BONDING Filipina Mothers!!!

BONDING
絆
Volume 1 Number 5 Newsletter for Filipino Catholics in Nagaoka District, Niigata Diocese August 2007
Migrante: Misyonero Ka!
Nandito ako sa Japan upang mag-usisa ng buhay ng
mga kapwa ko Franciscano. Marami na rin akong narating na mga parokya nila. Sa aking paglilibot ay kapuna-puna ang bilis ng pagkonti ng kanilang bilang.
Mga humigit kumulang ay mga 120 na lang sila. Wala
rin silang mga seminarista... matagal na. Meron
ngayon, pero iisa. Sa mga 120 na yon ay mga 56 ang
over 70 yrs old. Ang pgkabahala nila ay sanhi lang ng
malaking katangian ngayon ng bansang Hapon. Mas marami ika ang matatanda. Dahil sa dalawang kadahilanan: Una ang pag-asenso ng buhay na materyal ay nagiging pangunahing layunin ng mga tao dito maging ang
mga kababaihan. Sa kanilang survey, between 30-40 years old nila gusto mag-kaanak. Mukhang sagabal ang
pag-aanak sa kanilang career. Pangalawa ay polisiya rin ng gobyerno ang maliit na pamilya, at natanim na sa
isipan ng marami na kung magkakaanak man ay isa o dalawa lamang.
Sa akin pag-iikot ay nakakataba ng puso na marinig sa aking mga kaparian, na dito sa Japan, ang kinabukasan
ng simbahan ay nasa migrante kasama na ang mga pamilya ng mga Pinoy. Giliw na gilw ang mga pari sa ibang uri
ng ating pananampalataya. Kaya naman algang-alaga kayo. Sa ngayon ang dami ng Katoliko dito sa Japan ay,
mas nakakahigit pa ang dami ng Katolikong dayuhan. Kaya nga nasa inyo ang kinabukasan ng simbahan dito sa
Japan. Kaya binabati ko kayo.
Tayong mga Pinoy ay mayroong idaragdag sa pananampaplataya ng Hapon, di sa bilang at dami ng inyong supling. Palakihin ninyo sila ayon sa kultura natin. Nakikita ko ang dalawang magkaugnay na bagay: Una ay ang
pagpapahalaga sa buhay at buhay pamilya; pangalawa ay ang pagpapahalaga sa kababaihan. Ang dalawang
bagay na ito ang siyang pangunahin ninyong iambag sa ikakayaman ng simbahan sa Hapon. Lamang kung minsan, may grabeng sakit ang mga Pinoy kapag nasa ibang bansa. At yon ay ang mga pagpapangkat-pangkat na
bagamat di nag-aaway ay di rin naman malapit sa isat-isa. Kokonti na kayo dito. Huwag ninyong palaliitin ang
mundo ninyo. Makipag-ugnayan sa bawat Pinoy upang lalo ninyong magampanan ang pagiging Misyonero ninyo
dito sa bansang Hapon.
Fr. Balthazar Obico, OFM (Visitator General of the Franciscan Fathers; Provincial Superior of OFM-Philippines)
FIRIPIN GAKKO for Elementary Children
Filipina Mothers!!!
Here is your chance to introduce the Philippine Culture to your children.
Let them enjoy Filipino cooking, Filipino games, Filipino Songs,
and Filipino aisatsu and kaiwa.
Place : Takada Catholic Church
Date: September 15; from 9 AM until 3 PM
Facilitators : Bro. Atarashi and Michael
For further information, please contact the SFIC Sisters at Takada Catholic Church.
Page 2
Ugnayan
Ang Mabuting Balita ay...
The Parable of the Rich Fool
(Luke 12:13-21)
Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with
me." He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?" Then he said
to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does
not consist of possessions." Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land
produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to
store my harvest?' And he said, 'This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, "Now as for
you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!" But
God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you
have prepared, to whom will they belong?'Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for
himself but is not rich in what matters to God."
PAGNINILAY-NILAY:
The Gospel of Luke is a good news for each of
us. It tells about hoarding of possessions. In the
first three verses, we can see the attitude of the
man asking Jesus to be his judge or arbitrator
of his inheritance. This man, just to have the
goods or inheritance, he never think of his
brother up to the point of losing him because of
his selfishness. Like this man, there are times
in our lives that to get the things we want we
never care whether we can just hurt people or
sometimes we never realize that we can take
advantage of the person’s weakness. We worked
a lot to have securities in life like money, prestige, beautiful houses, cars, properties, good
education, so much so that we neglect our responsibilities as parents.
