Thank You Capt. Wong Tian Yu

Posted on July 27, 2011 by oftherock

Capt Wong Tian Yu

This beautiful tarpauline streamer made for the wake of Capt Wong Tian Yu still gets to me every time.

The memorial service held last July 24 was very beautiful.  The words of gratitude for a life well-lived, friendship that he had offered and the joy he added truly poured out.

He was only in Angeles city for 6 months, yet hearing the stories shared by pilots, supervisors, students and friends, would make one easily assume that he had been there for years.  In total he spent 4 years of his life in the Philippines.  3 years and more in Dumaguete where he first learned how to soar up in the blue skies.

Thank you Tian for the many memories that people will be talking about.  Thank you for living up to your name “Tian Yu” – “he who adds JOY.  And you did even for a short while.  You were easy to get along with, uncomplicated, quiet at times yet could easily be one of the guys.  You were humble and always ready to serve.

I would remember the small talks in Dumaguete when I was given the chance to do the teambuilding for the pilots at Aviation Training One International.  You saw the grin on my face that could not be erased, when Capt Harris took me flying with my wife after the sessions.

But I think the two most memorable things about you that will remain would be these:

1. The image of you quietly walking the grounds of Mary Offshore in Bacolod.  It was early morning and I saw you from the 3rd floor.  There was something about the way you walked and the way you looked far toward the sea.  I remember how it resonated inside. It had been more than 3 years in the Philippines.. and I saw myself in you as you quietly walked.  I must have walked that way when I was studying in the US and missing family and friends.  I must have looked away too,  out in the open as I pined for home.

2. Then that evening you joined us inside the nipa hut for a late afternoon chat.  You had a lot on your mind about relationships.  While I counseled another person, I knew that you were taking them all in.. and later on you asked some significant questions about relationships.  I remember how you thanked us as you went back to the dorm that night.

Then there were the sms when you asked for help as you were about to transfer to Angeles. I still have the sms where you hinted that we visit you should we do a church visit in Olongapo and you said “Angeles is along the way… pls pls…”.

But I first saw you in KL back in 1999.  Then again in 2005, as you were already a teen and I would always invite you to the youth camps here.  I was really glad when you started your flying lessons in Dumaguete because the had a vibrant youth ministry that could also cater to you.

When you transferred to Angeles, I sure thought that the young people in the Luzon churches would get to know you.  Would also have the same chance of befriending you like the young people from Visayas and Mindanao.

I could only imagine how much your sister would miss you.  How much your parents would grieve over this loss.

Thank you for living out your passion in life.  Your dad told us about your desire to fly even at a young age and how you would really buy books about flying and how you did your research on which flight school to attend.  You really loved to fly and that was something we shared.  I remember telling you that I was vicariously riding your plane everytime I see your pictures taken from up above.  The only thing I did not get to experience was to fly with you.

Life passions are God given attributes that we may make a difference somewhere.  Your passion was flying – and with that you added joy to the people around you.  Flying was the means by which your life made a profound impact on the lives of those people who spoke at the memorial service.  Your mentor and supervisor, Capt Johann Leung, another Malaysian pilot, cried unashamedly as he talked about you.  Your best friend Abhimeet Kumar was at a loss for words to describe the friendship you shared with him.  And another close friend during your stay in Dumaguete (Rohan) was almost inconsolable in Zimbabwe because he was simply too far to be at the memorial service.

You are the youngest that I did a memorial service for.. and to date, the second most painful.  Thank you for the humbling privilege of doing that for you.  When I go to the Visayas, I know that I will still find your memories in the lives of the people you have touched for more than 3 years.

Preparation for the memorial of Capt Wong Tian Yu

It was a beautiful day last Sunday.  White cottony clouds and blue skies. It was a perfect time to fly.

We started the memorial with the beautiful words from Ansel Adams.. and again I quote him at the end of this blog:

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence”..

The words were very clear.  The photographs were much clearer…. now we are taking them all in contemplative and grateful silence.

Blue skies and fair winds Capt Wong Tian Yu.

Rest in the loving embrace of the Father in heaven.

 

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Fragmented golden hearts and death of a young pilot…

Posted on July 23, 2011 by oftherock

They were an elderly couple struggling to serve the Church by providing pastoral care.  For 10 years they labored so hard ( this I can attest) as the man would carry the sound equipment to the different halls they rented.  For several months, they opened their home and had the church right where it could be deemed intrusive.

I visited them today and I simply listened.  I heard their silent cries and I wondered how it is like being in their shoes. It was as if I was also transported into the future, aged and weak and wondering what had ever happened to the small flock entrusted to my care.

