For today, I am posting about the Pens of Hope distribution which happened before Christmas. This is long overdue, I know. But I want to share with you this happy event. The pens and pencils you sent to Pens of Hope did not fail to paint smiles on the faces of 100 children in Mapanas, a small sleepy town lying on the coast of the Philippine Sea. For this distribution, I was assisted by some kind-hearted people.

From Catarman, the capital of Northern Samar, we had to ride a fully-loaded jeepney going to the town of Laoang. The trip lasted an hour and 30 minutes.

From Laoang, we traveled for 30 minutes going to the town of Palapag on one of these motorized bancas going to the town of Palapag.

From Palapag, we took another jeepney going to Mapanas. The almost two-hour trip was challenging because of pot-holed, uncemented, and muddy roads. But I am happy because contrary to my last trip to Mapanas a few years ago, there are concrete roads already. Hindi pa nga lang buong route.

It was drizzling when we arrived in Mapanas and we had to wait for the drizzle to stop before we could start. We had school-based distributions in the past so we decided to do something different this time. We did a community-based contribution. Inspired by the first distribution of Pens of Hope in Davao, we started with some fun games which the children really enjoyed.

The trip to Mapanas was tiring but these happy faces are worth it I hope you’ll take time to look at the pictures and see how happy you made these children with the pens and pencils you have sent to Pens of Hope.

I would like too thank you once again for the support you are extending to Pens of Hope. We did it again, we made more children smile! Big, big thanks also to the Organization of Young Filipino Americans of the University of Virginia through Ms. Christine Quilpa and Ms. Claire Cororaton. They held a fundraising event so they could send pencils to the children of Northern Samar.

Maraming, maraming salamat sa inyong lahat! God bless you for your kind heart.

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There are still a lot of pencils available but I will have to wait until June (start of classes) for the next distribution. This is due to the following reasons:
1. the school year is about to end; and
2. the election campaign period is about to start and I don’t like Pens of Hope to be associated with any campaign gimmicks.

na ang mga paa ay umangat sa lupa,

at malayang lumipad bahagya,

at sa hangin ay magparaya,

at masayang magpatihulog sa dagat na payapa.

Traveling in the countryside is so much fun. It makes me appreciate all the more that I am part of this beautiful, beautiful world, and it makes me celebrate all the more the gentleness of this mystery called nature.

I am sharing with you some pictures I took during my trip. I hope you’ll like them.

These houses on stilts quietly stir me.

Ruins of a church in the town of Palapag. It amazes me to think that the walls are full of so many stories.

Another way to travel with a motorcycle

The mighty coconut trees stand against the blue sky. I think they’re wishing for a drizzle or some golden rays of the sun. Many people in my province are greatly dependent on the blessings from coconut trees.

Of all the secluded places I’ve been to, this one makes me feel I’m nearly home.

These old wooden planks once beckoned at me…but my nervous knees had to refuse them.

This spreads joyful sensations to my heart.

This one, taken late in the afternoon after a heavy rain, makes my heart smile.

Have a blessed weekend everyone. Morning air is already cold so keep warm.

Over at Yhen’s blog, she is promoting love for rice through a fan sign campaign. It is actually a contest being held to celebrate the National Rice Awareness Month. Deadline is Nov. 20 so there are still a few days left to catch up

“Since the 1990s, population growth has been faster than the growth in rice production. It is estimated that by 2025, there should be a 30% increase of rice production to meet the demand of a growing population. However, many factors such as climate change, soil erosion, and water shortage pose a threat to rice production.” Unless we learn to take care of our environment and all other resources that are valuable to rice production, the survival of half of the world’s population is threatened.

And please do not waste rice. By saving rice, you are not only helping sustain the supply of rice, you are also honoring this hero’s hands.

This is for all of us who sometimes feel we are already on the edge; for us who sometimes forget to count our blessings; for us whose world sometimes loses its colors; for us who sometimes succumb to the temptation of giving up.

Be inspired and be blessed.

“The days are short, the nights are long, the air is cold and chilly…” I heard my sister singing very early this morning. It was a Christmas song we learned in grade school. I found myself humming the song, trying to remember its lyrics, while I wrapped myself in a thick blanket. Brrrrrr!

Christmas is indeed just around the corner. The newly-opened supermarket near our place lit up its big Christmas tree last night. It was delightful to see the towering Christmas tree with its twinkling lights and colorful decorations. I felt like a kid mesmerized by its glow.

The first Christmas tree I knew did not have any light on it. It was made by my mother. She would find a big can of milk and fill it with soil and pebbles. Next, she would cover the can with a colored paper. Then, she’d find a wooden stick to serve as the “trunk”. She would cut another milk can open, flatten it, cut some strips, and wrap them with strips of paper to cover the sharp edges (on some instances, she suffered cuts on her finger doing these). The strips of metal (from milk can) would serve as “branches” when nailed or fastened with wire to the wooden stick. Once the “trunk” already have “branches”, she would “plant” the tree in the can filled with soil and pebbles.

