Who can forget 2020? It was a year full of misery but despite the pandemic I am thankful for the strength and protection God gave me and my family. My New Year wish is to go home and to be with my family in Christmas this year. I really want to meet my newborn twin granddaughters. But as an overseas worker, going home amid the pandemic is a very long journey and not safe. I decided not to go home last year. Instead I celebrated the Christmas and New Year with my friends and my second family here in Hong Kong, praying that this pandemic will end soon. All we need is hope and strength. God is always good to answer all our prayers.
— Marietta Calubaquib
The year 2020 was very challenging and it shocked everyone in the world. Despite this and its continuing effects, we need to keep our faith and hold tight our aspirations. For 2021, I wish to spend a vacation in the Philippines with my family. I miss them a lot and the virtual communications cannot simply fill the longingness I have for them. Also, I plan to continue the improvement of our house. There is nothing more important than seeing my family living in a comfortable home. The pandemic should not stop us from accomplishing our goals in life. Let’s just continue praying that the world will totally heal.
— Robia Domingo
One of my important plans, the annual visit back home to the Philippines for the Christmas and New Year holidays was cancelled due to the pandemic. My loved ones understand the situation so we all thought of some other ways of celebrating the festive seasons even though we were far from each other. I set up a zoom conference so that our relatives from far places may join us and everybody felt the spirit of New Year and may share some bright hopes for the coming year. Special schedules for video calls are indeed possible ways of bringing families and friends closer though physically apart.
This coming year 2021 I will remind myself to be wiser in my choice of friends, and to avoid friends who can hurt me so much. I pray that my friends can become more trustworthy. I also pray that I can be more forgiving.
Above all, I pray that the whole world will be healed from this pandemic.
— Amada Luyong
M y plan for this new year is to save money so that I can go back to the Philippines for vacation and spend time with my friends and precious family when the pandemic is over. I will just keep praying that this pandemic will end and life can go back to normal.
My life goes on because I am still alive and healthy. I am thankful to God that he always protects me and my loved ones.
—Alma Soberano
Year 2020 was a difficult and challenging time for all of us. But despite the pandemic we can still celebrate the New Year by calling our loved ones through video call and asking how they’re doing. The first day of January is also my father’s 10th death anniversary. Usually I offer him a Mass and give thanks to the Lord for the life of my father. But it is not possible in the pandemic.
I wish everyone a healthy and productive new year!
— Merla Tabasa
To all my friends in Hong Kong, I wish you a happy New Year, good health and peace of mind. I hope that some day you will eventually come back home and join your family.
I have returned home for good and I am now in San Pablo City, Laguna and working with our town mayor to serve the overseas Filipino workers and from time to time teach senior citizens how to make organic fertilizers, salted eggs, smoked fish, etc. I am so happy here. I am also busy gardening and selling my flowers and crops. I can eat the vegetables from my garden. Even though I have no income, I have good health and we often say health is wealth.
— Ching Baltazar
