In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham with Dean Merill

I was inspired by an officemate to read the book, IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES by Gracia Burnham with Dean Merill, which he also borrowed from a common friend. I loved reading it so I bought one for my collection.

The book tells the story of American Missionaries, Martin and Gracia Burnham, who were kidnapped by the terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf. While having their romantic anniversary getaway at Dos Palmas Resort in May 2001, they were seized and spent a year of their lives on the run, fighting to survive in the Philippine jungles.

The book is a chronicle of the improbable suffering of the hostages; hunger, privation of comfort, day-long marches and gun battles amidst heat, cold and exhaustion, not to mention the grisly tales of murder, terror and forced marriages between captors and captives.

There are also surprising events in the book that narrates the relationships developed between terrorists and the hostages. Their conversations were often friendly and at times, the captives realized that they were all on the same side avoiding a deadly confrontation with the soldiers who were tracking them.

The event also became a time of recollection and soul-searching; when true faith in God was tested especially when hope turned to despair. But always in the end, above all, God is gracious and merciful.

I highly recommend the book, In the Presence of My Enemies, to those who seeks encouragement and inspiration.

. . . God's Gift . . .

I haven’t noticed, just now, that I don’t have any post published introducing my baby to the blogging world. So, now I proudly present my little angel, Stephanie Lorraine. I conceived her when I was working in Hsinchu, Taiwan (2006) but I flew her to the Philippines when I was on my 5th month of pregnancy.

Lorraine was born at the University of Sto. Tomas Hospital at 8:05am of December 2, 2006 and weighed 7.28lbs. Her pediatricians nicknamed her “Pinky” and “Baby Ganda” because of her pinkish skin and beautiful face. Of course, mama is very proud of her.
I remember one time, Lorraine was about 8 months old, when we went to SM North Edsa to buy some of her stuffs at the Children’s Section when a man came to us and asked if I am interested to let Lorraine join their contest – SM Next Baby Model. We didn’t join the contest; first, because she’s below the age requirement of at least a year old and second, I’m not yet prepared to be a stage mother. He instead gave me a leaflet of the contest. I read the criteria for judging as follows: 15% physical built, 15% skin complexion, 30% projection and 40% overall appearance. I wonder, if we joined the contest, could Lorraine possibly won the competition?

The Gift of Love and Life

Having a child is definitely the most important event in one’s life. Moreover, children are the special treasure that enrich our lives, give us happiness and make everything worthwhile.

After so many years of yearning for a baby, Kuya Eli (my officemate) and Doc Anna believed their prayers were finally answered. The good news came Sunday morning, and the couple felt elated.

@ Kuya Eli & Doc Anna: The beautiful miracle of love and life has come to you now. May his/her/their coming bring happiness and joy to your family. Félicitations!

“Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle.”

- Marie Lloyd

An Invitation from Canada

FRONT INSIDE

I got an invitation (all the way from Ontario, Canada) from my childhood friend, Ann Vernille, who will be having her Baby Shower on October 25 @ 6pm. Bad thing… I haven’t saved enough money for airfares. Well, there will always be next time or I’ll just patiently wait for Twinkle and Baby Miaka to visit us here in the Philippines -- hopefully soon!

@ Twinkle: Mare, I’m very very sorry. I won’t be there personally but my love and prayers will always be with you and Miaka.

@ Miaka: Baby, we’re very excited of your arrival! Soon Little Lorraine will have a baby sister in you. I know you will grow up to be a beautiful woman and have eyes and dimples like your mother. You came to us as a blessing from God and to be your mama's inspiration. And now, even though you’re still there inside your mama’s womb, I knew that you also feel what she feels. Just be strong because you’re the only one who’s keeping her very strong. Ninang loves you so much! See you soon! Hugs and kisses!