Initially, the tree would look like a fish skeleton, very bare. It was the job of my siblings and I to decorate it. We would run home from school excitedly knowing that a bare Christmas tree was waiting for us. To serve as “leaves”, we would cut sheets of green crepe paper then press a coconut midrib repeatedly on them to curl the edges. Then, we would paste the crepe paper to the metal sheets covered with strips of newspaper.

We were fond of having a star on top of our Christmas tree. So my mother would cut a star from a cardboard and cover the pattern with silver cigarette foil paper and viola! We couldn’t afford to buy shimmering Christmas balls, so we would just hang different patterns and shapes made from cardboard and covered with different colored papers.

Once finished, we would proudly display the tree in one corner of the house. It was a very humble Christmas tree, about two or three feet tall. It didn’t have twinkling lights, glistening balls, and other fancy decorations. Only a flicker from a small kerosene lamp illuminated it on many nights. But it was, and still is, the most beautiful Christmas tree in the world to me.

How time flies. On this day, a year ago, I published my first post at this blog. To be honest, I was not sure then for how long I’d be able to keep the effort. My hands often get full with work and other personal matters. But I started this blog nevertheless, with me writing anonymously. I felt then, and until now, that a certain extent of my anonymity will allow this blog to mirror many things that are in my heart.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, my dear friends, for visiting this blog, no matter if you visit once in a while to lurk or visit to read every post, leave a comment, or share an insight. I enjoyed all the comments that I have received. They made me smile, laugh, cry, reflect on so many things, and say so many prayers of gratitude. You have blessed me with your presence here and you have given me so much joy and goodness. Though virtual relationships may sometimes seem superficial, ours is a precious one to me. I have made some wonderful friends here. Visiting your blogs was such a pleasure, too. It has enriched my life in many ways. I think of bloghopping as one kind act, one that reminds fellow bloggers that we listen, we care, and we share even if we are faceless.

There will be no cake for this blog, no candle to be blown, no contest to mark its first year in cyberspace. But I hope you will allow me to ask for a gift which will come in the form of one kind act. On the day you read this post, I hope you can do at least one kind act to others. You can smile at strangers, take care of your niece or nephew for some more extra hours, do an errand for your parents, be extra sweet to your wife or husband or girlfriend or boyfriend. You can call a friend you haven’t spoken to for a long time. You can wash the dishes when it’s not your turn to do so. Anything. Anything, really. Remember, there is no small act of kindness. All kind acts are big. All kind acts have the potential to brighten someone else’s day and to turn a life around. Of course, there’s no need to tell me about it or to blog about it. But if you choose to do so, you are absolutely welcome.

I am now excited about what another year will hold for this blog. If you care to join me for another year, come on in. Grab a chair and make your self comfortable. I have prepared coffee for everyone, a perfect companion as we marvel together at the celestial hues of sunlight that cross the calm beach water fronting my old nipa hut at sunrise.

Muli, maraming, maraming salamat po! It’s been fun blogging with you.

Each time I take a step, one foot resting while the other moving forward, I feel the earth under my feet. It is firm and steady like a father, yet sweet and nurturing like a mother.

Walking gives birth to a renewed awareness of nature’s abundance and grace.

Walking often means meeting fellow pilgrims of life whose familiar faces and timid but warm smiles deepen my sense of belonging.

Walking makes me yield to simplicity and to the beauty of the past—the very foundation of all that we now have.

There is something about walking that makes me feel I am one with the universe, something that makes me long to embrace it in all its variety and wholeness.

I’ll continue finding time to walk. Who knows, I might also meet you along the way, my dear blogging friends. Together, we shall celebrate the beauty of observing the world at a human pace.

So, she decided to call an airline company and was lucky enough to have availed of a promo ticket. The next thing she knew, she was already coming out of the plane and flagging down a tricycle. She asked the driver to take her to the schools on the outskirts of the town of Catarman, the capital of the province of Northern Samar. With her were pencils for distribution.

It was going to be something different from the distribution done here and here. Because this time, there were no previous arrangements made with the schools. She was in for an adventure: find schools, ask permission from the school heads, then distribute.

Here, my dear blogging friends, are the children you made smile this weekend with the pencils you have sent. May they also make you smile and soothe your heart in these trying times.

For some more pictures, please click here.

It was another heartwarming experience. But, as in the previous distribution, I was also saddened by the pitiful condition of these children in the classroom.

Take a look at this picture, for example.

That is not a portion only of the classroom. That is the whole of it. It’s not actually a room, but a space between adjacent rooms which the school utilized for an extra room.

And on this other picture, please take a look at the stools which the children use as writing desks.

There are still a lot of things to be done in many public elementary schools in the country. I can only hope and pray that these will be done soon.

On behalf of the children who benefited from your generosity, my heart sings most sweetly with gratitude. Maraming, maraming salamat po for  continuously supporting Pens of Hope. Mabuhay!