Child of God

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We are AMO
a fun-loving cheerful group of L9s
from the Church of Holy Spirit
a Catholic parish in Singapore
This blog journals our mission trip
to Bicol in the Philippines

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3:42 PM



More than 15 gigs of photos and lots of headaches later, here's our so-called "offical" mission trip photo-video in three parts, no thanks to our non-cooperating software. Great songs accompany the video. Only part 1 is in Youtube, but all are in Facebook.

Part I


Part II


Part III

6 comments

6:50 PM



Hello everyone. Glen here, so sorry but it's way way easier to give information through the posts that the small tagboard. so here's the deal about the pictures, I currently only have the pictures which i got from people till the day of the closing party over at Bicol itself. so to all those who had cameras with pictures inside from either the entire trip or from where i left off. please do find a way to pass to me your photos either via a thumbdrive or a SD memory card.

If you'd like, i'll be attending the Christmas Midnight Mass at church. You can pass me your photos then too. just text me to tell me where i can meet you to get your photos, and i'll return it to you the following Sunday where i'll probably be in the Catechist's Room in the morning.

Next thing, If you want the photos. you'll need to inform me about it at least one week in advance. because there's really that many photos. and i only have so many DVD-Rs to spare. if i put all the photos together. it'll probably take up about 5-6 discs for all the photos to go in. [you are welcome to you know, help out with the funding. :p] so do give me some time to put it into the discs.

so far, people who've responded to wanting the photos are....
Uncle Al, Sam Pang, Melissa, Kevin Ke, Ivan, Michelle. Jacintha, Sarah Mao, Jonathan, Kelly, Rae, Daniel, Jamie, Sister Angeline, Bhing and Professor Lani [i have no idea how i'm gonna pass you the photos though.]

i'll keep this post updated if anything else comes up.

God Bless!

[edit!] Liz gave me an idea. If you guys have like, thumb drives or external hard drives that have at least 25Gb worth of space. you can pass it to me too and i'll upload there. I can't pass around my hard drive as there's some private information inside. :D and no, there's no pornographic material involved. just personal writings. [/edit]
3 comments

6:23 PM



Uncle Al writes:

The L908 mission (Alpha Mission Omega) returned safely to Singapore early this morning just minutes before 1 am, but not before an hour's delay in Manila's super cold Terminal 3. After a fun three and a half hour flight aboard Cebu Pacific, we landed in Singapore, and were met at the Budget Terminal by parents, friends and relatives. I couldn't help the sense of joy and relief among those who met us at the airport. After all, we're home, safe and sound, never mind if it's at that unholy hour.

For those of us who took a leap of faith and heeded God's call, this mission trip will be a momentous event that we will cherish all our lives.

As mission leader, I would like to thank the adults who joined us in this mission: Sr Angeline Lim, our spiritual director who always calmed us and made us aware of God's providence whenever we were down and troubled; Amy Lim, head of the faith formation ministries who was an able whipmaster whenever I am unable to do so; parents Richard Seow, Juliana Tan and David Koh for their invaluable assistance in keeping us well-fed and happy throughout; Jamie Bong, an RCIY catechist and one of the stewards of the junior catechist ministry, whose dedication and servant-attitude should be a role model for everyone; and Anthony Tann, whose presence and contributions made a lot of difference in looking after the well-being of the group.

I would also like to give this affirmation to all our youths who participated in this mission. You wholehearted participation was commendable, and your parents and our parish priest should be proud of you. But let me mention a few names for their exemplary conduct and leadership qualities, their dedication to the tasks assigned to them, their willingness to serve and not to be served: Glen Koh, Mark Lee, Timothy Low, Brian Chin, Jonathan Chng, Nicholas Neo, Samantha Chia, Kelly Tseng.
I would also like to thank the parents and friends who kept our spirits up by posting positive messages and affirmations in this blog throughout the mission trip. Those meant a great deal to us here while we were away, and we thank you for that.

To everyone in Bicol who helped us, and everyone everywhere who prayed for our well-being of the success of our mission trip - thank you, and may God bless you abundantly.

Thanks everyone, for the opportunity. It was a privilege serving you. And thanks Bicol for being there. It was a joy being there, too.

What exactly did we bring to Bicol? Yes, we brought supplies, books etc etc. But what really was important for the children there was our presence in the mission areas, our smiles, and our time spent with them. So, to our teens: never mind if you drew that line off centre. Never mind that you painted the wall a shade darker than required. Never mind if you forgot to bring extra Milos and biscuits. Never mind that you sang that song dissonantly. Never mind if you spoke so fast like a the MRT that the local kids didn't understand you or the local kids thought you were an idiot. Never mind if you woke up late, or clogged the toilets, or wore the wrong t-shirt. Or you came up late for prayers and meals. Or you made a nuisance of yourselves, whether at the dorm, at the mission areas, or at the airports. Never mind if we were off-key a little bit during the Mass on Dec 14. Never mind.

