Written Love

TIME SPACE WARP NGAYON DIN!

10 years ago, while the whole world was scared of the Y2K and thinking of ways how to put down the millennium bug on computers, one Friday afternoon, after worship service, just when they're about to go home, some of our Churchmates were persecuted and brought to jail by the moslem police since they've found out that we have a so called "underground Church" at our Villa. (Saudi Arabia is a very conservative country)


As the head of our Church, upon hearing the news, my Dad immediately prepared himself, packed a couple of clothes and brushed his teeth. He was so sure that he will be taken too by the Mutawas. Never ko kinakitaan ng TAKOT ang Daddy that day. He just prayed.

As far as I can remember, marami pang natirang tao sa loob ng villa though mga families na lang naman. My Dad told them what he knew and the rest was history.

Actually, 1 Church member who had the chance to talk to my Father even said that the authorities know every single thing going on inside our house. They even asked him "Who is your Christian leader?" something like that. Ang vague ng araw na yon sa utak ko, flashes lang ang naaalala ko.

Mom was I think 3 months pregnant then with a baby girl. What's odd was, she also didn't show signs na natatakot sya for the life of my Dad. She had faith kay Lord na hindi Niya kami pababayaan at this time.

Basta what happened was, in one week, all the lights were turned off sa buong villa. We didn't even talked loudly. Lahat ng Bibles were put into black plastic bags and distributed to different houses. Yung mga files ng computer about sa Church were all put to "hidden", musical instruments which we use during praise and worship were all bagged out, the Church which used to be a big room was converted into 2 rooms para if by any chance na pasukin ang villa ng mga authorities, wala sila makikita. We still did our everyday routine BUT WITH CAUTION.

1 week passed and thank God, my Dad wasn't brought in for interrogation. Prayers were in-depth during those times. Some people were getting paranoid about the situation, but my Dad's faith was unshakable. 2 weeks after, nothing happened. 3 weeks, still no news. Hindi ko na maalala when it happened pero the people who were brought to jail was pinalaya rin. Hanggang sa balik sa dati nanaman ang lahat sa dati.
 
Dahil sa nangyari, naisip ni Mommy na ipangalan ang FAITH sa upcoming member of the family since faith really was the only reason for us to live just like any other day. EVERYBODY WALKED BY FAITH and LIVED BY FAITH for that 3 long weeks.

September 8, 2000
Baby Faith came into our world. I became an Ate once again. Ang bilis nya lumaki. As a child hindi sya mahirap kausapin. She would crack the family up every time. Hindi sya mahirap alagaan though minsan sinusumpong. She was the perfect little sister an Ate could wish for. AND I HAVE HER! :)

FAST FORWARD September 8, 2010
Faith is now 10 years old. A lot taller than the Faith I saw 10 years ago. Her arms and legs are a lot longer now. She doesn't need a candy to settle things anymore. We don't need to sing for her to go to sleep anymore. She knows how to take care of herself na. Knows what color of shirt ang teterno sa color ng leggings nya. And what color of legging ang teterno sa flip-flops nya. Faith is full of surprises. She never fails to show me everyday na kapatid ko nga sya. The way she speaks, the way she moves, the way she laughs, the way she sees things.. It's like I'm looking at my self 12 years ago. She is indeed a gift from God. A gift that I will forever cherish and love.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FAITH! I pray na you would grow up according to God's plan and that you honor Mommy and Daddy as you age. I'm sorry if minsan napapagalitan kita. Kung hindi ko gagawin yon, no one will. Alam mo namang busy si Daddy sa hardware, si Mommy malayo si Kuya may sariling mundo. hehe. Wag sana sasama ang loob mo everytime napapagsabihan kita kase I don't get mad naman for no reason diba? Minsan lang pag may sumpong! :))) May the Lord would always fill your heart with love and happiness. You are blessed kaya be a blessing to people rin.

Daddy, Mommy, Ate and Kuya will be forever thankful kay Lord for your life.
We love you so so much.

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Atehood file no. 9010

Kakatapos ko lang kausapin ng masinsinan si Kidsister. Kanina kase, habang naghihintay kami maluto ang hotdog na tig-7 peysos sa barbekyuhan ni Tita Grasya, may nakita syang dalawang aso na magkatalikod. Nakita ko rin naman. They were obviously making offsprings doggy style.

I didn't make a fuzz out of it pero I can see she's showing curiosity. Though alam naman nya na dogs hump each other kase we had puggies before. Ang explanation ko sakanya everytime na nagha-hump yung dalawang dogs namin, naglalaro lang. Hindi naman ako nag-lie since both male yung dogs namin non. Hindi naman talaga for reproduction ang reason ng humping nila.

Going back sa situeyshen, yung mga dogs na nakita namin, nasa last phase na wherein magkatalikod na sila. I guess the bitch was in pain kase walang tigil sya sa pag-tahol habang tinatry nya kumawala sa churchur nung male dog.

"Ate, ano kaya yung nakakabit sakanila?"

"Baket hindi matanggal?"

"Kawawa naman!"

Paulit-ulit lang na ganyan yung tanong nya sakin. Paulit-ulit rin naman yung sagot ko na "Magkakahiwalay rin sila..." Nangyari to lahat habang inaantay ko maluto yung order namin. Inabot na samin ni Tita G. yung food. Sakto, nagbuntong hininga si Kidsister. A sigh of relief malamang kase nagkahiwalay na nga yung dalawang aso.

Nagulat na lang ako kase umiyak yung kapatid ko. Well, iyakin naman talaga sya dati pa when it comes to animals. In fact, naiyak sya nung napanood nya ito at yung isa pang video na hindi ko na makita na tungkol rin sa dogs. Anyway, tumambling na kami pauwi kase tinatanong na sya anong nangyari ng mga tao na bumibili rin sa barbekyuhan.

Pagdating sa house, I sat her down sa room. During this time, ngumangawa pa rin sya. Honestly, habang iniintay ko sya kumalma, iniisip ko yung mga right words to say and right way kung pano i-explain. Naisip ko na chance na rin ito para umpishan ko sya sa sex education since going 10 yrs old naman na sya in weeks. Nung bata kase ako, taboo sa bahay namin ang any topic regarding sex. Yes, it's safe to say na our parents are kindda conservative sa topic na yon. I don't want my Kidsister to learn these things outside our home kaya kahit na kakaba kaba ako, tinry ko pa rin i-explain sakanya.

Mejo kalma naman na sya though humihikbi-hikbi parin. I started to ask her yung reason kung bakit sya umiyak. She said "eh kase akala ko hindi matatanggal". I told her then na it is a normal thing for dogs na mag-hump kase it's their own way to make puppies. Pinaintindi ko sakanya na for reproduction purposes yung nakita nya, na after a few months, makikita namin na may bago ng puppies yung dog ng kapitbahay. Inexplain ko na rin sakanya na isa pang term for reproduction process is sex, which is ginagawa ng mga tao para makapag-reproduce ng babies.

Tahimik lang sya all the time. Tinanong ko kung anong iniisip nya, kung may iba pa syang tanong. Pinaulit ko sakanya yung explanation ko and according to my assessment, naintindihan naman nya.

Being an Ate is not easy talaga. Given na ako pa yung panganay. Hindi naman ako nagrereklamo. Masaya pa nga ako kase I get to explain things kay Kidsister na yung mga hindi nya maintindihan. I thank God for the knowledge and wisdom. :)


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