He is my brother yet I didn't know him. My sisters would tell me he was sacrificing so much just to help our parents with the family's financial needs.
Ours is a family of 11. Imagine how 9 mouths may be fed by one. Nanay was a full time mother and wife. Tatay was a school principal. No other source of income, but the small amount he receives as a salary.
These are the stories told by my sisters and my parents about this person I didn't know.
He left to work abroad while he was still in college, or right after he graduated from college. He left without advising our parents. He called to inform them when he's already settled in another country. He did it because he knew my parents would be hesitant to have him work abroad.
From then on, he never failed to send money to support us with our daily needs: food, tuition fee, etc.
As a kid he was naughty. As a grown up, he was a quiet person.
He was intelligent, always at the top of his class.
My sister remembers him sacrificing his own allowance, just to have something to give to her.
He was thoughtful.
He was good in anything on design, architecture and the arts.
I spent so little time with him. He was the eldest, I'm the youngest. These are those i remember.
He comes home only to visit for a few days.
There was a time he got interested in photography
and took solo pictures of each of his siblin
gs.
He gave me gifts: a doll with its head swaying along the music produced by winding a button on its back- when i was 6, a silver watch in high school, a computer in college.
He plays the guitar well. In one of his visits, he played the guitar while all of us sang. I remember a part of the song -
live your story
faith, hope & glory
hold to the truth in your heart
He writes well, too. I can tell from the letters he was sending us.
He went through a lot of hardships and difficulties. He had lots of struggles, too. Yet, he continually provided for us.
All 8 of us finished school. I knew he made sure we would.
Once i was old enough to learn about his sacrifices, I couldn't help imagining how hard it would have been for him - to have a family depending on him when it's not any of his responsibilities.
He must have carried a heavy weight on his shoulders during those times. Was there probably a time when he wanted to give up?
There are more stories about him, which make me admire him even more. I have been looking up to him since I started grasping the stories about him, which my family continually tells me.
When I finally had the chance to spend time with him,the more that I couldn't believe such a person exists.
Now he is even better. He has the Lord Jesus Christ in him. All these years he was being prepared and was being protected and set apart.
I will always be grateful to God for this person's life and for the privilege of having him as a brother. Then only in blood, now a brother also in Christ.
Like David, he is now becoming a man after God's own heart. And I am still at awe with the way God has put together every little piece of his life.
Thank you for everything you did and gave to the family! The day that you came was indeed something to rejoice and be glad about. Thus today, you are remembered. Will forever be grateful to God for you.
I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. - Acts 13:22
And then my soul, awaking with the morn
Shall be a waking joy, eternally new-born. - George MacDonald
"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God, your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
He is my brother yet I didn't know him. My sisters would tell me he was sacrificing so much just to help our parents with the family's financial needs.
and took solo pictures of each of his siblin
gs.
Thank you for everything you did and gave to the family! The day that you came was indeed something to rejoice and be glad about. Thus today, you are remembered. Will forever be grateful to God for you.