Relentless!

Very few people who have excibited such impecable valor made it into our history books. I know of one person who was a Supreme Court Justice during the time of Philippine Commonwealth President, Manuel L. Quezon. His name is Jose Abad Jr., during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines Justice Abad had been detained by the Japanese Imperial Army and was forced to join the Puppet Government which they had set up. Some of Abad's colleagues in the Philippine Government who had served with him had already agreed to join the Puppet Government. However Justice Abad refused the offer, and because he was very adamant in refusing to join the Puppet Government the Japanes Imperial Army's Leaders assigned in the Philippines threatened to have him executed. In spite of this Abad did not relent he would rather die for his country rather than betray her by serving her enemy. The die has been cast he was to be executed for his refusal. The day of his execution his son entered the detention area inside the where Abad spent his last days and spent his last moments with his father. As they both spoke Abad rebuked his son for crying saying..."do not show our enemies your tears we have to give them the impression that we are not afraid to die for our motherland". Justice Jose Abad Santos was executed yet little is known about the story of his courage not even in Philippine High School History Books. But just like many others whose efforts to defend their nation against foreign aggresors such as my Father (whose story I have also posted in this blogsite) these people may be considered forgotten heroes yet they know in their heart of hearts that they have made their marks in the annals of our history. Are you willing to stand up and defend the principles you stand for? Are you willing to die for your beliefs? somebody walked this earth centuries ago and made a difference in the lives of many through His teachings that lead many to the path of righteousness and peace yet many wanted to silence Him and eventually succeeding in nailing Him into the cross after beating him in the most brutal fashion. The world will always be made up of cruel and merciless individuals running after people wanting to make a difference in the side of good not evil. It is the sad truth, do you believe in something you hold so dearly to be the truth? then be relentless in pursuing it even if it means taking risks.

2Peter 3

ALEXANDER?

My best friend Chaz once shared with me about a story that happened many years ago during the reign of the great Greek Emperor Alexander. Chaz told of a man who was a part of one of the fighting legions of the Greek Army that conquered almost every part of the world. This man had deserted his fellow soldiers at the height of a fierce battle. As soon as word reached Emperor Alexander he immediately summoned his servants to have this man stand before his presence. Once in front of Alexander the man stood before him shaken and fearful of what the Great Emperor could possibly do to him as a consequence of his frivolous act of cowardice. Alexander the Great with his loud thunderous voice asked the man for his name. The man very softly replied in an almost garbled tone ... "alexander". The Emperor once again repeated his question to the man ... "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" once again he got the same answer in a very small still voice..."alexander". Flabbergasted at how the man would respond to his query, Alexander the great once again asked the same question but this time showing extreme disgust over the deserting soldier..."WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" he finally got a clear answer after the last question was asked..."Your Majesty my name is Alexander". Alexander the Great upon finding out that this deserter, this coward, this no good traitor to the Empire was his "namesake" yelled on top of his lungs at the man..."Alexander? he asked, your name is Alexander? yet you could not even live up and bring honor to the name that was given to you?" What a shame!
We hear in the news of politicians disgraced for holding certain positions pertinent to their political survival yet live a life opposite to what they publicly stand for. Or of religious leaders, motivational gurus and even television personalities who claim one thing yet do another . It's a sad fact of life but should it be left without a remedy? go figure...

