snail as pet. Anyhow we give too much care for them that’s why they become our pet.
Let’s go back to my kids. My kids, most especially my son, is not allowed to have pet, because of his condition, though he love it so much to have one. They only have a dog named “Patchi” in which my son used to kiss and hug whenever my wife is not around. They are contented of sharing with our neighbors pets from time to time because we cannot have more pets at home.
There is also one occasion that my kids spent all of their money in “pabunot” (this is a set of small rolled paper with number inside, if you get the same number as tagged in the prize, then you win that prize) in which the prize is a chick with different color, this is now popular most specially during the town fiesta. The man with the pabunot took pity to my kids because they didn’t win any prize at all, gave them one chick as a consolation. They are very happy at that consolation. They would carry the chick wherever they go. They would let the chick to sleep in their bed at night for fear that the cat might eat it. But since the chick is not designed to that lifestyle, it didn’t survive for another week.
Now that we just bought fifteen chicks, my son was so happy. He immediately calls all his “kalaro” (playmates) to show them his new pets. They began giving names to each chick. All the fifteen chicks got named in less than a minute. They even want to put a lace in each chick’s leg in order to identify them among the others but I told them that it is not possible. When evening time comes, my son told me to put the chicks inside our house. Maybe he is worried to leave them outside all night. I told him that they are safe because the cage is their home.
For the days onwards we would be spending our time watching the chicks grow. Every morning, my son, straight from his bed, would go to the cage to check on the chicks. My wife who used to disagree with this idea now enjoys spending time with the chicks. This becomes one of our bonding moment as we clean the cage of the dung, replace the feeds and the drinks of the chicks and we would record their weekly weight gain, one by one.
We even set up a place near the cage in which we can have our breakfast and lunch. Our auntie was so inspired by this idea that she also bought 10 chicks and give to her brother to raise. When I returned here in Libya the chicks are about three weeks old. I did missed them as well that I would regularly ask my wife of their weight improvement. They would even show one on the cam for me to see. I was so happy because all of the fifteen chickens did made it up to their 45th day, there was no casualty.
It was holiday in the Philippines, when the time comes to dispose the chicken and my kids are at home. They cried when they saw what’s being done to their pets. My son run to his bedroom and wept. My wife had a hard time explaining to him that it has to be done. That evening, my wife prepared chicken for dinner. The kids asked if that was their chicken. My wife says no, though it was.
Today my wife bought another fifteen chicks to raise just in time for her and our sons’ birthday celebration next month. I was surprised because she doesn’t want it before. She told me that she enjoy raising the chicken because time passes so quickly and that helps her a lot in coping with her longing for me. And unlike before that she thought it was so difficult raising the chicken, she told me, “Sisiw lang pala mag-alaga.”
Monday, August 16, 2010
I miss my baby Daren Joyce
Every night, my wife used to wait for me to have a chat on the internet. It is so because I have a limited internet connection. My internet connection starts at 4:00pm, that’s 10:00pm in the Philippines. And we can start chatting at 5:00pm, my local time. During the time that she's waiting for me to be available, she spend her time by scanning our pictures and she’s uploading it in the Facebook account of our daughter, Daren.
It happened one time that I open my Facebook account and I’ve noticed the update on my daughters’ account. I open and view her photo album. Inside are her photos when she was one year old, then when she turned two years old and so on. Also included in the album is our picture taken few days before I left for Libya. She was 1 year old and 3 months at that time. Viewing those pictures, all I can utter is, “I miss my baby Daren Joyce.” Yes, I really miss my daughter…. a lot. I miss when I am watching her taking her first step. How she falls and tries to get up again and walk. And when she finally made a few steps from me, she would look back to me and flash her sweet smile, as if saying, “Papa I can walk now, see.” I miss when she reaches out to me so I can carry her. I miss those times when we go to the beach, on how I run after as she makes her way to the water while her cousins are afraid.
There was a time that she even thought that she don’t have a father. She was almost two years old at that time. She went to her Mama and told her, “Why is it that the other kids have Papa, but for me, I don’t have one.” My wife told her that she got one but is working in Libya. Upon hearing that, she jumps and shouts, “Yehey, I have a Papa.” How I wish I am there to share with her that joyful moment.
During my first vacation, I was able to see in her eyes the pride of having a real Papa. Her joy at that time is at its peak. I remember the time when I was about to go back to Libya. She is sitting quietly besides me, watching me wrapping my luggage with masking tape. She was on tears when we finally say goodbye to each other. In order to lessen the loneliness they went to sleep. But when my daughter woke up, she immediately took all her toys and wrapped them with masking tape. My wife asked her, “What are you doing?” She replied without looking to her Mama, “We are going to Libya to be with Papa, he’s waiting for us.” It brought me to tears, when my wife told me that story. How I wish I can be with my family at that moment.
