"Moshimoshi"

This is what the Japanese say when they answer their phone calls. This is how our family and her adopted Japanese children call our mother, Materna Borja Piquero, whose birthday we are celebrating today in beautiful Loay, Bohol. She joined the Lord some eight years ago and a number of us are here to thank the Lord for having shared with us all, Mama and Papa Leoncio, whose birthday was last September 12.

Celebrating this happy day together with us are my funny brother Joseph whom we fondly call Patok and his lovely wife Edna Trias from Cavite and their handsome doctor-son Jemjem, with gracious Tia Rosy, Mama’s sister and our musician uncle, Dr. Pepe Borja and his lovely doctora-wife, Melinda, our other relatives from Tagbilaran, Loay, Bilar, Panglao, and Candijay, Papa’s hometown. All other family members and relatives elsewhere are also celebrating Moshimoshi’s birthday with us.? Our foster brother Akio, who has since retired here in Loay, is in Japan now but he is represented here by our Japanese artist-friends, Mr. and Mrs. Takenaka.

The celebration is especially more grand as we are having the affair with the vast beautiful Visayan Sea right before us.

Truly, God’s creations proclaim His glory!

His blue skies that change colors during the day, the beautiful gentle or strong white waves that either gently or speedily rush to shore, the vast expanse of grey sand, the Pamilacan Island that appears like a protective shield for those in Hinawanan, and the distant horizon that reminds us about how wide our world can be , if only we allow ourselves to see beyond our limited world – so much beauty to be grateful for, so much love that God has generously endowed us with through His lovely creations! GANDA!!

Then, there are the hardworking fisherfolks who come in early morning from their nightly rendezvous with the sea. One hears the busy carpenters repairing a house here and constructing a new one elsewhere nearby. Then by afternoon, there are the children whose laughter and appreciation for the huge Talisay trees that they love to climb and for the wide sandy space that they can run in to their hearts delight!

 Every morning becomes extra special with freshly made native sikwate (chocolate). I especially love drinking freshly harvested tuba not only for its sweet taste but for the nostalgia it brings as it was my papa who taught me how to appreciate this drink during my childhood days in Tagbilaran!

Then today, for Mama and Papa’s celebration, we are having freshly made native puto and bibingka especially flavored with native tuba, ahhhhh, what delights we are even more grateful for on their special day!!

Today is the feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross and thankfully, our special mass with Mama and Papa coincides with the happy fiesta of Villalimpia, with a celebratory mass at the Exaltation Chapel!

One runs out of superlatives to fully capture the simple, natural beauty of Loay! And there is still so much more of Bohol to share with you all!

Boholanos are very proud not only of their history and culture. Their natural heritage and gifts from the Lord have been generally preserved and we pray will remain protected despite the influx of guests and tourists who find Bohol’s peaceful yet magnificent beauty worth visiting and revisiting.

We hope Boholanos will continue to demonstrate to the rest of the country and to the rest of the world that one does not have to destroy nature, one does not have to convert a natural haven to look like every other so-called global tourist destination or progressive urban area.

We hope and pray that Boholanos will continue to serve as a model of sustainable eco-tourism, of a happy natural habitat that continues to proclaim God’s glory and honor with all those with hearts and eyes that see and view this world with much faith and love!

***

Email:  [email protected].