For from the classrooms of the town, to the little houses of Tagaytay, to the devastated landscape of Masarawag to the far-flung hills and vales of Dona Mercedes, you made the children smile and laugh and feel loved by a people from another part of the world. You brought joy to them, even for a moment. You saw how they welcomed you, and valued your company. And they saw the love and mercy and compassion of God in you.

We painted and sort of refurbished the Dona Mercedes chapel in 3 days. Jesus died and was resurrected after 3 days. Remember his promise that he would build God's temple in three days?

This has been a post-confirmation mission trip that will be etched in our memories forever, not just because of what we have experienced, but also because of the circumstances that surrounded it, and the blessings that God has bestowed upon it.

To God be the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
5 comments

6:11 AM



This is our last blog from Bicol as we are due to leave the hostel about 10.30 am to be ferried to Legaspi City airport so we can make it for the 1.40pm Cebu Pacific flight to Manila. Then it's a super-layover in Manila as we wait for our 8.30 flight back to Singapore. We're going home!

But leaving this place that has become so dear to each and everyone of us (in individually different ways) during our short stint has been difficult. We'll be leaving behind wonderful children who so welcomed us with open hands and cheerful smiles. At Guinobatan East and West, Masarawag, Republic Academy, Tagaytay, Pamasan and Dona Mercedes. Even the teenagers at St Benedict's Academy whom we serenaded in a carolling. Even Mrs Camba, the old lady whom we visited for a carolling session. Lola Kikay, the 98 year-old lady in Dona Mercedes. And then the volunteers, who so gave their time and efforts for this mission. We'll also be leaving behind the Bicol University College of Agriculture and Forestry's campus, which was home to us for two weeks and gave us the physical security that we needed.

We will miss the stunning countryside scenery, particularly at dusk. The imposing presence of Mayon Volcano. The beautiful moonlit and starry nights.

Each of us who went to this mission - from the mission leaders, to the parent chaperones, to the teenagers themselves - have a story to tell when we get back home.  And I am sure these stories would inspire many more of our parishioners and teenagers to get out of their comfort zone and drop their preconceived biases about places they actually know little or nothing about, and go out and tell. If you are looking for your purpose in life, fellow teenager, seek no longer. God wants us to Go Out And Tell.

Already, some of the boys in this L908 group have committed to help plan and organise and actually accompany another mission trip to Bicol next year. They say they would do it whether or not the next batch of L9s would also go to Bicol.  To me, that is one big achievement of this mission trip: we have managed to arouse among our youth the desire to go on a mission outside the comforts of their homes. There's so much that they can do, and their impact would be great. Even the priests at the Assumption Parish have acknowledged their potential.

We have already thanked everyone who helped us in this mission - our very supportive parish community, our families and friends, our support teams both in Singapore and Bicol. We thank them again here. And we hope that the young volunteers who received our scholarships - Debralyn, Elvie, Joel, Jhonel and Windel - will use their scholarship money (which, at 5,000php each isn't really much) to facilitate their education.

We also thank God for the many blessings and  miracles that he has bestowed to this mission trip.

We will miss Bicol. Mayon. Guinobatan. The children. Legaspi. Halo-halo. The ubiquitous tricyle. We will forever be haunted by the sight of the lost village of Maipon. But some of us may venture to come back. And who knows, some of us may venture to go forth elsewhere to go out and tell the good news.

In a few minutes, the teenagaers will be up and about, making their last minute preparations and packing. Then it's going to be a quick breakfast, then a final briefing from Uncle Al. And off we go.

To God Be the Glory.
2 comments

8:06 PM




With the Chapel filled to the rafters, the session started promptly at 5 pm, and what followed next was a series of spirit-filled songs that warmed the hearts both of the performers and the audience. While the audience sang along with the group when familiar carols such as Silent Night, Holy Night, Joy to the World and O Come All Ye Faithful were being sung, they tried hard to learn the lyrics of "new" songs such as By The Star, From A King, One Small Child, and Gentle Mary. There were many tears in the eyes of the villagers as we sang By the Star. We ended the session with A Christmas Wish, which was followed by our prayer song, Receive the Power. We ended with our signature song, Go Out and Tell. And thus ended our Guinobatan mission.

Earlier in the day, we completed the refurbishing of the chapel.
It pretty much included the repainting of the entire external structure, internal walls, sanctuary and scrubbing the floor, setting up ladders, and fetching water from the stream below -- a full three-day commitment. It was this single project in the entire mission that all had a hand in. And it was not a simple task to do. The result was a chapel that was ready for the village's Christmas services -- indeed a beautiful gift to the people of Dona Mercedes.

Still, much has to be done to repair the damage done by the natural disasters to the faith of the people here. While our coming filled the chapel to the rafters, regular services do not attract as many people. In fact, after our caroling, there was supposed to be a communion service, but the chapel's 8 pews were hardly occupied. Perhaps if we were given a chance to stay longer in a village like Dona Mercedes, we would be able to help to transform that  -- energise the youths and families there, as well as the lay minister who could do with a more dynamic approach to animating a community like this one.
 