There a lot more wonderful story of my daughter, some of them captured through the pictures and sad to say I was not there. Now our daughter is 10 years old. Time really passed by so quickly and I missed her growing up.
To my Daren Joyce, I miss you so much, anak. My promise, before you enter high school, I will be there to be with you, to be with Mama and to be with your brother, Isko. I love you.
It happened one time that I open my Facebook account and I’ve noticed the update on my daughters’ account. I open and view her photo album. Inside are her photos when she was one year old, then when she turned two years old and so on. Also included in the album is our picture taken few days before I left for Libya. She was 1 year old and 3 months at that time. Viewing those pictures, all I can utter is, “I miss my baby Daren Joyce.” Yes, I really miss my daughter…. a lot. I miss when I am watching her taking her first step. How she falls and tries to get up again and walk. And when she finally made a few steps from me, she would look back to me and flash her sweet smile, as if saying, “Papa I can walk now, see.” I miss when she reaches out to me so I can carry her. I miss those times when we go to the beach, on how I run after as she makes her way to the water while her cousins are afraid.
There was a time that she even thought that she don’t have a father. She was almost two years old at that time. She went to her Mama and told her, “Why is it that the other kids have Papa, but for me, I don’t have one.” My wife told her that she got one but is working in Libya. Upon hearing that, she jumps and shouts, “Yehey, I have a Papa.” How I wish I am there to share with her that joyful moment.
During my first vacation, I was able to see in her eyes the pride of having a real Papa. Her joy at that time is at its peak. I remember the time when I was about to go back to Libya. She is sitting quietly besides me, watching me wrapping my luggage with masking tape. She was on tears when we finally say goodbye to each other. In order to lessen the loneliness they went to sleep. But when my daughter woke up, she immediately took all her toys and wrapped them with masking tape. My wife asked her, “What are you doing?” She replied without looking to her Mama, “We are going to Libya to be with Papa, he’s waiting for us.” It brought me to tears, when my wife told me that story. How I wish I can be with my family at that moment.
There a lot more wonderful story of my daughter, some of them captured through the pictures and sad to say I was not there. Now our daughter is 10 years old. Time really passed by so quickly and I missed her growing up.
To my Daren Joyce, I miss you so much, anak. My promise, before you enter high school, I will be there to be with you, to be with Mama and to be with your brother, Isko. I love you.
LOVE
Last night I had a chance to watch once again the program Love in Asia, on KBS World, a Korean channel. It is actually a story of Koreans who is married to a South East Asian wife. Somehow the wives are already fluent in speaking in Hangul, the Korean native language, when their story is featured in the program.
I was touched when they tell their story on how they had endured to adopt the culture of their husband. Their struggle in dealing with their in-laws and the number one hindrance is the communication because they don’t speak their language at that time. There is also a segment in the program that the couple together with their kids is given a chance to visit the wife’s native country. This is the most touching moment because the woman who’s been separated to her parent got a chance to meet them once again even for a short period of time. You can really feel the excitement in her face as they approach their village. The tight embrace given to her parents, who from her eyes suddenly got a lot older because of the long time of separation and the tears that are freely flowing from their eyes can really melts someone’s heart. It’s a joyful reunion that every family members, neighbor and friends will gather for the night to welcome her and her family.
It is also inspiring to see how the husband deals with his in-laws. This is in a way to let the husband understand how his wife had undergone such a difficulty when she is adjusting to his culture. Even though he cannot communicate with his in-laws, it is his action of love for them that do the talking and the message is well received on the other end.
I really enjoy watching this program whenever I had a chance, because my wife had that same experience of long time of separation. Her family lives in Zamboanga City, Southern part of the Philippines, while my family is in Bataan, Central region of Luzon. I remember when I first met my in-laws, that was during our wedding. I cannot forget that moment when they hug each other. Time seems to stop at that very moment. You cannot just see but feel from them that longing from each other. My wife left for Manila when she was 12 years old and after 11 years of separation they meet once again.
Through the program I can’t help but to really appreciate my wife more and more. Being alone with no other immediate family member of her own, she somehow managed to endure the hardship of dealing with in-laws. And it is all because of LOVE.
Going back to the program, once again they have shown that love really conquer every barrier, because it has no boundaries at all. And I agree with the host parting words, “I LOVE YOU, is the most beautiful words that can be utter in any language.” And to my wife let me tell you this once again, I LOVE YOU TART.
