By Fr Warren Kinne

The author is an Australian Columban who worked in Mindanao in the 1970s. He is now based in Shanghai. He has some Chinese ancestry and during his years in China has come to know relatives there. He wrote this article shortly after the Chinese/Lunar New Year celebration on 8 February 2016.

Chinese Cricket Boxes  

There is a Chinese saying: ‘Huo dao lao, xue dao lao’ which loosely translated is ‘You are never too old to learn’.

A couple of nights ago a dentist friend here in China was driving me home on a cold winter’s night when I heard a chirping noise inside the car. It sounded like crickets but I presumed it was an electronic beep somewhere from the dashboard. At the intersection red light, Doctor Dong reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, opened it, and there were two chirping crickets in two separate wee compartments.

By Bo Sanchez

“How are you, Philip?” I asked a friend one day.Philip retorted, “I’m fine. My son died in an accident, my house burned down, my wife ran away with another man, I lost my job last week and my doctor told me I have lung cancer. Aside from that, I’m okay.”

Philip is the model stoic. I’ve exaggerated his calamities to give you a picture of a wrong way of handling negative emotions; to deny them and cover up our pain. I'm not surprised that Philip has cancer. Why? Because any inner pain that we don’t allow ourselves to feel will manifest itself through tumors, hypertension, heart disease, muscle pains, ulcer. Because of this, I have a fascinating hunch: I bet that if I could only help people acknowledge and feel their hidden emotions of anger, fear, worry and grief, I‘d probably be able to remove 50% of their physical disease. Because our bodies are blueprints of our emotional life.

Sandra, on the other hand, is Philip opposite. “How are you Sandra?” I asked her one day. “Oh Bo, “she crumpled down on my shoulder, “I don’t know what to do with my life. Everyone hates me. No one loves me!” Do I cry with her? The first time, yes. But the eighty-sixth time? I’ve gotten used to her drama. Because every time I see Sandra she always breaks down in a river of tears. Only to find out that her world was about to end because of favorite shirt got damaged in the washing machine or her dog didn’t wag his tail at her!

By Sr Remedios delos Reyes OSB

About a decade ago, the order of Mary of Immaculate came to Windhoek to start the first mission here in Namibia, Southern Africa. In 1923 my own congregation, the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing also went to Namibia to do their apostolates – health and education programs. It’s easy to feel at home here in Namibia. Namibians are very much like us Filipinos. They give importance to family life, education and of course they also love eating and having fun.

Small Population

Namibia is one of the least densely populated countries in the world with an average of 1.3 persons per kilometer. Eleven languages weave a rich cultural tapestry. However, English is the official language since 1990 (Independence Year); Afrikaans and German are also widely used here. There are also eleven ethnic groups in Namibia and the Ovambos are the largest group.

By Ma. Nimfa Penaco-Sitaca

Judge Ma. Nimfa Penaco-Sitaca of the Regional Trial Court of Misamis Occidental was last year named Most Outstanding Judge in the Gender Justice Awards project launched in December 2003 by the Philippines Center for Women’s Studies (UP-CWS), the UP Center for Women’s Studies Foundation, Inc, and the National Commission on the role of Filipino Women (NCRFW). She lives in Ozamiz City.

The light on the lampstand –  today,  that is how I think of the Columban Fathers who  crossed oceans and seas from Australia, Britain, Ireland, New Zealand and the USA to labor in distant mission fields -  the vineyards of the Lord,  in undeveloped Mindanao.