BARKADA

On the way home from church today, we saw a group of teenagers aimlessly loitering around. Some obviously in romantic relationship showing their affection in public. My husband, Anatolin wondered if their parents even knew where their children were and what they were doing that very hour. I thought about his question for a second and responded, maybe their parents are busy working or might be busy hanging out with their friends too. 

Talking about "barkadas" (group of friends), our son Amulek said that without the light and the gospel of Jesus Christ in his life, he would also be one of the boys his age loitering with friends. Then our older son, Ammon said, barkadas nowadays bring more bad influence than good. Listening to them, I realized how all our children prefer spending their free time at home with our family and how our boys look up to their dad and consider him as their barkada. Just earlier, on the way to church, Ammon shared that he would want to be like his dad, good at housework when he gets married and become a dad himself.  

Our children have friends too. In fact, we often hear comments from their friends how kind and respectful they are. They just prefer hanging out with us and are keen at recognizing people around them who don't respect their opinions and values. They usually open to us about the people around them, whether in school or church, who make them uncomfortable, pressure them to do things they don't agree with, or tease them when they don't want to do the things they want to do.

We believe that our friends can affect our sense of self and identity, they either help build or damage us. We commend our children for having good friends and at the same time, staying away from friends and associates who are bad influences. 

Many troubled teens want and need positive adult relationships in their life. There are youth feeling lost and lonely not having adults around them to make them company. We hope to be able to start community activities and volunteering that can help teens build skills, civic responsibility and a sense of belonging.

 

Captured our boys at church today wearing their favorite matching shoes and socks 😎 

Excerpt from my journal, 1 October 2023