By Nirva Delacruz
“We work hard; we play hard.”
It’s the mantra of the driven but also of those who practically pour out, not just their energy, but their heart and soul into the service of others.
This thinking inspired the Arnold Janssen Kalinga staff outing on April 10 – 13 in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro—where else?—to the beach!
Generously welcomed by Divine Word College – San Jose, Occidental Mindoro president Fr. Felino Javines, Jr., upon their arrival, the staff then set out to a secluded island in Sitio Iyungkay for two nights of rest and recreation by the seaside.
The AJ Kalinga staff played games, shared stories, kayaked, and even had an intensely competitive “AJ Kalinga Got Talent” musical showdown…
At the Coral Beach House, twenty-one staff, as well as two of our media friends, Raffy Lerma and Vincent Go, one of our most beloved donors, Hedy Lee, and several Paghilom facilitators swam, played games, shared stories, kayaked, and even had an intensely competitive “AJ Kalinga Got Talent” musical showdown, which was won by Josephine Moria in first place with her winning Visayan ballad “Himayang Nahunlak”; Fatima Fernando in second place; and Albert Rañeses in third.
Heading back to downtown San Jose, the last day was spent interacting with the bright Mangyan scholars of the Mangyan Education Center (“Mangyan Balay Adalan”), an in-house formation house for Mangyan scholars.
The day tour of the town also included side trips to the town’s World War II war memorial; a San Jose marker by the sea; and the San Jose cathedral. Some staff also went for a food trip at the local night market to buy trinkets and listen to some live band music.
We were all reminded of the graciousness of our Lord whom we serve and whose “yoke is light.”
Recharged for the mission, the AJ Kalinga fam headed back to Manila on April 13.
Truly, “anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His.”
The Arnold Janssen Kalinga Foundation Inc. is a Catholic foundation committed to re-creating and empowering the lives of the homeless and families of extra-judicial killings∎