1John 2:15-17

In The Living Years

The Band Mike and the Mechanics came up with a hit song that touched a lot of lives including mine back in the 80's. The title of the song is "In the Living Years" and it was about how a son expressed regret over why he never was able to say what he needed to tell his Father before his Father's death ergo the title ..."In the Living Years". A few months ago my Father in Law passed away and during the memorial service a brother in law of mine spoke about the same regret (that was the content of the song I reffered to earlier) in his eulogy. He cried like I have never seen him cry before, his frustration was that he never had the chance to tell my Father in Law that he loved him. When it was my turn to speak I shared about the need for all of us to move on and that there was no point to dwell on the thought of whether we failed Dad in our relationship with him or that he failed us. When my Father in Law passed away I was in the Philippines the country of my origin I had returned from the U.S. to the Philippines partly for work that was left undone before leaving for the United States. My Father in Law passed away just two weeks before my scheduled return to the United States. The day before he died we both had the opportunity of meeting up at my Father's house because he was there to pick up my children (his grandkids) to spend the whole day with them. When we saw each other for the last time we spoke for a few minutes and I asked him if it was okey if I called up my wife (overseas call) so they could both talk. He initially hesitated but relented to my persistance in the end and so my wife and my Father in Law spoke for the very last time over the phone for a good 20-30 minutes. Before he left with the kids for the day I noticed that he looked very uptight and restless. He kept on complaining that he felt unusually warm and he was sweating profusely. It was so very unlike my Father in Law to make such complaints but I never thought it to be a sign that we was suffering from symptoms leading to a heart attack. The following day I recieved a phone call early in the morning from my sister (his cardiologist) informing me that Daddy was rushed to the emergency room of a hospital near his house. I immediately informed all of my wife's brothers based in different parts of the country I also asked my parents to get in touch with my wife to inform her and then I rushed to the hospital. But I was too late when I arrived Daddy was already gone. My wife and her sister had to make an unscheduled trip to the Philippines for the wake and the funeral. About a week after the funeral we all headed back to the United States, my wife left two days ahead of me. When it was my turn to leave the first thing I did was before heading off to the airport I went inside my Father's room to say goodbye to him but I also made sure that before I left the room that I would tell him how much I loved him. I cannot even begin to express how much it felt good for me to tell my own Father how much I loved him. My Father is now 95 years old but still physically active though I know he is already living in his sunset years however my Father in Law was only 67 years old when he passed away. I have concluded that no matter how young or old your parents are especially with your Dads, take the time to show them how much you appreciate what they have done for you and try to always open the communication lines with your Dad that way it would also give him the assurance that you care for him just as much as he cares for you. We all need to value having a relationship with our fathers it is more precious than silver or gold. I am almost sure for some of us we have all had been at one point in our lives very obstinate children or it may have been the other way around (our Dads may have been as equally as bullheaded as we have) but it is never too late to try to start ...

1Peter 5:7

The Warrior is a Child!

The year was 2002 I had just moved into a another Radio Station (Jamie 102.3FM) from the Radio Station that gave me my first break as a Radio Talk Show Host (Killerbee 106.3FM). I did my talk show every Thursday Nights from 9-11pm even before when I was just starting out. However, this one particular Thursday Night was special I had invited as my guest for that evening a lady that was considered to be a celebrity in my country of origin, the Philippines. She was a Beauty Queen, a Movie Actress and a Television Personality. Her older sister won the title of Miss Universe back in the 70s and she belonged to an affluent family. She was married to a man whose family was very influential in the area of business and politics and himself a politician (a congressman in one of the districts in the Province where I was living at that time). Her name is Rio Diaz, in spite of her background I found her to be very humble and down to earth. That night was the second time that I had interviewed her. The first time I met her and interviewed her was three years before that back in 1999 when I was still working for my former Radio Station (Killerbee 106.3FM) and a neophyte in the world of FM Radio. A year or two before that she was diagnosed of having cancer of the colon stage 4. Prior to the time of my first interview with her she had gone through a remission and made the rounds on television talkshows and was featured in almost every newspaper and magazine and other media outlets as she announced to the whole world that she had been healed by God from her illness. This made headlines and so my Talk Show Host Instincts dictated that I should absolutely, positively get her to appear on my Radio Talk Show for full two hours I mean this was just a no brainer and the selfish side of me was also after the ratings. I had succeded in doing that, I remembered that when her assistant called the Station to confirm her appearance on my show I felt like I was on top of the world. The day of the interview came and as soon as she walked inside the studio I felt so starstrucked and dumbfounded by her presence like I have never felt before. Her presence was so overwhelming that I felt like it illuminated the whole Studio ... it threw me off, I was so stoked! I indulged her in a 2 hour conversation about her life, her recovery, her career and her faith in God. She emphatically spoke about her personal relationship with Jesus and shared a verse from the Bible to me something she said that kept her encouraged during the time she was going through treatment it was from Jeremiah 29:11 which sez' "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope". Finally she ended our first interview by asking my permission if she could pray for the people who were listening to us live over the radio. As soon as she made that request I toward the direction where my boss (the Station Manager) was standing and observing to seek for his approval but before he could even give me an answer, Rio went on ahead like a speeding bullet and prayed not wanting to miss the opporturnity. That night many of my listeners were blessed and touched, the emotions were so over the top. Fast Forward three years after, I was preparing for my second interview with Rio this time around at a different Radio Station inside a different studio. As soon as she walked in I noticed that unlike the first interview she looked physically weak not to the point of being lethargic but it didn't take a genius to deduce that she was really sick. Sure enough the cancer had recurred she was given a few months to live. But something that was so distinct about her demeanor was that she had an overwhelming joy and peace in her heart it's like physically she was gradually decaying yet spiritually she was renewed daily. We spoke for another two hours once again she talked emphatically about her love for God and her faith in Him but I could sense that she had a bittersweet feeling of being happy to finally see the person she considered to be her personal Lord and Savior and sad to leave her husband, teenage son and her two young children. But she boldly declared that she was not scared of the thought dying and that she knew where she was going. My heart broke as I listened to her sharing her experience of being a Christian suffering from a debilitating disease but her faith was stronger than her pain her hope greater than her grief. She ended the interview once again by praying for my listeners and after the show I asked her to sign my guest book and then and we hugged each other and parted ways. Two months after, during my Talk Show's New Year's Special I asked her to join us through Phone Patch and after we both talked on air I asked her to stay on the other line while I asked my wife (she and Rio knew each other personally as she was the pre-school teacher of Rio's kids) to sing her favorite song live on air. The title of the song is "A Warrior is a Child". She was so pleased to have heard my wife sing the song live on the radio. Well in essence Rio is a Warrior it is not easy to go through what she had gone through and she fought hard with the courage and strength that came from her faith in a Supreme Being. She was a child coz' whenever we would talk through my interviews with her she would always s have this peculiar childlike faith in her God that allowed her to move on in spite of her difficulties. Our conversation during my Show's New Year's Special was to be our last. Months later Rio Diaz, The Celebrity, The Beauty Queen, The Movie Star, The Television Personality, The Wife, The Mother, The Daughter, The Lady who publicly claimed that she was a Chlild of God passed away at the tender age of 44. I paid tribute to her days after news broke out of her death on my Talk Show by playing her favorite song ..."The Warrior is a Child". Some of you may be Skeptical about the story I had just shared but I believe that a large majority of human beings are scared stiff of the idea of dying and the afterlife. Truth be told my interviews with Rio Diaz put things into perspective for me and the people who worked with me on the show. It even made believers out of some of them. Are you afraid of dying? It is not too late to settle this issue within yourself while there is still time.