And as I was listening to them, another woman came. She heard that someone was coming.  She came.  No appointments and just simply interrupted our conversation (the couple was expecting her to show up nonetheless).  She had only one thing in her mind and her purpose was crystal clear.

She wanted to be prayed over.

I was struck at the simplicity of her request.  She did not know me but she knew she could ask for help. A prayer perhaps. An encouragement.  And she got all those.

And as I listened to the couple as they resumed their stories, I was humbled by their humility and their service to God.

I left their house very aware that I had been emotionally drained. It has also been quite challenging personally the past couple of weeks.  And while it was encouraging being with them… the sharing of burdens do not necessarily make it light right away. Only after those things were processed in different aspects can one begin to sense a “lightness of being.”

It was a long day.  It was a tiring day.  But I did not expect that it could go sadder than what I heard.

The phone kept ringing and I was tempted to ignore it. But it was persistent.  Someone was calling my wife’s phone. I picked it up and what I heard, I would carry for a lifetime.

“We need your help.. my brother was in a fatal plane crash….”  I heard the word fatal… but I could not match the name , the tone and the slow sense of numbness engulfing me.  It was a short call.  Someone I knew and someone I had worked with in some of the youth camps, someone who called me “Tito” (uncle) figured in that plane crash.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/27839/2-dead-in-plane-crash-near-clark

I walked upstairs deciding how to break the news to my wifey – but when I saw her… it was as if the floodgates of emotion burst out.  ”Tian Yu is dead….”  I could not believe that I was already reading his name this way.  I had imagined him soaring high, flying high and enjoying those awesome planes we had talked about before.

My head hurts as I write this.  My eyes hurt from the tears that would not flow.  He was too young.  He was simply too young.

I still have the sms he sent telling me the new address where he was going to stay.  I saw him several weeks ago in one of the churches and we talked briefly.  But there were many conversations, serious ones, when I would visit their area in the Visayas.  The last conversation was about relationships.  And there at the retreat place in Bacolod, we talked.  And he asked questions and we listened.  I can still see his face. I can still see his walk.  I can still see him walking around the perimeter walls of the retreat place early in the morning.  I can still see his face covered by that aviator sunglasses as the campers would ask him to perform something at camps.

It is too surreal.  I just do not simply understand.

Our prayers go to the family.  To the flying community. To the friends who have been encouraged by what his life represented – passion for flying.

We will miss you profoundly Tian Yu.

Blue skies to you my young friend.

Blue skies…. and beyond into the loving embrace of our Father.

 

 

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When will the violence end?

Posted on July 15, 2011 by oftherock

It can really be too much.  Too much that you just want to do something that would change this world a bit.  Change it for the better. Make it respect the value of human life.

1. I grieved and am still grieving for Caylee Anthony.  When the mother was acquitted of the crime – it still left a very wide void filled with questions that need to be answered.  Who killed her?  It is as if justice had rested after the trial sessions.  Casey Anthony is walking out of jail and it seemed as if there was no crime done to a 2-year old girl whose beautiful life was taken from her.

2. Then this boy who has simply walking happily from Day Camp.   God the world is filled with violent people.  It broke my heart to see the final clips from the CCTV camera that got the last few seconds of the boy seen walking, carefree , just like how any boy should be… only to be met by violence from that man.

3. Then Jaycee Dugard… and her horrifying story of captivity for 18 long years!

4. That Filipina overseas worker who was sexually assaulted in Saudi Arabia by three Saudi men.  And the woman was 9 MONTHS PREGNANT!!  Thank you Lord that she gave birth to a baby already – but heal her body and her mind from the trauma of that violent experience.

And there are more…. many more stories that still go un-published, many more children who are taken away from their safety zones and taken to a world full of violence.  In the United States, a news anchor briefly mentioned that 58,000 american children disappear every year….

And I shudder at the thought that as I write this.. a child is being molested somewhere, a child is being kidnapped and forced into work or sex slavery, a woman is being gang-raped, a boy is being beaten ….  and the voices of those who were made silent are adding up daily.

And we are just simply discussing physical violence.  How about the emotional and psychological violence done to people who are in prison?  The psychological violence done to children who had been molested by their family members?  The anguish of women realizing that they had been replaced by their philandering husbands… or the un-screamed terror of a little child as he sees a mother or a father walking out of the door for the last time….

God when will all these end?

 

 

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“it is invisible to the eyes…”

Posted on July 11, 2011 by oftherock

One can only see rightly with the heart; what is essential is invisible to the eyes.” –  Antoine de St. Exupéry.

