Tsinelas

April 5, 2009

On May 10, 2009, Maia Foundation will organize the distribution of free slippers to the poor children, 7 years old and below, from the Parish of the Holy Spirit. These children, who line up with their parents to avail for the inexpensive NFA rice, can be seen walking and travelling without slippers, a basic necessity for all especially for children who are always unmindful of the paths they are walking on. In one particular barangay school, children entering the campuses are seen without slippers going to classes.
Each pair of rubber slippers cost roughly 20 Php and we aim to distribute 500 pairs.

In this regard, we are knocking at your door for your generous sponsorship of 100 Php or donation of 5 new pairs of slippers.

Financial donors and sponsors may send their contribution to the bank account below:

Matt Ezekiel Santos

Acct# 034-3-03420966-0

Metrobank BF Homes Paranaque Branch

(Please keep you bank receipt for record purposes and send us a short email notice of the transfer for our record-keeping. Thanks)

Have a blessed weekend to all.
God bless.

True Joy

March 5, 2009

 

It is not what we gain that gives us true happiness – it is what we lovingly lose for others.

 

My college days were full of medical missions and voluntary assistance whenever our school, affiliated hospitals or training centers provide free medical assistances for our less fortunate brothers and sisters. It was always a very challenging role especially during emergency cases which is one of my favorite. The excitement was unending and rewarding when you see a patient walks out feeling relieved in spite of the inconveniences he or she received from any medical procedures done in their bodies.

 

And since my husband and I have met, we were always blessed to be invited to join in several outreach programs. When we both started working, Rowin’s company in Laguna had this industrial-zone wide safety group LISACOM Committee and one of their programs was visiting and holding a simple Christmas party for an orphanage in Paranaque. They provided Jollibee meals for about 30 kids and some gift-items for them. The kids were so happy having someone provide for them and play with even for just a short time. In turn, they showcased to us their singing talents by rendering a heartwarming Christmas song. That experience was so full of compassion just looking in their eyes.

 

When we got married, we joined Couples for Christ and have the chance again to participate some outreach programs in Laguna in assisting kids for Christ camping. We did some educational activities, sleep with them and cook foods for their every meals like one big happy get together family reunions.

After celebration with families and friends of Zek’s third birthday and Maia’s baptism two years ago, we went straight to Bethany on that same afternoon to share with more than 50 kids in the Bethany orphanage a simple Jolly-burgers and juices while giving away some old but usable toys and clothes. Zek had a great time for they surprised him with a unique birthday song with a prayer before meals. We spend some time with them by talking, listening and playing with them. They are well organized not just for our visit, but as a way living in general. It was another heartwarming moment for all us present that time. Every time, children see someone visiting them, they leap for joy and very happy to see us. They are not always expecting something from us materially, only our presence makes their days complete. Feeling loved even not from their own family can really fill the emptiness and loneliness inside them.

 

For related stories about Bethany, please click or copy-paste on your URL link one of the following blog-link;

 

http://people-places-praises.blogspot.com/2007/07/bethany.html

 

http://people-places-praises.blogspot.com/2008/05/bethany-re-visited.html

 

God always give us an opportunity to share our blessing to other, for these are chances given to us to show our love for Him by loving others especially the needy, abandoned, and the sick people. We may not get the same chances again and ignoring each one of them every time is simply denying ourselves of God’s eternal love. May we not let Him down as he calls us.
 

“For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own. … At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality. …” — 2 Corinthians 8: 3, 14  

Hindsight

February 5, 2009

Few days before my Angel Maia’s departure, I remember clearly in my mind watching her playing quietly with Kuya Zek (her older brother) while I am catching up reading all my backlog emails from 2007. I felt this happiness and deep fulfillment inside me that I have never felt my entire life and probably won’t get the same chance to experience it again. Looking at them, I have gained true joy and contentment on that short moment. I smiled, closed my eyes and give thanks to God at that instant for the wonderful life that I have. I can ask nothing more else but to keep my family together this way.

 

At the back of my mind I was asking myself, “Oh, why do I deserve this so much blessings whereas I am just like everyone else who struggles in life to do good and avoid evil.”

 

Recently, I am coming full circles in understanding that God was actually preparing me for a life-changing event, that I may endure the sorrowful experience of losing a daughter. By sourcing all my strength from all the great and fond memories of Maia, I get to choose to remember the good stuffs for me to survive and discard all absurdities that will only add to my grief.