We also completed our three-day programme for the barrio's kindergarten and elementary schools. But more need to be done to these little schools in the mountain. The library and toilet facilities for the students were hardly adequate, while the brave teachers were simply trying to do their best in such circumstances. Also needing a relook are the type of pop dance steps being taught to kids as young as 7 years old. Some of these steps were ore suitable for the bars of Manila and Bangkok -- something which amused our young missionaries no end.  

The village trekking teams also completed their three day tour of duty, thus bringing Christmas cheers to some of the most far-flung hamlets of this small Philippine town. In all, we visited 100 far flung houses, negotiating mountains and rivers. During the final day, we sent everybody out turn by turn to get everyone to see how the people in the villages and hamlets lived, and how they made do with simple things in life to survive.

A sore sticking point, however, was our cow donation. It was perhaps the first ever donation in the entire world which the donor didn't see. All we saw of it was an image in someone's cellphone claiming that it was the cow that we donated. It was reported that it was still walking on the way from Jovellar town, led by its previous owners. It was due to arrive at 5pm, but by the time our caroling was over - at 5.45, there was still no cow in sight.

But we finally had a positive visual of the cow when Sr Angeline, together with Anthony and Prof Pavilando, went up to Dona Mercedes the following morning to receive the cow. we have decided to call it "Lizzie the Cow".

The important thing is that we have just made a giant leap of faith in our young life - to go out and tell beyond the comfort of our homes, not just in Judaea and Samaria, but also to the ends of the earth.

We will let the individual blogs of some of our young missionaries tell their stories, and their facebooks and friendsters give a visual element to what they have done in this Bicol trip.

Meanwhile, please pray for us as we begin to make preparations to our long journey home. There are still some outstanding business Thursday, like a little party in Guinobatan East School, a little outing to Legaspi in the afternoon for some late shopping, and hosting the volunteers in a closing dinner in the evening.

Glory be to the father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
7 comments

10:42 PM



Day 2 in Dona Mercedes, was pretty much the same as Day 1, with a difference: work on the chapel was nearly completed under the stewardship of Kenneth Toi, while the teams running the kindergarten and elementary schools (led by Jamie Bong and Timothy Low) were beginning to communicate more effectively with the young people. The outreach team, led by Jonathan Chng and Mark Lee, respectively, continued their delivery of supplies and relief goods in the far-flung hamlets, making morning and afternoon rounds of 10 houses each.  Unfortunately, Jonathan was unwell in the afternoon that he was not able to continue leading his team. She was replaced by Jamie Bong.

There are many more stories to be told about this day, like how the outreach team led by Mark (and included Samantha Chia and Glen Koh, accompanied by Uncle Al), practiced their christmas carols along the way, stumbled upon a house with a karaoke set where they had a whale of a time singing, sang carols and checked blood pressure in several houses that they visited, strayed into Camalig town, and trekked for over an hour before reaching their first house in the afternoon. They also had a bonus: they passed by two waterfalls, including the Busay falls, which is supposed to be one of the more famous ones in teh region.

Jamie's group, which also included Bryan Chin and Cecilia Mahimy (Michelle Looi had dropped out in the afternoon to help out in the chapel), accompanied by Uncle Anthony, came across a 99 year-old woman who was overjoyed because nobody ever visits her.

The trekking groups saw how hard life in the mountains was.  Jamie and the rest of the trekkers would be able to tell their stories in their respective blogs.

Another inspiring one was that of a villager who saw his reflection on the marble-tiled sanctuary in the chapel. Apparently, nobody has ever cleaned the sanctuary the way Justin Chan had cleaned it up inch by inch, layer by layer.
 
The team left Dona Mercedes by 4.30pm and motored off to St Benedicts Academy for an early evening carolling with Sr Analisa and the students, including some interaction. It was back to hostel by 6.00pm, and dinner as usual at 6.30. Night prayer was led by Glen at 9.00. It was pretty much slack for the rest of the night, with a big twist: lights down was set at 11.00. Sigh. But it was for our own good, as the next day promises to be our toughest day yet at Dona Mercedes.

Meanwhile, Jonathan was put into the sick bay, and is recovering well from the flu, while Sr Angeline had Pamela Tay have a warm bath also at the sick bay, so that she won't aggaravate her sore throat.
Planning for the Farewell/Thanksgiving Dinner is also underway, with Gerald Joseph, Jacintha Tan, Michelle Looi and Cecilia Mahimy plotting the entire programme. What a programme it is going to be. And three students from Republic Academy will be awarded scholarships!!!

Before I end this blog, I must report this heart-warming incident at Guinobatan East School while we were on the way to Dona Mercedes. Mark Lee, Timothy Low and Brian Chin asked the jeep driver to stop for a while, while they got down to seek out the Gr V-Special Class that they had lessons with. Apparently the class was having a Christmas Party on Thursday and they had invited us to come for their party. So our guys wanted to know the time. The guys saw the class doing some gardening work, and seemed oblivious to the Holy Spirit boys' approach. Then one girl looked in their direction, and on recognising Timothy, screamed out: "Timothy", and the rest of the class looked up and the single voice was followed by a joyous cacophony of  childish joy. They dropped their tools, and ran and approached our boys. You should have seen the faces of those kids - and the reaction of our boys. Such was the impact our boys have made in this little town.

