Bukidnon in my Mind

I’m on a visit here in Bukidnon and it brought back memories when I was first assigned here as a ministerial trainee for one year sometime in 1986-87. My little daughter Veejay was still about 6 years old then. We used to fetch water for our needs at a nearby open well. We had to boil the not-so-clear water first. Or else, you might get sick.

Pastoral Ministry, Missionary Life

I guess we did experience some kind of “missionary life” in a very remote place deep in the heart of Mindanao when the roads were then very rough and dusty or muddy depending on the weather. We visited the brethren on foot to reach some of their homes, across farms, over hills and sometimes on shallow river and it was a difficult and trying time for me and my wife — city dwellers from Metro Manila. It looked to me like Veejay enjoyed it or she did not know the difference. She had no complaints. She was still young then. She has learned early in life how to be a pastor's kid moving from one place to another.

Simple Provincial Life

The people here are plain and simple — somewhat devoid of any hypocrisy or the looks of sophistication one easily finds in city dwellers. I love these simple, down-to-earth folks, our Bukidnon brethren. Their love and respect for me as their former pastor is quite amazing and it touches my heart each time.

The Kingdom Belongs to Such as These

"'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.'  And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." (Mark 10:13-16 )