Troublesome August?

According to some people, the month of August is unlucky. Although I am not superstitious yet this year's August has been troublesome in some ways:
1. Flooding in Maguindanao.
2. Deadly bombing in Cotabato City.
3. Rain and floods in Metro Manila.
4. Almost the entire province of Luzon was inundated by the monsoon rain.
5. Bearish stock market here and around the world.
6. The sudden demise of our store employee Arnel Yap. May his soul rest in peace.
7. Pork barrel scandals in the Philippines.The mammon greed of our politicians!
8. Bad and foreboding scenarios in Egypt, Syria and others.

I hope and pray that things get better. May good triumph over evil.

Update: 9/2/13
9. My two year old grandson Yuri was hospitalized at Cardinal Santos Hospital for pneumonia last Friday August 30. He is fast getting better now after antibiotic treatments.

500th Post Today

I just realized I had written my 500th blog today entitled "Apocalypse???"

I started writing at multiply.com on December of 2005. Back then, I read and learned from my children and their friends mostly on the same site. I hesitated to write at first, but my children encouraged me. I was afraid I might not be a good writer. I hated to become a bore to my readers. I was kind of shy and even afraid of criticism hence I wanted my site to be more exclusively for family and closed friends only. But when other people started to read and follow me, I was kind of pleased and became more courageous. Still I prefer my blog to have more limited viewers, I know many people will find it hard to connect or relate to me, my life, my way of thinking, my beliefs... and I don't want to displease or misguide anybody.

Yet I have not stopped writing since then, even when Multiply asked me to change venue because they were reformatting their site. Thankfully, my daughters transferred me to Blogspot. (My pictures posted in Multiply got lost though.)

I find blog-writing enjoyable and it keeps me busy. It is a way of binding me with my children who live far apart from home. We keep in touch and they get to know what's happening in town specially about Cotabato City. I also get to express myself and share my joy and bliss. Sometimes it is an outlet for disappointment or desperation. Also as a means to reach out to God in my most spontaneous/extemporaneous thoughts.  At the moment, I am happy that I am still keeping a limited view group but I don't mind when other people want to read it too.

Knowing that I have written a lot, realizing how talkative I have been......It's been great! What an accomplishment!!! Hahaha!

Apocalypse???

These days, Cotabato City and the nearby municipalities are seemingly experiencing apocalyptic scenarios where darkness dominate our places with death, fear and danger. After the killer car bomb last week, came other intermittent blasts in Midsayap, Datu Piang, Kabacan, Upi and nearby supermarket area, etc. These bombings may be some kind of a diversionary ploy to distract investigative work from last August 5 incident, or it may also be a devising tactic to derail the peace talk between the government and the rebellious moros or both. Which ever they belong, they are the works of evil people who meant to harm, kill, hurt and sow fear in the hearts of people. Not only that, few days ago a son of a Filipino trader was also kidnapped (in between Aleosan and Pikit) and now, Cotabato City is currently rife with wild rumors of more atrocities to take place. We are being terrorized and people are terrified.

For me however, I think some of the wildly circulated text messages are penned from a band of different group of people and are brought about by common crazy evil-hearted persons. I can not fathom why some people seem to delight in chaos and become harbinger of lies and bad news. [In the past, I was in few instances able to hear concocted tales circulated by a gossiper (tsismosa) which were totally and utterly untrue. I avoided that lady ever since and I do not believe anymore in gossip as taken per se.] For me, I try to know and listen to what's going on but I don't pass around unreliable messages. Instead I advice my friends to be vigilant, to pray and keep on praying.

God who listens to our desperate prayers will help and answer us. He will aid us in our helplessness! Have faith my good people!!! Pray, I need to keep faith too. Help us O God!

Psalm 64

In connection with the recent bombing here in Cotabato City and elsewhere in Mindanao and all over the world, I would like to reprint......... Psalm 64.

Hear , O God, my voice as I plead, protect my life from the enemy's threat.

Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the corrupt designs of evil plotters,

who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim bitter words like arrows, 

shooting at the innocent from cover, shooting suddenly without fear.

They do not relinquish their evil plan, they conspire to lay snares, saying,

"No one will see us." So they contrive a wicked scheme, and hide the plot they hatch.

How cunning the human mind and heart!

But God will shoot his arrows at them; suddenly they will be struck down and brought to ruin by their own tongue; all who see them will shake their heads.

Humankind will stand in awe; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder on his deeds.

The upright will rejoice and take refuge in the Lord; the upright of heart will glory in him.

                                                  

Bombing in Cotabato

The car bomb that happened along Sinsuat Avenue highway yesterday August 5, 2013 is the handiwork of evil persons who are the devil incarnate themselves. I wonder why they still proudly call themselves Muslims. They have no respect for their own religion when they do their most hideous crime during the holy month of Ramadan. And they are all over the world plotting to kill in the most cowardly and darkest way. They are out-rightly challenging God and defiling their faith and profile. Who in their right mind would like to belong to such a wicked and distorted form of group and all taking the holy name of God in vain. 

According to tv news, it was a personal attack intended for Cynthia Guiani Sayadi, a city administrator working hard for the betterment and improvement of Cotabato City. Cynthia survived the attack but 8 persons were gruesomely and violently killed by the blast and more than 30 people hurt with either major or minor injuries. I saw a footage of the aftermath from a u-tube video and also pictures from the facebook posted by friends. It made me sick and angry. How such wickedness can still exist until now.

God in his good time will take account of the evil deeds done. We must continue to pray. Our concerted prayers will reach God in heaven and He will hear us. O Lord, please protect us from all harm and danger, keep us safe. O blessed mother Mary, please pray for us and the city of Cotabato.

Updating Rain and Floods

I went around few places in the city today and 'gasps!' the streets going to Notre Dame University were mostly flooded. The creeks were over flowing, even my old St. Martha School site was flooded too. (Thank God I did not buy that overpriced lot. Instead I terminated my lease and contract as well as permanently closed my three room kindergarten school. Thank God, He gave me the wisdom to know when to stop). In the city, the old concrete canals built in between buildings were back flowing and seeping through the floors. Old establishments like Co Tiong Bon Store, Yu Kian Guan Hardware, Citizen Bazaar etc were pumping out water from inside the stores to the streets. As I passed through Matampay Bridge, I fearfully estimated that the water was almost near bridge level. Low lying areas in Matampay and Nuling like Philippine Trade Center and its nearby places were flooded. From the flooded Nuling area, I saw belongings of people moved to the road side, they also pitched tents along with them. Some shanties and concrete houses built near the river banks were submerged halfway through. The water level although high was not turbulent though, for if ever the river had been rough, I am sure the shanties would have been washed away long time ago.

A good thing that rain had stopped this morning and the sun is shinning bright. If it continued to rain for 3 more days, half of the city I am afraid will have been flooded.