I was touched when they tell their story on how they had endured to adopt the culture of their husband. Their struggle in dealing with their in-laws and the number one hindrance is the communication because they don’t speak their language at that time. There is also a segment in the program that the couple together with their kids is given a chance to visit the wife’s native country. This is the most touching moment because the woman who’s been separated to her parent got a chance to meet them once again even for a short period of time. You can really feel the excitement in her face as they approach their village. The tight embrace given to her parents, who from her eyes suddenly got a lot older because of the long time of separation and the tears that are freely flowing from their eyes can really melts someone’s heart. It’s a joyful reunion that every family members, neighbor and friends will gather for the night to welcome her and her family.
It is also inspiring to see how the husband deals with his in-laws. This is in a way to let the husband understand how his wife had undergone such a difficulty when she is adjusting to his culture. Even though he cannot communicate with his in-laws, it is his action of love for them that do the talking and the message is well received on the other end.
I really enjoy watching this program whenever I had a chance, because my wife had that same experience of long time of separation. Her family lives in Zamboanga City, Southern part of the Philippines, while my family is in Bataan, Central region of Luzon. I remember when I first met my in-laws, that was during our wedding. I cannot forget that moment when they hug each other. Time seems to stop at that very moment. You cannot just see but feel from them that longing from each other. My wife left for Manila when she was 12 years old and after 11 years of separation they meet once again.
Through the program I can’t help but to really appreciate my wife more and more. Being alone with no other immediate family member of her own, she somehow managed to endure the hardship of dealing with in-laws. And it is all because of LOVE.
Going back to the program, once again they have shown that love really conquer every barrier, because it has no boundaries at all. And I agree with the host parting words, “I LOVE YOU, is the most beautiful words that can be utter in any language.” And to my wife let me tell you this once again, I LOVE YOU TART.
When someone's praying for you
There are numerous times that I received a request from a friend of mine asking me to include them in my prayers. My answer to them is always a, “Yes I will”. Even my wife asks me more than a couple of time to pray for something in which I did so willingly.
I have to admit that I am not strong when it comes to prayer. This is one aspect of my life that I need to develop. It is because whenever I pray, I got a lot of destruction. There are a lot of things that pops out in my mind during prayer. I also tried praying without closing my eyes and I found out that there’s less destruction. Those things that keep on popping out in my mind are all gone. The only destructions are the things around me but somehow I can manage to control some of them during my prayer. I also pray in a manner that as if I am just talking to a person beside me. In this way I can express a lot more things that I need to pray for.
As I see it personally, prayer is like a skill within our self that needs honing. We need to make it a habit to pray every day. It is through prayer that we can voice out to our Heavenly Father even our inner most desire.
It is also a delightful experience whenever I am hearing testimonies of answered prayer. It is a proof that God listens to our prayer and He grants our request. But the most wonderful feeling is when I have learned that someone is praying for me. I cannot express the feeling when I read the passage below:
Dear jon,
Thank God for your loved ones this Sunday.
Praying for you,
Bo Sanchez
That simple phrase above sends an overwhelming feeling inside of me. I felt the strength to move forward and give me hope for the day. I started to feel this way when I joined the Kerygma family of Bro. Bo Sanchez. They are sending inspiration on a daily basis to my email account together with prayer. This prayer, even in its simplest form, really touched my heart and I know it’s the same thing with anyone else. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that someone is praying for you every day. Amen.
I have to admit that I am not strong when it comes to prayer. This is one aspect of my life that I need to develop. It is because whenever I pray, I got a lot of destruction. There are a lot of things that pops out in my mind during prayer. I also tried praying without closing my eyes and I found out that there’s less destruction. Those things that keep on popping out in my mind are all gone. The only destructions are the things around me but somehow I can manage to control some of them during my prayer. I also pray in a manner that as if I am just talking to a person beside me. In this way I can express a lot more things that I need to pray for.
As I see it personally, prayer is like a skill within our self that needs honing. We need to make it a habit to pray every day. It is through prayer that we can voice out to our Heavenly Father even our inner most desire.
It is also a delightful experience whenever I am hearing testimonies of answered prayer. It is a proof that God listens to our prayer and He grants our request. But the most wonderful feeling is when I have learned that someone is praying for me. I cannot express the feeling when I read the passage below:
Dear jon,
Thank God for your loved ones this Sunday.
Praying for you,
Bo Sanchez
That simple phrase above sends an overwhelming feeling inside of me. I felt the strength to move forward and give me hope for the day. I started to feel this way when I joined the Kerygma family of Bro. Bo Sanchez. They are sending inspiration on a daily basis to my email account together with prayer. This prayer, even in its simplest form, really touched my heart and I know it’s the same thing with anyone else. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that someone is praying for you every day. Amen.
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