CFC-FFL Bible Study

I recently went on a Bible Study retreat at Army Recreational Facility in Fort Story Virginia Beach. I brought along the family Myrna and the kids. Jake (our jack Russell terrier) has to stay behind, dogs are not allowed. The trip was almost canceled because it was raining hard all day; the traffic in I-95 was terrible it took us almost 7 hours to reach Fort Story. What should have been a 4-hour drive took us like forever on the road. Driving on heavy rain on an interstate highway is such an arduous task; I promise myself never to drive again on such conditions. Ironically I have been doing this almost every other year on our trips down to Florida.

We reach our destination at almost 11pm at the Fort Story chapel. Some of the participants have not arrived; all of which have been stuck in traffic. Our dedicated Brothers and Sisters in the CFC-FFL who went earlier that day have been preparing meals for the weary travelers. The warm arroz-caldo soothes away any tiredness felt on the trip. After grabbing a light meal we went straight to our cottages and to my surprise it was very nice. The cottages are on stilts so we can park our cars jus under the house. My daughter Jan-jan/Jeanne was wondering why the cottages were built on stilts. I somehow remembered my elementary social studies reading about the fishing tribes somewhere in Mindanao who also built their houses on stilts on the coastal seas. I jokingly answered my daughter probably it was due to seasonal high tide and it would be fun just to jump on the water and have fun right at the stairs. We stayed on the loft while the other families stayed on the other 2 rooms. The retreat is on a budget some families have to share the beach house. The beach house is just a few meters away from the sandy beach. You could hear the waves rushing thru and feel the fresh ocean breeze. It was little bit windy when we arrive and cold if you stay outside for long. It was getting late and there is nothing better than getting a good night sleep on beach house.

The Bible study session started early that Saturday the children have to stay behind the cottage. Bro. Ado is a very good teacher. He might have been an ex-seminarian before since he is very well verse on the Bible. I always have thought that doing Bible study takes a lot of patience because somewhere down the process you might get bored and fall asleep. This retreat opened my eyes and humbled me enough because I thought I already knew all the major stuff about the Bible. More than 10 years in a Catholic school in Mactan (St. Alphonsus Catholic School a.k.a SACS) would surely prepared me for things like these. I never thought that studying the Bible is like going thru a scientific research. There are steps and guidelines to follow. You need at least 3 kinds of Bible: King James Version, New American Bible, New American Bible international edition. A dictionary will surely come in handy and a Bible Commentary book. Bible Commentary books are thick and full of things that you might think is to deep for you to understand. You might be wondering why would anyone write a book like this? This Bible retreat is like doing hard-core research and you will learn a lot of history, geography, anthropology, poetry and even vocabulary (etymology). You also need your emotional intellect to apply the verses on your current life situation. Before, when I read Bible passages I don’t pay attention to words written and its logical sequence. I am only interested on how it can be applied to my life and to others. After the retreat it seems that each word on the Bible needs to be examined and thought. I have always been taught that the Bible is being inspired by the Holy Spirit by the Benedictines Nuns, Franciscan priests and Religious Education teachers but never really grasp the entire concept. Only now that I have come to this great realization that no man/or men could possibly wrote the Bible on his own without divine intervention. Bible Scholars could not disagree on this issue that this is indeed a work of God. You will be awed and inspired after going thru this seminar.

We failed to hit the beach. If only the retreat was held on summer! But then that would have dampened the spirituality of this retreat. Remember the soul is more important than the flesh. We did not even bother to climb up to the famous lighthouse landmark. I would have like to walk on the beach early morning but the cold autumn wind is too harsh; you will get hypothermia if you dared to walk outside early morning. Nevertheless we meet new acquaintances and old familiar faces (all Filipinos) having fun not only studying the Bible but having good laughs and enjoying the food. Have you ever wondered why retreats are held on late autumn or early winter? I have found the answers and I finally understood why.

My Happy Birthday

All of us are always looking forward to our birthdays year after year. We planned it with anticipation and wishful thinking that someone will give us something memorable on that day. As a young child in the Philippines I am always looking forward to have something new like cool toys or clothes. Mother always cooks pancit (noodles) or sweet spaghetti. The long stranded noodles symbolize a longer life ahead for the celebrant. Binignit, bud-bud, biko and if you get lucky a kilo or two of lechon from Willi’s lechon house will surely make anyone’s birthday a grand celebration. I am not a sociable person but when my birthday comes it is always well attended. You don’t have to be a sociable when you have all your cousins and neighbors numbering more than 50. Inviting people to come to your birthday has never been an issue so much more on what kind of food you have to prepare. In Maryland it is somehow quite different. Food is very affordable, you don’t have to save for more than 6 months for a party. But when there is abundance of food here comes the restriction. When you serve food on a party you have to be mindful of people who have allergic reactions to peanut, dairy and seafoods. So far these are the only restrictions I have encountered. We don’t have like these in the Philippines and if we do, we don’t really mind it all. People who have allergic reactions to food already know what food to avoid. The responsibility is more on the person attending the party and not the host. The safest that you could bring at school (if you are planning to have a celebration at school) are potato chips and water. It will be more of the teacher’s responsibility if there are children with allergies. This is also why parents should confirm invitation to a birthday party if their child is with a known food allergy. It really is such a hassle that is why thru the years birthday celebrations of my own kids are only held at home and invite people whom you really know. In a land where there is a lot of racial and cultural diversity we really need to be mindful of what we do because it might unknowingly hurt other people and worst you might get sued or in get trouble. But in spite off everything what matters most is that the celebrant will have the time of his life. The joy of seeing yourself/or your child having fun on that day will be worth the trouble. Who cares about allergies, it’s my birthday and I will have fun…

Fall 2007

Its already October and the weather is still warm. Summer might end late this year. The trees ares till green and a few patches of fall colors can be seen. As you drive all around in Maryland a lot of pumpkin festivals are held on weekends. This year the family went on an apple picking rampage. Yes, a rampage because we picked a lot of apples and ate it all in just 2 weeks. The apples are priced at 99cents a pound. It is quite expensive considering we did all the picking ourselves. My wife swears that the apples taste different from the ones we bought in the grocery stores. Honestly, I could not tell difference, it taste just the same like....an apple (what do I expect???). I never really like apples that much. I guess I still prefer eating mangoes over the crunchy red. Someone have to eat all those apples that we picked. I think it wont hurt that much eating 4 apples a day. As they say an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay... how much more 4 apples a day... probably a mile away.