Continue to pray for us as we wind up our mission on Wednesday.
2 comments

11:12 PM



The day's activities and the lack of computers in our HQ didn't give us enough time to upload pictures and do an exhaustive blog about today's events. So this is going to be short and sweet. We'll just post the most of the pictures later; otherwise just follow your friends' facebook.

We motored in 2 jeeps to the barrio of Dona Mercedes at about 8am. We reached the barrio at about 8.45am to a rapturous welcome from students and teachers -- a welcome which gave new meaning to the word "short" as the welcome was super long (more than 2 hours!!!), with lots of Bicol and Philippine culture and traditions on display. There were no less than four dances presented, three songs, and we also contributed our own number. We performed a series of praise songs. And the Majullah Singapura reverberated across the mountain barrio when we sang Zubir Said's obra maestra upon the request of the school.

Later on, we split ourselves into four groups: the kindergarten group, the elementary school group (2 sub-groups), the painting froup, and the outreach group (2 sub-groups).

Each of the outreach groups managed to reach their target of bringing relief supplies to 10 houses in the Dona Mercedes wilderness. Meanwhile, the chapel group made great strides in repainting the chapel the little house of worship. The school groups, however had difficulty communicating with the local children in English but were helped immensely by the Bicol University volunteers who were on hand once again.

We had a hearty lunch, with bananas and fresh coconuts thrown in.

Our mission group left at 4pm via the same jeeps that fetched us, and had dinner at 6.30pm.

We closed the night with carolling sessions at Mrs Fidencia Camba's house and Jeanalyn Conde's house in Calzada, and made our way back to the hostel by 10, beating the town's 10pm curfew for teenagers with one minute to spare.

We will continue with our Dona Mercedes mission on Tuesday and hope to finish what we want to do by Wednesday.

This is all for now, and please continue to play for us even as we begin to make our countdown for our departure on Friday.
3 comments

9:58 PM



In this entry, we are not going to talk about any storm as there are far more glorious news we’d like to share with you today.


Last night was one of those nights when the skies were crystal clear as far as the eyes can see. The moon rose above Mayon Volcano in a fresco so surreal that one could only look and stare in awe of God’s wonder. How great indeed is our God, and how wonderful is his creation.

But there was a tinge of sadness after the rosary session later on. Who wouldn’t be, when nine of our team were going home early the next morning. I could sense it in everyone. Our valued vanguards of the kitchen – Auntie Juliana and Uncle Richard, the dependable presence of Anne Tan, the cheerfulness and the smile of Samantha Pang, the inner strength of Nicholas Neo, the innocence of Frederick Tan, the intellect of Elizabeth Kow, the dependability of Sarah Mao, and the quiet simplicity of Cheng Yee Kei.

Our nine mission comrades left our hostel shortly before 6am aboard a 24-seater jeepney, accompanied by Pamela Tay and Prof Pavilando. Pamela later reported that their flight left Legazpi airport ontime and they should be well on their to Singapore by the time you read this blog.

As for those who remained behind to continue our work, we had breakfast shortly after the nine-man team departed, and proceeded to the Assumption parish. We reached the church just before 8am, just before the 8am Bicol mass started. We ran through the songs, and the liturgy, and met up with Sr Anna Lisa of St Benedict Academy who helped us in our set up. It was funny though that she repeated called Uncle Al as “Fr Al” consistently.

Sarah Tan was the commentator, and proudly announced the significance of Gaudete Sunday. We opened with Gather Us In, with Glen Koh and Daniel Seow assisting as altar servers in the Mass, and Samantha Chia and Jonathan Chng proclaiming the Word of God. They were all part of the entrance procession, with Fr Ben Abuelo presiding.

Brian Chin and Jamie Bong did a beautiful and inspiring interpretation of the Magnificat as the psalm, while Brian sang Alleluia.

The offertory procession included our own youths – Ivan Lam and Geraldine Mark – who offered a basketball and the Faith At Work booklet as a symbol of the vigour of our Holy Spirit Youth. We sang By the Waking of Our Hearts for the procession.

Sarah read the intercessions with a distinct Filipino accent. For the communion hymn, we sang Shepherd of My Heart, which is one of the most memorable songs of this journey for many reasons. And to round off the celebration, we finished off with “Go Out and Tell”.

Before the mass began we told Fr Ben that the congregation may not be able to sing the songs and mass parts we were singing. But he said we should not worry because participation at mass was in the heart and mind and the way people internalise the lyrics of whatever we were singing, not whether people can sing the songs or not.

Anyway, what Fr Ben said proved prophetic as Sr Ana Liza – the liturgy planner – came up to us and said the songs we prepared were very apt for the liturgy of the day and very inspiring.

