Last May, one of my classmates from high school set up an outreach program for the children of Buscalan, which is a small village North of the Philippines. This classmate was a close friend in 2nd year high school, but kinda drifted apart after that year. From his Facebook posts in the past years/months, I learned that he is battling depression, and that makes me so proud of him that he has found his calling with this outreach program. He plans to distribute school supplies and health kits to the kids, as well as have a short program with snacks.
I reached out to him ofcourse. Unfortunately, I could not give actual supplies nor go with him on the trip, so I asked for his bank account so I can share a small amount that could hopefully still help. Again, this was back in May.
Well your dad and I aren't really ideal models of financial stability, and you know how he felt about charities. In short, I kept putting off the donation mainly because we were running short of funds. Also because I didn't have the guts to tell your dad that I'm setting aside money for kids in a faraway village.
Fast forward to yesterday. Lola and I brought M to your pedia for his vaccine. I didn't feel the need to check his baby book but I knew I had to set aside Php1600 for vaccine. I even sent a text message to the pedia earlier that day to ask what was the vaccine worth Php1600 so he can bring a vial for M later that night. He said it was for MMR and that was it so we brought M. Turned out M already had his MMR so we just did a well-baby check up and was advised that next vaccine is for M's 5-in-1 shot, which costs Php3000 and is due 3 weeks from now.
So yey I have extra money and I was thinking finally I could go out and eat more at work. I could also save the Php1600 so I could just worry about the rest of the cost of the 5-in-1 vaccine later. But surprise surprise! God had other plans! Here was how God spoke to me --
1. Suddenly I remembered that a few days back, I read a post from Ptr. Joseph Bonifacio talking about how we should guard our hearts. He also speaks of giving away (i.e. share) material possessions because of generosity and because this is what is good for our hearts.
2. My classmate posted a number of items that they still need for the outreach.
3. Even after seeing #2 above, I did not quite get it. I was thinking maybe my classmate already forgot about my pledge and I no longer need to fulfil it. Then this came today - this is a post on a Verse of the Day application on my phone --
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| 1 Corinthians 10:13 |
Like God was telling me not to be tempted to back out on my promise.
4. You know how God gave me a "way out" as He promised in #3? You see sometimes, I transfer a small amount from my salary to my savings account. This is done before all the budget plans for the payout are made. The money almost always get used up to make up for shortages in the budget plan, e.g. we ate out or we made pasyal, etc. For this payout, I actually forgot all about the money. Your dad and I were so frugal that halfway along the payperiod, the money was still intact! I believe this is God providing for us, reminding us that if we are bent on providing for other people, He will provide for us. Dont't you think so?
5. To cap it all off, the Responsorial Psalm and gospel for today's mass is all about God's providence too. The gospel was about the miracle of the loaves and fishes, while the psalm is shown below --
So, yes, God. There is no denying Your message to me. I sent the money the same night and sent a note to my classmate.
I pray the outreach will be a success and that they will be able to connect with a lot of children. I pray for the children that they be inspired to achieve their dreams and that they get encouragement despite whatever struggle they are currently experiencing in their lives.
Amen.
