The Child in Us

For five days, grace made me remember the joy and magic of being a child again. The Hiyas School Tour brought me to five grade schools, each with hundreds of children, aged 6 to 12.

They were adorable and fun; they washed away all the frustrations I had over my malfunctioning DSL connection. According to their teachers (who were gracious and welcoming), majority of these children are readers and therefore, they had that wide-eyed excitement to listen to a writer on why and how books are created.

The program format was the same in all schools. But each place gifted me with a one-of-a-kind experience. Children are after all individuals—each with his own unique personality. Misha of OMF would begin by giving away prizes. That got the kids all keyed up. Then a storyteller from the Alitaptap Storytellers Philippines would read one of my books. Percy, Ray, and Waco each told a story in his own unique style as well.

And then the hard part: my talk. It was daunting. As you and I know, children are honest and frank—they'd say straight to your face what they think. I didn't need to encourage them to ask questions. Most of their questions required tough answers.

"Do you ever get stressed?" "Who taught you to write?" "Where do you get your ideas?" "When will you stop writing?" "Can you write about me?" "How old are you?"

Some of their comments were surprising.

"I've been reading your books since I was six years old." " My sister goes to sleep with your devotional." "My mom likes giving your books as presents." "When I grow up, I am going to be a writer like you."

Aside from these photos, I have amassed precious happy thoughts that are the rewards of writing for children, "to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs." (Luke 18:16)

St. Claire School

Poveda College

Hope Christian School

Miriam College

Victory Christian School