After Mass, Fr Ben invited us to talk to their confirmation candidates who were due to be confirmed on Dec 22. So we sang a couple of songs for them, then Daniel Seow, Glen Koh, Sarah Tan and Timothy Low shared with them their confirmation journey. The candidates were listless and seemed uncomfortable. Then Uncle Al closed it by speaking to them in their own language, and led the singing of “Malo Malo” as well as the thanksgiving song “Give Thanks” which brought tears to the eyes of their candidates. Later on, Fr Ben told uncle Al that the parish might relook into its confirmation programme after seeing how we have done it at the Church of the Holy Spirit and after having seen our confirmands in action – fearless and spirit-filled witnesses to the Gospel.

It was back to the hostel by noon for lunch. After that we split into several groups. One group lead by Kelly motored to Dona Mercedes for their recce. Uncle Al went back to the convent to give a short liturgy music worshop for the liturgy planners there, while the rest either stayed back at the hostel or helped Amy and Sr Angeline do the marketing for breakfast.

The night ended early after carolling practice with supper prepared by Uncle David and Sr Angeline.

Our phase II has begun.

Please continue to pray for us – that our mission may affect the lives of the people here as much as it has already affected ours, and that we are delivered from any harm.

Meanwhile, Pamela reports about the departure of the nine:

Uh. Hello everyone!

Lucky for me, I was chosen to be the one to send them off. Although at first I was all 'How in the WORLD will I wake up?' when I was told that we were leaving at 5.15am, somehow, that was not a problem at all. Many of us were awake by then, and the day started with melodramatic goodbye scenes (for example, shouts of 'Don't leave me!' while doing theatrical reach out to each other poses).

I am guilty to admit that I was kinda hoping that their flight would be delayed for a few days. Oops?


4 comments

5:10 PM



It was a beautiful sunny day with a cool breeze on the missionary youth's day out of the hostel. But first things first -- the storm.


The tropical storm will enter the Philippine area of responsibility this evening and was 1,130 east of Bicol as at 4 pm today. Get your google earth and zoom in to coordinates 13.9°N, 135.5°E to have a visual of the location. International name is Dolphin, but it will be known as Ulysses in the Philippines.

According to the weather bureau here, Ulysses has intensified to 85km/h  near its centre, with maximum gusts of 100km/h, and moving westwards towards Bicol at 19km/h.

Again, looking at your google earth, please look for Virac, Philippines. The storm is forecast to be 760km east of this town Sunday afternoon;  490km east by Monday afternoon, and 390km east by Tuesday.

Authorities have so far not raised any public storm signals.

Meanwhile, our party of 9 missionary youths and parents are still scheduled to fly back home on Sunday. Please pray for their safe passage.

It was a relatively light day for everybody today. We visited four churches - the Assumption Parish in Guinobatan, the 400 year-old St John the Baptist Parish in Camalig, the 300 year-old Our Lady of the Gate parish in Daraga, and the St Gregory's Cathedral in Legazpi City where our young people bought loads of religious and gift items for their loved ones at home.

At the Lady of the Gate Parish in Daraga, near Legazpi City
 
The rest of the day was spent at the city's Pacific Mall, where the young ones had a fiesta at Jollibee, a field day buying up every shoe that they can lay their hands on, as well as hoarding 3 guitars from the music store.
 
We were back at the hostel by 5pm.
 
The party leaving for home on Sunday are due to attend mass (in Bicol language) at 6pm Saturday evening. They are expected back in Singapore by 11.55pm.
 
Please pray for us as we serve the 9am Mass in English tomorrow.
2 comments

7:24 AM




For: Tropical Storm (DOLPHIN) {0822}
Issued at 4:30 p.m., 12 December 2008

THE TROPICAL STORM OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN WITH INTERNATIONAL NAME (DOLPHIN){0822} WAS ESTIMATED AT 1,600 KM EAST OF BICOL REGION (13.6°N, 140.2°E) WITH MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS OF 65 KPH AND GUSTINESS OF UP TO 80 KPH. IT IS FORECAST TO MOVE WEST AT 19 KPH. THIS WEATHER DISTURBANCE IS EXPECTED TO GAIN MORE STRENGTH BEFORE IT ENTERS THE PHILIPPINE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (PAR) BY LATE TOMORROW. THIS WEATHER SYSTEM WILL START TO AFFECT BICOL REGION AND EASTERN VISAYAS STARTING LATE MONDAY AND BRING SCATTERED TO WIDESPREAD RAINS.

LIKEWISE, THE DIFFUSED TAIL-END OF COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO PERSIST UNTIL TOMORROW OVER SOUTHERN LUZON AND BRING FREQUENT RAINS PARTICULARLY THE PROVINCES OF QUEZON, CAMARINES NORTE, CAMARINES SUR, ALBAY, SORSOGON, MASBATE AND CATANDUANES.

RESIDENTS ALONG THESE AREAS ARE ADVISED TO TAKE ALL THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES.

