BY THEIR FRUITS...
Tonight a few Americans heard President Obama speak about the State of the Union, while trading eye signals to his confused Al-Qaeda contacts. Let me share with you a couple recent events that reveal a little known fact. One that he doesn't even know about: the fantastic, loving State of the Philippines, on this date.
By Paul Giff - On January 5th this year I went to a Catholic hospital on the island of Cebu in the Philippines, to visit a friend's wife and her newborn child. The week before the young couple had joined my wife and I for dinner, and asked us to become the boy's God Parents. When we arrived at that distant hospital, we were pleased to see that it provided every new mother, with a fresh gift basket of fruit. The weight of their child determined the weight of their basket, in tangerines. I felt it was a cool idea, but never gave it a second thought. There are all types of gift items offered to women the world over, and rightly so, to welcome new life.
But more light was shed on this as my wife and I again visited a different mother, this time her cousin, who gave birth Tuesday morning to a baby girl. In a Catholic Hospital over 100 miles away from the other first, (on a different island), again we saw a whole lot of tangerines encircling fresh newborns. Now we were curious! We asked the mother where she had gotten the gift. "We were asked not to tell," she confided, "it is a gift of love." Very well. I liked that. But who, I wondered, could afford such a wide scale program, and how might others help to fund it through donations? I really wanted to know.
We talked with the Hospital Administrator, but she too was mum. "It has been a secret gift of charity for nearly two years now," she told us with a look of quiet recollection on her face, "the ladies who deliver the boxes are not in any identifying outfits." Even more curious, we asked several of the new mothers, with baby at their side, if they could help out with additional details. None really could. The fruits were given at the time of the weigh-in of the infant. The heavier the child, the more fruit that was given. Each one I spoke with had indicated that the fruit weighed in at the same amount as the child.
As I was going around asking about the source, for charities are rarely anonymous today, I happened to spot a small clue. One that made my heart skip a beat. It filled my eyes with moisture. A secret nobody, especially news outlets, seems to want to report, in our divided, strife torn world today. I won't mention it. Find it for yourself. If you study the pictures I took, you might see it too. I respect the preference of the first Christian as He taught us to not make a big production, as we give to others in need.
WHY THE MEDIA SILENCE?
I'll let an act of love speak for itself, for those who have eyes to see. In these poor Hospitals, catering to twenty to thirty new mothers a day, tangerines and clean sheets are in great demand. Thankfully, there seems to be no shortage of love, though it is silently offered. How sad. Is it just me, or could we really use a little "brotherly love" news to jar us out of our hypnotic spell of a Western media concert, that has lasted too long?
- - - - -
Paul Giff is a Commercial pilot and freelance writer, vacationing with family in Cebu, Philippines.
As a full-time world traveler, he sees what some folks might miss. This story was first featured at his blog, COCKPIT VIEWS, on January 25, 2011. It may be quoted from or reprinted, with blog attribution.
SOURCE: http://grandpagifts.blogspot.com/
email Contact: grandpagifts@yahoo.com
Google: Paul Giff, sky pilot
Past or Current
Consultant to
these Boards:
Koch (1995 to Present)
Toastmasters International
Rotary International
Shriner's Secret Blessings Fund
KIVA Micro Loans
World Vision International
Roger Waters Foundation
Nestle
Johnson & Johnson
Perot Systems (USA)
UNICEF (1982-84)
Rock Stars for Children
Hewlett Packard
Unilever (Global Brands)
Howe Firma Foundation
Roger Waters Foundation
Sealy Foundation
WaterPillow Trust Corporation
Nestle
Goodwill Industries
Johnson & Johnson
Perot Systems, India
UNICEF (1982-84)
Dunkin Donuts New Orleans Triple Marathon 2011 (Co-chair)*
- - - - -
*Pending. Vote to take place on 2/29/11
Favorite quotes:
"If it's not fixed, break it." - Maria Bohica
"If its broke beyond repair,
drop it off on the Mormons." - Mark Twain
"When all else fails, stomp some toes." - Tay Kahoon Hean
"Go for the eyes." - Manny Pacquiao
.
