Andersen Air Force Base Guam (along the road) part 2

As I was driving toward the Chapel, on my left (in the picture, the road is on the right most side)
I saw some huge airplanes probably C-130's. I couldn't stop lest I hold up traffic nor could I pull over for it was not allowed.

I thought they were the only ones... but farther on that field I saw some more smaller planes... I believe they are fighter planes.

But later I was more surprised by those that I did not see....... (check out the next post)

Andersen Air Force Base Guam (lighthouse) part 1

Last week I was invited by the Air Force Chaplain to join him in the Easter Triduum celebrations at Andersen Air Force Base. It's actually my third time to go there but I always forget to take pictures. This time I took some with my cell camera (just wait for the other pix in the next post which I didn't take).
The Captain (chaplain) brought me to see "The Lighthouse" - it's a kind of recreational room where the chaplains could use for various religious activities (besides the big chapel).

Just beside it are other recreational facilities as could be seen in these pictures:

Media: "A Red Riding Hood"

In our breakfast conversation this morning we griped about how the world's attention span is immediately drawn to the fleeting "sparkles" and flashy "fireworks" rather than to those things that are real and that really matter.
Thus the way we present ourselves and how we are seen immediately- causes more impact than who and what we really are.
It's because the world is so impatient to stay long with us to experience the real "we" (short attention span). Thus, how we make use of media (our speech, our presentations, our interactions) could make us look like "the sweetest and cutest little girl" or even make others whom we dislike look like "the meanest of wolves" (a Red Riding Hood allegory). It's because it's only what the world will see and probably believe.
So which is the real "WE" then?
Reality they say, could only be based on real knowledge and this could spawn real love.
As the rabbit would ask "And what is real?" the Skin Horse would reply:
"Real isn't how you are made to look. It's when a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real.
And it doesn't happen all at once. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily. By the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." (adapted from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margerie Williams)
It's not what the world thinks or says of YOU. It is only when I experience You or any other person... when I spend time with You or any other person... when I journey with You or any other person... that You or any other become truly REAL to me.

The King's Speech (curing a stutterer)

A few days back I got to watch the movie: "The King's Speech."
It tells about how Prince Albert (father of Queen Elizabeth and Margaret) and his stammering speeches had unsettled thousands of his listeners. Prince "Berty" was a stutterer. Many have tried to treat his speech defect and have failed or better yet the Prince had given up trying. Until an Australian speech therapist, Logue, convinced Albert to read Hamlet's "To be or not to be" , while listening to the overture from Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" on headphones. Logue then recorded Albert's reading. However Albert was convinced that he had stammered throughout, so he left in a huff. Logue had offered him the recording as a keepsake. At home Albert played Logue's recording and heard an unbroken recitation of Shakespeare in his own voice. He returned to Logue, and they worked together.

Many times I too stammer. In my speech I stutter. In my life, I stumble. I feel I lack confidence to go on. But when I listen to that background music of my life which You play over and over, when I reflect on Your bigger plan for me and the rest of the world, then my fears dissipate. I feel a new strength which drives me to continue the mission You have in store for me and to do the task at hand. Amidst all my guilt and all my failings, I see a new sense in living this beautiful life and going ahead with confidence. You make me hear my own voice. And You know I can steady that keel.

America's secret weapon: golf balls

Today I managed to enter the military telecommunications facility for the first time here in Guam. I was accompanied by two Air Force chaplains with ranks of captain. How lucky I was!
Here is what I saw: (Hundreds of golf balls)
The all look like giant golf balls at a distance. But if you come closer you will notice their intricate patterns.... some are formed like soccer balls, others like basketballs or baseballs.

They're all scattered in a wide expanse of grassy land with small roads leading to them and with no streetlights for the whole area.
So what are they? Inside these "golf balls" are giant satellite dishes essential for communications. They're disguised as golf balls so that they do not look obvious in satellite maps or from passing planes up in the sky. Furthermore there are no lights so that they could not be seen at night. Really ingenious, isn't it?

Makes me realize that in my spiritual life, I have to protect my communication systems. I have to give importance to it and make sure that no "enemy" force can disable it. I'm talking simply of praying... of talking to You, of lifting up my mind and heart to my Creator every minute and every second of the day. That's the heart and soul of my whole operation. Hence I should not let anyone not even myself and my whims disrupt it.

Layang Bilanggo

Last Saturday, my friends and I went to Shang Cinemaplex to see an indie film. We intentionally wanted to watch one at the 5:30 pm schedule but the tickets were sold out so we went for the next one: "Layang Bilanggo."

This movie touches on the issue of "prisoners for hire" (assassins). It centers on the life of one inmate who does this task so as to protect the daughter he left behind some twenty years ago. To do this he went on a run as a fugitive to a Home for the Aged where his now grown-up daughter teaches drawing.

I was reminded of my growing up years at the Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa where as a kid I would brush shoulders with the prisoners and would eagerly listen to their life stories. They really are not what they seem to be from the outside. There's a lot more I could learn from the experiences they encountered in life.
Deep down they too have a heart (probably much larger than mine).

Bosco Hall - Guam

We Salesians are almost a year (around ten months) here now in Guam helping out in Father Duenas Memorial School. We called our residence (part of an old small structure near the school) Bosco Hall. It's our refuge after a long day's work in the hustle and bustle of an all boy's High school and everything that comes with it...

It is a place where we could rest and relax, eat and pray together, and even share stories and enjoy each other's presence.

You know, this experience reminds me of a particular Psalm (133): "How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in harmony." Hey, wasn't that one of Your final prayers? Remember- that "Ut unum sint"-ish thinggy (Jn. 19:28)?

A Tale of Two Cities

The year end brought me exploring two cities in Mindanao- Dapitan and Dipolog.

Dapitan is a sleeply town which has deep historical roots since this was the place where Dr Jose Rizal was exiled and did his last works prior to being sent back to Manila for his martyrdom.


Rizal made a map of Mindanao outside the Cathedral of St James. This church has a unique ceiling.


Dipolog is the commercial city where the airport lies and near the city itself a port which connects sea trade with the Visayas. This city is famous for its sardines.

Meet FD's new principal

My Salesian companion, Fr Chito, (we're two in the island) got into the TV news today. Ironically we couldn't watch it live since we do not have tv nor cable. But hey, we can still google right.
So here's news about the Salesians of Don Bosco's new presence in the island of Guam.
Meet FD's New Principal (the video)
Father Duenas Memorial School (FD or FDMS) is an all male Catholic Preparatory High school belonging to the Archdiocese of Agana. Right now the school has around 420 students (from Gr 9-12). I find the teachers of FD very professional, helpful and kind-hearted. They already gave me a tip.... don't smile until the end of the year (well, that's for the discipline part). After all, the students are all boys, right. Gonna be tough for me, got used to the land of smiles, Thailand and Cambodia. Very different culture. But they're all great. I love the variety.
In fact, my blood pressure has already soared after the first week of my classes. Oh, it's not them believe me, it's me not getting used to teaching high school after some time now.

Salesians of Don Bosco - now in Guam

This is where I belong....


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