young and restless

With a little more than a week to go until the culminating summer parish youth camp, Imelda showed up here at the convent. It was the return of the Queen. I couldn’t count how many times people have recalled to me the golden days of youth ministry at St. Raphael Parish when Imelda was president. How active and involved the youth were back then! That is before Imelda left to go into the mountains of Samar...

Anyway she’s back and the pressure at least partially is off my back. That very day, the two of us got on the motorcycle and were off to visit the youth up in the mountain. The second day, Jorge drove us to the five barrios to the North (we ran out of gas, yet again, and had to push a little ways along the dirt road until the downhill stretch). After visiting all 14 barrios, we’re now expecting a turnout of 200+ kids for the overnight camp which is to be held in a small field of carabao grass in Sitio Tadloy, a pleasant, remote place. It’s B.Y.O.B. (Banig – sleeping mat), and unless the Governor lets us borrow his tent, we’ll be sleeping under the stars. I’m trying not to stress out too much, as there is still so much to plan, but this is the Phlipside after all—things just seem to work out in the end, and if not, whatever.