There are times when we look at certain situations and cannot understand what the deal is.  It frustrates us.  Sometimes we just want to give up.  Even our faith can cave in through trying circumstances that is why the Apostle Paul asked the Lord for the eyes of his heart to be opened so that he may see.

What are you missing?  What is it that you have sought to understand but still fail miserably in comprehending.

You see with your eyes , yet not seeing.

How may your heart see things rightly?

 

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Soul A quiescat

Posted on July 11, 2011 by oftherock

Sometimes you just want to be quiet and have a personal retreat.pic

This picture was taken in Tagaytay when I was requested to address a small group of young people about to work on their mission and vision as a team.

I went outside the venue and just looked around and spotted this perfect place.

Serene.

Peaceful.

Good for the soul.

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Just because…

Posted on July 8, 2011 by oftherock

Just because I don’t often speak about you now – does not mean I do not miss you.

Just because I do not have tons of pictures of you – does not mean you have been forgotten.

Just because there is a new one in our lives – does not mean you have been replaced.

Just because no one sees me cry when I think of you – does not mean your memory is not treasured.

Just because I look happy and confident – does not mean I am not sad when I remember you.

It is just the opposite.

I still look at your pictures in the quiet of the night – usually around 3am.

I try to touch the walls where you have left an imprint that I refuse to erase.

I see you in my dreams and most recently it felt so vivid that I woke up from it.

No one knows how much

- you are missed and how much you are loved.

No one knows how much we still cry in grief over our loss.

It still hurts like hell when I remember you Beans.

Looking forward to that Rainbow Bridge.

Sgt Beans

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Closure

Posted on July 8, 2011 by oftherock

Closure.

Finality.  The way things are carefully stacked in our hearts, memories and thoughts as we strive to put them away.

Done out of our desire to remember something in the future – but with less barb and less pain.

Also a way of celebrating the memory of those who had been important to us.

2011 is turning out to be a year of closure.  And this is one of them.  A celebratory closure.  A closure that is teemed with gratitude.

In memory of one of my most loved mentors who passed away in February.

Goodbye dear old friend.  Goodbye Dr. Nelson.

(Draft of this started in Feb.2011 – several months later I am able to finish this article now)

This was published in the United Church of God ministerial newsletter on February 10 – written by Mitch Knapp (thanks to Aaron  Booth for posting this announcement)

Death of Dr. Kermit O. Nelson

Dr. Kermit O. Nelson died Wednesday morning, Feb. 2, 2011, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, of complications from pneumonia at the age of 85. Dr.Nelson is remembered for his teaching and coaching at Imperial Schools and Ambassador College in both Pasadena, California, and Big Sandy, Texas, from 1957 until he retired in 1995. He was a major player in the creation and development of the Summer Education Programs in Big Sandy and Orr, Minnesota, serving as camp director for many years. Dr. Nelson lived in Big Sandy until 2008 when he moved to live with his daughter, Rebekah, in Letcher, South Dakota. Already in frail health, he fought pneumonia for a week and died in the VA hospital with Rebekah at his side.

Dr. Nelson was a man of many interests. A lifelong love of baseball and softball inspired him to organize many softball tournaments and SEP pitching challenges. He taught music and in his latter years enjoyed leading hymns in 49 different congregations he was able to visit. His 50th and last congregation in which he lead hymns was at Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, which he felt was a fitting finale.

After he moved to South Dakota, Dr. Nelson attended the UCG congregation in Sioux Falls a few times but, due to his health, was unable to do so on a regular basis. He leaves a legacy of service, creativity, faithful dedication to God’s work and kindness to all. You may check out and contribute to a Facebook page that has been set up in his memory at

http:// tinyurl.com/drkermitnelson.

It has been 2 weeks since my camp mentor passed.  But I could not bring myself to write anything.  A Facebook group was created by one of the SEP alumnus and it steadily gained momentum as different wonderful and personal memories were recalled.

2 weeks ago – I noticed a spike on my blog and when I studied the online searches, they included “Dr Kermit Nelson” along with the words “death, obituary…”.

I immediately posted a question on FB and hoped that someone could give me some clear answers.  In less than 10 minutes, the answer came.  My mentor, Dr. Kermit Nelson had passed.

I remember reading about the death of his wife Lee Nelson. She died in 2007 but I only learned of it in 2009.  That same feeling of shock and the thought of being too far to do anything – came rushing back to me.

My mentor, (one of the many) had passed.

