My Vocation is Love
By Tin Delos Santos
My old self was working in the office and going home. It was a routine life. It all started when I was blessed to pass and have a teaching license. On my way home from work, while walking, I had a heart-to-heart conversation with our Lord Jesus. This license will be used to teach and help the kids in the Sierra Madre Mountains, and it became a vision.
My mission started when mom left us because of breast cancer. At that time, they had already started helping the community, especially the Katutubo, or the native tribe, the Dumagat Remontado.
Through the feeding program and spiritual and church activities such as Bible study and praying the Rosary, they are also responsible for the once a month or every third Saturday Holy Mass in our community chapel.
As a child, I have seen my parents do charity work. Helping people became part of their lives.
This mission is a calling, I believe. And continuing the work that my parents started. They are my inspiration, and my siblings give me encouragement.
Our mission focuses on little children. Our first program was to prepare the children for receiving their first communion, and then, with the help of our family friends, we established a children’s choir. Once in a while, we do feeding programs, too.
More than helping the children and community, I’m grateful to them because they helped me become a better version of myself and taught me that true happiness is found in the simple things, such as the smile of the little children.
I am thankful and grateful to the people behind this mission. To Bro. John De Mesa for his help, guidance, and encouragement in this calling. He is the one who introduces us to different religious congregations and organizations that help us with the youth and the community. I am also thankful to Tita Agnes and Tito Eddie Valencia for their untiring love and support for the children and community, and who introduced us to the ever-down-to-earth Kuya Erwin.
