Blessed To Be 1!

“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants that trusted in him.” – Daniel 3:95

I know it’s cliché but I just have to say this: time does fly. Two Saturdays ago (March 9), Saturday Feast Alabang (SFA) celebrated its first anniversary. I just can’t believe it’s been a year since we started.  

It was one hectic year! Many times I felt like a triathlete as I raced against time to complete the tasks I had to finish. My days were crammed with things I had to do for SFA Events. Added to that were my responsibilities for the Media Ministry and extra duties thrown my way like assisting in the production of the Kerygma Conference Catholic Faith Stream and our upcoming Holy Week Recollection*. And of course there are also my family duties and work assignments for the magazines I write for.

I must admit that getting things done the past year was like swimming against the tide,  balancing on a unicycle and running on a sprained foot all rolled into one. But as the passage above from Daniel said, the Lord sent His angels to deliver me. 

How else could I have survived the year that was? There were various instances when the Lord sent me angels in the form of family, friends and co-servants who helped me do the job and get through some nerve-wracking glitches. There were also many lessons I learned through my “angels”. 

As for SFA, it continues to bless many people because about a hundred committed servants have entrusted to God their time, talent and treasure for Him to use in this ministry. SFA would not have made it to its first birthday without their untiring support.

Let me end by sharing the blessings we received during SFA’s first anniversary:

• The spotlights blew up a few hours before the event. Naturally, I was clueless about how to fix that. One brother from the community came early to take care of that. 

• Our program flow got really messed up because one of our speakers was delayed. But the rearrangements in the program worked for the better and the audience did not notice we had to turn things upside down. 

• It was a fun, fun first birthday party for SFA. Like the kids we were dressed as, SFA Builder James Nicolas, servants and attendees enjoyed the party fare complete with ice cream cart. In the beginning our Food Ministry head was afraid the food will not be enough but like the miracle of the loaves and fish, the multitude was fed. 

• The builders (Arun Gogna, Jonathan Yogawin and Mike Viñas) and pillars of Feast Alabang came in full force. We got a delightful treat with the presence of SFA’s very first builder, Makati Feast Builder Randy Borromeo.

• AND, we got a big surprise when Bo Sanchez graced the occasion. We thought he wouldn’t be able to make it as he had another appointment. 

Truly when we trust in God, He will deliver us from all our difficulties just as He kept Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego safe in the white-hot furnace. He even surprises by throwing in a couple of unexpected blessings.

*Be Still, Feast Alabang’s Holy Week Recollection will be on March 28 to 30, from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Filinvest Tent, Muntinlupa City.