The group that was formed online is called “Things Dr. Nelson taught me…” while I shared something personal there… there are many more that are still waiting to be expressed.

Let me begin by copying what I had posted on the FB group page:

“Unit 4 to Unit 10… was one of those things that I heard on a daily basis when I served as his Admin Aide at SEP Orr. I looked at my watch and it was only 11am. I wondered what the doctored ordered.

“What’s your 10-20?” he asked and said “meet me at the cabin then we will go to the post office…”

Post office? I asked myself – why were we going to the post office? I got tons of things to do and still had a long list of assignments he gave me.

We rode the red van and he drove. And he was very quiet which was quite unusual. As we were exiting the property, I noticed several black and white pictures on the floor… i glanced at them and said “what are these black and white pictures for?”

He glanced at them and then looked at the road ahead… we were crossing a small road before we hit the highway.

“Those are pictures of my first wife…” Oh… ok…I tried to look at the picture but felt like I was intruding a very private memory.

He took one of the pictures and handed it to me. As I started studying the details he softly said “She died in 1977… today is her death anniversary…”

I will never forget that moment.

We drove in silence. I was sobered that he was sharing such precious personal things to me at that time.

We drove in silence around Orr. We did not go to the Post office… we simply drove in silence.

That is one of the moments with Dr. Nelson that I will never ever forget. Driving through Orr, MN as he was remembering the death anniversary of his first wife.”

I had served the Philippine SEP camps for 14 years – and those years saw the influence of Dr. Nelson. The integration of what he allowed me to experience at SEP Orr, his thoughts and ideas integrated into our context….

When I directed Summer Camps – I was very keenly aware of his influence in my life.

And because it was such a very personal experience, I realized now that not many would be able to put the same value to some of those things that  I have learned to value.

He would always tell me that the reason we are so picky with details is that because we want to make sure that the camp experience would be so fantastic for the campers – because we took care of all the necessary details and even went a mile beyond.

I realized now that not everyone could share that value and would simply settle for what is minimum.

From him I learned the value of really training the counselors and staff because as he would put it “they are the frontliners” of what we are trying to do.  And for years, I had that urgency to train and open the minds of the counselors and staff with regards to the youth.

I realized now that it is not necessarily a shared value because they are content or seemingly confident with what they already have.

Too many things he taught me. And as I write this a couple of months delayed from the week of his death, memories of him keep flooding back.

Thank you Dr Nelson.  Thank you for seeing what I did not see in myself when you took me under your wings.  Thank you for being strict and for not allowing me to settle in what’s okay – but what could actually be best.

That single memory of you inside that truck as we drove slowly to the sleepy town of Orr with those black and white pictures inside, as we drove in silence , will forever be etched in my memory.

You have touched so many lives. I pray that I will be as worthy to touch even half of the number of people you did.  I had served the SEP camps for 23 years as counselor and staff and 14 years of that as Camp Director.

I would have never been able to do that had it not been for your quiet and steady mentoring during the summers of 1991 – 1994.

It is time for me to pass the baton as you did in 1995 when you retired from camp ministry after serving many years at SEP.

With your death in February – and as I counted the years, a deep part of me sensed that it was also time to pass it on to others whom God may have given the burden to do so.

Thank you Dr Nelson. See you in Kingdom!

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Death of a dream…

Posted on May 19, 2011 by oftherock

Driving through the jam-packed Quezon City Memorial Circle today for a 9AM meeting, I was listening to a news radio where the anchors Ted Failon and Pinky Webb were discussing the recent tragic death of  Maico Buncio.  A very young, world-class rider that at the age of 22 has already been regarded a phenomenon.  He was our 4-time National Champion since 2007 and he was defending his crown at the Clark Circuit when the accident took place. Started riding since he was 3 – and the freak accident that killed him – when he was impaled on a metal rod (which was not supposed to be there) ended a career that was really beginning to show its beautiful colors.  He was supposed to represent the country in the coming months.

I got really affected by this news that I immediately googled  his name when I got to the office.  It seems to me that there has been a spate of young deaths in recent weeks.  AJ Perez who died on their way home when their van was hit by a truck , the 3 teens in NHV Bulacan ( one was our worship team drummer) and then Maico Buncio who died at 22 last Sunday early morning from the accident that took place last Saturday in Clark.

As the details are beginning to come out, one could not help but feel the anger rising inside.  How he was carelessly removed by the medic personnel from the metal rod and made his condition worse.  He was still alive as he was being transported by the ambulance, with him consuming so much bags of blood every 15 minutes.  He was even able to talk to his girlfriend on the way to the hospital.