You call me - "Curacha"

One day, you might come across with this horrible-looking and scary creature served in your dinner table. It is locally called, “Curacha”, a strange-looking crustacean endemic ONLY in the waters of Zamboanga Peninsula and Sulu that seems to be like a hybrid between a large sea crab and a spiny lobster. Sometimes it is also called “Cucuracha”, literally “cockroach” in Chavacano.
My first encounter with this sea creature was when a mayor in Basilan gave me these, alive and fresh, as pasalubong. I am very hesitant (at first) to touch the curacha, feared that it might sting and poison me to death. My baby even shouted in a gruesome tone, “Mama… ipis! ipis! Yucks!” But true to the saying, “beauty lies within”… the curacha is very meaty in the inside and when cooked in garlic and chili sauce, is very delicious and will make a finger-licking feast. It can also be steamed or cooked with coconut milk. It is best to cook it minimally to preserve its unique exotic taste.

. . . My Unmasked Friends . . .

Before, Masskara Festival was just like any other festival to me… it will come and it will go. But everything changed since I worked in the Department of Tourism - Southern Tagalog Tourism Council (DOT-STTC) about 4 years ago.

I was assigned by my boss to be one of the event coordinators of “Masskara at Market! Market!” held on October 23-24, 2004. Market! Market!, a mall developed and managed by Ayala Land, Inc. located at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, is newly opened at that time. Our office together with Market! Market! redefined mall entertainment when we successfully brought the Masskara Festival to the metro exhibiting the colorful masks and featuring the actual winning dance troupe, Brgy. Villamonte together with their choreographer, Mr. Panoy Cabalcar performed right in the activity center.
Brgy. Villamonte Masskara Dance Troupe won 1st place both in the open and barangay categories of the 25th Masskara Festival with five minor awards, barangay category – best in mask, best in costume, best in concept and in the open category – best in costume and best in choreography. They were also the champion of the 2003 Masskara Festival and got 4 out of 4 minor awards. They have represented the Philippines in the 2004 Shanghai Tourism Festival with 15 other countries participating and watched by more than 200 million people in China. In fact, they gave me a memorabilia pin of that said festival.

Now, every time October comes in I would always reminisce the times I had with them. I remember giving them the wake-up call at Atrium Hotel, joining them at meals and watching them every rehearsal and on their actual performance on stage. Though, we’d only been for quite some time; I did enjoy getting to know them. I will forever treasure the friendship we have.

To my friends: Nahidlaw na ko sa inyo! Tani makabisita ko dira sa Villamonte! Bati ko ma-entra kamo sini nga Masskara Festival. Goodluck! Matan-aw na lang ko sa inyo sa tv! (I miss you all! I hope I could visit you there in Villamonte. I heard your group is joining again this year’s festival. Goodluck! I’ll be watching you on tv!)

29th Masskara Festival & 70th Charter Day Anniversary of Bacolod City

For us Negrenses, the most awaited month is October because of the celebration of the Philippines’ most colorful Masskara Festival held in Bacolod City. “Masskara” is a portmanteau of the words, mass meaning many or crowd and cara meaning face. The festival’s symbolic feature is the colorful smiling mask worn by the dancers. Thus, Bacolod City bears the nickname, “City of Smiles”.

The Masskara Festival started in 1980 when Negros Occidental is in the time of tragedy and economic crisis; April 22 of that year, Don Juan, a vessel carrying many Negrenses, collided with the tanker Tacloban City and sank, also the sugar industry continued to slump (sugar cane as the province’s primary agricultural crop). The festival is a declaration of survival of the Negrenses that no matter how tough and bad the times were, they are going to live on and in the end, triumph. The people live up to the Masskara tagline, “Sige Lang, Sige Na.. Bacolod Bato Kita!” (It’s ok, it’s alright. Bacolod, fight on!)
On October 1, 2008, Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo officially opened the 19-day celebration of the 29th Masskara Festival with the theme, “Bacolod, City of the World” at the Bacolod City Public Plaza. This is a very historical event since it is the first time that a Philippine president graced the opening ceremonies.

Other events to look forward to are: Street dancing competition on October 16-18, the Electric Masskara along Lacson Street on October 17-19 and Search for Masskara Queen - Coronation Night on October 18.

The 29th Masskara Festival will be celebrated this year together with the 70th Charter Day Anniversary on October 19, 2008 when Bacolod was established as a city. An expected giant street party keeps vigil on October 18 which will be simultaneously held at Araneta and Lacson Streets as countdown starts 70 seconds to midnight and at 12mn the people sings happy birthday to Bacolod.