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Faith, Hope & Love Kids' Ranch

Heaven is on Earth

By Rizza C. Cantre

One Saturday morning last July 25, the Training Team of CYU Cypress Manufacturing Ltd (CML) travelled south to Sariaya, Quezon at the Faith, Hope and Love (FHL) Kids Ranch, an orphanage. This is to conduct “another” teambuilding session to the Security Department headed by its Director, Pol Camacho. Why I said another, its because facilitating teambuilding sessions has always been a regular requests from employees in CML. The objective is to either bond and improve camaraderie or just simply have fun. I thought it was the same, but NO, by far, this is the best Teambuilding session I ever did in almost 12 years of facilitating. Read through how I account for all of these events.

Among all the requests for the past 3 years in CML, it is one of the few weekends held overnight. When I got the request my problem was who will conduct? I usually leave it up to Randy, one of our good facilitators but I know he has his family duties to attend to. I decided to be prepared and asked permission from my husband that this weekend is going to be work for me. My supportive husband understood the nature of my work as a Trainer. Good thing Randy is available on a Saturday. We can make the adjustments on the other activities while he is running the first part of our session.

Opening Activity

All 16 participants were welcomed by our team, Pol and the administrator of the program, Lorraine Lamar, an Italian who grew up in the US joined by one of the orphans named Jam. It set the tone of stories like how Lorraine modelled Mother Theresa and that staying in the Philippines is home to her. She and her immediate family of 3 children and 40 more orphaned kids needed her motherly love decided to stay here 20 years ago. Jam, shared us her story of how she became an orphan. It was so sad but she made me realize, as a sit at the back listening to her story, that people in the corporate life kept asking for more while others are just thankful for love, shelter and the simplicity of life. We at Cypress are all very lucky, especially when you know that there are more people who are in need and yet they do not complain.

Closing and the Learning you can never never forget

We ended day 1 by sharing how our challenges in life helped shape our whole being, we heard another story by Jeena- I hope I remembered your name right; it was filled with lots of points to ponder. When we opened day 2, Sunday, we all agreed as proposed by Pol, to start the day by understanding and sharing the words of the Lord. The opening were just entirely about singing praises, this was led by Lorraine’s kids, Catherine, DJ and Micah. I was deeply touched by a song composed by DJ, “Desperate for Love” which was all about a boy orphaned and brought to them.

I especially learned a lot from how Pol talked about the story of Joseph the Dreamer. Success is a journey and in life there are delays, injustice, hardships and so on. All these translate to how we should look at life. Each of the participants shared the challenges and what they can do to strengthen and help improve Security in CML. These pledges are just to show the learning gained by everyone during the short stay at FHL.

I remember talking to Celing, Lorraine’s husband. He once worked for a company in the US and decided that he’ll be happier doing what they have built in the ranch. A good decision indeed!

The ranch is a good venue for those who have been very busy working. Its taking time out and appreciate the beauty of nature and all of God’s creation and gifts to us. It is indeed my best teambuilding not because it made me cry a lot of times but because it makes you feel closer to God and that all the things that happened to you is for a reason. There are delays in life that you need not make a great deal out of. All you have to do is acknowledge God’s grace and everything will follow. With this story, I would like to thank the Lamar family for so many reasons:

Accommodating Cypress in your ranch
Allowing us to experience your life in the ranch together with the kids
Opening our hearts and minds by this unforgettable experience
Doing something for the Filipino children by taking care of orphans which most of fellow Filipinos forgot to do
For sharing to us stories that helped us become better persons, Mitch, Kenneth, Randy and I are so grateful

To Pol, thank you for introducing to us FHL Kids Ranch. By just staying there for overnight was all worth it. My dream right now is for every employee in Cypress Manufacturing Ltd. to experience what we all went through.

Up until now, we share the experience to others and we all look forward to going back. Staying there is feeling the presence of God through the Lamar Family and the Kids. Its like I’ve been in heaven, we were so happy, we did not bother about problems more so we look at it differently this time, we are so closer to God and we appreciate everyone’s contribution.

My stories about my experience are endless. I just couldn’t find words to say THANK YOU for that truly unforgettable and wonderful experience. For companies finding ways to make the possible impossible through a change of mindset of its people, FHL Ranch is the best place to go. I just hope that you accommodate more of these companies to help improve employees’ lives.

At least for a short period of time in FHL, we’ve experienced heaven on earth.

2nd Testimony! By Randy & family

Security in FHL Kids’ Ranch

The FHL Kids’ Ranch is the closest thing to Heaven on earth.

If you want a preview of what it will be like in heaven, visit this place. Just spend an hour with the kids. Ask them questions and let them tell you their stories. That single hour is enough to make you realize that there is both hell and heaven on earth. What’s important, however, is that you have a choice. You can make life on earth heaven or hell – no matter what your situation is! Yes, it is your choice! For most of these kids, they probably felt hell before they got here. And then heaven.

The experience here touched me in a different way. Wait, no. It didn’t. It grabbed me, held me upside down with my 2 feet up in the air and shook me for 2 minutes!

No amount of words will ever be enough to describe the feeling I was having while Catherine was singing that song about someday – about tomorrow, about some place. Jam’s sharing of her life was practically a journey towards heaven. The story behind FHL was a miracle all its own.

So I thank God for this coincidence that I happened to be part of that teambuilding. Now, I had tonsillitis until that time; was feeling feverish just 2 nights before. But throughout the day, I did not feel anything close to having a sore throat. For those who have shared their pains of going through tonsillitis (now, get this, it’s not your ordinary rinse-me-with-warm-water-and-salt sore throat kind of thing). It is that swelling of your tonsils that sentences you in bed for 3 to 5 days – with your head, throat and all joints of your body in pain.

You may have noticed that I used the words ‘coincidence’ and ‘happened.’ Which reminded me of the words I read years back that said, “a coincidence is a small miracle where God chose to remain anonymous.” Well, of course we know, nothing is a coincidence. Nothing “just happens.” It may sound to cliché’ but Matthew 10:30 said, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Everything has a purpose. Everything is part of God’s perfect plan.

Some of you are probably wondering where this is going. Or, what has the title have to do with what I am talking about?

The heading you see up there is both literally and figuratively true. Our company’s security group held its teambuilding there at FHL. And with the smiles on the kids’ faces while they sweep the floors, you know- they are secured. They feel secured that they have a family at the Ranch. They feel secured that their friend, brother, father, healer, protector will also be the one who, with a legion of angels singing, will someday welcome them in heaven.

Here, I felt Psalm 23 come alive. If you don’t get what I mean by this, grab a Bible and come to FHL; and while there keep reading Psalm 23.