 

There are still so many questions lingering in my mind about that fateful day, and with every forthcoming answer leading me to more unanswered whys and what ifs. With countless sleepless nights spent in wondering that how can something so beautiful be taken away so fast, that someone so close to my heart, body, mind and soul be gone so soon?

 

I have to admit that there are still times since then that I want to stop and forget my existence but there is always something or someone comes along my way to give me a reason to live and move on. Family members, relatives and friends who willingly listen and support us are daily graces from above.

 

I am so surprised at how I become stronger than my desire to keep on blaming myself for any oversight assessment of Maia’s indicative illness prior to her death and avoiding sinking myself into anguish, misery and lonesomeness.

 

Faith is the source of it all. God’s love is so powerful. Psalm 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need.”

 

And with all humility, I ceaselessly pray that I may continue to live according to His will and offer everything for His greater glory, faithfully.

 

Amen.

Riches in Heaven

January 5, 2009

Rowin and I was able to get the luxury of time to recall all our blessings Maia brought us since God sent her, she really is our angel here on earth.

 

When I was 10 weeks pregnant with her, we were able to meet our dearest Ninong Rev.Fr.Godofredo Atienza in Hong Kong who also officiated our wedding ceremony. He held an exclusive mass for us (Rowin, me & Zek) in Don Bosco Chapel in Hong Kong. And even though Zek kept on running during the entire hour and we are so anxious that he might broke or hit any religious item inside the chapel, we still felt so much blessed. Our almost 3-hour travel and hiking from Shajing Shenzhen to Hong Kong was all worth it.

 

All things we needed during the entire pregnancy were coming to us. Rowin was able to go home on time for my delivery. I was able to book a room in Asian Hospital on the day of my admission (the hospital requires advance room reservation for non emergency cases like mine – birth by caesarean section). We have a lot of visitors coming to the hospital that the Huggery nurses were amazed too because baby Santos was always on call for viewing. Rowin’s boss was kind enough to give him a bonus covering majority of our hospital bills during our 5-day stay. We also got a free dinner date set up in our room on the night before my discharge.

 

Families, relatives and friends were very supportive of baby Maia since Zek was still a demanding toddler at his age of 3 years. I was having a hard time getting a nanny that time since I was admittedly being picky on choosing for the ones who have the charisma and knack to meet our needs especially with the 2 kids. Zek does not want to go with anybody else but me. It will be soon time for us to go back to China but we still found none while Rowin needs to go back already ahead of us. I have talked to my sister-in-law who at that time will be having her summer vacation as a high school teacher. She was able to accompany us on our way back to China and even stayed for the entire 2 months with us.

 

Rowin and I were able to manage the 2 kids after then until we get back home again after a year. Though we also do get irritated and tired on certain occasions, sometimes quite too often, the joy brought by our kids gave us so much fulfillment.

When Maia was 10 months old, we were able to get her photograph in an angel costume and when she reached more than a year, she was playing angel by herself putting a round white circle plastic as her halo (I wonder that time how she knows to use it as halo). I’m asking myself now if this is just coincidence since she is now with the Lord as our angel for real. She also likes doing the shadow dance of the butterfly until her last days with us. Premonitions? A close friend with a daughter of nearly same age as Maia (also her playmate in China) narrated to us about a beautiful butterfly playing with them unexpectedly and for a long time on the day of Maia’s demise. 

 

Maia is a charming baby, everyone noticed her wherever we go. I never had a hard time taking care of her and up to her last hours, she still plays with me so I never got any intuition of what was about to happen next. And in our hearts, she saved us from more bitterness by passing away in her sleep. And we would certainly believe that Maia is helping us amazingly because we were able to recover from this sorrowful moment so soon for I thought I will cry myself to death after losing her.

 

The list goes on and on for her almost 22-month stay here on earth, I cannot count the number of people she made happy even only with her smile. Though she is now gone, she still continue to pour blessings to us. Her going back to our Father so soon, is gaining for us lots of strength while giving us more reason to show God’s love to others so that others may see Him through us.

 

Happy 2^nd Birthday Maia! We miss you so much and we feel your presence everyday. I pray for your guidance in seeking God instead of the entertaining questions about your departure. For in our search for truth there will always someone that connects and binds us spontaneously and that is you.

