Year 2009 is the third straight year we’ve hosted a couple of student-athletes just before Christmas Day. It’s been part of our family tradition, which we value and expect each year.
From left to right: King (with my son David), John, Ken, Anthony, Esmael and Tim
On Tuesday (December 22), we treated Tim, a church mate of ours and six athletes from Far Eastern University’s taekwondo men’s team came over to our place in Mandaluyong for a lunch and merienda (meal in-between lunch and dinner) as well as viewing time where we watched National Treasure starring 
It’s fun to have them around and just share a meal with them. At the same time, listen to their stories of their family background, their experiences at FEU and what drove them to aspire for sports.
Honestly, Ava and I find their stories are heart-rending especially since four of them were driven to Manila in search for greener pastures because of their financially hard-up families.
One athlete, by the name of Christopher (see second photo extreme right), a boyish-looking FEU junior college student, is reed-thin but can’t be taken lightly because of his lightning speed in the arena of athletics.
Chris won the top honors in the 5K men’s event of the McDonald’s-sponsored Fun Run special event on November 30.
Running developed not because he wanted to but because it was a necessity for him to run in order to earn a few hundreds of pesos to survive back in the province—his parents parted ways even before he went to school. So he ended being taken cared of by his grandmother.
However, by age 10, Chris, encouraged by his friends in Tangub City in Misamis Occidental, had his first taste of running the shorter running events.
Chris recounted how he had to support himself literally to survive, at times, having to satisfy his hunger pangs by drowning it with several glasses of water before continuing to run in events like 5K and 10K.
I can’t imagine myself running in 5K or 10K with my stomach crying out for food.
But Chris, survival all in his mind, could only think of persevering through such tests.
Now, he is earning a few thousand pesos during the weekend on various circuit running events to ensure he continues to supply his basic needs while staying inside the athlete’s quarters provided by FEU.
On the other hand, John and his brother Anthony, were also teammates of Chris engaged in the short-distance events like 110m hurdles and 400m.
John, the elder brother, at times, goes back to his native province of Bacolod City to join bodybuilding competitions to earn additional income.
Chris, John and Anthony, who are athletic veterans of FEU, have recently transferred to taekwondo because of sharp disputes with their head coach.
Another athlete, by the name of Esmael, joined FEU’s taekwondo after coming out of the national training pool of wushu.
He could have been a strong addition to FEU in the men’s taekwondo on 2009, but he broke his lower leg while in action against a UE jinn on September’s UAAP competitions.
Now, he is recuperating from a recent operation and will resume training sometime after the end of the first or second quarter of 2010.
Currently, these four athletes are part of our small group where another teammate of theirs, King Borlongan, helps me facilitate and lead them to know God more.
Hearing them share their own personal stories and struggles in life, all the more intensified our desire to teach them to know God better.
For in God, they can find hope, peace that surpasses all understanding and the security that nothing in this world could offer.