And “Fathers” Know Best Too

Fr. Resty Lumanlan

This article is a segue to Mother Knows Best that was written and posted by Mabel.

11^th Jamboree was my home too. But even though the church was just a stone’s throw away, even though I could hear the Christmas carols loud and clear pag Simbang Gabi, I did not get involved. My routine was simply eskwela-bahay, because I was painfully shy.  

Then on my 16^th birthday, as mom and I were walking home from church, Fr Resty Lumanlan, then Parish Priest, saw us and we stopped for a chat.  When he learned that I was not a member of any of the youth groups, he encouraged me to get involved.

Being from Jamboree too and knowing the Lasams since childhood, I joined the Youth Formation program.  Ray Lasam was one of our facilitators along with Bong Ibay, Baby Sicam and Lyda Onal.  Our group, YF3, was the 3^rd group take part in this program.  

As the goal of this program was to enable the youth to grow spiritually, we had talks, recollections and retreats.  And as I have now come to realize as a Filipino living outside the Philippines, music is very much a part of the Filipino psyche.  Music, singing was very much intertwined with the Spiritual Formation program.  There was singing almost every time we met.  So, it is not surprising that a choir was born, transitioned, morphed out of this formation program. Then almost in a flash, I became Ate to more than just my siblings and cousins.

Thank you, Fr. Resty, for encouraging me to open new doors. And thank you to the facilitators of YF3 for the positive experience that made me want to stay and transition with the group.