  

Munting Regalo 2008

December 25, 2008

WHAT          :        Outreach Program for Kids

WHERE         :        ALIDO Multi Purpose Hall, Malolos

WHEN          :        December 30, 2008 (Tuesday) 

TIME            :        4:15 pm   

 

PROGRAME DETAILS

 

 

4:15 PM       -   Assembly

4:30 PM       -   Introduction by Bro. Rommel Santos

                       Inspirational Talk by Bro. Omar or Sis Aloha Jongco, Dadson Proprietor

4:45 PM       -   Prayer/ Blessing by Rev.Fr. Mike Paez of Holy Spirit Parish, Malolos, Bulacan

5:00 PM       -   Mirienda Time

5: 25 PM      -   Games by VROOM (group of motorbike riders by JBen Santos)

5:50 PM       -   Giving out of Gifts

6:00 PM       -   Closing Remarks by Bro. Rommel Santos of Maia Foundation

 

DETAILS :

 

20 kids who are 6-7 years old were chosen to be given Christmas gifts for this year in behalf of the HOLY SPIRIT PARISH, in participation of DADSON Proprietor, VROOM and MAIA Foundation.

 

Kids who were pre-qualified will be given name tags on 27^th and 28^th of December plus a letter informing their parents to allocate guardians to go with the kids on the actual date of the “Munting Regalo 2008”.

 

This way we have a crowd control as our budget for our initial program is minimal. Plus the gate will be closed as the program starts.

 

Mirienda for the Kids and guardians will be;

Sopas / Drinks  – sponsored by MAIA Foundation

Puto                -  sponsored by VROOM

Games Prizes    – sponsored by VROOM

Gifts for the 20 kids sponsored by DADSON Proprietor

 

 

If ever mayroon po kayong idea to improve the outreach program please do so, hindi po para sa atin ito, sa mga bata, na inihabilin sa atin ni Lord na pag-ukulan natin sila ng pagmamahal at akayin sa matuwid. Maituwid lang natin ang isa sa kanila… malaking puntos na sa KANYA.

                                     

MF Logo Explained

December 8, 2008

 

What does the symbol of our Maia Foundation means?

 

The Child

The child inside the cross is the partial charcoal sketch of our beloved angel Elisha Maire “Maia” C. Santos who, after a brief twenty-two months of being with us, has inspired us to love more and live life to the fullest and that the most loving fulfillment of all is by sharing this love to others, which in the end, is about loving our God.

 

Matthew 25: 40

“And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

 

The Hearts

The hearts of different sizes symbolizes all the loving efforts that each of our family members, donors and volunteers will extend into our vision and purpose of loving others. It does not matter whether the amount to be spent or action to be done is small or big as long as it is done out of love. God sees the “bigness” of our heart.

 

Matthew 25: 34-36

Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

 

The Cross

The Cross symbolizes the greatest love of all which is our Lord Jesus Christ whom we honor and praise for He alone is able to make our suffering a part of His work of salvation. It is He who embraced His suffering and who died for us out of His unconditional love for each and every one of us. 

 

John 3: 16

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

Premonitions?

December 5, 2008

Does it really happen or am I just in exaggeration here? Can someone please tell me? Is it something we should be anxious about or be aware of?

 

By definition, premonition is an intuition of future event, a strong feeling, without a rational basis, that something is going to happen or an advance warning about a future event.

 

We didn’t see it coming to us. Well, I guess the meaning says it all. Who would want to see it by all means in anyway? I, myself, don’t want to know at all even if I have felt some strange feelings a couple of days before Maia’s demise. I pay no heed to it all and didn’t want to entertain the thoughts that kept coming on to me. I was just too terrified.

 

Here are some of them that we recall days after from the time it happened.

 

The first time I got this strange feeling of it was when our nanny arrived on October 19. The very next day Maia told her, “Ayi, bye-bye Ayi!” (“auntie” in mandarin) and consistently telling it to her for days for no obvious reason. I taught her saying it once when we were about to go home after attending the Gymboree class but she never tried until that day.

 

Then, suddenly she and Zek went along with each other so well. Playing quietly together minus their usual quarrels of occasional throwing toys to each other, hitting, pushing and shouting was noticeable. I amazingly thought, wow, they are seemingly learning how to settle their differences already at their very young age. I just considered it as one of their milestones and never relate it to the forthcoming event.

 

A couple of days back, we went to a nearby grocery store. On the way there, Zek decided to ride his bike. Going back home Maia wanted to hitch back ride which her kuya eagerly agreed. Zek was beaming with pride riding with his sister while Maia took pleasure in it and hugged him tightly. Deep inside I thought that she wanted to show her love so much and not just for fear of falling off. They both showed big smiles to everyone they met along. Every person passing by was astonished and simply can’t resist pausing, looking, smiling back and giving words of their praises. Watching them together was a heavenly experience for me that day.