We don’t realize that we are already slaves of
this material things or goods thinking that we
can be happy and secured. But in the gospel,
Jesus tells us that a man’s life is not made secured by what he owns even when he has more
than what he needs. Our life is very precarious,
we are not sure of our life tomorrow. Maybe today we are good and healthy, and tomorrow we
have heart attack and die.
As the parable of the rich man having a good harvest, he thinks he will be a happy man, just
rest and enjoy his goods, but he doesn’t know how long this will last, and he leaves his goods
for others and die. So through the reading God, it reminds us that to be rich in this world’s
goods we are not to look on other people and not to set our hopes in material goods which is
untrustworthy, but on God who in his riches gives us all what we need for our happiness.
GABAY SA PAGNINILAY-NILAY:
With the words of God are we ready to do good works, to be generous and willing to share our
goods to the poor or to the homeless in order to have this treasure in heaven? Do you believe
that God provides everything that we need everyday? (Armenia Lorena of Arai)
Page 3
Volume 1 Number 5
Special Feature: Family Day in Myoko ‘07
On July 7 to 8, 2007, the FIRST FILIPINO FAMILY DAY was held in Myoko, to promote better relationship in the family. The theme was THE VALUE OF FAMILY BONDING. There were 20 Filipina wives,
8 Japanese husbands, 10n elementary and high school children and 15 six-year and below kids from Takada, Itoigawa, Naoetsu, Myoko, Arai, and Kakizaki who participated in this event.
The first day activities which comprised mainly of the introduction of the different families through a
group game called “Going to Market” and “The Longest Line” were facilitated by Srs. Cherry and Malou,
and Bro. Atarashi. Then it was followed by singing the song: “It’s You Who Build the Family”. A Prayer
Service which focuses on Family Life was held before supper. There was a Barbecue Party, where the
group enjoyed yummy delicious sea-foods and meat prepared by Takada and Itoigawa groups. Karaoke
while singing around the bonfire cupped the evening’s activity.
The following day, two couples were invited to share their experiences on the Family Day’s theme. They
were Isabelita and Kiyoshi Sugisawa, and Marilyn and Umberto Higuchi. After the very enriching sharing
of the two couples, the group was divided for group sharing. There were four groups for the Filipina wives
and one group for the Japanese husbands. Guide questions were given to make the sharing smooth. The
rich sharing in the small groups were reported in the plenum. While the sharing was going on, the children
were enjoying the “HALO HALO” experience being facilitated by Bro. Atarashi, Nishijima-san and Aibasan. After lunch, there was the celebration of the Sunday Mass, wherein the Renewal of Commitment made
by the husbands and wives and Blessing of the Children were highlighted.
Indeed, it was a day to remember for the couples… a rare opportunity where husbands and wives were
given the opportunity to share their experiences, and renew their commitments, and face the future with a
lot of hope that the challenge of married life, especially international marriage, is not that easy. But however difficult it may be, it can be worked out if there is greater understanding, respect, acceptance and cooperation among couples. From the positive evaluation, the participants are now looking forward for another family encounter next year. We thank all those who made this endeavor a real success. May God
bless us all! (Sr. Malou Razon, SFIC)
The joy of being a very valuable family can be seen in the faces of participants.
MAY PROBLEMA KA BA?
・RELASYON SA PAMILYA
・RELASYON SA KAIBIGAN
・PAMUMUHAY SA JAPAN
KAILANGAN MO BA
NG KAUSAP AT PAGHINGAHAN
NG PROBLEMA O
AGAM-AGAM SA BUHAY?
Ugnayan is a monthly publication for Filipino Catholics in Nagaoka District, as a way of enriching their relationship with God and Others, through reflections, shar‐
ing, and news in and around Na‐
gaoka district. Ugnayan is a Taga‐
log word meaning Bonding in Eng‐
lish and Kizuna in Japanese
TUMAWAG LANG
SA MGA PILIPINANG MADRE
NA HANDANG MAKINIG
AT TUMULONG SA IYO.
Sr. Malou Razon, SFIC
090-2990-4328
Sr. Lina Rivera, SFIC
090-1376-9271
Sr. Cherry Delgado, SFIC
025-526-2026
Editor-in-Chief:
Fr. Hubert Nelskamp, OFM
Associate Editor:
Sr. Malou Razon, SFIC
Circulation Managers:
Sr. Lina Rivera, SFIC
Sr. Cherry Delgado, SFIC
Layout Artist:
Fr. Ferdy Faminialagao, SVD
Advisers:
Franciscan Missionaries in Nagaoka District
Address: 〒943‐0834 Niigata‐ken Joetsu‐shi Nishishiro‐cho 2‐3‐20
Tel ep hone Nu mb er : 025‐526‐2 026 Fax Numb er: 0 25‐526‐7336