Last sunday was my Nanay’s 56th birthday. I remember stories of her walking 6 kilometers just to get to school. She was in elementary when she would walk really early in the morning so that they can get to class two hours later. Going home was even worse because unlike the early trip, you travel when it was dark and get to school when the sun was up, this time you walk through bamboo thickets and every step you take brings you closer to a more darker place. Streetlights weren’t popular back then and torches were out of their budget.
She’s come a long way from walking to school. She still walks to get to work mind you but now she has a Ph.D. in Mathematics and is the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in one of the most prestigious universities in the Philippines.
Please pray for her because there has been rumors of certain persons in “power” at the university that have been included in a list of the next people to be kidnapped. The President of the University has implemented some security measures as a response to the declared threat which I can’t detail in this post.
Nevertheless, she has her temporary protection but as she told me, Her hope and protection is in the Lord. I have seen this notion personally, growing up in a place that has always been in a state of flux due to religious and cultural challenges, the notion of your faith being challenged by the people around you (sounds familiar?).
All I wish for her birthday and everyday is her safety, health, happiness and that one day I would come home and catch my kids playing with their grandparents. We embrace you in prayer Nanay, we love you very much.