THE NEXT UPDATE WILL BE ISSUED AT 5:00 PM TOMORROW (SATURDAY).

Al's note: By 8am, it should be about 1,480 kms east of Bicol. Please continue to pray for our mission trip, even as we continue to take all necessary precautions.
2 comments

12:27 AM



Friday's outreach in Tagaytay was another day full of miracles.

It started with great uncertainty with news of a storm looming, and accentuated by a downpour throughout the night till the early hours of the morning. But the early morning prayer conducted by Sr Angeline and Uncle Al's pep talk and honest updates on the typhoon calmed all fears and reassured everyone of God's ever-continuing protection.

A hearty Singaporean breakfast of bread and curry and coffee, prayers, and lots of waiting characterised the first part of the morning. It was raining when we took the bus for Tagaytay, but the sky gradually cleared and the downpour stopped. After a scenic but rough journey via Mauraro and Danao, we reached the disaster resettlement centre of Tagaytay. We were welcomed by the homeowners' association president, Mrs Marilyn Napay, and hundreds of children.


We set up our equipment on arrival, tried to understand the place and buckled down to work with our array of activities - games, party songs, praise and worship, stories, or simply making contact with the young children.

After lunch we split ourselves into two groups - one for praise and worship and entertainment with the children, and the other went to fetch water for the residents. 

The praise and worship team worked really well with the children, teaching them action songs and reaching out to them with a variety of songs and games. The other group found out how difficult it was to fetch water to the households. First we had to fill our pails with water by getting the liquid from an artesian well.Then we had to lug the pails to the various households, by negotiating the steep slippery slopes. But we got to see how their 4m x 4m houses looked like, how basic their necessities are, and generally appreciated how they lived.
It was really inspiring to know how these people - victims of natural calamities in 2006 - are rebuilding their lives and getting on with it. Some residents have evens set up their little domestic cottage industries, producing handicraft and souvenir items. The materials they produced were so nice and cheap that we went on a shopping spree.

After fetching water, the second group joined the first and interacted with the villagers. ‘Many of them were like little small smurfs, all of which were so cute!’ said Melissa Chan, a member of our mission group. Many of us found the time to buy souvenirs as there was a major change in plan.

We continued playing with the kids while another group led by volunteers Mark Monatnez and Abon Suataron set up games. Eventually, they ran out of prizes to give away such that Uncle David and Uncle Al had to raid a little provision store and bought everything they can lay their hands on which can be used a prizes.

Just before our departure, some of went to the top of the Tagaytay hill to watch the sunset. Overall it was a great success as our last image of Tagaytay were the small smiling faces of the little kids as we rode into the sunset back to home base.

After dinner, our Bicol volunteers, again led by Abon and Mark Montanez, set up a camp fire outside the university's auditorium. It was probably one of the best campfires we have ever participated in. Anne Tan led us throughout the two-hour campfire, which featured praise and worship, campfire songs and some songs performed by uncles Anthony and Al. At first, we thought the campfire was going to be a non-event as there was a slight drizzle and there were rain clouds above us. I suppose, we were simply a people of little faith when it came to these things, as in the middle of the campfire, the clouds cleared, the rain stopped, and the December full moon came into view. We also celebrated the birthdays of Nicholas Neo (Dec 15) and Cheng Yee Kei (Dec 13).
 
Supper of noodles, curry and fruit cocktail wrapped up the day. And it was bedtime for everyone by 1am. We got to sleep late as the next day is rest and recreation day.

We began with a rainy morning, but a glorious, spirit-filled and faith-filled evening. No talk about typhoons and storms.  As far as we are concerned over here, the Lord has calmed the waters. Look at His providence at every step that we make. He is truly with us and has been guiding us and protecting us every step we make here in Bicol. And this faith and trust was expressed rather eloquently and full of conviction in our individual sharing during the campfire.

Please pray for us as we continue our mission here in Bicol, and also please pray that the group returning on Sunday - Juliana, Richard, Anne, Yee Kei, Sam Pang, Nicholas Neo, Frederick Tan, Liz Kow and Sarah Mao - may have a safe journey back to Singapore.
1 comments

6:39 AM



Good morning!!!

As at 6am today, the tropical depression being tracked by US Navy weather ships is now not going to make a direct hit on Bicol, if ever it becomes a full blowm storm or even a typhoon. Current location is north of Yap Island and Palau, just west of Saipan, moving westwards at 24kph with winds at 65kph, and heading for the island of Samar, south of Bicol.

According to our "weather experts" here, it is far too early to tell whether this depression will actually develop into a storm, as it has been gathering speed.

But authorities here have issued the alert signals anyway to inform people that such a depression exists, in order to get everybody at a constantly high level of readiness. We will continue with our planned activities today (in Tagaytay), unless expressly advised by local authorities, who know how to handle these situations.

We will take precautions, and God will do the rest.

The teens are still slowly rising at this time, while a hearty Singaporean breakfast awaits them. Pray for us, folks!!!

