Life’s Sneak Preview

I remember how I was so excited when I first attended Kerygma Feast last year (November 26, 2004). I’ve been waiting for that event to happen here in Cagayan de Oro, and when it finally did, I was overjoyed! I’ve spread the word to almost all the people in my phonebook, sent emails and sms to friends and colleagues, and even had a phone brigade to those friends whom I can easily contact through a landline. Whew! I was so full of enthusiasm then.  And when the feast was over, I couldn’t just wait for another one to come. And God did grant my wish when my IT buddy, Fe, informed me that there’s gonna be a “feast” on the 5th of August, with no less than the great preacher himself, Bo Sanchez! Wuhoo!! The long wait is over! Kerygma Feast is finally coming back to CDO!

August 05, 2005 - the day of the Kerygma Feast.  I had to cancel my Friday class then, and had to schedule a makeup class for my students, ‘coz I really didn’t want to miss the K Feast! Me and my colleagues (Fe, Wyeth & Judith) had to leave the office as early as 5:01 pm ‘coz we wanted to make sure we get the front row seats at the venue, hehe! But oopps! Just when we were about to leave the building, the rain poured out so suddenly! Some sort of a typhoon then ‘coz we find it so hard conquering the heavy downpour of the rain. Well, no turning back, girls! Oh yeah, there’s no way we should miss the feast! Nothing can stop us.. not even the storm or whatsoever, hehe! We were about to call for a taxi when Ma’am Fe Macion (our AVP for Finance) just popped in and asked us if we were going to the Kerygma Feast. A big “yes” was heard from the group. Call it luck, Ma’am Fe invited us to join her in her car ‘coz she was heading the same way! Wow! Nalibre na among pamasahe, nakasakay pa mi sa sakyanan sa among AVP! It was indeed a blessing! God is so good! (Thanks Ma’am Fe for giving us a ride, and for some good news you shared!).

When we finally arrived at the venue, we felt our stomachs craving for food, so we treated ourselves for a hotdog burger and joined in the long queue for the free milo hehe! Just imagine us heading our way to the entrance of the gym carrying a hotdog on the left hand and 2 cups of milo on the right.. and.. ooops! Wait a minute! The entire gym was so dark! (it was like entering a movie theater!).  Nag brown out man diay, hehe! No matter how dark it was, we still proceeded and found out there were already people occupying the seats. We got the third row seats ‘coz the first and second rows were already taken. Well, not bad for the “not too early birds” like us hehe! A few minutes after we have taken our seats, the lights went back! Yahhooo! The event was then started with a holy mass, after which were some production numbers from the Oasis of Love. Fired up with adrenaline to start off the main event, the entire crowd joined the preacher/music artist Alvin Barcelona in singing and dancing with the joyous hymns! It was indeed a lively concert! The applause went louder when Alvin finally introduced the speaker of the night, Bro. Bo Sanchez! I’m an avid reader of Bo’s writings (Kerygma & Didache), but hearing his preaching in person was much more different. His enigmatic charisma was amazing, one would never miss hearing every single word of his talk. As in, modulot jud sa kubukugan ang iyang gipang storya. Plus he has this certain wit and humor, the crowd would really enjoy every detail of his preaching. Indeed it was a 100% drowsy-free gathering.

There was one Bo liner that has struck me then. He said, “What you take in consistently defines you!” Indeed, it’s true! And being a struggling christian that I am, there are still a lot of things that I “take in consistently”, which unknowingly has defined myself into what I would not supposed to be. (Ooops! Don’t think that I’m taking drugs or something hehe! What I meant was the simple things I used to do which subconsciously has consumed me.. like watching TV/CD in the wee hours, I’m feeling so drowsy, there are times I just hop into my bed and sleep right away without praying).  I’ve got more to share about my realization from the teachings, I could go further into a few more paragraphs, but I’ll just have to trim it down into a few statements ‘coz as what Shakespeare said: “Brevity is the soul of wit.”  So KISS! (Keep It Short & Simple!).  Oh.. yeah! It could also be “Keep It Simple, Stupid!” hahaha!

After Bo’s talk, Bro. Alvin went back to the stage for another enlivening portion of praise and worship (my most favorite there was the singing of Shine Jesus, Shine! & God With Us).  Just a few more minutes, and he called on the youth groups (CYA, YFC, SFC, ALNP, etc.) to join him on stage for the singing and dancing! Whew! We rushed up to the stage, joined him and Bo in the worship, waved our hands and shake our bodies to the rhythm of the song! The crowd went on jubilating, as if to say “more.. more.. and more songs!”.  The youth roused into louder applause when Bro. Alvin and the band started to play Bamboo’s “Noypi” and so the entire crowd got more lively as everybody hailed “Hooy! Pinoy akooo! Buo aking loob! May agimat ang dugo ko! Hooy, Pinoy ako!! Festive dancing then followed Alvin’s rendition of “Awitin Mo, Isasayaw Ko”.  From the stage, I could see the people at the ground floor and at the bleachers dancing with the music (naay nag cha-cha, swing, ug uban pa, hehe!).

I really had much fun that night then. And oopps! We did not leave the place without having a picture with Bo (he became an instant celebrity that time then, hehe!). We also didn’t let that night pass by without having Bo’s signature on the book we purchased.  I bought the book “Your Past Does Not Define Your Future” by Bo Sanchez, which came with a free one-year issue of Didache! Whew! What a blessing! It’s a good read indeed! I suggest you get a copy for yourself, too!

I went home that night refueled with God’s grace.  And I would never forget one of the best teachings I got from Bo:  “To live life to the edge”. Guess what I have in mind right now? Just simply looking forward for another K Feast to take place in CDO. You’re all invited to join then! Come one, come all!