THERE’S NOTHING LIKE THE SUMMER

I was one of the lucky participants who were picked to join the Hope Illustwriters Youth Aspirants (Hi-Ya) Summer Camp at Bansud, Oriental Mindoro. I was very excited. In this camp, I met new friends, learned new things, and discovered something amazing. I never thought I could change in a week. I must say last April 24 to 29, 2009 were the best days of my summer.

I got the hype built up the night before we left for Mindoro. I couldn’t sleep. Once we were on the bus, the RORO, and on the road again anticipation increased. At the first day when we arrived at St. John Bosco Camp, we were given a challenge right away. All of us were surprised. But it’s a good move that the so called “Amazing Race” really made us closer to each other. Especially when I had an injury, all of my teammates worried about my condition. However, we still managed to finish the whole race.

The sessions we had were very intense. The lessons that they taught struck me. It touched my heart and my soul with every activity we had. We had an immersion. Each group has an assigned family to visit. I was moved by the story of Nanay Helen and her family. They have a simple lifestyle but as far as what I have seen they are happy. I wish I could have that life – a simple yet contented life.

The first two days were handled by the SCYM staff. So at the third night, we put on a little presentation for them. This is our small way of saying our thanks to Kuya Sandy, Kuya Dondie, Kuya Jeff, Ate Janette, Ate Dinvah, and Bro. Raymond, for sharing great lessons and wonderful words to inspire us to continue working on our book and in living our lives.

The next days were handled by Fr. Richie, where we had beautiful sessions and masses with him. On the dawn of the third day, we were all assigned into different groups. It’s hard to walk through the dark with our eyes blindfolded. Some of us grew afraid because they didn’t know what to expect. But I did not feel scared, for I know something good will happen. They made us sit on the sand and asked us to take off our blindfolds. What a relief! We waited for the beautiful sun to rise. Before our mass on the beach, some of us had confession. It was the most beautiful mass we ever had, with scenery like that, it will be unforgettable.

The next hours were spent sharing. As the hours passed, we finally came to the fun part of the day . . . Swimming! Everyone felt refreshed, dipping down the cool waters of Mindoro.

On the fourth day, we did more sharing and finally started constructing our stories for the book. It was hard to make stories and illustrations right away, especially when time is your enemy. The mentors didn’t like what we have in mind about our stories, so we kept on changing our concepts. The night, we had a healing mass, we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit coming to us and that made us a lot better. All we needed was Divine inspiration.

The fifth day came; we didn’t have any sleep at all because we had to finish our stories before we go home. Leaving Bansud was the saddest part. I came here with great expectations, and I was overwhelmed with the things that occurred in just a week. Before leaving the camp Fr. Richie gave us a seed of a plant. Maybe someday when we can get a chance to go back, and there, we will see the plant that blooming with beautiful flowers from a seed that we planted.

Before, I was a complete stranger to these people. But as the days went by, sessions got deeper, paper and ink were used more, the bond got richer, and of course our relationship with God became greater, I am now surrounded with people whom now I trust and know so well. It’s like we have stayed at Bansud for years. I must say God has a funny way of bringing us all closer together. Through the ups and downs of this camp, I have developed a friendship that I will surely treasure and a very special relationship with God. It is truly worth saying that, “This is the best summer of my life!”

Marijoyce Patricia Serrano