From the Philippines, with love

It says:  Donated by the Avila family from the Philippines

I thought of donating a directory of priests who served in the church where I go to. It was both an agony and ecstasy. The parish priest researched on the names of priests who served in

Credits at the back

Street side workshop

the parish since it was founded in 1962. I took the pictures of the church's interior paintings and had my son, Gino, design the artwork. Gave it to a local painter in Gulu who started work in March 2011 and the final work was turned-over to the parish in April 2012 - more than one year.

David, the garage and store keeper

Bosco, the painter.  He is a pal now.

Well, there were two versions of the work; the first one was rejected by the priest, so the painter agreed to start all over again, free labor this time. Realizing his constraints, he was given the church garage as temporary workshop.

Turn-over sheet.  Perfectly executed.

He was so disorganized and his alignments and calculations had the tendency to be crooked and wrong so I worked with him whenever he had the time. He makes me wait for 2 hours after the appointed time. Sometimes he does not show up or disappears for days. I would have given up if not for the encouragement of the priest. Finally, the work was hanged inside the church.

The Holy Rosary Parish Church, Gulu, Uganda

It turned out to be a relatively marvelous piece of work.  It is not just a directory but a painting.   Churchgoers look at it and some would have their pictures taken.  Those who know that I gave it to the church praise me to no end.

It's a work of art and now part of the parish's history.

It's a gift from a family in the Philippines to the Holy Rosary Parish in Gulu, Uganda whose Golden Jubilee they will celebrate in October 2012.  The Comboni missionaries will hand-over the church to the diocesan priests on the same date.  Mission accomplished for the Comboni missionaries.  Placement and after-hours and weekend mission accomplished for the VSO volunteer.

"I shall pass this way but once, whatever good I might do, let me do it now, for I will never pass this way again."  

   Are missionaries and volunteers not of the same fold?