6 November 2005
Dear Mr Lester Alamares,
I am glad to have read your story in the youth page. It is good that Misyon paves the way for the chance to share experiences through Our Hideaway – ‘l know what my plans for you are’ – in July-Aug 2005.
By Peace Flores
Despite suffering from mild cerebral palsy since childhood, the author is a second-year Secondary Education, English Major at the University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos (UNO-R), Bacolod City.
By Maria Riza J. Gallego
I am Maria Riza J. Gallego. Reading Misyon was my pastime in high school at the Sisters of Mary Girlstown School in Talisay City, Cebu. Back then, I used to keep it in my bag especially if there was a new issue. I really wanted to always be the first to read the magazine. (Sorry, dorm mates I was the one hiding it.) After our high school graduation I never had the chance to read the Misyon.
Now, after eight long years, here I am now reading the magazine without my 38 dorm mates to contend with, thanks to my college friend who lent me the magazine.
By Lu Mahino
Our letter sender, Lu Mahino, is from Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte and is presently based in Hong Kong. She is an active parishioner in Rosary Church parish, serving as lector and youth coordinator.
Sometime in September, Fr Eamon Sheridan, the assistant parish priest for the English-speaking congregation at Rosary Church, Kowloon, Hong Kong, posted the Misyon link on Facebook featuringThe Road to Agoo by ‘truknoiz’ (Kurt Pala). ‘Inspiring’ was the way Father Eamon, who is a member of the Columban General Council, which moved from Ireland to Hong Kong last year, described it.
This letter is from our files. The author was a second-year high school student at the time when Misyon was still a printed magazine. Her name and address are with the editor.
Dear Father Seán Coyle,
Greetings in the name of Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
I’m a second-year student in a Catholic high school in the Visayas. I love reading Misyon. I love the stories in it and I learned a lot from it. Among the stories or articles, my favorite is In Him Alone by Noe Hijara Pedrajas (July-August 2004 issue). [Editor’s note: The author of that article is now a priest in the Diocese of Marbel.] It really touched my heart. I learned many things from this article. I learned that we should never lose our faith in God no matter what happens in our lives. I learned that we should never blame God for the death or loss of a loved one. I believe that ‘In every darkness there is Light’.
A young reader reflects on the article on Father Aedan McGrath and his touching story of friendship with a little bird, while he was in prison.
Dear Father Seán,
It’s my first time to read Misyon. This periodical was distributed to us only in our fourth year of high school. As I was scanning the pages in this magazine, the article A Heavenly Farewell caught my eye. I got interested and so I read it and found it so amazing. It’s about a man who found a true friend in a little bird while he himself was in a prison cell.
In my own understanding, the bird signifies the presence of Jesus, that even a little innocent creature can be an image of God and an instrument of his love. Every creature has the guts to be a friend of everybody, and I guess birds are loyal fellows. They are sweet creatures that look for peace.
Dear Father Coyle,
I am an avid reader of Misyon, probably because my mother used to be a promoter. But since it’s now available online, I have free access to it and an article a week is a good medium for reflection. Misyon seems to highlight the lives of modern-day heroes in their own simple yet extraordinary ways.
By Bea Paola V. Basilio
The author has since graduated from high school.
Dear Father Seán,
I am Bea Paola V. Basilio, a fourth year student studying at St Paul College of Ilocos Sur, Bantay, Ilocos Sur. I have been a subscriber to Misyon from first year till now. Our teacher in Religious and Values Education introduced us to the magazine. At first, I thought that it was just simple literary material without anything I could benefit from and purchased it just for the sake of having it.
The author has recently migrated to Sydney, Australia. He has contributed an article featured in Misyon’s January-February 2007 issue, Our Hideaway section.
Dear Father Seán,
Salaam Aleikum! It was in my senior year in high school that I found Misyon. My great religion teacher, Mr Eduardo Verdadero, introduced it to our class. He encouraged the writers in our class, especially me, to get published. About three years later, with both of us gone from the school, I finally did it. Idle Thoughts Past an Ash-heaven Morning was my first article to be published and what a feeling I had! My breakthrough after numerous rejections truly saved me from oblivion and furthered my understanding of that great word, ‘hope’. Now, every time I read your magazine, I remember Sir Ed because aside from pointing me towards pretty good food for my soul, in more ways than one, as my best mentor, he influenced me profoundly in the way I look at myself today.