Fr Andrew ---- thanks for your good wishes and we hope we can be mentioned in the intercessory prayers at all masses this weekend. - Al
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5:25 PM




The 13-member Pamasan team, led by Samantha Chia and Geraldine Mark, trek through volcanic mud and soggy terrain across the devastated Maipon plains to deliver relief supplies to three families in the village of Pamasan.

 
Our teenagers in action in a Pamasan house.



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9:53 PM



The first official day of our mission in Bicol got off on a high note with our L9 missionaries becoming instant celebrities in the host schools. The morning began with Justin and Kenneth Toi leading the early morning prayer in the form of a praise and worship session. Breakfast consisting sausage, bread, and omelette prepared by Auntie Juliana and Uncle Richard followed.

Then we set off in two groups; one was led by Rae Chia and Sarah Mao who spearheaded 22 youths and volunteers to Guinobatan West Central School; and the other by Mark Lee and Timothy Low who led their group to Guinobatan East Central School. Uncle Al, Yee Kei and Anne maintained our supply lines (secured our food and drinks and gift and shortfalls) and eventually joined the West group later in the day. Auntie Juliana remained in the hostel the whole time as our prayer warrior for the day.

You may check the details of what we did in these schools through our respective blogs; no such details will be posted here to avoid duplication. Ask Michelle. Ask Andrea,. Ask Cecilia. Justin, Glen. Gerald. kelly. And a whole lot of them. Even the logistics team was mobbed. But suffice it to say that the experience was more than an emotional and spiritual one for us. We tried to reach out to the children, and they responded. And how we loved each other that they mobbed us for autographs wherever we went. They thanked us profusely just for our presence in their school. They got our friendster stuff. And more. We’ll just show some pictures here and you judge for yourself.

We were supposed to stay only till 4pm but the engagement between the L9 missionaries and the local children resulted in something really meaningful – that our mere presence was really welcome regardless of what we had brought or done in the schools.

Evening was relaxed, with dinner being served at 6.30pm. Team reflections and meetings followed, with a night prayer wrapping up the day. We are supposed to be practicing our Christmas carolling songs after the prayers, while lights out was declared at midnight.

Everyone is in high spirits as the day drew to a close.
Thursday will be interesting. We’ll split into three groups: the Pamasan trekking group led by Samantha Chia; the Masarawag School Outreach Team led by Mark Lee; and the Republic Academy Outreach Team led by Nicholas Neo. Another day, new experiences. We’re open to them, dear Lord.

Everybody else, please pray for us!
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9:53 PM




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9:44 PM







Signing off with smiles from the Main Party when they finally landed after a long flight delay!

:D
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11:59 PM



What a day it was to arrive for a mission trip. Heavy rains, delayed flights, but we arrived safely.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30036310&id=1015207002&ref=mf

Daytime temperatures dropped in Bicol to 22.2 degrees Celsius Legaspi City as heavy rains pounded the Bicol region for the fifth straight day. And it's going to get colder in the nights and before sunrise. The weatherman says its going to be even colder in the next few days.


Coldest temperatures for the day usually are usually registered between 4 and 5 am, before sunrise. It gets warmer for the rest of the day.

Anyway, we were met at the Legaspi Airport by Prof Pavilando and Ms Bing Herrera who had two vehicles -- one for our luggage and relief goods another one for ourselves. After an interesting light lunch in Legaspi City (just outside Pacific Mall), we motored to Masarawag for an ocular. It was an emotional moment for us as we came face to face twith the many aspects of Bicol: the Mayon Volcano, which dominated the landscape with its imposing and awe-inspiring perfect cone, the poverty, the hardiness of the people. We even passed by Maipon, just before Masarawag, which was being indudated by floodwaters cascading down the volcano.

We also had a quick ocular of Republic, Guinobatan West and Guinobatan East. Ms Herrera said it was not possible to do an ocular of Tagaytay as the road leading to the mountain resettlement area was under floodwater.

Had a nice long dinner at  the Casa Basilisa. Wrong, it was super long.

We were all back at the hostel because of the curfew, but we will rise again tomorrow to begin the work of mission entrusted to us by God.

Uncle Al and Samantha Chia will meet the Main Party at the Legaspi Airport on Tuesday slightly past 1pm, so long as there are no flight delays. The mission has begun!!! More reports as they come in.!
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6:03 PM



This is a flash report from mission leader Al.
We arrived in Bicol at abiut 2.30pm, about one hour behind schedule, but safe with the grace and blessings of God. Basically, the objective of this blog is to alert you all on what to expect on the way to Legaspi City Airport from Manila.

First, get someone to hold your baggage tags issued by Cebu Pacific. We had problems with the baggage tags and it caused us delays in customs clearance, both at Manila and Legaspi Airports. Each checked in luggage should come with one.

Second, you will have to check in as groups according to our e-tickets, whether you are at Singapore's Budget Terminal or Manila's Terminal 3. Alert someone from Cebu Pacific that you are travelling as a group and are checking in as one. This would greatly facilitate your check in.