His death was not just a lost of life. Of a very young, promising life.  But a death of a dream as well.  His own, his parents’ dreams for him, the country’s dream (our version of Tiger Woods when it comes to motor bike racing).. all those dreams died when he met that tragedy last saturday afternoon.

It seems that in recent weeks we have seen so many dreams that have died.  These are the ones that made the headlines or got spread through the social networking sites.  But then there are those who experience a daily death of their dreams as they wonder when their situations will change.  To some of these people, their dreams have started to give its dying gasp even when they are still alive.

How about you? Are you still dreaming?  Are you still able to take off from your present situation and imagine what it would be like if you are fulfilling your destiny?  While it is really tragic that our young people have perished in different accidents, what could be more tragic is a young person, who has already given up while he is still very much alive and breathing.  As if their dream was never even given a chance to flourish.

It was an early death SuperChamp.  You will be sorely missed by your family and friends.  Our prayers go to them, particularly to that young lady who touched your face for the last time and walked away knowing that “you will never wake up” anymore.

Ride high Super Champ.

 

 

 

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Prayer for a very traumatized 12-year old boy…

Posted on April 13, 2011 by oftherock

I got an sms yesterday morning pleading for help for a 12-year old boy who disappeared in last friday.  The boy, Robert (not his name) has been missing for 4 days.  I was connected to the brother who sought my help and gave some details. They live in somewhere north of Manila and the older brother was busy processing his job application.  The 12-year old boy who just graduated from elementary school, was vacationing in his grandmother’s house.

There was a power outage last Friday. The boy went out to send sms outside.  He did not return.  Only his slippers were found.

I could not shake the horrifying thought of what happened to this boy throughout the day.  Out there in the big city, a boy was taken from his environment and who knew what was happening to him. I feared that he would not be found.  They went to the local police station and the cops there prepared the parents by even showing them pictures of previous children kidnapped.  Pictures showing their disemboweled bodies.  I could just imagine the parents cringing at the thought.

I was distracted the whole day by this event. I prayed and prayed and asked God to intervene.  I sent out a prayer broadcast through the prayer network….

Still feeling depressed about it, I got another sms from the brother.  The boy has been returned.

1. He was abducted by men riding a van who called him and asked for his help.

2. The men who abducted him wore bonnets to cover their faces.

3. They barely fed him throughout the whole ordeal.

4. The boy said they were brought to the house during the day and were in the mountains during the night.

THEY WERE?? What do you mean, they were brought? I asked.  Broke my heart when the reply was “there were 2 other boys taken as well…”  Where are they now?  The boy said “when they took me back… the other boys were still sleeping because they were all very, very tired..”

This 12-year old boy was taken back to their place somewhere north of Manila.  How did the thugs know where to take him back?

In the coming days, the boy needs to be seen by a psychiatrist… the brother said that the 12 year old boy was really traumatized by the whole ordeal.  And the whole family is still very much afraid that the syndicate may be aware of their location.

I asked why the boy was freed…. and he said ‘I do not know why…”

But we could only thank God for this powerful intervention.  We did not know anything. We just prayed. And as we rejoice over this fact and as we sigh a big sigh of relief… I could not help but think of the 2 other boys who are still being held by those thugs.

Please God just as you have miraculously intervened in the life of Robert, would you please do the same thing for the two other nameless boys.  Please rescue them and bring them back to the safe and loving embrace of their broken-hearted parents.  Please keep them safe and protect them from harm.

Please bring them safely home.

 

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Tears for Japan…

Posted on March 13, 2011 by oftherock

Powerful images that are too overwhelming for anyone to see. Massive destruction that do not seem to let up.  Fires, tsunami, waves, debris, nuclear meltdown…one could not watch what is happening in Japan without being shaken to the core.

We fear the approximate number of casualties.  Of towns being completely erased off the map. Of families not being to look for their loved-ones.. and on and on where this disaster could take us.

We could only offer our prayers for the people of Japan.  We pray for your safety. We pray for the provision that you would all need in the coming days and weeks.  We pray that you are reunited with your loved ones – and if they perished in the disaster, that you would all be able to find their remains for your proper and loving goodbyes.

We pray that the little ones that have been orphaned will be taken care of.  We pray that the nuclear meltdown would be controlled.  We pray for the miracles that Japan needs right now.

We are watching the images and our hearts are breaking for all of you there in Sendai, Tokyo and all the other parts where life has been changed in a minute.

We cry with you.

We lift up our prayers for Japan.

 

 

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