1Peter 4:11

Heads Up!

My Father served as 2nd Liutenant in the Signal Corps of the guerilla movement that was recognized by the United States Army during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during the 2nd World War. The Signal Corps sent vital information to the resistance movement throughout the Philippines as well as to the United States Military. I remember vividly my Dad telling me about how the Japanese Navy were preparing an Armada of Ships to ambush the U.S. Naval fleet somewhere in the Pacific if memory serves me right off the coast of the island of Palau. The Japanese fleet was stationed in a place called "Fabrica" somewhere between the cities of Cadiz and Sagay. He told me how the harbor were the ships were situated would illuminate at night, lights coming from the ships that resembled a city. He could see this awesome sight from the mountains of the city of Cadiz where their Signal Corps Unit was stationed. After confirming that this indeed was a Japanese Armada set to ambush a U.S. Naval fleet in Palau my Father's Signal Corps Unit immediately sent a message through morse code to the United States Military to warn them of a possible attack on their fleet by the Japanese. Because of the authenticity of the message sent by my Father's unit the United States Navy instead launched a surprise attack against the Japanese Naval Armada within the waters of the Philippine Sea. This was a defining moment in our history because what is now known as the Battle of the Phillipine Sea led to the eventual downfall of the Japanese Military in the Pacific. Had it not been for the impecable intelligence gathering and the swift action taken by the men of the Signal Corps Unit in which my Father was a part of one can quickly deduce that the entire outcome of the war would have resulted differently. My Father and his unit were never really given the kind of honor and acknowledgement that they deserved exept for a citation coming from Admiral Nimitz (for a job well done). But in their hearts and minds they will always keep (albeit silently) the memnory of the day they made their mark in history the day they spared hundreds of American lives from what could have resulted into a bloodbath courtesy of the Japanese Navy. Information is vital, give the wrong information and the results may be disastrous. Give the right information and lives may be saved ... it may even make a mark in history.

1Peter 2:2; 2Peter 2:1-2