Third, there is a long lay-over at Manila Airport. You can spend a bit of time at level 4 where you can find Jollibee, Mr Donut and Kopi Roti  for your stomach's entertainment. Good burgers. Good chickens. Our guys played cards and slept in the area. But closer to the check in time, you can already move to the departure lounge. Tax at the airport is 200php. Inside the departure lounge, there are more food outlets and souvenir shops. The announcements could be difficult to understand as they are made in their usual Philippine authoritative monotone.

Won't have time to talk about other details of our arrival, but according to the hosts, it has been raining the past five days, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. But the sun briefly showed its face on our arrival. Portents of good things to come? Even the volcano was in full view.

Anyway, youth mission leader Samantha Chia and myself  of us will be at the Legaspi airport tomorrow to meet you.We hope your flight won't be delayed. The Philippine Airlines flight before us was cancelled!

So while we set up our base here, godspeed everyone.



 
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4:29 PM



One more day to Confirmation two more days before our Advanced Party, led by Uncle Al, descends upon Guinobatan town. We're literally on the edge of our seats and raring to go, especially following a two-day Youth Conference that saw us being prayed over by all the youths and adults present, again led by Uncle Al (where did he come from???).

Anyway Saturday morning and mid-day was spent on another detailed briefing on safety procedures by Daniel Seow's dad, Uncle Richard, who is with the advance party. I am sure we will keep the pointers he made to heart. Not too bad really. Lots of common sense. Then Uncle Al proceeded with the final administration and departure formalities: collection of indemnity forms, distribution of bag tags and coloured strings, finalisation of particulars. And finally, we did the packing of the goods that we would be bringing. Came up to about 15 boxes!


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9:44 PM



Four days to Confirmation and five days to Bicol! And we haven't started packing. The youths are still busy with the two-day Youth Conference, while the catechists are busy running here and there tying up the loose ends such as safety, emergenecy preparedness, insurance, last minute fund raising, and every imaginable administrative detail. Perhaps we'll get our packing underway by Friday to Saturday. We'll, we'd better!

We are sure that our friends over there in Guinobatan are also frantically preparing for our arrival, inclyding the youths from BUCAF and Republic, as well as Prof Pavilando and her staff, Ms Herrera, and Fr Dave Ramoso. Well, just a few more days and we will clasp each others' hands!

And while we're in the proecess of preparation, a nice thought just came into my mind. An ambassador is someone who repsesents something to others. For example, we have ambassadors from one country to another. The ambassadors represent their country and the other country expects the ambassador to act for and make decisions for their home country.

And so too we are to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ! We are to represent Jesus to others, especially our peers. We are ambassadors of Christ to each other!

And while we are in this countdown, let us thank the Lord for inviting us to be His ambassador. In this Mission trip and as always, give us the strength to represent you faithfully!!!


 
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6:54 PM



Six more days to confirmation and seven more days to the mission trip! And 30 of us are going to Bicol, accompanied by 8 adult guardians, including 2 parents and a godparent.

The last week has been tough for everyone involved in the mission trip. But let us remember that Christ never lets us down. Never! And sometimes it's hard to believe that, because we all have had the experiences of friends who have let us down. But Christ will not. How would our lives be different if we trusted Christ completely? Have you ever thought of how we would act if we never feared being let down by Him? So we should never be afraid. We must trust Him completely as we go forth to Mission.

In our friendships, we have surely let others down. Let's think of a time recently when we have let down our father or our mother, our brother or our sister, our catechist and our friends? Let's reach out to them sometime today or perhaps tomorrow and tell them that we are sorry for letting them down. Let's tell them that we are going to work hard at not letting them down in the future.

Lord, we want to trust you completely as we go for our mission trip. We are so glad to know that you will never let us down. We'll follow your ways so that we can have eternal life with you. Thank you Lord. - Alpha Mission Omega
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11:36 AM



Yes we know, we're never complete, but this picture is the closest ever that we've had that NEARLY everybody is present. Glen and Timothy aren't in. But, hey, here's the group, and Bicol, here we come!
This picture was taken after Confession during our pre-Confirmation Retreat on 21-23 November. The day before, we had our Mission Day Camp. Please pray for us that we may have a safe journey to Bicol.
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6:01 PM



It is now just seven days before our Confirmation rite and eight days before we leave for Bicol. As we make our final preparations, let us call out to Jesus to remain with us along the many roads to Emmaus of our time. May he be our strength, our point of reference, our enduring hope.

To do this, let us remember the story of the disciples walking on the road to Emmaus after Jesus' death? (Luke 24:13-35). The disciples were despairing. They thought they had lost their best friend forever. They were down in the dumps. They were losing hope. Then Jesus appeared and walked with them, restored their hope.

What can we do to walk with our friends who are ill, injured, or simply down the dumps, so that we can help them to have hope again?

Jesus, thank you for not leaving us, for always being with us, and for walking by our side. Help us to be a friend like you, to walk with our friends in their time of despair, to bring them a sense of hope in your name. - Alpha Mission Omega
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