 

Maia was excessively “malambing” (sweet) to all of us those last few days. Rowin felt the difference every time he came home from work. Her giggles while running towards him to greet her daddy gave him so much joy.   

 

During that night of October 29, Rowin felt so much blessed and proud as a father having both Zek and Maia sat beside him quietly with their small arms lovingly wrapped around his waist. This has never happened since we have them, they’re usually running around the house if not into quarrelling moods. And when it was my time to rest and watch TV, Maia came up to my lap and kept on hugging and kissing me. Suddenly, I felt that I have to assure her back by saying, “Daddy, Mommy and Kuya Zek love you so much.” before hugging her tightly. Until that night, I never told it to her before for I thought she wouldn’t understand it yet anyway. I recalled telling it to Zek every night after he reached age two. Isn’t that strange?

 

When Maia started having fever, she still played with all of us. I went to the bathroom to wash the towel so I can sponge bathe her. I didn’t notice she climbed down the bed as well and “peek a boo” by saying “baah!” to her nanny who just went out from her room to check on her too. We were both surprised for we thought she was asleep already. I then checked on her before 11pm for her antipyretic medicine which will be due soon at 12 midnight, I heard her humming a heavenly tune which I have never heard neither from her or Zek before. My husband realized later on that it was her “swan song”. At past 2am, Zek who was sleeping beside his dad came up on the bed during that night also to stay awake with Maia. I just fell asleep then and was awakened by their movements together. At that instance also, I had an intuition of not wanting to fall asleep again for fear of waking up losing one of my kids.

 

Lastly, my sister in-law, told me she dreamt of a house with full of yellow lights like having a wake or something that she can’t be sure of and she was writing on their house wall the “Angel of God” prayer that she’s so ardently want to finish it but to no avail and felt so sad and bad about it when she woke up.

 

There are still a few on my list that I didn’t mention for it only makes me wonder more why I paid no attention to them all. Oh, how did I fail to see it all coming to us? I kept asking God about it for it was very difficult to accept losing a child that way.

 

“My Child, I am pained because you are now suffering inside. Yet I am happy, too, that you have turned to Me in your suffering, instead of fleeing from your problems with worldly means, as others do.

 

I have given you this privilege of sharing in My cross as part of My special love for you. As I carry your cross with you, I suffer with you too, as I will also be with you in your resurrection when your suffering will turn into joy.” – Healing Presence

 

Once again, I take comfort in my God’s love and mercy.

All I need to do is approach Him in humility.

 

A Family that Prays together Stay Together

November 5, 2008

A FATHER’S PRAYER

 

O God, help me to be true to the great privilege and great responsibility which you have given to me. Help me to be an example and a friend to my children and a real partner to my wife.

 

Don’t let me get so busy with work and with outside things that I am almost a stranger in my own home, and that I take no interest in household things. Don’t let me take for granted all that is done for me, and help me to keep love alive within the home.

 

Keep me from habits which make the works of the house harder, and from ways which irritate and annoy, and which get on the nerves of those who live with me.

 

Give me health and strength and work to do, to earn a living for those who depend on me and whom I love so much; but help me to remember that love is always more important than money.

 

O God, you have given me the name of Father; you have given me Your own name, help me to be true to it.

 

This I ask for Your love’s sake, AMEN.

 

A MOTHER’S PRAYER

 

O God, help me always to remember that you have given to me the most important task in the world, the task of making a home.

 

Help me to remember this when I am tired of making beds, and washing clothes, and cooking meals, and cleaning floors, and mending clothes, and standing in shops.

 

Help me to remember it when I am physically tired in body, and when I am weary in mind with the same things which have to be done again and again, day in and day out.

 

Help me never to be irritable, never to be impatient, and never to be cross. Keep me always sweet. Help me to remember how much my husband and my children need me, and help not to get annoyed when they take me for granted, and when they never seem to think of the extra work they sometimes cause me.

 

Help me to make this home such that the family will always be eager to come back to it, and such that, when the children grow up and go out to their own homes, they will have nothing but happy memories of the home from which they have come.

 

Through Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen

 

PRAYER FOR MY FAMILY

 

May Your presence, most sacred heart of Jesus, ever bless our home and fill it with the virtues so perfectly practiced in your own family at Nazareth. Protect us from all dangers, bless our endeavors and keep always in our family, the spirit of love, peace and happiness. Amen.

 

I want to share “A FATHER’S and A MOTHER’S PRAYER” from My Travel Companion Book. May every household parents take courage to practice this prayer and made our home a little better each day as we say this prayer that this may take great part for our children’s future.